MICHIGAN METRO GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY LEAGUE ARTICLE I NAME CONSTITUTION The name of this association shall be the Michigan Metro Girls High School Hockey League. ARTICLE II PURPOSE The purpose of this league shall be to promote and encourage high school participation in hockey and to govern the rules of the members participation. ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP Section 1. Any secondary school sponsoring hockey may become a member of this league by meeting the following criteria: a. Prospective new teams must notify the League President of their intentions to join by March 1 or by the date of the post-season League meeting, whichever is later. Team must also submit a new team application to the secretary of the league before April 15 of the year the school hopes to begin play of a league schedule. b. Observing all rules and be in good standing with respect to the regulation of the Michigan High School Athletic Association. c. Accepting the Constitution and by-laws of this league. d. Paying a yearly membership fee e. Cooperative teams need to have league approval (majority vote of all league members) prior to renewing their cooperative agreement, reviewed every 2 years. See the Cooperative Team Guidelines document. f. It is recommended that two (2) home dates per week be available for scheduling purposes. g. It is the league s discretion as to how many teams will be added in any one year. ARTICLE IV WITHDRAWALS Section 1. A member school may withdraw its membership in this league by filing a written request for withdrawal with the secretary. Upon receipt of such request, the member schools shall immediately be notified and action shall be taken at the next regular meeting of this league. Section 2. Withdrawal from membership in this league shall be effective upon completion of the current league schedule. ARTICLE V. ORGANIZATION
Section 1. Each member school shall have one vote to be cast by the high school principal or their designated representative. (Usually the A.D.) Section 2. The Executive Committee shall consist of the league officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Independent Board Appointee. Full and final control over all activities of this league will rest in its members. Decisions will be made by a majority vote of member schools. The President should report these decisions to the total Board as soon as possible. The Executive Committee has the power to decide League issues that arise between scheduled League Meetings. Section 3. The President shall contact the membership at least one week prior to any regular league meeting to set up an official agenda. This agenda shall be final unless a unanimous vote of the member schools request action on a topic. ARTICLE VI MEETINGS Section 1. Regular meetings will be held in the preseason, postseason spring rules, and spring scheduling. Section 2. At any regular meeting, the member schools present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Motions will be approved by a majority vote. Section 3. Special meetings may be called at the request of the Executive Committee. ARTICLE VII OFFICERS Section 1. There shall be elected from the member schools a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Independent Board appointee. All positions have a 2 year term. Section 2. Nominations shall arise from an ad hoc committee of member schools. Nominations are also open from the floor. Section 3. Elections and changeovers will take place at the conclusion of the Spring Scheduling meeting. Section 4. The vice-president shall become the next year s President, while the Secretary, Treasurer, and Independent Board Appointee may have successive terms, unless special circumstances determine otherwise. Section 5. An Independent Board Appointee would be elected to serve as an unbiased member of the Executive Committee. This member does has no vote in full league membership proceedings, but instead serves in advisory role. ARTICLE VIII DUTIES OF OFFICIERS
Section 1. The President shall call meetings by notifying each member school. Section 2. The Vice-president shall act in the absence of the President as prescribed in the duties of that office and will be the next President. Section 3. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings, carry on league correspondence, provide current league statistics and standings to the media, and provide current league history to the permanent league files. Section 4. The Treasurer shall keep track of league fees and any other income due the league. The Treasurer will purchase all trophies and awards to be given by the league and take care of other league expenses. Once a year, the Treasurer will make a complete report of the league s financial status. Section 5. The Independent Board Appointee will serve to break ties among the Executive Committee. ARTICLE IX AMENDMENTS This constitution may be amended by a ¾ vote of the member schools provided that notice has been given one (1) weeks before a regular meeting. ARTICLE X AWARDS Section 1. Preceding the week in which the state playoffs begin, each coach is to nominate, in writing or by phone, those individuals from his/her team that he/she feels deserves the honor of All State. Nominations are made by name, jersey number, class and position. No team may nominate more than five individuals. These nominations will be sent to the league President. Two teams will be selected. Voting will take place prior to the State finals. Coaches cannot vote for members of their own team. Selection will consist of one goalie, two defensemen and three forwards for both first and second team All State. Coaches will vote for a first team and a second team. A first team selection will count as two (2) votes and a second team selection will count at one (1) vote. Players will be ranked by position from top to bottom and the total numerical score for each player will determine their final order of finish. The top three will be first team All State and the next three will be second team All State. One coach should be selected as coach of the year. An appropriate All State certificate shall be awarded each year to each member of the All State team. Section 2. Players that receive at least 1 point during the All State voting will receive All-State honorable mention. Section 3. The coaches will select a player to receive the Miss Hockey Award. The criteria for consideration for this award are: a. Minimum Three years in M.M.G.H.S.H.L.
b. Player must make 1st. or 2 nd Team All State - Div. I or II, if applicable c. Minimum 3.0 G.P.A. d. Player extra curricular activities. ARTICLE XI DISCIPINE Section 1. Each coach is responsible for the conduct of their players both ON and OFF the ice. Section 2. A player receiving her fifth (5) minor penalty in a single game shall be removed from the rest of the game. A game misconduct is assessed to any player who incurs five penalties of any type. Section 3. The Executive Committee is empowered to hand down penalties to league member teams to failure to comply with league rules. The MHSAA Section 4, Violations and Penalties will be the guide. ARTICLE XII EMERGENCY SITUATIONS If a visiting teams experience transportation difficulties which prevent it from playing the game, they shall be responsible for the ice costs and negotiate settlement with the referees. The game will be replayed at a later date. ARTICLE XIII ELIGIBILITY All schools will follow regular procedures for player eligibility by Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) rules. ARTICLE XIV RULES Section 1. The league will follow all playing rules as defined by the MHSAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) ice hockey rules book, using no body-checking rules specific for girls hockey. Section 2. Referees registered to officiate NFHS ice hockey games using the twoofficial system should be scheduled to work all league games. The visiting team shall be notified when non-nfhs registered referees are used. Section 3. Games will consist of three 15 minute stop time periods. Pre-game warm-ups will be 8 minutes or less. The home team has the discretion of resurfacing the ice before or after the warm-up. The ice will be resurfaced between the second and third periods. Games that are tied at the end of the third period will result in an 8 minute sudden victory overtime period, or whatever time allows. A two hour block of time must be available unless otherwise agreed to prior to playing.
Section 4. The home team must provide a certified athletic trainer or doctor at all games. ARTICLE XV INSURANCE Section 1. Each school must make certain it has on file records to show the players are covered by some form of health insurance, or at least clearance from the parents. ARTICLE XVI NON LEAGUE GAMES Section 1. In any non-league game where at least one of our league members is a party, all penalties and rules will apply as in league games. Score sheets will be sent to the League President. Section 2.Non-Varisty games. League schools may also have non-varsity teams for the purpose of player development. The below are the guidelines for non-varsity team play: A) All players from a member school should be listed on the varsity roster or on a separate non-varsity roster. B) All players are subject to the rules of eligibility C) Any existing varsity team may also schedule competition between non-varsity teams. In such a competition, the game will count as a non-league game for the varsity team. D) Varsity players are eligible to play in non-varsity games, provided that players also abide by MHSAA game limits. At any time, the Executive Committee may request game count records for all players E) Coaches should tailor their roster such that games are meaningful and competitive. Large score differentials do not aid in the development for either team. F) Games between varsity team of either division and any B level team, as long as coaches abide by item E above. ARTICLE XVII PASSES Section 1. Faculty members from schools participating in a league game will be admitted to that game upon presentation of their proper school ID. Section 2. Cheerleaders IN UNIFORM and their school faculty representatives will be admitted to games in which their respective school team is participating. Bands, when having notified the host school 5 days prior to game, will be admitted to regular season games in which their school s team is involved. A faculty sponsor must accompany the group. ARTICLE XVIII PROTESTS
Section 1. Protests should be submitted to the Executive Committee for a decision. Section 2. The president will select three members least involved in a protest for their decision. Section 3. All protests, except eligibility, must be noted with the referee and recorded on the score sheet at the end of the game. A written report is to be submitted to the Executive Committee within forty-eight hours of the game. A check or money order for $25 is to accompany the report to the league president or board member. If the protest is upheld, the $25 will be will be returned. If not, the $25 will be retained by the league. The Board s ruling will be final. Eligibility protests may be acted on at any time during the season. ARTICLE XIX SCHEDULE Section 1. The scheduling of regular season games will generally take place in the spring of the year, preferably before May 15. All league scheduling will commence at the spring meeting. Section 2. League game scheduling takes precedence over non-league games, and should be completed prior to other scheduling. Section 3. Any schedule changes should be drawn to the attention of the league secretary before the rescheduled game is played. ARTICLE XX STANDINGS Section 1. Two points are awarded for a win; one point will be awarded for a tie; one point will be awarded for an overtime loss. Section 2. In case of ties in the standings, the higher position in the standings will be determined by: a. head to head record (points) between tied teams. b. Most regular season league victories. c. Differential Subtracting goals scored against from goals scored in League games, the positions being determined in order of the greatest surplus. d. Quotient dividing the goals scored in these games by the goals scored against, the positions being determined in order of the greatest quotient. A quotient involving dividing by zero (0) has higher standing than a quotient from dividing by any number other than zero. Where two or more teams have no goals against and the quotient tiebreaker is required, the teams shall be ranked high to low in descending order of goals for.
e. If 3 or more teams are tied, the tiebreaker protocol will be followed until one team is awarded the tiebreaker. The remaining 2 or more teams will break the tie by reverting to beginning of the tiebreaker protocol. Section 3. Regular season championships will be decided on a basis of total points. In cases of ties, these teams will be declared co-champions. ARTICLE XXI STATISTICS Section 1. Every school will send a complete roster of players and schedule of games prior to the first game. This should be sent to the League Statistician. Section 2. Every school must have a scorekeeper at every game. Section 3. Up to two (2) assists may be awarded for a goal scored. Section 4. Each home team must send a complete and accurate score sheet to the President and League Statistician within forty-eight hours of EVERY LEAGUE game. Both the home and visiting team need to upload the scores to the League website. There is a mechanism in the website that resolves discrepancies. The League Secretary will finalize. Teams must clearly indicate the goalie of record and cross off players who did not play in the game. Section 5. Referee ratings should be completed by each coach for each game on the forms provided by the league. In the absence of a form, the back score sheet will be acceptable. In the event of great dissatisfaction regarding the performance of a referee, a detailed explanation should be written if a particular school would prefer that a certain referee not be used in the future games involving that school or perhaps in the entire league. ARTICLE XXII STRUCTURE Section 1. The Michigan Metro Girls High School Hockey League will remain under one Executive Committee despite future growth of the league. This will enable continuity of rules and policies established over many years for high school hockey in Michigan. These rules and policies represent many years and hours of work, and it would seem to present more problems and complications and moving along separate directions in policy, and rules. This also enables us to control violations of MHSAA rules which new schools may be guilty of. Section 1. Any proposal which affect the basis structure of the league must be accepted at the spring meeting prior to the next season by majority vote. Section 2. Any changes to the playoff structure must also be accepted at the spring meeting by majority vote. In the event that the playoff structure has not been
finalized, the Executive Committee has the full authority to design and implement the playoffs. Document History March 2014 Article 3 New Cooperative team guidelines adopted Article 7 Officers of the Executive Committee adjusted to 5 with split roles for Treasurer and Secretary, plus a new Independent Board Appointee. Article 10 Voting procedure for League Awards adopted; criteria for Miss Hockey formalized. April 2014 Article 3 Section 1a. Changes to new team application process Article 3 Section 1d. League fee amount removed Article 7 Section 1. 2-year term limit Article 7 Section 4. Successive terms for board positions outlined Article 14 Section 3. Warmup limited to 8 minutes Article 14 Section 4. Home team required to supply athletic trainer at all games Article 15 Section 2. Moved to Article 14, section 4 and modified Article 16 Section 2. B league rules Article 20 Section 2. Tie breaker rules modified to be consistent with USA Hockey 2013-14 Rules and Regulations Article 27 Expansion structure simplified May 2016 Article 6 Section 1. Spring rules meeting added Article 7 Section 5. Clarity on role of independent board member added Article 10 Section 2. All-League eliminated Article 11 Section 3. Executive Committee empowered to enforce rules Article 16 Section 2. Clarity added player involvement in non-varsity games Article 20 Section 2. Clarity added to tie breaker protocol Article 22 Section 1. League and playoff structure decided at spring meeting