Membership to the NJAA is open to any club or fishing team, and entitles member clubs to enter teams into our 3 annual competitions. 

Membership runs from January to December. The Affiliation fees is £30 for new clubs, and £25 subscriptions for existing clubs providing they subscribe before the end of January. Late subscriptions will be treated as new members and charged £30. All monies from subscriptions are spent on trophies for competitions or essential equipment for the Association. By joining the association, you must agree to abide by our Rules (see below)

Online Affiliation Form

To join the NJAA, please print out this affiliation form, complete it and return it to the address at the bottom of the form, along with payment as explained on the form. 

If you have any queries regarding affiliation, please contact the NJAA either by Email:

office@njaa.org.uk

or by post:

NJAA

75 Stoney Rock Lane

Beckett Street

Leeds

LS9 7TB

NJAA Match Rules – updated 30th March 2009

1. Annual affiliation fees to be paid before 31st March. New clubs/associations wishing to join must pay the affiliation fee prior to the first event entered.

2. Each affiliated club/association is entitled to enter any number of teams of six Juniors (under 16 on the day of the match) and teams of four Intermediates (under 19 on the day of the match) in the National match, which always takes place on the first Saturday in September; and in the Challenge match, run on the first Saturday in October.

3. Each member club/association is permitted initially, to enter one team of eight in the NJAA Under-18s’ Championship, comprising no more than four team-members aged between 16, & under 18, on day of the match (i.e. all teams must field a minimum of four 'juniors', and ‘intermediates’ must be under 18 on the day of competition). Subsequently, further teams may enter on a first come, first served basis, as venue pegging allows (Results Officer to oversee).

4. Every competing club/association must provide one competent steward (aged over 18) per team entered for competitions. Stewards must register with the match officials at least 30 minutes prior to the match draw, where they will be allocated a specific section(s). Stewards must attend, and remain on their allocated section for the duration of the competition, unless other arrangements are agreed with the match officials. He/she will be responsible for stewards’ equipment for the duration of the match and must return it to the issuing officers at headquarters as soon as possible after the weigh in. No team will be allowed to enter events without a steward. Stewards are responsible for upholding the rules of the Association.

5. Each club/association is responsible for transporting their own competitors to and from the pegs.

6. Any person of the age of 12 and over must have a valid E.A. licence to be eligible to fish matches - this to be the responsibility of every competitor.

7. Before competition starts, assistance may be given in respect of: transport of equipment etc. to pegs; positioning equipment, seat-boxes, umbrellas, keepnets and rollers, as well as assembling rods and poles etc. Once competition is underway, all competitors must cast and feed themselves; strike, play and land their own fish. In cases where assistance is deemed necessary for the welfare of the competitor or the fish, stewards must be called upon. Coaching/bank-running is not permitted during competition and team managers/spectators etc. must be positioned, and remain, halfway between pegs and not behind the competitor.

8. Competitors must not disturb the water prior to the match (including the act of groundbaiting), but may position their keepnet, wet their groundbait and plumb the depth (with a lead weight, not a feeder).

9. Competitors shall use one rod, line and hook only, at one time. Other tackle(s) may be assembled for use, but must not be baited. Landing nets must not be placed in the water, unless being used to land a fish.

10. On stillwaters, each competitor may fish as far as half the distance between their peg and the adjacent peg. On flowing waters they will fish in the direction of the flow as far as the next peg.

11. All baits may be used except those banned by the controlling body of the water on which any match is fished, although on venues where the use of bloodworm & joker are permitted, these baits will be permissible only, for NJAA competitions, between October and March. Fish must not be used as live or dead bait. Groundbait may be thrown in by hand, or via catapult, throwing stick, swim-feeder or bait-dropper. 

12. All fish caught (including eels) must be retained in keepnets which comply with Environment Agency bye-laws. Large fish which could be damaged by retention in keepnets, may be weighed, recorded and returned during the match, at the discretion of the stewards.

13. After commencement of the match, all competitors must remain at their pegs, except to answer the call of nature, until details of their return has been recorded, even if they have caught no fish. 

14. For the duration of the match, competitors must not use mobile phones other than in an emergency, when stewards must be notified.

15. All fish in season must be weighed, except salmon and crustaceans, or those banned by the host club, or the controlling body of the water on which the match is fished. In the event of any dispute, the fish must be weighed and recorded and a report given to the committee upon arrival at H.Q. Fish hooked before the ‘all out’ will be eligible for weighing if landed within 20 minutes of the match ending.

16. It is the responsibility of the competitor to clear any litter from his/her peg and to ensure that details of their catch are properly recorded. All litter to be cleared from peg before weigh-in, where safe to do so.

17. The individual weight of each competitor’s catch will be recorded to the nearest half ounce (or 10g if metric scales are used), rounded up, and the results will be calculated on a points system.

18. Should any objections relating to the match arise, these must lodged with a match official or a committee member within one hour of the match ending. In this event, the N.J.A.A. will set up a committee to consider such dispute or claim, and to interpret and apply the rules where necessary. They shall have the power to disqualify those that breach any rules and their decision will be final, with no appeal.

19. It is the responsibility of each and every competitor, and their officials to read these rules and abide by them. Infringement of the rules may result in disqualification, and ignorance will not be accepted as a reason or excuse, for breaches or irregularities.

The preceding rules cancel and supersede any rules formerly in operation.