PROPOSED CHANGES FOR 2007
hello BTSH members!
below are the items that are being proposed to the league captains and will, with the approval of the captains, be discussed and decided upon at the captains meeting which takes place on feb. 3, 2007.
please look over the proposals and let your captain know if you support or oppose any of the items, and let them know your other thoughts and concerns about the league as well.
of course, you’re also welcome to discuss the matters in this forum.
thanks!
[bobw]
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DIVISIONS
we propose that there be two divisions in BTSH. teams would play 12 out of 16 regular season games against teams in their division, and 4 games against teams in the other division.
the divisions would be created by placing teams that finished the 2006 regular season ranked 1-8 in division A and teams that finished 9-16 in division B. we would also consider the preference of the team captains regarding to which division they would like to be placed.
the point of this concept is to create more even competition for all teams, avoid lopsided match ups and provide a better experience for everyone. the concept was discussed at length with various groups and individuals of BTSH over the past few months and has been met with great support of the players.
DIVISIONAL PLAY-OFFS
if we adopt the two division format, we would have a number of play-off format options.
- SEPARATE DIVISIONAL FINALS
8 teams in each division play for divisional rankings, with NO inter-divisional games, NO inter-divisional championship game.
- DIVISIONAL PLAY-OFFS WITH INTER-DIVISIONAL FINAL
a divisional champion is determined through divisional play-offs, and the champion of each division play a league championship game.
- 16 TEAM NON-DIVISIONAL PLAY-OFF
a. A1 vs B8, A2 vs B7, A3 vs B6, etc.
b. A1 vs B1, A2 vs B2, A3 vs B3, etc
- OTHER OPTIONS
there are any number of ways to schedule such play-offs, but those offered above seem to be the most obvious.
TEAM MOVEMENT BETWEEN DIVISIONS
before the start of each season the divisions and teams would be evaulated and the top 2 teams from the B division would have an opportunity to move to the A division, being replaced by the bottom two teams in the A division, which would move to B.
** WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THIS CONCEPT? **
** IF WE WERE TO ADOPT THIS FORMAT, to which division would you prefer to belong? **
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PROPOSED RULE CHANGES AND CLARIFICATIONS
again, schuie is now the ref director/director of officiating and rules. here are some rule changes and clarifications that we would like to propose for ‘07. additionally, we will try to clarify ALL the rules for all the players and we’ll seek to attain greater consistancy with the application and interpretation of the rules.
NO STICK CHECKING WHATSOEVER
the only thing that you can do with your stick is play the ball. there is no upward stick checking/lifting, no downward stick checking/hooking, no “tying up” an opponant’s stick. you can sweep your stick at the ball, but sweeping your stick at an opponant’s stick when the ball was not in play would be interference.
REF ABUSE
refs have the authority to assess a “misconduct penalty” (sitting for a period) or “game misconduct penalty” (ejected from the game) to players who, after being warned, persist in verbally abusing a ref.
[ref abuse/backtalk was a very big concern for refs who were polled about their experience last season. we want to make it perfectly clear to players that they are never to hassle, insult or deride the refs.]
ILLEGAL BODY CONTACT
a player may not physically contact an opponant, whether or not they are the ball carrier, and whether they are moving forward or backward.
[this is just a more simple, clearer definition of illegal body contact, addressing concerns and complaints about players using their bodies too aggressively last season.]
CREASES
[the ENTIRE crease will be painted, and not just the crease line. for the record, the goalie crease consists of the LINE defining the crease, as well as the area inside of the line.]
RULE #15
[rule #15 will be changed to rule #1. if you don't know what rule #15 is... that would be a problem.]
HAND PASSES
a player may stop or bat the ball out of the air and deflect or move it along with the hand to a teammate, so long as the pass is completed within the players’ defensive zone. no player may throw the ball.
[this is the same as last year's rule, just more clear.]
HIGH STICKS
[wind ups and follow throughs for shots may not be above the shooter's knee, and the stick may not be carried, nor a ball be played, with a stick above the waist of the player.]
HIGH SHOTS/PASSING/LOFTING
the ball may not be passed or shot above the height of the goal crossbar, HOWEVER the ref has the discretion to wave off “high ball” on reasonable shots on goal.
IN-BOUNDING
an opponant (including the opponant’s stick) may not be closer than 3 feet to a player in-bounding the ball (stick-length rule). at moffo rink possession shall not be granted for an out of bounds ball, but rather a face off shall be conducted when the ball goes out of bounds. [shots on goal from out of bounds will not be allowed, the same as last season.]
FACE OFFS
face offs shall always be conducted in the same fashion, with the players facing off over the ball which is placed on the ground, and the players touching sticks three times before playing the ball.
at moffo rink, a face off will ensue when the ball goes out of bounds, at the face off spot nearest to where the ball went out of bounds or, if it is directly shot out of bounds, from the face off spot nearest to the place from where it was shot.
GRANTING BALL POSSESSION
when granting possession to a team after their opponant has committed a foul (not out of bounds), the team granted possession shall play the ball at center court (or behind the attacking blueline at moffo rink). they will be allowed to shoot directly on goal in this instance, and players need not be on-sides. opponants and their sticks may be no closer than 3 feet from the player in-bounding.
[it has been standard practice at moffo to allow shots on goal when a team plays a ball when possession is granted. this rule is intended to create a slightly more serious consequence for committing infractions, such as roughing, highsticking, stick checking, etc.]
ROSTERS
there can be no more than 26 players (including a goalie) on a team’s roster.
[this rule will hopefully free up more players for teams that are hurting for players. also, it acts to allow more playing time for players, as this was a complaint from some players who were on teams with bloated rosters and didn't play many shifts in games last season. 26 players means 5 lines of O and D. even if half of the team doesn't show up for a game, a team will have roughly 3 lines of forwards and 2 lines of defense.]
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DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE
we will decide who will be DC director at the captains meeting. bob is willing to continue in that role, and he is also very happy to step aside to let another interested person take on the job. however the managing director of the league will always be a member of the DC as one of the vice directors, if not the director.
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PARTIES
peaches will remain “director of good times” or whatever other designation he wishes to call the post, should he accept the appointment. we will try to have more parties at parkside lounge, including an opening season party on april 14, 2007. we will also plan at least 3 “rink side” parties at corlears with free food and beer.
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ADDING TWO TEAMS
two new teams wish to form in the league. the main consideration for this would be that there would be one more moffo game added each sunday. otherwise, we don’t see much more stress on the league that wouldn’t be compensated for by the contributions of new members.
a key consideration is that if we go with 16 teams, we’re projecting a budget that would make fees $750 per team. if we go with 18 teams, we’re projecting fees at $700 per team (either way, it’s about $30 per player per team, based on a roster of 25).
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
peter putka (of filthy gorgeous) has made an impressive connection with the commissioner of the parks department and set up a meeting with him, bob and william castro, the borough commissioner for manhattan! some of the things that were discussed included:
- re-paving corlears
- opening bathroom at corlears
- providing us with storage space at corlears
- repairing the fencing at corlears
- installing a gate at the corlears south-east entrance
- paving the dirt patch at the north-west corner of corlears
- regular cleaning of corlears
- repairing the boards and repainting the lines at moffo
- building more rinks downtown
while the commissioner didn’t say “yes, we’ll do that right away” to any of the requests, he also didn’t say “no” to any of them. there’s a very good chance that we’ll start to see more support and assistance from parks in the future. they are definitely taking us seriously. days after we met, the commissioner visited both corlears and moffo with his staff to assess the situation and see the condition of the locations for himself.
we all need to thank peter for helping us get connected at such a high level!
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REF REFUND ON REGISTRATION FEES
last season we came up with an idea to reward refs for their work by refunding them their btsh fee on a pro rated basis, based on how many games they reffed in the previous season.
for every game that they worked refs would get a credit of $3 towards their registration for the next season, up to a maximum credit of $40. so if they reffed 100 games, they would NOT get a $300 credit - just $40. and it would not be transferrable. meaning, if they choose not to register the following season, they don’t get the credit.
based on last year’s figures, considering a few ref who have moved away, the program would cost about $1000.
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SCHEDULE
in response to requests from players and captains, we shorted the season and didn’t schedule any games for august. many people felt that more than 20 games was too much.
* FEBRUARY 1 - $100 TEAM REGISTRATION DEPOSIT DUE
* MARCH 18 - SCRIMMAGE AT CORLEARS
* MARCH 25 - SCRIMMAGE AT CORLEARS
* APRIL 1 - SCRIMMAGE AT CORLEARS
* APRIL 13 - DEADLINE FOR FULL PAYMENT OF TEAM REG. FEE
DEADLINE FOR PLAYER REGISTRATION
* 14 APRIL - SEASON OPENING PARTY - PARKSIDE
15 APRIL - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 1
22 APRIL - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 2
29 APRIL - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 3
* 30 APRIL - ROSTERS OPEN TO CHANGES
06 MAY - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 4
* RINKSIDE PARTY
20 MAY - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 5
03 JUNE - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 6
10 JUNE - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 7
17 JUNE - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 8
24 JUNE - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 9
* RINKSIDE PARTY
08 JULY - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 10
16 JULY - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 11
22 JULY - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 12
* 28 JULY - SEASON BREAK PARTY - PARKSIDE
29 JULY - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 13
* 07 SEPT - ROSTERS CLOSED
09 SEPT - M 2:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 14
* 12 SEPT - EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETS TO PLAN SEASON END PARTY
16 SEPT - M 3:30PM-4:30PM / C 3PM-4PM-5PM - GAME 15
23 SEPT - M 2:30PM-3:30PM / C 2PM-3PM-4PM - GAME 16
30 SEPT - M 2:30PM-3:30PM / C 2PM-3PM-4PM - PLAY-OFF
* RINKSIDE “HOCKTOBERFEST PARTY”
14 OCT - M 2PM-4PM / C 2PM-3PM-4PM - PLAY-OFF 2
21 OCT - M 2PM-4PM / C 2PM-3PM-4PM - PLAY-OFF 3
28 OCT - M 12:30pm-2:30pm / C 1PM-2PM-3PM-4PM final - PLAY-OFF 4 (sunset 5:58pm)
* SEASON END PARTY - PARKSIDE
* ROLLING REGISTRATION AFTER WEEK 3 OF GAMES AND UP TO WEEK 13 OF GAMES
- $20 PER NEW PLAYER (plus paypal fee, if paypal used).
- $5 TO TRANSFER BETWEEN TEAMS (plus paypal fee, if paypal used).
* LATE REGISTRATION FEE
- $10 per player registering after april 13, 2007 at 11:59pm.
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2008 SEASON ADVANCE DATES
JANUARY 11, 2008 - DEADLINE TO APPLY TO FORM A NEW TEAM
JANUARY 12, 2008 - BTSH EXEC BOARD MEETS TO FRAME AGENDA FOR CAPTAINS MEETING
JANUARY 16, 2008 - CAPTAINS MEETING AGENDA EMAILED TO CAPTAINS
JANUARY 26, 2008 - BTSH CAPTAINS MEETING
FEBRUARY 1, 2008 - DEADLINE FOR $100 TEAM REGISTRATION DEPOSIT
MARCH 30, 2008 - WEEK 1 OF SCRIMMAGES
APRIL 13, 2008 - WEEK 1 OF GAMES
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[bobw]
