Orillia District Fastball League: O.D.F.L. Constitution

“The constitution of the Orillia District Fastball League”

Article 1 – League Name
 
The league shall be known as the Orillia District Fastball League or by the abbreviation O.D.F.L.
 
Article 2 – League Objective
 
The Orillia District Fastball League is a Non for Profit sportsman fastball league, which encourages fair play and respect for fellow players, officials and the fans of the game. All monies created by the league will be used towards improving parks and supporting minor fastball.
 
Article 3 - Executive
 
The O.D.F.L. Executive shall consist of a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Scheduler and Umpire Chief and each team’s selected Team Representative. The President shall fill all un-assumed executive positions.
 
Article 4 – Duties of the Executive
 
                        President                    The league president acts as the chief executive officer of the league and will enforce the rules of the O.D.F.L. in accordance with this constitution and Softball Ontario rules. The president can call meetings at their discretion and has no vote in league matters except in the form of a tie-breaking vote.
            Vice President            Acts as the league president in absence of the president and will assist the league president with league duties.
                        Treasurer                   Maintains all financial records of the league and reports it to the executive.
                        Umpire Chief             Schedules’ umpires for league games and deals with issues involving umpires and suspensions. Pay is decided by executive.
Scheduler                   Schedules all league games during playing times designated by the executive.
 
Article 5 –Executive Nominations
 
The Executive is to be chosen at the first meeting of the new season. The president shall pick a suitable date, time and location for this meeting.  The first matter of the new season will be executive nominations. As in all league votes all team representatives have one vote each.  Unfilled position may be filled at a later date. The current executive can be removed from office if a motion of at least 2/3 of representatives’ support is passed. If successful the position will be filled immediately after or assumed by other executive members if no candidate is approved.
 
Article 6 – Meetings
 

1. The president shall call league meetings at a carefully selected date and time to accommodate as many people as possible.
2. The Annual executive nomination meeting shall be no later than April to accommodate executive time to get league ready for new season.
3. All voting matters will be conducted by the president and by voted on by only the team representatives except in the event of a tied vote in which the president may cast a vote.
4. If a team fails to have representation at the meeting then that team it have no say in decision made during that meeting.

 
Article 7 – Policy
 

1.  Team Registration          

All teams must register their team to play in the up coming season with the league president no later than May 1^st of that year.

2. Game Forfeitures

A team that cancels a game will be charged with a forfeiture of that game and will pay umpires for the schedule game time.  The only exception to this rule is if the fields playing conditions are deemed unplayable. 3 hours’ notice before game time is ideal to avoid unnecessary travel for umpires and players. In the event of a major occurrence such as a death/funeral the league may give approval to cancel a game without penalty. A forfeited game shall be recorded as 7-0 win to opposing team.

3. Team Rosters

1. A preliminary team roster is due at the 1^st game of the year, which is unofficial.  The official roster will be due by Canada Day, the roster may have to a maximum 20 players and 2 coaches on it and only those players listed may play in league games after the deadline date. 
2. All players must play in at least 5 league games to qualify for play-offs. If a player has had a serious injury and player will not meet the required games played, He may apply for exemption during season with proof of injury and said player pending executive approval will be placed on disabled list. Note this rule is only for serious injuries and players with tender with team and league.
3. Players must be 16 years of year or older to play. Younger player(s) may be allowed to play with a written permission from that player’s guardian(s) allow them to play.
4. Once a player plays for a team during the current season, he can’t play for another Orillia District Fastball League team without a release from his original team and league executive approval. No release is required with switching teams before the start of the new season.

      4. Protests
Teams that want to protest an incident during a game must notify the umpire at that time of the incident. Notification is not needed if protest in non-play related. A written protest and $50 must be sent to the league president with 24 hours of protest. The league will then meeting and vote on the validity of that protest. Money is return if protest is won.

5. Insurance Coverage

All O.D.F.L. teams will have sufficient general liability insurance coverage, as arranged by the league president.

6. Trophies

All League Trophies are to be returned to the league by June 1^st of the new season. If any damage has occurred, team or player may be issued a fine to fix said trophy.

7. Unpaid Monies

All monies must be paid by the dates required. League fee is due the first week of play and League tournament entry fee is due before the first game of the tournament. Failure to pay monies on time may result and forfeiture of games.

8. Playing Equipment

1. All catchers are required to wear protective helmets and facemasks while playing.
2. Batters and base runners must wear protective helmets while on the playing field.
3. Players are NOT permitted to play in shorts.
4. Players must wear closed toed shoes while on playing field.
5. The Official ball is the Worth K-Master120 Fastpitch in either yellow or white. (Mixing of yellow and white balls during same game will not be allowed).
6. All bats used must meet Softball Canada’s standards. (See attached Bat Rule)

 
Article 8 – Operational Fees                                                                                                            
 
This is a list of costs that a team must pay in order to play.
 

1. $400 League Operations Fee. (Due during 1^st week of regular season play )
2. Umpires pay for every home game except during the O.D.F.L. finals. Umpire fee will be set at start of season.  ( All umpires must be paid before start game )
3. Diamond playing time for home games must be purchased from the parks department or local community centre by the team and not O.D.F.L.
4. All team shall have matching jerseys. The use of matching coloured shirts may be permitted.
5. Home team is to supply one brand new and near new Worth K-Master120 Fastpitch ball of the same colour for each new home game.

 
Article 9 – Pre game getup
 
The Home team is responsible to have the diamond in good playing condition by game time. First and Third bases firmly secured along the foul line at an 60’ ft. interval from Home plate and also an 60’ ft. interval from second base. Foul lines are to be visibly marked between home and bases. Teams must have 9 players present to play. A game may start with 8 players with the 9^th batter recorded as an out.  Teams have a 15min grace period from scheduled start time of the game to field a team. (Game will start right away if team has 8 players). Failure to field a team will result in forfeit of the game, with the forfeiting team paying for the umpires.
 
Article 10 – Playing Rules
 
The O.D.F.L. follows Softball Canada – Fast pitch rules along with the following rules listed in this constitution.
 
1.   Pitcher re-entry rule
The starting pitcher may re-enter into a game after coming out and return as the pitcher.

2.   Two out catcher rule
In order to speed up the flow of the game the last available batter (which is not always the 2^nd out) must run as a base runner for the catcher. Teams may substitute the runner following regular substitution rules.

3.   Open Roster Rule
Teams wishing to play more than then the original 9 players may do so. Those players in starting line-up may switch defensive position without announcement but must bat in the original order. Any offensive changes or substitution of player(s) not on the starting line-up is still subjected to regular substitution rules.

4.   D.P. / Flex Rule
Teams are allowed to use a D.P. (Designated Player) with a Flex Player in their starting line-up. This must be announced to the other team and umpires prior to start of game. Substitutions using the D.P. / Flex must comply with Softball Canada Fastpitch rules.

5.   Complete Game
Any inning incomplete will not count as played unless the home team is batting and also winning. To have a complete game there must be 5 innings played. (4½ innings if home team leading). If a game is cancelled before reaching this point than that game will be considered cancelled and replayed from beginning.  
 
6.   Mercy Rule
If a team is winning a game by 7 or more runs after 5 complete innings or 4½ if the home team is winning than that game shall end at that point in a mercy. Mercy rule is also in-effect during play-offs.

7.   Time Limit
All regular season games played will be subject to time limits of having no new inning starting after 1 hour and 45 minutes. Games must have played at least 5 innings (4½ if home team leading) before this rule comes into effect. Time Limit rule does NOT apply during play-offs.
 
Article 11 – Game Scheduling
 
All games are to be scheduled on days and times agreed upon by the team representatives. The scheduler will present a draft schedule at a league meeting and teams can voice concerns or ask for changes and the schedule will be revised until all teams find the schedule suitable.  The same must be done with the playoff schedule and format. The league president must be notified of any rescheduled games.

1.  Regular Season Scheduling
The league executive will decide on the formatting of the regular season schedule at the beginning of the season. Teams shall have the same amount of home and away games and play each team an equal amount of times if feasible. The schedule shall be made as equal to all teams as possible. Each team will be awarded 2 points for a win and 1 point for a tie no points will be awarded for losing team.

2.  Play-offs Formatting
Play-offs format will be decide before the season by the league executive. Formats may vary due to amount of team in league, length of series and the executive preference to format types. All ties in standing will be broke in the following order ( Total Points, Head to Head Record, Total Runs Against, Total Runs For, Head to Head +/- and if still tied a Coin Flip will be used to break any tie. )

3.  Play-offs Scheduling
Play-off games shall be scheduled as soon as the regular season ends and again as each round ends.
 
Article 12 – Player Ejections
 
Zero Tolerance
 Umpires shall have ZERO Tolerance for profanity, the intentional throwing of helmets, bats and equipment or abuse of an umpire, player or fan. Umpires have the right to eject a player for any of these reasons. 

Player Suspensions
A player ejected during a game will miss the remained of that game plus the next schedule game. A player eject for a second time during a season will miss the remained of that game plus an additional two games. A player ejected for a third time in one season will miss the remainder of the season including playoffs. If a suspended player plays while under suspension the team will forfeit the game in question and the game will not count as a served game of the suspension also the team and/or may receive extra fines or suspensions pending review.

League Suspensions
The O.D.F.L. reserves the right to suspend anyone with cause and executive approval.
 
Article 14 – All-Star & Trophy Voting
 
When voting for annual trophies, all team shall have one vote for a player not on their own team as well as one for their own team. All votes submitted will be calculated by the president with the player(s) with the highest vote earning the award. When the O.D.F.L. plays in an All-Star Game(s) a voting system created by the executive will be used and each team representative will vote for which players play. The team will be selected based on these votes. 
 
Article 15 – Scorekeeping
 
All teams must hand in a copy of the score sheet to the either the league president or statistician for league records. These sheets will serve as official records for games played and league player stats.