Culpeper Football Association (CFA)
By-Laws
This organization shall be known as the
Culpeper Football Association, INC. hereinafter referred to as “CFA”.
The following guidelines will be
adhered to by CFA.
This document expires annually at the
end of the calendar year and must be reviewed annually.
These By-Laws set specific ground rules
for all coaches, parents, spectators, volunteers and participants.
Participants are defined as both
football players and cheerleaders.
Participants should be taught to be
competitive, but to learn how to win and lose graciously.
Unsportsmanlike comments or actions
will not be tolerated.
Both teams will shake hands in a
sportsmanlike fashion at the end of each game; this includes the cheerleaders,
football players, cheerleading coaches and football coaches.
All coaches, parents, spectators,
volunteers and participants are encouraged to display and maintain a positive
atmosphere at any CFA functions.
Codes of Conduct are essential in youth
programs and the adoption of the following codes is a method devised to help
develop sportsmanship, character, safety and fair play.
Football and Cheerleading Coaches: All football and cheerleading coaches should refrain from:
1. Use of foul language.
2. Abusing participants.
3. Harassing the officials.
4. Riding of opposition of fans by word or gesture.
5. Permitting an injured player to enter or re-enter a game.
6. Disobeying or attempting to circumvent rules and regulations or
the intent thereof.
7. Use of tobacco, drugs, or intoxicants while going on or coming off
the field of play or while on the field of play, be it at practices or games.
8. Misconduct resulting in ejection.
Any coach who is ejected (removed) from a game is automatically
suspended from the next game his team plays.
This rule is not subject to protest or review. Removal from a game shall be interpreted to
include the playing field and spectator area.
A second offense by the same person will result in suspension from all
future team activities.
All football and cheerleading coaches
will uphold the rules and regulations of the League By-Laws and decisions of
the CFA Board. Failure to comply will
result in disciplinary action or suspension.
Parents, Spectators and Attendees: All parents, spectators and attendees shall:
1. Conduct themselves in a sensible manner at all games and
practices. Riotous, boisterous,
threatening or indecent conduct or the use of abusive, threatening or indecent
language at all games and practices will not be tolerated.
2. Never harass the officials, the opposition or the coaching staff.
3. Refrain from the use, consumption or presence of drugs or
intoxicants at all games and practices. There is NO SMOKING anywhere in the
Culpeper County Complex. This is a
County rule.
4. Refrain from any unauthorized presence on the playing field or
practice field.
5. Refrain from interacting with the participants and coaching staff
during the course of the game.
6. Obey the league established sideline boundaries. Failure to comply may result in a penalty up
to 15 yards for the team the infraction is on.
7. Obey the CFA officials if asked to keep the end zones clear during
play. Failure to comply may result in a
penalty up to 15 yards for the team the infraction is on.
All Parents, Spectators and Attendees
will uphold the rules and regulations of the League By-Laws and decisions of
the CFA Board. Failure to comply will
result in disciplinary action or suspension.
Participants: All participants shall not:
1. Refuse to abide by an official’s decision.
2. Show disrespect to any official, any coach or any other
participant.
3. Use unnecessarily rough tactics in the play of the game against
the body and person of an opposing participant.
4. Use tobacco, drugs, or intoxicants while going on or coming off
the field of play or while on the field of play, be it at practices or games.
5. Use of abusive or profane language.
6. Alter equipment to gain a competitive advantage or to inflict
injury to an opponent.
If a participant is ejected from a
game, for any reason, they must sit out the next game. A second ejection will result in the
suspension from all future activities for current season.
All participants will uphold the rules
and regulations of the League By-Laws and decisions of the CFA Board. Failure to comply will result in disciplinary
action or suspension.
Parent/Guardian Responsibilities
·
All participants are expected to be on time and in proper
uniform for all practices and games.
Parents/Guardians are responsible for transporting children to and from
all practices and games.
·
If transportation arrangements have to be made with someone
other than the parent/guardian, please provide to the Head Coach in writing who
will be picking up and/or dropping off your child.
·
Please escort your child to and from the practice and game
locations. We do not want children to be
left unattended.
·
Games could be played in inclement weather, so please dress
your child appropriately. This includes
all participants, Football Players as well as Cheerleaders.
·
If your child has special medical needs or allergies, please
provide written instructions to the Head Coach.
·
Playing Time –
o Excessive tardiness/absenteeism will result in limited
participation, at the discretion of the Head Coach.
o Mighty Mites and Midget divisions’ minimum playing time is 6 plays
per half.
o Bandit minimum playing time is 10 plays per half.
·
If your child has officially quit the team/squad, please
notify the head coach and return all uniforms and/or equipment to him/her
within seven (7) days. Failure to return
uniforms/equipment within the seven (7) days will result in you being charged
for the actual cost of all the uniforms/equipment plus a $50 service fee.
·
In case of injury, it is highly recommended for a
responsible adult to be present during all practices and games.
Head Coaches, Assistant Coaches &
Athletic Directors of all teams/squads in CFA shall be annually reviewed,
selected and approved by the Board at a duly constituted meeting. Only those
persons who are in good standing with Culpeper Football Association shall be
eligible for appointment to a Coaching position.
Selection of
coaches for football and cheerleading shall be based not only on knowledge of
football or cheering but on leadership, character, communication skills and
sportsmanship.
Head Coach – overall responsibility and
organization of the team/squad must be 18 years of age. Must go through
interview process as outlined by the CFA Coaches Committee, must uphold rules
and regulations of the CFA By-Laws, as well as the decisions of the CFA board.
Assistant Coaches – maximum
of 3 per football team; maximum of 2 per cheerleading squad
Athletic Director – football
team only; the person in charge of ensuring that all players have received
their minimum number of plays and provide any other assistance to the coaching
staff.
Coaches’ Meetings/Responsibilities:
All Football and Cheerleading Head
Coaches are expected to have representation at the following meeting:
· Pre-Practice meeting to be held in late July/early August.
All Football Head Coaches are expected
to have representation at the following meeting:
·
Player evaluations
·
Player draft
· CFA Coaches Clinic to be held in the July/August time frame
· Pre-Season meeting to be held in September
·
CFA Jamboree
·
Scheduled Anklebiter referee duties
·
Scheduled Field Manager duties
·
Scheduled Field Maintenance duties
· Pre-Playoff meeting to be held in October
All Football and Cheerleading Head
Coaches are expected to:
·
Communicate any information passed on to them by the CFA
board to their team/parents.
·
Provide at least one email address (accessed frequently) in
order for CFA to communicate with their team.
·
Be responsible for the overall organization of their team.
·
Go over the Code of Conduct with their parents and
participants at their initial meeting with their team/squad.
·
Carry all participants’ Registration/Medical Release forms
at all times when their team/squad is practicing or playing.
·
Be responsible of his/her sideline, fans and coaches
throughout their game. Should any problems arise that the head coach cannot
handle, they should consult with the designated Field Manager for assistance.
·
Ensure sidelines/bleachers are clear of any trash after
their game is over.
·
To be responsible to collect all equipment in the event that
a participant quits. Contact the
equipment manager to schedule to get the equipment back to CFA
headquarters. Contact the league
information officer to update the league records with the name and the date
that the player quit.
·
Contact the insurance director in the event of player injury
that results in medical attention.
·
Signing for and picking up all team uniforms/equipment and to hold a
team meeting immediately to distribute the uniforms/equipment.
·
Refrain from:
1) Use
of Foul language
2) Abuse
of participants
3) Harassing
the officials
4) Harassing
opposition by word or gesture
5) Permitting
an injured player to enter or re-enter a game
6) Disobeying
or attempting to circumvent rules and regulations or the intent thereof
7) Use
of tobacco, drugs, or alcohol while performing duties for CFA, be it at practices games or CFA functions.
8) Misconduct,
resulting in ejection. Any coach who is ejected (removed) from a game is
automatically suspended from the next game his/her player team plays. This rule
is not subject to protest or review. Removal from a game shall be interpreted to
include the playing filed and spectator area. A second offence by the same
person will result in suspension from all future team activities for that year
All Football Head coaches are expect to:
·
Be responsible for the score board operations for their game, when
scheduled as the home team.
·
Be responsible for finding a crew to operate the chains for their game,
when scheduled as the visiting team.
·
Be responsible for accuracy and completion of the playing time sheets
for all of their team’s games. This sheet must be signed by the Athletic
Director of the team and must be given to the Field Manager at the end of the
game.
Chain of command for any team/squad issues are:
Coach Selection Process:
·
Fill out Coach’s application form.
·
Read and sign the Coach Duties form.
·
All applications will be evaluated and background checks
will be performed by the Coaching Committee.
·
An interview with the Coaches Committee
·
All Coaching recommendations will be presented by the
Coaches Committee to the full board for a vote.
·
The Coaching Committee will contact all applicants with the
board decision.
CFA will guarantee any youth the right
to participate.
The number of participants per team per
league will be determined by a board decision each season.
League breakdown:
All ages are based on the participant’s
age as of October 1st of the current year.
· Anklebiters – ages 5+6
· Mighty Mites- ages 7+8
· Midgets – ages 9+10
· Bandits – ages 11 – 13
· Cheerleaders – All ages are based on the participant’s age as of
October 1st of the current year.
·
Mighty Mites- ages 5+7*
·
Midgets – ages 8+9*
·
Bandits – ages 10+13*
*Subject to change based on registration numbers. Sibling and
other requests will be honored ONLY within age division for safety reasons.
The league will review all division numbers after registrations
each year to determine if another breakdown of ages might be in the best
interest of the league.
Refund Policy:
If a participant quits anytime between
registration and prior to the drafts, 50% of their registration fee will be
refunded, contingent upon that the participant is in good standing with CFA.
After drafts, no part of the
registration fee will be refunded.
Middle School Football Team:
All CFA participants trying out for the
Middle School Football Team will be required to pay the full registration
fee. Refunds will be given, if the
participant makes the Middle School Football team, but only at the initiation
of the participant.
Detailed refund procedures will be
distributed at all registrations listing which CFA board member to contact
regarding their refund.
Middle School Cheerleading Squad:
All CFA participants trying out for the
Middle School Cheerleading Squad will be required to pay the full registration
fee. Refunds will be given, if the
participant makes the Middle School Cheerleading Squad, but only at the
initiation of the participant.
Detailed refund procedures will be
distributed at all registrations listing which CFA board member to contact
regarding their refund.
Registration Cut-Off Date:
The 2nd scheduled evaluation
date will be the cut-off for all participants who want to register.
Cut-Off/Waiting List/Late
Registration
A late fee of $25 will be charged for any
participant signing up after the last advertised registration date. The 2nd scheduled evaluation date will
be the cut-off for all participants to register at the current registration
fee. Any participants that want to
register after the 2nd scheduled evaluation date will be charged a
$25 late fee and will be placed on a waiting list. Completed registration forms and payment must
be received prior to being placed on the waiting list. The board may waive the $25 late fee prior to
the drafts, should any division still need players to fill out the set player
per team roster number for a division.
The board will determine the need for these players to participate based
on the roster availability. If
participants register after the drafts, assignments to teams will be made:
·
To maintain
balance of rosters and then
·
Order of the
draft
All new contact players for the Mighty
Mites, Midget and Bandit Divisions, all players trying out for the Middle
School Football Team and all players waived from previous teams must attend one
scheduled evaluation. There will be two
evaluations scheduled.
Any player not attending one of the
scheduled evaluations will not be assigned to a team through the draft
process. They will be assigned to a team
by drawing the participant’s names out of a hat by the division director.
All contact Head Coaches will be
expected to attend all evaluations.
Equipment Distribution –
· All equipment and uniforms will be distributed prior to the 1st
practice date of the season.
· A coach must sign for all items received at the league’s
designated equipment distribution date.
·
Distribution
of the football uniforms/equipment by the coach should happen at a team meeting
immediately following the coach receiving the uniforms/equipment. Any sizing discrepancies should be handled at
that time with a board representative
· Care must be taken to prevent misuse of the League Uniforms/Equipment
by Participants.
Equipment Return –
· All items (except football socks & mouth piece and
cheerleading bloomers) must be returned to the league at the league’s
designated equipment return date in clean condition.
· A $5 fee will be charged for each garment not cleaned.
· A league representative will go through all items and will check
off each item that is returned at the league’s designated equipment return
date.
· Any items not returned must be paid for at the league’s designated
equipment return date. $50 service fee
will be added to a player’s bill in which all uniforms/equipment are not
returned at the designated return dates.
· A price sheet will be displayed outlining the league’s price for
all items used for the season.
· Any participant not turning in all equipment will not be
considered in good standing with CFA.
If any football player or cheerleader
leaves the organization, uniforms and equipment must be turned in to the Head
Coach within seven (7) days and the player or cheerleader forfeits the
participation award.
All team parents will receive
league/team evaluation forms by the middle of October to be distributed to all
coaches and parents. All evaluations
should be turned into the Designated Manager at the fields by the weekend
before the Championship Games are held.
Each year the CFA Board will review all
evaluations and discuss where any improvements are needed. The strengths as well as the weaknesses will
be presented to the board for discussion.
Jamboree:
Will be held, for all CFA participants
and the community interested in attending, at the Culpeper Community Complex at
the end of August.
Team introductions, food vendors and
scrimmage games will be some of the activities/events planned.
League Pictures will be scheduled for
the same day and times will be coordinated with the day’s activities.
Game Scheduling and Schedules:
All games will be scheduled by the
scheduling committee and will be distributed to all coaches at the Pre-Season
Coaches Meeting in late July or early August each season.
All make-ups will be determined by a
board decision.
All 4 Leagues
(AB,MM, M & B) could be broken down by conferences to help in the
scheduling of all games. The registration
numbers will dictate how many or if any leagues need to be broken down into
divisions.
Should a game start and then be
cancelled because of darkness or bad weather the final score reverts to the
last completed quarter played. The team with the highest score in that quarter
will be declared the winner. Any game
that has been played less than half of its playing time will be replayed.
Playoffs:
The starting date for the Playoffs will
be determined by the number of teams in each league (Mighty Mites, Midget &
Bandit), based on registration numbers, which will dictate how many playoffs
games will be required to be played.
The Championship Games for the Mighty
Mites, Midget and Bandit Divisions will be held the middle of November at a
site determined by the board.
The seeding for the Mighty Mite, Midget
& Bandit playoffs will be determined by the overall record.
All teams in each Mighty
Mite/Midget/Bandit League will make the playoffs. The registration numbers will dictate if this
is feasible.
Playoff Tie breakers will be determined in this order between any tied
teams:
· Head to head regular season games
· Point Differential in the head to head regular season games
· Coin Toss
If a play-off game is cancelled due to weather or any other
incident, it maybe rescheduled on a Sunday
Cheerleading Summer Camp:
The Cheerleading Summer Camp will be
held for all cheerleaders interested in attending.
The date and times will be determined
each season by the Cheerleading Summer Camp committee.
There will be a fee, which will cover
water and T-shirts.
Cheerleading & Football Awards:
All participants shall be recognized
for their contribution to their squad/team by receiving an award at their last
scheduled game.
All football players and coaches of the
winning teams in the Mighty Mites/Midget/Bandit Championship games will receive
a League Division Champion trophy.
All football players and coaches of the
runner-up teams in the Mighty Mites/Midget/Bandit Championship games will
receive a League Runner-Up trophy.
Game Administration Rules – Designated Manager
There will be a Designated Manager
assigned to all fields during all Saturday games and only one Designated
Manager assigned each day on weeknight games.
The Designated Manager’s job is to
ensure that no problems arise and that all league duties are carried out in a
timely manner.
All Designated Managers will be board
members and approved coaches only.
Culpeper Community Complex (CCC) - Saturday Early Shift 8:00 -
1:00 (Times could change based on the number of games played:
· It will be your decision if games should be cancelled.
If you need
to cancel games:
· Make sure that the 2 teams, playing the first game on your field,
are setting up the field equipment.
· Put up team, division and Corporate signs on the appropriate
fields. They will be located in the
storage facility (pod) at CCC.
· Make sure that Green trash cans, provided by the town/county, are
near the general area of the field(s).
If more trash cans are needed, put 2 Updike trash boxes on each sideline
for each field. The boxes and bags are
located in the storage facility.
· At the start of each game:
ü If Mighty Mite, Midget or Bandit game: Give each coach their Mandatory Playing Time
Clipboard and remind them that they must complete it and give it back to you at
the end of the game.
ü If Mighty Mite, Midget or Bandit game: Get the names of all
officials present and write them on the Paid Officials sheet for the
appropriate division.
·