METROPOLITAN NASHVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS

2005 - 2006

MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

1. The name of this organization shall be the Metropolitan Nashville Middle School Athletic Association.

2. The purpose shall be to promote and control interscholastic athletic activities which are physically wholesome and socially sound for middle school boys and girls.

3. The officers of the Association shall be President and Vice-President and shall be principals and/or assistant principals of member schools and shall be from two different schools. The office of Secretary-Treasurer shall be filled by an administrator or coach from the same school as the President. All officers shall be elected in February or March. The term of office shall be for one year and no person shall hold the same office for two consecutive years.

4. An executive committee composed of the elected officers and two coaches appointed by the President shall direct the affairs of the Association.

5. For transacting business, one-half of the members shall constitute a quorum. In voting, each member school shall have one vote.

6. The President may call meetings when in his judgment such meetings are necessary. On the request, in writing, of two or more member schools, he shall call a meeting. Notice stating the time and purpose of the meeting shall be made to the member schools in writing not less than five days preceding the meeting.

7. All current rules need to be reviewed and considered for possible modification each year. The constitution may be amended by the following methods: (a) On, or before, the first of April of each year the member schools may file with the President any proposed changes they wish to have made in the Association Constitution and Bylaws. (b) The President shall notify all member schools in writing of new proposed changes. Said notice is to be sent not later than the five days prior to the first spring meeting. A two-thirds majority of membership shall be necessary for passage. (c) The amendment shall become effective upon passage.

8. Members of the Middle School Athletic Association who field a team in any sport must play in the designated conference under sponsorship of the said Association unless excused by the Association.

9. The Association will print each year and distribute to all member schools (principals, assistant principals, and coaches) accurate, updated Bylaws. The Bylaws should include all rules pertaining to athletics at this level. A cover letter should be sent to each school instructing them to destroy all previous rule books, inserts, etc.

BYLAWS

The Metropolitan Board of Education policies and Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association policies as amended pertaining to Middle School Athletics shall apply in governing the activities of the Association.

This Constitution and Bylaws shall be effective as of the date approved by two-thirds vote of the member schools, and by the Director of Schools, or his representative.

The Director of Athletics of Metropolitan Schools shall serve as Commissioner of the Middle School Athletic Association. The Commissioner may initiate investigations, collect information, and render decisions based on the evidence and in accord with the regulations of the M.S.A.A. and the Board of Education. Such decisions shall be subject to review by the Executive Committee on appeal by the principal of the member school involved. All violations of the rules and regulations of the Middle School Athletic Association must be reported by the administration of the reporting school.

RULE 1. Membership in the Association shall be open to schools with grades seven and eight.

RULE 2. No student in a grade below the seventh can compete as a member of a team in the Middle School Division. A student is not considered as enrolled in the seventh grade until he has a complete seventh grade schedule.

RULE 3. No student shall be eligible to compete in the Middle School Division during any school year if the student becomes 15 years of age on or before August 1.

RULE 4. A student shall be eligible upon entering the seventh grade. The semester rule begins when a student enters the seventh grade. He/she will have a total of four consecutive semesters of eligibility. To remain eligible seventh and eighth grade students must pass five subjects the preceding semester or its equivalency. Student-athletes in basketball and wrestling who are ineligible during the first semester may become eligible the second semester if they meet the academic requirements at the end of the first semester. Schools offering only five subjects can count physical education as their sixth subject. For schools having alternate day classes, the combined numerical

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average of these classes will be used for athletic eligibility (i.e. every other day P.E. - 90, every other day Related Arts - 80 = 85 average). Semester averages (not six weeks or yearly averages) will be used to determine eligibility.

RULE 5. Metro eligibility forms must be in the Athletic Director's office and approved prior to the first game or match in any sport. Failure to abide by this regulation will result in a forfeit being awarded to the opposing team.

RULE 6. The basketball season for any school team shall end when that team has been eliminated from the city tournament or when that team has won the city championship. Games in the city tournament shall not be counted in the 14 games allowed. A team may participate in only one tournament. (Board of Education Policy). Basketball teams will be allowed to participate in one Jamboree before the basketball season begins. Teams will be allowed to play no more than two 10-minute quarters or two running clock 20-minute quarters.

RULE 7. Middle School teams shall be permitted to play during any scholastic year a maximum of six football games and 14 basketball games. Track competition shall be limited to eight meets during the track season. Volleyball teams shall be limited to ten dates. Soccer teams shall be limited to ten matches, with playoffs not included in those ten. The soccer playoffs shall be an eight-team bracket, allowing the top four teams from each division to participate.

RULE 8. Schools shall be limited to 12 dates excluding the league tournament. Schools will be allowed to enter invitational tournaments hosted by other schools or the officials' association as long as the middle school does not exceed the 12 dates limit allowed.

A. The weight classes are now: 82, 90, 98, 106, 114, 122, 130, 138, 148, 158, 175, 190, 215, HWT*.

The current practice of adding two pounds at Christmas and one pound on February 1 is to continue.

*Heavyweights must weigh no less than 190.

B. Wrestling will be divided into four (4) sub-divisions – NW, SW, NE, SE.

C. In order to enter the Division Wrestling Tournament, a participant must certify one time in the weight class or weight classes below the one in which he enters the tournament. Certification must take place one of two ways:

1) at scratch weight without any additional pounds before Christmas, or

2) certification will include the two-pound allowance after Christmas.

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The wrestling coach must enter the exact weight on the certification sheet and have it signed by the official and the opposing coach. No wrestler may wrestle in a weight class lower than his certified weight. Certification sheets should be required at the seeding meeting.

D. City tournament rules and regulations must be voted on by individual schools at the fall meeting.

E. The director for the Division Wrestling Tournament and the City Wrestling Tournament will be from the Administrative Staff of the host school.

F. All wrestlers with braces must wear mouth protection during matches.

RULE 9. A school must notify the league president by the August meeting of each school year if it wishes to participate in any sport of the Middle School Division.

RULE 10. No athletic contest in football, basketball, or wrestling in which middle grade teams participate may be sponsored by a non-school group or organization.

RULE 11. Beginning with the 1983-84 school year, students found to be attending out-of-zone schools without official approval of the Director of Transfers and Records or higher authority shall be ineligible for interscholastic athletics. They will be ineligible at all schools for one calendar year from the date of transfer or transfer approval.

RULE 12. Any school found to be guilty of allowing an ineligible student to participate in interscholastic athletic events shall immediately forfeit any wins, records, or awards as a team for all athletic events in which the ineligible student participated.

In addition, any individual win, record, or award shall be forfeited by the ineligible student.

RULE 13. Proceeds from all tournaments will be retained by the host school. If there is a deficit, a report of all tournament expenses and income will be given to the participating schools, and the deficit will be shared equally. Profits from the concessions are separate, and are to be retained by the host school.

RULE 14. Seasons for all sports shall end with the completion of the city meet, tournament, or game.

RULE 15. Recognizing that unsportsmanlike conduct by players and coaches cannot be accepted, the following actions will be taken when unsportsmanlike conduct occurs: