Part 1 - Aims, Objectives and Powers

CONSTITUTION:

PART 1 - AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND POWERS:

ARTICLE 1 - NAME:

The name of the association shall be The Barrie and District Ladies Slo-Pitch League, BDLSPL for short. The BDLSPL operates as a Not for Profit Incorporated Association.

ARTICLE 2 - MEMBERSHIP:

{a} Membership shall consist of all persons who are registered with a team in the BDLSPL.
{b} Any new team{s} wanting to join the league and become a member must be done in writing to the President.
{c} The power of approval for membership shall rest with the Executive Committee of the BDLSPL.
{d} Any new team{s} entering the league will be put in the lower division unless the new team{s} consists of 5 or more players who have played in a higher division, or the new team{s} specifically requests a higher division and have approval by the Executive Committee.
{e} Membership shall be suspended or expelled at the discretion of the Executive Committee for any of the following reasons:

Use of boisterous or obscene language.
Any team{s}, team member, or spectators associated with the team{s} caught drinking alcoholic beverages in the park or parking lot before or after a league or tournament game.
Physical or verbal abuse of umpires, team members or spectators before or after a game.
Failure to comply with the BDLSPL rules and regulations.
Another association or organization has issued a suspension.
Inappropriate behavior at any league sanctioned function.
Any sponsor or affiliate of the league is abused financially in any way.

ARTICLE 3 - DISSOLUTION:

The BDLSPL may be dissolved and an end brought to its existence by the unanimous decision of the Executive Committee and voting members {team reps} or if there is no one to carry on the Executive Committee.
Final dissolution may not take place until all obligations and debts of the BDLSPL have been settled in full.
If upon dissolution of the BDLSPL, and after the satisfaction of all obligations and debts, there remains any property whatsoever, such property may be given or transferred, at the discretion of the Executive Committee, to some other organization having similar aims and objectives. Any remaining funds will be divided evenly between all teams at the time of dissolution.

PART 2 - BYLAWS:

ARTICLE 4 - MANAGEMENT:

The management of the BDLSPL shall be the responsibility of the Executive Committee in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws of the BDLSPL.
The Executive Committee shall consist of no less thanFIVE {5}members and will be made up of the following:

President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Statistician

PART 3 - POSITIONS/DUTIES:

PRESIDENT:

Two {2} year term upon appointment by a league vote.
Applies for permits on behalf of the league.
Will be a signing officer for the league account along with the Treasurer.
Representative for all parks and recreation meetings.
Oversees all league fines.
Represents the BDLSPL at Slo-Pitch National meetings.
Chairs all league meetings and functions.
Be the deciding vote in the event of a hung decision.
Work with SPO for team rankings.

VICE PRESIDENT:

Two {2} year term upon appointment by a league vote.
Will be signing officer for the league account along with the Treasurer.
Helps with tournaments the league gets a cut in.
Gathers trophies and has them engraved.

SECRETARY:

Two {2} year term upon appointment by a league vote.
Responsible for the preparation of all agendas, minutes, head sheets and any other material related to BDLSPL business.
Responsible for the BDLSPL contact list.

TREASURER:

Two {2} year term upon appointment by a league vote.
Responsible for preparation of all financial statements.
Maintains bankbook and monthly statements.
Keeps the President and Executive Committee informed of the financial position of the league with an up to date financial statement at each Executive meeting.
Responsible for providing the President and Executive Committee with an up to date list of all players on each team.
Responsible to inform the President and Executive Committee of any returned cheques.

STATISTICIAN:

Two {2} year term upon appointment by a league vote.
Collect score sheets weekly from league box located at MacMorrison Park.
Keep a record of all offensive and defensive stars.
Make league standings available to teams and media.
Keep an account of player eligibility for playoffs.
Keep an account of illegal players and notify the President and Executive Committee immediately.
Responsible for doing the league schedule.
Responsible for all league re-scheduling i.e. rainouts

ARTICLE 5 - ELECTIONS:

The election of the Executive Committee shall be held each year at the Annual General Meeting {AGM} on a date to be decided each year by the existing Executive Committee.

Any person running for a position on the Executive Committee must be a member in good standing with BDLSPL for a period of at least one year from the previous elections.

The teams in the league will elect the Executive Committee by a vote.

After the election of a new Executive Committee, if any of the positions hereinafter set forth are vacant, the Executive Committee will meet and amongst themselves, vote in a new Committee Executive for the term designated hereunder:

President {1} - 2 years
Vice President {1} - 2 years
Secretary {1} - 2 years
Treasurer {1}* - 2 years * unless the E.C. determine that 2 are needed.
Statistician {1} - 2 years

Any member of the Executive Committee can resign, with written notice to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee and the league representatives will vote in a new member, if there is no new member, the Executive Committee will meet and appoint a person from the BDLSPL to fill such vacancy or the duties will be divided between existing Executive Committee. However, there shall be no less than five {5} members on the Executive Committee at any given time.
If the office of the President should become vacant at any time during a term, the Vice President will step in for the remainder of the term and his/her position will become vacant and the Executive Committee and the league representatives will vote in a new member.
With the respect to disciplinary and other matters that the Executive Committee votes and rules on pertaining to members of the BDLSPL and their respective teams and the business of the BDLSPL,the decision of the Executive Committee shall be finaland it shall not be brought to a vote of the league representatives, unless the Executive Committee decides to do so.

ARTICLE 6 - DUTIES OF OFFICERS:

The President shall call all meetings of the Executive Committee and the BDLSPL.
The Vice President shall perform the duties of the President in the event of his/her absence.
The President shall break any ties in a voting situation.
All Executive Committee Members must carry out all duties to the best of their ability for the duration of his/her term of office. Failure to do so will result in suspension or expulsion from the Executive Committee.
Executive Committee will discuss and resolve any league or player issues. NOTE:Any Executive Committee member who might have a conflicting interest in the outcome of any issue will not be eligible to vote. i.e. if their team and/or themselves are involved in the matter being discussed or voted upon.
Financial statements will be issued at the beginning of each season by the Treasurer.

PART 4 - ASSOCIATION RULES AND REGULATIONS:

The Annual Constitution and By-Laws meeting will be held at the same time as the AGM. All motions received by the July meeting date will be reviewed and voted on by the Executive Committee, league representatives, coaches and other team members attending the AGM. If a member cannot attend the AGM, proxy votes will not be allowed (unless mitigating circumstances approved by the Executive). Any amendments will be adopted and shall be deemed rules for the following season. If a motion comes up during the current season, and the Executive Committee decides it should be applied immediately, it will be brought up at the next league meeting for all team representatives to vote on and implement if passed.

Teams cannot change the schedule or any rules or regulations. If there is any change of the rules and regulations, the offending team{s} will be deemed to default the game in question and fined appropriately, as determined by the Executive Committee.

PROFANITY:

Use of boisterous or obscene language is strictly prohibited. Refer to Profanity Rule in the SPO rulebook.

PARKING:

Vehicle parking is allowed only in designated areas.

DRINKING:

Any team, team member or spectator associated with that team found drinking alcoholic beverages before, during or after a BDLSPL game, on public property and/or unlicensed areas shall be ejected from the game and BDLSPL. This will affect the offending individuals whether they are players, spectators or coaches. The team{s} will also be fined $200 for a first offence, $500 for a second offence. The team will be prohibited from playing for one year for a third offence. Executive Committee ruling is final.

LEAGUE RULES:

The Slo-Pitch National current rulebook will regulate the BDLSPL, unless otherwise indicated in the BDLSPL rules. Any rules not governed by either will be voted upon and clarified by the Executive Committee with the assistance, if necessary of SPO.

UMPIRES:

The Umpires Association will be in charge of booking umpires for all league play.

PROTESTS:

The Executive Committee will settle any grievances, protests or problems. A fifty dollar {$50} fee must accompany all protests that are brought before the Executive Committee. If the protest is upheld, the money will be refunded. If the protest is denied, the fifty dollars will go to the BDLSPL Treasurer. At the time of the protest, the protesting team will have the umpire record the score {if game is in play}, and sign their score sheet, before the next pitch. It must also state on the score sheet that the game is being played in protest. A team must lodge their protest in writing within 24 hours of the game in protest to the President accompanied with fifty dollars {$50} cash. A protest can only be lodged by a team rep. or alternate rep.

ROUGH PLAY/UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT:

Any act of rough play or unsportsmanlike conduct by a player will be an automatic ejection from the game. Further action by the Executive Committee may be taken. A minimum five game suspension for any unsportsmanlike conduct or violent act, this includes fighting or intent to injure. The Executive Committee must be notified of any ejections. The umpire will be asked to file a report on any ejections due to 'rough play' or 'unsportsmanlike conduct'. 2nd offence, player will be suspended for the rest of the season.

ROSTERS:

Maximum of 20 players per team. Team rosters {minimum of 10} must be submitted to the Executive Committee by the registration due date, {to be announced at the first league meeting of the season} along with the player’s individual league fee, in cash or a team cheque. Team player{s} must be registered at least 24 hours prior to playing their first game. Each team must register on the on-line waiver form by SPO. Players must be 17 years of age, as of June 30th of that playing year. A final roster must be submitted by June 30th. No additions to the roster may be made after that date unless an application is made to and approved by the Executive Committee. A player can be registered with only one team in our own league.

FEES:

Registration and user fees for each team will be set by the Executive Committee and announced at the first Rep meeting of the calendar year. The league pays for affiliation with Slo-Pitch Ontario, insurance coverage, diamond time, light fees and balls. Scorebooks and league umpire fees are additional costs and will be the responsibility of each individual team.

FINES:

Returned cheques - $40.00 fine {cash}
Failure to field a team on any occasion during the season - First time warning; $25.00 fine {cash} for subsequent games.
Failure to complete a job assigned for the tournament - $100.00 fine {cash}
Failure to complete a job assigned for the banquet - $100.00 fine {cash}
Failure to have a rep. in attendance at a league meeting - first time warning; $15.00 fine {cash} for subsequent missed meetings.
NOTE: ALL FINES MUST BE PAID BEFORE PLAYOFFS BEGIN. Failure to do so will result in team{s} forfeiting their playoff position.All fine proceeds are donated to a charitable organization.
Failure of an Executive Member to attend a league meeting - First time warning; $15.00 fine {cash} for subsequent missed meetings.
The use of an unregistered player - loss of any/all games played while using the illegal player and a $20.00 fine {cash}.

TEAM COLOURS:

Team{s} shall be bound to the uniform colours established at the beginning of each season. Team players are required to wear matching tops, but may have unmatched bottoms.

BAT LEGALITY:

As per SPO Handbook and ASA {Amateur Softball Association of America} standards. Please check their website at a list of no compliant bats.

The umpires will randomly be checking the bats from each team during the game. If a team has any of the bats listed by ASA as non compliant, the bat will be confiscated and held till the end of the game. The player using the bat will be ejected from the game. The umpire will note the name of the player and notify the Executive Committee. If a second offence occurs with the same player {team}, the player will be ejected from league play for the rest of the season.

PLAYOFFS:

There will be no ties in playoffs; all tie games will be played until broken.

All final playoff games will be 7 innings, and in the case of the game being called due to inclement weather, the game will be replayed in its entirety at the next scheduled game date.

Standings: Teams are awarded 2 points for a win and 1 point for a tie during regular season play.

Ties for standings: If there is a tie for any position in the standings at the end of regular season play, the team who has won the most games against the other team involved in the tie will be awarded the higher standings of the two teams. If the teams are also tied for wins, the team with the most runs scored between those two teams will be awarded the higher standing.

A player must play in at least 5 regular season games to be eligible to play in the playoffs. The player may play less than the required 5 games and still be eligible, but only under special circumstances such as pregnancy or injury recovering exempting the other players, Executive Committee and umpires for any liabilities. The Executive Committee must also approve it.

The regular season 'mercy rule' shall be 5 completed innings and a 12 run lead.

Updated: June 2, 2016