Diocese Of Trenton-
By-Laws
MONMOUTH COUNTY
ATHLETIC
COUNCIL
CONSTITUTION
AND BYLAWS
TITLE:
The name of this committee shall be
the Diocesan Athletic Council for the county of Monmouth . It
is constituted as a standing committee of the Diocesan Office of Youth and Young
Adult Ministries.
PURPOSE:
This council is established for the
purpose of developing and maintaining consistent regulations and standards of
behavior for all sports activities within the Diocese.
ACCOUNTABILITY:
The Council is accountable to the
Athletic Commissioner, who acting as the Bishop’s representative for all sports
related activities, must ratify all resolutions submitted by the Diocesan
Athletic Council. Council regulations
shall not conflict with Diocesan legislation or policy.
MEMBERSHIP:
The Council shall consist of
representatives from the schools and parishes in the county. Where possible the breakdown should be as
follows: 2 Athletic Directors ; 2 Principals; 2 Coaches; 2
League Directors and 1 Priest. Each
member shall serve for a term of 2 years with the exception of the first council
where to provide a smooth transition half of the Council will be replaced after
2 years and the other half will serve a 3 year term.
RESPONSIBILITY OF COUNCIL MEMBERS:
1. Establish, review and modify where necessary the Bylaws
and Guidelines for the County Athletic Council
2. Publish and distribute a copy of these guidelines to
each Parish and School at the beginning of each year
3. Work with the Athletic
Directors in their area to assure all rules and guidelines are
being followed by all County sports teams
4. Work with Athletic Commissioner to insure all programs
in the county are striving to promote and reinforce Catholic values in all
aspects of these programs
5. Provide guidance and direction for new Coaches and
Athletic Directors in their
county
OFFICERS:
The membership shall elect a person to
serve as Chair of the County Council who shall be responsible for convening and
presiding at all meetings. The Chair of
the Council shall rotate on a yearly basis.
A Vice Chair will also be elected who
shall preside in the absence of the Chair and shall assume the Chair at the end
of the term of the Chair. The Secretary
shall be elected and shall be responsible for recording the minutes of all
meetings.
No two officers shall be directly
affiliated with the same school or parish.
MEETINGS:
The Council shall meet no less than
once per quarter as determined by need.
The Chair may call meetings when in his/her judgment such meetings are
necessary.
TRANSACTION OF BUSINESS/QUORUM:
For transacting business one/half of
the voting membership shall constitute a quorum. Each member shall have one vote.
COMMITTEES:
The establishment of Standing Committees may be made through consensus or
vote of Council. The
establishment of ad hoc committees shall be at the discretion
of the Council Chair with the approval of the Diocesan Athletic
Commissioner.
FORMULATION AND RATIFICATION REGULATIONS:
Regulations are passed according to
the following process:
1. Council formulates and approves regulations in
writing
2. The Athletic Commissioner enacts the regulation by
signing written resolutions
3. Every effort
shall be made to arrive at decisions through consensus. In those decisions where this is not
possible, parliamentary rule shall be invoked—a majority of those present
rules.
AMENDMENT OF BY/LAWS:
By/laws may be amended through a
two/thirds majority vote of a quorum of 2/3’s of the membership.
COUNCIL
RESPONSIBILITIES:
In its fir
st year of formation the Council will e st ablish the by/laws and rules governing all sports
programs in the County. They will work
with all the programs in the county to see that these guidelines can be
implemented no later than September 1, 2004 .
ELEMENTARY
LEVEL PARISH/SCHOOL ATHLETIC PROGRAMS:
All parish elementary athletic
programs, athletic directors, coaches, and athletic associations or boards are
under the direct supervision of either the principal or pa st or of each parish.
It is recommended that all
parish/school athletic programs have an athletic director or a person designated
who is responsible for coordinating the athletic program.
The athletic director is accountable
to either the principal or pa st or
and should work closely with them in all aspects of the Athletic Program
The athletic director and all coaches
are to be approved by the principal/pa
st or each year.
Parish athletic
associations/committees/councils are accountable to the
principal/pa st or. (The principal and /or athletic director will
keep the parish Pa st or informed of
the athletic committee’s activities.)
The athletic director should give a
written evaluation of each coach to the principal/past or at the end of each season along with the
recommendation on whether the coach should continue coaching or not. (Sample evaluations forms are attached).
ATHLETIC
ACTIVITIES
It is recommended that students in grades 5 through 8 should have no more than 4
athletic/sport activities per week (practices and games). Sunday to Saturday shall constitute a
week. Participation in two games on a
given day shall be considered one activity.
Make up games are not considered part of these 4 weekly athletic
events.
With the exception of Cross
Country and Track and Field athletes may compete in only one sport per
season. In the case of cheerleading the
season shall be designated as “Winter”, therefore a cheerleader would be
eligible to participate in a Fall or Spring sport but not eligible to be a
member of an additional Winter sport team.
With the exception of Cross Country and Track
no regular season games or practices shall be scheduled prior to 12 Noon on Sundays, unless there is a
conflict with field/park/Parish events (mandated only by the Pa st or or
Principal
When school is canceled due to
inclement weather, no practices, games or local tournaments are to be held.
PRACTICES
Practice time for grades 1
through 4 should not exceed one hour and fifteen minutes
Practice time for grades 5-8
should not exceed two hours.
Practices should be scheduled
with consideration for the family meal time and safety of children returning
home.
A li
st of all scheduled practices should be given to each parent at
the beginning of each season.
Transporting team members
should be the sole responsibility of the parents. Coaches or any other team representative
should not make travel arrangements, nor, without the written consent of the
parents provide transportation for any team member. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES
SHOULD A COACH OR TEAM ASSISTANT UNDER THE AGE OF 21 YEARS BE PERMITTED TO
TRANSPORT ATHLETES.
STARTING AND
ENDING DATES FOR SEASONS
FALL
Try-outs*,
practices, or competition should begin no sooner than September 1 st
All games and play-offs should
be completed by November 15th
The maximum number of games
that may be played (excluding Tournaments) is 16
Sports included:
Soccer
Cross Country
"--try-outs may be held in the
spring for purposes of selecting a team however, no practices can be conducted until September 1 st .
WINTER
Try-outs, practices,
or competition should begin no sooner than October 15th
All games and
play-offs should be completed by February 28th
The maximum number
of games that may be played (excluding Tournaments) is 25
Sports
included: Basketball
SPRING
Try-outs, practices,
or competition should begin no sooner than March 1
st
All games and
play-offs should be completed by June 1
st
The maximum number
of games that may be played (excluding Tournaments) is 16
Sports
included:
Baseball
Golf
Softball
Tennis
Track & Field
In the event due to scheduling or
tournament play the end of one season overlaps the beginning of the next season,
an athlete playing on one team will be permitted to try-out for the new season
sport. However the athlete is obligated
to attend the game or practice of the existing sport should both sports have a
scheduled event on the same day and will not be penalized for his/her absence
from the other sport.
CHEERLEADING:
Try outs for cheerleading may be held
in June of the present school year but no practices may begin until the
fir st day of the following school
year. Those programs offering competitive cheering squads may begin practice no
sooner than the fir st day of the
school year. The total number of
competitions that a squad can enter will be determined by the Principal and/or
Pastor and the Athletic Director. All
practices, and tournaments or competitions should be completed by April
1 st .
Open Gym Programs:
Athletes are permitted to
take part in this type of recreational program but a coach of a specific sport
activity in that Open-Gym Program is not permitted to be involved. Coaches may supervise Open-Gym Programs only
when their Athletes are not involved in that specific phase of the program
during the out-of-season period.
Open-Gym Programs involving a single sport in which only Athletes are
involved are interpreted as an attempt to circumvent the out-of-season rules and
will not be permitted.
An Open-Gym Program is one in which a
variety of recreational type
activities are offered. Coaches at any
level may not be present when their specific sport activity is part of the
Open-Gym Program. Responsibility for
monitoring Open-Gym Programs should be with the athletic director and
principal/pa st or of the school or
parish.
COACHES:
Each coach mu st be approved by the principal/pa st or/athletic director prior to each season. A copy of the coach’s application/profile and
evaluation should be forwarded to the Athletic Commissioners Office at the end
of each season.
All coaches mu st attend mandatory coaches’ meetings.
Each coach and athletic director
must obtain Rutgers S.A.F.E.T.Y. Clinic certification by the
end of the 2004 school year. Copies of
this certification should be kept on file at the school/parish office. A list of coaches and the
status of their certification should be placed on file in the Diocesan
Office.
Each coach will be required to sign
the below li st d code of conduct,
copies of these are to be kept in the school/parish office. (Sample
attached) A li
st of all coaches signing the form is to be forwarded to the
Diocesan Athletic Office.
Each coach must have
in his/her possession at every practice and game a copy of the emergency contact
form for each player. (Copy
attached)
At least one coach
for each team should be CPR certified
CODE OF
CONDUCT:
A. No abusive language or actions
B. Coaches shall make a concentrated effort to keep scores
in any conte st such that the
opposing teams will not be embarrassed
C. Coaches’ actions shall be such that they promote good
sportsmanship among everyone present
D. Coaches shall always remember that their actions reflect
on the reputation and good name of his/her school.
E. Coaches shall treat all officials with respect
F. Coaches shall treat their players with respect at all
times
G. Coaches should st rive to see that each player dressed for a game
have the opportunity to participate in that contest
H. The coach or designated adult team supervisor shall
arrive at the game with the team and be present in the dressing room before and
after a game
CODE OF
CONDUCT FOR COACHES, PLAYERS, PARENTS AND SPECTATORS:
Each school/parish may make such
additions as seem necessary to promote good sportsmanship. Each school/parish shall set a code of
behavior for their fans which promotes good sportsmanship and takes into account
the level of competition. The coach and
athletic director shall be responsible for enforcing the code of behavior for
fans.
Any official, coach, principal, parent
etc. has the right and is encouraged to
inform the County Council when anyone violates these codes. Such complaints should be in writing and
signed by the individual making the complaint. The Council in conjunction with the Diocesan
Office of Athletics shall rule on all such complaints.
PARENTS
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Parents must attend a
mandatory parent meeting at the beginning of the sports season. No child will be permitted to participate in
the sports program unless one or both parents attend the pre-season
meeting.
Parents of the school/parish athletic
team shall treat all officials with respect and refrain from criticizing
officials before, during and after games
Parents and fans are reminded that
their actions reflect on the reputation and good name of the school
Each parent will be required to sign
a Parent’s Code of Conduct Form prior to their child being permitted to play in
scheduled games. (Sample attached)
Any parent or fan disregarding these
guidelines shall be asked to leave the gym or playing field. If the parent or fan disregards the request
to vacate the area, the game shall not continue until the person (s) leaves and
could result in forfeiture of the game.
The coaches of both teams shall see that these regulations are
enforced.
VIOLATIONS OF
THE CODE OF CONDUCT:
Failure to exhibit good sportsmanship
in keeping with the aforementioned behavior will result in ejection from the
game and the requirement to leave the immediate area of the athletic
contest .
Any coach, player, parent or spectator
ejected from a game will receive a one game suspension, and may not attend the
next contest . This
suspension includes any game for the re
st of that day and the next scheduled game.
Two ejections of a coach, player,
parent, or spectator will result in an automatic suspension for the remainder of
the school year for ALL athletic activities.
The Referee/Official will
contact the League Director of the ejection of a coach, player, parent, or
spectator immediately following the incident. The League Director will be
required to submit an Incident Report (copy attached) to the School/Parish
involved, the County Council and Diocesan Athletic Office. This report should be filed within 48 hours of
the incident. A copy of the report will
be sent to the principal/pa st or of
the offending school.
TEAM
SIZE/CUTTING OF PLAYERS/TEAM COMPOSITION:
Parishes may determine the size and
composition of each team. When team
rosters exceed the recommended parish roster limit the parish (with prior
agreement from the County Council) shall add additional teams.
Where ever possible school teams and
parish teams should not compete in the same division
If a player attends school in one
parish and is a member of another and both parishes field a team in that
sport—the athlete mu st decide which
program they are playing for and remain with that program for the balance of the
school year. Only in those cases where
the selected parish does not field a team may the player play for one parish in
one season and a different parish in another season. The County Council will rule on any disputes
arising out of this rule.
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION:
Grades
K---4
Instructional—main emphasis on skills
development, little if any competitive
emphasis
Grades 5 & 6
Freshman—continuation of skills
development, allowing for limited competitive action
Grades 6
& 7
Junior Varsity—normal competitive
schedule but either through the
in st itution of the
5th quarter or other mutually
agreeable arrangements all players who have followed the coach’s rules or
guidelines concerning practices and other policies should be assured playing
time at each game or meet And/or not having reached their 14th
birthday prior to October 1 st of
that school year
Grades 7
& 8
Varsity—full competitive schedule with
the discretion of the coach to playing time awarded each
participant And not having reached their
15th birthday prior to October 1
st of that school year. Regardless of age upon reaching the
7th Grade an athlete will have two (2) years of playing eligibility.
GENERAL
ELIGIBILITY RULES:
Any athlete not in compliance with
their school/parish program guidelines will not be eligible to participate in
any scheduled contests. It is up to the
principal/past or and coach to
enforce this policy.
All individuals participating in the
athletics program must have a physical exam each year and proof
of this exam must be on file in the athletics office of the
school/parish (sample form attached)
A permission form
must be on file with the principal/athletic director for each
student participating in the athletic program; it must
be signed by a parent or guardian. An
emergency form for each child must also be on file.
A student that is absent from school
on the day of a game or practice will not be permitted to participate in that
event.
No school/parish team will
participate in any league that has not registered with the Diocese of Trenton
and whose by-laws and rules are not on file in the Diocesan Office. Those programs wishing to participate in
leagues not under the direct control of the Diocese should see that a copy of
that leagues by-laws, list of
officers, and schedules are forwarded to the Athletic Commissioner prior to the
first game of the season.
Sanctions for
Violations of the Guidelines:
All reports of violations of the
Monmouth County Athletic Guidelines shall be made in writing to the Athletic
Commissioner for the Diocese of Trenton.
Upon receipt, a preliminary review of the alleged violation will be
conducted. If it is determined a
violation has occurred a special meeting of the County Athletic Council will be
called and the issue addressed at that time.
If the individual/program is found to be in violation disciplinary action
will be taken. This action can range
from counseling, probation, suspension, forfeiting all games played from the
time of the violation, denial of entrance into a post season
play-off and loss of insurance depending on the circum
stances and severity of the offense. The
Principal; Past or and Athletic Director for each program have the shared
responsibility to see that their programs are operating in compliance with these
guidelines.
Issued: August
2003
Revised: November 2003
Revised: February 2004
Revised: April 7, 2004
