CSBL Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Date Jan 27, 2022 Time 2:00-4:00
Colonie Recreation Center
Present: Bob Corcione, Jim Thompson, Jerry Wall, Butch Ostrander, Geoff Coufal, Dan DiGiacomo, Mark White, Vince DiGiulio
Present by Conference Call: Rick DiBlasi
Absent: Andy George
Agenda Items: This meeting was called primarily to discuss items related to player eligibility for the playoffs.
Eligibility of roster players for the playoffs: Discussion was held regarding the current procedure that a roster player must play 9 games to be eligible for the playoffs and the By-laws statement that an injured player can return anytime and play, including playoffs, after his sub has played the minimum of 3 games. After discussion it was decided to re-write and amend the policy to be as follows:
a. a non-injured player must play in a minimum of 9 games
b. a player who has a long term injury or medical issue may count the games on the inactive list towards active time. Games missed for personal reasons or travel are not counted. The total number of games on the injured list will be subtracted from the team’s total number of games for the season. The player must play in 1/2 of the balance of his team’s games with a minimum of 3 games played to be eligible for the playoffs. This must be actual games played and cannot count byes, league off -weeks, weather cancellations, etc. For example, in an 18 game season if a player misses 9 games due to injury or medical issues (18-9=9) he must play in 5 of his team’s remaining games. If he misses 14 games (18-14=4) he must play in the minimum of 3 games. Any disputes about a player’s eligibility will be resolved by the Board.
c. the roster player cannot bump his sub to return to active status to gain playoff eligibility before the sub has completed his minimum of 3 (2) games
2. Replacement player rules:
a. the seniority rule applies when selecting replacement players. The Wait List manager will contact the player with the highest seniority at that ranking first. If that player declines it will proceed down the seniority list until a replacement is available. No player with a lower seniority ranking may be contacted until players above them on the list have declined. If a captain accepts a lower ranked replacement that sub must play the required minimum number of games and cannot be removed early if a higher ranked replacement should become available. That team cannot place a “hold” on the newly available higher ranked player during that period as the replacement player will be assigned to the first available matching opening.
b. if a replacement player does not respond to contacts or declines to accept a position for 2 consecutive requests, he will be moved to the bottom of the seniority list for the remainder of the season. If he declines a 3rd request to play he may be removed from the league’s registration and lose his seniority and be required to initiate a new registration and tryout evaluation to re-enter the league. This policy may be waived if the replacement player is injured or has a medical issue that prevents play or in emergency situations such as have occurred during the COVID pandemic.
c. when a replacement player finishes his assignment he is returned to his previous position on the seniority Wait List.
d. a replacement player must be given the option to play in a minimum of 3 games (2 games for the current season for the Colonie division). This does not count team byes, league off weeks, or weather cancellations. The sub remains active for 3(2) consecutive team games.
e. Players are ranked by their draft position or evaluation by league representatives for the purpose of parity and fairness. The ranks are Colonie division 1-7 or Albany division 1-7. If a replacement player is not available at the same rank as the roster player a replacement can be made from a lower ranked player but not by a higher ranked player. If a sub is assigned at a designated rank and during his playing time it becomes evident that he was “mis-ranked” either higher or lower, he can be removed after the minimum game assignment and replaced with a correctly ranked player. The sub who was withdrawn will then be re-ranked and placed into the wait list at the corrected rank while keeping his seniority.
f. a player who registers for the league during the season will be evaluated and ranked and placed on the Wait List but must then wait for 2 weeks of scheduled league games (holiday weeks, league off -weeks are not counted) before being eligible for assignment . This rule may be waived in emergency situations when no subs are available and if approved by the Board.
g. to be eligible for the playoffs a sub must play for a minimum of 3 games for that team and must be on that team’s roster for the final 3 consecutive games of the regular season. If that team has a bye within the last 3 weeks of the season the bye will be counted as an active game for the sub to determine playoff eligibility.
h. to qualify for an award, a replacement player must play in 5 games during the season for that team
i. if a team picks up a sub for the final 3 games of the season and that sub becomes injured and cannot play the team can get a replacement to finish the season but that replacement player would not be eligible for the playoffs
3. Playoff Roster-a team’s roster is locked once the playoffs begin. No substitutions are allowed during the playoffs. An injured player cannot be replaced. A roster player cannot return after the playoffs begin-he would have to be on the team’s active roster for their game 1 of the playoffs to be eligible.
4. Playoff Seeding -if teams are tied at the end of the regular season the tie will be broken and playoff seeding determined by head to head competition between those teams. If the tie is for 1st place and affects awards, the tie will be broken by an additional game between the 2 teams that will be scheduled by the Commissioner before the start of the playoffs. If a game cannot be scheduled or in the event of a 3 way tie, the tie will be broken with a foul shooting contest. Each captain will select 3 players from his team. Each player will shoot 10 free throws. The team with the highest cumulative total of made free throws will be declared the winner.
5. Bob Corcione gave a brief review of the budget and our finances are balanced and sound at this time. He also reported that new team jerseys for teams with new sponsors have now arrived. He also reported that he worked with the league’s bank to setup a procedure for future dues payments to be made electronically using the Zell payment app. We plan to return to Lishakill for next season as it is about 1/2 the cost of MD Sports Hall, more centrally located, and has superior overall facilities.
6. It was brought up and discussed that this year we started too late to collect 2nd half dues payments. In the future this should begin around Dec. 1. We need a better system of communication between Commissioner and team captains as to which players have paid especially if we institute electronic payments in the future. In the past team captains collected all payments and held them until all of their players were paid then submitted them together to the Commissioner.
7. Butch discussed a situation that occurred this season. Due to COVID and the lack of available subs, the Colonie division, with the consent of the Commissioner, has experimented this year with a system to avoid forfeits. If a team has only 4 available players due to injury or illness and no subs are available from the Wait List, they may pick up 1 sub from the team that has a bye that week. The captains of both teams that are scheduled to play and the captain of the Bye team must agree on the sub who will be assigned to play 1 game for the shorthanded team. If agreement cannot be reached then the game will be forfeited. Butch advocated that if a player says that he is not available to play and a sub is assigned, that player cannot then show up at the game and bump the sub who has agreed to play. This policy will be reviewed at the end of the season and decided if it will be ended or implemented for future seasons.
8. It was suggested that the Board needs to meet more frequently and that a regular schedule for meetings be established to give members an opportunity to arrange their schedule to be available. Scheduled meetings could be cancelled if not needed. Mark White suggested that meetings can be done as virtual meetings using an on-line group meeting service and all members can attend electronically from home or office when needed. Emergency meetings can be scheduled as needed. No final resolution on this proposal at this time.
Prepared and Submitted by Geoffrey Coufal