SMJWL By-Laws: (9/2009)

I.  Purpose

     The program of the Southern Maryland Junior Wrestling League (SMJWL or league) provides boys and girls an opportunity to enjoy the challenges of wrestling.  The program is designed to enable participants to develop their athletic skills, learn the art of wrestling, be prepared for wrestling competition at the secondary school level, and learn lessons of good sportsmanship, teamwork, discipline, and self­-control.

 II.  Eligibility

 

      A.    Any boy or girl is eligible who, as of midnight on December 31, is between the ages of 5 and 14 years old (i.e., as of that time the wrestler may be no younger than 5 years and no older than 14 years), or is in the 8th grade, and who has filled out a SMJWL club registration form and is on the team's roster.

B.                All wrestlers must have a valid USA Wrestling card.  All clubs, including at least two coaches from each club, should also be registered with USA Wrestling.  By December 15, prior to the start of league competition, each club must mail the required registration and fees for the club, coaches and all wrestlers to the Maryland State Membership Chairman; a copy of the registration must be sent at the same time to the League Commissioner and Statistician.  The club must promptly send in to the Membership Chairman the required supplementary registration and fees for any wrestlers who subsequently join the club; a copy of the registration must be sent at the same time to the League Commissioner and Statistician.  If any club fails to register with USA Wrestling in accordance with this section, all meets and matches that are wrestled in violation will be forfeited.

 

C.       A wrestler on a roster of a team in the SMJWL can enter the roster on a separate League only if the wrestler was on the roster of a SMJWL team the previous year.  A Wrestler from another league including but not limited to the Capital Area Wrestling League (CAWL) and Anne Arundel County (ACC) may not be eligible for a roster in the SMJWL.  Any special considerations to this due to relocations or other instances can be voted on by the current SMJWL Board of Directors.

 

D.    Anyone who may be enrolled in a secondary school is not eligible to compete in the SMJWL.

 

E.    A wrestler must be entered on a team roster and be weight­ certified in the SMJWL not later than the last dual meet in January in order to be eligible to participate in the SMJWL tournament.

 

 

III.  Teams, Weight Classes & Weigh‑Ins

 

      A.    The teams eligible for competition in the league shall be determined on an annual basis before the start of the season. A wrestling club may enter more than one team in the league.

 

      B.    All wrestlers will participate in SMJWL competition according to the league's official age‑weight chart, which will be annually updated and reviewed.  If less than one-half of the number of teams in the league are represented in a weight class, this weight class may be combined with an adjoining class.

 

      C.    A club's first official weigh‑in will be held before its team’s first league meet by a representative of the league.  Wrestlers joining a team roster at a later date may be weight certified during the season as determined by the league.  At the time of the weigh-in, each wrestler must present to the league official a copy of the wrestler’s official birth certificate.  Promptly after the weigh‑in, the league representative conducting the weigh-in must send to the league statistician and commissioner the original sheets showing the results of the weigh-in, which shall constitute the team’s official roster, listing all wrestlers, their date of birth and exact weight and age‑weight class at which they were officially certified for league competition.  For weigh-ins conducted for wrestlers who join a team after the first dual meet, a similar procedure must be followed.  In the case of clubs with more than one team entered in league competition for the season, before the first meet the club must make an irrevocable election assigning each wrestler to one team for the duration of the season.  Such a club will immediately notify the league representative conducting the weigh-ins of its elections, so that he can notify the League Statistician and Commissioner of the official rosters for each team.  If a wrestler joins such a club at a later date, after being officially weighed in, he may be assigned to any team, but once he enters into competition for that team he may not be reassigned to another team of the club for the duration of the season.

 

      D.    The weigh‑in for the league tournament will be held prior to the league tournament by a league representative.  The limits for the age‑weight classes are the same as at the first weigh‑in, i.e. there is no weight allowance between the two weigh‑ins.  If a wrestler misses the scheduled team weigh‑in before the tournament, he may weigh in on the morning of the tournament.  If he fails to make the age‑weight class in which he was seeded at the seeding meeting, he is disqualified from the tournament.  See Section XIV.C.

 

      E.    Once a wrestler is certified at a given weight, the wrestler may not be recertified at a lower weight for dual meet competition or tournament competition.

 

IV.  Board of Directors

 

      A.    The Board of Directors (Board) is the basic governing body of the league.  It consists of a representative from each club (usually the coach or head of the wrestling program) that has one or more teams authorized to compete in the league.  Each club has one vote.

 

      B.    The Board shall normally meet at least three times a year, for purposes of organization, scheduling, and tournament seeding, and to conduct such other business as is necessary or appropriate.

 

      C.    The Board shall annually set the league fees due from each team and any other criteria for league competition, including the teams that may participate.

 

      D.    The Board may revise these rules and regulations, provided, however, that each club is advised of the subject matter and purpose of each proposed revision in advance of the meeting at which the revisions are considered, and that no revision shall be effective unless it is approved by at least two‑thirds of the clubs attending the meeting.

 

V.  Duties of the Commissioner

 

      A.    Is responsible for the overall organization of the league's programs.

 

      B.    Schedules and runs meetings of the Board.

 

      C.    Oversees the scheduling of facilities and the provision of necessary equipment for the league tournament.

 

      D.    Is a member of the Board.  The Commissioner votes at Board meetings only in the event of a tie.

 

      E.    Annually updates the age‑weight chart and makes recommendations for appropriate changes to the Board.

 

      F.    Divides and assigns job responsibilities for running the league among the participating clubs, including conduct of all league weigh-ins, subject to the direction of the Board.

 

      G.    Coordinates pre‑season and post‑season tournaments that may be suitable for participation by SMJWL wrestlers.

 

      H.    Makes determination of all matters not specifically covered by these rules and regulations.  The Commissioner has the power to make exceptions to them whenever it is in the best interests of the league to do so, subject to the Board's direction.

 

 

VI.  Duties of Head Coaches

 

      A.    Attends all Board meetings or sends a designate.

 

      B.    Arranges for facilities and equipment for practices and meets.

 

      C.    Holds practices.

 

      D.    Conducts dual meets.  Keeps the coach of the opposing team and the Director of Officials advised of any cancellation or change in the dual meet schedule.

 

      E.    Supervises the setting up and disassembly of equipment for dual meets.

 

      F.    Promptly submits to the league required forms for rosters and registration and the results of all home meets.

 

      G.    Appoints scorers and timers and provides such medical and safety equipment (including a first aid kit, lined spit buckets, antiseptic solutions and disposable towels) as is necessary and appropriate for home dual meets.

 

      H.    Selects, appoints and trains assistant coaches.

 

      I.    Is familiar with the rules of wrestling competition, basic first aid techniques, and the recommendations and guidelines of USA Wrestling.

 

VII.  Duties of the Treasurer

 

      A.    Is responsible for collecting and disbursing all league funds and maintaining all league financial accounts.

 

      B.    Shall prepare an estimated annual budget for approval by the Board.

 

      C.    Shall not disburse any league funds except for league expenses.  Disbursements in excess of $100 must be covered by a line item in the annual budget or be approved by the Board.

 

      D.    Shall submit to such audits as the Board may direct.

 

VIII.  Duties of the Director of Officials

 

      A.    Selects and schedules a professional organization to provide officials for each dual meet and the league's tournament.

 

 

      B.    Advises the Board of recent changes in the rules of competition, provides a copy of the current rules to each member of the Board, and provides information on available training in the rules, including clinics for coaches and officials.

 

      C.    Monitors the performance of officials and makes appropriate recommendations concerning application of the rules.

 

      D.    Arranges with the Treasurer for payments to officials.

 

IX.  Duties of the Statistician

 

      A.    Maintains records of club rosters and dual meet results and compiles seeding points for all wrestlers eligible for the league tournament.

 

      B.    Provides information for and attends the seeding meeting of the Board.

 

      C.    Oversees such statistical matters at the tournament as may be required.

 

X.  Duties of the Booklet Editor

 

      A.    Is responsible for the organization and coordination of any tournament booklet that may be authorized.

 

      B.    Sets up a schedule to produce the booklet and directs club representatives in their booklet responsibilities.

 

      C.    All expenses and revenues for the booklet will be the league's.

 

XI.  Review Board

 

      A.    The Review board consists of five members of the Board of Directors, elected by the Board at the beginning of the year, at least one of whom shall be from a club locate in each of the following counties: Calvert, Charles, Prince George’s, and St. Mary’s.  No more than one member of the Review Board shall be from one club.

 

      B.    The Review Board shall elect one member as Chairman, who will be responsible for coordinating deliberations and convening meetings of the Review Board, which may be conducted by telephone, except for those matters in which he must abstain (see section C below). The Review Board shall handle all disputes concerning league competition that are not determined by the rules and regulations. Questions about interpretations of the rules are permitted but judgement calls by officials, scorers, or timekeepers are not subject to dispute‑resolution by the Review Board.  In case of a tie vote, the vote of the Chairman shall govern.

 

      C.    Any Head Coach has the right to take a dispute to the Review Board.  If that coach or a representative of his club is a member of the Review Board, he must abstain from participating as a member of the Review Board in the deliberation and decision on the dispute.  If the member abstaining is the Chairman, the Review Board shall elect another Chairman for the purposes of deciding the particular dispute.

 

      D.    All decisions by the Review Board on league competition are final and not subject to further appeal in any manner.

 

      E.    The Review Board is expected to investigate and make recommendations on matters designated by the Commissioner.

 

XII.  Practices

 

      A.    A club may schedule a maximum of six hours of practice a week.

 

      B.    Participation in scrimmages with other teams and in tournaments does not count.

 

      C.    Organized practices may not be held in the summer and may begin no earlier than the third week in November.

 

      D.    Wrestlers may practice with other teams but may not exceed a total of six hours of practice a week.

 

XIII.  Dual Meets

 

      A.    Dual meets will be held at scheduled times and places.

 

      B.    High school federation rules will be followed except for stated exceptions.

 

      C.    The time of primary or secondary matches is: for juniors‑‑one minute, one minute, and one minute; for seniors‑‑one minute, one and a half minutes, and one and a half minutes.  If the match is tied at the end of the third period, a maximum of two overtime periods will be held.  The time of the first overtime period is one minute, and, if the match is still tied, the time of the second overtime period is 30 seconds.  All overtime periods are sudden death.

 

      D.    Coaches are encouraged to exchange rosters and arrange matches prior to the day of the meet, if possible.  A wrestler may move up one class at the discretion of his coach.  A wrestler may not be moved up when a forfeit for his team would be created in the class from which the wrestler would move.  A violation of this rule results in the loss by default of the match and the loss of applicable seeding points for the league tournament.

 

      E.    The first wrestler in each age‑weight class is known as the primary  wrestler and scores team points in the following manner: