CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS

Arlington Women’s Soccer League (AWSL) is a voluntary association organized to provide an opportunity for women to:

• play soccer for recreation;
• increase their knowledge and understanding of soccer, its rules and techniques;
• increase their general fitness; and
• enjoy a greater involvement in team sports through competitive play.

The league will be divided into two divisions;

Section 4: Fees:

The AWSL shall have at least six (6) elected administrative officers: President, Vice President, two Secretaries, and two Treasurers. If possible, the term length for the six elected officers should be staggered. League officers are non-voting unless they serve as their team representative (except in the case of a tie vote, in which case the President or other officer who has not yet voted casts the tie-breaker). The term of office is one (1) year. The league encourages that no officer serve more than two consecutive terms in the same position but recognizes that sometimes this will occur and is acceptable. General responsibilities of the officers include:

1. call and preside over all AWSL meetings;
2. represent AWSL in its dealings with the Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation;
3. represent AWSL in its contacts with other women's leagues and similar organizations;
4. represent AWSL in its contacts with the referee association;
5. coordinate the work of league officers and volunteers;
6. assist with the scheduling of games; and
7. ensure that bills are paid in a timely manner.

b. The Vice President is empowered to:

1. act for the President if she is for any reason unable to attend to her duties until such time as the President is able to resume her official duties or until a new President is chosen;
2. assist with duties relating to referees, including but not limited to, notification and enforcement of penalties associated with players' red and yellow cards;
3. assist with scheduling games; and
4.  assist with paying bills.

c. The Recruiting Secretary is empowered to:

1. assign new players to teams who need players; and
2. organize new teams when needed.

d. The Recording Secretary is empowered to:

1. keep the minutes of all meetings;
2. update the website with league schedule, bylaws and other documents;
3. ensure that the division coordinators are trained to update league standings on the website.

e. The Registration Treasurer is empowered to:

1. collect appropriate registration fees from each team;
2. collect all registration forms, Arlington County proof IDs, and team rosters and submit them to Arlington County;
3. maintain file copies of all paperwork;
4. keep a record of any players or teams suspended or expelled from the league;
5. pay AWSL bills as they become due;
6. dispense moneys as directed by majority vote of the Board of Team Representatives; all payments of AWSL invoices shall be made by check and each check requires signatures of two elected officers that are approved signatories on AWSL’s checking account.

f. The Finance Treasurer is empowered to:

1. prepare a budget for each season and present the Board with financial reports at regular intervals;
2. receive all bank statements and league bills in order to review them;
3. provide copies of all monthly bank statements to the elected officers (and Board, if requested);
4. provide all paperwork to auditor for annual audit; and
5. may NOT be authorized to sign checks.

g. All office positions may be held jointly by more than one person. Also, officers may choose to share their duties with other officers or league volunteers to help with task burden.

h. All officers except the Finance Treasurer are authorized to become official signatories on AWSL’s bank account and thus are authorized to sign checks. All checks and withdrawals of any kind require two (2) authorized signatures.

a. The Board of Team Representatives consists of one (1) player from each team in the League, each of whom will have one (1) vote. Team Representatives provide the liaison between their teams and AWSL. Each team should have alternate representatives who are prepared to vote at league meetings when the team representative is unable to attend.

b. The Team Representatives assumes the following duties:

1. attends AWSL meetings unless a substitute is arranged;
2. collects and submits her team's registration forms and fees;
3. reports game scores and red and yellow cards to her Division Coordinator promptly;
4. submit any specific referee comments concerning a referee’s failure to show up, egregious behavior, or going beyond the call of duty to the Division Coordinator; and
5. handles other duties relating to their respective divisions as directed by the President or other officer.

c. Division Coordinator (typically one for each division) assumes the following duties:

1. keeping a record of team standings and statistics (within their division) which is assessable to league members;
2. recording scores and reporting yellow/ red cards to the appropriate team captains and officers (scores and card reports are received from Team Representatives);
3. informing the opposing team if a player from the team they are scheduled to play is suspended from play due to red or yellow cards,
4. determining, in conjunction with the President, when games need to be postponed and rescheduled; and
5. performing other duties relating to their respective divisions as directed by the Board or other Officers. 

a. Require more than one person to sign all checks.

b. Have the Bank statements reviewed by a person who does NOT have authority to write checks.

c. Require a Treasurer report submitted to the Board once every season or more. The report should include itemized expenses, revenues, balances, and include copy of most recent bank statement.

d. Request Arlington County to include at least two officers on every financial correspondence.

e. Request referee association to include at least two officers on every financial correspondence.
f. Have at least 2 officers sign every contract with referee association or other entities.

Section 1: Meetings:

Any member of the league is eligible to run for and hold office and should express an interest in holding office either at a Board meeting or via e-mail to the Board. Each member of the Board gets one vote for each officer from among the candidates. In general, elections will be held at Board meetings but could also be held via e-mail, organized by the current officers.

AWSL organizes a Spring season that usually commences in March or April and a Fall season, usually commencing in August or September. A summer session is often organized as well.

In the event of a violation of the player eligibility provision, the opposing team will have one of the following options:

a.   the violating team forfeits the game with a score of 3-0; or
b.   the score remains as played.

Section 2: Discipline and Expulsion:

1. Any player who receives a red card from the referee is suspended from the remainder of the game and the next game played by their team immediately following the infraction.
2. If a player receives a red card in the last game of the season, she will be suspended for the first game of the following season, REGARDLESS of whether she changes teams.
3. If a player receives two (2) red cards in one season, she will be suspended from play for the remainder of the season; if after receiving two (2) red cards in one season, she receives two (2) red cards in the following season, she is permanently expelled from the League.
4. If a player receives three (3) yellow cards in one season, she is suspended from play in the next game played by their team immediately following the game in which she received the third yellow card.
5. If a player receives her third yellow card within one season in the last scheduled game of the season, she is suspended from play in the first game of the following season, regardless of whether she changes teams.

1. abusive or degrading language;
2. physical threats;
3. support or encouragement of poor sportsmanship;
4. harassment of referees;
5. any of the above or any other action while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs;
6. entry onto the field of play without referee permission except in the case of Injury;
7. lack of control of spectators by teams' responsible.

Rules concerning uniform, dues, game procedures and other matters of AWSL policy are to be known as Bylaws and will be effective when passed by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Board of Team Representatives, after reasonable notice to the Board.

LAWS OF THE GAME: All games will be played by modified FIFA (Federation of International Football Association) rules, with the following exceptions:

Law I: The minimum number of players needed by each team to begin official play is seven (7). Substitution will be as follows:

1. Own team possession on throw-in;
2. Either team may substitute on a goal kick;
3. Either team may substitute after a goal is scored;
4. One-for-one substitution on an injury when referee calls an injury time-out;
5. Cautioned player;
6. Free substitution at the half.

Law II: The game will consist of forty (40) minute halves with a five (5) minute break between halves. There will be a fifteen (15) minute grace period from the designated starting time to await the minimum number (7) of players.

Law III: If a referee does not show, the game should proceed after the 15 minute waiting period, or earlier. The referee coordinator should be called to notify them the referee is not at the field.

Law IV: Players may protect their faces and chest with palms facing inward close to the body. The ball must not be directed by the player's hands or arms. (This is ultimately a judgment call by the referee.)

Law V: The goalkeeper will have possession of the ball when its movement has been stopped by any part of one or both hands or arms and/or if the ball has been pinned to the ground by any part of the body. The goalie cannot be touched when she has possession of the ball. Once the ball has left the goalie’s hands, then the ball can be played by the other team. (This is ultimately a judgment call by the referee.)

Law VI: When a drop ball decision is made for an occurrence within the area of the penalty box, the referee will move the play to the nearest point outside the penalty box to restart play.  

* Three points are earned for a win, one point is earned for a tie, and zero points are earned for a loss.

** Goal Differential is calculated as Total Goals Scored (GS) minus Total Goals Allowed (GA).

The team in the bracket with the most Game Points (as defined above) at the end of the season is the champion for that bracket.

In the event that more than one team within a bracket has earned an equal number of game points (a tie), the tie-breaking procedure described below applies:

GAME PROCEDURE: Home team is the team listed first on the schedule for game day. The home team is responsible for supplying an official size 5 game ball. Both teams’ designated representatives must report the game score and any red or yellow cards received (by either team) to the Division Coordinator within 48 hours. The home team is also responsible for the change of jersey color if there is a conflict.

1. A team representative notifies the League President by telephone or e-mail that a protest is being made and the subject of that protest.
2. A formal written complaint (email is acceptable) must be sent within 72 hours to the Officers. A $25.00 check made out to AWSL must be submitted within the 72 hours as well, and will be refunded if the protest is upheld.
3. The Officers notify the team representative of the opposing team in the game being protested that a protest is being filed, and provides her with a copy of the written protest (email is acceptable) when it is available. She then has 72 hours in which to furnish a written response to the written protest.
4. Upon receipt of statements from both teams, the League officers will examine team/player(s) registration records to determine the eligibility of the team/player(s) as of the date of the game being protested. If the protest is upheld, the opposing team will forfeit the game for playing with an ineligible player.
5. Both teams must comply with the terms of the decision. No appeal, counter-petition or rebuttal is allowed.

5. INCLEMENT WEATHER AND PARTIAL GAMES:

6. MISCELLANEOUS:

• The AWSL may sponsor All Star games or a league tournament at the end of the Season.
• The League logo may be used by individual teams within the AWSL only if their team name predominates in the overall design.
• Team captains must identify themselves to the referees at the beginning of the game. Team captains and coaches are the only people who may address the referee(s) during the game.
• Slide tackling by players other than the goalkeeper in the Masters Division is illegal.
• Slide tackling is permitted only in Open Division but players must abide by the laws of the game when slide tackling. Referees may call dangerous play at their discretion.
• Potentially Harmful Devices: No player may participate in a game while wearing an exposed cast, brace or other potentially harmful device. All casts and braces (i.e., metal and hard plastic) must be padded and covered. Exposed metal or hard plastic will not be allowed. No player may wear metal cleats or inappropriate footwear during the game. Referees may call dangerous equipment at their discretion.
• Typically, there will be two referees in the Open Division and one referee in the Masters Division. However, the Board may vote to change this for one or more seasons.
• No pets are allowed on Arlington County Parks and Fields. Players bringing pets to games may be fined by Arlington County. In addition, the league may get cited and could lose field privileges. The only exception is for those who may need a guide dog which is necessary for the person to maneuver about the parks and fields.