The name of the Association shall be "Southern Alberta Minor Football Association", hereinafter referred to as S.A.M.F.A.

The purpose and objectives of the S.A.M.F.A. shall be to develop and foster sportsmanship, fellowship, and the game of Canadian Football in Southern Alberta.

3.1 Any person residing in the area south of Calgary in the province of Alberta shall be eligible for membership in the Association. Members must have attained the age of eighteen years. All Head Coaches and parents or guardian of players who have been registered for play during the season and the team is in good standing, i.e. all fees and assessments are paid, are considered members of the Association.

3.3 Each member team in the S.A.M.F.A. is allowed one vote at meetings.

3.4 Voting by proxy will not be allowed.

3.5 Individual members shall be entitled to vote for Executive members, vote on bylaws, vote on borrowing money, propose or make changes to bylaws, sit on advisory committees, organize a booster club and be elected to the Executive.

3.6 Any member at any time may resign their membership by notice in writing to the Executive.

3.7 Any member may be suspended or expelled from the Association for failure to comply with the Association bylaws and regulations, for misconduct or for any other cause which, in the opinion of the Executive, is not in the best interest of the Association. Any such suspension or expulsion shall be by a 2/3 vote of the Executive. Any appeal of a suspension or expulsion must be addressed in writing to the Executive within 30 days of the suspension and may be revoked by a similar 2/3 vote of the Executive.

4.1 The Association shall hold an Annual General Meeting before the 15th day of December in each year. Notice shall be given verbally or in writing to all current Executive members and coaches. Public notice shall also be given notifying the membership. At this meeting there shall be elected by a majority vote of the members in good standing, a President, a vice President, a secretary, a treasurer, a commissioner, two commissioner’s assistants, and a minimum of two directors. The officers elected shall form the Executive and shall be the directors of the Association, and shall hold office for one year.

4.2 The Executive shall have the power to fill any vacancy occurring between annual meetings. This appointment shall be ratified at the next general meeting. The person so appointed shall hold office until the next annual meeting. The Executive may appoint committees and define the duties thereof.

4.3 A General Meeting of the Association may be called at any time by the Secretary upon instruction of the President or the Executive. A notice of such meeting shall be given verbally or in writing to all current members and coaches eight days prior to the date of the meeting.

4.4 Any member in good standing shall have the right to vote at any General Meeting of the Association. In the event of a tie, the presiding officer will cast a deciding ballot. Seven members in good standing shall constitute a quorum at any General Meeting.

5.0 EXECUTIVE

The Executive is responsible for the daily affairs of the Association. Meetings of the Executive shall be held as often as the business of the Association requires and shall be called by the President.

A special meeting of the Executive shall be called upon the request of any three members. The request must be in writing stating the purpose of the meeting and must be submitted to the President.

Four members shall constitute a quorum at an Executive meeting. The presiding officer shall have an additional vote in the event of a tie. An elected member of the Executive missing three consecutive meetings without reasonable cause will be automatically suspended from the Executive pending a review from the Executive. The following process will be followed in notifying the Executive member; phone call, followed by a letter requesting that an explanation be presented to the Executive prior to the review.

5.1 PRESIDENT

The President shall, when present, preside at all meetings of the Association and of the Executive. He shall sign the minutes of all such meetings upon their adoption and shall be an ex-officio member of all committees. The President or his designate shall also act in a liaison capacity between S.A.M.F.A. and Football Alberta.

The Vice President shall perform the duties of the President in the latter’s absence and any other duties as assigned by the President.

Shall be responsible for forming a nomination committee and conducting the annual election. Past President will chair the constitution committee and shall perform other duties as assigned by the President.

The Secretary shall attend all S.A.M.F.A. meetings and commit to writing the "minutes" of each meeting. The Secretary shall also be responsible for maintaining and updating records of meeting agenda’s and their minutes. The Secretary shall maintain an updated contact list representing team contacts and members of the Executive. The Secretary shall distribute any document of record requested by a present member or as directed by the President.

The Treasurer shall be responsible for the maintenance of all records related to the finances of S.A.M.F.A. The treasurer shall report to the Membership the status of the league’s finances at all General Meetings or as directed by the President. The Treasurer shall allow the viewing of any financial documentation requested by a member of the league.

The Media Director shall be responsible for collecting and distributing the scores, statistics and other pertinent information to selected media outlets.

The commissioner shall be responsible for approval of team coaches, their supervision and instructions as directed by the Executive. The commissioner shall also act in a liaison capacity between the Executive and all team coaches, managers, and game officials. The commissioner is responsible to schedule games and to book fields. Scheduling should be in place by June 1st of each year. The commissioner or his designate shall also act in a liaison capacity between S.A.M.F.A. and the High School Football Coaches Association. The commissioner is responsible for chairing the protest committee and receiving all protests.

Any complaints of coaches conduct must be submitted in detail in writing to the commissioner who will investigate and report to the Executive. The Executive may dismiss the complaint, reprimand the coach verbally or in writing or suspend the coach.

The commissioner’s assistants (2) shall perform all of the game day duties assigned by the commissioner and shall report to the commissioner any issues that fall within the commissioners responsibilities. The final decision on resolution of such matters shall be the remain the responsibility of the Commissioner.

For the purpose of carrying out the objectives of the Association, the Executive, with approval at the General Meeting of the Association, may borrow money upon the security of the assets of the Association and may draw, accept, endorse, discount, execute and issue promissory notes, bills of exchange and other negotiable or transferable instruments on the behalf of the Association. The Executive may borrow up to$500.00 without the approval of a General Meeting.

The Executive shall appoint an auditor to audit the books, accounts, and record of the Treasurer at least once a year. A complete and proper statement of the standing of the books of the Association for the previous year shall be submitted within six months after the end of the year.

The books and records of the Association may be examined by any member in good standing upon giving reasonable notice to, and arranging a time and place for such examination with the Treasurer.

Members may, upon notice to the Secretary or to the Treasurer, inspect the books and records of the Association at any time during business hours at the usual meeting place as may be decided upon from the time to time by the Association.

The association shall have an official seal and when attached to any document to be executed by the association shall be authenticated by the signature of the President or vice President and the secretary. The seal at all times shall be in the custody of the secretary.

The Bylaws of the Association may not be rescinded, altered or added to except by extraordinary resolution of the Association. The extraordinary resolution must be passed by a majority of not less than 3/4 of such members entitled to vote at a General Meeting. Notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as an extraordinary resolution must have been duly given.

The Executive shall make available regulations for the association governing activities of same, and the regulations shall be available to any player or any player’s parent or guardian upon written request of the Commissioner.

(Clarification regarding punt/punt return and player eligibility: Discussion at May 10, 2000 general meeting concluded that on a punt return, any player over 165lbs. must be within the closed line play area. For clarification, no player over 165 lbs. can play on kick-off, kick-return, or be in an eligible position on punt, eligible to receive the ball on punt return ( Outside 10 yd. dead ball area) .

No player shall be registered by the Association as a qualified player if they have not secured a written consent of their parents or legal guardian. The consent may be revoked at any time during the playing year by a written revocation delivered to the Commissioner.

Teams must pay their entry fees each year. Each team must pay the fee on or before their first league game. Attached to the fee must be registration documents and a copy of the record of the registration and Insurance fees to be paid to Football Alberta. A team is not eligible for compensation if this fee has not been paid. The fees and any assessment must be paid prior to the first league game if the team is to be eligible for league play or playoff play.

Any team forfeiting a game will be assessed a $100.00 fee. Appeals to this assessment may be made to the Executive in the same manner as suspension or expulsion appeals as prescribed in 3.7.

18.0 LEAGUE SANCTIONED ACTIVITIES

19.1 Each player must be registered with Football Alberta prior to practices in order to have insurance coverage. Insurance coverage is effective from June 1st to May 31st. No player may be registered after the Team’s final league game.

19.2 Game protests will not be allowed until the game has been completed. Protests must be in the form of a written statement to the Commissioner within 48 hours of completion of the game. The Commissioner will inform both teams of the result of the protest within 7 days of the protested game.

19.3 All players of each team shall participate in a minimum of six plays per game notwithstanding concerns for player safety and or any player currently under team disciplinary action.

19.4 No official Sunday practice will be allowed.

19.5 Canadian Amateur Football playing rules will govern all games except:

The Football Canada guidelines on coaching ethics will be followed with the following additions as set out in 20.1 to 20.8.

20.1 Coaches must be familiar with S.A.M.F.A.’s unique rules & regulations.

20.2 A Coach or representative must be in attendance at all league meetings to keep up to date on league matters.

20.3 The Head Coach must be qualified to a minimum of Level 1 in all three of the NCCP components: Technical, Theory, and Practical within a period of 2 years. All other team coaches are encouraged to attain the same minimum requirement.

20.4 The Head Coach must be prepared to accept responsibility for the actions of the team’s players, coaches, and any other members.

20.5 The Head Coach must provide for emergencies such as arranging an emergency action plan as set out in the NCCP theory manuals. The plan should be made known and available to all team members.

20.8 Obstruction of the game by fans will result in forfeiture of the game by the fan’s team.