By-Laws of the Shippensburg Area Youth Athletics ARTICLE I Eligibility for Players and Cheerleaders Eligibility for Players and Cheerleaders Eligibility will be open to any boy or girl ages eight (8) to 7th grade; must be eight (8) years old prior to January 1st and be in 7th grade the year of registration. All Seventh (7)grade players should try out for the Shippensburg Area Middle School team. Eighth (8) grade and higher grade players/cheerleaders are not eligible to participate in the Youth Basketball program. Ballschool is offered to any boy or girl ages five (5) to eight (8) years; must be five (5) years old prior to January 1st. Any Ballschool child that has at least two consecutive years of playing may be eligible for regular basketball. Each player may present a parental or legal guardian consent and proof of age at the time of registration. Seven (7) year olds who haven t played 2 years of basketball must have a parent waiver and approval of the board to be considered to enter the draft.(revised May 2016) Tryouts will be held for all first year players. Players who are absent from tryouts will be placed on a team. Cheerleaders will be placed on squads by the Head Cheerleading Advisor and approved by the board of directors. A draft system will be used to select the players of each team. Each year, the last place team from the previous season, as defined by the combination of regular season records of both JV and Varsity squads, shall have the first pick, the next to the last place team will have the second pick, etc. In the event of a tie in the standings, a flip of the coin will determine the first choice. Once a player is selected in the draft, he/she is a member of the team and is no longer eligible. If a player quits and wants to return, he/she will be on the same team they were on when they quit unless a full season has passed. If a player chooses to redraft they will not be eligible to go back to the same team. (Revised May 2016) Brothers or sisters in the program will be placed on the same team/squad, unless stated by the parents. Once the first brother/sister is selected, the other brother/sister must be taken in his/her final round of eligibility. If brother/sister is already on a team/cheerleading squad, the second player must be picked by the third (3rd) round. Section V: In the event a coach has a son/daughter coming into the program, the coach must notify the Player Agent if he/she wants his/her son/daughter on his/her team. If so, the father/mother
must select his/her child by the third (3rd) round of eligibility. Section VI: All players who do not wish to play on the same team as the previous year must submit a written request to the Board of Directors or notify the Board of Directors at the time of registration. If the request is approved, the player will be placed back into the draft and must be present at tryouts. ARTICLE II Eligibility of Coaches A coach or parent at least twenty-one (21) years of age must supervise the team during all practices and games. (Revised September 2014) Coaches are required to submit current(within the last three (3) years) Act 34 and Act 151 clearances at the time of registration in order to be approved by the Board of Directors. Each team is limited to Four (4) coaches, this does not include junior coaches. ARTICLE III Misconduct Members of the Board shall, upon evidence of misconduct by any player, cheerleader, or coach during any practice or game, have full power to suspend or revoke such player s, cheerleader s, or coach s right to continue in the program. One(1) technical foul by coach or player in any game will result in the coaches not allowed to stand for the remainder of the game. Two (2) personal technical fouls by a coach or a player in any one game shall result in an immediate one (1) week suspension from practices and games, excluding backcourt defense. Willful destruction of school or league property will result in an immediate suspension. The Board of Directors shall determine the length of the suspension or the action that may need to be taken.
ARTICLE IV Amendments The By-Laws may be amended by a majority vote of the Board of Directors present at any duly constructed meeting, provided all Board Members have been contacted five (5) days in advance. ARTICLE V Practices Teams can only practice or scrimmage on their scheduled practice night. No unscheduled practices will be permitted without prior written approval of the Board of Directors. Food, drink, and chewing gum are not permitted inside of the elementary schools, SAMS, and SASHS gymnasiums. Coaches and advisors must be in the building fifteen (15) minutes before their scheduled practice time. Players and cheerleaders, must be supervised at all times, including before and after practice and in the halls when using the restrooms and water fountains. Coaches and advisors may not leave the building until everyone on their team or squad has been picked up. Coaches and advisors must check the hall, restrooms, gym, or all purpose room for damages before and after each practice. Any damages must be reported to the custodian and the appropriate Player Agent as soon as possible. Section V: If the school is closed, cancelled, or dismissed early, there will be no practice unless prior approval is granted from the school district. Section VI: Only players and cheerleaders are permitted at practice. Brothers, sisters, and friends are not permitted in the building, unless approved by head coach. Section VII: Jewelry may not be worn by players during practices or games. If a player or a cheerleader wears a medical alert tag, they shall notify the coach. All medical alert tags must be taped to the body.
Section VIII: Appropriate footwear must be worn during play at all times Section IX: Any player or cheerleader with an unexcused absence or illness from school may not participate in practice that evening. Section X: Any player or cheerleader suspended from school; not allowed to participate in program or on school property, cannot participate in SAYA activities until reinstated by the school district. Section XI: Practices for both JV and Varsity squads are held in conjunction with one another. (Added September 2014) Section XII: Issued security badges for coaches must be carried in order to gain entrance into school district gyms for practice if required by the district. (Added September 2014) Section XIII: Basketball players must use rear gym entrance for practice and may not be dropped off without parent or coach present at Nancy Grayson and James Burd (Added September 2014) Section XIV: If a scheduled practice is cancelled, the coach must immediately report the cancellation to the Player Agent. (Added September 2014) Food and drinks are not permitted in the gym. ARTICLE VI Games Loitering is not permitted in the back hall. The locker rooms are for players and cheerleaders only. The home team bench is closest to the scoreboard. Yelling or cheering will not be permitted during foul shots. Kicking the bleachers will
not be permitted at any time by spectators, coaches, and players. Section V: Coaches, advisors, players, and cheerleaders must be at the school at least thirty (30) minutes prior to the starting time of their game. This includes both JV and Varsity squads. (Revised September 2014) Section VI: All players and cheerleaders must stay with their team or squad during the game. Section VII: The Board of Directors may suspend the right to anyone, who does not conduct themselves in an orderly manner, to attend any games. Section VIII: Any player or cheerleader with an unexcused absence or illness from school may not participate in the game that evening (effects Friday night games and makeup games). Saturday is considered a separate day of the week, so a player of cheerleader may participate in Saturday games. Section IX: Any player or cheerleader suspended from school; not allowed to participate in program or on school property, cannot participate in SAYA activities until reinstated by the school district. Section X: Team warm-ups prior to the game, if applicable by time, are conducted by both JV and Varsity squads. (Added September 2014) Section XI: Roster sheets must be turned in at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the scheduled game. (Added September 2014) Section XII: Only one coach is permitted to stand during the game. (Added September 2014) Section XIII: Referees are not to be addressed by coaches or players until a time out. (Added September 2014) Section XIV: Substitute players must report to the scorer s table prior to entering the game. Players should be knelt down by the scorer s table and enter the court of play upon signal from the scorer s table. (Added September 2014)
Section XV: Player jerseys must be tucked in. (Added September 2014) Section XVI: SAYA will follow PIAA Rules and Exceptions. (Added September 2014) ARTICLE VII Team Requirements Home team coaches must appoint a team representative to referee the game following their game. If applicable, the home cheer squad will appoint a representative from their squad to assist with the scorer s table. Any team that fails to provide a referee as designated will be fined half of a playoff point per game that they fail to attend. (Revised November 2014) Visiting team coaches must appoint a team representative to referee the game following their game. If applicable, the visiting cheer squad will appoint a representative from their squad to assist with the scorer s table. Any team that fails to provide a referee as designated will be fined half of a playoff point per game that they fail to attend. (Revised November 2014) Each team must submit a roster listing J.V. and Varsity players. A. There must be at least five (5) players on both rosters. B. 6th and 7th grade players cannot play J.V. unless approved by the Board. C. A varsity player cannot play J.V. unless the J.V. team has less than five players. The opposing coach gets to pick which Varsity player will play J.V. D. J.V. players may not play in the first half of the Varsity game unless the Varsity has less than five (5) players, or the Varsity player has three (3) or more fouls in the first half. E. Teams may modify J.V. and Varsity rosters one (1) time prior to the fifth (5) game of the season. F. J.V. and Varsity rosters will remain consistent for all playoff games and be reflective of the regular season roster. Players who are designated on a Varsity roster cannot be placed on a J.V. roster for playoff games. J.V. players can be utilized on the Varsity roster for the second half of Varsity games (similar to regular season rules). Each player must play an equivalent of at least one (1) full period. (Revised September 2014)
A. Exceptions: discipline, missing practice without an explanation, illness, or injury. The parent and opposing coach should be informed of the reason for reduced playing time. B. A team has been found not to have played a player for a full period, without a reasonable explanation, will forfeit that game. ARTICLE VIII Cheerleading Rules Long hair must be pulled up or back, may not wear necklaces or earrings, no chewing gum, and naval piercings must be covered with a band aid or tape during practices or games. The visiting team will take the floor first (first time out), and then alternates until the hello cheer at the half time of the varsity game where the visiting team will go first. After the hello cheers, you will pick up where you left off with the order. The home team has the bench next to the score board and the visiting bench is near the lobby. Cheerleaders may not socialize during their game. Friends and boyfriends may not sit on the bench with the cheerleaders during their games. The cheerleading advisor or team parent must supervise the squad during all practices and games. Section V: Cheerleaders must notify their advisors if they must miss a practice at least one day in advance unless in an emergency. If a game is to be missed, notification to the advisor (unless an emergency), must be made by Friday of she will not cheer in the next game. If a girl is benched for any reason, she must attend that game and sit with the advisor. Section VI: Stunts and hello cheers should be restricted by the ability of the cheerleaders on each squad. The safety of the cheerleaders must be the primary concern when preparing and teaching stunts and hello cheers. Section VII: Cheerleaders may not be on the stages when using the all-purpose room in the elementary schools for practice. Section VIII:
Cheerleaders shall not touch the equipment in their cheering areas (i.e. computers, pianos, etc.) Section IX: Cheerleaders should arrive to all games thirty (30) minutes before their game unless told differently by their advisor. Section X: Cheerleaders must be good sports and watch the other squads do their cheers and clap when they finish. No excessive kicking of the bleachers, no jumping off the bleachers, and no miss it cheers. Section XI: Squads will sit in a single row or two rows on the bench.