SAINT JOHN SLOPITCH LEAGUE CONSTITUTION

RULES AND BY-LAWS 2022

1. NAME

The League will be known as the Saint John Slopitch League. It will be referred to as the ‘SJSPL’ in the following document.

2. EXECUTIVE

a) The League Executive shall be made up of the following positions:

President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Divisional Directors will be elected, one representative from each division.

b) The Executive and Directors shall be elected, at a time and place set by the Executive, using the following format:

The President and Secretary are elected for two-year terms voted on even number years, ex- 2002-2004
The Vice-President and Treasurer are elected for two-year terms voted on odd number years, ex- 2003-2005
Directors elected yearly from each division of SJSPL.

c) The Executive will deal with the business activities of SJSPL between League meetings.

d) Current Executive shall submit a list of potential candidates for the vacant Executive positions, at the first general meeting of the season. Then additional names can be nominated from floor.

3. LEAGUE STRUCTURE

a) Registration fees shall be payable to the Saint John Slopitch League.

Amount will be determined at the first general meeting of each season. Subject to change, based on final operating costs for fields and equipment.
All teams must also pay a $70 performance bond, to be used to cover team fines, if necessary. If a team leaves the league, any monies owed will be refunded.
These fees will be collected by the deadline date set at the first general meeting. This final deadline shall be at the monthly league meeting in June.
Any team failing to submit their monies on the date set will be subject to expulsion from the League.
All monies collected shall remain in the SJSPL account; monies collected will not be returned to any team which drops out of the SJSPL for any reason.
The Executive is responsible for all monies collected and allocated for SJSPL use. The Executive is responsible for all monies entrusted to their care.
All members of the Executive shall be signing officers for the SJSPL bank account, with two signatures required for check endorsements.

b) The SJSPL will pay the City of Saint John field fees, awards costs, registration, and insurance fees to NSA or SPN.

The SJSPL Statistician will be paid in three equal payments, as determined by the Executive.

Duties of the League statistician shall include:

Maintaining up to date records of all teams wins, losses and ties and posting SJSPL standings weekly.
Scheduling of rainout and playoff games by contacting the city recreation officials to obtain field time and notifying teams.
Contacting the Umpire Assigning Officer for rescheduled games, playoffs or any cancelled games.

c) A schedule will be created by the SJSPL Statistician and distributed to each team’s representative. The representatives will be responsible to ensure each of their players receives a copy of the schedule.

4. LEAGUE DIVISIONS

a) The Saint John Slopitch League will be made up of four divisions, as determined at the beginning of each season:

A Division

B Division

C Division

D Division

Expansion of divisions may be added at the discretion of the league membership and executive committee.

The divisional alignments will be determined by the League Executive based on previous year’s results and team rosters.

b) The bottom two teams of the A, B and C Division’s regular season final standings, will drop to divisions B, C and D respectively the following season.

The only exceptions to this rule will be determined by the League executive on a case-by-case basis, if they serve the best interest of the league.

c) The B, C & D Division’s playoff champions and regular season champions move up to divisions A, B & C, respectively, the following season. If the playoff champion and regular season champion are the same, then the division playoff finalists will move up.

The only exceptions to this rule will be determined by the League executive on a case-by-case basis, if they serve the best interest of the league.

d) In the event that one or both of the top two teams from divisions B, C & D at the end of the regular season do not have a team the following season, the next highest seeded team must move up to divisions A, B & C respectively.

In the event there are vacant positions within divisions A, B & C, they will be filled from the next available teams from the lower divisions B, C & D respectively.
There may be exceptions to the divisional alignment rules, if it is in the best interest of the League, as determined by the Executive.

e) Any new teams entering the SJSPL will play in the D division.

There may be exceptions to this rule, if it serves the best interest of the League, as determined by the Executive.

f) New teams entering the league must submit a roster to the league by the 2nd League meeting of season.

Once Roster is submitted it is considered FROZEN.
New teams cannot pick-up players for ANY games during the season, unless explicitly approved by Executive.
New teams cannot add players to their roster, unless explicitly approved by Executive.

5. TEAMS

a) All teams will be allowed to register a maximum of 24 players to their roster.

b) All players must be 16 years old when Rosters are due June 15th.

If Under 18, players must wear a helmet while batting or running the bases
If Under 18, players are to not play the infield (1st, 2nd, SS, 3rd) without a face mask.

c) All teams must be registered by the date set by the League Executive.

d) A preliminary player roster must be submitted to the SJSPL Executive at the first annual meeting.

e) A player may only sign with one team and no player can change teams after a team’s final registration list is submitted to the SJSPL Executive.

f) Final team rosters must be submitted to the Executive by a date set by NSA or SPN, and the City of Saint John.

The League Executive will provide each team with an official League roster form from NSA or SPN.
Roster sheets MUST be filled out completely (PRINTED CLEARLY), including full names, full address (including Postal Code), Date of Birth and Signature.
Teams will be given 1 Days Grace to submit completed Roster sheet. Failure to Submit rosters by deadline (after days grace), will result in a $5 per day fine.
Final rosters will be handed out by the Executive to team representatives two weeks later and posted to the league website.
No additions can be made after the deadline, unless approved by the SJSPL Executive. Reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
New Teams – See Section 4.f

g) Teams using ineligible or non-registered player(s) will automatically forfeit all games in which that player(s) participated.

h) A franchise must register a minimum of nine returning players from the previous year’s team or they shall be considered a new team.

A returning franchise may be granted one and only one franchise in the following year.
In the event of a franchise splitting, the franchise will be granted to the team with the majority of returning players.
In the case of a tie, the Executive will make the final decision.
Teams will not be considered a new team if they change their sponsor.

i) All teams, players, coaches, managers, etc. must adhere strictly to the SJSPL’s Code of Conduct. (to be determined)

Each team representative will be provided a copy of the SJSPL Code of Conduct to review with their players prior to the start of the season.
Suspensions and fines in the Code of Conduct are minimum penalties and may be extended at the discretion of the Discipline Committee. (to be determined)

j) Teams violating the SJSPL constitution are subject to review and could result in disciplinary actions deemed necessary by the Executive.

k) Should a player/coach (team) be ejected from a game by an umpire for any reason they will receive an automatic 1 game suspension.

Additional discipline (fines, further games, etc) is at the discretion of the League Executive and/or Discipline Committee.

l) A player must play eight League games of the current season, with the team he is registered with, to be eligible for playoffs.

A member of the League Executive must be contacted at the time a player is injured if it will result in the player missing games.
If this player's injury will result in missing two or more weeks of playing, a doctor's report must be submitted to the League Executive.
Also, should a player be unable to play due to an extended absence from the City during the season (i.e. temporary transfer, work training, etc.), a League Executive member must be contacted prior to the absence in order to be granted credit for those games missed.

m) The SJSPL, to assist with team attendance problems and to promote the league to new players, will use a league ‘spare’ list.

It is an official roster/team added to NSA or SPN’s insurance plan, with the league acronym as the team name.
All players added to this roster will be insured under the governing association (NSA or SPN).
Team would be made up of new players to the league who have not secured a place to play, or of players who cannot commit to a full-time schedule.
Cost would be $10 per player to register, and $5 paid to the respective team representative for each game played.
These players can be used by any team in the SJSPL, for any regular season game where they are unable to field 10 players.
These players are not eligible for playoffs. Violation of this clause will be subject to disciplinary action.
These players are here to assist with attendance problems due to injuries, vacations, player loss, etc.
They are not to be used in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage. If the league suspects this is happening, it will be investigated, and disciplinary action may follow.
The maximum number of games a player can play with any one team is 3 games.
Any player, if they agree, can be removed from the SJSPL roster and added to a team’s roster prior to the SJSPL’s final signing deadline.

6. LEAGUE PLAY

a) All games will be nine innings or one hour and thirty minutes; whichever comes first.

Five innings completed is considered an official game.
If only half an inning is completed, the score reverts back to the completion of the previous inning.
No inning shall begin with ten minutes or less remaining in scheduled time.
The home plate Umpire dictates official time.
A league approved 'strike mat' shall be used during all league games. Any legally pitched ball that lands on the mat shall be called a strike providing the proper arc of height (6ft to 12ft) is observed.
There shall be a fifteen-minute grace period at the start of the game if one team does not have enough players to begin.
This grace period is deducted from the scheduled time for the game.

b) Wins are worth two points and ties are worth one point in the League standings. If time permits, ties are to be broken.

c) Umpire's line-up cards will be used by all teams in the SJSPL.

All players’ full names are required on the line-up card.

d) It will be the responsibility of the home team to provide:

One complete set of bases which includes the ‘double base' to be used at first base.
One NEW league approved softball will be supplied by the home team.
Visiting team must also supply one used league approved softball, acceptable by the Umpire for use as a second ball.

e) All divisions will use registered Umpires and all teams in the SJSPL are to be registered with SPN or NSA.

f) The Umpire is the sole person responsible for calling the game due to darkness, rain, field conditions, curfews or any other reason.

g) A team must field a minimum of eight players to begin a game. When 8 players are present, the game must begin.

h) If a team fails to field eight players for a game they shall:

Forfeit the game; counted as an opposing team win.
Pay both teams’ umpire fees for that game, from their performance bond.
Three defaults/forfeits during a season will result in suspension from the League.

i) It will be the responsibility of the winning team, or in the case of a tie game, the home team to contact the SJSPL with the results of the game by sending score in via the REPORT SCORE option on the SJSPL website (www.saintjohnslopitch.ca) NO LATER THAN NOON the day following game. If fogged out or game called by Umpire, home team must notify statistician.

Scores reported by other means will not be considered official and teams shall still be subject to fine defined in Section 6j.

j) If the SJSPL does not receive the score by 2:00 am after the completion of the game in question, the responsible team will be fined $20 for 1st offence, and this will double for each subsequent offence. ($40 for 2nd, $60 for 3rd, etc)

k) If a team is up by fifteen runs after seven innings the game shall be halted. This is the SJSPL’s mercy rule.

l) Each team shall receive a scorebook provided by the SJSPL.

Team’s scorebooks are subject to inspection by the League Executive at any time to determine player eligibility for the playoffs.
Each team must keep a record of players playing for the visiting and home teams.

m) All players on a team shall wear sweaters alike in color, trim and style by June fifteenth of the current year.

Teams are expected to comply with this as closely as possible.
Players should wear appropriate softball attire when participating in League games. (ex – no jeans or hoodies)

n) Cleats with metal spikes cannot be worn during SJSPL games.

o) Rainouts will be rescheduled by the League Statistician with seventy-two hours’ notice to both teams involved.

Rescheduled games cannot be cancelled.

p) A maximum of two regular season games may be postponed at the request of a team, as long as 6 Days (144 hours) notice is given to the League Statistician prior to the scheduled game’s start time.

The League Statistician will decide when the game will be rescheduled.
Provincial tournament play exempts this ruling.
After two postponements, any game a team cancels is considered a forfeited game and is subject to the penalties applicable.
Playoff games cannot be cancelled or postponed.

q) A team that defaults a game will pay both teams’ umpire fees for that game from their performance bond.

This amount must be repaid to League Treasurer to replenish their performance bond prior to the team's next scheduled game.

r) Teams belonging to SJSPL may participate in tournament games without permission of SJSPL Executive.

s) All teams in each division will play the same number of games.

t) NSA or SPN Rules will apply for all games, unless overruled by the SJSPL Constitution (depending on which insurance has been selected by League Vote)

u) During a game, if a player becomes unable to continue to play due to injury or illness, and that player's team has no substitute on the bench to take his place, then the team shall be permitted to continue to play so long as it still has at least eight players on the field.

The team’s batting order shall remain unchanged, except that the injured player’s position will be skipped and the next batter in the order will hit.

v) A batter may be allowed a courtesy runner if he is unable to run due to a legitimate injury or physical condition.

The need for a courtesy runner must be announced to the umpire before the beginning of the game.
A team will be allowed to request up to two courtesy runners prior to the game.
Should there be additional requirements for a courtesy runner due to injuries sustained during the game; this will be allowed only at the discretion of the umpire.
A courtesy runner is designated as the last out for that team.
The runner is only allowed to go to first base, except on ground rule doubles, home runs, or over throws to first base that the umpire rules the ball out of play.

Each team may use a maximum of three designated runners during each game and no runner will be allowed to run twice during the game.

Players that hit a home runs over the fence have the option to run out the home run or simply return to the dugout. This same rule applies for any Runners on base at the time of the home run.

y) If a team starts a game with eight players, and during the fifteen minutes of grace, another player/players show up, he/they will be allowed to play under the following conditions:

The player(s) must be listed on the line-up card.
The player(s) will bat in the last position(s) of the batting order.
Team must not go through the entire batting line-up prior to player(s) arrival.

z) The league will use a one umpire system for the regular season and a two-umpire system for the playoffs.

za) A team may insert up to five additional players into its lineup. The batting order must remain constant; however, any 10 players can take a defensive position throughout the game.

zb) The “Plus 2” home run rule is in effect for all regular season and playoff games excluding games played at the Stephenson Field.

There is no homerun rule in effect on the Stephenson Field.

One team is not allowed to have more than two more home runs than the opposing team at any point during any single game (excluding games played at the Stephenson Field).
Any home run that would otherwise put a team three or more home runs ahead of the opposition at any point during a game is considered an out (excluding games played at the Stephenson Field).
Any home run made using an approved wooden bat will be exempt from the 2 Up rule at any league venue.

zc) A foul tip directly back to the catcher that is caught legally shall be an out, regardless of ball trajectory (height, etc.)

zd) A Division (Premium Dry Division) shall start hitters with a 1-1 count.

7. PROTESTS

a) All protests must be made within forty-eight hours of the conclusion of the game in question and must be presented in writing to a member of the League Executive.

A check for fifteen dollars must be attached to the protest. This money will be returned to the team if the protest is found to be justified.
If the protest is lost the fee is deposited to the League’s bank account.
Protests will be forwarded to the Discipline Committee for a decision.

b) The Discipline/Protest Committee will consist of the Divisional Directors and the Vice President of the League, who shall chair the committee.

This committee (Divisional Directors) will be selected by executive based upon individuals offer their services.
This committee shall decide upon the validity of the protest.

c) The Executive Committee reserves the right to refuse team names it feels inappropriate or offensive.

8. PLAYOFFS

a) In the event of a tie at the completion of the regular schedule, the following Tie Breaker System will be used by the League Executive to decide final League Standings:

The team with the most regular season wins would be seeded first.
If a tie still exists, the team having the most wins in the head-to-head series between the two teams would be seeded first.
If a tie still exists, a one game playoff will determine the final standings.

b) Currently all teams in each division make the playoffs.

c) Divisional Playoff format will be determined by the Executive.

d) First Round playoffs are best of five series’, all other rounds are best of five series’, except the divisional Finals, which are best of seven series’, time permitting.

The number of games in each round may be amended depending on the number of teams and field time available.

e) The overall Championship will be determined by the Executive, based on field time remaining.

f) No games can be cancelled in the playoffs, by the scheduled teams.

g) In order to play a playoff game, the players must meet the following criteria:

Be signed on the team roster.
Not be serving a suspension by the League or any governing softball association.
Have played in at least eight regular season League games with the team on which his name appears on the final roster unless excused by the Directors Committee.
Must meet all other player eligibility rules as stated in this Constitution

h) There will be no ties in the playoffs.

Extra innings will be played if time permits.
The game will be replayed if necessary.

9. LEAGUE MEETINGS

a) League meetings to be scheduled by the Executive as necessary.

b) Each team may have two representatives at each meeting but may only cast one vote. To cast a vote, a team must have at least one representative present.

Failure to attend any two meetings will result in a team being fined $40, to be paid from its performance bond. Teams must then pay an additional forty dollars to their performance bond.
Failure to comply means further action could be imposed by Executive in the form of additional fines, or suspension from the League.

c) The four Executive members will not have the right to vote at any such meeting unless team representatives are locked in a tie.

In such a case, one deciding vote will be cast by the Executive and their decision is final.

d) Representation of fifty percent of League’s teams, plus one team and above-mentioned Executive vote (when required) shall constitute a majority.

e) There shall be a League meeting the 2nd Wednesday of each month, May through September, for any topics of discussion.

These dates may be changed at the discretion of the Executive.

10. CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES

a) Proposed changes to the SJSPL constitution must be submitted in writing to the Executive via the league email (saintjohnslopitch@gmail.com). This can be at any time during the season or off season and will be voted on during the next scheduled league meeting.

b) Proposed constitutional received by SJSPL Executive, will be emailed to Team Reps and posted on the league Website ahead of the next meeting to allow teams to discuss.

c) Simple majority is needed to change the constitution and by-laws of SJSPL. Fifty percent of League’s teams, plus one team and above-mentioned Executive vote (when required) shall constitute a majority.

d) Following changes, the revised copy of the Constitution shall be circulated to all teams and the Umpires.

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SAINT JOHN SLOPITCH LEAGUE CONSTITUTION