1.1 The purpose of the Guelph Men's Recreational Slo-Pitch League is to create an opportunity for its members to play recreational slo-pitch in an environment that promotes friendliness and fair play amongst all participants.
1.2 The Guelph Men's Recreational Slo-Pitch League is a non-profit organization.
1.3 The governing bodies will come from within its membership.
Meetings of the Board of Directors:
2.1 The purpose of the meetings will be to conduct all business and affairs of The Guelph Men's Recreational Slo-Pitch League.
2.2 The Board of Directors may meet once a month. The time, date, and place to be decided upon by the League President and included in the minutes mailed out (Electronically or postal) from the previous meeting. If deemed necessary, special meetings may be called by the President.
2.3 The meetings will be chaired by the President or his alternative ( if the President is absent. )
2.4 There must be enough members of the Board of Directors present at these meetings to form a quorum. ( refer to Article 4.2 )
2.5 The Secretary or his alternative will keep accurate minutes of these meetings and they will be mailed out to the Board Members (Electronically or postal) with notice of the next meeting. Also included in these minutes should be any notice of motion held over to the next meeting.
2.6 Reps not on the Board of Directors will attend Board Meetings when specifically invited, or with the approval of the President upon request.
Election of Officers and Directors:
3.1 The Board of Directors will consist of seven persons elected from the team Reps, by the team Reps and shall consist of four Officers and three Directors. For the purpose of this Article, the term Officers will refer to: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The immediate Past President will act in an ex officio capacity and is eligible to attend all meetings but not in any voting capacity.
3.2 Elections for these seven positions will be held at the October meeting of the Reps. They will be conducted in the order of: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Directors. Anyone defeated in one election may run again for a remaining position.
3.3 Team Reps wishing to stand for office must be nominated for the said position. If there is more than one candidate it will be necessary to conduct a vote. This will be done by having the candidates step outside the meeting room and a show of hands for each candidate will determine the outcome, or by a secret ballot if requested by at least two Reps.
3.4 The winners of the elections for the positions outlined in Article 3.1 will become the Board of Directors and hold office until the elections the following year. At this time they are entitled to run for office again.
3.5 The elections will be chaired by the President except for when the President is running for one of the Officer positions. In such case one of the other current Officers will take over the chair until the President has completed his bid for office.
3.6 The newly elected Board of Directors will begin their term of office at the November meeting for a period of one year.
3.7 Should an Officer of the league vacate the position during the season an election will be held to replace him as soon as possible as per Article 3.3.
Democratic Control:
4.1 To maintain democratic control of the League it will be necessary to have enough members of the Board of Directors in attendance to form a quorum, to make the meeting official.
4.2 For the purpose of conducting business according to this document a quorum shall be a turnout of greater than 50% of the Board of Directors unless otherwise stated.
4.3 For the purpose of passing a motion, a vote of greater than 50% in favor of the motion must be achieved.
4.4 If deemed necessary by the Board of Directors any issue essential to the welfare of the League, may be referred to a referendum vote of all members of the League. This vote will become the responsibility of the Board of Directors to arrange.
4.5 If a member of the Board of Directors wishes, he may ask to have a notice of motion deferred to the next monthly meeting. This may be done to allow for greater discussion or research, or for more of Board of Directors to attend the next meeting for input. The motion would then be included in the minutes of the meeting to be mailed out. This type of request will require two seconders.
4.6 Any member of the Board of Directors may at any time request that a vote on a notice of motion be conducted by secret ballot. The President will count the ballots with at least one witness.
4.7 For the purpose of breaking tie votes, the League President gets a second casting vote. He will then cast his vote thus breaking the tie. If the meeting is being chaired by an alternate, the alternate will cast the second vote.
4.8 For the purpose of any changes or amendments to the Constitution of the Guelph Men's Recreational Slo-Pitch League by the Board of Directors, a notice of motion will be inserted in the minutes and mailed out to the Team Reps Thirty (30) days prior of said motion.
Duties of the Team Reps:
5.1 The purpose of the team Rep is to represent the members of his team. His duties and responsibilities are as follows.
5.2 Attend meetings of the League Executive as required.
5.3 Be willing to volunteer as a committee member.
5.4 Accept responsibility for care and control of team equipment as issued by the Equipment Committee.
5.5 Ensure players abide by rules of conduct and fair play.
5.6 Ensure players receive all pertinent information issued by the League.
5.7 Responsible for the set up of the playing field for home games.
5.8 Responsible for the accurate recording of the score and reporting the final score to the Scoring Committee as requested.
5.9 Responsible for making the line up and ensuring that all players play and/or sit equally. ( Article 15.3 and 15.4 )
5.10 Ensure that all players on the team get to vote for the new Reps when a list is made available by the Vice President.
5.11 Responsible for accurate rating of players for the Registration Committee at year end.
5.12 Canvas players and notify Vice President of volunteers for team Rep election.
5.13 Promote self discipline and harmonious relations of players by setting a proper example.
Election of Team Reps:
6.1 The purpose of the following procedure is to find Reps to replace those resigning. Existing Reps automatically return if they so desire and are exempt from the following election process. The organization and running of the election shall be the responsibility of the Vice President.
6.2 During the month of July the Vice President will ask each existing Rep to canvas his team for volunteers to run for vacant team Rep positions.
6.3 The names of the volunteers should be made available to the Vice President before the regular August meeting.
6.4 The Vice President will make two voting lists, one for Tuesday night League candidates and one for Thursday night League candidates. A copy of these lists will be given to each team Rep for the purpose of voting. Tuesday night League teams will only vote for Tuesday night candidates and Thursday night League teams will only vote for Thursday night League candidates.
6.5 Each player in the League is entitled to vote and will be allowed to vote for up to three candidates on the list.
When the voting is complete the team Rep will return the list/ballot to the Vice President as required.
6.6 The Vice President will count all votes and list the candidates in order of votes received. Note: Tuesday and Thursday night Leagues will each have a separate list. This must be done before the September meeting.
6.7 At the September meeting the Vice President will determine the number of new Reps needed and will appoint them in order of votes received.
6.8 The Vice President will contact the successful candidates as soon as possible to advise them to the fact that they will be required to attend the October meeting. At the October meeting they will be assigned a team and participate in the elections of the Board of Directors and the set up of the League committees.
6.9 In the case of a Rep needing to be replaced during the playing season, the team will be canvassed for a volunteer to assume the Rep's role for the balance of the season only. If the playing season has not begun the new Rep will come from the current list of Rep voting in order of most votes received.
Duties of the President:
7.1 The President shall, when present, preside at all meetings of the Board, the Executive Committee (if any) and members.
7.2 The president shall supervise the affairs and operation of the Corporation, sign all documents requiring his signature and have the other powers and duties from time to time prescribed by the Board or incident to his office. The president will be responsible for providing an agenda for all meetings and arranging facilities.
Duties of the Vice President:
8.1 During the President's absence or inability to act, his duties and powers may be exercised by the Vice President. If the Vice President exercises any one of those duties or powers, the President's absence or inability to act shall be presumed with respect thereto. The Vice President shall also perform the other duties from time to time prescribed by the Board or Executive Committee (if any) or incident to his office. He shall be a signing officer of the Corporation. He shall also be responsible for the election of team Reps.
Duties of the Secretary:
9.1 The secretary shall be clerk for the Board and Executive Committee (if any) and shall attend all meetings of the Board and Executive Committee (if any) to record all facts and minutes of those proceedings in the books kept for that purpose. He shall give all notices required to be given to members and to Directors. He shall be the custodian of the corporate seal of the Corporation and of all books, papers, records, correspondence and documents belonging to the Corporation and shall perform other duties from time to time prescribed by the Board or Executive Committee (if any) or incident to his office.
Duties of the Treasurer:
10.1 The treasurer shall keep full and accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements of the Corporation in proper books of account and shall deposit all monies or other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the Corporation in the bank or banks from time to time designated by the Board or Executive Committee (if any). He shall disburse the funds of the Corporation under the direction of the Board or Executive Committee (if any), taking proper vouchers therefore and shall render to the Board or Executive Committee (if any), whenever required of him, and account for all his transactions as treasurer and of the financial positions of the Corporation. He shall cooperate with the auditors of the Corporation during any audit of the accounts of the Corporation and perform other duties from time to time as prescribed by the Board or Executive Committee (if any) or incident to his office.
10.2 Following the fiscal year end, the Treasurer shall prepare an Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Source and Use of Funds Statement for the Corporation. These statements will be presented to the Board of Directors for their approval and then submitted to the audit committee (article 12.6) to form part of the Corporation's audit.
Duties of the Directors:
11.1 Duties to be assigned by the Board of Directors.
Committees:
12.1 Committees will be needed to be formed to organize and run certain functions of The Guelph Men's Recreational Slo-Pitch League. These may include stags, dinners, dances, picnics, trophies, tournaments, scheduling, elections etc.
With the exception of an audit committee (article 12.6), the number and types of committees will be determined by the Board of Directors.
12.2 The numbers that form these committees will come from the group of team Reps, members of the Board of Directors, or anyone appointed by the Board of Directors.
12.3 From these committees one person will volunteer or be elected Committee Chairman.
12.4 The Committee Chairman will coordinate the efforts of the other members of the committee. It will also be his responsibility to report to the Board of Directors.
12.5 An audit committee will be formed at the first general meeting following the fiscal year end, to hold office until the audit is approved by a general meeting the following year. The audit committee will consist of three team reps, who are not executives or directors of the Corporation. The purpose of the audit committee will be to engage a qualified professional accountant on a volunteer basis to audit the Corporation's financial records and statements or to perform the audit themselves.
Finance:
13.1 For financial purposes the fiscal year will be from November 1st to October 31st.
13.2 Signing authority will be given to the President, Vice President and Treasurer. All cheques will require two signatures of the above three positions.
13.3 All League budgets must be approved by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. Expenses in excess of budgets must be approved by the Board of Directors.
13.4 The League shall not borrow funds of any amount unless a motion is passed by 75% of the entire League Executive. Those voting against a passed motion to borrow will be given an opportunity to resign.
13.5 All elected positions within the League will be on a volunteer basis and will not receive funds from the League.
13.6 An annual audit shall be performed of the Corporation's financial records and statements under the direction of the audit committee (article 12.6). The report of the audit committee shall be presented to a general meeting of team reps for their approval. A copy of the Corporation's audited financial statements will be made available to any member of the Corporation who requests it. Any such request shall be made to the Secretary along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope or fax phone number.
Membership Eligibility:
14.1 Open to men who have attained the age of eligibility as determined by the Board in the current year.
14.2 Applicant must reside in Guelph or nearby communities at time of application.
14.3 Applicants from other cities will only be accepted if there are still openings after Guelph and area applicants have been placed.
14.4 Players reapplying from the previous year are exempt from Article (14.2).
14.5 Players shall be accepted in the following order.
Players returning to same night as previous year.
Players switching night from previous year.
Players on one year leave of absence in order of number of years played.
Players on previous years waiting list in order of last years assigned number.
New players in accordance with Article (14.2)
New players in accordance with Article (14.3
14.6 Players not showing up for three consecutive games without notifying their team Rep may be replaced with a player from the waiting list and no refund will be given.
14.7 Players quitting the League because of injury or other commitments will receive a pro rated refund.
Team Setup and Operation:
15.1 Each team will be assigned 15 players including the team Rep. This will be the responsibility of the Registration Committee and every effort will be made to have all teams of equal ability. There will be no provision to place or not place any player on any team. Random team selections will be final.
15.2 By the end of the second game of the regular season each team will choose a Captain if possible. The duties of the Captain will be to assist the team Rep in the normal operating functions of the team. (i.e. carrying equipment, keeping score, making line ups, putting in the bases, solving minor conflicts, etc. as per Article 5.4 to 5.11).
15.3 Playing time shall be equal for all players. Players, including pitchers shall all sit one inning before anyone sits two innings and so on. All players must be prepared to play different positions in order to allow their teammates equal access to any position.
15.4 Each team will have approximately two pitchers assigned to the team as part of the 15 player team. These pitchers will handle most of the pitching duties but it may be necessary for others to help out. Other players interested in pitching are encouraged to do so by informing their team Rep and he will make the necessary arrangements.
15.5 The onus will be on the player to abide by the rules of conduct and fair play. Failure to do so could result in the offending player being removed from the League.
15.6 Should a player need to be replaced for whatever reason, he must be replaced by the player at the top of the waiting list. This will be done by the Registration Committee and a pro rated charge will apply to the new player.
15.7 Should the team Rep feel that his team may not be able to field 10 players for any scheduled game or games he should contact the matching team rep on the opposite night.
Equipment:
16.1 *The uniforms of the Guelph Men's Slo-Pitch League will consist of a shirt. The shirt will bear the League name and logo in the form of a crest or silk-screen.
16.2 *The shirt will be supplied by the League and the cost will be included in the registration fee. The shirt will belong to the player and is theirs to keep at the end of the season.
16.3 *Players should wear the league issued shirt at every game.
16.4 If a player quits part way through the season he may be asked to return the shirt so that it can be made available to the replacement player. Reimbursement will be included with the refund as per Article 14.7.
16.5 The League will supply each team with balls, bats, bases, plate, hammer, cone(s), measuring rope, equipment bag, and any other items deemed necessary for the operation of the team.
16.6 The responsibility of this equipment will be the team's Rep as per Article 5.4.
16.7 Personal bats brought to a game must be a legal bat as per the League rules and may be used by any player from either team playing that game. The league and/or players will not be liable for any damage done to the bat.
16.8 The Equipment Committee will be responsible for:
Keeping an accurate inventory of all League equipment.
Purchasing any equipment as approved by the League.
Assigning of equipment to team Reps.
Storage of spare equipment.
Maintenance of equipment as needed.
Obtaining equipment from the Reps at the end of the season.
Rules:
17.1 The Guelph Men's Recreational Slo-Pitch League will use Soft Ball Ontario Rules except where otherwise stated by the Rules Committee. These exemptions will be provided in writing to each team Rep before the start of the season.
17.2 All players will be expected to adhere to all League policies and rules of fair play and good conduct. Rules of fair play and good conduct will be provided by the League at the opening stag. Failure to abide by these rules could result in disciplinary action.