| VWFL
Constitution - amended April 2007
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Table
of Contents
Article 1 - Board of Directors
The Victoria Women's Fastball League (VWFL) shall
follow the BC Amateur Softball Association Constitution and
rules, with the exception, and/or clarification, of the following
articles.
Article 2 - Duties of the Executive
The VWFL shall have the following officers: President,
Vice-President, Treasurer, Statistician, Registrar, Tournament
Director and Secretary. The past President may be called on
for the initial executive meeting of the incoming season.
The voting members present at the Annual General Meeting
shall elect the officers for a one-year term.
The duties of these elected officers shall be
as follows:
1. To conduct the business of the VWFL between
the Annual General
Meetings; and
2. To carry out such duties as required by the
Constitution as set herein:
The President shall oversee the management of the
VWFL and chair all meetings (League and Executive) and shall
be the liaison between the Umpires Association and the VWFL
and supervise the other officers in the execution of their
duties. .
The Vice-President shall assist the President and,
in the event that the President is absent, preside at meetings.
She will set a game schedule to include all regular season
games and playoffs. She will arrange to have parks available
to the League for all regular season games and playoffs and
for the Ice Breaker and Sue Beischer Tournaments.
The Treasurer shall keep and maintain records of all
League financial transactions. She shall deposit all monies
in a financial institution and pay all accounts by cheque
and she and two other Executive members shall have signing
authority. During the playing season, she shall prepare monthly
financial statements for the Executive. The Treasurer shall
also assist the Tournament Director, particularly with regard
to but not limited to conducting the financial transactions
necessary to putting on tournaments. In the event the Treasurer
is unable to perform her duties, the President or Vice-President
shall perform them.
The Statistician shall monitor the results
of each scheduled game including umpires, Most Valuable Players
(MVP) and scores submitted by Team Representatives. At the
end of the season, she will make league MVP names available
to the Registrar. From team score sheets provided to her at
the end of each round, the Statistician shall tally games
played by each player to confirm eligibility for playoffs.
The Registrar shall be responsible for
the registration and insurance of teams, players and coaches
with Softball BC. She shall calculate and collect the requisite
fees from each team (payable to the VWFL ) and she shall then
calculate and arrange with the Treasurer to pay the total
fees due from the League to Softball BC. The Registrar shall
also be responsible for League trophies and awards: prior
to the end of the season she shall prepare, distribute, collect
and count ballots for awards; receive from the Statistician
a list of team MVP winners; collect trophies, arrange engraving
and order awards.
The Tournament Director shall set up
and head a Tournament Committee made up of volunteers from
the Membership-at-large, to plan, organize and run the Ice
Breaker and Sue Beischer Tournaments.
The Secretary shall be present at and
record the minutes of all meetings and shall prepare and distribute
copies to the Members of the Executive and Team Representatives.
The Secretary shall also set up and head a Newsletter Committee
made up of volunteers from the Membership-at-large to plan,
produce and distribute to each team before the end of the
first round of regular season play a newsletter outlining
current league statistics, activities, upcoming events, etc.
Article 3 - Meetings
The Annual General Meeting shall be held no later than
February 1st of each year, at which time, the election of
the new Executive shall take place.
The first Executive meeting shall be called by the newly elected
President, and shall be held no later than February 15th of
each year.
All General and Team Representative Meetings may be called
at such times as the Executive may so designate. Two weeks
notice of meeting times shall be given to each team.
Any team failing to be represented at General and Team Representative
Meetings shall be fined $25.00.
.
Article 4 - Nominations and Voting
Nominations for an Executive office shall be made by someone
other than the candidate, and shall be accompanied by written
or verbal consent form the candidate indicating she agrees
to have her name stand for office. Each candidate may withdraw
her name at any time prior to the commencement of any voting
for office.
For election of officers and proposed amendments to the constitution,
each person shall be entitled to one vote. At all other General
and Team Representative Meetings, each team shall be entitled
to one vote. In the case of a tie vote, the President shall
cast the deciding vote.
Article 5 - Amendment of Articles
A resolution to amend a certain article(s) of
the VWFL Constitution shall be submitted by any league member
to the Executive for discussion and voting at the next League
Annual General Meeting. The League Secretary prior to the
next voting shall make all League Representatives aware of
the proposed amendment(s) meeting.
Article 5(a) - Infractions to the Constitution
Any infractions of the Constitution set herein
shall be brought to the attention of the Executive, in writing,
within seven (7) days. The Executive shall determine the repercussions,
unless a team is involved in possible expulsion from the League.
In cases where team expulsion is concerned, a General Meeting
shall be called, and a decision handed down within fourteen
(14) days.
Article 6 - Membership Dues
The Executive at a rate deemed necessary to carry
out needs of the League shall set a membership fee. This fee
may be paid in two parts: one half due at the Ice Breaker
Tournament, and the remaining one-half due no later than May
15th. Teams not remitting these monies by the noted deadlines
may be subject to default of scheduled games up until the
time these monies are presented to the League Treasurer.
Article 7 - Members
Each team in the VWFL shall elect two (2) Team
Representatives at the beginning of the season.
Each Team, at or before the Ice Breaker Tournament, shall submit
an Initial Team Roster to the Statistician. The Softball BC
Roster (formerly the Final Team Roster) must consist of players
on the Initial Team Roster, and shall be submitted on or before
May 15 of each year. A collection of all Softball BC Rosters
will be given to each Team Representative prior to the commencement
of playoffs. Teams not submitting Softball BC Rosters by the
above deadlines may be subject to default of scheduled games
up until the time these lists are submitted to the Statistician.
Article 7(a) - Eligibility - Regular Season
A player shall be eligible to participate in the
playoff games:
-
Only if she has played in one-half of the
regular season games (if league play consists of an odd
number of games, the lesser number of games shall be considered
one-half); AND
-
Only if she is registered on the Softball
BC Roster.
A player who is unable to play in one-half of
the regular season games and feels that, due to extenuating
circumstances, she should be permitted to play in the playoffs
shall have her Team Representative submit a written request
for exemption to the President. Such requests must be submitted
a minimum of seven (7) days prior to the playoffs. No exceptions
will be made once playoffs have commenced.
In order to maintain the spirit of this League
and its traditions, a player/coach shall be eligible to participate
in playoff games:
Teams may not draft players from other teams
within the League during the entire season, unless a team
folds and has team members still wishing to play. For playoff
purposes, these players shall be credited with games played
on the prior team. If there is a dispute about the placement
of these players, the Executive shall meet and decide which
existing teams shall receive these players.
A player wishing to switch teams within the
League must do so prior to submission of the Softball BC Roster.
Article 7(b) - Eligibility - Regular
Season Pick-Ups
Any eligible ball player can only play three (3) games in
the Victoria Women’s Fastball League as a pick-up, at
a cost of $10.00 per player to the team. After the three (3)
game limit has been reached, the player must make the decision
to either continue playing in the Victoria Women’s Fastball
League, or she can no longer play as a pick-up in the League
for the remainder of the season.
Article 7(c) - Eligibility - Tournament
Teams shall be permitted to draft players provided
all regular team members are fielded at all times.
An additional player, picked up for the Sue
Beischer Tournament:
-
Must be insured by Softball BC;
-
May be registered in other Softball BC categories;
-
Shall not pitch in the tournament; AND
-
Shall be fielded only after all available
team players recorded on the Softball BC Roster have been
fielded.
Article 8 - Uniforms and Equipment
BC Amateur Softball Rules and Regulations shall
apply, except for dress.
Running shoes and soccer boots will be allowed.
Metal or hard plastic cleats will not be permitted.
Catchers shall wear full gear at all times.
This shall consist of helmet, mask, throat protector, chest
protector, and shin guards. No catcher shall play without
full dress.
Helmets shall be mandatory for batters and base
runners, as per BC Softball Rules.
All jewellery must be removed prior to commencement
of a game. Games will be halted to remove jewellery.
Article 9 - Game Rules
In all games, seven (7) innings shall constitute
a legal game. In playoffs, games shall continue until a winner
is declared.
Games, which cannot be completed due to darkness
or weather, shall be rescheduled, unless five (5) innings
have been completed. The team ahead after five (5) full innings
shall be declared the winner. The decision to call the game
shall be made by the umpire.
When a team earns seven (7) runs in any one
inning, that half of the inning shall be considered complete,
and the other half, or new inning shall begin. This does not
apply to the seventh or final inning.
If a team is ahead by fifteen (15) runs after
four and one-half (4 1/2) innings, or any inning thereafter,
the game may be declared over.
Games may be cancelled prior to 6:15 pm on game
days, if done so for reason of rainout, by the Lower Island
Softball Umpire's Association or allocator by telephone to
the VWFL President by 4:15 pm that day. Calls will then be
made to the Team Representatives as quickly as possible, who
will in turn notify their team members.
Teams failing to field a full compliment of
nine (9) players by 6:30 pm shall forfeit the game. The score
of a forfeited game shall be 7 - 0 in favour of the team not
at fault.
A rained-out game shall be re-scheduled to an
evening after each round of play is complete.
The Home Team shall:
-
Put the bases and pitching plate in by 6:00
pm;
-
Provided a new game ball; AND
-
Input the game score, MVP for the opposing
team, umpire’s name and any pick-ups and associated
fees to the Statistician.
The Visiting Team shall:
-
Supply a presentable alternate game ball;
AND
-
Input the game score, MVP for the opposing
team, umpire’s name and any pick-ups and associated
fees to the Statistician.
All teams shall notify the Statistician within
24 hours of the time of the scheduled game.
Games shall be played as scheduled, and can
only be re-scheduled by the Statistician.
Article 10 - Ground Rules
The Executive and umpires shall set out the guidelines
for each field of play prior to the commencement of the season,
and those guidelines shall be distributed to all Team Representatives.
The team captains, coaches and umpires shall
review the ground rules prior to the start of each game.
Article 11 - Umpires
Team players shall not umpire their own games
if they are in the line-up.
Coaches shall only umpire when no other umpire
is available, and only with the express permission of the
opposing coach.
Umpires shall not be changed during the course
of a game unless by mutual agreement of both coaches.
Article 12 - Grievances
The notification of intent to protest a game must
be made immediately before the next pitch. The coach of the
protesting team shall immediately notify the plate umpire
that the game is being continued under protest. The plate
umpire in turn shall notify the opposing team coach.
The Executive, for a fee of $25.00 shall review
grievances. All grievances shall be handled as outlined in
the BC Amateur Softball Associations' Rule Book.
Article 13 - Regular Season and Playoffs
A regular season shall consist of at least one
contest between each of the other teams within the league.
From these standings, playoff positions shall be determined.
In the semi-final playoffs, the first place
team shall play the fourth place team, and the second place
team shall play the third place team, in a best-of-three series,
with the higher ranking teams having home team advantage for
the first and third games.
The winners of the semi-final playoff series
shall play off in a best-of-three final series, with the home
team being determined by standing at the end of regular season
play.
The team higher in the standings will have home
team advantage for the first game, and if necessary, the third
game. The winning team shall be declared Playoff Champions.
Article 14 - Legal Liability
The following shall be posted at each game:
"The Victoria Women's Fastball League is
not responsible for any injuries, loss, or damage to personal
articles arising as a result of any game or function undertaken
by the Victoria Women's Fastball League."
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