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 Mission and Overview |
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Mission
The Bert Bell Memorial Football Conference was founded, chartered and incorporated in 1962 in commemoration of the late great Bert Bell. The league was established to further the ideals of the game of football at the school level. Its general purpose is to strive to equip boys and girls with the mechanical skills, physical conditioning and mental attitude necessary for the pursuance of the game at the high school and collegiate levels. Also, to teach through supervision and by example, the principles of sportsmanship and fair play without undo emphasis on winning or losing. This program shall be implemented in such a way as to make no sacrifice to scholastic achievement. Contrarily, it shall be the purpose to teach participants that eligibility for athletic activity is based on satisfactory performance in the classroom. The Bert Bell Memorial Football Conference is a certified 501c3 non-profit organization as recognized by the IRS.
We would like to add that we encourage all teams to provide flag teams for the 5 and 6 year olds. In addition, our Cheerleading programs and its competition had been growing rapidly. 9 out of 10 teams registered Cheerleading squads in the year 2001. We are expecting to have an even more successful year this year. There were 7 flag teams in 2001 last year and we are projecting that all current member clubs will be able to have flag teams for the 2002 football season. It is our mission to manage the flag and Cheerleading squads under the same vision and mission statement established by the Bert Bell Board of Directors.
Overview
Each team is mandated to mount Varsity teams at the 80lb (7 and 8 year olds), 100lb (9 and 10 year olds), 120lb (11 and 12 year olds) and 145lb (13 and 14 year olds) level. Flag Football and Junior Varsity teams are sincerely encouraged at each level. The league provides competition for boys and girls of the ages of 5 years to 15 years, if the childs 15th birthday falls after July 1st of the competition year. There are also older/lighter rules that allow players to remain on a given team for a third season if he/she meets the O/L weight requirements. Each team has to have at least 15 players to be certified to play a game. All players must have a certified photo identification card, approved by the Bert Bell Commissioner to participate in game competitions. The photo is taken by an approved Bert Bell Board of Director and/or Assistant and is only approved if the child provides proof of identity and age with an original birth certificate recognized by the United States government.
Games are played Friday evening, Saturday, morning, afternoon and evening, and Sunday afternoon depending upon a home teams ability to provide the proper lighting for night competition. Weekly scores are provided to all Bert Bell clubs by Monday evening (after a given competition weekend), with an update on the standings according to wins and loses. Locations and scheduling of the Varsity games are to be determined by the April board meeting before the season begins. Practices can officially begin August 1st and each team is allowed to practice ten (10) hours a week. After Labor Day, each team is allowed six (6) hours a week for practices. Each practice can be no longer than two hours per session. Scrimmages are considered practice time and cannot be more than two (2) hours per scrimmage.
The league is governed by the National Federation of State High School Associations official rules. Each organization receives a copy of the rulebook each year and can receive additional copies at a small fee, established by the Board of Directors. Copies of the Bert Bell By-Laws, Rules and Regulations is available to the public and can be received after a letter of request and a $12.00 processing and shipping fee is received by the Secretary of the Bert Bell Memorial Football Conference. The complimentary copies for each Member Club are presented upon confirmation of membership and/or at the May Board of Directors meeting before the season begins.
Each Club Member must elect and provide a League Representative that will be the liaison between the organization and Bert Bell at all Bert Bell functions and Board meetings. The League Representatives are also responsible for competition confirmations and communicating Club issues and solutions to the Bert Bell Board of Directors. They are responsible for understanding the rules and regulations established by Bert Bell and making sure, along with their board of directors, that their organization is in good standing with Bert Bell.
There are official weigh-ins every week that are mandatory for each level of competition with the exception of the Flag Football division. These weigh-ins are non-negotiable and each team must provide the opposing team with their approved photo IDs for player identification. A copy of each teams roster must accompany the photo IDs and the League Representative must match the photo ID with the roster name, signing off on the roster after the weigh in procedure is complete.
Each game is 10 minutes per quarter. The 80lb. Junior Varsity games have 10 minute running quarters. Coaches, players, parents and guardians as well as officials are governed by the Bert Bell Memorial Football Conference code of ethics anytime they are on or around the playing field. During Championship weekend, only Varsity teams at each weight division play in championship games. The All Star teams are an established number of selected players from each team, from the East and West divisions. Only 120lb. and 145lb. Varsity weight divisions compete in the All Star games.
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