Rev 6/17/2020

 ARTICLE I   BOARD OF DIRECTORS (BOD)

The Board of Directors consists of 7 elected members plus the league Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner.  All elected board members have one vote.  The Board has the authority to create, alter and delete playing rules and procedures for operating the league.  The Board also has the authority to set league policy, change league committee structures and supply the league mission statement.  Additionally, the board shall elect/select the league Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner.   The Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors.  Every effort should be made to put new rules, structures and procedures in place effective prior to the start of a new season.

ARTICLE II   BOARD OF DIRECTORS VOTING TO PASS A MOTION

With a 7-member Board of Directors, a vote of 4 Yes or 4 No votes is required to pass or defeat a motion when all members are present.  In other instances, a quorum of members is necessary (at least 4 members) to vote on motions.  In this instance, a simple majority of those present is required to pass or defeat a motion.  If the vote is tied, the League Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner is also called upon to vote and break the tie.  Absentee members cannot vote.  Written absentee opinions will be honored and read at the Board of Directors meeting. In some cases, some items may be voted on via email.  Board members that are present for the voting of a motion must vote either Yes or No.  Any abstaining vote will be reviewed and determined by the BOD if a conflict of interest exists.  In addition, all member voting responses will be recorded in the Board minutes, unless it pertains to a personal issue.

ARTICLE III   AMEND OR REVERSE DECISIONS

The Board of Directors reserves the right to amend or reverse decisions that were made based on incomplete or wrong information, if it is later determined that the decision made was not in the league’s best interest.

ARTICLE IV   FILL OR REPLACE VACANCIES ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTOR

The BOD Secretary will maintain a record of all board members with their date of election to the BOD and their potential service expiration date.

The intent is to have two-year terms with any outgoing member having a right to seek reelection.  Board members may continue to serve until such time as they decide to no longer serve or are unsuccessful in their bid for reelection. 

Election/replacement of a Board of Directors position shall be by popular league vote by all league members.  An internet and word-of-mouth notice will be made to find volunteers to be placed on the ballot for the Board of Directors.  Any MSSL member that is current with their league fees and in good league standing can request to be placed on the subject ballot.  Those that wish to be placed on the ballot must notify the Secretary of the Board in writing, with a copy to the Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner, of their intent to be a nominee no later than two weeks before the starting election date.

The voting shall be held annually during the last week of the Spring Season (before any tournament games).  Should the need arise, the Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner shall submit a request for an emergency election to the Board.  Ballots shall be given to team Managers.  The number of ballots provided will equal the number of team players on each Manager’s team.  The Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner shall handle ballots for those players that are not assigned to a team but are current with their league fees.  The voting players shall mark their ballot as to the instructions on the ballot.  The Managers shall collect the completed ballots from the individual voting players.  Those ballots not used shall be marked VOID.  The Managers, while collecting the ballots, shall verify if the vote is from a MSSL member in good standing.  The Managers shall give the completed ballots to the Secretary.  Three current Board members (those not leaving office) shall tabulate the ballots and give the results so that they can be placed on our web site.  Only the names of the winning candidates will be publicized.   All ballots, both legitimate and fraudulent, shall be held for one week after the election, then destroyed.

Should there be a tied election, the Board of Directors shall determine the winner(s).

ARTICLE V   REPLACE A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Should a member of the Board miss three consecutive meetings or be disruptive in meetings, that person is subject to a vote of dismissal from the Board.  Excuses for missed meetings shall be considered by the Board.

ARTICLE VI   OTHER OFFICERS/APPOINTED MEMBERS

League Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner – duties:

1. Recruits new players to the league as applicable and needed.
2. Signs up new players and ensures that such players are eligible (age) to participate in the league. Maintains updated information for each player to include, but not limited to: home address, e-mail address, emergency contacts (when the player joins the league), phone number contacts, etc.
3. Notifies Player Evaluation Committee when a prospective player requires an evaluation. 
4. In conjunction with, or in the absence of, the League Treasurer, establish the annual operating budget, including league fees to be assessed to players (including prorated fees which might be assessed to the new players joining the league) and submits to the Board of Directors for review and approval.
5. Signs/cosigns checks according to the procedures established within the league Rules and Procedures section duties of the League Treasurer.  In absence of the Treasurer, obtains written approval from the Board of Directors for expenditures of $500.00 or more.
6. Acts as a voting member of the Board of Directors as described in Article II.
7. Coordinates the reservation of and payment for fields for league play and is the league contact with Parks and Recreation personnel regarding MSSL issues.
8. Notify the Board of Director when players resign from the league or are unable to play for extended periods of time due to injury or personal situations, etc.
9. Maintain an updated Master List of league players and substitutes.
10. Coordinates all schedules of play and playoff /tournament schedules with the League Scheduler and distributes same to Managers.
11. Provides necessary information to the Draft Committee (to Managers, if they are drafting) during the review of the Master List prior to the draft.
12. Purchase, but not limited to: league balls, SSUSA Rule books for Managers and umpires, home plate mats, backstop score boards, batting lineup clipboards for Managers, etc.
13. In coordination with the League Secretary and League Webmaster, the Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner directs the distribution of the league Rules and Procedures via the MSSL web page.
14. Maintain league standings for each “season.”   In the event of a season ending in a tie, keeps track of weekly wins and losses, including the scores.
15. Coordinate with the Board of Directors annual league events such as a picnic (to include volunteers) and other events as applicable.
16. The Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner, in conjunction with the League Treasurer, is given the discretionary approval to apply the league fee paid by a new player during the spring session to the following year, if after paying the fee the new player did not get assigned to a team and did not get a fair chance to play in the spring session.

League Treasurer – duties:

1. In conjunction with the League Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner, select and set up the proper financial institution and vehicles (checking account, savings, CD’s, etc.), as applicable, to hold and manage league funds.
2. Monitor the financial institutions on an ongoing basis to ensure funds are maximized and that all accounts are appropriately protected and insured.
3. Monitor league financial account(s) on a routine basis, identify any account discrepancies and reconcile with the financial institution.
4. Deposit, in a timely fashion, all funds (check, cash, etc.) into appropriate accounts.
5. Prepare monthly, and as requested by the Board of Directors, a financial summary (deposits, disbursements, interest) of the league account(s), and submit such financial summary to the Board of Directors for their review.
6. Sign checks for purchase of items such as, but not limited to: league equipment, uniforms, hats, supplies, events, rentals, etc.
7. In conjunction with, or in the absence of, the League Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner, establish the annual operating budget including: annual league fees, as well as charges for special events such as, but not limited to: picnics or other charges necessary for the proper and efficient function of the league.
8. Coordinate with the League Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner prior to the ordering of items such as, but not limited to: uniforms, hats, supplies, equipment, and other league purchases.
9. In conjunction with the League Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner, co-sign all league checks and disbursements for $500.00 or more.  Ensure that purchases are not purposely reduced to below the $500.00 threshold to avoid the dual signature requirement.  In the absence of the League Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner, obtains written approval from the Board of Directors for expenditures of $500.00 or more.
10. Collects all league and other fees, as applicable, and coordinates with the League Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner for timely deposits of all league fees and income to the league bank account.

League Secretary – duties:

1. Keep minutes of the Board of Directors meeting.  Distribute these minutes to each board member prior to the next meeting.
2. Coordinate with the League Speaker or Assistant Commissioner the forwarding of all minutes and documents to all members through the League Publisher and the Webmaster.  
3. Maintains all league records and updates as needed or required by the Board of Directors.

League Publisher – Maintain all league Rules and Procedures current or as directed by the Board of Directors.

League Scheduler – Establishes League schedules, League playoffs, and tournament schedules in coordination with the Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner and the Board of Directors.

Speaker of the Board of Directors – duties:

1. Solicits and sets agenda items for Board of Directors meetings
2. Prioritizes agenda items as needed.
3. Calls upon and gives Board member the floor for open discussion on agenda.
4. Maintains an orderly meeting.
5. Reviews with League Secretary the agenda and minutes prior to distribution to Board and League members.

Chief Umpire –

1.  With input from the Chief Umpire, the Board reserves the right for final approval of all rule changes.

2.  Conducts umpire clinics as required.

3.  Assigns umpires for all games

4.  Monitors and reviews umpire’s performance.

5.  Conducts on the field training regarding positioning and judgment calls.

Evaluation Committee –

1. Shall evaluate all new players to the league.
2. Shall reevaluate current players upon request from the Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner and the Board of Directors.
3. Shall review and adjust the makeup of the player Master List as needed.
4. Review and recommend potential MSSL Manager selection to the BOD for the draft.

The Judicial Committee –

1. Shall convene a hearing to review the issue and meet and discuss the issues with all parties.  Within one week of the hearing, the Judicial Committee shall render a verdict and any disciplinary action(s), if warranted.  The actions of all players involved in the grievance process are subject to review and discipline by the Judicial Committee.  The Board of Directors will not change the verdict rendered by the Judicial Committee.  The Board of Directors reserves the right to amend/alter any actions by the Judicial Committee upon appeal by the league member.
2. The suggested number of Judicial Committee members is five.  No more than two Board members should be on the committee.  All committee members and grievance parties must be notified of a meeting place, date and time.  If the grieving party does not show up, the decision will be made without them.  For a decision, the minimum number of meeting members is three.  The decision vote must be a majority of present members.  Judicial Committee members that have a conflict of interest in the outcome must exclude themselves from the vote.

Draft Committee – Should draft by a manager not be feasible, use subcommittee to draft a team.  Form a subcommittee of members who are good at evaluating talent.   Use the draft procedure methodology.  Once the teams are formed, inform each player which team he is on by his respective manager.  

Awards Committee – All MSSL league and tournament awards shall be handled or approved by the Awards Committee.  The Board of Directors reserves the right to set a budget for this expense.

ARTICLE VII   LEAGUE FEES

All players must pay their league fee by the second game of the Fall season.  After the second scheduled game in a season, any player who has not paid his full league fee will become an illegal/ineligible player.  If at any time a team is found to have used an illegal/ineligible player in a game, that game will be forfeited.  A uniform will not be issued until all league fees have been paid.

ARTICLE VIII   DRAFT COMMITTEE

1. Committee Selection:   If not enough volunteers step up as managers, a Draft Committee is utilized to assist with the draft.
2. Selection methods:  The Board/Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner invites players with league background and experience and who know most of the players as Draft Committee members.  Two to three players normally constitute a good Draft Committee.
3. Committee Guidelines:  No committee member may make any comment about himself, not even in jest. No member, once placed on a team, may make any comment about his team.

ARTICLE IX   DRAFT STRUCTURE/METHODOLOGY

1. The size of the league will determine the number of managers required.  If the requisite number of managers do not volunteer, the Draft Committee(s) will be utilized as necessary.  The Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner oversees the draft activities with other support staff.
2. League members volunteering as Managers in the MSSL League Draft are required as a guideline to have:                   
3. Participated in senior league activity for a minimum of 2 full seasons (excluding summer),
4. A fundamental knowledge of senior softball play,
5. An understanding of SSUSA and MSSL rules of softball play,
6. Been recommended to the BOD by the Evaluation Committee
7. The Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner conducts a lottery to establish team numbers and the order for draft selection by the managers/Draft Committee(s).
8. The Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner ensures that no manager/draft committee member discusses their own placement or any discussion of their own team after they are drafted.
9. The Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner creates the team rosters as players are drafted and deletes players from the master draft list.
10. Select/identify drafting managers and drafting committees.
11. The Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner then updates the player Master List. Using the actual draft list from the previous season, add all players who have been rated and joined the league since the last draft. Reorder this new list putting the most valuable players at the top and by making adjustments by moving any other players who have enhanced or decreased there playing level. This new player Master List should now contain all players eligible for the draft, by ranking, with the best player on top. It should also contain information such as: is the player a pitcher, infielder or outfielder; slow, medium or fast runner; and any other information the draft managers or draft committee thinks would be helpful during the actual draft.

ARTICLE X DRAFTING PROCEDURE, MASTER LIST AND RANKING

When a person is drafted, he will be assigned a number equal to the round he is drafted in.   Should team members be assigned by a committee, then the same numbering system is to be used.  Both of these procedures will be referred to collectively as the draft.  An example of this would be a player drafted in the first round would be given a “1” rating and a player drafted in the seventh round would be given a “7” rating.  This numbering system would end with a number equal to the maximum rounds used in the draft.

A master list of all players will be kept.   The list will always be in one of two forms, just prior to the draft and just after the draft.   Just prior to the draft the list will contain all players eligible for the draft including all players who joined the league after the start of the previous season.  This list will be reordered to account for all players’ current value rating with the best on top.  Adjustments will be made to account for players gain or loss of skill.   This list will serve as a guideline for the next draft.   After the draft, this list will be reordered to show all players actual draft position.   The Player Evaluation Committee will evaluate new player’s ability of throwing, fielding and hitting.   Once they see the player work out, the PEC will determine, if the new player had been available for the draft, where they would have been selected in the draft.   For example, if the PEC thinks the player would have been in position 25 and there are 10 teams, then they would have been taken in the third round, so they get a rating of 3 – but they are not actually put on the list until adjustments are made just prior to the next draft.

ARTICLE XI TEAM DRAFTING PROCEDURES

1. Drafting managers/draft committee member will blind draw balls numbered 1 thru the number of teams desired.  Drafting position(s) can be traded with other managers prior to the start of the draft.
2. In numbered rounds 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 selection will be left to right for all odd numbered rounds.
3. In numbered rounds 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 selection will be right to left for all even numbered rounds.
4. Prior to or at the draft, all managers will be placed in a round appropriate to their playing level.  They would then become the draft pick for their team in the round in which they are placed.
5. Managers can trade players prior to the Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner officially closing the draft.
6. Only a manager/draft committee is eligible to draft players for a team.  A non-manager cannot draft players for a team.  A non-playing individual can manage a team and is eligible to draft a team.
7. The intent is to limit each team to 12 players.  Should more players sign up greater than some combination of teams times 12, the residual players are placed in a lottery for a blind draw for team assignment.  

ARTICLE XII   THREE PART SEASON

The three parts would be:

ARTICLE XIII   TWO SHIRT SYSTEM

Each member must buy two shirts as designed and offered by the MSSL league.  Each shirt has MENIFEE SENIOR SOFTBALL screened on the front.  The back of the shirt will be blank.  Official league shirts are required for participation.   One shirt is RED designated as the visiting team and the other shirt is WHITE designated as the home team.

Every member will also receive a coordinated color hat.  The league Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner keeps a supply of shirts and hats which may be purchased immediately by new players joining the league or by current players requiring uniform updates.

Each team is identified by a unique name or number which is determined at the beginning of each new season.

ARTICLE XIV    HOW TO ADD PLAYERS TO A TEAM

The Evaluation Committee (EC) shall evaluate new players as documented.

The EC will determine where on the then current master player list the new player would fit.  For example, if there are currently 8 teams and 115 players on the master list, first determine the player would be (for example) number 50 on the master list.   The 50th spot divided by 8 (the number of teams) is 50/8=6.2, meaning had the player been available for the draft then he would likely have been chosen in the 7th round and therefore is assigned a rating of 7.   The new players name is not added to the master list because that would change the rating of a current roster player and that is not desirable mid-season.

New players with a rating would be kept on a separate list until the season ends and the entire master list is updated just prior to the next draft.   The new player rating would be used to determine his substitute level eligibility.   For example, a new player rated a 7 and not yet assigned to a team would be eligible to substitute for a missing roster player ranked 1 through 7 but not for any player ranked 8 through 15.   New players must be rated as accurately as possible.   A substitute should never improve the team he is substituting for as was allowed by the old ranking procedure which, for example, rated a player a 4 but assigned him a 3 to make it easier for him to be used as a substitute.  That practice destroys team balance.

ARTICLE XV   GRIEVANCE PROCESS

1. When a player gets into an irreconcilable argument with another player, manager or umpire, one or both of the parties may file a grievance to have the argument/incident settled.  The process isdescribed below.
2. If a player or manager has a disagreement with another player or manager, the grieved party has the option to file a grievance with the League Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner.  This grievance must be filed no later than three league games after the incident.  (Eight calendar days.)
3. The grievance shall identify specifics of the game/incident:
4. Date and time of incident
5. Players involved in the incident
6. Umpire(s) of the game
7. Witnesses to the act or acts
8. Details of the grieved act or acts
9. The grieved party shall prepare the grievance and submit copies to:
10. His team manager
11. The player/manager subject of the grievance
12. The League Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner
13. The League Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner shall review the grievance and forward it to the Judicial Committee.
14. The Judicial Committee shall follow the rules as defined in their description.
15. The grieved player may appeal the disciplinary action(s) before the Board of Directors at the next scheduled Board of Directors meeting.  The decision of the Board of Directors is final.

ARTICLE XVI     LEAGUE STANDINGS

League standings to be based on the percentage of games won/lost versus total games played at the conclusion of the regular season schedule.  League standings ties will be broken by comparing head to head records of the tied teams.  If the head to head record is even, the tie breaker will be based on total runs scored from each contest between the two teams.

ARTICLE XVII     TOURNAMENT OR PLAYOFF GAMES

The Board of Directors will determine the tournament or playoff procedures in a way that is appropriate to the number of teams, season limits and availability of fields.

ARTICLE XVIII   NUMBER OF TEAMS

The number of teams, quantity of players per team and quantity of games played shall be set by the Board of Directors before each season.