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UTAH AMATEUR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION CODE
Revised Nov. 2006
ARTICLE 1: Name
The name of the association shall be the Utah Amateur Softball Association, Inc. and shall be known as the Utah ASA.
ARTICLE
2: Purpose
The purpose of the association shall be to foster, develop, promote and regulate amateur softball; to provide proper safeguards in
accordance with the spirit of true sportsmanship; to encourage the unification of all softball teams and umpires to cause the advance of
amateur softball; to promote and conduct softball tournaments and to promote the qualified teaching of softball to the residents of Utah.
ARTICLE
3: Jurisdiction The
Utah ASA is an affiliated member of the Amateur Softball Association of America /USA Softball, which is recognized through the 1978
Congressional Amateur Sports Act by the United
States Olympic Committee and the International Softball Federation, as the national governing body of amateur softball in the United States
of America. The
Code of the ASA is adopted by this association and is incorporated herein by reference.
ARTICLE
4: Territory The
association shall be limited to include all of the state of Utah.
ARTICLE
5: Officers
The State President, Vice President and Player Representative of the association shall be elected at the Commissioner's Council annual
meeting to serve a one year term.
Candidates for State Player Representative must be a district player representative before being eligible for State Player Representative
election. The
State President, Vice President or Player Representative of the association can be removed for just cause by a two-thirds vote of the
Commissioner's Council or Executive Committee, providing notice is mailed to each member at least ten days prior to the vote on removal.
Officer vacancies may be filled at a regular meeting of the Commissioner's Council or Executive Committee, providing notice is mailed to
each member not less than ten days prior to the meeting at which the vacancy is to be filled.
In addition to the elected officers, the State Commissioner shall appoint annually, a Secretary, State Umpire In Chief, a State Junior
Olympic Commissioner, and as many Deputy and District Commissioners, Deputy Umpire In Chief and Deputy Junior Olympic Commissioners as
deemed necessary for the conduct of business of the association.
Duties of the president
shall be to preside at all sessions of the Executive Committee and the Commissioner's Council meeting. The
President shall help to promote the ASA and try to recruit new team and umpire registrations.
Shall perform such duties as may be required (i.e. attend tournaments, hand out awards, and other assignments requested by the State
Commissioner). The
Vice President shall assist the President and perform such duties as may be requested by the State Commissioner.
State Player Representative
and Junior Olympic Commissioner shall help to promote the ASA programs and help to increase team registrations. Shall
assist in providing player and coaches clinics. Attend all meetings and perform other duties as requested by the State Commissioner.
ARTICLE 6:
Commissioner's Council The
Commissioner's Council shall be composed of State and District personnel. State
personnel shall consist of all members of the Executive Committee.
District personnel shall consist of the District Commissioner, District Junior Olympic Commissioner, District Player Representative,
District Umpire In Chief. Each
member of the Commissioner's Council shall have one vote at the annual meeting.
Vacancies shall be filled by the appropriate State and/or District Commissioner. Proxies
will not be allowed for Council meetings.
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ARTICLE 7: Executive
Committee The
Executive Committee shall be composed of the State and District Commissioners, the State Deputy Commissioners, the State President, State
Vice President, State Umpire In Chief, State Junior Olympic Commissioner, State Player Representative, State Secretary, State Treasurer, and
the immediate past president.
Each member of the Executive Committee shall have one vote at all meetings. The
Executive Committee shall be responsible for the affairs of the association between council meetings.
Proxies will be allowed for meetings of the Executive Committee providing the proxy is a member of the District Commissioners staff. In
the case of State Officers, the proxy shall be selected from the District in which they reside.
All such proxies must submit a letter of proxy to the State Commissioner ten days prior to the meeting. The
letter of proxy must be signed by the Executive Committee member who is absent.
Executive Committee meetings can only be attended by Executive Committee members.
ARTICLE 8:
Meetings
The Commissioner's Council will meet
annually following the ASA National Council meeting.
The purpose of the annual Commissioner's Council meeting is to elect state officers, vote on properly submitted Code changes, approve the
list of sanctioned tournaments, train council members in job
responsibilities, and conduct any other business that may properly come before the council. The
Commissioner's Council can only be attended by voting members.
The Utah ASA General Association meetings will be held at a date following the Commissioner's Council meeting and is open to everyone.
The purpose of the General Association meeting is to communicate to the association members the information pertinent for the upcoming
season.
ARTICLE 9:
League Rules Leagues
or districts retain the right to administer their programs with more or less restrictive playing and eligibility rules.
Any deviation from ASA rules must be clearly specified for those teams and players involved. It
is understood that deviations from ASA rules may render players not eligible for ASA championship play.
In the case of ASA suspended or disqualified teams, players, coaches, managers, leagues are advised that if they allow these people to
participate, the ASA will not provide umpires. A
league is defined as: a specific group of teams that play at a specific location. Teams
playing in accelerated leagues are considered accelerated teams and, therefore cannot enter the Recreation State Championship tournament. The
State Commissioner will determine leagues and their player=s classification/level of play.
League tournaments may only
include registered, regular season ASA teams from within each league, not all-star teams. Recreation
JO league tournaments held between Memorial Day and Labor Day must be held Monday through Thursday, and may not include Friday through
Sunday play.
ARTICLE 10:
Classification The State Commissioner shall have the responsibility of classifying teams, players and leagues.
Classification will be based on invitational tournament results as well as the previous year state and regional tournament results.
Any team winning the state, regional, or national qualifier two years in a row will automatically be moved up to the next higher level of
play. Any team
winning the national championship will automatically be moved up to the next higher level of play. Teams
and/or players participating in any non ASA sanctioned tournament, in a higher classification will be moved to the higher classification. Junior
Olympic teams and or players participating in non-sanctioned tournaments need to understand that these tournaments will affect their
Accelerated/Recreation status.
Appeals on player and/or team classification shall be in writing, addressed and sent to the State Commissioner by March 1 of the current
playing season to be considered for re-classification.
An appeal on a player's re-classification must be made by the player. To
be eligible for review, all appeals must include statistics (to be supplied by the player) from ASA tournaments only. League
information will not be considered.
The State Commissioner shall meet with the classification board to review the appeal and make a decision, whose decision shall be final.
ARTICLE 11: Divisions
of Play The
following divisions and classifications of play are recognized by the Utah ASA.
DIVISIONS CLASSIFICATIONS
Men=s and Women=s Fast
Pitch Major,
A, B, C, 23 under
Men's and Women's Slow
Pitch Major,
A, B, C, D, Coed, Industrial
Girls Fast and Slow Pitch
Gold-18-16-14-12-10-8 Rec.
and Accel
Boys Fast and Slow Pitch
18-16-14-12-10
NOTE ONE: Two
separate state tournaments, for accelerated and recreational teams, will be conducted in 16-14-12 and under girl=s fast pitch. Only
teams playing in the accelerated state tournament may advance in any level of championship play.
Possibility of 18/10 GFP recreational state tournaments will be determined by the State Commissioner.
NOTE TWO: Any
team or player that plays in more than two invitational tournaments during one season will be considered to be an accelerated team or
player. Any team that finishes in the top five of any invitational tournament will be classified as an accelerated team. Players who
appear on a 3A-4A-5A high school varsity roster will be considered to be accelerated players. Teams that play in accelerated leagues may be
classified as an accelerated team. Such teams and players must play in the accelerated state tournament.
ARTICLE 12:
Team and Player Registration
A team may register only once in a division of play.
An adult player may appear on the roster of more than one team in one division of play, but is eligible to play in ASA invitational and
championship tournaments for only the team with the highest classification.
JO players may participate in a higher classification ASA invitational sanctioned tournament without affecting their own classification. They
would be eligible to play for the higher classified team for that tournament only.
Rosters on which her name appears but for a team for which she is not eligible in tournament play, must be marked ANE@ meaning not eligible
for tournament play.
Notwithstanding the above, a player may appeal the decision of limiting her play to the higher classification to the District Commissioner
of jurisdiction.
The appeal must be in writing and sent to the District Commissioner who will then meet with the State Commissioner on the appeal for
consideration. Such
appeals must be made prior to the player signing any roster.
Exception: A team may add players to their regular league roster from a lower class, providing that said additions take place prior to June
l, and the players are removed from the higher classification on June l.
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ARTICLE 13:
Team Registration Fees Teams
may become members of the association by paying the annual registration fee. All
teams registering with the state association will be registered with the Amateur Softball Association of America. All
adult teams and JO Recreation teams shall pay a registration fee of $20.00 per team and each team in the league must join and pay the fee.
Independent teams, without ASA league affiliation or because all league members did not register, shall pay a registration fee of $40.00.
Fall teams and league registration fee is $15.00.
Accelerated JO player registration fee shall be $29.00 per player on the team=s roster. Any adult working with a JO team or player must pay
a registration fee of $29.00. This includes any adult managing, coaching, scorekeeping or otherwise involved with a JO player or team. See
criteria in Appendix One.
ARTICLE 14:
Team Rosters All
players must compete in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Amateur Softball Association of America.
Team rosters on an official ASA roster form must physically be in the hands of the State Commissioner by June 15. The
maximum number of players permitted on a roster is 20, which includes all transfer players and pick up players.
No player may transfer to another team after July 1. All players should have picture identification with them at all ASA events. Once
a player and/or parent have signed the official roster form, the only person who can release the player is the head coach.
ARTICLE 15: Travel
Permits
Teams that travel to compete in National Qualifiers will need to contact their District Commissioner at least two weeks in advance of the
tournament to obtain a special tournament entry form.
This form will replace the travel permit when attending a National Qualifier.
ARTICLE 16:
Residency Players
must compete on a team comprised solely of players from the district in which they are a bonafide resident on or before March 1. If a team
competes in league play, it must be in the district in which they are a bonafide resident.
In the event there is not any competition in the district in which a team or player is eligible to play, they may play in an adjacent
district, providing they have the written permission of both District Commissioners and the State Commissioner.
EXCEPTION ONE:
Adult and 18-16 and under players may play, or have domicile anywhere in the state.
An 18U
player is defined as a player who has reached the age of 17 prior to January 1st of the current year.
Note: 16-under valid 2008 only. (Trial Period)
EXCEPTION TWO:
16 and under players, playing on an 18U team, can have up to 1/4 of their active regular rostered players from outside their district and
such players must be an 18U player as in Exception one above.
EXCEPTION THREE:
A 16-under player that is currently a junior in high school and will turn 17 prior to September 1st of the current year and has written
permission from both District Commissioners will be deemed a legal 18-under player and eligible to play across boundary lines on an 18-under
team only, or they can choose to stay in the district in which they are a bonafide resident and play on a 16-under team.
Note: Exception three is obsolete for 2008. It may be re-instated in 2009 after the trial period in exception one.
ARTICLE 17: Pickup Players
Teams are allowed to pickup a maximum of three players for championship tournament competition. Pickup
players must come from the same or lower classification and cannot be from a team entered at the same or advanced level of competition.
Pickups made prior to the State Championship tournament must come from the same district as the team making the pickup.
Pickups made after the State tournament may come from any district as long as they competed in the State tournament, but are not still
eligible for championship tournament play.
Slow
pitch teams are allowed to pickup a maximum of three players, providing the pickups are made after the State tournament and that they come
from the same or lower classification and from within the State of Utah.
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ARTICLE 18: Junior
Olympic Competition JO
players must compete on teams composed of players from the same district.
Once a JO player and or parent has signed a team roster, they cannot change teams, nor be approached about changing teams by other coaches,
team representatives, and/or parents until August 18. If
a player wants to be released she must contact her coach and ask for a written release that will be sent to the District Commissioner on or
before the State tournament managers meeting. Add
on players for invitational play must be from the same district.
A player may not be added on for invitational play if her team is entered in tournament play that same weekend. A
player may not be picked up if her team is eligible to play in the same or next level of tournament play.
Teams advancing to regional or national tournaments may only pick up players who have played in championship play.
All teams entered in State Championship tournaments must be certified eligible and in good standing with the Utah ASA by the District
Commissioner from the district in which they reside.
JO teams must submit copies of documents (i.e. birth certificate, baptismal record, ASA registration cards, etc.) to verify age in all
tournament play. Coaches
are advised to carry a copy for each player at all times. Players
should carry a photo ID with them at all events. Any
adult that is associated with a youth team will be required to be registered with the ASA and submitted to a background check. Once the
background check has been verified it will be required that all adults wear an ASA ID on a lanyard at all times. The ASA ID verifies that a
background check has been verified and the adult is ASA registered.
Note: See
Article 11 Note Two.
ARTICLE 19: Invitational
Tournaments
Local and district organizations with the approval of their District Commissioner, shall apply for sanction of tournaments by mailing
tournament request, along with the appropriate sanction fee of $100.00 per classification/age division, to the State Commissioner by the
date indicated on the sanction request form. Sanction
requests received after the deadline will be assessed an additional $100.00 per classification.
The appropriate fee must accompany the request in order for consideration. The
State Commissioner shall provide a list of sanctioned tournaments to the Commissioners Council for approval.
The State Commissioner has full authority to sanction or not sanction any request received after the deadline. Notice
of acceptance or rejection shall be provided to the person making the request.
If for some reason a tournament is canceled, the fee will be fully refunded provided the Utah ASA State office is contacted in writing,
requesting a refund.
Any team participating in an ASA sanctioned tournament while not a registered ASA team shall forfeit their right to participate in ASA
events in the future and the right to be an ASA registered team. Teams
unable to provide proof of current registration must register with the tournament director by paying a $40.00 fee which shall be forwarded
to the ASA State Office, along with the team name, and mailing address. A
tournament director allowing non registered teams to play in an ASA sanctioned tournament shall forfeit their right to request and run
future ASA tournaments.
Any ASA registered team that fails to abide by ASA rules is subject to disqualification from participation in ASA tournaments. No
cash prizes will be awarded to any individual, team sponsor, or family member thereof, unless said tournament is run by the Utah ASA. No
tournament will be conducted that conflicts with championship play in the same division and classification.
All registrations and publicity shall include the statement: Sanctioned by the Amateur Softball Association. No invitational
tournaments shall be advertised/publicized as an ASA sanctioned tournament without the approval of the State Commissioner. Violations
may result in Executive Committee action.
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Sanction
approval requires that the following stipulations are adhered to:
1.
Tournament UIC will be assigned by the State UIC with the approval of the State Commissioner.
The fast
pitch UIC fee is as follows:
The fast
pitch UIC fee is as follows: The slow pitch UIC fee is as follows:
1 - 8 Teams =
$150.00 1-8 Teams = $100.00
9-19 Teams =
$200.00 9-19 Teams = $150.00
20-30 Teams =
$300.00 20-30 Teams = $200.00
31 and up = $400.00
31 B up = $250.00
2. Fast
pitch tournaments must use a minimum of two umpires per game. Umpire
game fees:
Youth
tournaments $25.00 per umpire per game.
MFP
tournaments $ 30.00 per umpire per game with 3 umpire mechanics.
3. All
umpire game fees for 'IF" games that are not played will be returned to the tournament director.
4. All
umpire game fees for tournament games not played will be returned provided the umpires assigned to work the game not played were reassigned
to another game during that specific game slot.
Any exceptions to the games fees as outlined must be approved by the State Commissioner.
5. Slow
pitch tournaments may use one umpire. Umpire game fees: $20.00 per umpire per game.
6. Only
ASA logo balls may be used, fast pitch balls for fast pitch games, slow pitch balls for slow pitch games.
7. Tournament
must provide at least one new ball per game.
8. Teams
from outside the State of Utah must have proof of ASA registration, and present them to the tournament director before play begins.
9. Only
umpires in good standing with the Utah ASA may be assigned to sanctioned tournaments.
10. Umpires
must wear the official ASA umpire attire as outlined in the ASA Code.
11. At
the conclusion of the tournament, the tournament director is responsible for forwarding within five days the following information and
paperwork to the State Commissioner:
Final
completed bracket Order
of finish
All travel
permits
All rosters
Tournament
report List
of working umpires
12. Failure
to comply with the above may forfeit your right to request and run future tournaments.
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ARTICLE 20: Championship
Tournaments
The ASA shall sanction championship tournaments for qualifying teams to play in state, regional, and national tournaments in all recognized
classes of competition for which there are registered teams.
All championship tournaments will be conducted on facilities whose local league programs are 100% registered with the Utah ASA, including
but not limited to all fast pitch and slow pitch programs. Exceptions are at the discretion of the State Commissioner. All
championship tournaments shall be conducted in accordance with the ASA Competition Procedural Code, as well as the Rocky Mountain Regional
Code and the Utah ASA Code.
At such time as the tournament bracket has been established, money for entry fees will not be refunded for any reason.
All sales of gate tickets, programs, souvenirs, T-Shirts, etc at championship tournaments will be administered by the Utah ASA State Office
without any encumbrances, and any championship tournament received, acknowledges this right whether referenced therein or not. Food
and drink items will be negotiated with the championship facility.
Teams and players entering championship tournaments must be current members of the ASA with all fees and accounts paid in full. Location
of championship tournaments will be determined by the State Commissioner. Adult
and JO teams must be registered with the Utah ASA no later than June 1 to be eligible for championship play.
Teams wishing to participate in state championship play must submit the appropriate fee to the district commissioner in whose district the
tournament is to be played by June 1. State
tournament entry fees are $350.00. Decisions to accept late entries for championship play will be made by the District Commissioner in whose
district the tournament is to be held.
If a late entry is accepted, the team will be assessed a late fee of $50.00. Failure to comply with the deadline may cause teams to forfeit
their right to play in championship play.
The sanction
fee for state and regional tournaments is $32.50 per team entered.
The tournament director is responsible for all additional financial obligations. The
State will provide the balls, and awards for all championship play.
Tournament directors are financially responsible to the State ASA for these items. Any ASA registered team that fails to abide by ASA rules
is subject to disqualification from participation in ASA tournaments. Teams
that are eligible to advance in championship play and fail to do so because of participation in other organizational play are subject to
suspension/disqualification from the ASA.
At the conclusion of the tournament there will be an awards ceremony where awards are handed out properly to the
teams. Any
team eligible of advancing to the next level of play will need to commit immediately and pay the appropriate fees.
If a team fails to comply they will forfeit their berth. At
the conclusion of the tournament the tournament director and district commissioner must forward within five days all information and
paperwork to the State Commissioner.
Finalized
completed bracket
Official
order of finish All money due the State office List
of working umpires Financial statement
Rosters
Tournament
awards will be based on the number of teams entered into the championship tournament.
1 - 4 Teams lst
place awards5 - 8 Teams lst
and 2nd place awards9 - or more
lst, 2nd and 3rd place awards
JO
accelerated and adult teams will be bracketed into the state championships by a straight draw. All-star
teams entering the State Recreational tournament must register as a new team.
ARTICLE 21: Umpire
Registration Fees Umpires
must be a member of an ASA district or state umpiring organization to be eligible for Utah ASA registration. There
are three classes of umpire registrations:
ASA CERTIFIED
UMPIRES The
maximum registration fee is $40.00 and the umpire must attend a Utah ASA Umpires certification clinic and score at least 80% on a closed
book exam. He is eligible to officiate in local, district, state, regional and national tournament and league games. He
receives all ASA umpire supplies and publications, and is covered by ASA accident and liability insurance. Youth
umpires (those 17 years of age & younger) register for a fee of $30.00.
ASA
LDS CHURCH REGISTERED UMPIRES
Registration fee is $15.00. He
receives all ASA umpire supplies and publications and is covered by ASA accident and liability insurance. Clinic attendance and testing is
offered but not required. These
umpires are not allowed to umpire ASA leagues or tournaments.
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ASA AFFILIATED UMPIRES Registration
fee is $10.00, which includes the opportunity to attend
a Utah ASA umpire certification clinic, take an open book examination and receive a book/umpire manual. These
umpires are not allowed to umpire ASA leagues or tournaments.
$5.00 of the
fee is to be deposited into the State Umpire Account. $5.00 of the fee is to be deposited into the District Umpire Account. The
remaining moneys are to be sent to the Utah ASA State Commissioner.
ARTICLE 22:
Protests All
disputes during tournament play pertaining to the interpretation of playing rules must be settled on the playing field by the tournament UIC
or his designated representative. All disputes over rule interpretations in league play must be submitted for ruling in accordance with
local league rules. In
the absence of such league protest rules, the protests should be submitted to the district UIC.
Player eligibility protests should be addressed to the District Commissioner/State Commissioner.
ARTICLE 23:
Suspensions
Any player, team, coach or fan, who assaults an umpire, or any other ASA official in any manner, or who otherwise violates any ASA rule,
including eligibility rules, shall be immediately suspended. Any
person(s) so suspended, shall have a right to a hearing as outlined in the ASA Code.
Article 24:
Finances All
funds of the association are to be used for the operation of the Association and shall not inure to the benefit of any one person. The
Commissioners Committee appointed by the State Commissioner shall operate under the guidelines established in finance operating procedures,
approved by the Executive Committee. The
Association shall operate with the closing date of December 31st.
ARTICLE 25:
Amendments
This code may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the Executive Committee present and voting, or by a two-thirds majority vote of
the members of the Commissioner's Council present and voting. A
proposed amendment to this code must be in writing and signed by a voting member and sent to the State Commissioner at least forty five (45)
days prior to the meeting that the amendment will be voted on.
The State Commissioner will then prepare and mail all properly submitted proposed amendments to each voting member of the meeting on which
the vote will be taken. Such
mailings must be at least fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting.
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Appendix One
ASA (Amateur Softball Association) has made available the option for local associations to run
background checks on their volunteer coaches through Virtual Tournament Director. The following Volunteer Standards have been set to
provide a standard that all associations need to follow, if choosing to run background checks:
Score the
applicant as ELIGIBLE if the following conditions are present on the Criminal Background Check:
No record found
Traffic or vehicle
code infractions only
DUI
less than three over 5 years old.
Misdemeanor possession conviction if it has not been
negotiated down from a felony charge B only if older than 1 year.
Misdemeanor convictions or misdemeanors with pending
dispositions except for crimes involving: violence, weapons when used in the commissioned of a crime, deviant sexual activity
Score the applicant as INELIGIBLE, pending
appeal and review, if the following convictions are present on Criminal Background Check based on the timeline recommendations:
Any
Felony charges with dispositions including but not limited to the following:
Felony Charge
Three or more DUI/DWI
or related convictions occurring within the last five (5) years.
Contributing to
the Delinquency of a Minor if convicted within the past two (2) years or two or more within the past five (5) years.
Records with a
pending disposition.
Whether the person
is on the Sex Offender Register or is subject to an Extended Supervision Order under the Serious Sex Offender Monitoring Act.
Whether the person
has committed relevant offences against the Sex Offender Registration Act or the Serious Sex Offender Monitoring Act.
Convictions and
findings of guilt for serious sexual, serious violence and drug offences.
Pending charges
for serious sexual, serious violence and drug offences.
Domestic Violence
within the past year or two (2) or more within
the past five (5) years.
Any conviction
(including misdemeanors) involving violence, weapons when used in the commission of a crime, deviant sexual activity, drugs.
Sale and delivery
of drugs if the conviction was within the past five (5) years.
If a volunteer falls within one of the above
ineligible categories they will be informed by the local Association of the results of their background check and be unable to participate.
Appeals will be heard by the local Association when the party in question has cleared their record and has supporting documentation.
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