Bylaws

1. The fiscal year for baseball will run from January 1st through December 31st. 

2. Ball players in this association will reside in western Perry County. 

   1. Ball players are permitted to play outside of this area with the written approval from a presiding member of the association they should play for. 

   2. Once a ball player has been approved to play for an association, they are then approved to continue to play for that association for the remainder of their time in baseball. 

   3. If a player does not play baseball for a season and then is to return, they are to return to the appropriate association based on the physical location where they live in accordance with Article 1 Number 2. 

3. The age chart to be used for determining player division will be the current posted year “Cal Ripken” age chart. 

   1. Players must be at least 4 years old by the cut off date in order to be eligible for play

   2. Players will always be eligible to play up a division being that they are either needed and are capable. 

   3. Players will only be permitted to play down a division if it is determined by the board and a coach from both the impacted divisions that the ball player would be at risk playing the division of their age. This consideration should only be made based on the safety of the ball player. 

4. Insurance will begin effective February 1st and will expire January 31st. Obtaining insurance and maintaining insurance will be the responsibility of the Treasurer. 

5. Any adult that is to consistently interact with ball players in our association will be required to maintain a PA State Police Background check and Child Abuse Background Check. These checks include but are not limited to managers, coaches, umpires, and volunteers. The president can require background checks for any additional members. 

   1. All Background checks must be completed by the beginning of the regular spring season and are valid for 5 years. 

   2. If a determination is made that a person requires a background check by the President, the member will have ten days to complete. 

   3. All background checks must be filed with the Secretary. Responsibility of completion will be that of the President. 

6. JMAA will identify as a ball club within the Cal Ripken Charter. 

1. Board Positions will be for three fiscal years; a board member may be elected for two consecutive terms. 

1. Board Duties by Position

   1. The President will preside over all meetings and will be responsible for all official functions of the board. The president will appoint board positions that become vacant during terms. The president will oversee all board positions. The President may only vote in the event of a tie vote. This position has no other voting privileges.  

      1. The President will be responsible for addressing coach behaviors

   2. The Vice President will perform all functions of the president in the absence of the president. 

   3. The Treasurer will be responsible for all finances of the association. The treasurer will be responsible for preparing the budget and expenditure reports. An internal audit will take place in December of each fiscal year. 

   4. The Secretary will be responsible for keeping meeting minutes and preparing the agenda for each meeting.  The secretary will also be responsible for maintaining the Bylaws and additional documentation. The secretary will be responsible for social media posts and JMAA e-mail correspondence.  

   5. The Concessions Coordinator will be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the concession stands for the association. The coordinator will be responsible for the concessions account and will perform monthly audits with the Treasurer. 

   6. The Fundraising Coordinator will be responsible for organizing and coordinator fundraising events and sponsorships on behalf of the association.  

   7. The Field Maintenance Manager will be the head coordinator for all field usages and equipment. The manager may appoint a representative for each of the physical locations where we have fields. These appointed reps will report to the manager and any/all concerns will be brought to the board. 

      1. Field inspection will also be the responsibility of this position. 

2. All board members will be responsible to ensure that all coaches are conducting practices and games with player safety as number one concern. If a coach or player is determined to be deficient, the president will develop a training plan to help improve the person. Final say on coach and player skill level will come from the board. 

Association meetings will be held on the third Sunday of each month.

1. Special Board of Directors meetings will be scheduled as needed. 

2. Preseason parent meeting: 

   1. Prior to the first organized practice the board shall call a meeting of parents, for the purpose of explaining rules, regulations and parental responsibilities as well as answer questions which the parents may ask.

3. The first 10 minutes of every meeting will be reserved for community discussion and questions. 

   1. Parents and community members need to sign up to present prior to the meeting being called to order

   2. The allotment of time per presenter will be dependent on the number of presenters. For example, if 5 presenters sign-up, each will get 2 minutes to fill the 10 minute time frame. 

1. Players will be grouped into divisions based on their age. All ages will be determined using the "Cal Ripken" age chart for the current year of play. 

   1. JMAA will support the following divisions: T-ball, Pony, Minor, Majors, Teeners

2. Players will participate in a Skills Assessment. 

   1. Play skill level will be evaluated by the coaches at the age level the player is to play at. 

   2. Players who do not participate in the skills assessment will be assigned to a team, alphabetically, after the drafting process is complete. 

   3. If a division change is to be determined, the board will be contacted. The board with both division coaches involved will determine what is best for the player with safety at the driving factor. 

3. Rostering

   1. Rosters will be formed based on age level, with exceptions made by the board if needed. 

   2. If a division requires the same number of teams in consecutive years, the returning players to a team will be rostered together.

      1. New players to the division or league will be drafted by the head coaches after a skills assessment.

      2. If one team has more returning players than the other; the team with lesser returning players will begin the draft by drafting consecutive players until roster numbers for each team are equal.  Coaches will then select players, one at a time, until rosters are full. 

   3. If a division requires more teams than the previous year, all players will be redrafted after a skills assessment. The draft will be divided into two tiers. 

      1. Part one of this draft will include all returning players to that division.

      2. Part two of this draft will include all new players to the division or league. 

      3. The first pick will be determined by a coin flip.

   4. One head coach and one assistant coach may draft their child as their 3rd and 4th picks. If a coach or assistant has 2 or more players in the division, those siblings will be picks 5, 6, etc. 

   5. Special requests for rostering may be granted by the board if requested at the time of registration.  ​

1. JMAA will be following the rules of play based on the league. 

2. Any questions on rules of play will be directed to the President.

This article refers to CR/BR Tournament Trail only.

1. The Board of JMAA, or a subcommittee appointed by the Board, shall decide the quantity and age group or bracket of All Star teams that will represent the League each year.

2. All-Star Managers

   1. Any interested parties must be submitted to JMAA prior to April 1st of each year. A list of interested parties for each age level will be obtained and reviewed. 

   2. A vote will then be held by the JMAA Board to appoint the All-Star Team Manager at each level warranted by JMAA

   3. The Team Manager who has became the All-Star Team Manager will then select his three coaches. 

3. All-Star Player Selection

   1. In order to be eligible for consideration for the All-Star Team, individuals must play in the JMAA recreational league. 

   2. A player must play in a minimum of 75% of the JMAA Recreational League games. 

   3. All Team Managers at each age division may nominate players from their recreational team to play on the All-Star Team within their division.  This selection should be based on a player’s demonstration of discipline, good sportsmanship, superior baseball skills and fundamentals, positive attitude, fairness, respect, and cooperation.

   4. The Team Managers will then discuss the players to be rostered to each age level.  The decision on the final roster will be determined by Appointed All-Star Team Manager.

   5. The All-Star Team will be comprised of a minimum of 10 JMAA players.  A maximum of 3 Perry County players are permitted on the roster.  In the event a player from out of the county were to play in our league, and be a candidate for the All-Star Team, a discussion is in order between the All-Star Team Manager and the JMAA Board of Directors as to how this can be addressed.

   6. Upon the completion of the proposed roster, the All-Star Team Manager will notify the player’s parents.  All parents and players shall sign an All-Star Commitment Form in order to be rostered and participate on the proposed All-Star Team.  If any parent or player cannot fulfill the commitment, they shall not sign a commitment letter and will not be permitted to participate.  In the event that a parent or player cannot fulfill the entire commitment, a discussion between the All-Star Team Manager and the Board of the JMAA will be had in order to determine whether a waiver can be granted and under what circumstances. 

   7. A Waiver may be granted for the following but is not limited to such.  

      1. A player has a commitment prior to the announcement of the CR/BR Tournament Trail dates and or selection to the JMAA All-Star Team.

      2. In the event a player cannot make a certain portion of the trail and a waiver is granted, the All-Star Team Manager is not permitted to add any additional player in place of the absent player.  

      3. All players offered a position on the All-Star team should be required to give any prior obligations to the coach and the coach can determine whether he or she would like to request a waiver for said player.

      4. Once the team is rostered, everyone should be committed with the exception of the "excused absence" that has been waived.  ​

1. Any and all changes to include removal of items from the By Laws will require a majority of votes. 

   1. Items that are voted are written as Amendments to the Bylaws. 

   2. Amendments to the Bylaws are voted as a revision to the Bylaws in the final  scheduled calendar year meeting. 

   3. All revisions to the Bylaws will be published in January.

2. Any and all changes to the Bylaws, including removal of items, that are not voted on will be removed from the Bylaws as amendments. 

1. The President will not vote on any changes for the association unless there is a tie. The President may only vote should there be a need to break a tie vote.   

2. All other board positions will have one vote on changes. 

3. A minimum of five votes must be cast for a vote to be valid. 

4. The five votes must be different people and the president may not be one of the five votes. 

   1. If an item is to be voted on and there are not enough voting members to validate the vote, the vote will be postponed to a later meeting. 

5. A vote can be made over the phone, if the meeting is attended via phone conference. 

   1. Votes cast over the phone must be through the conference call and must be heard by all voting members. 

   2. If a vote is cast and it can not be heard, the vote can be asked to be repeated. 

   3. Votes will not be valid should they be cast by any means outside of the conference call. This would include text, email, or any other form.