CASC Summer Division Rules - update May 2017
Teams or players wishing to participate in the Circuit Action-Sports Circuit Ball Hockey League shall comply with the following rules: In the event of a discrepancy between the English and French versions of the Rules, the English version takes precedence.
The League
1.1 CASC is a non-profit organization.
1.2 The complete budget is approved by the board. Captains are given a total cost of season fees before the start of the season. However, if requested, a captain could see the breakdown of thedivisional costs. Surpluses shall be returned to the Divisional Team captains, after deduction of any and all fines and penalties.
1.3 Any Divisional Coordinator may request that the CASC Board of Directors take extraordinary disciplinary action against any individual who is deemed responsible for threats, intimidation, coercion, public criticism, violent behaviour, abuse or harassment of any type against any member of CASC and/or player of the League or against any individual who has caused damage to the facilities rented by or the equipment used or owned by the League.
1.4 The League has been established for the enjoyment of its members.
1.5 The League is not responsible for any thefts or for any injuries.
1.6 Divisional Coordinators shall ensure that League statistics are posted on the CASC or CASC-related websites on a weekly basis and that team statistics are posted at mid-season and season's end.
1.7 Women are permitted to play in any division. Men are not permitted to play in the Women's division. Exception: see Rule 6.6.2
1.8 The CASC Board of Directors may modify any rule at their discretion, during the off-season. Once the season has started, these rules can be modified by the CASC Board of Directors, upon the recommendation of the Divisional Coordinator and a majority vote of the Divisional Team captains.
Team Administration and Membership Fees
2.1 Each team must be represented by a captain and an assistant-captain.
2.2 Team captains shall ensure that all their players are aware of the rules and have a copy of the schedule.
2.3 Team captains shall ensure that their Divisional Coordinator receive 50% by Game 2 of the season and the other 50% once 30% of games have been played. The cheques shall be made payable to CASC. The Divisional Coordinator will forward these cheques to the CASC Treasurer within 5 working days of receiving the cheques. The team may be expelled from the League by any Divisional Coordinator, with no reimbursement.
2.4.1 Players shall obtain the approval of the Divisional Coordinator in order to play in that division.
2.4.2 A player shall not play in any of the last 4 (or 20% which ever is less) games of the season for a team, if said player has not played at least once for that team in any of the games prior to the last 4 games. This rule does not apply to goalies who have played at least one game during the season for any team and is superceded by Rule 6.62
2.5 Team captains shall ensure that their players have signed the League's waiver. As well, team captains shall ensure that their players have completed any other administrative requirements deemed necessary by the league.
2.6 All players are jointly and severally financially responsible for any damage caused by their teams.
2.7 Ineligible players shall be ejected from the game, at the minimum. The team using the aforementioned players shall forfeit games in which ineligible players participate. Two points for a win shall be awarded to the opposing team.
2.8 Failure to comply with any rule in this section may result in the expulsion of the player or of the team from the league.
Game Administration
3.1 Team captains shall ensure that their portion of the game sheets are correctly completed and include only the names of players present to play. The game sheets shall be given to the timekeeper/scorekeeper before each game who shall ensure that the remainder of the game sheet is completed.
3.2 Each team shall have team shirts of a similar colour. All players shall have a number on team-shirts that does not conflict with any other number on that team. The referee shall be made aware who is captain and assistant-captain on the team.
3.3 Divisional Coordinator will ensure that each team before the start of the season chooses team colours with the previous season’s Divisional standings dictating the order in which the teams make their choices. Results will be posted on the CASC, or a CASC-related, website, for the duration of the season.
3.4 Only the captain and/or assistant-captain shall speak to a referee. If any other player speaks to the referee, the referee can assess the player in question a minor penalty without any warning. (In a situation where both the captain and assistant-captain are not available, the referee will designate a player to represent the team).
Default
4.1 A Team captain shall notify their Divisional Coordinator when their team cannot play their scheduled game (whatever the reason) 120 hours (i.e. 5 days) before the game is to be played. Otherwise the team captain shall be given a one game suspension and his team may be expelled from the league, without any reimbursement.
4.2 A minimum of 5 players per team shall be required in order to start a game. The game may be forfeited, however, at the discretion of the opposing team’s captain and the Head Referee, if a team does not fulfill the aforementioned requirement 10 minutes after the game is scheduled to start. Two points for a win shall be awarded to the other team, if it meets this minimum requirement. (N.B. If neither team meets the minimum requirement, the game is declared a scoreless tie.).
4.3 Defaulted and forfeited game will not be rescheduled. Cancelled games can be rescheduled.
4.4 No player points will be awarded for any game played and subsequently declared a default game.
4.5 No player will be credited for having played a defaulted game whether played or not, if it is deemed their team initiated, caused or was the reason for the default.
Equipment
5.1 It is strongly recommended that players equip themselves with gloves, shins guards, kneepads, protective eyewear and jock straps. Also recommended are helmets, elbows pads.
5.2 In a situation where a team is forced to play without a goaltender, a player is allowed to play in the goaltender’s crease but cannot freeze the ball. Any player attempting to do so will be assessed a minor penalty for delay of game.
5.3 There are no stick restrictions.
5.4 Teams are financially responsible for borrowed equipment, if the Divisional Coordinator deems the equipment to be damaged.
5.5 There are no kneepad/shinguard restrictions.
Game Rules
6.1 Teams will be ready to play at the start-time scheduled for their game. After a grace period of 5 minutes, every delay of one minute shall result in a minor penalty (also see Rule 4.2).
6.2 Games consist of two 25-minute running-time periods with a two-minute intermission. The games must be played within 60 minutes from their scheduled start-time. The length of the final period can be altered to ensure that this rule is observed. There will be no overtime periods during the regular season however this may be modified for the playoffs, by the respective Divisional Coordinator.
6.3 The Home team will choose the side in which they wish to occupy for the game and may stay on that side for the entire game. Referees may change sides at half time.
6.4.1 Only 6 players (including the goaltender) per team are permitted on the floor during play.
6.4.2 An injured player who is present at his/her team's entire game may, at his/her captain's discretion, have his/her name placed on the gamesheet for playoff qualification purposes
6.5.1 Teams can only have 3 men on the floor at any time, the exception being when the goaltender is pulled at the end of the game in favour of an extra attacker. Teams shall have at least 2 women on the floor at all times. The game shall be forfeited if a team does not fulfill the latter requirement 10 minutes after the game is scheduled to start. Two points for a win shall be awarded to the other team, if it meets this minimum requirement. (N.B. If neither team meets the minimum requirement, the game is declared a scoreless tie).
6.5.2 For the sake of parity, the Divisional Coordinator may initiate a trade after 25% of the games have been played, with or without the approval of the captains. The games already played of any player involved in such a trade, are automatically credited to their playoff qualification of their new team.
6.5.3 A woman serving a penalty is deemed to be “on the floor”. No woman can serve a bench penalty.
6.6.1 Players shall play for only one team per evening per division. This rule does not apply to Goaltenders. Any women player may play more than one game per evening per division.
6.6.2 Members of the Board of Directors and Divisional Coordinators, in accordance with Rule 1.7, may play more than one game per evening per division but only to prevent a game from being defaulted.
6.7 Teams may use the services of other goaltenders within the Division at any time during the season.
6.8 Non-playing guests shall not be permitted on the arena floor. (This includes the players’ and timekeeper’s benches).
6.9 Any player who does not play in the first period cannot play the remainder of the game. Exception: for games starting at 6:30 or earlier, players are permitted to play in the 2nd period.
6.10 Face-offs will be used any time the play has stopped.
6.11 ---
6.12 Stop-time will be used for the last two minutes of play and only if there is a two-goal differential.
6.13.1 One 30-second time-out per team per game will be allowed.
6.13.2 Goaltenders will be allowed 1 goalie time-out per period. Goalie timeout refers to pause in play for equipment repairs, towelling off etc. all other players must remain on the floor and may not go to the bench. For reasons of time shortage the referee may cancel these timeouts giving each captain advance notice before the start of the period.
6.14 A game will be terminated once the goal differential reaches 10.
6.15 The clock will only be stopped for official time outs or at the Referee's discretion.
6.16 Centre and blue line markings are in effect.
6.17 Offside and icing rules are in effect.
Penalties
7.1 Minor penalties are 2 minutes. Major penalties are 4 minutes. Misconducts are 10 minutes. A Gross Misconduct is 10 minutes and a game ejection.
7.2 All penalties, other than minor non-match penalties, shall be served in full and shall be running time. Minor non-match penalties are extinguished once the opposing team scores. 7.3 Initially, a warning shall be issued for verbal abuse of other players. Subsequent verbal abuse shall result in a minor penalty at the minimum.
7.4 Unsportsmanlike conduct, Too-many-men, Delay-of-Game and Interference are minor penalties, at the minimum. Grabbing-the-ball will result in a face-off.
7.5 Hooking, Spearing, Butt-ending, Body-checking, Slashing or Cross-checking are minor penalties at the minimum.
7.6 High-sticking: a minor penalty will result for the following infractions: - Attempting to play the ball between the waist and the shoulder whether there is contact with the ball or not. - Calling for a pass with the stick above the shoulder - Lifting the stick over another player’s head to move/make a deke past the player. Exception: A player running with the blade of the stick above the shoulder will be given a warning by the official. If this gesture persists, then a minor penalty will be assessed.
7.6.1 Slapshots: The blade of the stick may not rise above the shooter's waist when winding up to take a shot and may not go past the level of the shooter's chest on the follow-through. Any infraction of the slapshot rule will result in a loss of posession of the ball. The same infraction applies if faking a slapshot. Slapping or shooting the ball at anytime on purpose at an opposing player or bench is a major penalty.
7.7 Roughing, Tripping and Use-of-Unauthorized Equipment are minor penalties, at the minimum.
7.8 Verbal abuse of an official shall result in a maximum of a gross misconduct.
7.9 Physical contact with the referee shall result in a gross misconduct penalty at the minimum and the player involved may be expelled from the league.
7.10 Anyone interfering with a game official will be assessed a minor penalty at the minimum, up to a game suspension at the maximum.
7.11 Wrestling is a gross misconduct plus a one game suspension.
7.12 Fighting is a major penalty, a game ejection and a four game suspension. Players charged with fighting shall be placed on probation.
7.13 Any player who fights or attempts to fight using anything other than his hands may be expelled from the league.
7.14 Any player who receives 3 minor penalties or 1 major and 1 minor penalties shall be ejected from the game and they shall leave the playing area.
7.15 Line changes during time-outs must be completed quickly otherwise the referee may call a Delay-of-Game penalty.
7.16.1 After 3 games, any player who averages more than 3 penalty minutes per game shall face disciplinary action. Players with over 5 minutes per game shall be suspended for one game and placed on probation. After 6 games, any player who averages over 1.5 minutes per game shall be suspended for one game and placed on probation.
7.16.2 After the initial suspension, a player shall be permitted to return to play as long as their average decreases with each game. If it increases, they shall be suspended for an additional game. The same procedure shall be used for each subsequent suspension. 7.17.1 Any player interfering with the play of the goaltender shall be assessed a minor penalty for interference.
7.17.2 There is absolutely no contact allowed with the goaltender. Moreover, no player is allowed in the crease, during the game.
7.18 Goals scored while an opposing player is standing in the goal crease shall not be allowed.
7.19 Players receiving a major penalty or more (excluding penalties indicated in paragraph 7.4), in the last five minutes of a game, shall be suspended for one game.
7.20 ---
7.21 Any player entering an altercation between two opposing players, shall be ejected from the game and suspended for one game unless they enter the altercation to subdue their team-mate AND they do not escalate the altercation AND they do not interfere with any game officials.
7.22 A player who is ejected from a game, for any reason, must leave the playing surface immediately and may not return. The referee may order the player to leave the building if he feels the player is distracting other players.
7.23 A player spitting on or at any opposing player or league official will receive a gross misconduct and an automatic 5 game suspension. A second offense will result in the expulsion of the offending player and a lifetime ban (not allowed on premises during any league function).
7.24 When a team is assessed a penalty in the last minute of play the opposing team captain has the choice of having the offending player sit the penalty OR have one of his/her players (who was on the floor at the time of the penalty) take a penalty shot.
7.25 Sliding: players are permitted to slide to block shots, however should they trip a player in any way or have the opposing player trip over them, a minor penalty for tripping shall be applied. This rule also applies to goalies diving out to make a save and into a player’s path.
Discipline
8.1 Suspended players shall not be allowed behind the bench.
8.2.1 Each player is responsible for their actions. Each team is responsible for their players. Disciplinary action may be taken against a team or Team captain for the actions of their players.
8.2.2 The Referee(s) or Coordinator may remove any player he suspects is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Repeat offences may invoke disciplinary action against the team involved under Rule 8.2.1.
8.3 Smoking, littering or alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited anywhere in the building. Anyone caught violating this rule shall be suspended. Moreover, their captain may be suspended.
8.4 Teams are responsible for the actions and conduct of their non-playing guests. Any Divisional Coordinator (or, in their absence, the Referee) shall retain the right to take disciplinary action against the team whose non-playing guests do not conduct themselves in an appropriate manner.
8.5 "Disciplinary action" shall mean any action deemed appropriate by the Divisional Coordinator.
8.6 Players on probation may be suspended and/or have their initial disciplinary action doubled.
8.7.1 Divisional Coordinators may suspend any player at any time. The Divisional Coordinators may also modify suspensions.
8.7.2 Divisional Coordinators may request that the CASC Board of Directors expel or ban any player. Banishments or expulsions may only be annulled by the CASC Board of Directors.
8.8 Probations and suspensions may be carried into the playoffs.
8.9 With respect to this section, the referee's decision, during the game, is final. All decisions made by the Referee, however, may be reviewed and modified by the Divisional Coordinator, once the game has ended.
8.10 Board or coordinator delays or errors shall not undo or prevent a suspension. The suspension will take place in the game(s) immediately following the correction or delay. Note: Captains should inform the board or coordinator of any delay or error they notice immediately to minimize any delay in suspensions.
Playoffs and Eligibility
9.1 All teams qualify for the playoffs.
9.2.1 Only players (other than goalies and women) who have played a minimum 60% of the regular season games for the same team are eligible to participate in the playoffs with that team.
9.2.2 Women need only play a minimum 40% of the regular season games for the same team, to be eligible to participate in the playoffs with that team.
9.2.3 Goalies must play in at least 30% of the regular season games with the same team in the division in question to qualify for the playoffs with that team. A team can use the services of another goalie during the playoffs as long as this goalie has played at least 2 games during the regular season with this team.
9.2.4 A player departing a team and the division for legitimate & unplanned reasons (eg, injury, illness, pregnancy; deemed appropriate by the Divisional coordinator), before having qualified for the playoffs, may have half his/her games played transferred to another player of his team of equal talent at the most (as determined by the Divisional Coordinator) for playoff qualifying purposes. The transfer would be final and the player would be replaced for the entire playoffs. The player being credited with the transferred games must fulfill conditions set by rule 9.2.7. The player being replaced is then ineligible to play for the remainder of the season.
9.2.5 Players who become injured, pregnant or have surgery, any of which prevent them from participating in physical activity including in CASC, may be granted an exemption by the Divisional Coordinator for playoff qualifying purposes, as long as they have played 75% of their team's games at the point at which they were required to stop playing. This is subject to requirement of rule 9.2.7.
9.2.6 Exemptions may be made with the majority agreement of the Divisional Coordinator and Divisional Team captains, otherwise exemptions may be made by virtue of Rule 1.8. 9.2.7 To benefits from 9.2.4 or 9.2.5 a player must have played a minimum of 1/2 of the number of games required to be qualified for the play-offs per rules 9.2.1 and 9.2.2 for the same team. This is subject to approval of the Divisional Coordinator.
9.2.8 No team can have more than 10 players in their line-up for a play-off game if they use an exempted player (other than the goalie) by virtue of rule 9.2.4, 9.2.5, 9.2.6.
9.2.9 Number of games defined in rules 9.2.1 to 9.2.7 are to be rounded to the lowest integer.
9.2.10 All exemption requests are to be submitted at or before the teams last regular season game. However extraordinary exemptions may still be made by virtue of Rule 1.8.
9.3 Players shall present their Medicare card, their passport or their Driver's license, upon request of an official of the League or an official of the game.
9.4 Divisional Coordinators with the agreement of the Divisional Team captains shall decide the playoff format of their respective divisions and shall post the format on the CASC, or a CASC-related, web site, until after the playoffs.
9.5 Shoot-outs: There is a 4 player shoot-out with the order being Woman-Man-Woman-Man. Overtime in the playoffs is up to the Division Coordinator, 5 or 10 minute sudden-death depending on time allowing. Must be stated in advance of games or shoot-out is applied.
Tie-breaking Procedures
10.1 If teams are tied in the standings with the same number of points, the following tie-breaking procedure is used:
10.1.1 Most victories,
10.1.2 The team with the best record (most points) in head-to-head competition,
10.1.3 The team with the greatest positive goal differential,
10.1.4 The team with the lowest penalty minutes,
10.1.5 Coin toss by any Divisional Coordinator or in their absence, the Referee.
Appeals
11.1 Only suspensions of more than 2 games are subject to appeal.
11.2 Appeals shall be submitted in writing to the Board of Directors within 3 days of the Divisional Coordinator’s initial decision.
11.3 Rulings on appeals shall be submitted to team captains within 7 days of the appeal. If no ruling is made, status quo is maintained.
11.4 Protests must be submitted in writing to the appropriate Divisional Coordinator.
11.5 Protests with respect to actions and conduct of a Divisional coordinator, on matters other than disciplinary action taken by the Divisional Coordinator in question, shall be submitted in writing to the Board of Directors at cascboard5@gmail.com.
11.6 Responses to protests shall be issued within 14 days of the submission of the protest.
11.7 An appeal or protest of a ruling may be submitted to the board of directors by an official, coordinator, or team representative. Only a captain (or assistant captain in the captain’s absence) may represent a team or player in regards to an appeal or protest. Any appeals on behalf of individuals or teams which are not submitted by the team representative will be considered invalid.
11.8 The CASC Board of Director’s rulings or interpretation of any rule is final.
Guidelines (To be followed if conditions allow)
It is strongly recommended that coordinators not play in the division in which they coordinate. If possible, all referees should be non-players. The deadline for expulsion requests 14 days before the AGM.
