LEAGUE BY-LAWS

Mission Statement: The Women’s Mid-Atlantic Club Lacrosse League (WMACLL) is a post collegiate club league for women in the Baltimore, Annapolis, DC and Virginia area. Our mission is to increase playing opportunities for post-collegiate athletes, and facilitate women's continued involvement to grow and share enthusiasm for the sport. Our main goal is to play lacrosse in a friendly and competitive atmosphere as a compliment to our personal and professional lives. Unsportsmanlike conduct, such as overly aggressive play, arguing with referees and other players and playing non rostered players will not be tolerated in our league.

Annual Meeting: The Women’s Mid-Atlantic Club Lacrosse League (WMACLL) will hold its annual meeting in November of each year. Teams returning in good standing from the prior year are automatically accepted for the new league year and constitute the formal voting body at the annual meeting.

Officer positions and associated league responsibilities: No more than one representative from any team can serve in more than one position during a league year.

Chair ~ Overall responsibility for all league activities and final deciding vote in all league disputes

Treasurer ~ Financial accountability and liaison with USL Chapters in the League assignment areas to secure supplemental funding for officials for the playoff games (cost of one official per participating area)

Scheduler ~ Production of the annual league game schedule and acquisition of “neutral” turf field space for the semi final and championship games

Eligibility Monitor ~ Clearance of all players on all rosters to ensure USL status and league eligibility no later than March 1st for preliminary rosters and March 15th for the final rosters

Statistician ~ Collection of weekly game results from all teams and distribution of a weekly summary no later than the Tuesday following each Sunday league game

Team Voting Rights: Each team has two votes on all league rule changes/additions/deletions. Additional representatives are welcome but will not be allowed to vote.

Team Eligibility: Teams must adhere to league rules and regulations at all times. League status of teams forfeiting two or more games in a single season, forfeiting one playoff game in a single season, or otherwise in default of league rules will be reviewed at the next annual board meeting and is subject to a penalty or penalties to be determined by the voting majority. Penalties can include, but are not limited to, probation, financial restrictions, and/or ejection from the league. Teams will be advised of their review status and the basis for the review prior to the annual meeting and will be allowed to present their case to the membership. The team with then be removed from the room while a league decision regarding their status is made.

New Teams: New teams interested in participating in the league MUST submit an application for consideration prior to the annual league meeting in November. Applications MUST be accompanied by a preliminary roster and a non-refundable application fee of $100. New teams accepted into the league will be considered probationary during their first year of league play and will be reviewed for permanent status at the following year’s annual board meeting. Teams missing the deadline may form and independently schedule games against league teams but will not be considered for official league play until the following spring.

Rules: NCAA/WCLA rules apply. See attached document (NO stop clock under any circumstances-30 mins running clock each half)

Rosters: Rosters are limited to 35 players per team. Initial team rosters are due to the league coordinator by 5 pm on the Tuesday immediately prior to the first Sunday of regular season games. Final team rosters are due to the league coordinator by the Tuesday following the 2nd game.

• Teams may make a maximum of five changes (additions and substitutions are separate actions and count toward the 5 change maximum) from the initial roster. Teams failing to submit their preliminary roster by the league deadline will be required to forfeit their first league game.
• Teams failing to submit their preliminary roster within 6 days of the league deadline will be required to forfeit their second game.
• Provisional rosters will be considered FINAL in the event a team fails to submit a final roster by the league deadline. Teams failing to have an approved roster on record by the final league roster deadline will be permanently removed from the league and all games recorded as a win for the scheduled opponent.

All players on the team roster must be at least 18 years of age, a HS graduate or above, an active player members of US Lacrosse and their eligibility period must be current for the entire season at the time final rosters are submitted. If an inactive player participates in a league game, the ineligible player’s team will automatically forfeit the game. Rosters are to be submitted in excel format and must include team name, name of the official team contact(s), contact phone numbers – including cellular – for official team contacts, team colors, home field location and directions, player names, and player USL numbers and expiration dates. A compilation of team rosters will be sent to all teams by the league coordinator.

Uniforms: All uniforms must have visible numbers on the front and back of the jerseys. Numbers must be a minimum of 6” tall on front and 8” on back and compliant with 2013 uniform requirements. Special Note: Teams participating in the league prior to 2010 and who are using previously purchased uniforms are exempt from the 2013 uniform requirements until such time as new uniforms are ordered. If weather necessitates players wearing long sleeve undergarments, the undergarments should match the top uniform i.e. ALL light or ALL dark.

Fields / Field Restrictions: Teams must submit home field locations, directions and game times to the league coordinator no later than the deadline for distribution to all teams. Teams with natural grass fields are strongly encouraged to seek alternative artificial locations in the event of inclement weather whenever possible / practical to ensure safety of players and officials. Special field restrictions must also be noted and players and fans must abide by all field requirements (i.e. policies regarding animals, alcohol and/or parking restrictions) as identified by the hosting team. Team coordinators are responsible for ensuring adherence to these policies.

Schedule & Season Length: Regular season league games are played on Sundays beginning no earlier than the last weekend of February and concluding on or before Memorial Day weekend (inclusive of the Semi-Final and Final games). No regular league games are to be scheduled on Easter weekend or Mothers Day Weekend. When the number of league teams is equal to or less than 10, the schedule will be drafted with all teams in the same pool. When the number of league teams exceeds 10, teams will be divided into two equal pools assigned based on the previous year’s standings (even teams in one and odd teams in the other) with random assignment of new teams. Non pool games will be played against the teams in opposing pools seeded in closest proximity. The schedule is to be finalized and distributed to all league team coordinators no later than December 15th.

Alcohol Policy: Consumption of alcohol by any player during the course of any league game is strictly prohibited.

Game Times: All games are to be scheduled to start between 11 am – 3 pm. Games will consist of two running time 30-minute halves, no stop clock whatsoever. Teams must have at least 8 eligible players on the field no later than 15 minutes past the scheduled start time. After the February deadline of game times and field locations, home teams should not make any changes. If a game time must be changed, teams are highly encouraged to work together to fit the game in. If a home team must change a game time, either the new game time and/or location must be agreed upon by BOTH the home team and the away team OR the home team will take the forfeit for that game.

Forfeits: Teams will be subject to forfeiture of a game for the following league violations: Playing with an ineligible player, having less than the minimum number of players required at the end of the 15 minute wait period, failure to provide the required number of officials (excludes circumstances outside a team’s control), failure to submit rosters or report scores within the designated timeframes, and/or failure to make-up a canceled game. Teams that forfeit MUST pay the full cost of ALL officials AND the cost of the field rental (if there is no field rental fee, a $150 penalty will be issued to the forfeiting team, payable to WMACLL). If the field is still utilized post forfeit then compensation fees for field rental are not required. Teams requesting reimbursement for field costs from the forfeiting team must submit a copy of the invoice to the opposing team and the league chair.

Cancellations: Games may only be canceled for inclement weather and must be canceled 2.5 hours prior to the scheduled game time. Notification must be provided to the away team and all scheduled officials. Games may only be canceled on-site by the Umpires.

Make-up games: Teams have 2 weeks from the original game date to reschedule cancelled games. Rescheduled games must be played PRIOR to the last week of regularly scheduled season games. The home team is responsible for providing 2 options for make up dates. One of these dates MUST be on a weekend. If the away team cannot field a team on either of those dates, they will be required to forfeit the game.

Ties: All games are to be played to a conclusion. If a game is tied at the end of regulation play, teams will play it out in sudden death. Sudden death is played in 3-minute increments with teams changing sides each time until the winning goal is scored.

Home Team Responsibilities:

• Ice
• Medical Kit
• Field preparation
• Coordinating with scheduler for 3 officials
• Weather cancellation (up to 2.5 hours out) notification to the Away Team and officials
• Reporting of final score to the league chair and the league statistician
• Score keeper
• Scoreboard
• Reporting of ejected players (red / yellow card rule violations) of both teams, if any, along with their eligible “return to play” date to the league chair, the league statistician and the league eligibility monitor

Reporting: It is the Home Team’s responsibility to report red and yellow cards (names and numbers), game scores and/or explanation if the game is canceled or forfeited, within 48 hours of the conclusion of each game. Away Teams are encouraged to confirm the score at the end of the game to avoid any discrepancies. In the event of a discrepancy, the score reported by the home team will be considered official. If the home team fails to report by the required time, it will be recorded as a loss for the home team.

League Fee: The league fee is $100 per team, is to be sent directly to the league Treasurer no later than the February deadline, and maintained in a separate WMACLL checking account. The Treasurer will collect and disburse the funds as designated by the league and will provide a year-end summary at the annual league meeting. League fees are to be allocated in the following manner ~ semifinal and championship game field space and field prep (if necessary), championship “take-home” trophy for presentation to the winning team, and refreshments for the annual board meeting.

Assignor Fee: The assignor fee is $100 per team per year to be paid directly to the designated assignor no later than February deadline. Assignors are divided into two major league areas (Annapolis/Baltimore and Washington) and teams located in each of those areas are responsible to contacting the appropriate Assignor to schedule officials for all home games. Assignors must be given game times and field locations at least 2 weeks in advance to ensure coverage. Assignors will provide names and contact numbers for the officials to the home team representative at least one week prior to each game.

Official Fee: The official fee is $110 per official per game to be paid prior to the start of each game. Each team is responsible for payment of one and a half officials each game. When only two officials are available, the officials will be paid the rate of $125, one by each team. When only one official is available and teams do not play the game, the umpire will be paid the regular rate $110 and the fee is to be shared by both teams. When only one umpire is available for a game and teams play the game, the umpire will be paid 1.5 times the regular rate and the fee is to be shared by both teams.

Official Coverage: Three officials are required for each game. If less than the required number of officials is present and the circumstances were within the Home team’s control (i.e. failure to request assignment, failure to notify assignor and officials of a reschedule game date/time, and/or provision of incorrect information to the Assignor), teams have the option to cancel and/or play. In either case, the game will be considered a forfeit by the home team for official league standing purposes. If less than the required number of officials is present and the circumstances were not within the Home team’s control (i.e. official went to the wrong field, official was sick at the last minute, and/or official was delayed by traffic), teams have the option to reschedule and/or play. If teams mutually agree to play, the game will be considered an official league game and the final score of the game reported to the league coordinator for league standings. If teams disagree, the official league game must be rescheduled.

Team Standings: Standings for playoffs are determined by each team’s overall regular season point total and points are awarded as follows: Win 1, Loss 0, and Forfeit -1. In the event of a tie between two teams, standings will be determined by the results of regular season head to head competition. In the event of a tie between three or more teams, standings will be determined by the results of regular season head to head competition among the teams tied followed by the highest average goal differential (total goals scored minus total goals against divided by total number of games calculated) using only the scores of the regular season games played by and against the teams involved in the tie.

Playoffs: Semifinals and Finals will be played at a predetermined location(s). The League Scheduler is responsible for identifying the site in partnership with league representatives no later than February deadline Each team advancing to the playoffs will be responsible for payment of one and a half officials per game. Roster ID checks will be conducted by the League Chair at the Semifinals and Final.

• Every team plays?
  
• Round robin tournament for bottom 5