LEBANON VALLEY MIDGET FOOTBALL LEAGUE
CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
LEBANON VALLEY MIDGET FOOTBALL LEAGUE CONSTITUTION
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 1
Name and object
1) The name of this organization shall be the Lebanon Valley Midget Football League
2) The object of this league shall be to set up a program of supervised football for boys with the following objectives in mind:
a) To acquaint the boys with the fundamentals of the game.
b) To teach, through the game Sportsmanship.
c) To promote safe play, by encouraging boys to play only in their own weight and age division.
ARTICLE 2
Membership
1) The Lebanon Valley Midget Football League shall consist of the following teams.
a) Annville
b) CQM
c) Central Dauphin
d) Ebenezer
e) Hershey
f) Hummelstown
g) Myerstown
h) Lebanon-Friendship
i) Northern Lebanon
j) Palmyra
2) Six affirmative votes are required to accept a new team; each team is entitled to 1 vote, provided applications of new members have been presented at a previous meeting.
ARTICLE 3
Officers
1) The officers of the league shall consist of:
a) President
b) Vice President
c) Secretary
d) Treasurer
2) Nomination shall be presented annually at the last meeting by the nominating committee at which time elections shall also take place.
3) Only head coaches (midget or pony) will be allowed to express the feelings of their respective teams.
4) Elected officers to take office January 1 of ensuing year.
5) President may serve unlimited number of terms.
ARTICLE 4
Duties of Officers
1) President - It shall be his duty to call and preside at all meetings, appoint all committees of which he will be an Ex-Official member, cast the deciding vote in cases of ties in balloting, and to preside at official weigh-in of players
2) Vice President- it shall be his duty to assist the president in conducting the meetings and carrying out his duties and to preside at meetings in case of the President's absence.
3) Secretary- It shall be his duty to record the minutes of all meetings, send out communications" and notices on direction of the President, and to keep the standings of the league.
4) Treasurer- Two signatures will be necessary, the treasurer and the President, for checks issued by the league. It shall be his duty to collect and deposit all monies of the league in a special league account and to issue a report at the regular meetings. Also, there will be a yearly audit 60 days within the close of the season.
a) For his own protection shall be bonded for $200 with the bonding cost to be paid by the league.
ARTICLE 5
Meetings
1) The league shall hold regular meetings on the last Wednesday in July and the first Wednesday in September and November.
2) At a regular or special meeting, the President or Vice-President and six member teams shall constitute a quorum to transact the business of the league.
3) President or Vice-President may not be included as a member
team.
4) Other meetings will be held at the call of the President.
5) Order of meetings:
a) Call to order, Roll of teams
b) Reading of minutes
c) Treasurer's report
d) Committee reports
e) Communications
f) Unfinished business
g) New business
h) Adjourn
ARTICLE 6
Committees
1) The President shall appoint the following committees:
a) Grievance Committee, to consist of all disinterested head coaches, the duties of this committee shall be to arbitrate all league disputes which cannot be solved by majority vote at a regularly scheduled or specially scheduled meeting.
b) Weigh-In Committee, whose duties shall be:
i) To check weights, birth certificates, parental consent forms, and proof of physical examination of each player.
ii) If Doctor’s signature is on roster it must note the number of boys examined.
c) Schedule Committee
d) Trophy Committee
e) By-law Committee
f) Insurance Committee
g) Nominating Committee
h) Publicity Committee
i) Auditing Committee
i) Acceptable forms for proof of birth shall be Birth Certificate, Registration of Birth, Certificate, of Birth, Hospital Certificate with seal.
ARTICLE 7
Amendments
1) Any article of the Constitution and Bylaws may be amended or repealed or a new article adopted by a Two-thirds vote of the members present, provided that notice of the proposed amendment or repeal shall have been given at the last previous meeting of the league. An article or bylaw can only be brought up for a vote once a year. Members shall be notified. No more than one meeting can be held on any called meeting night.
ARTICLE 8
Effective Date
1) This Constitution and Bylaws shall be effective immediately upon its adoptions by the league and will supersede any other league rules.
2) (REVISED 6/06/2012).
Constitution Revision Date: 6/06/2012 3
LEBANON VALLEY MIDGET FOOTBALL LEAGUE BY-LAWS
BY-LAWS
ARTICLE 1
Players
1) Players to be eligible to compete in the Lebanon Valley Midget Football League must:
a) Age
i) Between the ages of seven (7) and twelve (12). The age shall be determined as of August 31st. Example, a boy can become 13 on September 1st and be eligible.
b) Weight
i) Weigh not more than 145 pounds stripped at Weigh-In. Teams to be weighed-in at suitable place before the start of the season on a scale approved by Weigh-in Committee. All boys 130 pounds or more shall be reweighed on the Thursday following the sixth week and shall be allowed to weigh no more than 145 pounds. If a player exceeds 145 pounds at mid-season weigh-in, they shall be eliminated for the remainder of the season. Any player between 145 and 150 for midgets and 120 and 125 for ponies can reweigh on week 3 and 6 to see if they are eligible.
c) Parental consent
i) Have written consent of his or her parent or Guardian to play. This form should accompany him at weigh-in.
d) Physical Examination
i) Have proof of passing a physical examination by a certified physician. This form should accompany him or her at weigh-in.
e) Insurance
i) Proof of insurance must be presented by each team at weigh-in and one copy must be given to the league.
f) All eligible players(amended 7/17/13)
i) Present a Birth Certificate, Record of Birth, or Certificate of Birth at weigh-in.
ARTICLE 2
Weigh-In
1) Only the head coach and one asst. will be allowed in the weigh-in building with their team.
2) Players will not be subject to any abnormal procedures during weigh-in to lose weight.
3) No unauthorized personnel will be allowed in the building during weigh-in.
4) Only one team will be allowed in the building at a time. One team will consist of a midget team and a pony team. The head coach and asst. will make sure that their team enters and leaves the building in an orderly and quiet manner.
5) The head coach is responsible for having his team at the weigh-in site on time.
6) Uniforms for weigh-in will be game shirt and shorts or sweat pants.
7) Players will only be weighed one time.
8) A team failing to show up for weigh-in at the assigned time or the assigned night will be fined $50 and will be weighed-in the following night and the weight will be 3 Lbs. under the original setting.
9) The weigh-in for all midget and pony teams will be Wednesday before the first scheduled league game.
10) Each team will be allowed 15 minutes for weigh-in.
11) Scales should be calibrated before use and okayed by the weigh-in committee.
12) Scales will be set for the proper weight and not deviated. Any player failing to make this weight will be ineligible to participate in the league.
13) Any player not present at weigh-in, a discussion will be held and a vote of all the head coaches at the meeting following weigh-in on the eligibility of the player. Each player will be discussed and voted on separately.
14) Any player not having the proper certificate or parent consent form will present that form to the head coach of the opposing team before the start of the first league game.
15) Second weigh-in will be Wednesday after the forth league game. At that time the scale will be set at 145 pounds. Any player failing this weight will be ineligible for the rest of the season.
ARTICLE 3
Rosters
1) Twenty copies of each team roster will be presented at the weigh-in. There will be a separate roster for midget and pony teams.
2) Rosters will contain the following;
a) Name
b) Address
c) Age
d) Date of birth
e) Jersey number or numbers
3) Applicants absent from weigh-in due to illness or other causes will be handled in the same manner as Article 2, Section 13.
4) Rosters shall consist of no less than 18 or no more than 45 players.
5) Division of players is to be as follows:
a) 12 year olds, maximum 21 players
i) All 12 year olds over the 21 player limit must be cut by the Friday before weigh-ins.
b) And 24 players 11 year old and under
6) The league shall not be held liable for any player participating on any league team who is not on that team roster. Only players on each team roster shall be suited for league games.
ARTICLE 4
Equipment
1) The following equipment must be provided for each player: All equipment must be NOCSAEE approved.
a) Helmet with face guard (NOCSAE approved)
b) Jersey with number
c) Football pants with proper hip and thigh pads
d) Shoulder pads
e) Footwear of canvas or leather top with cleats. No metal detachable cleats(amended 7/15/13)
f) Mouthpiece (to be provided by player)
2) Football (Midget - Wilson TDY) (Pony - Wilson K-2)
ARTICLE 5
Eligibility
1) Any player for one team will be ineligible to play for another team during the same season.
2) Any player changing teams between the end of one season and the beginning of another must secure written permission from the head coach and sponsor of his original team, and present it to the head coach of his new team before the first suited practice. This written permission must also be shown at weigh-in.
3) Any player not on a team roster from the previous season will be classified as a new eligible player.
4) All new players from the Lebanon School District must play for the Lebanon-Friendship Chiefs, unless released by them.
ARTICLE 6
Fields
1) Size
a) 80 X 40 Yards with 10 yard end zones at each end of the field. Yard markers must be provided.
b) Those teams which use a 100 X 53.3 (regulation high school) yard field may do so without reducing the size to the dimensions indicated in Article 6, section 1a.
2) Goal Posts
a) Maximum of 20 feet, minimum of 7 feet high, width To be between 12'6" and 1S'6*. (optional)
3) Field markings
a) Field should be lined with at least 10 yard markings.
b) The 35-yard lines shall also be provided for kickoffs.
c) Inbound marks shall also be 15 yards from sidelines.
d) Also, 15 yard lines and 5-yard lines shall be marked.
4) Sideline markings
a) Must be kept 5 yards away from sidelines.
5) Spectators must be kept at a minimum of 1 yard away from the Sideline markings. A rope or chain running the length of the Field will be provided for this purpose.
6) Any discrepancies in this article must be brought to the attention of the home team coach 30 minutes before starting the game. All these requirements must be met or the game will be forfeited 30 minutes after the kickoff time.
ARTICLE 7
Game Rules
1) Length of game
a) Shall be 32 minutes divided into four periods of 8 minutes each with a 1 minute break between the 1st and 2nd periods and between the 3rd and 4th periods.
b) Half-time intermission shall be 15 minutes unless changed by mutual agreement.
2) Officials
a) At least 4 PIAA officials or local chapter approved substitutes must be provided for each game.
b) Payment of the officials is the responsibility of the home team.
3) Penalties
a) 15 and 5-yard penalties shall be reduced to 10 and 5 yards.
4) Kick-off
a) A kick-off going out of bounds will be placed on the 25-yard line, and into the end zone it will be placed on the 15 yard line.
5) Point after touchdown (PAT)
a) Ball to be placed on the 2 yard line and count 1 point.
b) For 2 point play, ball is placed on the 5 yard line.
6) All other rules shall follow PIAA playing rules, except for yearly renewal of NCC3AE SEAL on helmets.
7) All helmets purchased in. the future must be MQCSAE approved at the time of purchase.
ARTICLE 8
Finances
1) Annual operating expenses shall be $30.00 per team league fee and $50.00 All Star fee to cover T-shirts.
2) Character Bond of $25.00 must be deposited with the Treasurer before the opening of the season. Bond to be returned upon withdrawal of team from the league after any assessment of fines has been deducted. Bond must be kept at $25 level.
3) Transportation, meals, and medical expenses are to be the responsibility of the individual teams.
4) All teams shall carry a minimum of $5,000 Medical and $2,000 Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance.
ARTICLE 9
Schedule
1) Regular season to begin on the Sunday following Labor Day.
2) Practice may start on a date agreed upon by majority vote.
3) Standings to be determined on a point system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss, indefinite postponement, or cancelled game.
4) Each team will be given a total of 250 schedules. Additional Schedules may be purchased at $20 each for 250.
5) Rotating schedule changing yearly by moving up numbers drawn in.
a) Team numbers are as follows:
i) CQM
ii) Annville