TRI-COUNTY
WOMEN’S SOFTBALL LEAGUE
ARTICLE
I: NAME AND COMPOSITION
This league
shall be known as the Tri-County Women’s Slow-Pitch Softball League and shall
be sanctioned by the United States Slow-Pitch Softball Association
This league
shall abide by all USSSA rules.
The league
shall be composed of the number of divisions deemed necessary by the league in
order to assure equal competition. The
teams finishing in first place of each division shall be known as Division
Champions.
ARTICLE
II: PURPOSE
The purpose
of this league shall be to provide wholesome recreation and healthy competition
through organized slow pitch softball for adults of the Tri-County area.
Although
competitive in nature, play is not merely to declare a champion and over-emphasis
on winning in disregard for sportsmanship will not be tolerated.
ARTICLE
III: MANAGEMENT
SECTION
1.
The management of the league
shall consist of no more than three representatives from each team in the league. Each team shall have one vote except in the case of a protest in
which the teams involved shall not have a vote. One representative must be a coach or player on the team’s league
roster. Either will be permitted to
make, second or vote on a motion. If a
legitimate representative is unable to attend a meeting, that team shall be
counted absent and fined accordingly.
SECTION 2. Officers
of the league shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Statistician
and Public Relations. Officers shall be
elected every two years in a staggered configuration. The configuration will be as followed: President, Secretary, Public Relations and Vice President,
Treasurer, Statistician. The President shall vote only in case of a
tie, no other officers shall vote.
SECTION 3. The President shall provide general oversight over the
entire operations of the League. The
President shall be responsible for facilitating monthly meetings, organizing
fundraisers and a One-Pitch Tournament and coordinating with the umpires and
Umpire Assignor. The Vice President shall be responsible for the renewal of all
licensures and the proper utilization and record keeping regarding league
insurance. The Vice President shall
also be responsible for all duties of the President in absence of the
President. The
Secretary shall keep a true record of all proceedings, rosters and such other
records, as the league deems necessary.
The Treasurer shall keep a true record of all finances and such other
records the league deems necessary. The
Statistician shall determine the league schedule and shall keep a true record
of all final game scores and team standings.
The Statistician shall report standings at the league meetings. The
Public Relations person will be responsible for upkeep of the league website
and all things related to the website.
The Public Relations person will also be responsible for the
organization of the League Drawing to include securing a venue, entertainment,
food, etc.
SECTION 4. To assure
correctness of mailing addresses and telephone numbers, it shall be the
responsibility of each team to notify the league President of any changes to
their team representative. Failure to
comply could result in team representatives missing meetings, resulting in team
fines and possible removal from the league.
SECTION 5. Recommendations,
suggestions to improve the league, etc., will be accepted from interested
groups, independent or organized.
However, between any meetings, suggested changes shall be submitted in
writing to the President who will assure that they will be placed on the agenda
of the next league meeting. In no case
will verbal request or change be received.
ARTICLE
IV: MEETINGS
SECTION 1. Meetings
shall be called by request of the league President. For an unscheduled meeting, the Secretary shall notify all
members at least two days in advance of the meeting.
SECTION 2. Each team
must have a representative present at each meeting otherwise the team shall be
fined $10.00.
SECTION 3. Each team
must come prepared to the meeting with the required materials listed on the
agenda. The team will be fined $10.00,
if the requested material is not submitted to the President within 24 hours of
the league meeting.
ARTICLE
V: FINANCES
SECTION 1. The league shall
set the entry fee annually. This fee is
evidence of good intentions that the team will fulfill the entire schedule and
to defray the cost of officials and other league expenses. The entrance fee shall be paid at the April
meeting. Any team failing to pay the
entry fee at the April meeting, or within 24 hours of that meeting, will be
suspended from the league.
SECTION 2. Any
other means of raising funds to help defray the cost of league expenses will be
decided upon by the league annually.
SECTION 3. A team may
not begin a season until all fines are paid from the past season. All fines must be paid by the next league
meeting, or within 24 hours of that meeting.
Failure to do so will result in suspension from the league until fines
are paid.
SECTION 4. Upon dissolution of the Tri-County Women’s Softball League
it will be the responsibility of the League Officers to properly distribute the
remaining League assets. League
Officers will unanimously agree upon a local charity and donate 100% of the
Tri-County Women’s Softball League’s assets to the chosen charity.
ARTICLE
VI: FORFEITURES, SCHEDULING, & SUSPENSION
SECTION 1. Any team,
which forfeits a game, will be fined $25.00 for first game, $50 for the second
game and $100 for the third game. This
fine must be paid at the next league meeting, or within 24 hours of that
meeting, or that team will be automatically suspended from the league.
SECTION 2. Any team,
which forfeits a total of four games (doubleheaders will count as two games)
during a season, shall be automatically suspended from the league and shall
forfeit their entry fee.
SECTION 2a.
Any member of a
suspended team who wished to play for another team the following season may do
so only if they pay a percentage of the teams TOTAL fines. Fines will be determined on how many players
there were on the season ending roster.
SECTION 3. Any team,
which fails to abide by the rules and regulations, shall be liable for
suspension from the league. In this
event or in the event a team drops out of the league for some reason of their
own, the entry fee shall be forfeited.
SECTION 4. Scheduling
will be done on a random basis allowing no special consideration for teams who
compete in other leagues, with the exception of Districts and or States. Any team unable to fulfill their obligations
will be required to forfeit the game or games.
SECTION 5. Representatives
of each team will be informed if any player from a team removed from the league
wants to be eligible to play for a team.
The player(s) must submit a written request to the league and the
request will be put to a vote.
SECTION 6. No team
may cancel or reschedule a game that has been scheduled. Only the President may do this. Any team doing so will forfeit the game and
be fined accordingly.
SECTION 7. Each team
must secure and pay for the use of a playing field. The name/location and days of availability for use of each team’s
field must be provided to the league at the President’s request. Generally, each team will play on their home
field one night per week. Each team
must provide in writing ground rules for the field. The President will provide these ground rules to the umpire
association and the league members.
SECTION
8. Rainouts:
Home teams are responsible for finding out the rainout procedure (who
makes the decision, etc) for their field.
Home teams must call the game by 5:00pm or two hours prior to
start time, and must contact the visiting team as well as the umpire. If no decision is made by 5:00pm or
two hours prior, the game becomes umpires discretion and both teams should
arrive for the game.
SECTION 9. Once a
game becomes umpire discretion (as per Section 8) if one team does not have
enough players and the field is playable according to the umpire, the game will
be a forfeit. If the field is not
playable, the game will not be a forfeit even if one team does not have enough
players.
ARTICLE
VII: AMENDMENTS
SECTION 1. Changes in
the Constitution and By-Laws of this league may be made by a majority vote of
the management of the league. All
members must be notified of the amendment at least two days in advance of the
meeting.
SECTION 2. A quorum
of 2/3 of the league members must be present at a meeting in order to vote on
any business transactions.
SECTION 3. All votes
must be carried by majority vote, which means ½ plus 1 of the members voting.
BY-LAWS
ARTICLE
I: MEMBERSHIP & ELIGIBILITY
SECTION 1. Membership
shall consist of amateur teams and players only.
SECTION 2. Any female
player 16 years of age or older by December 1st of that season is
eligible for league play.
SECTION 3. All league
team rosters must be submitted in May, prior to season start date. USSSA and league rosters shall be limited
to 20 players.
SECTION 4. Players
may be added to league rosters at anytime throughout the regular playing
season. After the start of the season,
any team having additions/deletions to league rosters must notify the Secretary. The Secretary will notify ALL teams and will
report them (additions/deletions) at EACH meeting and via email. New players must be added to the rosters 24
hours ahead of the time the player is eligible to play. Teams having questions about a player’s
eligibility may contact the Secretary or President. NOTE: The deadline for
additions to the USSSA roster is June 15.
SECTION 5. A player
may appear on no more than one Tri-County League roster at the start of the
season. She must continue to play for
the team she plays for first in league competition (f she has batted or fielded
once). Once a player has been deleted
from a roster for a team that she competed for, she may not be re-added to that
or any roster within the same season.
SECTION 6. A team
using an ineligible player shall forfeit all games in which that player has
participated.
SECTION 7.
Only active
players may compete in playoffs.
SECTION 8. For
the purpose of determining whether a team is a new or old team, the following
standard will be used. A new team may
have only five returning players off the teams past season’s league roster. An old team has at least six returning
players from the last season’s league roster.
SECTION 9. Women who are pregnant or become pregnant will be permitted
to participate within the league up to and including their fourth (4th)
month of pregnancy. For liability
purposes a notice from their primary care physician and/or obstetrician
indicating expected due date must be submitted to the league president upon
confirmation of the pregnancy or at the request of the league president.
ARTICLE
II: RULES GOVERNING PLAY
SECTION 1. The
official USSSA rules for slow pitch softball shall be used in the league.
SECTION 2. The
official softball for league play shall be the yellow Worth Green Dot,
non-restricted flight.
SECTION 3. The home
team shall provide one new ball for each game and the visiting team shall
furnish a good second ball approved by the umpire. If either team does not have the proper game ball, they will be
fined $5 but will not forfeit the game.
Teams may purchase game balls from each other on game night in order to
be able to provide a game ball and avoid a league fine. The game will be played with a yellow Worth
Green Dot Ball.
SECTION 4.
All substitutes
must be reported to the home plate umpire.
SECTION 5. All team
players must have appropriate athletic wear to include a team shirt; short or long sleeved, appropriate athletic shorts/pants
and appropriate footwear. Managers with
a player not in uniform at the beginning of the game must contact opposing
manager before play begins. A decision
will be made as to the play or forfeiture of the game.
SECTION 6. Players
only, in uniforms, may get bats from the playing field – no batboys/batgirls.
SECTION
7. All fields shall be standard
playing dimensions as found in the USSSA rulebook.
SECTION
8. The
pitched ball must arc at least 5 feet from the ground and shall not rise higher
than 10 feet above the ground.
ARTICLE
III: GAMES
SECTION 1. The season
shall begin approximately the middle of May.
SECTION 2. The starting
time for games will be 6:45pm. Forfeiture time is 15 minutes following the
scheduled game time.
SECTION 3. The
visiting team shall take the field for pre-game 20 minutes before the scheduled
game time.
SECTION 4. A team
shall forfeit if they have fewer than 9 players 15 minutes after the scheduled
game time. If a team starts a game with
9 players, they must finish the game with 9 players. In the event neither team can field 9 players 15 minutes after
the scheduled game time, the game will be a double forfeit.
SECTION 5. Regulation
league games shall consist of nine innings, with a one and one count and no
courtesy foul. A game called by the
umpire shall be regulation if five or more complete innings have been played or
if the team second at bat has scored more runs in four or more innings than the
other team has scored in five or more innings.
The umpire is empowered to call a game at any time because of rain,
fire, panic, or any other causes which place the patrons or players in
peril. In addition, an umpire must
notify both teams at the beginning of the last full inning to stop for
darkness. A game is officially over if
a team is 15 runs ahead after five complete innings.
SECTION 6. Double
headers are at the discretion of the President. In the event of a doubleheader, they will be seven innings and
will start at 6:45pm. A forfeit
for the first game will be at 7:00pm and for
the second game will be at 7:15pm.
SECTION 7. All games
(one pitch, season, doubleheaders, and play-offs) will adhere to the following
“slaughter rule”; 9 inning games: 15 runs after five innings, 10 runs after
seven innings; 7 inning games: 15 after
five innings.
SECTIONS 8-11 SHALL APPLY
IF THE LEAGUE UTILIZES A PLAY-OFF.
SECTION 8. Play-off
games must go nine innings. If a game
is called for any reason, it will start the next available evening from the
point where the game was halted.
SECTION 9. Play-offs
will consist of double elimination tournaments. The number of teams involved in the play-offs will be 50% of the
total number of teams in the division.
The winner of each division will be known as Play-off Champion.
SECTION 10. The
play-off schedule will be based on the regular season final standings; to be
determined after the number of play-off slots is determined.
SECTION 11. Home teams
for play-offs will be determined by the flip of the coin prior to each game.
SECTION 12. LEAGUE
STANDING TIE-BREAKER
1. Best Win-Loss record
2.
A playoff game between the 2
teams will be played at a neutral site decided by the league.
3.
The team with the best win-loss record in their division will win top
position.
SECTION 13. APPLIES TO
THE LEAGUE’S ONE-PITCH TOURNAMENT
1.
All
games will be nine innings.
2.
There
will be no time limit.
3.
There
will be a 15-run rule after five innings and a 10-run rule after seven innings.
4.
No
courtesy foul
5.
Prizes
as follows: 1st Place -
$150.00, 2nd Place $100.00, 3rd Place $75.00
ARTICLE
IV: UMPIRES
SECTION 1. Only
certified USSSA umpires shall work league games.
SECTION 2. Certified
umpires who play or coach in the league may work only non-division games (They
may not umpire games within their team’s division or inter –division games).
SECTION 3. One umpire
will be employed for each game. At the
discretion of the President Playoffs and the All-Star game may employ two
umpires.
SECTION
4 & 5 APPLY IF/WHEN THE LEAGUE EMPLOYS TWO UMPIRES FOR A GAME
SECTION 4. In the
event only one umpire shows up for a game, that umpire will be paid extra
according to the current umpire’s agreement.
SECTION 5. In
the event one umpire shows for a game, the game will be played. The umpire may postpone the game if he/she
feels he/she is not capable of doing the game alone. Once the game has started, it must be finished.
SECTION 6. In case of
a misinterpretation of a rule, or in the event a decision is not clear, only
the team manager and/or playing captain may enter into the discussion with the
umpire.
SECTION 7. The umpire
has the authority to eject from the game any player, coach or manager for
unsportsmanlike conduct. The umpire
will file a report with the League President for anyone ejected from a game.
SECTION 8. Umpires
must remember that the right to appeal a call or decision by a team’s manager,
coach, and/or playing captain in a proper manner is as much a part of the game
as the actual playing of the game.
Therefore, umpires do not have the right to eject a player, coach or
manager merely because they disagree with a call or decision.
SECTION 9. Umpires
shall enter all complaints against league participants in writing to the League
President. Complaints shall be
forwarded through the Umpires Association.
SECTION 10. Teams
having complaints against umpires shall file the complaint in duplicate to the
League President. One copy will be forwarded,
in person, to the Umpires’ Association President.
SECTION 11. If an
umpire does not arrive for a game but both teams agree to play with an
uncertified umpire, the game shall be official.
ARTICLE
V: PROTESTS
SECTION 1. Protests
shall not be received or considered if they are based on a decision involving
the accuracy of judgment on the part of the umpire.
SECTION 2. Protests
will be considered for misinterpretation of a playing rule, failure of an
umpire to apply the correct rule to a given situation and/or failure to impose
the correct penalty for a given violation.
SECTION 3. The
notification of probable intent to protest must be made immediately before the
next pitch. However, a protest must be
formalized prior to the end of the game.
Protests concerning a player’s eligibility may be made to the President
at any time. Protests of games ending
in a forfeit will be handled in accordance with USSSA rules.
SECTION 4. Protests
must be filed in writing to the President accompanied by $5.00, within 48 hours
after the game has been completed.
Player’s eligibility may be protested until the end of the season. If the protest is valid, the $5.00 will be
refunded.
ARTICLE
VI: SCORING OF GAMES
SECTION 1. The home
team shall be responsible for completing the game report found on-line at:
tri-countysoftballleague.org within 48 hours of the
game. Any home team failing to report
their final score by the deadline shall be fined $5.00 for each violation.
SECTION 2. The
Statistician shall report the standings at league meetings. The standings shall be reported regularly to
the newspaper.
SECTION 3. Each team in the league shall keep a scorebook at all times. Scorebooks may be checked at any time by the
Statistician/Secretary or President to determine player eligibility. Completed scorebooks may be collected upon
completion of the season and shall be returned to each team.
ARTICLE
VII: TROPHIES (DELETED as of 5-2006)
SECTION 1. Individual
trophies and a team trophy shall be awarded to the first place team of the
regular season in each division. Team
trophies shall be awarded to the top 50% of the teams in each division. A team trophy shall be awarded to the first
place team of the play-offs or of the one-pitch tournament.
ARTICLE
VIII: RAIN
AND POSTPONED GAMES
SECTION 1. All
teams are to show up for a game whenever the weather is only threatening or
when there has been only a light shower.
SECTION
2. Except for weather or poor field conditions, games can only
be postponed because of dire emergency, at the discretion of the president. In case of an emergency, call the League
President before 4:30pm.
SECTION 3. If a game
is rained out, the president will reschedule the game and umpire. If the game is not made up at this time
because a team does not show up, the team shall forfeit. That is, if one team doesn’t show up, a
single forfeit will result; if both teams don’t show up, both teams forfeit.
SECTION 4. Common
sense must prevail concerning the playing of games on questionable field
conditions. First consideration must be
the possibility of personal injury, equipment damage, and the tearing of
playing fields to such an extent that it adversely affects playing conditions
for future games.
ARTICLE
IX: GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP
SECTION 1. Good
sportsmanship, reflective of the institutions and organizations represented in
the league, shall prevail at all times.
SECTION 2. Players,
coaches, and managers shall control their language in and around the ball
fields and there shall be no smoking while on the playing field itself, this
includes the coaching box.
SECTION 3. There
shall be no intoxicating beverages on any of the league’s playing fields.
SECTION 4. Any league
officer, manager, assistant manager, coach, umpire, or player found guilty of
using abusive language, unsportsmanlike conduct, or any other act not in the
best interest of the league shall be subject to:
§
First Offense: One or two week suspension depending upon the circumstances
during the season. One or two league meeting
suspension (regular monthly meetings) during the off season.
§
Second
Offense: Removal from the league.
SECTION 5. Any
individual committing physical violence, such as an attack before, during, or
after a game will be suspended for a period of not less than one year from the
date of the incident for all league and tournament play. Bumping, pushing, or shoving will be
considered physical violence in terms of enforcing this section. Any individual striking another person shall
be suspended for two years from the date of incident.
ARTICLE
X: LEAGUE TOURNAMENT (IF HELD)
SECTION 1. The league
tournament shall be held during the month of June.
SECTION 2. Any team
not participating in the league tournament shall be responsible for any
tournament-related activities assigned to them. Any team not fulfilling this obligation shall be fined $25.00.
ARTICLE
XI: COMMITTEES (IF NECESSARY)
SECTION
1. The setup of the divisions will be determined each season
by a Realignment Committee comprised of all teams. Any changes made will be determined by the teams’ classification,
roster, and/or previous season’s play.
SECTION 2. The
President shall appoint an Arbitration Committee to be comprised of all
teams. No protest meeting shall be held
without the involved team’s manager or appointed representative in attendance.
SECTION 3. Once the
Arbitration Committee makes a decision, it will be upheld and not changed. The umpire-in-chief of umpire-in chief’s
representative must be present at all game related protests.
SECTION 4.
A team will be fined $25.00 if assigned to a committee and cannot
attend, except for a legitimate reason (sickness or death).