Constitution of the NORTHERN TIER LEAGUE

Updated November 17, 2014

ARTICLE I: Name

The name of this organization shall be the Northern Tier League (NTL).

ARTICLE II: Purpose

The purpose of this association shall be to develop, strengthen, and promote good athletic relations between schools; to establish sports schedules, and act as a governing body in matters pertaining to the association in the best interests of pupils, teachers, and the public.

ARTICLE III: Members

Section 1
NTL Participants:

Members

• Athens
• Canton
• Cowanesque Valley
• North Penn-Liberty
• North Penn-Mansfield
• Northeast Bradford
• Sayre
• Towanda
• Troy
• Wellsboro
• Williamson
• Wyalusing

Non-Members

• Bucktail (football)
• Columbia Montour Vo-Tech (football)
• Galeton (boys soccer)
• Montgomery (football)
  
• Muncy (football)
• Northwest Area (football)
• South Williamsport (football)
• Sullivan County (cross country)
  

Section 2

Other schools may be added to the association as they apply and are accepted by the association.

Section 3

Other schools are voted into the association by a positive vote of three-fourths of all member schools.

Section 4

A school may request to be admitted to an individual sport by a positive vote of three-fourths of all member schools.

Section 5

If a school participates in more than one sport within the league, they must become a league member and be scheduled within the league if they have the sport.

ARTICLE IV: Dues

Section 1

An individual school's dues shall be $300 per year.

Section 2

Unforeseen costs will be borne by assessment of equal shares to all schools.

Section 3

Dues must be paid by October 1 of each year for a school to avoid being in violation of this constitution.

Section 4

A non-member school that participates in one sport will pay $200 per school year.

ARTICLE V: Officers

Section 1

The officers of this association shall consist of a President, Vice-President, and Executive Secretary. No first year league principal shall be president of the League. He/She will miss their turn until it comes up again.

Section 2

The term of office of the president and vice president shall be one year from the second Tuesday of November until the same day the following year.

Section 3

The term of office of the Executive Secretary shall be for three years.

Section 4

The office of President shall be from one section and the Vice-President from the other section. New schools shall not hold office in their first year in the association. The order of succession to the presidency and vice presidency shall be as follows:

Section 5

The vice president shall progress to the presidency.

ARTICLE VI: Committees

Committees shall be appointed by the President as needed.

ARTICLE VI: Quorum

A quorum for the purpose of conducting business of this association shall be a simple majority of the member schools.

ARTICLE VIII: Amendments

Section 1

Amendments to this constitution and by-laws shall be proposed and discussed in an open meeting.

Section 2

A positive vote of three-fourths of all member schools is needed for ratification of any proposed amendment or change to the Constitution and By-Laws.

ARTICLE IX: Scheduling

Section 1

Scheduling will be the responsibility of the Athletic Directors, excluding any Athletic Directors with a conflict of interest.

By-laws of the NORTHERN TIER LEAGUE

I. The duties of the officers shall be:

A. President

1. Preside at the meetings on the third Monday of November and the third Monday in March. Call special meetings if necessary.
2. Serve as an ex-officio member of all committees.
3. Authenticate, by his/her signature when necessary, all the acts, orders, and proceedings of the League.
4. Appoint committees as needed.

B. Vice-President

1. Assist and represent the president as the need arises.
2. Coordinate the activities of all committees.

C. Executive Secretary

1. Keep the records of the association and minutes of all meetings.
2. Be responsible for the collection, safekeeping, and expenditure of all funds of the association and for keeping accurate financial records.
3. Conduct the correspondence of the association.
4. Notify committees of their responsibilities.
5. Act for the association in matters of mutual concern between meetings.
6. Shall be compensated at a rate to be determined upon the election to office for a three-year term. The rate of compensation may be increased or decreased during such term of office upon majority vote of the League members present at a regular meeting of the League.

D. Executive Committee

1. Consists of president, vice-president, incoming vice-president, two immediate past presidents, and the executive secretary.

II. Admissions

A. Passes

Each school shall be awarded 20 adult passes, 9 school board passes, and 1 Superintendent pass. Each pass will admit one person to all league activities including NTL championship play. It is mandatory that each school post a sign at their school stating what passes will be honored.

B. Life-Time Passes

The league may award life-time passes to all league events, including NTL championship play, to those persons who have contributed greatly to the athletic program of each member school. A simple majority vote of league members shall approve these passes.

III. Withdrawal, Expulsion, and Forfeiture of Championships

A. Withdrawal:

Withdrawal from the League shall be voted upon after receipt of written notification by the League president or secretary. The League may require completion of all League commitments before action on withdrawal.

B. Expulsion

A school may be expelled from the League for unsportsmanlike conduct by students, adults, or coaches, before, during, or after any athletic contest.

C. Forfeiture of Championships

Any school willfully violating this constitution and by-laws, after written notification from the League, shall be declared ineligible for League championship in that sport. The second place team shall be declared champion and represent the League in any playoff.

IV. League Rules for All Sports

A. The NTL will use the following protocol to determine the structure of specific divisions:

1. For all sports where there are 11 or more teams involved, the NTL will create two divisions, Large School and Small School. These divisions will be established every two years based off of the PIAA reported enrollment numbers for each school.
2. For all sports where there are 10 or fewer teams involved, the NTL will create one division.

B. NTL League Championships will be decided by a team’s overall NTL record, in accordance with the approved final NTL league schedule for each sport. The first tiebreaker will be head-to-head, the second will be divisional records (for those sports that have multiple divisions), and the third is an overall games winning percentage. If a tie still exists, the league shall recognize the involved teams as co-champions.

C. Any sport contract cancelled by weather must be played on the first mutually agreed available play date. If the schools cannot agree, the league president will decide.

D. President and Vice-President are in charge of any playoff games in their section.

E. The NTL Code of Conduct must be read prior to games by all schools when feasible.

F. The NTL will follow the District IV playoff payment for all sports with a 40% payment for the NTL and a 60% split between the participating schools. No mileage will be paid.

G. Schools reserve the right to charge admission at any athletic event.

H. Junior varsity players may be 9th, 10th, or 11th graders. Seniors may play JV only if both schools mutually agree.

V. League Rules for Individual Sports

A. Football

1. Please refer to Section IV (A) for divisional procedures.
2. NTL championships will be determined by a team's divisional record. If a tie exists in a division, the league shall recognize the involved teams as co-champions.
3. Junior varsity games shall be played on the following Monday after the varsity game unless mutually agreed upon by the participating schools.
4. Junior varsity players may be 9th, 10th, or 11th graders. Seniors may play JV only if both schools mutually agree.
5. Quarters for junior varsity games shall be 10 minutes in duration. Quarters may be shortened if mutually agreed upon by both coaches.

B. Soccer (Boys and Girls)

1. Please refer to Section IV (A) and (B) for divisional and championship procedures.
2. Schools without lights will start varsity games at 4:00 p.m. and the JV game will follow. Schools with lights designate starting times and order of game. Saturday games the home team will designate starting times and order of game.

C. Cross Country (Boys and Girls)

1. Please refer to Section IV (A) and (B) for divisional and championship procedures.

D. Basketball (Boys and Girls)

1. Please refer to Section IV (A) and (B) for divisional and championship procedures.
2. The length of junior varsity quarters shall be seven (7) minutes.

E. Track (Boys and Girls)

1. There will be one division in the NTL for Track and Field. The end of the year league track meet will determine the NTL Team Track and Field Championship. No school may enter more than three participants in any event in the league meet.
2. A field judge shall be hired to make any necessary decisions for the league track meet.
3. Each school shall furnish two officials for the league meet or pay such fee as may be determined by the host site.
4. At all track meets, the home school must provide one PIAA official who will be designated as official in charge. Students may be used as helpers.
5. The league meet shall rotate in a manner prescribed by the league.
6. Awards shall be given to the first eight (8) places.

F. Baseball and Softball

1. Please refer to Section IV (A) and (B) for divisional and championship procedures.
2. The home team shall have batting and fielding practice completed by one-half hour before game time, allowing the visiting team free use of the field for the last half hour.

G. Wrestling

1. Please refer to Section IV (A) and (B) for divisional and championship procedures.
2. Certified officials shall be used for varsity, junior varsity, and junior high matches and for weigh-ins. Varsity teams' scales may be used for weigh-ins if, upon inspection by the home team, the scales are certified annually.

H. Tennis (Boys and Girls)

1. Please refer to Section IV (A) and (B) for divisional and championship procedures.
2. The rules of tennis as issued by the USTA and approved by the PIAA. will apply unless changed below.
3. All matches shall be seven (7) point matches: five singles and two doubles. A player may play both singles and doubles. Doubles teams do not have to be announced at the beginning of the match.
4. Each individual match shall be the best two of three six game sets - no add scoring. If the score reaches 6-6 in a set, a seven-point tiebreaker will be played to determine the winner of the set. Doubles best of 3, with a seven point tie breaker to determine 3rd set.

I. Volleyball

1. Please refer to Section IV (A) and (B) for divisional and championship procedures.
2. There will be best 2 out of 3 junior varsity games and the best 3 of 5 varsity games.
3. There will be a 10-minute warm-up for each team. The warm up clock will begin 3 minutes after the JV match.

V. Officials

A. Certified officials shall be used for all contests.

B. It is strongly recommended that no parent be used to officiate a game involving his or her child(ren). Furthermore, it is recommended that no teacher, administrator, school board member, or other school official be used to officiate a varsity game in which their employing or represented school district is participating.

C. Attempts must be made to secure adults for official timekeepers and score keepers for varsity events.

D. Official fees shall be determined by a majority vote of the membership.

E. All athletic contests shall be played under rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association and/or National Federation of High School Athletic Association unless specifically provided otherwise under Section IV of these by-laws. Where such rules and regulations make only recommendations, the NTL shall be governed by the rules and regulations of the PIAA as used in District 4 playoff competition.