Article I-Background  Article II-Membership Article III-Governing Body and Executive Committee
Article IV-Meetings  Article V-General Rules  Article VI-Code of Conduct Article VII-Definitions  NVIAC Procedure Manual

NORTHERN VIRGINIA INDEPENDENT ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

(Revision 10, July 1, 2010)

 ARTICLE I – BACKGROUND

SECTION 1. NAME - The name of this organization shall be the Northern Virginia Independent Athletic Conference (NVIAC).

SECTION 2.  PURPOSE – To bring glory to God.  The  member schools of the NVIAC, (see NVIAC Procedure Manual), realizing the benefits that occur for our students from uniting in our athletic goals, shall strive to promote and administer athletic competition which will enhance the development of our students and the relationships of the member schools.

SECTION 3.  PRECEDENCE – The NVIAC is governed by the provisions contained in this Constitution, NVIAC Procedure Manual, and NVIAC minutes approved by the Governing Body.  If a conflict arises, the precedence will be the Constitution, Procedure Manual, and NVIAC Minutes, in that order.  

SECTION 4.  HISTORY – See NVIAC Procedure Manual.

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ARTICLE II- MEMBERSHIP

SECTION 1.  Membership. Membership in this conference shall be limited to the members listed in the NVIAC Current Membership Roster, as specified in the NVIAC Procedure Manual and to other independent schools elected according to the method prescribed in the Constitution. Violation of the constitution may be considered grounds for disciplinary measures that could lead to removal from the NVIAC.

SECTION 2.  Membership Representation. A written request from the School’s Athletic Director, Headmaster, or Principal is required for membership in the Conference (See NVIAC Procedure Manual).  One of these representatives must also appear before the Governing Body to present a case for admission into the Conference.

SECTION 3.  Membership Application process. Application for new membership shall be made to the NVIAC President before a scheduled conference meeting (see NVIAC Procedure Manual for an Application for Admission Sample Letter).  A signed application by the Head Master, Principal, or other person in charge of the organization seeking membership is required prior to casting a vote on membership.  The approval of 3/4 of the Governing Body is necessary for election to the Conference.  Voting for conference membership will be done by secret ballot and the result will be given only as numbers. Upon approval, the Secretary shall update the NVIAC Current Membership Roster in the NVIAC Procedure Manual and publish to all members of the Governing Body.

SECTION 4. Provisional Membership. An approved new member school will be on provisional status for one year, to allow both the school and the league to determine if this is a good fit. During this period, the Provisional Member shall:

1. Pay dues as specified
2. Pay Tournament fees as specified
3. Fully accept the Constitution
4. Not have Voting rights for the provisional period
5. Meet the Minimum Play requirements (see the NVIAC Procedure Guide)

If the decision for full-time membership cannot be made, the one year period may be extended by the approval of 3/4 of the Governing body.

SECTION 5.   Annual Dues. Each school shall pay annual dues to aid in conference operating expenses and authorized events.  The amount will be determined at the annual spring conference meeting.

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ARTICLE III – GOVERNING BODY and EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

SECTION 1.  Governing Body.  The  NVIAC Governing Body shall consist of the athletic director from each member school or that school’s designated representative.

            a.  The Governing Body assembles at NVIAC meetings for the purpose of discussing and voting on issues.  A simple majority vote is required to pass issues that do not have policy, constitutional, or team-removal bearing.

            b.  Revision of the constitution requires a 3/4 vote by the Governing Body. 

c.  Removal of a school from the NVIAC requires approval by unanimous vote from the Governing Body, excluding the school in question.

d.  A member of the Governing Body can be a member of the Executive Committee, and usually is.

SECTION 2.  Executive Committee.  The NVIAC Executive Committee includes the President, the Vice President, the Treasurer, the Secretary , and the Statistician.  The Executive Committee will meet as required and/or when the President calls for an Executive Committee meeting.  Only one representative from each school may participate in Executive Committee meetings.  The Executive Committee shall review grievances, formulate courses of action, and review and rewrite the constitution as needed.  Grievances should first be dealt with at the coach/AD level between the affected parties, prior to being brought before the Executive Committee. For Tournament play the Tournament Director shall review any tournament grievance prior to bringing it to the Executive Committee.

Duties of Executive Committee members include:

              a.  The President shall preside at all meetings and shall appoint chairpersons for all conference committees.  The President shall also be responsible for the interpretation of conference rules when questions arise.  The President or the President’s designee shall represent the conference at all public functions and shall be responsible for upholding the purpose and guiding principles of the conference as long as he/she is in office.  The President and Treasurer have the authority to sign NVIAC checks.

              b.  The Vice President shall assist the President and preside as President in the President’s absence.

              c.  The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings and will be responsible for all conference correspondence. 

              d.  The Statistician will document and report weekly to all NVIAC representatives the conference statistics for each girls and boys sport.   

              e.  The Treasurer shall be in charge of all conference finances and shall issue a report of these finances at each meeting.  He/She shall inform member schools of their annual dues by 1 September for payment due 1 October.  The Treasurer shall also be responsible for managing the conference bank account.  The Treasurer and President have the authority to sign NVIAC checks.

SECTION 3.  Vacancies. A vacancy on the Executive Committee shall be filled by the action of the President.  He/She shall  appoint a replacement.  At the next Conference meeting, or at his/her discretion, the President shall conduct a vote to decide on a replacement.

SECTION 4.  Election of Officers. The office of President, Vice President, and Treasurer will be elected annually at the annual spring meeting.  The Secretary and Statistician shall serve two years in office.

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ARTICLE IV - MEETINGS

SECTION 1.  Meetings. There shall be at least two meetings of the conference during the school year.  The first of the meetings shall be held in early fall.  The spring meeting will be held in May or June.  A school whose representative misses two consecutive meetings is subject to disciplinary action that could lead to removal from the league.

SECTION 2.  One vote per member. Each member school shall have one vote by the member school’s representative in the Governing Body.

SECTION 3.  Quorum. Two-thirds of the Governing Body members shall constitute a quorum.  If a school’s representative misses two or more consecutive meetings, that school is excluded from determining a 2/3 quorum for those consecutive meetings missed.  For example, if  School A missed two consecutive meetings, the second meeting would not depend on  School A to establish a quorum.  Therefore, if there are 12 member schools in the league, a 2/3 quorum would be determined based on 11 member schools if School A were the only school to miss consecutive meetings.  Once School A comes to the next meeting, the number of member schools is restored to 12 at that meeting and the 2/3 quorum is determined based on 12 member schools.

SECTION 4.  Majority Vote. Issues other than membership to the NVIAC, removal from the NVIAC, and issues of policy and constitutional bearing, shall be decided by majority vote.

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ARTICLE V – GENERAL  RULES

SECTION 1. Game/Match Rules.  For NVIAC sanctioned sports and individual sports rules, see the NVIAC Procedure Manual.

SECTION 2.  NVIAC's Code of Conduct notification. Prior to the start of each game, coaches of both teams must together inform the referees of the NVIAC’s code of conduct.

SECTION 3. Minimum conference play participation. Every participating school should schedule every other participating school at least once before the start of the season. Every reasonable effort shall be made to play each team in the NVIAC at least twice (Home and Away) during the regular season. All teams must play the other teams in the division at least the minimum number of games, as specified in the NVIAC Procedure Manual.

SECTION 4. Playing Up. Players can play up, but not down.  For example an 8th grader and below can play on the varsity team but a 12th grader can’t play on the middle school team.  All play-up decisions need to be consistent with the safety of the player.

SECTION 5.  Co-ed Teams. Co-ed teams are not allowed to compete on an official basis.

SECTION 6.  Player Eligibility:

a.  A homeschooler is allowed to play for an NVIAC school under the guidelines of this constitution.

b.  Public school students are not allowed to play on NVIAC teams.

c.  Private school students from schools outside the NVIAC that offer the same sport are not allowed to play on NVIAC teams.

d.  An individual who turns 19 years of age prior to 1 August of the upcoming school year is not eligible to play on NVIAC sports teams.  Example:  If an individual turns 19 on 31 July 2002, that individual is not eligible to play for the 2002-2003 school year. A player who turns 15 years of age prior to 1 August of the upcoming school year is not eligible to play on NVIAC middle school teams – they must play on an NVIAC varsity team if they are to play in the NVIAC league.

            e.  A player is eligible as long as the player is not enrolled in college as a freshman, sophomore, etc.  A player who is dual enrolled (homeschools and takes college courses, but is not enrolled as a college freshman, etc.) is permitted to play in the NVIAC.

f.  A player may not change organizations for whom he/she plays during that school year unless the first organization with which the player has been affiliated does not offer the sport in which that player wishes to play.  If that first organization doesn't offer the sport, that player is free to choose a second organization to play for, but must revert to the first organization for subsequent sports, which the first organization offers.  The player is not allowed to choose to play for a third organization if the sport is offered by the second organization.

NOTE: This stipulation does not alter the prohibition on recruiting (paragraph h).

If an organization desires to use players from organizations outside NVIAC, the player must be submitted to the NVIAC Governing Body for discussion and approval by 3/4 of the Governing Body. 

g.  A student who is part-time enrolled in an NVIAC school but who is otherwise homeschooled is free to choose to play for the NVIAC school in which the student is part-time enrolled or for a homeschool team provided that student abides by the other rules within this SECTION.  The NVIAC school in which the part-timer is enrolled cannot require that student to play for that NVIAC school if the player chooses to play for a Home School team.

h. Recruiting is absolutely prohibited.  A student should not receive any benefits from the NVIAC school for athletic participation.  There can be no scholarships given for athletics.  There can be no special considerations for athletes that are not available for all students in the NVIAC school.  This rule is designed to maintain fair and even competition throughout the conference.

 SECTION 7.  Forfeits.  A game is considered a forfeit if one team cancels the game for undue reason or within 48 hours of the game start-time.  (Rationale:  Officials’ associations often require 24-hours advance notice of a cancellation before charging a fee for the officials.  Forty-eight hours advance notice provides the other team an opportunity to notify its team and fans ahead of time of the schedule change.  In addition, it provides the other team an opportunity to help find a gym or field if the cancellation stems from an inability to arrange facilities.) The forfeiting team will receive 0 points for the game – the winning team will receive 1 point. 

 SECTION 8.  Reporting game results. The winning team must e-mail the following information to the Statistician within one week of when a league game is played: 1) the date of the game, 2) the winning team and score, 3) the losing team and score, and 4) the team’s NVIAC Win/Loss/Tie statistic after the reported game. Out of courtesy to the losing team and as a measure against misunderstandings down the road, the winning team should include the losing team as an addressee.

 SECTION 9.  Team Standings (Seedings). Team Standings will be determined by the rules specified in the NVIAC Procedure Manual.

SECTION 10.  Pre-Tournament Games Completion. In order to count for tournament seeding purposes, regular-season games/matches must be completed three days prior to the beginning of the tournament.  Therefore, if a tournament begins on 9 November, all games/matches must be completed by midnight, 6 November.

SECTION 11.  Tournaments.

a.  Official NVIAC Tournaments:  The league may conduct official NVIAC tournaments (referred to as tournaments in this Constitution) when four or more NVIAC teams of a particular level of play (middle school or varsity) participate. 

            b.  Player Affiliation. In order to play in tournaments, a player needs to have been affiliated with his team for 50% of regular-season games.  A player who is recovering from injury or is on academic probation may play in tournaments as long as that player has been affiliated with his team for 50% of regular-season games. A middle school player must be on the middle school roster and be affiliated with his team for 50% of the regular-season middle school games to qualify for middle school tournament play. If he/she is also on a varsity roster, he/she must also and be affiliated with his team for 50% of the regular-season varsity games to qualify for varsity tournament play. It’s the responsibility of each athletic director to police his/her own athletic program in this regard of affiliation.  An exception may be granted, on a case-by-case basis, with the majority approval of the Governing Body.

c.  Trophies.  For tournaments in which there are six or fewer teams competing, First and Second Place trophies will be awarded as well as a trophy recognizing “The Best Godly Character” team based on regular-season play.  Best Godly Character is determined by an assessment of a school’s whole attitude: players, coaches, and fans.  For tournaments in which there are seven or more teams competing, First, Second, and Third Place trophies will be awarded as well as the trophy for “The Best Godly Character” team.  Athletic Directors (or their representatives) from teams participating in regular-season play will cast one vote at the end of regular-season play to elect the team for “The Best Godly Character.”  (Athletic Directors may not vote for their own team.)  A team may not receive the Best Godly Character Award if they do not cast their vote by the set deadline, which is midnight of the day after regular season play concludes before the tournament begins. First, Second, and Third Place trophies will be roughly 26, 22, and 18 inches, respectively.  “The Best Godly Character” trophy will be the same size as the First Place trophy, 26 inches.

d.  All League Players. To honor players who have performed the best during each season, players will be chosen for All League Award in accordance with the NVIAC Procedure Manual.

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 ARTICLE VI – CODE OF CONDUCT

 We as players, coaches, parents, and spectators will strive to observe the following ideals of sportsmanship:

            a.  We shall try to discern what is pleasing to God. 

b.  We shall not take part in any derogatory or taunting activity.  (Federation-rule penalties will be applied for foul and/or profane language.)

c.  We shall treat the officials, opposing teams, cheerleaders, and spectators with respect.

d.  We shall address officials’ decisions in a respectful manner (words, tone of voice, facial expressions).

            e.  We shall respect the property and reputation of our opponents as well as that of our own facilities.

            f.  We shall not take part in or be party to any form of violence.

            g.  We shall encourage aggressive (hard-working) play, but not tolerate dangerous or out-of-control play.

h.  We shall address disputes in a godly manner as soon as possible between the parties involved.

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 ARTICLE VII – DEFINITIONS

a.  Middle School.  Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth grades.

b.  Varsity.  Ninth through 12th grades.

c.  League.  The Northern Virginia Independent Athletic Conference.

d.  Official NVIAC Tournament.  A tournament in which the NVIAC renders trophies with an inscription bearing connection to the NVIAC and/or a tournament in which league benefits apply, such as league payment for trophies.