New Milford Parks and Recreation
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Adult Sports League- Eligibility Rules


Player Eligibility Rules pertaining ONLY to Adult Softball League
New Milford Parks and Recreation
Adult Athletic Leagues 
  • Eligibility Criteria
 A person shall be eligible to participate in a Parks and Recreation sponsored adult league if she/he meets the following eligibility requirements:
 
  • They are a current resident* with a permanent legal address in New Milford, or at least a 50% owner of real estate in the Town of New Milford, CT.
  • They are a current resident* with a permanent legal address in Sherman, Kent, S. Kent, New Preston, Washington, Roxbury, Bridgewater, or Warren. (This residency requirement does not absolve the resident of the above mentioned towns from the 60/40 regulation as set forth in Section E of this document as it pertains to the composition of the rosters).
  • They must be a minimum of 18 years of age at the time of registration onto a current roster with the exception of women, ages 16-18 in the Adult summer Softball league. See restrictions under G.) Adult Softball.
  • Current high school students are not eligible to participate in New Milford Softball League play with the exception of women, ages 16-18 in the Adult summer Softball league. See restrictions under G.) Adult Softball.
* A resident shall be defined as anyone with a legal address who has resided full time at such address within the confines of the Towns of New Milford, Sherman, Kent, S. Kent, New Preston, Washington, Roxbury, Bridgewater, or Warren.
Residency must be established as current upon signing a roster (Please see Section E of this document). Verification of residency must be submitted upon request.  Verification criteria are to be determined solely by the Parks and Recreation Department.  Failure to produce proper verification within 5 working days from the date of question shall automatically result in the ineligibility of registrant.
      Exceptions:
      a.)  Individuals may participate in the league regardless of address if they are full-time employees of a concern in the Town of New Milford*.  Said employer must conduct business at an address within the boundaries of the Town of New Milford, Connecticut.
      b.) Individuals may participate in the league if they are members in good standing of a bona fide New Milford civic organization that acts as sponsor for the participating team.
      c.) One (1) individual record owner of a sponsoring business including managing member of LLC or one shareholder of a corporation may also participate as a player in the New Milford Parks and Recreation Department’s Adult Softball League for the sponsored team regardless of his/her address.
 
*Full-time employment shall be defined as the job or occupation of which the participant derives the greatest percentage of personal income and which consists of employment for at least 30 hours a week for the full 52 weeks of the year.  The participant must be employed by January 1 (for spring and summer leagues) and July 1 (for fall and winter leagues) of each year of participation.  This provision does not apply to those participants subordinate to the instrument of the Grandfather Clause (see D).
 
B.) Use of ineligible players and challenge of player eligibility
            The use of an ineligible player will result in a forfeit by the team involved of all games in which that player has participated.  In order to effectuate the ejection of an ineligible player and the resulting forfeiture of games in which that player was involved, it is necessary to conform to the following procedure:
            A request in writing to investigate a player's eligibility must be submitted to the Parks and Recreation Department within 48 hours subsequent to the game in question.  A fee of $20 is required for each investigation.  If the investigation results in a finding of ineligibility, all games which s/he participated in will be forfeited and the $20 fee will be returned.  If, upon investigation, the player is found to be eligible, the Department will retain the fee.  Any team, which allows a player to continue as an active member of its roster after a decision of ineligibility has been arrived at, will forfeit all future games in which the ineligible player participates.  The player found ineligible will not be allowed to complete the remainder of the season.  No refunds will be given for registration or player fees.  The manager shall not be allowed to participate in any Parks & Recreation sponsored leagues for the balance of the current year and the following year.  In the event that the illegal player becomes eligible he/she will not be able to participate in any Parks & Recreation sponsored leagues for the balance of the current year and the following four (4) years.
The Department shall set a date for the addition of names to a team roster. After that date, a team may not add players to its roster.  Any addition of players after the cut-off date for player admissions will result in forfeiture.  If a player is added to a roster after the freeze date for submission of player names established by the Department, said player will be suspended from the league and all games in which s/he participated will be forfeited.  In addition, the manager and the team found guilty of this infraction will be subject to suspension proceedings.
 
C.) Change of Status
If at any time during the course of league play (including playoffs), there is an alteration in a player's tax, residence, or educational status, thereby altering his/her eligibility status, they will forthwith become ineligible (with the exception of those covered under the Grandfather Clause.)
 
D.) Grandfather Clause (softball league)
Any person who has met the eligibility requirements and has been a participant in the leagues for each and every consecutive season following the date of his/her initial eligibility finding, for a minimum of fifteen years, shall be considered eligible to continue playing in the New Milford Parks and Recreation Department’s Adult Softball League under the Grandfather clause if said player’s permanent and legal address should change to a town different from New Milford or the surrounding towns of Sherman, Kent, S. Kent, New Preston, Washington, Roxbury, Bridgewater, or Warren. For example, in order to play in the league for the 2020 season, a player would have to have met the eligibility requirements prior to March 1, 2005.
Furthermore, any players from an eligible surrounding town participating in the league for consecutive seasons since March 1, 1991, shall count as New Milford residents for purposes of the 60/40 rule (see section E).
 
E.) Roster
            All team rosters and roster additions must be legible at the time of submission.  All requested information must be complete.  The address must reflect a legal residence, not a post office box.  Any individual whose information on the submitted roster is illegible, inaccurate, or incomplete shall not be eligible to participate.  A team roster must be comprised of a minimum 60% of New Milford residents.  The Parks and Recreation Department will determine roster limits for each league.
 
F.) Materials for admission on roster
The following must be submitted with the team roster for each participant who is eligible under the working full-time rule:
  • A W-2 form
  • A recent pay stub
  • A written statement from his/her employer signed by employer or designates (e.g. manager, personnel director) on company letterhead testifying to participant employment.
G.) Adult Softball
 
Softball League Play: The following number of participants will be allowed admission to the roster, regardless of place of residence:
 
Women's League: Unrestricted players from towns other than New Milford or the surrounding towns of Sherman, Kent, S. Kent, New Preston, Washington, Roxbury, Bridgewater, or Warren will be allowed to a maximum of eight (8) per roster, at the fee of $20 per player, as long as the 60/40 residency rule is maintained.
            Players who are over the age of 16 and who have not yet graduated from high school will be allowed to participate in the Women’s league under the following conditions:
  1. The player must be 16 before April 1 of the year the player signs the roster.
  2. The total number of teams in the Women’s divisions are not greater than 12.
  3. The player is not on a CIAC sanctioned softball team or is not planning on playing NCAA softball in college due to eligibility requirements.
  4. No more than 5 players between the ages of 16 and 18 will be allowed on any given roster.
 
Men's League:  The use of unrestricted players is prohibited
 
H.) Football, Summer Basketball, Winter Basketball, Volleyball
 
Three (3) participants will be allowed admission to the roster of each athletic team regardless of place of residence.
 
I.)  Additional fees:
  • A fee of $20 is required for non-residents of eligible towns (Sherman, Kent, S. Kent, New Preston, Washington, Roxbury, Bridgewater, and Warren) and for non-residents who qualify for participation under the full-time New Milford employee eligibility rule.

·  A $25 fee must be submitted with the team roster for each unrestricted player.

  • A fee of $25 is required for all grandfathered players who qualify for participation under the grandfather clause.
  • The only exception is that the owner of a sponsoring business will not be subjected to an additional player fee if he/she decides to participate as a player.
Please remember that all rosters must fall under the 60/40 rule. Sixty percent of any team's players must be New Milford residents.  The remaining forty- percent must meet the eligibility requirements required for participation in New Milford Adult League play.
 
NOTATION: In the event of poor league participation, the Parks and Recreation Department, with the approval of the Parks and Recreation commission, reserves the right to waive any and all of the above regulations in the interest of the continued survival of the leagues in question.
  
Revised December 2018 New Milford Parks & Recreation Commission



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