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BY-LAWS

OLD DOMINION GIRLS SOFTBALL LEAGUE

BY-LAWS

(Revised 3-2006)

ARTICLE I - NAME

The name of the association shall be the Old Dominion Girls Softball League.

ARTICLE II - PURPOSE

The purpose of the League shall be to foster, develop, promote and regulate girls' amateur softball. To provide proper safeguards in accordance with the spirit of true sportsmanship, to encourage the unification of all girls' amateur softball teams and to advance the cause of girls' amateur softball within the Henrico/Hanover County/New Kent area.

Teams are members of the Amateur Softball Association of America and the United Sates Slo-Pitch Softball Association (USSSA).

ARTICLE III - BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors shall be comprised of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, League Commissioner, Assistant League Commissioner, a Commissioner from each softball Division, and a Representative from each participating association. In addition, each member association may have additional At-Large members so that each league will have a maximum of three (3) votes, in addition to any votes of the officers on the Executive Board. An individual may hold more than one office on the Board but is limited to one vote.

Responsibilities are defined in Addendum I. All Board members, with the exception of the individual Association Representatives, will be elected at the Annual meeting and will begin their terms November 1. Division Commissioners will serve one-year terms.
Vacancies, with the exception of Association Representatives, will be filled in accordance with Article IV of these by-laws. The President shall be from one of the participating Associations.

At-Large positions may be created and filled at the Boards discretion.

ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS

The officers of the league shall be the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, League Commissioner, and Assistant League Commissioner who shall be elected at the annual meeting by the Board of Directors to serve two-year terms beginning and ending on November 1.

Vacancies in Officer or Board positions may be filled at a regular meeting of the Board of Directors, provided that the Secretary furnish all members of the Board with notice of the vacancy not less than ten days prior to the meeting at which such vacancy is to be filled.

An officer of the Board will preside over all official meetings with the order of succession being as follows: President, Vice President, League Commissioner, Assistant League Commissioner and Treasurer. If the President is absent from an official meeting, the presiding officer shall have the same voting restrictions as the President.

ARTICLE V - MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

Section I –Membership

Any athletic or recreational association, church, or similar organization sponsoring girls' youth softball teams shall be eligible for League membership. A letter applying for League membership shall be presented to the Board of Directors for their determination.
As a minimum, the applicant association shall have four (4) teams and an adequate playing facility.

The Board of Directors at a called meeting shall respond to the application with a majority of those present and voting required for approval. Teams become members of the league by paying the required registration fees and assessed annual dues as listed in Section II – Registration Fees and Dues. An organizational member of the league must sponsor teams.

Section II –Registration Fees and Dues

Annual per team registration fees, the amount to be determined by the Board, shall constitute the annual membership dues of each organization. The Board determines registration deadlines. League fees shall be the amount prescribed by ODGSL and are payable to the league with registration fee.

ARTICLE VI - MEETINGS

Section I – Meetings

The Board of Directors shall hold a regular meeting on the third Thursday of each month or on a date determined by the Board at the previous meeting. The Annual-meeting of the league will be held in November. The election of new officers will occur during the
Annual-meeting. The Annual-meeting shall be an open meeting to all associations and team members.

The President may call other meetings of the Board. A situation requiring immediate attention would be called in the President’s absence, following the same order of succession as in Article IV above.

Section II – Voting

For any vote or decision to be recognized, it is required that a minimum 50% of the Board plus one member vote on the matter. The decision on the subject of the vote shall be determined by a majority of those voting. The President may only vote in the event of a tie.

Written notice of a proxy must be presented to the President or the presiding officer prior to allowing someone to vote a proxy on any issue before the Board. Email sent by the member who will be absent is acceptable as written notification. The notice-of-proxy, except for one sent by e-mail, must be signed by the absent Board member and must state if it is all-inclusive or specific to individual issues and the date of the meeting for which it is valid. A proxy is only good for the meeting date specified.

ARTICLE VII - COMMITTEES

There shall be the following standing Committees: Rules,
Scheduling, Nominating, Fall Ball, By-Laws, Concessions, and Opening
Day.
• The vice-president will chair the Opening-Day committee.
• The league commissioner will chair the Scheduling committee.
• The assistant league commissioner will chair the Fall-Ball committee.

Each participating organization should have a representative on each committee. The President shall appoint chairpersons. The standing committees shall have the duties, responsibilities, and powers as prescribed by the Board of Directors and deemed necessary.

Each member of the Board of Directors is expected to participate on at least two Committees.

The President, with the consent of the Board of Directors may appoint special committees as needed.

ARTICLE VIII - PLAYER REGISTRATION / ROSTERS

Section I – Registration

The participating Associations will hold individual player registrations for their organizations. Team registration with ODGSL will be in accordance with the following guidelines:
• Association information (number of teams/division & number of lighted and unlighted fields) must be reported to the League Commissioner no later than the date determined by the Board.
• For a team to be registered with ODGSL their Association Representative must submit a roster to the League Commissioner showing name of coaches/managers with phone numbers and name and playing age of each.
• No team may begin practice or play until they have received notification from their Association Representative that insurance fees have been paid.
• The official ODGSL roster will be that of the League Commissioner.

Section II – Player Roster / Additions

New players may be added up to, and including, the mid-point of the schedule.

Association Representatives will provide the League Commissioner with a copy of the new player’s birth certificate and the team on whose roster she will be added. The League Commissioner will determine eligibility and then notify the League Secretary and then the Association Representative as soon as the player is officially added to the ODGSL roster. The Association Representative will then notify the coach that the player is eligible to play.

Use of an ineligible player will result in forfeiture of all games in which said player participated to include loss of all awarded titles and trophies.

ARTICLE IX-LEAGUE RULES

The league retains the right to establish and maintain eligibility and the rules of play.
Any deviation from rules will be spelled out in the local rules prior to the season.

Section I –Coaches

• The Head Coach of any League team is responsible for the behavior of his/her players and assistant coaches.
• The head coach is required to attend, or designate a team representative to attend, the spring pre-season division meeting.
• The League reserves the right to discipline any Head Coach or Assistant Coach for failure to follow League rules and regulations. This may include probation or suspension.

Section II –Conduct

Any player, manager or coach with a softball team registered with the League will be immediately and permanently suspended for physically assaulting an umpire, official of the League, or any other person associated with the League.

Smoking or the use of any tobacco product by the manager, coach or team player while their game is in play is prohibited.

In accordance with ODGSL pledges, any player, manager or coach of an ODGSL registered team, may be suspended by the Board for abusive, disruptive or un-sportsmanlike behavior. The Board will issue a warning upon the first offense. The second offense will result in removal from one game. The third offense will result in suspension for the rest of the season, including any post season ODGSL sanctioned tournaments.

Notice of the offense must be given to the President as soon as possible to be followed with written notice to the President within 72 hours of the offense. Suspended individuals may be reinstated by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors, except for physical assault, which carries permanent suspension.

Section III –Scores

Each winning coach is required to call in the score of the game to the respective Division Commissioner promptly. Each Division Commissioner will, likewise, notify the League Commissioner weekly of the results. Failure to promptly do so can result in Disciplinary action.

Section IV –Game Re-scheduling

Once approved by the Scheduling Committee, no changes to the regular season game schedule may be made without the approval of the League Commissioner. All games will be played as scheduled with the following exceptions:
• Failure of a scheduled umpire to show. In this case, the game may be played if both coaches agree upon an umpire. Failure of an umpire to show should be made know to the Division and League Commissioner.
• Rain or other natural conditions that make the field unsuitable for play.

The League rainout policy is as follows:
• Each association must designate one Field Representative with whom the Division Commissioners can communicate. These Field Representatives will be responsible for inspecting their respective fields and determining if they are playable or not. A decision to postpone the game can be made by the Field Representative up to 1.5 Hours before game time. Afterwards, only the official umpire will have the authority to postpone the game due to unplayable field conditions.

The Division Commissioner will use the following re-scheduling guidelines:
• Saturdays will be used if at all possible and weather dependent with Sunday afternoon being a backup. Consideration for the scheduled home team field will be primary if playable, and then, wherever and whenever the game can be played to get it completed that weekend. If Saturday and Sunday are not playable, then the Division Commissioner will use the first available date, again using the criteria above.
• Consolidation of league teams at one site to facilitate umpires and the makeup of as many games as possible, may preclude the use of the scheduled home team field. This will be done at the discretion of the League Commissioner or his assistant. It will take precedent over makeup scheduling.
• The Division Commissioner’s decision on the makeup place time and date will be considered final unless a team protests the scheduled makeup to the Board. Such protest must be filed with a decision rendered by the Board, prior to the scheduled makeup game or the game date, places, and time stand. Protests will not be accepted after the fact.
• If games in any Division are postponed, it is the responsibility of coaches to notify the Division Commissioner and the Division Commissioner to contact the Association-Representative to obtain the dates, places, and times for the make-up games. The Division Commissioner is empowered to determine the date, place and time of the make-up game. Any team failing to show up shall forfeit.
• Any game postponed during the last 2 weeks of the season that has a direct bearing on the first or second place regular season standings must be made up before the Division
• Tournament. Should the rescheduled game be rained out, the final regular season standings will remain as is. A tiebreaker will be used to resolve ties.

ARTICLE X-PROTESTS

All disputes in League games involving the interpretation of playing rules must be made known to the game umpire when the dispute occurs. A written notice must then be filed within 48 hours to the League President accompanied by a non-refundable $20.00 fee.
• The Board of Directors will act on all protests as rules interpreter.
• Any Associations involved in the protest will not be entitled to a vote.
• Protests involving judgment calls will not be heard.
• If the protesting team wins the game, the protest automatically ceases to exist.
• If the protest is upheld, the game will resume from the point of the protest.
• All Board of Directors decisions are final.
• All dispute protests in Division Tournaments pertaining to interpretation of playing rules must be settled on the playing field and the decision of those Board of Director members present will be final. If none are present within 15 minutes, the umpire’s decision stands.
• Any Board member associated with any team involved in the protest will not be entitled to a vote.
• Any concerns regarding umpire conduct must be reported to the Division and League Commissioner in writing.

ARTICLE XI - FINANCES

• All funds of the League are to be banked in a checking or savings account in the name of the Old Dominion Girls Softball League.
• The League Treasurer and the League President are authorized to make withdrawals from ODGSL accounts.
• Expenditures considered other than “normal operating expenses” and those in excess of $5000 are subject to approval of the Board of Directors.
• The League accounting year shall end on October 31.
• The Treasurer will make an annual report to the Board of Directors during the annual meeting in November each year. Reason: Addition of spending limits keeps Board informed of large expenditures and operations. Change to October 31 was considered a good administrative move that would allow all expenditures to be complete for the year and annual meeting was appropriately changed to November.

ARTICLE XII - AMENDMENTS

These By-laws may be added to, amended, or repealed by a two-thirds vote of the Board present at any regular meeting, provided such proposed change was presented to the Board 30 days prior, and further provided that the Secretary furnish all Board members with a copy of the proposed change not less than ten days prior to said vote.

ARTICLE XIII - TOURNAMENTS

The League may conduct and sanction invitational tournaments. Tournament directors shall file a report within seven days of the conclusion of the tournament with the treasurer showing all receipts and disbursements. Disbursements should be proven with vouchers or canceled checks when requested. The proceeds of all tournaments, after expenses, shall be deposited in the League treasury.

ADDENDUM I

Officer responsibilities are guidelines extracted from the By-Laws and are not limited by the following.

The President is responsible for:
• Presiding over Board of Directors and League meetings.
• Calling special meetings of the Board of Directors.
• Reviewing/investigating membership applications prior to presentation to the Board of Directors for approval/disapproval.
• Appointing chairpersons for standing or special committees.
• Appointing special committees with the consent of the Board of Directors.
• Handling protest notices.
• League personnel suspensions as the result of infractions.
• Voting in the event of a tie during a Board of Directors meeting.

The Vice President is responsible for:
• Those activities delegated by the President.
• Assuming the role of President in his/her absence.
• Chair the Opening Day committee.

The Secretary is responsible for:
• Recording the minutes of Board of Directors meetings.
• Distribution of the minutes of previous Board of Directors meetings.
• Maintain current By-Laws and rules.
• Distribution of proposed By-Laws/rules changes.
• Informing members of date/time and place of Board of Directors meetings.
• Maintenance of League records in a retrievable manner.

The Treasurer is responsible for:
• The collection of annual dues and registration fees.
• Maintenance of league bank account(s).
• Make league-authorized withdrawals from league account(s).
• Produce and present an annual report to the Board of Directors.
• Procuring insurance for all member associations and teams.

The League Commissioner(s) is responsible for:
• Organization and formation of the league Divisions.
• Organization and formation of the Divisional Tournaments.
• Verifying final standings of each division for the purpose of championship play.
• Chairing the Scheduling Committee.
• Scheduling umpires for all league games.

The Assistant League Commissioner is responsible for:
• Any activities delegated by the League Commissioner as stated above.
• Chairing the Fall-Ball committee.

The Division Commissioners are responsible for:
• Daily maintenance of scores and standings.
• Weekly report of standings and scores to the League Commissioner.
• Monthly report of division activities to the Board of Directors.

The Association Representatives are responsible for:
• Maintaining adherence to the rules and by-laws of ODGSL within their association.
• Payment of required dues and fees to the ODGSL Treasurer.