MORRIS ESSEX TUESDAY SENIOR SOFTBALL LEAGUE
BY-LAWS
I. ORGANIZATION OF LEAGUE
A. The Morris Essex Tuesday Senior Softball League (M.E.T.S.S.) is an affiliate of the New Jersey Senior Softball Association. The League was formed to provide the opportunity for senior players to participate in healthful, recreational, and competitive softball games.
B. The Morris Essex Tuesday Senior Softball League is comprised of teams based in Morris or Essex Counties, New Jersey. There are two divisions: the “A” Division, and the Slocum Division. There are currently sixteen teams in the League but not limited to that number. The “A” Division teams are composed of players 60 years in age and over. The Slocum Division is composed of players 69 years of age or older. Players who are turning 60 or 69 during the calendar year are eligible to play in the respective divisions. Players must show proof of age upon the request of the Commissioner.
C. The season begins the third full week in April and ends the second full week in August. All games are played on Tuesday mornings. Starting time of games is 10:00 a.m.
D. The governing body of the Morris Essex Tuesday Senior Softball League is the Board of Directors. The Board consists of each team manager or his designated representative (assistant manager) and up to four Members-at-Large who are player representatives. In addition, there is a Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, and Treasurer, and Secretary.
E. Various committees are established as deemed necessary by the Commissioner. Members of the Committees are chosen by the Commissioner.
F.
All Board of Directors meetings shall follow Roberts Rules of Order.
II. RESPONSILITIES AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
A. The Board of Directors adopts all practices and policies that ensure proper and efficient management of the League. This includes, but not limited to, bylaws, rules and regulations, budget and expenditures, game schedule, and other item(s) as deemed necessary by the Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, or Treasurer.
B. All voting results occurring at official Board of Directors meetings shall be a simple majority of those Board members present at the meeting. The Commissioner will have the deciding vote in case of tie votes by the Board.
III. OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER
A. THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER
1.
The
Commissioner must be a member or a former member of the Board of Directors or
an assistant manager and must be duly elected by a simple majority of the Board
of Directors.
2. Must display excellent management, organization and communicative skills.
3. The Commissioner shall serve a minimum of two years.
B. THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMISSIONER
1. The Commissioner provides overall direction to the Board on matters of strategic importance to the long term welfare of the League. He presides at all general and executive meetings, authenticates all legally binding obligations and actions of the Board. He or a designated representative functions as a liaison to the municipalities that permit the League to use playing fields. He appoints Chairman of Committees as deemed necessary to implement League programs. He shall schedule Board of Directors meetings as deemed necessary for the thorough and efficient management of the League.
2. In the absence of a Secretary, the Commissioner maintains the League records, meeting minutes and reports, distributes minutes and reports to Board members, handles all correspondence, and is responsible for player registration forms and compiling and filing all player liability waiver forms.
3. The Commissioner or his designated representative shall attend all State meetings as scheduled.
4. The commissioner shall have the authority to suspend, fine or ban a player from the League for inappropriate behavior as stated in the Code of Ethics. The commissioner could seek the advisement from the Executive Committee and the Rules and By-Laws Committee as deemed necessary to implement this disciplinary action.
IV. OFFICE OF
ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER
A. THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE OFFICE OF ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER
1. The Assistant Commissioner must be a member or former member of the Board of Directors who served or serves in the capacity as manager, assistant manager, or member–at–large and must be duly elected by a simple majority of the Board of Directors.
B. THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER
1. He replaces the Commissioner as Chairperson of the Board of Directors in the Commissioner’s absence.
2. He is responsible for new player assignments on team rosters, filing and finalizing team rosters to insure team parity within the League.
3. Assist in the implementation of player draft procedures
4. Coordinate efforts and procedures as discussed and agreed to with the Commissioner for the benefit of the League.
5. The Assistant Commissioner shall serve a minimum of two years.
V. OFFICE OF
TREASURER
A. THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE OFFICE OF THE TREASURER
1. The Treasurer will be duly elected by a simple majority of the Board of Directors and shall serve for a minimum of two years.
B.THE RESPONSILITIES OF THE TREASURER
1. The Treasurer maintains all financial records of the League
2. He collects the annual League fee from the team managers and deposits the proceeds in the League’s bank account.
3. He reports all expenditures and receipts at regular meetings.
4. He formulates an annual budget in consultation with the League Commissioner which is presented at the February meeting for Board approval
5. He is authorized to prepare and sign all checks.
VI. OFFICE OF
SECRETARY
A. THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE OFFICE OF SECRETARY
B. 1. The Secretary shall be duly elected by a simple majority of the Board of Directors and shall serve for a minimum of two years.
C. THE RESPONSIBILTIES OF THE SECRETARY
1. The Secretary maintains the Leagues records, meeting minutes and reports, weekly results of games, and weekly League standings.
2. The Secretary handles League correspondence as directed by the Commissioner or the Board of Directors.
3.
He is responsible for compiling and filing
of all liability waiver forms, field applications, and insurance certificates.
4. The Secretary shall serve for a minimum of two years.
VII. Executive Committee:
1. The Executive Committee shall be comprised of
the Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Treasurer, and Secretary and will
convene at the discretion of the Commissioner.
2. The Executive Committee has the
authority to meet with the Chairman and members of authorized Committees and/or
selected Division Managers or others to address, and/ or propose changes to
issues that will ensure proper and efficient management of the League.
3. Any proposals will be presented to the
Board of Directors for consideration.
VIII. MEETINGS
A. QUORUM AND ORDER OF BUSINESS
1. A majority of the Board of Directors is necessary to officially conduct League business.
2. The following shall be order of business at regular meetings
a. Call to Order
b. Attendance
c. Reading and vote on minutes
d. Treasurer’s Report
e. Committee Reports
f. Unfinished business
g. New business
h. Adjournment
IX. ELECTION OF OFFICERS
A.
When
required the election of a Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Treasurer, and
Secretary will occur at the first Board of Directors meeting of the new season. The season start date is December 1.
X. AMENDMENTS TO BYLAWS, RULES, AND
REGULATIONS
A. Any amendments to bylaws, rules and/or regulations may be revised or amended by a simple majority vote of the Board of Directors present at a scheduled meeting.
B. All
proposed revisions or amendments must be submitted by the Bylaws, Rules, and
Regulations Committee in writing two weeks prior to the scheduled Board of
Directors meeting and distributed
to all Board members for review.
XI. PLAYER LIABILITY WAIVER FORMS
A. All players involved in the League are
obligated to sign the player liability waiver form prior to the start of the
first scheduled game.
B. If a player is
not present or otherwise not able to sign the form prior to the start of the
first game, he
must notify the manager in writing stating he is responsible for any physical
injury and will hold harmless the managers, Board of Directors, and officers of
the League.
C.
The
managers must submit all signed waiver forms and individual written statements to
the Commissioner /Secretary by the second week of the season.
D.
Any
player not conforming with “A” and ”B” above will not
be able to participate in League games until such notification is received
XII. UMPIRING
A. Each team at bat shall appoint two umpires, one at home plate and one in the field to make umpiring calls.
B. The home plate umpire shall make fair or foul calls along the third base and first base lines and calls on plays at third base and home plate. The field umpire’s calls are primarily at first and second base. However, game situations may require conferencing to confirm or reverse calls made by either umpire.
C. All umpiring calls and conferencing decisions are final.
D.
There
shall not be protests of games.
XIII. PLAYER DISPUTES
A.
If and when a player feels they have a dispute
or issue, it is imperative that they first discuss it with their team
manager. If the dispute or issue cannot
be resolved, the player can notify the Assistant Commissioner, who will be
responsible for solving it. The Assistant
Commissioner may seek input from the team manager and/or Commissioner. In the event the dispute or issue is not
settled at that level, he may request an arbitration meeting with the Board of
Directors.
B.
If
there are disputes between managers, it is recommended they settle the dispute between
or among themselves. If the issue cannot
be resolved, they may request an arbitration meeting with the Assistant
Commissioner and Commissioner. If the
issue is still not resolved, they may request an arbitration meeting with the
Board of Directors.
C.
If
meetings are requested with the Assistant Commissioner, Commissioner, or Board
of Directors all arbitration results are binding and final.
XIV. NEW PLAYER DRAFT PROCEDURES
A.
All new players who have not previously played
in the League will be subject to a try-out and draft to determine the team to
which he is assigned. New players who
are directly recruited by a manager or team representative are not subject to
the try-out or draft. Players who have
previously played in the League and have not participated in League activities
for more than one season are subject to the try-out and draft.
B.
The
rosters of the teams will be set by the March Board meeting date as required by
playing Rule X. All applications
received after that date will be deemed to be new players.
C.
The
try-outs/player draft will be held at a date and location to be determined by
the Commissioner but no later than March 31st weather
permitting. The draft procedure will be
implemented immediately following the try-out.
The Commissioner will determine the nature and format of the try-outs.
D.
All
teams are eligible to participate and are expected to have the Manager,
Assistant Manager, or designated representative present at the draft. If a team is not represented the Commissioner
or Assistant Commissioner will draft for that team.
E.
The
order of the draft will be determine by the won-lose record from the previous season, excluding any post
season tournaments or any form of playoffs format.
1.
There will be two pools of teams created, the
“A” Division will be placed in one pool, and the Slocum Division will be in
the other pool.
2.
All
new players age eligible (60+) will be placed in the “A” pool. All new players age eligible (69+) will be placed
in the Slocum Division pool.
3.
The
teams with the poor won-lost records will participate in the first round of the
draft and will select players first, followed in order with the teams with the
best record drafting last. All teams
must draft a player when their turn comes.
4.
If
round two of the draft is necessary, the draft will follow the same format as
above except that teams who have rosters of less than 15 players will get two
draft choices when their next turn arrives in the drafting procedure.
5.
If
round three is necessary, the draft will follow the same format as rounds 1 and
2 except that teams that still have less than 15 players including previously
drafted players will get two more draft picks when their turn arrives in the
drafting procedure.
6.
The
draft will continue until all new players have been assigned.
7.
New
player applications received after the draft date and but before June 1st
of the calendar year will be evaluated by the Assistant Commissioner and
assigned to team upon consultation with the manager. He will consider player skills and team needs
in the process.
8.
New
applications received after June 1st of the calendar year must be
submitted to the Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner as per Playing Rule X.
March 16, 2016
January 19, 2017
February 7, 2018
March 28, 2019
January 29, 2020