BRANT COUNTY SECONDARY SCHOOLS ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION INC.
Constitution, By-Laws and Sports Policies (June 1993)
B.C.S.S.A.A. Inc. supports Regulations within the Constitutions of C.W.O.S.S.A. and O.F.S.A.A. as they apply to the B.C.S.S.A.A. Inc.
(Prepared by the Boys' and Girls' Physical Education Department Heads of the Secondary Schools within the County of Brant, with the approval of the Secondary Schools Principals)Preamble
Recognizing the need for a co-operative agency to plan, supervise and administer the interschool athletic activities of the county the following overall objectives are recommended as a guide to all associated schools.
(i) The programme must contribute toward the improvement of the health, fitness and general welfare of all individuals taking part.
(ii) The programme should engage the maximum number of students in both its administrative and active areas.
(iii) All participants should be stimulated to achieve creditable progress and to make a contribution to the general educational programme of the school as a pre-requisite of participation
CONSTITUTIONPreface
This constitution was adopted on June 22, 1982 and shall represent the aims, objectives and principles of this Association.
Article 1 - Name
This association shall be known as the Brant County Secondary Schools Athletic Association Incorporated (B.C.S.S.A.A. Inc.) and shall hereinafter be referred to as the Association.
Article 2 - General Principles
1 The Association shall attempt:
(a) to help extra-curricular activities fit into their proper perspective within the accepted aims of education.
(b) to make available to its members a comprehensive, balanced program of interschool extra-curricular activities.
2. This Association will strongly oppose any tendency to place undue emphasis on any one activity, or to accord special prestige or consideration to any school or groups of schools.
3. The Association shall always, where a conflict of interest arises, base any settlement upon the principle of the most good to the most schools.4. The Association does not place any member school under obligation to participate in any Association activity.
5. The Association does not guarantee any member school automatic participation in any of the Association's activities. Participation shall be considered a privilege, not a right.6. The Association regards fairness of competition to be a vital factor in all interschool competitions.
Article 3 - Membership
Section 1: Members of the Association shall be restricted to schools engaged in teaching at the secondary school level within the County of Brant, provided they are not members of another district.
Section 2: A school's participation in any activity directed by this Association indicates willingness to abide by the Constitution, By-Laws and Regulations of this Association
Article 4 - Officers, Government and Representation
Section 1: Honorary Officers
Any Honorary Officers of the Association shall be appointed by the Board of Directors from among those specially interested in the Principles of the Association.
Section 2: Board of Directors
(a) Membership: (i) Board of Directors consists of 2 directors from each school in Brant County that has more than 10 teams representing it, and 1 director from each school from 1-10 teams.
(b) Regular Officers: Refer to Incorporation document.
(c) Duties: The Board of Directors shall exercise final control over all funds, policies and all matters pertaining to the Association (subject to school policy as determined by the principal) and it shall carefully consider all recommendations and resolutions proposed by the coaches of the Association's activities.
Section 3 : Principals' Representative
Appointed by the Headmasters Association to work as a liaison Officer between the B.C.S.S.A.A. Inc. and the Headmasters.
Section 4: Board of Reference
(a) A Board of Reference shall be composed of the President and such additional Board Members (at least 2) as desired by the president.
(b) These additional members may be appointed by the President as required, selecting where possible, members from schools not directly involved in the dispute, so that an impartial representation is made possible.
(c) This Board of Reference shall, upon the request of the President, deal with matters pertaining to eligibility of schools or competitors, interpretation of rules and regulations and protests.
Section 5: Convenors
(a) A Convenor for each B.C.S.S.A.A. Inc. activity shall be appointed annually by the Board of Directors for each succeeding school years.
(b) It shall be the responsibility of the Convenor of each activity to:
(1) Prepare the schedule of games at the Association level including any playdowns or tournaments.
(2) Suggest rules or organizational changes in the activity.
(3) Name such assistants as may be necessary to ensure that the general principles of the Association are adhered to in the activity.
(4) Make all necessary arrangements for the proper conduct of the activity. The convenor shall not incur any financial obligations to the Association, or depart from accepted procedure without the approval of the President.
(5) Report the results including a financial statement and all other pertinent information to the President after the conclusion of the activity.
(6) Call a pre-season meeting of the coaches involved with his or her sport to inform coaches of rule changes, scheduling, sportsmanship, etc.
(c) The Convenor shall be guided on rules and organizational changes by the recommendations of the coaches, subject to the approval of such recommendations by the Board of Directors.
Article 5: Finances
Section 1: Member schools shall pay whatever levy is required by the Board of Directors to finance the operation of the Association.
Section 2: Subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, an additional fee shall be charged for participation in tournaments and other such activities in which that convenor may deem an additional fee necessary to cover the expenses to insure a successful activity.
Such fees shall not be refundable if notification that the school is not going to participate is not received at least one full week before the date of the event.
Section 3: The fiscal year of B.C.S.S.A.A., Inc. shall end on June 30 of each year.
Article 6 - Meetings
Section 1: The Board of Directors shall meet at the call of the President or at the request of two or more Board members.
Section 2: Meetings of the Board of Reference shall be at the call of the President.
Section 3: Representation at any meeting of the Association shall be left to the discretion of the P.E. Department Heads of each member school, but, a maximum of two from any member school shall be empowered to vote on Co-ed activities. One vote per school on either boys or girls activities:
Article 7Section 1: Amendments
The constitution may be amended at any regular meeting of the Association by a vote of two thirds of the delegates present and empowered to vote, providing a quorum is present.
Section 2: By- Laws and Regulations
The Board of Directors, may, from time to time, make such By-Laws and Regulations consistent with this Constitution as it deems necessary from the conduct of business of the Association.
BY-LAWS
By-Law 1 - Eligibility of Players
Any player who complies with the following eligibility rules and regulations and is a student of a member school, may participate in B.C.S.S.A.A., Inc. activities. For all purposes herein, a player shall be defined as one whose name appears on the official game report.
Section 1: Academic Standing
The Principal of the school shall decide if a participant's academic standing is such as to permit him or her to engage in a contest.
Section 2: Age
1) Senior: A contestant shall not have attained his/her twentieth birthday prior to September 1st of the school year.
2) Junior: A contestant shall not have attained his/her sixteenth birthday prior to September 1 st of the school year, except for Track and field, cross country, and rugby, where sixteenth shall read seventeenth.
3) Midget: A contestant shall not have attained his/her fifteenth birthday prior to September 1 st of the school year.
4) Eligibility of students older than 20 with a disability:
The coach should approach BCSSAA Inc. regarding eligibility.
5) Alternative School Students
Students attending the Alternative school will be allowed to participate in the sports program in the secondary school in the geographical area of their residence.Section 3: Attendance
Refer to CWOSSA eligibility
Section 4: CertificationAll contestants in BCSSAA Inc. activities shall be certified eligible as to age, academic standing, and regularity of attendance. Such certification shall be in the form of eligibility lists, signed by the principal prior to actual competition by that student in all BCSSAA Inc. activities.
1) Coaches must have their teams eligibility lists in the hands of the 1} BCSSAA Inc. chair and 2} the convenor of that sport, one week prior to the first official league meeting---i.e. one week before the first league game, meet or tournament--- whichever occurs first.
Failure to comply with this regulation (i.e. not having your eligibility list available) shall result in a forfeit of the first official league meeting and continue until the list is available.
2) Principals should insist that OFSAA transfer forms be part of the "package" that Student Services processes with students who are transferring from other high schools, to their school.
3) The registration of a complaint regarding an In-County transfer must be filed with the BCSSAA Inc. chair prior to the first official league meeting.
NOTE: It shall be the school's responsibility to have such a list available. The playing of unregistered players shall render that school ineligible and subject to forfeiture according to Section 6 - Penalties. A player may be deemed eligible upon certification of the principal at any time during a sports season as long as he or she meets all standards of eligibility.
Section 5: Participation
1) Once a player begins a season (practice or game), that player will be declared ineligible to play that sport at any other school within the Association that year.
2) A player who plays more than one league game with a team of an older age class in any season, may not revert to the younger age class in the same sport, that season.
3) Students must qualify under any special regulations, for the activity in which participation is anticipated.
4) To qualify for a play-off game, a player must have played in one of the regular league games for either the team for which he is to play, or another team representing the same school in a lower age category of organized BCSSAA Inc. competition.
5) A player must compete in only one classification in any play-off or championship meet or series in the same season in any one sport.
6) No student is allowed to play two sports on the same day.
Section 6: Penalties
If an ineligible player participated in any contest, the offending team shall be penalized subject to appeal to the Board of Directors, even though no formal protest is lodged.1) If the offence occurs in a regular BCSSAA Inc. game or play-off series, that game or series shall be forfeited by the offending team. The opposing team in that competition is declared the winner.
2) If the offence is not discovered until after the conclusion of the sport season, the matter shall be referred to the Board of Directors for appropriate action.
Section 7: Professional Players
Any student who participates in an organized practice or game, at which, or from which, he/she received remuneration, shall be ineligible for secondary school competition in that sport for one year from the date that professional participation ends.
Section 8: Transfer From One Secondary School To Another1) A Transfer Committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors, yearly. It shall consist of a minimum of 3 persons and an alternative.
2) Transfer Policy:
a) Any transfer is considered ineligible unless proven eligible by application from the home school to the Association Board representing the OFSAA Executive Committee.
b) The decision may be appealed to the local review board, CWOSSA board of reference, or the OFSAA Board of Reference.
c) No appeals may be made after the last local league game.
d) The Association Review Board shall consist of 3 members, one of which shall be an administrator.
3) BCSSAA Inc. will keep a list of those students that are eligible or ineligible through transfer.
Section 9: Withdrawal
Withdrawal from the school shall render the student ineligible for a period of one year from the date of the withdrawal, unless, upon his/her return to school, the Principal of that school certifies in writing to the Chairperson of BCSSAA Inc., participation in athletics was not the primary reason for either withdrawal or return.
Section 10: Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Cases of unsportsmanlike conduct, particularly deliberate rough play, fighting and abusive language directed to officials, shall be reported by school or game officials to the Chairperson of BCSSAA Inc. to be acted upon by a Board of Reference.
Infractions may result in suspension of the offender from all inter-school athletic competitions for a period decided upon by the Board of Reference. Also, in matters related to poor sportsmanship or
questionable conduct, (involving coaches and/or players), the complaining school should send a letter to the chairperson of BCSSAA Inc., who will initiate and convene a meeting between the principals of the schools involved and the coaches involved.
When a coach has been ejected from a BCSSAA Inc. game or sport, the convenor of that sport must send a letter to the Principal of the coach's school notifying the Principal of the ejection. A brief explanation of the circumstances surrounding the ejection shall be obtained from the officials concerned and included in the letter. This letter should be sent as soon as possible after the incident.
1) Ejection of a Student From a Game
Any player ejected from any BCSSAA Inc., CWOSSA or OFSAA contest in any sport, shall be suspended for a minimum of one game which is the following game played by his or her team. The suspension shall be carried forward to the next sport that the student participates in if it occurred during the last game of the season. All coaches are to be informed of this ruling by the department heads. This rule applies to all sports - male or female.
2) Notification of Headmasters Regarding Suspension of Students from BCSSAA Inc.. CWOSSA or OFSAA Contests
When a student has been ejected from a BCSSAA Inc., CWOSSA or OFSAA game in any sport, the convenor of that sport must send a letter to the Principal of that student's school, which will notify the Principal of the action taken. It shall be the responsibility of the home coach or coaches to notify the convenor of the sport involved if an ejection has taken place. Convenors are to make the various officials' associations aware of this procedure.
3) Falsification of Student Records
If a student falsifies records, the student will be suspended from all extra-curricular activities for a period of one year from the time the infraction was discovered.
By-Law 2 - Defaulted GamesExcept in the case of extreme circumstances, cancellations, postponement or default of games must be in the hands of the convenor and the other team or teams concerned, at least 24 hours before the time of the game.
By-Law 3 - ProtestsSection 1: Protests may be made on:
(1) Violation of the Constitution of the BCSSAA Inc.
(2) Violations of the Eligibility By-Laws of the BCSSAA Inc.
(3) Violation of General and Specific Rules governing BCSSAA Inc. activities.
Section 2: Procedure
General - All protests concerning BCSSAA Inc. activities shall be handled by the Board of Reference. A request for a settlement may be made in writing to the Chairperson.
1) All requests must be signed by the Principal of the school and the coach of the team making the protest.
2) Copies of the letter must be forwarded by the school making the protest to the school and the the referees or other officials in charge of the contest under protest.
3) Where games are conducted under unusual circumstances, protests will be considered, if the attention of the officials is drawn to the conditions prior to the game and the game is played under protest, and such a statement signed by the official(s) appears on the official activity report form or official game sheet'.
Section 1: Activities
BCSSAA Inc. activities shall be those listed on the current BCSSAA Inc. Calendar of Events.
Section 2: ResponsibilityEntries, activity information and caring for play-off arrangements shall be the responsibility of the Convenor appointed by the BCSSAA Inc.
Section 3: Tie Breaking Procedure
Ties between teams will be broken using the following method, unless specific methods are listed in the sports policy for that activity.
1) Games (matches - volleyball) won between the tied teams 2) Games won within the matches between the tied teams (VB) 3) Points for and against between the tied teams. The greater the point spread the higher the finish.
4) Points for and against, all teams considered.
5) Sudden death play-off game/match will be held if still tied.
SPORTS POLICIESThe Board of Directors of the BCSSAA Inc. shall, from time-to-time, decide to establish or change policy in its athletic activities to suit the needs of the competition. The areas in which policy may be established or changed are:
1. Competition (ages, events, entries, etc)
2. Dates
3. Location
4. Starting time
5. Schedules
6. Special rules
7. Scoring systems
8. Equipment
9. Dress or uniform regulations
10. Officials
11. Duties of the host school
12. Entry fees
13. Play-offs
14. Awards (plaques)
15. General itemsGENERAL POLICIES APPLYING TO MOST SPORTS
1. The home or host school in any activity shall be responsible for notifying the news media of the results of the competition.
2. In athletic competition in team sports between the member schools of the BCSSAA Inc., the coaches may dress an unlimited roster of players for each contest.
3. Except with special arrangements with the convenor, a teacher must accompany, and be responsible for, any school team.
4. The BCSSAA Inc. does not endorse the choosing of an all-star team in any activity.
5. The home or host school cannot be responsible for the personal belongings of any visiting team to that school.BRANT COUNTY SECONDARY SCHOOLS ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION INC. SPORTS POLICY
ACTIVITY: BOYS' SOCCER
LENGTH OF SEASON: First day of school in September to BCSSAA
MEMBERS/TEAM: Unlimited
LEAGUE STRUCTURE: (a) Double Round Robin (home-and-home).
(b) Game days - Tuesday and Thursday - 4:00 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP STRUCTURE: (a) Semi Finals (3:30 start) One game: 4 @ 1, 3 @ 2
(b) Finals: Neutral site (preferably Lion's Park). One game starting at 3:00 p.m., held on the last Thursday of the schedule year.
(c) Trophy to winning team. BCSSAA plaques to team members.
PLAYING RULES: (a) FIFA - Laws of the Game - current edition
(b) 40 minute halves
(c) Unlimited substitutions during the following situations: ( i) after a goal
( ii) after a goal kick is awarded
(iii) injured players
( iv) starting a half
( v) yellow carded players must be substituted for at that time - but they may be substituted back into the game after i, ii, iii, or iv.
(d) The accumulation of 2 yellow cards is the equivalent of a red card.
(e) Automatic one game suspension for the first red card offense.
(f) A player will be suspended from further play for the remainder of the season, if he accumulates the equivalent of two red cards during the season (subject to a board of reference Art. 4 Section 4.)
(g) For a tie in regular time during the playoffs (semi or final), play 2, 10 minute overtime periods, followed by penalty kicks (5 shooters, if still tied sudden death kicks).