NORTHERN AREA JUNIOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE
CONSTITUTION [(]
ARTICLE 1
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this organization shall be to implant in the youths of the League the ideals of good sportsmanship so that they may become finer, stronger, and happier youths and will grow to be good, clean and healthy young adults. This objective will be achieved by providing supervised competitive football and cheerleading games. The supervisors shall bear in mind that the attainment of exceptional athletic skill or the winning of games or competitions is secondary, and the molding of future adults is of prime importance.
ARTICLE 2
ADMISSION TO THE LEAGUE
Section 1 Teams that are representative of a school district shall be eligible to make application for membership in the Northern Area Junior Football League (“League”). Members of teams must reside within the local school district in order to be eligible to play for that team. If a particular school district does not sponsor any youth football team in the League, residents of that district may, upon League approval, be eligible to play for an adjoining district’s team. Any exceptions must be approved by the League at a meeting of the organization.
Section 2 New applicants seeking admission to the League shall be voted on by the total membership present at the meeting. The vote of a simple majority of the League members present at that meeting is needed for acceptance. A 2 calendar-year probation must be served before a team shall become a full time member of the League. During the first full year of probation, a newly admitted team shall not have any League voting rights. No representative of a newly admitted team shall serve as an officer or director of the League until after his or her team has satisfactorily completed the 2 year probationary period.
Section 3 All newly admitted teams shall be required to pay to the League a non-refundable initiation fee of $100.00.
Section 4 In addition to the initiation fee set forth in Section 3, all newly admitted teams shall also be required to make payment to the League of a good faith deposit of one hundred dollars ($100.00) at the time of acceptance, which shall be held in the League’s general account. Provided a team is in good standing at the time, this good faith deposit shall be refunded upon that team’s withdrawal from the League.
ARTICLE 3
MEETINGS
Section 1 Unless otherwise directed by the League, regular meetings will be held on the second (2nd) Thursday of each month beginning with the annual meeting in March and concluding with the November meeting. There will be no calls to remind teams of these meetings.
Section 2 Special meetings may be called by the League President at any time or upon written request of at least three (3) individual teams. Whenever possible, the League President shall provide at least forty-eight (48) hours advance notice of any special meeting.
Section 3 Any team not represented at a duly scheduled meeting shall be assessed a fine of one-hundred dollars ($100.00). This fine will be paid to the League. Each team must pay in full for all meal reservations given at previous meeting. Reservations cannot be cancelled.
Section 4 Each team present shall be entitled to one vote at all League meetings. Except in the case of a tie-breaker (Section 6), League officers shall not vote on League issues.
Section 5 Once voted upon, a decision is final for the rest of the calendar year.
Section 6 Majority rules in a vote. If a vote ends in a tie, the League President or, in his or her absence, the Vice President, will break the tie.
Section 7 No official meeting shall take place unless a quorum of both the League teams and officers is present. A quorum shall be a minimum of 51% of the teams in the League as well as at least 2 League officials.
Section 8 No alcohol will be allowed at any League meetings.
ARTICLE 4
AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
Amendments to this Constitution or the League’s By-laws may be made at a duly constituted League meeting conducted prior to the start of the opening or after the official closing of a current season. Amendments must pass by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the members present and voting provided that formal notice of the proposed amendments has been given at a previous regular meeting. Amendments must pass at three (3) consecutive monthly meetings, by at least a 3/4 vote, and be in place prior to the start of the season in order to be effective for that season. Playing rule changes need only pass once to be effective, but playing rules can only be changed once per year.
AMENDED AND RESTATED
BY-LAWS [(]
ARTICLE 1
OFFICERS
SECTION 1 The officers of this League shall be as follows:
a. President
b. Vice President
c. Secretary
d. Treasurer
e. Chairperson of Publicity
f. Commissioner of Officials (appointed not administrative)
SECTION 2 Each office shall be held for a one year term. Nominations for League officers shall be accepted each year at the November meeting and elections will be held each year at the annual meeting in March.
SECTION 3 Any vacancies which may exist before the annual elections shall be filled by a vote of the League at a regular meeting or a special meeting called for that purpose.
ARTICLE 2
DUTIES OF OFFICERS
SECTION 1 The President shall:
a. Preside over all meetings of the League.
b. Appoint the chairman of any committee.
c. Plan the meetings and activities of the League.
d. Represent the League, or appoint a representative to do so, at area meetings or other events where it is in the best interests of the League to participate.
e. Serve as an ex-official member of all committees, with the exception of the Nominating Committee.
f. Serve as the tiebreaker in the event of any votes.
SECTION 2 The Vice President shall:
a. Conduct meetings in the absence of the President and, in that event only, serve as the tiebreaker of any votes.
b. Serve as a special assistant to the President with the member teams.
SECTION 3 The Secretary shall:
a. Maintain a record of all proceedings of the League and shall read these minutes at the next meeting.
b. Provide each team representative with a copy of the minutes following that meeting.
SECTION 4 The Treasurer shall:
a. Take receipt of all monies from the Secretary and deposit it in the League account.
b. Pay all bills by check as directed by members.
c. Provide the League members with a formal written accounting of all League receipts, deposits and disbursements during the course of the year. This annual accounting shall be distributed to all League members and officers at or before the next year’s April meeting.
SECTION 5 Chairperson of Publicity shall:
a. Send scores to newspapers and post on the League website.
b. Send scores and rankings to each organization in a timely manner.
c. Keep records for scheduling.
SECTION 6 The Commissioner of Officials shall:
a. Appoint three (3) officials for each game if possible.
b. Inform League officials and teams of any rule change.
ARTICLE 3
PRACTICES AND GAMES
SECTION 1 PRACTICES
a. The first official practice for all League teams shall be July 22nd.
b. After the first game of each season, teams are allowed only four (4) days of practice during the week (i.e., Monday through Saturday). No more than three (3) practices, however, can be full pads. If a team practices a fourth time in a given week, at least one of that week’s practices must be helmets and spikes only. No Sunday practices will be allowed.
SECTION 2 GAMES
a. Teams are limited to one regularly scheduled game per weekend. Whether games are played on Saturday evening or Sunday will be determined by the home team. For Saturday evening games, the C game must start at 5:30 p.m. For Sunday games, the C game must start no earlier than 12:00 noon or later than 1:00 p.m. Any exceptions to these starting times must be approved by both teams and the League. Make-up games will be determined by League. With the exception of tiebreaker games to determine playoff spots, no regularly scheduled games will take place on school nights.
b. If all games on a given day are to be cancelled due to the weather, it is the home team’s responsibility to notify the Commissioner of Officials and the opposing team at least three (3) hours before the start of the C game. Weather cancellations after the start of the C game will be made as soon as it is clear that continued play may pose a risk to players, participants and/or spectators. Absent compelling circumstances, any home team which fails to provide such notice shall, at a minimum, bear the sole costs for the officials for each cancelled game and may, if the League deems it appropriate, either forfeit a game which is cancelled on less than 3 hours notice or forfeit home field advantage for such a game in the case it is rescheduled.
c. All teams are required to play ALL SCHEDULED GAMES. If for any reason a team cannot field a squad, at last 48 hours notice must be given by that team to the League, opposing team, and officials. If a team, without providing said notice, fails to either appear for a scheduled game or forfeits a game due to a player shortage, that team shall be fined $250.00 per squad, (i.e., A, B and/or C), which fine shall be paid to the opposing team, and also will pay the entire cost of the referee fees if present at the game. Exceptions to this rule will be considered by the League.
d. Unless otherwise altered by these Bylaws or League action, all games shall be played in accordance with the then-existing P.I.A.A. rules.
e. Pre-season and post season games must be approved by the League.
f. Pre-season scrimmages have no limit per week.
g. Teams are limited to 8 adults per bench, each of whom must be listed on the roster. The head coach of each team is responsible for this bench and seeing that the rule is adhered to and that the assistant coaches comply with the League and P.I.A.A. rules.
h. Length of quarters shall be 8 minutes for all A, B, and C teams. Halftime intermissions shall be 10 minutes unless otherwise agreed to by opposing coaches. There also should be 5 minutes between the C & B and the B & A games.
i. All games ending in tie shall be decided by employing the 10 yard rule set forth in the P.I.A.A. rule book.
j. If, at any point during a game, one team is leading by 28 points or more,
the “mercy rule” shall go into effect and the lock will run continuously
until the game ends.
SECTION 3 ROSTERS
a. Rosters of each organization’s teams (A, B and C teams) must be distributed to the League and all opposing teams at the last meeting before the first game of each season. Extra copies are also to be provided to the League secretary for filing. Rosters must include each player’s number, name, date of birth, and a place for weight. All rosters must be in numerical, not alphabetical, order. In the event a player’s number, for any reason, changes after rosters have been distributed, the League and all opposing teams must first be notified of the number change before that player can wear a jersey bearing the new number in any game. A map for all home games must be also distributed to al opposing teams prior to the start of the season. All coaches and waterboys must be listed on the roster in order to be eligible for a sideline badge or a medal in the Play-offs and/or Superbowl.
b. Organizations not having rosters and maps in at the required time will be fined $50.00 per team (A, B and/or C) by the League;
c. Organizations have until the Friday before the 3rd week of the season to add players or cheerleaders to their rosters and must inform the League secretary and each team of any and all player additions and subtractions as soon as they are made. Roster additions after this date will be permitted only if a player moves into the district after this deadline. Once officially on the roster, players are immediately eligible to play.
d. Any team adding players to a roster or correcting any player information on its original roster after it has been distributed to the League and to other teams shall provide the League and all other teams updated rosters as soon as possible but, in no event, later than the Friday before the third week of the season.
SECTION 4 OFFICIAL BOOK
a. Each organization of the League must have an official book of each team with a separate page (including front and back) for each player consisting of:
1. Player’s individual picture.
2. Copy of his birth certificate.
3. Official League permission slip.
4. Place for official weight and jersey number and set up numerically.
5. Place for the school district residing in on top of form.
b. Players must appear in official book in the order that they appear on the team roster (i.e., in numeric order) for easy identification by opposing team at weigh-ins.
c. Prior to the first game of the season, each page for each player present must be signed by a representative of opposing team with the weight of that player (with or without equipment), even if over the applicable weight limit. Also, the date the official book was signed by a representative of an opposing team must appear on top of the page.