VWFL CONSTITUTION - AMENDED APRIL 2011
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:
- To conduct the business of the VWFL between the Annual General Meetings; and
- 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-atlarge 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: 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 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, 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.
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:
- 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.
Article 7(b) - Eligibility - Regular Season 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 pick-up. 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.
As a safety precaution to prevent injury, the Victoria Women’s Fastball League highly advocates that members follow the Softball BC recommendations and remove all jewelry prior to the commencement of a game. If members choose to dismiss this recommendation then wear at your own risk
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 designate.
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, Playoffs and Consolation Round
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.
14 teams or more the league will go to Top 6 format, 14 teams or less and the league will continue the Top 4 format.
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
Consolation round consists of round robin games as determined by the Executive. The expectation for this round is that the winner of this round receives beer/coolers of their choice, from the losing teams, with a deadline to be delivered by the Sue B tournament.
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."