The Mabel League 
MABEL LEAGUE WOMEN'S FASTBALL LEAGUE CONSTITUTION 2008
1. NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Mabel League Women's Fastball League. It shall also be known as the "Mabel League."
2. PURPOSE
The Mabel League is a lesbian league. It exists to foster a safe and fun environment for lesbians, bisexuals, heterosexual women, transgender and transsexual people to learn and play recreational softball.
OPERATING BY-LAWS
PART 1 - INTERPRETATION
1. LEAGUE COMMITTEE
The "League Committee" shall consist of the Executive as well as a representative from each team, with all the voting privileges.
2. EXECUTIVE
The "EXECUTIVE" shall consist of:
1) Chair
2) Co-Chair
3) Secretary
4) Treasurer
5) Communications/Publicity
6) Umpire-In-Chief / UIC (Rules/Grievance)
7) Statistician
8) Registrar
9) Fields
Voting for these positions will take place at the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") each year.
PART 2 - MEMBERSHIP
1. All women 19 years of age and over during the current year are eligible.
2. Each team must pay a non-refundable yearly fee determined by the League Committee.
3. Excepting subsection 1, individual players registered for a team may not change teams status in that season after their fourth game or after the registration deadline.
i) With the approval of the Executive, if the team on which a player is registered folds and that team has advised the Executive of that occurrence, that player, if in good standing with the League, may be picked up by another existing team for the remainder of league play.
4. Player registration date is to be determined each season by the Executive.
PART 3 - LEAGUE MEETINGS
1. The league committee shall meet a minimum of three times per season, plus a year-end event meeting or an AGM planning meeting
2. Any team player or coach may attend these meetings. Only one designated team representative shall be allowed to make a motion or vote. Executives shall not be allowed to vote however, all attendees will be allowed to participate in the general discussion
3. Only one vote per registered team is allowed. New teams entering the league will not be allowed to vote on pre-season by-laws. For a motion to be carried, the vote must be passed by a majority. A tie will be broken by one vote of the Executive body in consensus
4. If a team representative is unable to attend a meeting, she must delegate a team player to attend. Failures of a team representative, or substitute, to attend a league meeting results in no point being awarded for attendance No member of the Executive may be considered as a team representative or substitute or be substituted.
5. If an Executive member misses three (3) meetings, they may be asked to resign. If a resignation occurs, Executive members will assume the duties of the resigned position, or a replacement can be put forward by the Chair and approved by the League Committee
6. In the event the position cannot be filled or replaced the executive has the discretion to over-rule section 5.
7. Members must address the Chair to present ideas.
8. All motions require a proposer and a seconder. A discussion then follows that presented motion.
9. On major issues, a secret ballot vote may be taken, if requested.
10. Representatives must be given a minimum of 4 days notice before a regular league meeting and 2 reps from each team 48 hours notice for an EMERGENCY meeting or conference.
11. All meetings shall last no longer than two hours, with the exception of the by-law meeting
12. Meetings will begin at the scheduled time
13. Each team present for the ENTIRE league meeting receives one point for each meeting attended, to be added to season-end final standings (before playoffs begin)
14. The minutes from meetings shall be posted on the website no later than 14 days after the meeting.
15. Financial report to be presented at each league meeting.
PART 4 - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
1. An Annual General Meeting will be held the second Monday in September.
2. Voting for League Executive positions will take place at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) each year. These positions are:
1) Chair
2) Co-Chair
3) Secretary
4) Treasurer
5) Communications/Publicity
6) Umpire-In-Chief / UIC (Rules/Grievance)
7) Statistician
8) Registrar
9) Fields
3. Any person nominated shall accept one position only.
4. Any registered player, who cannot attend the AGM and wishes to vote, must do so in person by contacting the outgoing Executive by written proxy, one week prior to the election.
5. Nominees for the position of Chair, Co-Chair, UIC and Treasurer must have been a player, coach, or umpire, for at least 2 years.
6. All voting on Bylaws will be done at the Annual General Meeting.
7. In order to be successful, a motion must be passed by a majority vote.
8. All registered Mabel League players, managers, coaches, and scorekeepers will be entitled to one vote and can participate in general discussions and forwarding motions.
PART 5 - AMENDMENTS TO THE BY-LAWS
1. Suggestions can be made post-season and amendments can only be made pre-season at the request of any team, any player or any member of the League Committee.
2. All voting on by-laws other than rules of play will be done at the designated Annual General Meeting prior to league commencement. Amendments will be given out to each team representative by the Rules & Grievances representative at the pre-season meeting. A copy of the current by-laws will be distributed by the Rules representative before the league registration date.
3. Notwithstanding (2), all voting on by-laws relating to rules of play will be dealt with at a separate meeting, prior to the commencement of league play. That meeting will be chaired by the Statistician.
The league shall buy coffee for all executive meetings not to exceed $5.00 per person per meeting.
PART 6 - POWER OF THE LEAGUE COMMITTEE
1. The "League Committee" shall consist of the Executive as well as a representative from each team, with all the voting privileges.
2. Will administer the league.
3. Will approve, as a quorum (i.e. half plus one team representatives of the league), the operations of the different subcommittees.
4. The League Committee shall appoint a subcommittee representative from its membership to chair each of the following areas (except Rules & Grievance). That subcommittee representative will liaise with the Executive Committee member who has the committee name in parentheses next to the listing below. This subcommittee representative will co-ordinate the event but is not solely responsible for it, she will rely on and expect participants.
1) Rules and Grievance
2) Scheduling
3) Socials
4) Year-End Event
5) Fundraising
PART 7 - EXECUTIVE
1. CHAIRPERSON
1. Oversees the running of the league.
2. Shall have the option to call a league meeting.
3. Will chair the league meetings and will see that the agenda is followed; and that decorum and good order are maintained.
4. Shall collect and keep all records for a five year period which will be given to a new Chair.
5. Will provide an agenda prior to each meeting and inform Communications of same.
6. Will sit on Rules & Grievance committee if Co-Chair cannot attend or is ineligible.
7. Will assume role as stated in PART 3.6.
8. Will be responsible for purchasing and keeping track of approved league equipment.
9. Will create important dates sheet for first Executive meeting in January to be handed out.
10. Will Contact the Executive for the first meeting in January, and Team Reps for their first meeting in February.
2. CO-CHAIR
1. Will replace the Chair when absent.
2. Will be responsible for tabulating & distributing information concerning available trophies, to be submitted to the Executive Committee.
3. Will deal with league sponsor, where applicable.
4. Will sit on Rules & Grievance committee with UIC,
5. Will assist Registrar in verifying eligibility of new players.
6. Will receive score books, and tabulate players playoff eligibility, with the assistance of another Executive member and/or the Rules Committee.
3. SECRETARY
1. Will take minutes of all meetings and will maintain up-to-date records.
2. Will type and duplicate minutes of meeting as well as pertinent league correspondence.
3. Will sit on Rules & Grievance committee if UIC or Co-Chair cannot attend, or are ineligible.
4. Will sit on the Constitutional Revision Committee.
4. TREASURER
1. Will receive all money and will keep up-to-date financial records and present financial statements tri-annually to League Committee.
2. Will be in charge of collecting and reconciling team registration fees from the registrar.
3. Will receive and disburse all funds.
4. All expenditures shall be approved by the Executive Committee and evidenced by initials of at least 2 Executive members.
5. Will be official signing authority, along with one or two other members of the Executive Committee.
6. Shall retain all invoices paid and deposit records to be passed onto the Chair to form part of the permanent league records.
7. In consultation with the Social Committee, the Year-End Committee and all fundraising committees struck during the year, assist in the preparation of a budget for each event.
5. COMMUNICATIONS/PUBLICITY
1. Will be the contact for the league in relation to marketing, promotion, fundraising and sponsorship opportunities.
2. Will be responsible for advertising league events and writing letters of appreciation to sponsors (if any).
3. Will ensure that there is a consistent league contact when the season is over.
4. Will post a list of important dates and deadlines on the website.
5. Will update Executive contact information on a regular basis as well as distribute that list to each team.
6. Will update Team Rep contact information on a regular basis as well as distribute that list to each team.
7. Will email or telephone team reps and Executive with a reminder of league meetings or for other league business during the course of the year.
8.Will organize the website and ensure that all graphics, content, hosts and domain services are taken care of for the season and will update the website regularly and add important league information when requested.
6. UMPIRE-IN-CHIEF
1. Will administer all rules and training concerns regarding umpires and their qualifications.
2. Will be a voting member of Rules & Grievance committee.
3. Will draw up the ground rules for each park in the league prior to season play. They will be given to each team representative in writing and should be brought to each game. All umpires will abide by these ground rules.
4. Assist tournament league finals with tournament rules and league year end play-offs.
5. Will be responsible for the rescheduling, at the earliest possible date, of all rained out games or otherwise unplayed games and will notify Team Reps, base umps, the Executive and the VSUA.
6. Will advise Executive of any forfeited games which have not been played and which will not be rescheduled.
7. STATISTICIAN
1. Will be responsible for maintaining league standings.
2. Will receive all game scores and provide totals to web mistress so as to be available online (weekly updates).
8. REGISTRAR
1. Will be in charge of distributing and collecting all registration forms and fees. Fees to be forwarded to the Treasurer
2. Will report to the Chair any delinquent fees or registration forms.
3. Will liaise with
4. Will liaise with any existing sponsors.
5. Will maintain a list of current softball BC Numbers.
9. FIELDS
1. Will contact all the representatives of the various fields the Mabel League leases to arrange fields rental.
2. To assist the Umpire-In-Chief in carrying out her duties.
3. Will provide copies of the league playing rules before the season starts.
4.Will help facilitate rules of play by-law meeting
5. Will provide copies of all field permits to Executive members and Team Reps.
PART 8 - SUBCOMMITTEES
1. RULES & GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE
1. Will be chaired by the UIC and consist of the UIC, Co-Chair and two team representatives.
2. Grievance committee will be responsible for interpreting and judging on all grievances and protests. No member of this Committee can be involved in any decision concerning her own team and her replacement's name would be drawn from the remaining neutral League Committee members' names in a hat.
3. Will establish the Rules and Regulations for the current season for distribution to the team representatives at the March team rep meeting.
4. Will hear for any grievance concerning a player's eligibility.
5. Will assist Registrar and Co-chair in tabulating a player's playing eligibility.
6. Will be responsible for setting game standards.
7. Has the authority to suspend any player for verbal threats or physical violence for the remainder of the season, First Offence; and to permanently ban that player from the league for any subsequent offence.
2. SCHEDULING COMMITTEE
1. Will be responsible for the scheduling of all league games IN FINAL FORM, 2 weeks prior to the season's opening.
2. Will present a draft of schedule to all team representatives prior to the Schedule Meeting, or team representative will pick up a draft at the Scheduler's residence.
3. Will type and present to the Team Representatives, Umpire-In-Chief, League Sponsor (where applicable), an Executive Committee and the VSUA, the accepted league schedule.
4. Will present a tentative, unbiased playoff schedule, based on the availability of parks, three weeks prior to playoffs.
3. SOCIAL COMMITTEE
1. Will help organize a LIL Tournament for mid-season play.
2. All league events are sliding scale with bottom at $0.00.
3. In consultation with the treasurer, prepare and submit a budget to the League Committee for the LIL Tournament at the March league committee meeting.
4. The budget submitted for the tournament must, at minimum, break even.
4. YEAR-END EVENT COMMITTEE
The team drawn will:
1. Organize the event to be held in September if possible.
2. In consultation with the treasurer, prepare and submit a budget to the League Committee for the Year-End event as soon as possible but no later than the July league committee meeting.
3. The budget submitted for the event must, at minimum, break even.
4. Will determine ticket prices taking into account base rates for facilities and staffing, sliding scale starting at $0.00.
5. FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE
1. All fundraising will be voted on at League meetings.
PART 9 - FEE STRUCTURE
1. Each team is required to pay an entry fee determined by the League Committee PRIOR to the beginning of league play. Date will be determined by the League Committee.
2. This entry fee will be used to offset the cost of park permits, insurance costs, plus any other expenses incurred by the league for the operation of the league.
3. Registration forms and fees must be received by the registration date. Any offending team(s) will forfeit all games scheduled until the fee is paid and/or registration forms received.
PART 10 - LEAGUE PLAY
1. Mabel League Rules and Regulations take precedence as soon as the first player steps on the field and until the last player leaves the field.
2. The Scheduling Committee shall attempt to schedule each team to play all other teams in their division at least once.
3. Three hours prior to the league game time, the UIC will have the responsibility of deciding whether or not weather and/or field conditions will permit the playing of a scheduled league game. If a game is postponed, the other team, the umpires, UIC, rescheduler and statistician must be notified.
4. At game time, the umpires shall decide based on weather conditions whether a game will commence.
5. Points shall be awarded for each completed scheduled game on the following basis:
WIN = 2 points. TIE = 1 point. LOSS = 0 points.
6. At parks where double headers are scheduled, the first game must end by the scheduled starting time of the following game.
7. Rained-out games decided by umpires at the field are to be reported by the home team to the UIC, Scheduler and Statistician. The home team is responsible for initiating rescheduling within 48 hours of the original game.
8. Once the schedule has been approved by all teams and accepted, no team will be allowed to reschedule any game. THE ONLY REASON FOR RESCHEDULING A GAME WILL BE RAINOUTS. Rainout games must be played within two weeks of the original scheduled game. Rained-out games will be rescheduled according to availability of park time by the RESCHEDULER ONLY.
9. All teams must use a proper score book and clearly indicate the first name and substitutes or else will be discounted for purposes of eligibility.
10. All park time allotted to the League is under the sole control of the Scheduling Committee for scheduling purposes.
11. All protests must be submitted in writing within 48 hours of game time, to the Chair or Co-Chair or Rules representative who must act on it at the next regularly scheduled Rules meeting or within 48 hours if a meeting is not scheduled.
12. GAME CALLED BY UMPIRE - The game can be called by the umpire at any time if, in the umpire's judgment, the following conditions are present:
a. End of daylight playing time.
b. A situation is present that needs to pre-empt completion of the game.
c. When a game is called, the final score is the score listed at the end of the last complete inning played.
d. If less than 5 complete innings, the game must be replayed.
13. GAME OUTCOMES - The winning team (forfeit games included) must call in the score by 10pm two days following the game. Ties are to be reported by the home team. Failure to do so is considered a loss by both teams. Example: The game is on the 14th; the score (forfeit) must be called in by 10pm on the 16th.
14. The 3 division structure will be utilized. Existing teams will be placed according to the previous year's standings. Each existing team will play in their allotted division unless they make a request in writing with an attached copy of their roster, to the Executive to be placed in a different division. The Executive will review the letter, roster, player experience in the Mabel League, and any extraneous factors to determine whether an adjustment should be made.
Each new team registering will write a letter, with an attached copy of their roster addressed to the Executive requesting which division they wish to be placed into prior to league play. The Executive will review the letter, roster, player experience in the Mabel League, and any extraneous factors to determine where a team should be placed.
No team may move up or down in divisions from year to year without approval.
PART 11 - UMPIRES
1. All umpires will be the responsibility of the Umpire-in-Chief.
2. All plate umpires must be certified and insured through
PART 12 - LEAGUE PLAYING RULES
1. The official BC Softball Association Rules has been adopted as the official rule book, unless otherwise documented under the Rules and Regulations.
2. FIELDS - Quality of fields must be distributed equally between teams of all divisions.
PART 13 - PLAYOFFS
1. In case of a tie in the final league standings (post Finals Tournament), placement for the following season will be decided as follows:
a. Win/Loss/Tie record between the two teams affected during tournament.
b. If still tied, team having the least total runs against them during tournament
c. If still tied, team having the most total runs scored during tournament.
2. Players must have played a minimum of five (5) league games to be eligible to participate in the playoffs or supply a doctor's certificate on appeal to the executive committee.
3. The playoff format will be decided by the Executive and voted on by the teams at the League meeting.
PART 14 - AWARDS
The following trophies may be awarded:
a) Playoff standings - 1st &
b) Additional or Alternate awards can be presented at the discretion of the current Executive, such as but not limited to, cash, gift certificates and gifts within reason of said budget for event.
PART 15 - MABEL LEAGUE CONTRIBUTION AWARD
1. An award(s) shall be given and determined by points accumulated for service activities for the Mabel League.
2. Points for each activity will be determined by the registrar and approved by the League Committee prior to teams volunteering for activities.
3. Points may be awarded for activities where a team keeps monies (i.e.: raffles).
4. The team(s) accumulating the most points (or reaching pre-determined number) shall be awarded the Mabel League Contribution Award and will be provided a discount from paying league registration fees for the next season.
Last modified: 2/28/2008