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District Approved Bylaws
BY-LAWS OF THE
WEST MICHIGAN JV PREP HOCKEY LEAGUE
I. Specific Articles:
II. Formation, Government and Administration of the League
III. Philosophy of the League
IV. Relationship to Community Hockey Associations
V. Relationship to Particular Schools
VI. Team Membership, Registration and Financing
VII. Player Membership and Team Composition
VIII. Rules of Play
IX. Discipline of Team Members
X. Season and Schedule
XI. Playoffs
II. Formation, Government and Administration of the League
The West Michigan JV Prep Hockey League (WMJV Hockey League) is composed of three divisions: The Reges Division, the Meeter Division and the Guppy Division. The Reges Division is named after the Reges family whose contributions to minor hockey in the West Michigan area are too numerable to list and to whom we are thankful. The Meeter Division is named after George Meeter who was a President of the WMJV Hockey League; without his nurturing and tireless effort this League would not exist. The Guppy Division is named for Don Guppy who had spent all his life involved in hockey in many capacities from youth coach to being a score keeper at a professional level.
The following charter teams originally formed the WMJV Hockey League: East Grand Rapids, Catholic Central, Grand Rapids Christian, Forest Hills Central, Mona Shores and Northview. Each of these teams will appoint a single, named individual as a representative who will be invited to join the Board of Directors of the WMJV Hockey League for the given hockey season. Each charter team (active or inactive) will have one vote on league matters.
Also invited to the Board of Directors will be a single named representative from each non-charter team that is participating in the WMJV Hockey League for the given hockey season. Each active team will have one vote on league matters.
Also invited to the Board of Directors will be a single, named representative from each community hockey association that operates within the same area from which the WMJV Hockey League players come. These representatives will have no voting privileges on league matters.
The means of establishing that representative from each team or community association is of no concern to the WMJV Hockey League.
Each team that participates in the WMJV Hockey League in a given hockey season shall have one vote through the single, named representatives on any matter that is decided by the Board of Directors of the WMJV Hockey League.
The Board of Directors will be responsible for the adoption of these By-laws, their administration and any additions or deletions. It is understood that in the administration of this League much flexibility must be available so that these By-laws may be changed at any time with a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors will appoint or elect a League President who will act as an official spokesperson for the WMJV League and call and preside of any WMJV Hockey League Board meetings. The President must be a representative of an active team.
The Board of Directors will appoint a single Registrar/Administrator to coordinate with outside groups such as the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) and USA Hockey. The Administrator may or may not be a voting Board Member. The duties of the Administrator shall include:
A. To act as a single point of contact with the MAHA and USA Hockey for such things as team and player registration.
Other officers may be elected as required by the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors will meet once every month from August to May inclusive, at a time and a place that is announced well in advance of the meeting. The President will notify all Board members and all Team Representatives, 5-7 days in advance, of the time, place and agenda of the upcoming meeting.
The telephone number and the address of the WMJV Hockey League shall be that of the home of the current president.
III. Philosophy of the League
It is our purpose and philosophy that this League plays a developmental role for young hockey players. This development should be in the skills of the game, the physical conditioning and a positive part of the psychological maturing process. The WMJV Hockey League is intended to be a competitive league instead of a recreational league but it will make serious attempts to incorporate any one that has a true desire to work at learning the game regardless of their incoming skills.
It is also understood that as a competitive league the team membership is on a selective basis usually with some form of “try-out” to obtain team membership.
IV. Relationship to Community Hockey Associations
The WMJV Hockey League intends to work very closely with any community associations that operate within the same district as the WMJV Hockey League. We recognize the independence of the two groups: the community association feeding the players to the WMJV Hockey League and the WMJV Hockey League providing a competitive transition from the community association to the local High Schools.
V. Relationship to Particular Schools
Despite being called a Junior Varsity league and despite the fact that each team primarily represents one school district there is no formal recognition of ties to particular schools. **The teams are not under the rules of High School athletics and that there are no restrictions in incorporating players outside any particular school district in order to accommodate players that best fit the philosophy of the WMJV Hockey League.
VI. Team Membership, Registration and Financing
League size will be defined as three divisions of eight teams each for a total of 24 teams or as determined by the Board by a three-quarters majority vote.
Team membership in the WMJV Hockey League is obtained through the established Board of Directors of Article II above and a two-thirds majority of those Directors. There shall be no particular geographical restrictions or restrictions based on team affiliation with another association.
Evidence of WMJV Hockey League membership shall the payment of the League Fee which will be established at the April Board Meeting prior to a new season and payable prior to the start of League play. Typically fees are intended to cover the cost of League mailings and the costs of awards and trophies at the conclusion of the season, the cost of the website and the cost of the playoffs including ice fees, referees, and awards. Fees must be paid to the WMJV Hockey League no later than the October Board Meeting of the current season. A $200.00 fee payable by May 1 of each year will be required to insure membership for the following season. This fee will be considered to be part of the regular league fee for that following season and is a non-refundable deposit. In the event that the team ceases to exist or decides not to take part in the West Michigan JV Prep Hockey League, they will forfeit the $200.00 team deposit fee. Any team not making payment by May 1 may lose their membership to an incoming team.
Teams must register under the classification rules of USA Hockey depending on the age of the players. This implies that most teams will register as Midget and perhaps some as Bantam. The particular classification is of no consequence in the WMJV Hockey League other than as discussed in Article VII below. However when playing outside the WMJV Hockey League the classification will be either Bantam AA or Midget A, equivalent to a travel team due to the selection process.
All teams must be MAHA District and State Eligible to participate. While most teams may not participate in MAHA's District or State Playoffs, this signifies the team is in compliance with all MAHA requirements.
**WMJV Hockey League membership excludes membership in any other league. Member teams may, and in fact are encouraged to play other teams outside the WMJV Hockey League but are expected to show loyalty to the WMJV Hockey League through membership only in the WMJV Hockey League and in that way help the League to mature. (Complies with the MAHA Rules and Regulations Section V. Registration: TEAMS AND PLAYERS subsection H)
Financing of each team is the teams own responsibility. The particular means is of no concern to the WMJV Hockey League. It is understood that if a player is recommended to any of the teams from the community association that the player participate in fund-raising for the team as defined by that team.
Payment for the WMJV Hockey League games and officials will be the responsibility of the team designated as the home team and will be equally distributed by hours of ice through the schedule. The Board and the Administrator will only be responsible and accountable for the funds gathered in the membership fees or for other specific events such as playoff sponsorships.
VII. Player Membership and Team Composition
All players and teams must register with USA Hockey and abide by the rules and regulations set forth in the latest editions of the “USA Hockey Official Playing Guide”, the “MAHA Annual Guide”, and the WMJV Hockey League By-laws.
The WMJV Hockey League will be split into three divisions as described in Article II above. The split will be determined by each team’s individual performance during the opening tournament or any reasonable method to be determined by the Board.
No WMJVPHL team shall hold try outs for the upcoming season prior to April 15th. The age limitations for the players are as follows for the 2008-2009 season: players must be born between January 1, 1992 and December 31 1994 inclusive. If a team wishes to roster a player that is younger than the written age parameters allow that team may petition the Board of Directors at the next scheduled Board meeting for a written variance that must be passed by a two-thirds majority. It shall be understood that the minimum and maximum years will increase by one year in each successive year that these By-laws are published. Any other change in age limitation will require a two-thirds majority of the Board of Directors. The mix of the team in regards to age or gender shall not be restricted provided that the players’ birth dates fall within the above defined parameters.
Players that have participated at the Varsity level in previous seasons may not participate in any WMJV League event until such time as they have been released from that Varsity team through the process of pre-season team tryouts. Once a player has participated in game play at the Varsity level during a season that player may not be re-rostered on any WMJV League team or participate in League play.
Player selection methods are the responsibility of the individual team. There is no intent to hold player drafts for team membership but there will be intra-team cooperation or a draft if directed by the Board of Directors to insure that a player coming from a community association will have an opportunity to try-out for a team.
Each team will submit a photocopy or a reasonable facsimile of the following documents to the Registrar/Administrator by the November Board meeting: Form USA 1-T, Form USA 2-T and each coach or assistant coach license.
Any team that has released players will notify the Board of those players so they can be made available to other teams in need of players. This will allow maximum opportunity for all those who wish to participate.
VIII. Rules of Play
All WMJV Hockey League games will be played under the playing rules established in the latest editions of the “USA Hockey Official Playing Guide”, the “MAHA Annual Guide” and these By-laws. In addition, WMJVPHL requires that all players properly wear an approved neck guard during all on ice practices and league games. The goalie may choose between a neck guard and a shield (The League recommends both). Failure to follow this rule could result in a Game Misconduct issued to the head coach by the League. (see Discipline of Team Members, Paragraph A). Violation of this rule will be noted by the scorekeeper, signed by the ref and turned into the league.
**All possible attempts will be made to have games consist of three, fifteen-minute, stop-clock periods. It is understood that due to acquiring adequate ice-time some games may be restricted to three, twelve-minute, stop-clock periods. Those games that are shortened must be noted on the WMJV Hockey League schedule in advance of the game and attempts made to trade “an hour for an hour” with the opposing team or reach mutual acknowledgement and agreement prior to the game.
IX. Discipline of Team Members
The WMJV Hockey League expects that each individual team will handle their own behavioral discipline in keeping with good sportsmanship of a developmental League for young people. Specific rules that will cause disciplinary action from the WMJV Hockey League will involve the following:
A. Any team member, whether player or non-playing team official who incurs a game misconduct penalty in a WMJV Hockey League game shall be subject to the following League action in addition to USA Hockey and MAHA rules: first game misconduct in a season: one game suspension (one game for USA/MAHA and a 2nd game for WMJVPHL); second game misconduct in a season: two game suspension (One game for USA/MAHA and TWO addition game for WMJVPHL); third game misconduct in a season: expulsion from the WMJV Hockey League for the remainder of the current season and any subsequent playoff games. The games suspension(s) must be served in the next scheduled WMJV Hockey League game(s) (games that were already on the official WMJV Hockey League schedule at the time of the penalty)(see Article X below) and cannot be served in a non-scheduled game whether it is played against a WMJV Hockey League opponent. Game misconducts must be reported to a designated league official.
B. An ad hoc disciplinary committee consisting of the League President and one member of each division appointed by the president will be convened to review and recommend disciplinary action against any team or participant.
C. If other questionable behavior occurs any team may request a special meeting of the Board of Directors requesting disciplinary action against any team member. A two-thirds majority will determine if and what special discipline will be administered
X. Season and Schedule
A special scheduling meeting will be held in November shortly after the opening tournament or the preseason. Each team representative must have the following: all available home ice game slots written on 3 x 5 cards and a calendar for November through March. The team representative must have three 3 x 5 cards for each game slot. The following information must appear on each of the three cards: date, time, arena (and ice surface if applicable) and the home team, with a blank spot for the visiting team. Each representative meets with the representatives of the other teams (one at a time) until the appropriate number of games has been scheduled. Once a game has been scheduled, record the visiting team on each one of the 3 x 5 cards; record the game on your calendar checking to see if there are any conflicts. Distribute the three 3 x 5 cards as follows: for each game slot, one card goes to the visiting team, one card to the home team and one card to the administrator. Do not use cards for non-WMJV Hockey League games; they may get confused with a League game.
There will be no official WMJV Hockey League season but it is encouraged that most games be played between mid-November and the first week of March to minimize conflicts with other school sports. It is compulsory that no WMJV Hockey League team play a League game until area High School varsity hockey teams have made their final player selections.
Depending on available ice-time and the number of teams participating, the season will consist of all teams playing approximately 22 regular season league games. Game scheduling as it applies to inter- divisional play will be determined by the Board on an annual basis. Further games between teams are encouraged but will not count in the official League standings.
The WMJV Hockey League schedule will be worked out through the participation of the representatives of all teams. There will be an utmost attempt to firm the game schedule before November 30 of the current season. The Board of Directors will approve the schedule to formalize it. Changes may be made through mutual agreement of the teams involved but the responsibility of changing officiating schedules as well as any cost impact of previous ice and officials scheduled will be the responsibility of the two teams involved and not the WMJV Hockey League.
No game can start after 10:00 p.m. or before 7:00am. If playing multiple games in one day the start time of the second game must be a minimum of four hours later than the end time of the previous game.
If any team is playing in the MAHA District Play downs, that team must make a declaration of intent at the October Board meeting so that no League games are scheduled with that team during the Playdowns.
WMJV Hockey League games must be played at an indoor arena.
Three Division champions will be named and awarded a team and individual trophies for the players at the conclusion of the season.
Other player, coach, team or WMJV Hockey League member recognitions or awards will be given at the discretion of the Board of Directors.
XI. Playoffs
Following the conclusion of the season schedule a separate schedule will be set-up for the sake of a WMJV Hockey League playoff. The format of the playoff will not be established until the January Board meeting of the current season to allow the evaluation of play of all teams and develop an appropriate scheme.
Team Awards will be given for both the Champion and the runner-up as a result of the regular season and post season playoff. Individual player awards will be given for the Champions of the regular season and post season playoff.
By-Laws as amended by a two-thirds majority vote at the May 21, 2007 WMJV Prep Hockey League meeting.
 2007 amended and approved bylaws
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