Commonwealth Soccer League, Inc.

Last Updated: February 11, 2004

ARTICLE I

Name

Section 1: League Name

The name of the league shall be Commonwealth Soccer League, Incorporated, hereinafter referred to as CSL, CSL, Inc. or "the league".

ARTICLE II

Mission

Section 1: Mission

The league's mission is to "raise awareness and stimulate the frowth of soccer in the greater Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Stafford and surrounding ares."

ARTICLE III

Goal

Section 1: Goal

The league's goal is "To improve the quality of life in our community by promoting recreational enjoyment and healthy competition."

ARTICLE IV

Membership

Section 1: Membership

The league shall consster of three types of voting members: Class "A", Class "B" and Class "C". All voting members will be entitled to a single vote provided he/she is in good standing (1) with the league.

          1.  Class "A":  A Board of Directors (2)

                a.  Executive Board of Directors (EBOD) - Each of the EBOD is entitled to one vote on all league

                      business. The EBOD is defined as the following members:

                      ~ President

                      ~ Vice President (2)

                      ~ Secretary

                      ~ Treasurer

                      ~ Registrar

                b.  Members at Large - Each Member at Large is entitles to one vote on all league business on

                      "Matters  of Soccer" (3). A Member at Large is defined as, but not limited to:

                      ~ Director of Scheduling

                      ~ Director of Fields

                      ~ Director of Web Affairs

                      ~ Director of Referees

                      ~ Directors or each division in the league

          2.  Class "B":  An active member (4)

                 a.  Each active member of an active team is entitled to one vote. The poular vote of the team

                       members will represent a single vote of that active team during the election of each of the

                       league's EBOD during the semi-annual meeting scheduled for January/February and June/July

                       and on those occations when the EBOD requests a vote of the active members.

          3.  Class "C":  An active member

                a.  An active member is defined as a team "in good standing" (1) and either registered during the

                     current CSL season or in the case of the time between CSL seasons. was registered during the

                     previous CSL season. Each team manager shall then be responsible for representing the popular

                     vote of his/her team. Each active team is entitled to one vote during the elections of each of the

                     league's executive officers during the January/February or June/July semi-annual meetings and

                     on those occassions when the EBOD requests a vote of the active members.

(1) A member will be considered "in good standing" if and only when all financial obligations, fines, suspensions and any other league requirements have been met.

(2) The Board of Directors is defined as the Executive Board of Directors and all Members at Large.

(3) "Matters of Soccer" is defined as any issue related to Policies and Procedures.

(4) Active member is defines as a member who holds a valid United States Amateur Soccer Association (USASA) player pass, which shall serve as his CSL player's pass. Membership is valid for one playing year, which is defined as August 1 of one calender year and ending July 31 of the following calender year.

ARTICLE V

Organizations Structure

Section 1:  Organizational Structure

The organizational structre of CSL shall consist of the EBOD, Members-at-Large, team managers and players. The President may appoint permanent, standings and/or temporary committees and committee charimen consisting of active or inactive members of CSL.

Section 2:  Executive Board of Directors (EBOD)

CSL is a Virginia corporation governed by an EBOD, of which six directors shall serve as officers. Officers shall consist of President, two Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and Registrar. Each member of the EBOD shall be an active member of CSL. The President, at his discretion, may appoint three Members-at-Large initially and an additional Member-at-Large for each 100 active members.

Section 3:  Removal of Officers

In an officer fails to carry out the duties enumerated in Article VI, Section 2 of these By-Laws, that officer shall be brought before the Rules & Disciplin Committee for review. A recommendation of removal by the Rules & Disciplin Committee will be presented to the voting members. A two-thirds (2/3) majority present vote is required to remove an elected officer.

ARTICLE VI

Duties of the Executive Board of Directors (EBOD)

Section 1:  General Durites

The EBOD shall be responsible and have the fianl authority, except as otherwise provided in these By-Laws, for the following:

          1.  Financial management of CSL.

          2.  Interpretations, enforcement and revision of the By-Laws and Policies & Procedures.

          3.  Establishment, interpretation and enforcement of Policies & Procedures proscribing rules of play,

                player eligibility and standards of conduct for members of CSL.

          4.  Establishment of rules and regulations for specific cases not provided for elsewhere, but which are

                 deemed necessary for attention by team managers or the active members of CSL.

          5.  Annual review of the By-Laws and Policies & Procedures, aiming to ensure consistency and

                compliance (with specific exceptions) to the rules governing United States Soccer Association

                (USASA), United States Soccer Federations (USSF) and the Federations International Football

                Associations (FIFA) affiliated leagues.

          6.  Conducting the day-to-day affairs of CSL pursuant to the directives of the active members.

Section 2: Duties of Directors and Officers

Each director and officer of CSL shall be obligated to attend at least three-fourth (3/4) of regularly scheduled CSL meetings and to fullfill, tho the best of his/her ability, the duties enumerated as follows:

           1. PRESIDENT: The president shall preside at all meetings of the EBOD and all general and special

                meetings of the voting members, and sahll appoint committees and committee chairmen consisting

                of active members of CSL as necessary. The president has been granted Executive Approval

                Authority (5) in all matters of the league business members. The president will also have the

                authority to take immediate action for the good of the league. The president shall have joint 

                authority with the treasurer for disbursement of CSL funds. The president or the reasurtr shall be

                the registered agent for Commonwealth Soccer League, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the

                Corporations) and maintain the Corporate Book.

          2.  VICE PRESIDENT:  The vice president as designated shall assume all duties of the president in the

                absence of the president. The vice president shall exercise such other and further duties as may be

                designated by the president and/or the EBOD.

          3.  SECRETARY:  The secretary shall handle all correspondence, giving written notice of all schedule

                meetings to voting members, as well as, providing them with verbal notice of all rescheduled or

                emergency meetings. The secretary shall maintain the files and minutes of all CSL meetings and

                business.

          4.  TREASURER:  The reasurer shall maintain detailed account of the finances of CSL, have joint

                 authority (with the president) of disbursement of CSL funed, collect all debts owed to CSL, prepare

                 an annual financial statement to present to the active members of CSL each semi-annual meeting, 

                 prepare a Treasurer's Report to be presented to the voting members at each scheduled league

                 meeting and prepare a budget detailing the financial needs of the forthcoming CSL season to be

                 presented to the active members at the semi-annual meetings. The treasurer or the presidentshall

                 be the registered agent for Commonwealth Soccer League, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the

                 Corporation) and maintain the Coporate Book.

          5.  REGISTRAR:  The registrar will be an extension of the state office of USASA. The registrar is

                 responsible for the proper and legal registration of all active members.

          6.  MEMBERS-AT-LARGE:  Each member-at-large shall take care to represent the sentiment of a

                particular constituency of the league and vote, taking that sentiment into account, in the best

                interest of CSL.

Section 3: Liability of Directors

No person shall be liable to the Corporation for any loss or damage suffered by in on account of any action taken or failed to have been taken in good faith by him/her as a director or officer of CSL or any other corporation in which he/she serves as a director or officer at the request of CSL if such person:

Exercised and used the same degree of care and skill as a reasonable person would have exercised under similar circumstances in the conduct of his personal affairs.

- OR -

Took or failed to take such action in reliance upon advice or counsel from the Corporation or upon statements made or information furnished by a director if officer of the Corproation, which he had reasonable grounds to believe. The foregoing shall bot be exclusive of the rights and defenses to which he may be entitled as a matter of law.

(5) Executive Approval Authority entitles the president to act on any business necessary to maintain, improve or promote the league. The BOD is entitled to challenge and, or overturn any decision made by the president by a majority vote of two-thirds (2/3) o the voting members.

ARTICLE VII

Code of Conduct

Section 1:  CSL Code of Conduct

The CSL Code of Conduct, which shall be enumerated in CSL Policies and Procedures, shall be supplied to each Team Manager prior to the beginning of each season. It shall be revised, when required, by Executive Board of Directors majority vote on a Rules and Discipline Committee recommendation prior to the beginnins of each season. Each director, officer, team manager and active member within CSL is expected to conduct themselves in a manner and at a level, which is above reproach.

ARTICLE VIII

Finances

Section 1:  Financial Status

A financial statement shall be prepared by the treasurer and presented to the Executive Board of Directors at the February semi-annual meeting of CSL. A tax return shall be prepared by an outside accounting firm as selected by the EBOD.

Section 2:  Budget

A semi-annual budget shall be prepared by the treasurer and presented to the Executive Board of Directors at the January/February and June/July semi-annual meetings of active members of CSL. The budget is to include all league, team and player registration fees; league operational and maintenance costs; and any new or ongoing capital expenditures. These costs shall be paid to CSL through the teams or teams' treasuries. Whenever possible, sponsors will be used as a source of revenue, particularly for large capital expenditures.

Sections 3:  Fees

The Executive Board of Directors determines CSL fees. In the interest of settling all operating costs well before league play begins, teams shall pay all fees no later than thirty days before the first scheduled game of a new season. CSL reserves the right to refuse to register any team that has not paid all applicable fees when due.

Sections 4:  Refund Policy

The team registration fee includes a minimum non-refundable deposit of twenty percent (20%) to be retained by CSL if a team choosed not to participate in a season after paying the registration fee. A ten percent (10%) late penalty shall be applied to all fees that are received less than thirty days prior to the beginning of a season. CSL is not reponsible for any player fee refunds.

ARTICLE IX

Fiscal Year

Section 1:  Fiscal Year

The CSL fiscal year shall begin on the first (1st) day of February of a calender year and shall continue through the thirty-first (31st) day of January of the following calender year.

ARTICLE X

Meetings

Section 1:  Regualr Mettings

Meetings of the CSL voting members shall be called by the President on a monthly basis and/or as deemed necessary. All directors, officers and committee chairmen shall attend, and interested team managers and all prospective or active members shall be invited.

Section 2:  Semi-Annual Meetings

Semi-annual meetings of CSL shall be called by the President in January/February and June/July. These meetings shall be advertised thirty days in advance. All directors, officers and team managers shall attend and all active members shall be invited.

Section 3:  Elections

Officers shall be elected at the semi-annual meetings each year:

          ~ January/February -- Vice President (two) and Treasurer

          ~ June/July -- President, Secretary and Registrar

Each officer shall be elected annually by the active members present and may serve consecutive terms.

ARTICLE XI

Committees

Sections 1:  Membership Requirements

All committee chairpersons shall be active members of CSL. Committee members may be active or inactive members of CSL.

Section 2:  Competition Committee

The Competition Committee shall see to the preparation of CSL match schedules, maintain league standings and statistics and recomment action to the Executive Board of Directors on all competition related issues. The committee shall be responsible for the coordination of referees for all CSL matches. The committee shall also see to the maintenance of all fields used in CSL competition (field scheduling, grass cutting, field marking, etc.) as well as all equipment used in CSL competition (balls, corner flags, goals, etc.)

Section 3: Rules and Discipline Committee

The Rules and Discipline Committee shall recomment a CSL Code of Conduct to the Executive Board of Directors. The committee shall also be responsible for the review of and recommendation to the EBOD as to the suitability of prospective team managers.

Section 4:  By-Laws Committee

The By-Laws Commitee shall, at least annually, review the By-Laws and recommend revisions to the Executive Board of Directors. These recommended revisions shall be subject to approval of the EBOD and the voting members by at least a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting members present. Any meeting concerning proposed revisions to the By-Laws shall be advertised not less than two weeks in advance. Each voting member shall be provided with a copy of the proposed revised By-Laws for review.

Section 5:  Ad Hoc committees

The President, at his discretion, may appoint additional premanent, standing and/or temporary commitees and their chairmen.