A. League Purpose:
A&E Softball exists as a non-profit organization solely for the purpose of promoting the existing professional working relationships of Atlanta area Architects and Engineers beyond the office environment to the friendly competition of the softball field.
B. League Structure:
1. Team Composition
Each team shall be allowed an unlimited number of male & female players on their roster, provided all players meet the eligibility requirements of A&E Softball. Although A&E Softball is a co-ed league by virtue of allowing players of either gender to play, there are no requirements for a minimum or maximum number of players of either gender to participate in league games. Refer to Section C, “Player Eligibility” for further requirements.
2. Team Rosters
Each team is required to turn in a roster of eligible players to the League Commissioners. Refer to Section D, “Team Rosters” for roster requirements.
C. Player Eligibility:
1. Overview
As outlined in the League Purpose, A&E Softball exists to promote the relationships of Architects and Engineers outside the office environment. Therefore, teams shall be formed out of groups of Architects and/or Engineers. This requirement is essential to the success of the league – the intent of A&E Softball is not to display the highest level of competition among Atlanta’s best softball players, but to provide a setting for friendly competition among Atlanta’s Architects and Engineers. In view of this fact, player eligibility is restricted to Architects, Engineers, and other employees of Architecture and Engineering firms as described in this section.
2. Team Formation Requirements.
A&E Softball consists of three classifications of teams – each classification has different player eligibility requirements. Descriptions of each team classification and player eligibility requirements are outlined below:
a. Single-Firm Team
A single-firm team consists only of employees from one single firm. All employees from that firm are eligible to play for the team, including employees not employed as architects or engineers. In addition to firm employees, single-firm teams are permitted to add three “ringers” to the team roster. Refer to the paragraph “General Player Eligibility” for other eligibility requirements.
b. Joint-Venture Team
A joint-venture team consists of employees from two or three firms combining to form a single team. Like single-firm teams, all employees from all of the firms, including employees not employed as architects or engineers, are eligible to play on the team. However, unlike single-firm teams, joint-venture teams may not include “ringers” on the roster. Refer to the paragraph “General Player Eligibility” for other eligibility requirements.
c. Independent Team
An independent team consists of architects and/or engineers from more than three firms. Independent teams are an integral part of A&E Softball – they provide an opportunity for Architects and Engineers from small firms (and other firms not sponsoring a team) to participate in league play. Eligibility for players for independent teams is restricted to Architects and Engineers only. No other players are eligible for independent teams. Refer to the paragraph “General Player Eligibility” for other eligibility requirements.
3. General Player Eligibility
a. Architects and Engineers
Other than the exceptions allowed in the previous paragraphs, player eligibility in A&E Softball is limited to Architects and Engineers involved in the building and construction industry. The term “Architect” refers to a professional almost exclusively involved in the building and construction industry. Therefore, a person employed as an Architect is automatically eligible to play in A&E Softball. However, the term “Engineer” can apply to many professions inside and outside of the building and construction industry. To be eligible, an Engineer must be involved in a building and construction related business. It should be noted that for purposes of determining player eligibility, professional registration is irrelevant – architecture or engineering students, interns, draftsmen, cadd technicians, engineers in training, or any other professionals employed in an architectural or engineering capacity are eligible to play in A&E Softball.
Exception: Architects and Engineers who play in A&E Softball for at least one year but change professions to outside the building and construction industry can remain eligible to play in A&E Softball as long as they remain with the same team they played with immediately prior to changing professions. Such players may not change teams – if the team they played with drops out of A&E Softball, these players are no longer eligible to play in A&E Softball. The intent of this rule is to allow long-time veteran players to remain with their teammates after they change professions, not to provide a loophole for non-architects and non-engineers to play in A&E Softball.
b. Ringers
The term “ringer” refers to an Architect or Engineer playing on a single-firm team who is employed by another firm. In order to qualify as a “ringer”, the player must be not be employed by a firm involved with another team (either as its own single-firm team or as part of a joint-venture team). A ringer must also be an Architect or Engineer fulfilling the requirements of the paragraph “Architects and Engineers”.
c. Other eligibility rules
- If an Architecture or Engineering firm forms a single-firm team or is a part of a joint-venture team, all employees of that firm are limited to playing for that firm’s team and may not play for another team.
- If an Architecture or Engineering firm is not a part of any team, Architects and Engineers from that firm are free to play on other teams, provided all other requirements for player eligibility are met. Architects and Engineers within such a firm may play for separate teams.
- If, in mid-season, a player leaves an employer that forms a single-firm team or is part of a joint venture team and is hired by another employer that forms another single-firm team or is part of a different joint venture team, that player has the option of staying with the former employer’s team for the remainder of the season or playing with the new employer’s team for the remainder of the season.
- If, in mid-season, a player leaves an employer that forms a single-firm team or is part of a joint venture team and is hired by an employer that is not involved with a team, that player has the option of staying with the former employer’s team for the remainder of the season or joining an independent team for the remainder of the season.
D. Team Rosters:
1. General Requirements
Each team is required to submit a roster to A&E Softball before the first game of the regular season. A roster must contain the names of all persons who will be playing with the team during the upcoming season. In addition to including the names of employees who will play, the rosters of single-firm teams must also list the name, employer, telephone number, and job description of all “ringers”. Joint-venture team rosters need only list the name of each player and which of the joint-venture firms the player is employed by. The rosters of independent teams must list the name, employer, telephone number, and job description of every player. Failure to follow these procedures will result in the team in violation of these rules to forfeit all games played before submitting the required roster.
2. Waivers and Additional Rosters
A&E Softball may contract with other organizations to provide facilities and/or umpires. These other organizations may require each team submit a roster. This roster may be the same roster handed in to A&E Softball or it may be in another form required by these organizations. These other organizations may require each player to sign a waiver before playing. Each team is required to follow the roster and waiver policies of these other organizations. Failure to follow these procedures will result in the team in violation of these rules to forfeit all games played before submitting the required forms.
3. Roster Additions
After the regular season begins, teams may add players under the following conditions:
- Single-firm teams may not add any “ringers” to the roster once the regular season begins;
- New employees of firms that form single-firm teams or are a part of joint-venture teams may be added to the roster at any time, as long an updated roster has been turned in to A&E Softball prior to the game in which the new player(s) will participate;
- Independent teams may add a total of two players to the roster after the season begins (over the course of the regular season), provided the players meet A&E Softball eligibility requirements. These roster additions must be turned in at least one day prior to the game in which the new player(s) will participate.
- New players are still required to sign all required waivers. These signed waivers must be submitted before the new players participate in a game.
- Refer to the “Championship Tournament” section for player eligibility for tournament games. New players may not be eligible for the tournament if they are added too late in the season.
E. Regular Season:
1. Playing Facilities
Before the regular season starts, the commissioners or a schedule committee will reserve enough playing fields to schedule all regular season games during the season. If possible, the schedule will include make-up dates for at least two weeks of rainouts. The location of these fields and the reserved times will be announced to the league prior to the collection of any fees from the teams. The commissioners or a schedule committee reserves the right to change game dates, times, and locations due to unforeseen conditions such as inadequate playing conditions at the normal fields, unexpected unavailability of the reserved fields, etc.
2. Umpires
In addition to reserving the playing fields, the commissioners or a schedule committee shall procure the services of an outside organization to provide at least one umpire for each regular season game.
3. Regular Season Schedule
The commissioners or a schedule committee shall draft and distribute the regular season schedule. Each team shall be scheduled to play sixteen games during the regular season – at least one game against each intra-divisional opponent and the remaining games against inter-divisional opponents.
F. Championship Tournament:
1. General Information
After the conclusion of the regular season, a two separate double elimination tournaments will determine the Architect’s and Engineer’s Division Champions. A championship game matching the two Division Tournament Champions will determine the overall League Champion. All teams in good standing at the end of the regular season qualify for the tournament. The team records from the regular season will determine the “seeds” for the tournament.
2. Player Eligibility
A player must have played in a minimum of six(6) games during a sixteen (16) game regular season or a player must have played in a minimum of five (5) games during a 14 game regular season in order to be eligible to play in the tournament. If a player’s eligibility for the tournament is called into question, the commissioners reserve the right to demand copies of all scorecards from the regular season to determine the player’s eligibility. The commissioners have sole discretion in resolving tournament eligibility disputes. Players added to the roster after the regular season begins are not exempt from the six game minimum. Therefore, a player added to the roster (including new employees) with only five games left in the season will not be eligible for the tournament.
3. Playing Facilities
Before the tournament starts, the commissioners or a schedule committee will reserve enough playing fields to schedule all games. If possible, the location of these fields and the reserved times will be the same as for the regular season. The commissioners or a schedule committee reserves the right to change game dates, times, and locations due to unforeseen conditions such as inadequate playing conditions at the normal fields, unexpected unavailability of the reserved fields, etc.
4. Umpires
In addition to reserving the playing fields, the commissioners or a schedule committee shall procure the services of an outside organization to provide at least one umpire for each tournament game. Selected games will have two umpires scheduled.
5. Tournament Schedule
The commissioners or a schedule committee shall draft and distribute the tournament season schedule as soon as seeds can be determined.
6. Tournament Seeds
The results from the regular season will be used to determine the seeds for the tournament. To resolve ties, the following criteria will be used (in the order given):
- Overall record
- Head to head competition.
- Division record
- Run differential (runs scores minus runs allowed)
- Runs scored
7. Time Limit
Most tournament games will follow the regular season time limit rules; however, select tournament games have no time limit. The Architect’s Championship, Engineer’s Championship, and overall League Championship games will be seven inning games.
8. Home Team
Home team in tournament games is determined by higher seeding. In the Division Championship round, the Winner’s Bracket winner will be the home team in the first game; should a second game be required, home team is again determined by seeding. A coin flip will determine home team in the A vs. E League Championship game.
G. Rules of Play
The Rules of Play are included in these Bylaws as a separate attachment. Refer to the Rules of Play dated 3-31-11.