VWFL Constitution

Last updated: February 2023

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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 (Softball BC) Constitution and Special Operating Rules, with the exception, and/or clarification, of the following articles.

Article 2- Executive Member Duties

The VWFL shall have the following officers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Statistician, Registrar, Tournament Director, Secretary, and Awards Coordinator. 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.

President:

• Oversee the management of the VWFL;
• Chair all meetings (League and Executive);
• Liaise between the Umpires Association and the VWFL;
• Send schedule to umpire coordinator and help solve umpire shortages;
• Access to the league’s website to oversee and apply any changes as required; and
• Supervise the other executive members in the execution of their duties.

Vice-President:

• Assist the President and, if the President is absent, preside at meetings;
• Set a game schedule to include all regular season games, playoffs, and tournaments;
• Access to the league’s website to oversee and apply any changes as required;
• Arrange to have parks available to the League for all regular season games, playoffs, and tournaments (Ice Breaker and Sue Beischer); and
• Coordinate with Treasurer to have park permit fees paid.

Treasurer:

• Keep and maintain records of all League financial transactions;
• Receive and deposit all monies in a financial institution;
• Pay all accounts by cheque;
• Have signing authority along with two (2) other Executive members;
• During the playing season, she shall prepare monthly financial statements for the Executive; and
• Assist the Awards Coordinator and Tournament Director, particularly with regard to but not limited to conducting the necessary financial transactions.

Statistician:

• Monitor the results of each scheduled game including umpires, Most Valuable Players (MVP), players on roster, and scores submitted by Team Representatives;
• Picture of score sheets submitted as proof through website database or directly to the Statistician.
• At the end of the season, she will make league MVP names available to the Awards Coordinator; and
• 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.

Registrar:

• Responsible for the registration and insurance of teams, players, and coaches with Softball BC (due June 15th annually);
• Ensure information provided from league teams is complete.
• Link from SBBC registrar representative sent for us to enter our rosters into their database.
• Coordinate with Statistician that league team rosters on the league’s website match what is submitted to SBBC;
• Coordinate with SBBC Senior Director for any late roster changes/amendments; and
• The Registrar and Treasurer will collaborate with league teams and ensure fees are paid to SBBC on time.

Tournament Director:

• Plan, organize and run the Sue Beischer tournament:
• Apply for and receive a liquor licence through the BC liquor distribution branch,
• Purchase, with the help of the treasurer, all the required product (beer, cider, ice, cups etc.),
• Running/scheduling the beer garden and 50/50, and
• Set up and organize the fun games.

Secretary:

• Record the minutes of all meetings;
• Prepare and distribute copies to the Members of the Executive and Team Representatives;
• Update documents and files on the website, as required;
• Update information on website (contact lists, winners, schedule, etc.), as required; and
• Create and update league team representative and executive contact list and distribute.

Awards Coordinator:

• Collect trophies from previous recipients and have them engraved prior to the awards ceremony at the Sue Beischer tournament;
• Distribute, collect and count the ballots for the awards; and
• Team MVP recipients shall be provided by the Statistician as they are collected from game results.
• Organize and order prizes for the League award recipients.

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 of notice for meeting times shall be given.

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 from 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 team planning to play in the current season must have a minimum of 2 members present at the AGM to achieve voting quorum. Each team will get 2 votes. A failure to provide a minimum of 2 players to meetings will result in a $25.00 fine for the team. 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) at the meeting.

Infractions to the Constitution

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 – Performance Bond

The purpose of the performance bond to create accountability for teams and their members. Each team starts with a $200.00 bond every season. Any team that fails to provide the required number of team members (2) present at all league meetings will be fined $25.00. Any team that forfeits a game with less than 24-hours notice with be fined $25.00 per game. Any team that does not participate in the league tournaments will be fined $100.00 per tournament. These fines will come out of the $200.00 bond. At the beginning of every new season each team will be required to pay back any money owing to their bond. Any money remaining in the bond will be carried over to the next season and will not be paid out.

Article 7 – 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: as determined by the Executive at the Annual General Meeting. 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 8 – 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 and Registrar, via the league’s website database. Teams are responsible for keeping their online team roster current when new players join their team. The Softball BC Roster, which will match the final online team roster, shall be submitted to the league’s Registrar before June 1st of each year. Teams not submitting Softball BC Rosters and final team rosters by the above deadlines may be subject to default of scheduled games up until the times these lists are submitted to the Registrar and/or Statistician. Only players on the Softball BC Roster and online final Team Roster will be eligible for playoffs.

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. To maintain the spirit of this League and its traditions, a player/coach shall be eligible to participate in playoff games:

• If she is recorded as player/coach on the initial team roster and Softball BC Roster; AND
• If she has participated as a player in twenty-five percent (25%) of regular League 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.

Pick-ups

Any eligible ball player who is 19 years of age and/or has Minor Consent signed by a legal guardian and is insured by Softball BC can only play three (3) games in the Victoria Women’s Fastball League as a pickup. 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.

VWFL Tournaments

Teams shall be permitted to draft players provided all regular team members are always fielded.

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 9 – 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."

Article 10 – Code of Conduct

Any verbal or physical abuse towards a player, coach, or umpire is grounds for an ejection. An ejection for any purpose will automatically result in a minimum one game suspension with possible further disciplinary action to be determined by the Executive. The game will not resume until the person(s) leaves the park. If the person(s) will not leave the park after being ejected, the team who is associated with that person will automatically forfeit the game, without a rescheduling option.