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ARTICLE
I - IDENTITY
Section 1. - The name of the
organization shall be the Maritime Football League or by its
abbreviation MFL
Section 2. - For
governance purposes only, the MFL
shall consist of 2 (two) zones known as
conferences:
Section 3. - The scope of the MFL
is to provide governance of Contact Football in the Maritime
Provinces
for
players in the Community Based Post High School
Age Group.
Section 4. - Affiliations with
the respective Provincial and National Football Organizations shall be
maintained
Section 5. - The MFL
shall have Colours and Logos as decided by the League Council
ARTICLE
II - PURPOSE
(a)
To provide an opportunity to play the game of football beyond
the high school level.
(b)
To establish and maintain conditions conducive to the safety
and the enjoyment of the participants.
(c)
To enhance the caliber of the game of football by encouraging
the upgrading of players, coaches,
officials, trainers and administrators.
(d)
To provide an opportunity for the achievement of high standards
of moral development and citizenship through participation in amateur football.
(e)
To provide a route to higher caliber football for those who
desire it.
(f)
To obtain sufficient funds and resources for the successful
operation of the league and fulfillment of these objectives.
(g)
To enhance the image of amateur football and the League and to
promote and strengthen football in the Maritimes
(h)
To declare two champions at the end of the playing season. Based on
season results there will be a Competitive Tier I Championship Round
and a Developmental Tier II Championship Round.
ARTICLE
III - MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. - The MFL League Council shall consist of all
current member teams meeting admission
requirements,
teams that are in good standing and teams that have paid all league
fees.
Section 2. - Each member team in good standing shall be entitled to 1
(one) vote on the League Council.
Section 3. - A team shall be considered not in good standing if , in
the judgment of the League Council, it
has acted in willful violation of the MFL constitution, rules
or by-laws. In the event a team is
declared to be "Not in Good Standing", that team will forfeit all
remaining games and must
reapply for membership as a
New Team the following year.
Section 4. - Admission
Requirements for a New Team to be considered are:
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The approval of the
applicant team will follow the same procedures as ARTICLE IX
Amendment Procedure Section 1.
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Written submission
including Name, Location, Home Field, Equipment Availability and
proposed Coaching Staff must be received by the MFL
Commissioner 30 days prior to the AGM.. This
application must be circulated amongst the League Council within 7
(seven) days of receipt. This requirement may be
waived by the League Council if extenuating circumstances merit it
and the applicant representative is present at the AGM.
If the waiver is in effect the approval must follow ARTICLE IX
Amendment Procedure Section 2.
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A financial statement
showing current liquidity and evidence of operational stability
must also accompany the submission.
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A non-refundable
application fee of 50% of League Fees must accompany the
submission. If the applicant is accepted into the MFL,
this fee will be applied to their Annual Membership Fee. The
remaining 50% of the League Fees are due once the applicant is
accepted and prior to the preparation of the schedule.
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A roster of players must
accompany the application to show the viability of the new team.
This roster must contain at least 22 proposed players.
Section 5. - All MFL
member teams are expected to adhere to the MFL Code of Ethics.
Each team
representative is to make their players aware of the Code and obtain a signature
indicating"
they have been made aware of the Code. Infractions of the Code by any member of a
team,
including coaches
and staff, are grounds for Judicial Review. The Code of
Ethics
will be reviewed on
a regular basis by the MFL League Council
and it will be enforced
by the MFL Executive. This Code
of Ethics is a Policy Matter and does not require
Article IX to make changes. It is governed under
Article
IX as regular business.
ARTICLE
IV- EXECUTIVE
Section 1. - The MFL Executive
shall consist of a Commissioner, NBFC President (Deputy
Commissioner), EFC President (Deputy Commissioner), Secretary-Treasurer
and an Officials Liaison .
Executive
members do not vote at League Council meetings, or at the AGM.
The Commissioner will vote in the event of a tie
between League Council members
in attendance. In an Executive Meeting the Commissioner
will only vote
in the event
of a tie as well.
Section 2. - The MFL
executive shall hold office for a 1 (one) year term or until
successors are named.
Elections will be held at the AGM, with the new executive taking over
power at the end
of the meeting in which elections are held.
Section 3. - The Commissioner
and Secretary-Treasurer will be elected by the League
Council.
The NBFC President shall be elected by the NBFC
Conference. The EFC President
shall be
elected by the EFC Conference. The Officials Liaison
is appointed by the other
members of the Executive, but it will usually correspond to the existing NBFOA
or
NSFOA Chairperson .
Section 4. Duties of Executive
Officers
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It shall be the duty of
the Commissioner to:
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Preside
over all MFL meetings. The Commissioner can only vote to
break ties.
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Have
general supervision over the affairs of the MFL.
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Enforce
the constitution of the MFL.
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It
shall be the duty of the NBFC President
(Deputy Commissioner) to:
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Handle
all necessary NBFC correspondence
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In
Even Years Assume the duties of the Commissioner in his
absence, incapacity, or resignation.
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Assist the Commissioner as required.
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Handle
the day to day decisions of NBFC as required.
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Promote
and market the NBFC.
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Represent the NBFC at meetings
with Football New Brunswick and the Province of New Brunswick.
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It
shall be the duty of the EFC President
(Deputy Commissioner) to:
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Handle
all necessary EFC correspondence
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In
Odd Years Assume the duties of the Commissioner in his
absence, incapacity, or resignation.
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Assist the Commissioner as required.
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Handle
the day to day decisions of EFC as required.
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Promote
and market the EFC.
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Represent the EFC at meetings
with Football Nova Scotia, Football P.E.I. and the Provinces of Nova Scotia
and Prince Edward Island.
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It
shall be the duty of the Secretary-Treasurer
to:
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Keep
accurate minutes of all MFL meetings
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Circulate
copies of the minutes of each meeting within 2 (two) weeks of
the last meeting.
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Maintain
complete and accurate records of the MFL income and
expenditures.
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Have
charge over all MFL finances.
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Present
a current report on the MFL finances at each league
meeting. The
fiscal year of the
MFL
will be the calendar year.
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It
shall be the duty of the Officials
Liaison to:
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Assure
that sufficient officials are assigned to all MFL games.
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Participate
in disciplinary hearings.
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Ensure
that all officials are aware of any special rules used by the MFL.
ARTICLE
V - LEAGUE COUNCIL
Section 1. - The League Council of the MFL shall consist
of 1 (one) voting representative from each
MFL member team in good standing. This League Council shall
determine all policies in
effect, however amendments and by-laws can only be determined at the AGM.
It shall
elect the Executive, which will oversee all MFL business
between meetings of the
League Council .
It shall select delegates from the MFL to attend the
meetings of any affiliated body and shall
adopt standards governing the operation of the MFL games
and the rules that shall
govern those games. The Commissioner, NBFC President, EFC President or two
thirds of league member teams can call meetings of the League Council.
Section 2. - Although
executive members may in fact be associated with a specific MFL
team, they
are not entitled to vote. Therefore, each team in good standing is
entitled to have a
representative which is not on the Executive.
Section 3. - Each league
member team may have additional members present at any League
Council
meeting.
However, the meeting chair may deem to only recognize the voting
representative. If a
meeting is declared "In Camera" all non-voting attendees must
leave the meeting. Any
single voting member may request the "In Camera" status to be invoked.
This does not
require a vote and must be honoured
for the remainder of the issue at hand.
"In Camera" discussions are not to be divulged under
any circumstances. If a policy
decision is undertaken
only a passed vote will be reflected in the minutes. Any
defeated
votes will not be
reported.
ARTICLE
VI - JUDICIAL DUTIES
Section 1. - The League Council will settle grievances between
teams and rule on any disciplinary action
to be administered as per the current constitution, rules or Code of
Ethics. Grieving teams or
Officials
may present such facts or arguments that they deem proper, subject to
the control
of the League Council
who will conduct the hearing. They will answer all questions put
to
them by the other members of the League Council, after which the League Council will
retire to reach a
decision.
The majority vote (50% plus 1 of attending members) will dictate the
judgment in all
discussions .
However, in order to declare a team to be "Not in Good
Standing" the required vote
must be 2/3rds.
In the event of a tie, the Commissioner will render judgment
himself . In matters of discipline
the Officials Liaison will be a voting member of the League
Council.
The team representatives involved as either complainant or
defendant in the Judicial Action
will not vote. Nor will they participate in the deliberations other than to
present evidence.
Any Executive member that is directly involved must also excuse themselves.
Section 2. - In the event of an emergency situation, League Council
may act upon the grievance prior to
the receipt of written copy of said grievance.
Section 3. - All MFL grievances must be submitted within
forty eight (48) hours, by accepted measures
(See Article VII Section 3) , to the MFL Commissioner
for action by the League Council.
A written copy of the grievance must be filed with the MFL Commissioner
within one-week
(7 days) from the time of the alleged infraction.
Section 4. - The League Council may elect to conduct hearings
in person or by conference call, or by
combination.
Section 5. - Any League Council decision will be immediately
released to the MFL membership.
Section 6. - Appeals may be
filed using the same measures as Section 3. However, an appeal
will only be
entertained
if additional evidence is available which was not heard in the
original
Judicial Meeting.
ARTICLE VII - ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEDURES
Section 1. - Meetings of the League Council can be called by
the Commissioner, NBFC President
EFC President or at the request of two thirds of the MFL
member teams.
Section 2. - The first meeting in the calendar year shall be known as
the Annual General Meeting of the
MFL League Council. The Annual General Meeting must be held by
April 30, each year.
The League Council must meet , at least, once per year. Meetings via
conference phone
call or by e-mail and
facsimile are permitted.
Section 3. - Accepted forms of
communication include Phone, Voice Mail, Facsimile, e-Mail, Mail or
Registered Mail.
Section 4. - Notifications for
the AGM must be sent to all MFL teams 4 (four) weeks
prior to the
meeting. All other meetings require at least 72 hours of notice.
Section 5. -E-Mail meetings shall be conducted as follows: The
Commissioner will send an e-mail to the
League Council calling for a meeting on a specific item. Discussion of the
matter shall take
place for a
reasonable period of time as specified by the Commissioner. Voting
will take
place by a given
deadline set by the Commissioner. Any teams that do not respond by the
deadline will be counted
as abstaining from the
vote.
ARTICLE
VIII - ORDER OF BUSINESS
Section 1. - The presence of the majority (50% plus 1) of the MFL
teams in good standing is
necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of MFL business.
Section 2. - For clarity; no rules may be
changed, amended or altered during the season or during
playoffs.
All policies
and procedures and By-Laws may be changed.
These items may be changed
with a
simple majority (50% +1) of the valid quorum
as a per Section 1.
Section 3. - The agenda for
the Annual General Meeting shall contain, as a minimum, the following
items:
·
Reports/Minutes
·
Review of League Statistics
·
Election of Officers
·
Admission of New Teams
·
By- Laws
·
Scheduling
ARTICLE
IX - AMENDMENT PROCEDURE
Section 1. - This constitution may be amended at the MFL Annual
Meeting by a two thirds (2/3) vote of
the member teams present and in good standing, provided that written
notice of any proposed
change or amendment has been given to the MFL Commissioner no
later than four weeks
prior to the date of the Annual General Meeting. The proposed
change or amendment must
then be circulated within 7 (seven) days following the receipt by the
Commissioner. This is
the same requirement
for the admittance of a new team that made a written proposal in time
to be circulated.
Section 2. - If a proposed
amendment was not received OR circulated in the proscribed timeframe,
it
may be introduced
at the AGM. However, in order to pass, it must receive Unanimous
support of all member teams in
good standing. If a member team is not present for the vote
they
must be notified of the proposed change
or amendment within 7 (seven) days of the
meeting close. They
will then have 2 (two) weeks in order to
respond with a VETO. If
they do not respond, the change
or amendment will be deemed to be accepted
Unanimously.
This is the same requirement for the admittance of
a new team that had NOT made a
written proposal in time to be circulated.
Section 3. - A Special AGM
may be called during the year in order to entertain changes or
amendments that are deemed
to be necessary by 100% of the member teams in good
standing. In
other words, a League Council meeting
may be called into session and
declared an AGM if all the
member teams are present and agree.
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