CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
Revised - July 1998

ARTICLE I - NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1 - Name
The name of this organization shall be the Keystone Midget Football Conference.

Section 2 - Purpose
The purpose of this organization is to establish and maintain a program of supervised football for children through the development of the following fundamentals.

A. Character
B. Citizenship
C. Mental and physical health
D. Good sportsmanship
E. Reverence



ARTICLE II - MEMBERSHIP

Section 1 - Members
The Conference shall be comprised of midget football organizations in the Central Pennsylvannia area and they each must field a midget, pony, and pee wee team.

Section 2 - New Members

Subsection 1 - Applcation for Membership

New teams will be considered for acceptance in the Conference on the basis of a written application for membership and the presentation of such application at any regularly scheduled Conference meeting. The application shall contain all pertinent information concerning the prospective new member and shall include a list of current officers, proposed territorial boundary maps and the location of their playing field.

Subsection 2 - Territorial Boundaries

If the territorial boundaries of a prospective new member conflict with the established territorial boundaries of a current KMFC member organization, it shall be the responsibility of the Conference Coordinator, prospective member, and current members involved to resolve the conflict before the application for membership is acted upon by the Board of Directors. Any change to existing KMFC boundaries must be approved by the Board of Directors.

Subsection 3 - Vote on Membership Applications

Final approval of new members will be determined by a simple majority vote of the full Board of Directors. New membership applications may not be voted upon on the date of their presentation to the Board of Directors, but may be voted upon after a waiting period of one(1) regular meeting during the months of November through July or two(2) regular meetings during the months of August through October. The meeting in which the application is presented will count as one(1) meeting for the purpose of determining the waiting period.

New members may be admitted to the Conference only if this admission will result in the total conference membership being an even number of members.

Subsection 4 - Inclusion of New Members in Conference Schedule

Any new member accepted after May 31 may, at the discretion of the Board of Directors, be excluded from the current year's regular season schedule.

Section 3 - Initiation Fees

New members will be assessed a $100.00 initiation fee upon acceptance into the KMFC.

Section 4 - Annual Dues

Each team will pay a sum of $300.00 annually to defray expenses of the KMFC. Such payment will be due at the regular January KMFC meeting.



ARTICLE III - ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION

Section 1 - Officers

The officers of the KMFC shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Business Manager, American Coordinator and a National Coordinator. These officers will elected by a plurality voted at the regular meeting in November and will begin their one-year term in January. No more than two pfficers can be elected from each organization member. If any official misses two(2) consecutive meetings, he/she will be contacted verbally by the President with a follow-up written communication by the Secretary, advising him/her that if he/she misses the third consecutive meeting, he/she will forfeit his/her office unless extenuating circumstances dictate otherwise.

Section 2 - Board of Directors

The Board of Directors will be the ruling body and consist of one representative from each team member organization of the Conference.



ARTICLE IV - DUTIES AND POWERS

Section 1 - Board of Directors

Each organization has one team representative and one vote on all matters before them. They will make all decisions after thoroughly discussing each matter, with a simple majority vote deciding all issues except: 1-expulsion from the League, where a three-fourth (3/4) majority vote of the total Board of Directors membership would be required; and 2-a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the total Board of Directors membership is required for amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws and Conference Rules and Regulations. Anyone member of the Board of Directors can request a special meeting of the Board of Directors by a written request to the President. If the President declines to hold the special meeting as requested, three team representatives may petition the Secretary in writing to call the special meeting. The Secretary then must notify the President and call the special meeting as requested.

Section 2 - Officers

A. President

It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings. He convenes special meetings of the Board of Directors if they are deemed necessary by either an officer or a member of the Board of Directors. The President does not have a vote unless there is a tie. The President shall appoint such committees as he deems necessary and as provided for in other segments of the By-Laws. He shall be an ex-officio member of all committees. The President has the right to make an interim appointment to a vacant officer's position until such time an election for the office can be held. During the football season, the President will ask the Directors if any organization received a bench flag that was not previously reported to the Board of Directors. He will enforce the By-Laws, Rules & Regulations and Constitution of Keystone Midget Football Conference at all times.

B. Vice-President

The Vice-President shall assist the President as required. He shall succeed to the Presidency in the case of a vacancy in that office during the current term and will serve the unexpired term. He/She will serve as Chairman of the By-Laws Committee. He/She will enforce the By-Laws, Rules & Regulations and Constitution of the Keystone Midget Football Conference at all times.

C. Secretary

It shall be the duty of the Secretary to perform all normal secretarial duties as specified by the Board of Directors. He/She will enforce the By-Laws, Rules & Regulations and Constitution of the Keystone Midget Football Conference at all times.

D. Business Manager

It shall be the duty of the Business Manager to chair all fund raising, purchasing and publicity committees, to receive all monies and/or other property paid to or donated to the KMFC and to disburse funds as and when directedby the Board of Directors, or at the direction of the President of the KMFC when the full Board is not in session up to and not more than $500.00. He/She shall submit a Financial Status Report at all meetings. The Business Manager shall prepare a signature card yearly, giving authorization to sign KMFC checks to all officers approved by the Board of Directors for that purpose. The Business Manager will see to it that the balance in the KMFC checking account does not fall below the amount of $500.00. The Business Manager will chair the Championship Game Committee and select all trophies and/or awards directed by the Board of Directors. He/She will enforce the By-Laws, Rules & Regulations and Constitution of the Keystone Midget Football Conference at all times.

E. American Coordinator

The American Coordinator shall desigate dates, times, and places for all contests and present the official schedule and contract for all Officials for all conference games. He/She shall make arrangements for all playoff and championship games as well as any tournaments so designated by the Board of Directors. It shall be his/her responsibility to see that all registrations within the American Conference are true and correct per the KMFC. He/She will enforce the By-Laws, Rules & Regulations and Constitution of the Keystone Midget Football Conference at all times.

F. National Coordinator

The National Coordinator shall compile the scores after each weeks games and shall make up a standings chart of both conferences within the KMFC. It shall be his/her responsibility to see that the local paper gets these scores as well. It shall be his/her responsibility to set up all post season game selections for the road to the Superbowl. He/She shall make sure that all registrations within the National Conference are true and correct as per the KMFC. He/She will enforce the By-Laws, Rules & Regulations and Constitution of the Keystone Midget Football Conference at all times.

1. It shall be the duties of both coordinators on the even numbered years to do the realignment for the conference. It shall also be both coordinators positioto find out if any violations of the KMFC have been violated by any member organization as per the Rules and Regulations of the KMFC.

G. Asst. American Conference Coordinator

Appointed by the President, this will be a non-voting position. The primary duties will to assist the American Conference Coordinator with registration forms and rosters. He will also be responsible for the administration of all KMJL teams within the American Conference.

H. Asst. National Conference Coordinator

Appointed by the president, this will be a non-voting position. The primary duties will be to assist the National Conference Coordinator with registration forms and rosters. He will also be responsible for the administration of all KMJL teams within the National Conference.

Section 3 - Tie Breaking Voting Procedures

The Officers will only vote in the case of a tie on an issue previously voted on by the Board of Directors. If there is not an odd number of Officers in attendance, the President would be allowed to vote in order to obtain a majority vote of the Officers. Their decisions will be first made as a group, but then cast as a single vote on a tie breaking matter. In case of a protest, any Officer involved with the organization presenting the protest of the defendant organization in the protest will be eliminated from all voting. If the Officers vote results in a deadlock by both Officers and the Board of Directors, the business being voted on will be declared "void". The exception to this rule would be in the case of the election of Officers, where Officers would not be permitted to vote under any circumstances.

In the event that the only representative of any organization present at any time that a vote is to be conducted on any issue before the Board of Directors or for the election of Officers, happens to be an Officer, that Officer would be permitted to cast a vote on behalf of his/her organization. However, said Officer would be disqualified from participation in the event that is necessary for the Officers of the Board of Directors to conduct a tie breaking vote.



ARTICLE V - COMMITTEES

Section 1 - Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee will consist of the Board of Directors with the President acting as Chairman. The Nominating Committee will be responsible to provide a list of candidates for office by the regularly scheduled October meeting of the Conference. The President shall present a questionnaire to each representative from each organization to be re-submitted with their nominations for office. The questionnaire should be distributed to the respective representatives during the first regularly scheduled meeting in September and re-submitted at the second regularly scheduled meeting in October.

Section 2 - By-Laws Committee

The chairman of the By-Laws Committee shall be the Vice-President and the Committee shall consist of a representative from each organization. Revision to the By-Laws may be made during any regularly scheduled meeting except during the months of August, October, and November. Although a proposed amendment is made for the By-Laws, the actual vote cannot be taken until the next regularly scheduled meeting. This will allow time for the proposal to be discussed by the respective organizations.

Section 3 - Chmpionship Committee

The Chairman on the Championship Game Committee shall be the Business Manager and the Committee shall consist of a majorityof the Board of Directors as selected by the Business Manager. The Championship Game Committee shall be responsible for the preparation of an agenda for the championship game activities and shall recommend the type and cost of awrds to be made to divisional and Conference championship teams. The final approval of all Championship game plans shall rest with the full Board of Directors.



ARTICLE VI - MEETINGS

Section 1 - Regular Meetings

A. There shall be at least one meeting of the Board of Directors in each calendar month of the year, except there will be no meeting in the month of December. These meetings will be held on the last Wednesday of each month, except during the months of August, September, and October, when there will be two meetings held, the second and last Wednesday. The time of the meetings shall be 8:30 pm. If there is a necessity to change a regularly scheduled meeting, the Secretary will be responsible to contact each member of the Board of Directors and advise them as to the time and place of the meeting. Any team whose representative or substitute does not attend a regularly scheduled meeting shall forfeit the sum of $20.00 for the first absence and the sum of $50.00 will be assessed for any absences thereafter for the remainder of the meetings per calendar year, payable at the next meeting. The roll shall be taken at every scheduled meeting and placed into the Minutes by the Secretary. Each organization is required to submit a complete list of its Officers, their addresses, and phone numbers to the Secretary.

B. Any representative or substitute late by 10 minutes will be fined as if absent unless another member received prior notification to expect tardiness with the first violation to be a warning (no fine).

Section 2 - Special Meetings

Special meetings will not be held unless a quoum of the Board of Directors is present. A quorum is one more than half of the total membership of the Board of Directors. If no Officers appear at a special meeting, the meeting can be moderated by an approved team representative selected by those Board of Directors members in attendance.



ARTICLE V - OFFICIALS

All officials used in Conference games shall be P.I.A.A. approved football officials. Four officials shall be provided by the Conference Coordinators for each game. It will be the HOME TEAMS responsibility to pay the officials. If less than three (3) officials report, the game will be postponed.



ARTICLE VI - STARTING TIMES, LENGTH OF GAMES, INTERVAL BETWEEN GAMES

Section 1 - Starting Times

A. The Pee Wee games will begin at 1:00 pm, except after daylight savings time ends, Saturday and Sunday game will start at 12:30 pm.
B. The Pony game will begin five (5) minutes after completion of the Pee Wee game.
C. The Midget game will begin five (5) minutes after completion of the Pony game.

Section 2 - Length of Game

A. The Pee Wee game shall consist of four (4) seven (7) minute quarters.
B. The Pony game shall consist of four (4) eight (8) minute quarters.
C. The Midget games shall consist of four (4) eight (8) minute quarters.

Section 3 - Night Games

All night games will start at 4:00, 5:00, or 6:00 during the scheduled games of the KMFC.



ARTICLE VII - PROTEST AND PENALTIES

It is the intent of the Board of Directors to promote sportsmanship and other fundamentals set forth in Article I, Section 2 - Purpose of the KMFC Constitution and By-Laws. The rules and regulations of the KMFC set forth herein apply equally to all member organizations and every member organization is expected to abide by them. Deliberate violation(s) of theses rules and regulations does not set proper example to the players and WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. It is the duty of any member of the Board of Directors or Officer of the KMFC to report any infraction of these rules and regulations to the Board of Directors for review.

Section 1 - Basis for Protest

A protest may be filed by any designated team representative or any officer of the KMFC. All protests must be filed in writing and in triplicate within 48 hours of the infraction being discovered. A copy of the protest will be sent to the President, the Conference Coordinators, and the defendant organization in the protest. A protest may be filed for any infraction of the hereinafter.

Section 2 - Infractions and Penalties

A. Any Pee Wee team showing up 30 minutes later than scheduled starting time without notifying their opponents shall forfeit the Pee Wee game. Any organization showing up 60 minutes later than the scheduled starting time shall forfeit all games on all three levels. In addition to automatic forfeiture, the organization violating all starting times will be subject to a full day's officials' fees, the team will be fined an additional $50.00 by the KMFC. This fine will be submitted to the Conference Treasurer and subsequently given to the violated team.

B. The use of an ineligible player or players at any time will result in the following:
1. Allowing a player that has not been officially weighed in will result in forfeiture of that game, player will be suspended for the next three (3) games and the head coach will be suspended for the remainder of the season including any playoffs. If the violation occurs during the last three regular season games or playoffs, the head coach will be suspended for the remaining games and the next full season. A second violation will result in forfeiture of all games for the current season in addition to other penalties.
2. Allowing an over-age player to play will result in forfeiture of all games in which the over-age player participated. Additionally, the head coach will be suspended for the remainder of the season including playoff games. In the event the violation occurs during the last three regular season games of playoffs, the head coach will be suspended for the next full season.

C. Unsportsmanlike conduct by individuals, spectators, team, or coaches will be defined as follows and penalized accordingly.
1. A coach or team official who physically assaults or with the intent to assault an official or member of the opposing staff or team shall be banned forever from active participation in any Conference activity. In addition, that coach or team official's organization shall be fined the sum of $100.00 and banned from championship participation for a period of two (2) years.
2. Any player who physically assaults an official or any member of the opposing organization shall be banned for a period of one (1) year from the date of the incident. A player who physically assaults another player during a game (and is removed from the game by an official) shall also be expelled from the following scheduled game. Second offenders will be declared ineligible for the remainder of the current season including playoffs. It will be the responsibility of both team representatives to report any explusion to the Conference Coordinators within 48 hours of the infraction. It will be the responsibility of the Conference Coordinators to maintain a permanent record for the Conference of all infractions of this nature.