2020 Rule Book SYAA Dba Ken Berry League SW 61St & Wanamaker Rd
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2020 Rule Book SYAA dba Ken Berry League SW 61st & Wanamaker Rd. Mailing Address: SYAA Ken Berry League 6021 SW 29th St. - Suite A PMB 342 Topeka, Kansas 66601 (785) 862-3929 www.kenberryleague.com Page 1 of 83 INDEX BRIEF HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST YOUTH ATHLETIC LEAGUE SPORTSMANSHIP CODE 1. Overall Facility Rules 2. Admissions 3. Board Approvals 4. Managers 5. Scorekeepers 6. Fees 7. Team Equipment 8. Uniforms 9. Rosters 10. Player Release 11. Player Move-Up Procedure 12. Player Trades Are Not Allowed 13. Insurance 14. Team & Player Eligibility 15. Use of Diamonds 16. Bench & Field Personnel 17. Schedule Requests 18. Rescheduling of League Games 19. Umpires 20. Weather Policy 21. Tournament Seeding 22. Postseason Tournaments 23. Awards 24. Sportsmanship Award 25. Coaching 26. Concession Stand 27. Player Recruitment Page 2 of 83 History of Southwest Youth Athletic Association FIVE MAN EFFORT STARTED THE SOUTHWEST YOUTH ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION The Southwest Youth Athletic Association was organized in 1970-1971 by five Charter Members Beanie Conwell, Jerold Binkley, Frank Parkinson, W. W. (Doc) Scammon and Al Stallard. The purpose of the Southwest Youth Athletic Association was to sponsor a league to provide baseball and softball to the youth of southwest Topeka and the surrounding communities. Fifteen people attended the first meeting. Only the original five attended the second meeting. First, money was needed. Individual memberships were sold for $10 and $25 and business memberships for $100. Then donations were solicited. Six companies came through: Fairmont Foods, Fanestil Packing, Seven Up Bottling Company, Tastee Bread, Downtown Optimist Club and C&W Market. The Washburn Rural teachers held a pancake feed; a garage sale was conducted and with other fundraising projects, the teachers collected a total of $5,000, a good sum but not nearly enough for the total project cost for four diamonds. Approximately $76,000 was needed for the land, lights, bleachers, parking lot and concession stand. The founders did not intend to reach their goal in one year but did want to do so over several years with assistance from the community. The five founders went to friends and proposed they each sign a $2,000 note, which they guaranteed with their own money. The loan was obtained through the Security State Bank at Auburn. That was enough to buy twenty acres of ground and to build the original four diamonds. The loan was paid off long ago and the Miniette, Minorette, Mini and Metro diamonds were added in the mid-seventies. The league was named after Ken Berry, a Washburn Rural athletic standout, who played major league baseball for the Chicago White Sox and California Angels. Volunteerism is the key to the success of Southwest Youth Athletic Association. Not a dime of public funds nor tax dollars have been used on the complex. Many individuals, business firms, optimist clubs and others, and the community have contributed to the continuing growth of the program since 1972. From the building of the diamonds to the writing of the organization’s philosophy, by-laws and rules, volunteers have made the dream a reality. In fact, the wives of the five founders managed and operated the concession stand for many years on a volunteer basis. Southwest Youth Athletic Association appreciates the good adult leadership for the teams. Many managers and coaches have contributed their time and talents as the league has grown from the first seventeen teams in 1972 to the great organization it is today. THANK YOU ALL! Page 3 of 83 1. OVERALL FACILITY RULES: A. No beer or other alcoholic beverages are allowed on the property of the Southwest Youth Athletic Association (SYAA). B. The SYAA property is a smoke-free environment. The use of smokeless tobacco products is allowed on SYAA property but is prohibited near the concession stand, the dugouts, and anywhere within the confines of a playing field. C. Because the success of SYAA depends heavily upon revenue generated by concession sales, the Board of Directors asks that no food or drink be brought into the complex. An EXCEPTION is that players are allowed to bring their own water or sports drink for consumption by them in the dugout during their game. Violators should be reported to the Board. The PENALTY is that the violator will be asked to remove the food/drink from the complex. D. The speed limit at the complex is 10 mph. If any person is observed exceeding the limit, they may be subject to suspension from the complex for the remainder of the season at the discretion of the Board of Directors. 2. Admissions A. Admission shall be $2.00 at all league and post-season tournament games for everyone 16 years of age and older. B. All-League players are admitted free when in uniform. C. There will be a different admission charged for Pre-Season, Memorial Weekend, MSP and Invitational Tournaments. 3. Board Approvals A. Entries of managers, coaches, sponsors and their teams for participation in the League will be subject to approval by the Board of Directors. The Board may reject any person as a manager, coach, scorekeeper or any sponsor for any reason the Board, in its sole discretion, deems practicable and in the best Page 4 of 83 interests of the League and the youth participating in League activities. B. A member of the Southwest Youth Athletic Association Board of Directors will be on duty always during games. This person has the authority to enforce any and/or all rules. 4. Managers A. Any person desiring to manage any team must submit a written request to the proper Division Representative no later than December 1 of the year prior to that in which said person would like to manage. Those persons approved by the Board as managers shall submit a written request for any person desiring to be an assistant coach for that team no later than March 1 of the year in which said person would like to be an assistant coach. The Board shall make the final approvals for all managers, assistant coaches, scorekeepers, and sponsors. B. All managers and assistant coaches are required to agree to a background check performed at the Board’s discretion. All managers/coaches will be required to provide all personal information requested on both a request to manage and/or a Release Waiver before being considered to manage/coach a team. Any person failing or refusing to so agree shall not be approved to manage or act as an assistant coach for that season. C. Throughout the year each manager (or a representative) shall help with various SYAA fundraising projects, the purpose of which is to provide youth with a facility to play baseball and softball. D. Managers must have medical release forms for all players at all practices and games. E. Managers will inform coaches, players and spectators of ALL Overall Facility Rules in # 1 above. F. A manager has the right to discipline any player for a maximum of one game per infraction. Any manager or coach disciplining a player during the season must submit a written explanation to the Division Representative, who, along with any other Board member, must approve prior to any disciplinary action. Line-up cards should show the player’s name and the word ‘disciplined.’ Missing practices, attitude, behavior or missing scheduled games are justification for disciplining. Page 5 of 83 G. Managers, coaches and scorekeepers will be expected to uphold the standards and qualifications adopted by the Board of Directors. Any infraction of these standards may result in ejection as listed in GENERAL RULES, rule 5. H. Standards and qualifications for managers, coaches and scorekeepers: a. Sportsmanship -- on and off the field. b. Respect -- for players (own team and others), umpires, other coaches, board members/staff and parents/fans. c. Knowledge of game and rules -- read and understand the rulebook. Rules can be amended from year to year and be different based on the age division d. Responsibility -- manager duties (packets, games, etc.) and coach and team behavior. I. Managers are in complete charge of and will be held accountable for the actions of all personnel connected with their teams during play. 5. Scorekeepers A. Each team shall furnish a scorekeeper stationed at the scorekeepers’ table. EXCEPTION: Instructional Leagues do not keep score. B. Home team will be the official scorekeeper and shall keep the official score in the book provided by the league for each game. C. Visiting team shall run the scoreboard. D. No coaching shall be done from the score table. The only persons to be at the score table should be the scorers and the manager/coaches of the teams playing. E. The official scorebook must be signed by a representative from each team after each game. The official score box shall be the official record of the game. If there is an obvious error in the official score book, that error may be corrected by the league representative for that division at any time. 6. Fees Page 6 of 83 A. All player fees and completed registrations must be submitted before a team member may participate in a practice or league game. B. Refund requests must be submitted in writing to the Board of Directors for consideration. An administrative fee of $25.00 (Instructional $15.00) will be assessed on all refund requests. No refunds will be issued for requests received after fifteen (15) days from the commencement of the season. C. No sponsor, manager, coach or any other person associated with a team will be allowed to pay the registration fee for any player or induce a player to play on a team by offering awards of any kind, including, but not limited to, money, free trips, free meals or free tickets to any event except those approved by the Southwest Youth Athletic Association, Inc.