CONSTITUTION OF THE

SOUTHERN CHESS LEAGUE

 

 

ARTICLE I.  NAME

 

The name of this organization shall be the Southern Chess League.

 

ARTICLE II.    PURPOSES

 

The purposes of the League shall be:

 

A.        To encourage the learning and enjoyment of chess within the schools

                        of our region.

 

B.         To provide an organized format for competition between interested

                        high school age chess teams in our region.

           

ARTICLE III.  MEMBERSHIP AND AFFILIATION

 

Membership in the Southern Chess League shall be granted to teams based on a majority vote of all current league advisors.  If a team leaves the league and is not participating at the end of a season, or if it skips a season, it must be re-admitted before being permitted to compete.

 

The Southern Chess League is affiliated with the Oregon High School Chess Team Association.  All schools who are members of the league must also be members of the Association.

 

The Constitution of the Oregon High School Chess Team Association can be consulted for guidance at times when this present Constitution is silent or unclear.

 

ARTICLE IV.  DUES

 

The League may assess dues to each participating team.  Advisors will determine the dues each year at a general meeting of advisors.  Money collected by dues shall be for the purposes of purchasing trophies and/or other awards to be distributed as the advisors may choose, or to support other activities of the league.   All dues must be paid by the end of the third round of play.  Teams that do not pay their dues by that time are subject to penalty including forfeit of scheduled matches until the dues are paid in full.

 

 

ARTICLE V.   MEETINGS

 

Advisors shall meet at least once annually, either in person or via e-mail, to discuss the continuation of the league, to agree to the league schedule and related details, to assess league fees and, if desired, to consider amendments to this Constitution.  At the advisors’ meeting each year, the schedule for competition shall be set.  However, the schedule shall be subject to adjustment during the season as the advisors see fit.  Regardless of adjustments, the league schedule must end at least a week before the State Tournament

begins so that participating teams can be seeded correctly into the State Tournament.

 

Special meetings may be held from time to time as the League Director or a majority of coaches deems necessary, including for the purpose of making decisions involving discipline for individual players and/or teams.  Discipline may involve anything from adjustment of clocks (loss of time) in a single game to forfeiture of games, to expulsion from the session or the league, as a 2/3 majority of the total number of advisors may determine.

 

ARTICLE VI.  OFFICER

 

The only officer shall be the League Director, who assumes responsibility for collecting dues, accounting for league expenditures, maintaining standings, reporting news to the advisors, and serving as liaison with the State Executive Secretary.  The League Director shall have the prerogative to delegate these duties as s/he sees necessary. 

 

The League Director shall serve a term of two years, and shall be eligible for re-election.  Elections shall be held at the coaches’ meeting in even-numbered years, and the new League Director shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the office one week after election.

 

The League Director may be re-called by a 2/3 vote of the members at any time, provided s/he has the opportunity to hear the concerns of the members and to respond to them on a timely basis.

 

ARTICLE VII.  ELIGIBILITY

 

Each player at the varsity level must be at least in 9th grade, and must attend the school s/he represents, or be home schooled within the school’s attendance area (in grade 9-12), or attend an alternative school in the same district as the school s/he represents.  Junior varsity players may be in grades 6-12 and must otherwise meet the same eligibility requirements as varsity players.  No player shall be eligible for more than 4 seasons of varsity competition. 

 

ARTICLE VIII.            COMPETITION

 

Section 1.         The Official International Rules of Chess (USCF version) shall be followed at all times unless otherwise stipulated.  The advisors present shall be the final arbiters on all matters of interpretation of these rules.  If after consulting the Official Rules, the advisors disagree as to the interpretation, the advisor of the home team shall prevail at the time, but the final decision shall be made by a third party upon the agreement of both advisors.  If a neutral third party is available at the time of the dispute, s/he may be consulted by the two advisors.  Chess clocks are stopped during this type of discussion.

 

Section 2.         Matches shall take place at times and places based on a schedule agreed to by advisors.  If matches need to be rescheduled or moved, the advisors whose teams are involved may determine the best time to reschedule the match(es), as long as no other provisions of this Constitution are violated.  The League Director has the right to declare

matches forfeit if teams do not appear and do not give adequate notice or reason on a timely basis, or if teams do not make up missed matches in a timely manner.

 

Section 3.         A team shall consist of five players, with the best player, based on the assessment of the team’s advisor, rated as board one, with the next best as board two, and so on.  The intentional mislabeling of players is a violation of the spirit of fair competition and, if detected, could subject an advisor, a team, or some of its members to sanctions by the League Director, including forfeiture of completed or scheduled matches.  Teams may compete with fewer than five members, but must fill boards one, two, and three first, forfeiting any unoccupied boards.  Boards uncontested by both teams

shall not earn points for either team.  If a player is expected to appear but does not appear in time to start the match, or as arranged between the player’s advisor and the League Director, the other boards must move up to fill his position and he cannot participate in that match.

 

Section 4.         The recording of moves by both players is mandatory unless both advisors agree.  If a player’s clock shows him/her to have five minutes or less remaining, both the player and his/her opponent may suspend taking notation, or may have teammates assist them.  Players who, for reason of disability, are unable to take notation, have the following options:

 

            a.         A proxy may take notation

            b.         They may begin the game with a five minute penalty and not 

                        take notation.

 

Section 5.         Chess clocks must be used on all games unless impossible due to the scarcity of available clocks, or unless both advisors agree.

 

Section 6.         Time controls for matches will be established at the annual meeting of advisors, but no legal matches shall include time controls less than game/60.

 

Section 7.         In matches, the team designated the “visiting” team, that is, the team listed first in the pairing, shall play the white pieces on boards 1, 3, and 5, and shall play the black pieces on boards 2 and 4.  The actual sets used should be of the Staunton design and the king should be at least three but not more than five inches tall.  The board should be appropriately sized in proportion to the pieces.  Sets with faces or made in the style of various characters are not to be used in matches. In the event of a dispute about the equipment used, the visiting team gets the choice, as long as the equipment meets the requirements of this section.

 

Section 8.         Each team should have a designated captain.  This person has the following rights and responsibilities:

 

 •           If players have a need, they may ask the captain.  All  such  communication shall be in the hearing of the opposing captain or advisor, so as to make certain that no inappropriate communication is taking place.

 

•           The captain may, based on the team’s score, advise teammates to ask for a draw, decline a draw, or to resign the game, but players do not have to comply with the captain’s advice.     

 

•           Neither the advisor, the captain nor any other player may advise another player as to the position on the board, the time on the clock, or any other aspect of the game.  Violations, depending on severity, can result in various sanctions, up to and including forfeiture of the game.  “Advice” can be interpreted to include gestures, facial expressions, etc.  Players and advisors are strongly cautioned to avoid communication of any kind with other players unless there is a significant reason and unless the opponent’s captain or advisor is also present.

 

Section 9.         ELECTRONIC DEVICES POLICY

 

            a.         As a general matter of policy, NO electronic devices are to be used at Southern League Chess matches.  All cell phones, handhelds, CD players,  MP-3 players, and the like are to be turned off.  Players may not record their moves onto a handheld device until the game is over.

            b.          If a player’s cell phone rings during competition, that player’s advisor/coach will assume custody of the phone until the player is finished with the match, and the League Director will note the violation.

            c.         If, during the remainder of the season, there is a second violation by the same player, the player will forfeit the game s/he is playing when the violation occurs.

            d.         If, during the remainder of the season, there is a third violation, the player will forfeit the game being played when the violation occurs, and will be suspended from league competition for the remainder of the season.

            e.         If a player is discovered to be giving or receiving advice regarding a game,  involving the use of a cell phone, pocket computer or other electronic device, the player will forfeit the game played on the date the violation occurs, and that player and any other player(s) involved will be suspended from league competition for the remainder of the season.

EXCEPTION:  If, before the match begins, a player expresses to his/her advisor and captain, and to the coach and captain of the opposing team, and to the official in charge of the match, that there is a reason s/he believes it is necessary to have a cell phone turned on to "vibrate," and the player is willing to leave the phone in his/her advisor’s possession in anticipation of the call, and if all agree that this is appropriate given the circumstances, the player will be permitted to receive a call during the match without penalty, except that to take the call, the player must leave the playing area, accompanied by the official in charge of the match (to be certain the call has nothing to do with the game) and the player’s clock will continue to run while s/he is dealing with the call.  This exception should be employed in only the most serious of circumstances.

 

Section 10.       A team shall not be eligible to compete if the advisor or other responsible adult overseeing the team is not present or immediately available.  Advisors may not “drop off “ players at match sites and expect other advisors to supervise them.  Parents who are serving as advisors have the responsibility to identify themselves to the other advisor(s) present.

 

Section 11.       In the event of a tie to determine a final placing in the league standings, with two or more teams having identical records, the following shall be the procedure:

 

a.         If there are only two tied teams, and one team defeated the other in head to head competition, that team is the higher finisher.  If the tie still remains, and if the two teams played each other more than once during the league season, the total scores the teams achieved against one another will be added together.  The team with the higher score will be the higher finisher. If the two teams’ scores against one another are identical, the number of boards won against all league competitors throughout the season will determine the higher finisher.

 

b.         If there are three or more tied teams, and each defeated one of the others, the total scores of the tied teams in all league matches will be compiled, and the team with the highest total score (most games won or drawn) will

            be the highest finisher, the second highest will be the second finisher, and so on until all ties are broken. 

 

c.         If after the entire procedure is completed, a tie still exists, a coin flip shall determine the higher finisher.

 

ARTICLE IX     RATED PLAY

 

            All Southern League matches will be rated by the Northwest Scholastic Rating Service.  The League Director, or his or her designee, will compile all results and report them after every three to four rounds, as the league’s schedule dictates.

 

ARTICLE X     INCLEMENT WEATHER

 

            Because of the wide area served by our league, it is possible that inclement weather could adversely affect one or more member schools in the league without having impact on others.  In the event that, in the judgment of either the traveling team’s or the hosting team’s advisor, the trip to play a scheduled match would not be safe for the traveling team, or if by school policy, a school is closed and/or its extra-curricular events are cancelled, the advisors need to communicate and postpone and re-schedule their match.

 

Advisors agree to communicate via any appropriate means in order to keep each other, and the League Director,  informed as to whether the match will be held as scheduled or postponed and re-scheduled. 

 

No matches may be held one week or less before the State Tournament unless that match is necessary to determine the league’s champion.

 

ARTICLE XI   AWARDS

 

 At the annual advisors’ meeting, the advisors shall determine the awards to be given that year.  The League Director may make discretionary decisions about additional awards that support the purposes of the organization, provided that the expenditure of league funds is judicious and appropriate.

 

ARTICLE XII  AMENDMENTS

 

This constitution can be amended at any annual meeting of advisors, or special meeting called by the League Director, or by mail or e-mail ballot, providing all members have the opportunity to vote, and the vote is a two-thirds majority of those attending or responding.