TNSL Constitution

Section 1: Name

A. The league shall be known as the “Thursday Night Soccer League,” herein called the “TNSL.”

B. The league shall affiliate with the Ontario Soccer Association, through the South West Regional Soccer Association.

Section 2: Object

A. The object of the League is to provide scheduled recreational competition in age 19 and over/ senior soccer as required by the club members, and to admit membership to all properly registered teams.

Section 3: Membership

A. The membership shall be open to all teams from properly constituted clubs subject to the approval of the Executive Committee of the League.

B. Applications for membership to the League shall be made annually on a form provided by the League.

C. All club members shall comply with the regulations as described in the TNSL Constitution and its Rules. Failure to comply with the above could result in the termination of membership in the League.

Section 4: Executive Committee

A. The business and affairs of the League shall be conducted by an Executive Committee consisting of:

1. President                                                   7. Director (ILC)

2. Vice-President                                           8. Director (Events)

3. Treasurer                                                  9. Director (Awards)

4. Registrar                                                   10. Past President

5. Director (Fields)                                  

6. Director (Referees)

All of whom shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting with the exception of Past President.  Due to lack of interest, it may be necessary for a member to hold more than one position on the committee at a time.                                                                                                

B. The election of the Executive Committee shall be by secret ballot with a simple majority of votes cast to elect. Should a vacancy occur in the Executive Committee during a term of office, the Executive Committee shall have the power to appoint an interim replacement for the remainder of that term of office.

C. At all Executive Committee meetings, a majority of member shall form a quorum. Votes shall be given personally and voting by proxy will not be permitted. Simple majority shall carry motions at Executive Committee meetings. The President shall have a casting vote.

Section 5: Duties of Executive Officers.

A. The President shall preside at all meetings of the League and act as a spokesman for the League at all times unless he delegates the responsibility. He shall act as a signing officer, along with the Treasurer and one other member of the executive.

B. The Vice-President shall in the absence of the President, preside at all meetings of the League or Executive Committee, and shall otherwise assist the President, where ever possible in the administration of the League.

C. The registrar shall maintain the TNSL website, keep web statistics, update results on the web, post news and all items related to the website.   The Registrar shall report any infractions to the President and Executive Board immediately.

D. Directors at Large shall have duties as assigned by the Executive Committee.

E. Referee Coordinator shall assign all referees to games, and shall assist the Clubs where necessary. In addition, the Referee Coordinator will provide a list of all assignments to the Executive Committee as required.

F. The Executive Committee shall see that a schedule of the League and Cup games are prepared as necessary, and that results are kept and updated.

G. The Executive Committee shall see that the Annual General Meeting is held each year, the date for which shall be set by the Executive Committee and shall be no later than April 1st.

H . Changes to the Constitution may be made at the Annual General Meeting.  Any proposals for changes that are received by the Executive Committee will be voted on by the team representatives, with a simple majority determining the result.

Section 6: League Specific Requirements

  • Each team must provide, set, and remove one net for each game.
  • Each team must provide, place, and retrieve two corner pylons/flags for each game.
  • Each designated home team must provide a game ball, which has been determined, by the referee, to be in acceptable condition.
  • In the event of two teams playing with similar uniform colours, the home team is responsible for providing an alternative set of colours to clearly distinguish themselves from the opposing team.  Goalkeepers must where a colour different from their own team, the opposing team, and the referees.

Section 7: League Specific Rules

1. Reporting Game Scores: The team coordinator for BOTH teams will arrange for the score to be recorded through the web site under “Report Scores” within 24 hours of the completion of the match.  If all else fails, please report the score directly to the league statistician within 24 hours of the completion of the game (Clint MacDonald, 576-1644, leave message, or email clint@interglobal.ca).  Any team that does not report their score within the specified time period will be subject to a discipline action as specified in rule (23-e).  

2.  Referee Payment: The TNSL will be using one hired referee and one club linesman from each team for all games during the regular season.  Each team is required to provide $25 cash for payment to the referee at the start of each game.  The pay schedule for games is as follows:  

1 hired referee : $25.00 each team ($50 referee)  

Failure to do so will result in a fine of $50 which will be taken from your team bond. ($25 of which will be forwarded to the referee).    

3. League Point System: Points will be awarded as follows: three points for a win, one point for a tie and zero points for a loss .    

4. SWRSA Player Registration : Teams must register players 1 week prior to the start of the season through SWRSA. Any additional players after will take 24hrs to be officially registered and be able to play a game with a team.

5. Player Registration Deadline : The League will not accept any registration of players or transfers beyond July 21st of that season . A player registered with SWRSA on July 21st, but not on the website on the same day, requires a written request to the president of the league to be added to the web-roster no less than 24 hours prior to playing a game. Failure to do so will result in an illegal player and rule (23-d) will apply .

6. TNSL Website Team Roster Information : Prior to the start of the regular season, all team rosters must be completed online via the TNSL web site administration area at http:// www.tnsl.net/SportLeagues. The online roster will identify each registered player along with their shirt number and will additionally identify competitive players. It is the responsibility of the team manager to continually update their roster during the season on the website. Failure to update their roster correctly via the Leagues website, will be held for disciplinary action by the League as detailed by rule (23-d). Any player not registered on the web site 24 hours before a game is deemed illegal. The last modified date on the website will be used as the effective date of when the player was registered on the website. Any player at any time MUST FIRST register through SWRSA before they can be added or updated to the TNSL website team roster.  

7. Player Eligibility:
a) Definition: All players who participate in league scheduled games and playoff games must be registered with SWRSA 24 hours prior to any game to be deemed eligible.  The date on the player booklet will be used as the effective date of when the player was registered. Players in question are required to present their player registration book to a league executive member or the opposing team manager. 

If an opposing manager would like to check a registration book for a team or a specific player, each player must produce a book proving suitable registration before being allowed to play.  Any player that is not able to produce an eligible registration book at that time shall not be allowed to play.

b) Discipline action: Playing with an ineligible player will result in the ejection of the player in question from the game. If the game has been completed, the game points will be automatically awarded to the opposing team. If the league determines that an ineligible player has been involved in any previous league games, the points for each of those completed games will be awarded to the opposing teams. The score of the game is detailed in rule (7-c). Teams found to be playing with ineligible players will be subject to discipline through the SWRSA and the league executive (see rule 23-c).  

c) Game score:  If the opposing team has lost or tied the game 0-0 they will be awarded a 1-0 win.  If the opposing team has won the game or tied with a score greater than 0-0 then their goals will stand, however the goals for the team playing the ineligible player will be erased.  The goal scorers will be recorded on the website for the opposing team only. 

d) Arriving late: Players may arrive at the game late and still be able to play, however the player must be present and have signed the game sheet before the start of the second half.  No player will be allowed to play if they arrive after this point in time.  If a player is asked to produce a registration book before the game but has forgotten it elsewhere, they will be allowed to play if they are able to produce the eligible book and sign the game sheet before the second half commences.

8. Protests: All protests arising from games shall be sent via email to the members of the executive committee and the team being protested against within 24 hours of the completion of the game. A fee of $50 will be taken from the team bond, with the loss of protest resulting in the loss of this protest fee. All protests must include a copy of the game sheet.  Any requests not submitted in accordance with the policy shall be "ruled out of order" and shall not be heard.

9. Appeals: Appeals of the decisions of the League Executive shall be handled in accordance with OSA rules and rights of appeal information will be provided with the decision of the TNSL.

10. Player Age Restriction: Players must be 19 or older at any point within the same calendar year to be eligible to play in the TNSL for that season. The league and executive committee will not be responsible in any way for the injury or legal prosecution of players participating in the league.

11. Game Sheets: All Players must sign the game sheet prior to playing in any game. Only players that physically take part in a game will be on the game sheet. Players whose names are on the games sheet, but did not play, shall be stricken from the sheet prior to the conclusion of the half game break. All game rosters are final at the end of half time; new players may not be added after that point. Any player without their name and signature on the sheet at this point in time shall be deemed ineligible for play in that game.

12. Competitive Player Limitation: Each team may only register a maximum of two competitive players (example: KDSL, OSL, etc...). Any additional competitive players registered shall be considered by the league as ineligible and the rule 23c will be applied.

13.  A) Game Suspension Resulting From Player/Team Conduct: Suspension of play in a league scheduled game by the referee prior to full time, due to the conduct of player/team, the offending team will forfeit the game and the opposing team will be awarded the points. In the event of suspension of a league schedule game by the referee prior to full time due to the conduct of players from each team, the score at the time of the game suspension will be recorded as the final score if more than 75 minutes has been played, otherwise the game will be recorded as a nil-nil draw. League officials will contact the referee, and team officials to determine the cause of the game suspension and rule accordingly. The league reserves the right to award zero points to any team involved in these situations if they deem that unsporting behaviour was demonstrated during the game. The league will not act to further discipline any individual offending player(s). All player discipline will be handled by SWRSA.

13. B) Violent Conduct Any player who has been ejected from the game by the referee due to involvement in the striking of another player (any form eg. Fist, kick, head butt) or throwing of another player to the ground will be suspended from play until the league executive are able to review the incident. The executive will decide on whether the player will be allowed to play in any further league games this and subsequent years within 3 weeks of the incident.

14. Game Suspension Resulting From Other Conditions: In the event of suspension of play by the referee due to weather or poor lighting conditions, in which 75 minutes of play have been completed, the game will be considered by the league as a complete game. The score at the time the game was suspended will be considered the final score. In the event of suspension of play by the referee due to weather or poor lighting conditions in which 75 minutes have not been completed, the game be considered as incomplete by the league. The teams involved in the incomplete game will be responsible to notify the League President. Rescheduling of the game will be made within two (2) weeks of the original game. 

15. Player Substitution: Player substitutions shall be permitted with the consent of the referee during a stoppage of play for a Goal Kick, Scoring a goal, Injury of a player, Half-time or Start of extra time, Half-time of extra time and on their own throw-ins(other team may only substitute if the first team does). No substitution is allowed for any player(s) ordered off. All substitutes must enter & exit the field at the halfway line. All substituted players must leave the field without delay.

16. League Standings Criteria: In the event of tie in the league standings at the completion of the regular season the following criteria in order of importance will be used to determine final league standings: greater number of wins; the team with the better head to head record; goal difference; total goals for; and total goals against. In the event of a tie after all the criteria have been evaluated, the winner will be decided by a coin toss, involving an official from each team and a league official.

17. Playoff Games: No playoff game can end in tie. Two additional 15 minute periods will be played in the event of tie at the end of regulation time in a playoff game. In the event of a tie after extra time, the winner will be decided by penalty kicks as directed by the referee. Five shooters from each team who were on the field at the conclusion of play will be selected to take the penalty kicks. In the event of tie after each team has taken 5 penalty kicks, one additional penalty kick will be taken by each team until a clear winner has been decided. Each player can only take one penalty kick (In the situation where each available player has taken a penalty kick and no other players are available this rule will no longer apply). The referee directs and has final say in all penalty kick decisions.

Should a playoff game be in jeopardy of not being finished due to darkness or weather concerns, the two teams may decide to reduce the amount of extra time to be played.  This agreement must be made prior to the beginning of extra time with the referee making the final decision should the two teams not come to a consensus.

18. Team postponing/Cancelling: Games will not be allowed to be postponed.  Any team that is required to cancel a game shall lose the game 3-0 and may be subject to disciplinary action from the executive committee. 

19.  Schedule: Each team will play one game against each other team, at which point the league shall be split into two groups based on points.  The top six teams will become group A, the bottom six teams will be group B.  Each team shall then play one more game against each team in their group for a total of sixteen (16) games.  Standings at the split and at the end of the season shall be decided by the criteria in rule 16.

20. Minimum Players for a Game or No-Shows: Games will not start should there be less than seven (7) players available to each or either team at the kick-off. If a team has less than seven (7) players available, they will be considered a no-show. Clubs with a team having two (2) or more no-shows in one season may be at the discretion of the Executive Committee subject to disciplinary action. If a game cannot be played due to a

no-show, the Referee must still be paid. The team responsible for the no-show will be required to pay the full $50 to compensate their opponents for not playing.

21. Equipment Restrictions: Solid metallic shoe studs are banned from use in the TNSL. Square baseball-type cleats are not permitted. Shin guards are mandatory.

22. Team Officials: Team officials will not coach within the eighteen (18) yard line. Spectators shall not be allowed in or behind this area. Team officials shall be responsible for the conduct of their spectators. Spectators must remain two metres back from the playing area. Team officials are subject to discipline by SWRSA.  

23. Team Bond: Each team shall pay a $100 bond at the beginning of the season to the league.  The bond will carry over to the following season minus any fines for the following infractions:

a) $50 fine for each time a team member is not present at any scheduled meeting in addition to and including the AGM and Mid-Season meeting.

b) A team that plays ineligible players (not registered with SWRSA 24 hours prior to a game as defined in rule 7-a) shall be fined:

  1. $50 for 1st offence
  2. $100 for 2nd offence and is up for league review (see rule #24)
  3. Out of the league

c)    A team that plays illegal players (not registered with the website within 24 hours prior to a game) shall be disciplined as follows:

      1. Written warning for 1st offence
      2. $25 for 2nd offence
      3. $50 and loss of points for the 3rd offence and thereafter.

d)   $25 fine for failing to report the game score on the website within 72 hours from the end of the game.  Teams should make reasonable effort to report the score within 24 hours but will not be fined until 72 hours after the game.

e)    $50 fine for failing to pay the referee, $25 of which shall be forwarded to the referee.

f)  Any team that is fined its entire $100 bond (not including protest fees) will be up for league review at the end of the season.

All fines collected by the league will be used towards league expenses such as, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, field costs, lighting, trophy costs and web fees.  Monies remaining at the end of the season will be applied towards league expenses for the following year. 

24.            League Review:  A league review shall be completed by the league executive to determine whether a team shall be subject to a fine or face dismissal from the league for any of the infractions listed below.  If the team up for League Review has members on the league executive they will be excluded from the league review panel.  Any team who has violated the following league rules will be up for a league review at the end of the season:

  1. Second offence for playing ineligible players (rule 23 c-2)
  2. Any team that has forfeited their entire $100 bond (rule 23 f)
  3. Any team that has a total of 3 red cards in the first half of the season
  4. Any team that has a total of 3 red cards in the second half of the season (count starts over at mid-season)

 25. Unforeseen Circumstances: Should an incident arise over the course of the season that is not covered in the Constitution and requires immediate action, the executive committee will have the authority to make a decision in a timely manner.  All executive committee members shall be informed of the situation and will have the right to vote on a decision with a simple majority determining the result.