Click Here To Return Home  

 

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF THE

PORTAGE LAKES FASTPITCH SOFTBALL, INC.

 

ARTICLE 1 – NAME

 

The name of this organization shall be, Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc.

 

ARTICLE 2 - PURPOSE:

 

The purpose of the corporation is to teach and demonstrate to young children the principles of good sportsmanship, as well as integrity, honesty, courage and reverence. The highest priority of the corporation is to produce finer, stronger and happier children who will grow to be good, responsible, ethical, healthy adults. The board, coaches, parents and spectators shall bear in mind, at all times, that the attainment of exceptional athletic skill or the winning of the game is secondary and that the molding of future citizens is of prime importance. Furthermore, the corporation, in order to promote higher education, will work to obtain funding for yearly scholarships to selected qualified athletes through the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority College Advantage Savings Program.

 

ARTICLE 3 – MEMBERSHIP

 

1)            At least 18 years of age.

2)            A member is considered to be in good standing when they have paid their dues in full and have not been found in intentional violation of these bylaws.

3.)        Membership application involves dues, which consist of $1.00 per family per registration; third party membership will be $1.00.  Third party members must have an interest in the league. (ex: coach, grandparent)

3)             When a vote by the general membership is needed, there will be one vote per adult league member with a total of 2 membership votes per family. No individual shall have more than one vote. Members must be present to vote; there is no provision for proxy voting.

 

ARTICLE 4 – DIRECTORS/OFFICERS/TRUSTEES

 

A. Initial Directors – Initiators of organization who may be called upon by the board, when needed. These directors (consists of three (3) positions) will always follow the purpose of PORTAGE LAKES FASTPITCH SOFTBALL, INC., Inc., and keep the best interest of the children in mind. Each director is provided with the authority to replace their own position, with their designated selection, unless they relinquish this option and allow the remaining directors to fill their position.

B.  Elected Officers of PORTAGE LAKES FASTPITCH SOFTBALL, INC., Inc. shall mean:

      1) President

      2) 1st Vice-President

      3) 2nd Vice- President

      4) Treasurer

      5) Secretary  

         C. Trustees of PORTAGE LAKES FASTPITCH SOFTBALL, INC., Inc. shall include:

     1) Concession Stand Manager – elected position

     2) Commissioner – elected position

     2) Head Coach and Assistant Coaches

     3) Team Parent

         D.  November 1st is the official date the old Board vacates office and the new Board goes into place.

               At that time, a meeting shall be held to transfer all pertinent information to the new Board. This

               pertinent information will include the presentation of by-laws to each new board member, and a

               review of their duties as outlined in the by-laws.

 

 

 

ARTICLE 5- BYLAW GOVERNING/DISTRIBUTION

 

A. By-laws & Constitution shall refer to the guidelines, rules and regulations that define and govern the purpose, management and operations of PORTAGE LAKES FASTPITCH SOFTBALL, INC.    

1)            BY-LAWS shall be reviewed for adequacy and correctness every year by the Officers.  All members of the league are encouraged to also review the by laws. A copy of the by laws shall be posted on the web site.

2)            Suggestions for amending or altering the Constitution can be submitted to the Secretary at any time.

3)             No amendments or alterations shall be made to any part of the Constitution except by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of votes cast at 3 consecutive meetings of the general membership before it is amended to the by-laws. A special meeting can be held for the sole purpose of amending or altering the Constitution if deemed necessary by the Board.

4)             All members of the league will be given a current copy of the Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. Constitution at the beginning of each season.

 

ARTICLE 6- GENERAL POWERS OF BOARD

 

A.        Board shall have the power to own, accept, acquire and dispose of real and personal property and to obtain, invest and retain funds in advancing the purposes stated in Purpose, all in accordance with the Constitution of Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc.

B.         Board shall have the power to do any lawful acts or things reasonably necessary or desirable for carrying out the League purposes and for protecting the lawful rights and interest of its members in connection therewith.

D. PORTAGE LAKES FASTPITCH SOFTBALL, INC. and its Board and members shall always act with the best interest of the athlete’s safety, health, and well being in mind. The Board has the power to expel or suspend from the League any person or any member team guilty of any action that is contrary to the mission of PLGS, Inc.   

C.        Group type accident insurance obtained by and in the name of the PORTAGE LAKES FASTPITCH SOFTBALL, INC., shall cover each participant in league play or practice session of the PORTAGE LAKES FASTPITCH SOFTBALL, INC. Each player shall be required prior to participating in any league play or practice session, to pay a specified registration fee and return a completed application form.

H.  If the League is dissolved or disbanded, all money, equipment and property of Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. will be distributed to similar (non-profit, 501C3) programs in the Portage Lakes area.

J. All adult board members, coaches and assistant coaches may be subject to a complete background check in order to hold their position. The annual cost of this will be added into the yearly budget.

L.             Members of the Board shall not have any personal interest in the League’s property

N.        No part of the net earnings of the association shall be used to benefit, or be distributable to, its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the association shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered. No substantial part of the activities of the association shall be carrying of propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation. The association shall not participate in, or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.

O.        All Board members shall be required to attend all Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. official meetings. Missing three consecutive meetings and/or Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. events will result in review for dismissal unless excused by the Board.

P.         Any member in good standing shall be allowed to call a meeting of the Board for action.

Q.        Abstaining from voting by any voting member shall not be considered a vote against nor for.

R.         All Board positions will have a term limit of two consecutive years per individual. The exception to

            this applies, only if no other individual is nominated for and accepts the open position.             

S.         A $30.00 fee in addition to original payment will be charged to submitters of insufficient fund, no account or closed account checks.

                       

ARTICLE 7 – BOARD MEETINGS

 

A.        The rules contained in Roberts Rules of Order shall govern the corporation and the Board in all cases to which they will apply and in which they are not inconsistent with these By-Laws.

B.         Only members in good standing shall be entitled to voice on the floor.

C.         Only members in good standing will be entitled to a vote on issues related to the league, ex. Bylaw changes.

D.        In the event of sensitive information being discussed, the Board will retire to Executive Session.

E.         In an effort to provide confidentiality to individuals, yet full disclosure to the general membership, names will be omitted from discussions whenever necessary.

 

ARTICLE 8 – BEHAVIOR

 

A.             Players, coaches, managers and spectators shall not make disparaging, insulting or harassing remarks to or about any players, coach, manager, trustee, board member or spectator.   The umpires shall exercise their authority to stop such violations and should suspend play and may order the removal of the offender(s) from the game and grounds.  A written report of each ejection will be submitted by the umpire involved to the executive committee.  The offender may provide a written report at their discretion.

B.             Coaches who have disciplinary problems with a player shall follow the following levels of discipline:
1)1st offense – verbal warning.

                 2.) 2nd offense -  Written warning by the Coach and signed by the player and a parent or guardian.  A detailed report stating the offense, and informing the player that repeating this offense will result in a one game suspension in uniform, will be forwarded to the League Head Coach responsible for that age division.

                 3)3rd offense – Written reprimand by the Coach and signed by the player.  Punishment shall be a one game “in uniform” suspension, meaning the player will still be required to attend the next scheduled game in uniform and will sit on the bench for the entire game.  The player’s copy of the suspension shall be signed by a parent or guardian and returned to the Coach, and a copy forwarded to the League Head Coach responsible for that age division. Continual disciplinary problems may result in continual suspensions.

 C.            Inappropriate conduct, language and/or sexual harassment will not be tolerated and can result in termination of your position.

D.             No profanity, alcohol, tobacco or drug use of any kind will be tolerated on any field, during any coaching activity (games or practices) or other such events with players. Reports of this conduct will result in immediate termination of your position.

E.             Resignation and/or removal of officers – any officer of this organization who (1) commits an act of unlawful nature or an act in violation of this constitution or (2) commits an act although not unlawful or a violation of this constitution, that is found by the Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. board to be grossly unethical or improper or (3) is found to be in gross neglect of his duties by the Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. Board or (4) is found to be in violation of any combination of (1), (2) or (3) while in the executive of his office shall be removed from office and/or expelled and will have the opportunity to defend himself before any action is taken. The Board will meet and discuss the removal or resignation of any officer and that officer will have the right to defend himself/herself. An elected member of the executive committee may be removed by two-thirds vote of the executive committee. The removal or resignation of any officer shall be in writing and addressed to the members as to why dismissed at a meeting of the general membership.

ARTICLE 9 – ELECTIONS

 

A.        No person shall be eligible for nomination or election as an officer of Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. unless he or she is a member in good standing.

B.         NOMINATION for officers of the Association shall be made once every year through the Team Parent.  The nomination period will begin four weeks prior to the end of the season and will run for two weeks.  No nominations will be accepted after the two week nomination period has ended.  The nomination forms will be passed out to all members in good standing, along with an envelope to ensure confidentiality, by the Team Parent and will be collected by the Team Parent by the end of the nomination period.  The Team Parent, when accepting the sealed envelope with the nomination form(s) included, will check off the members name from a roster listing all members in good standing.

C.         ELECTION of officers of the Association shall be held once every year.  The elections will be held the last two weeks of the season and ballots will be passed out by the Team Parent.  Every parent/guardian/member will be given a ballot, as well as an envelope to ensure confidentiality, and must be returned to the Team Parent by the end of the voting period. A signature is required by each voting member, by signing the ballot in and out, while voting. Each sealed envelope will match the signature count obtained by the team parent. If the ballots are not equal to the signature’s obtained, the ballots will be refused and the voting process will be re-issued for that particular team. The voting will not close until all the team’s sealed envelopes are counted and verified for authenticity. The voting period will allow all members an opportunity to vote. Each team mom is responsible for allowing every member the opportunity to vote.

D.        A quorum of any voting body as set forth above shall consist of a majority of members in good standing of that self-same body.

E.         Procedure of Nominations and Elections

1)            Board and officers shall be nominated by the general membership.  A member may not nominate themselves.

2)            Nominations for each office will be presented to the Board through the Team Parent at the end of the nomination period.

3)          Nominations can be reviewed by the directors for final approval before ballot creation. Directors can refuse nominations due to past offenses, within the league or other league involvement. The directors may also conduct interviews with nominees for final ballot approval.

4)            All officers shall be elected by a ballot.  Ballots will be counted at the first Board meeting after the balloting has been closed.  Ballots will be made available to all members in good standing.  The votes shall be counted by the presiding officers. The outcome of the election shall be so stated and posted to be made known to all members. In case of a tie, a recount must be made. If a tie still occurs, a recast of ballots will be made.

 

F.         Vacancies created by death, resignation or dismissal shall be filled, without delay for the remaining term of office by an appointment made by Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. Under no condition, should a position not be re-appointed.

 

ARTICLE 10 – DUTIES OF OFFICERS

 

A.        Duties of Commissioner
1) The Commissioner shall attend all meetings and open registration dates pertaining to Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc.
2) He or she shall have been an actively involved member in good standing for at least one year prior to holding the Commissioner position.

3) He or she shall have the right to delegate certain responsibilities and duties to any of the other commissioners deemed necessary.  He/She may assign an equipment manager, scheduling manager and field manager and or other managers to assist with his/her duties.   

4.) He or she shall preside over the draft.

5.) He or she shall finalize the head coaching staff from the board approved lists. 

6) The commissioner shall schedule all practices for all age groups.

7) He or she shall coordinate scheduling with the Head Commissioners from the quad-county region and attend all quad-county meetings

8) The commissioner shall be responsible for getting game scores from all Head Coaches.

9) He/she shall be responsible for the inventory, assessment and maintenance of the Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. equipment.

10) He or she shall be responsible for issuing the safe and proper equipment for each team to its Head Coach, keeping record of same and recovering same at the seasons end. Equipment should be passed out two weeks before the start of the season and collected within 30 days of the season finale.  All keys and first aid kits that have been issued shall also be collected within 30 days of the season finale.

11) He or she shall be responsible for scheduling an umpire for every scheduled game

12) The commissioner shall assure that all coaches know the proper way to prepare fields before                                                          home games.

13) He or she is responsible for organizing clinics for Head Coaches, teaching Head Coaches how to line fields, and make sure all Head Coaches have a copy of the rules of the league.

14) He or she is responsible for getting copies of the schedules to ALL Head Coaches and board members.

15) He or she is required to post all schedule changes within 24 hours utilizing the bulletin board at the concession stand and supplying coaches with revised schedules.

16) He or she is responsible for getting the appropriate keys to all Head Coaches.

 

 

B. Duties of the President

1) He or she shall keep record of all Coaching requests, and submit them to the Commissioner after                                   final approval of the Board.

2) The president shall get rosters from registration forms cleared through the Treasurer.

3) He or she shall set up coaches folders.

4) The President shall preside over the general meetings. He or she shall call board meetings monthly.

5) He or she shall have been a member in good standing and actively involved in a board for at least one year prior to holding the President position. 

6) He or she shall, in cooperation with the Vice Presidents, represent the Association to the general public in the areas of fund raising, business and public relations.

7) He or she shall encourage and promote open communication among parents, coaches and the commissioners.

8) He or she shall delegate certain responsibilities, on occasion and as becomes necessary.

9) He or she shall, as needed, evaluate the performance of fund raising committees. If the President determines that something is lacking, he or she shall take appropriate action to rectify the problem.

10) Working with the 2nd Vice President, he or she shall be responsible for approaching past and prospective sponsors and requesting, by letter or in person, their monetary support of the league. The President shall provide a listing of the sponsors and donators to the league at the end of the season.
11) He or she shall obtain a post office box. He or she is responsible for checking the post office box and distributing the mail to the appropriate person in a timely manner. The post office key will be kept in the president’s possession and turned in at the end of the elected term.

 

C. Duties of the 1st Vice President

1) He or she shall be responsible for obtaining prices, reporting back to the Board and ordering uniforms. A total of (3) three bids from separate business’s, must be presented to the board for final determination of uniform selection.

2) He or she shall also be responsible for the distribution of said uniforms to each.

3) The 1st Vice President shall act in the absence or disability of the President. (See duties of the President.)

4) He or she shall maintain concession stand bulletin board.

5) He or she shall execute and produce an annual newsletter containing fund raising news and other business of the league. The newsletter shall be made available to all members of the league. All newsletters will be on display on the bulletin board.

6) He or she shall assist the President in all publications for the league.

7) He or she shall be responsible, in cooperation with the Treasurer, for overseeing the registration.

8) He or she shall be responsible, in cooperation with the Board, for the planning of the end of the year banquet/picnic.

9) He or she shall acquire team moms and be responsible for providing all fundraising info to the                  team parents. 

10) He or she shall be responsible for submitting coaching surveys to be distributed to parents during tournament games through the team mom.  All surveys should be returned in a sealed envelope.

10) He or she shall be a member in good standing.

 

D.            Duties of 2nd Vice President

1) The 2nd Vice President is responsible for planning all fundraisers for the league. All fundraising projects are subject to PRIOR approval of the board. This will include, but is not limited to:

a) Adult league

b) Working with the Concessions Manager in the Concession Stand.

c) Working with the President approaching past and prospective sponsors.

d) Working with the entire Board on Super Saturday.

e) Developing a league program complete with team photos and sponsors.           

f) Any tournaments held at Coventry fields.

g) Any other events voted by the Board as methods to increase monetary support of the league.

h) Merchandise that can be sold as fundraising material, such as clothing and other related spirit items must be presented to the board as “biddable” merchandise. This requires (3) three bids from different businesses presented to the board before final selection.

2)  He or she shall be a member in good standing.  

3) The 2nd Vice President shall be responsible for monitoring the minimum play rule, which will be noted on the scorecards. Indiscretions will be written and immediately reported to the coach, with the opportunity to amend in future games. Continued violations may result in coaching termination.

4) The 2nd Vice President shall insure “standard” donators receive (minimum):

a) Receipt for total donation

b) Letter of thank you

c) Team Picture

d) Plaque or framed certificate

 

            E.            Duties of the Secretary

1) The Secretary of the Association shall keep the correct minutes of the Board, general membership and special meetings and shall read and preserve all documents, correspondence, audio and visual recordings.  All minutes must be reviewed by the board at the next meeting and required changes must be made and preserved as such.    

2) He or she shall take an accurate attendance record at all meetings and pass out minutes from previous meeting to all members in attendance.

3) He or she shall be present to record the proceedings at protests and intercommunity meetings when called to do so. In the event the Secretary cannot attend a meeting, the Treasurer may act on his or her behalf.

4) He or she shall be present at open registration to assist the Treasurer.

5) He or she shall maintain a log of years of service and position(s) of each league

    member.

6) He or she shall maintain a list of members in good standing.

7) He or she shall be a member in good standing.

 

F.            Duties of the Treasurer

1) The fiscal year of the League is from January 1st to December 31st.

2) The Treasurer of the league shall receive all monies paid into the Association and immediately make record of the same in books kept by him or her for that purpose. He or she shall keep an accurate, detailed account of the financial standings of the league and keep a record of any and all monies paid out by the league.

3) He or she shall have been a member in good standing and been involved in a board for at least one year prior to holding the Treasurer position.  

4) He or she shall submit a proposed budget to the Board by January 1st. The fiscal year of this board

5) He or she shall deposit all monies in the bank to the credit of Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. league within two days of receipt. He or she shall pay all bills presented to him or her during his or her term of office. The payments will be made within the specified period of time to guarantee the league any discounts.

6) He or she shall, with the approval of the President, set open registration dates and preside over registration on said dates. He or she shall deliver registration forms to schools for distribution to prospective players. He or she shall be responsible, with the approval of the Board, for waiving registration fees in the event of hardship on a case-by-case basis. The Board shall set acceptable qualifications for hardship cases. The Board shall keep this information submitted to the Treasurer confidential.

7) He or she shall make an itemized statement to the general membership body at general membership meetings of all monies received and paid out by the Association.

8) He or she shall assist the Secretary when called to do so by attending meetings and recording minutes when the Secretary cannot attend.

9) He or she shall keep in his or her possession the Association’s checkbook and cash box. At the completion of their term, all pieces shall be relinquished to the successor of this said position.

10) At the expiration of his or her term of office, the Treasurer shall have all money in his or her possession; books, papers and receipts audited and delivered same to his or her successor. He or she shall give a correct report of business and account of monies to the league by October 30th.

11) He or she shall, along with the President and one other Board Officer, submit the league’s financial records for internal auditing at least once a year.

12) He or she shall be responsible for weekly deposits from the concession stand.

13) The treasurer will maintain a legible and accurate set of records covering all

financial transactions of the league.

14) He or she shall maintain appropriate records of expenditures of the petty cash

 Account (maximum $100)

15) He or she is responsible for tax filing at the end of every calendar year (by 4/15), through the assistance of a certified public accountant. At the completion of these taxes, this should be presented at the next board meeting. CPA costs shall be entered into the yearly budget to accommodate this necessity.

16) He or she shall complete the necessary paperwork and submit the same for the players insurance.

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 11 – DUTIES OF TRUSTEES

 

A.            Duties of the Team Parent

1) He or she shall be responsible for keeping parents informed as to fundraisers and to make sure the parents receive all league notifications.

2) He or she shall be a member in good standing.

3) He or she shall be responsible for collecting team fundraiser monies from the parents and keeping an accurate record of the same. He or she shall deliver all fundraiser monies to the 2nd Vice President

4) He or she is responsible for acquiring parents to work 3-4 days (excluding Super Saturday and tournaments) in the concession stand and coordinating dates with the Concession Stand Manager.

5) He or she will be responsible for passing out and accepting nomination forms for Board members to members in good standing, along with an envelope to ensure confidentiality, as well as passing out and accepting ballots. The Team Parent, when accepting the sealed envelope(s) with the nomination form(s) and ballot included, will check off the member’s name from a roster listing all members in good standing. Signatures will also be obtained from each voting member to sign-out the nomination form and, at completion, sign-in the nomination form.

6) He or she will be responsible for passing out and accepting election ballots from members in good standing, along with an envelope to ensure confidentiality. The Team Parent, when accepting the sealed envelope(s) with the ballot, will check off the member’s name from a roster listing all members in good standing. Signatures will also be obtained from each voting member to sign-out the ballot and, at completion, sign-in the ballot. The team mom is responsible for giving every member in good standing on their team the opportunity to vote.

7) In the event a player’s ride is unavailable, team mom will wait along with the coach and player/players to insure that all players have proper arrangements for transportation home from games or practice. No players (children) will be left without adult supervision awaiting a ride home. Supervision will include team mom and coach or assistant coach.

 

B.            Concession Stand Manager

1) He or she, in conjunction with the 2nd Vice-President, shall be responsible for the operation of the concession stand. 

2) He or she shall be a member in good standing.

3) He or she shall be responsible for making sure the concession stand is staffed with the appropriate

 amount of volunteers. He or she shall work with the team parents to schedule all volunteers.

4) He or she shall report to the President any team that did not show up to work when scheduled. 

Any teams that fail to work their scheduled shifts will forfeit their next home game against a

Coventry team.  If they do not have any games left against a Coventry team they will forfeit the last

game won against a Coventry team.

5) He or she shall be responsible for overseeing the locked petty cash drawer, which will be used to provide bulk coin/monies in the event the cash till runs out, and will be responsible for replenishing as needed. 

6) He or she shall post a schedule on the bulletin board and update it when necessary as well as keeping record of rain outs/re-schedules, etc.

7) He or she shall be responsible for purchasing all items needed to operate the concession stand and keeping it stocked.

8) He or she shall deliver all money to the treasurer on a timely basis for depositing, keeping a record of the amounts that have been given to the treasurer. Note: $60 in small bills and change must stay in the drawer at all times.

9) He or she shall be responsible for getting approval on any purchases for equipment or supplies out of the ordinary.

 

C.           Head Coach & Assistant Coaches

1) Head coaches will be determined before the beginning of the season by the Board and Commissioner(s).

2.) All coaches must be members in good standing.

3) Any coach or assistant ejected from a game may be brought before the executive committee and will be subject to any disciplinary action deemed appropriate.  The manager or assistant will be given at least 24 hours advance notice of the meeting at which time a decision will be made with or without his/her presence

4) Head Coach is responsible for all equipment for his team.

5) It is the responsibility of the Head Coach to report cancelled games to the concession manager and            or opposing teams Head Coach.

6) All games must be re-scheduled within two weeks of the regularly scheduled date in as many cases as possible

7) The coaching staff shall do their best to teach age and division appropriate skills keeping in mind at all times, the mission statement of PLGS, Inc.

8) Coaches will be chosen by seniority, comments from the coach’s survey forms, any written complaints against a prior coach, and past experience, either with Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. or other leagues will be taken into consideration.  The board reviews the applicants and will submit their nominations to the commissioner for final pick.

9)Seniority will be defined as number of years coaching in the league, or number of years coaching (in Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. or other league)

10) Head Coaches are required to turn in the team scorecards within one week of the game(s) played.  Final cards must be turned in or called in to the Commissioner to verify the team’s record by the last game of the regular season.  Minimum Play:  All players who arrive in uniform and on time are to be played at least every other inning on defense and bat at least once. All children, unless disciplinary actions are present, or attendance issues occur, shall be played equally throughout the season. This will be recorded on the score card and will be the responsibility of the 2nd Vice President to monitor and report unfair treatment.

11 Assistant coaches are chosen by head coach pending approval of Board  

12) Head Coach’s will choose one assistant.  Once the team has been established the Head Coach can choose additional assistants from team parents.  If no parent wishes to help then the coach can choose someone from outside the league.

 

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 12 - DRAFT

            A.            Placement of returning players shall be done as follows:

1) For each season, any player who participated on a team of the past season shall be permitted to remain on that team.

2) Any player who does not desire to remain on the team with which she participated in the past will be permitted to place her name in the "player's pool".  She shall be assigned to a team, other than the one she participated on, for the upcoming season in the same manner as a new applicant.

3) Placement of new players, and managers, with an insufficient number of players to form a team shall be handled through the respective league representative from a players' pool.  A players' pool shall consist of those players that are:

a) New applicants to the league shall be placed in a league that matches their age.  Applicants will be placed on a team of corresponding league having players of the same age level.

4) 8 and under players – no draft – players will be picked randomly. Players remain on the same team from the previous year unless requested by the parent or coach to be moved to another team. New players are divided equally to each team, keeping age of children equal on each team, to the best ability.  (ex:  2 teams have 4 - 8 years olds, 1 team has 2  - 8 year olds, the team with 2 - 8 years olds would draft an 8 year old first.     

5) 10, 12, 14 and under – Players remain on the same team from the previous year unless requested by the parent or coach to be moved to another team.  Foremost keeping the mission statement in mind, the team will also be given the opportunity to be competitive.  The draft will be ran in a non-biased manner, showing no favoritism to any team. 

9) Only coaches and board members may be present during the draft.  Coaches are encouraged to contact their players after the draft is finalized.

10) Any tournament team(s) that is in any way supported or sponsored by Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. shall be comprised of current players of Portage Lakes Fastpitch Softball, Inc. teams in that particular age division.  All-Star teams shall be picked by the Head Coaches of the appropriate age divisions with each Head Coach having the opportunity to submit a player(s) name for the roster. This submission will be based solely on the player(s) stats. The players with the highest stats will be asked to participate in the All-Star team. Final stats will be reviewed by the board for the All-Star roster selection. Coaches for the team will be selected, after the player roster is developed. All-Star uniforms will not be purchased using league funds, unless financial need is determined and voted on by 2/3rds of the vote. This financial need will be kept in confidentiality.