Chapter 8

Protests

There are two types of protests that the South Bay Sports Office accepts:

Technical protests are protests involving misapplication of technical issues such as the automatic loss or forfeit policy, a player eligibility issue or any other policy or procedure included within this  South Bay Sports Handbook.

For player-eligibility protests, the Team Manager of the protesting team must make the Head Official or other South Bay Sports Staff on duty and the opposing Team Manager and suspected ineligible player aware of an eligibility protest before the respective player enters and participates in a contest. Team`s give up their right to protest player eligibility after the suspected ineligible player participates against them. An official Protest Form , must still be submitted to the South Bay web site by 5:00 p.m. the next business day for the protest to receive further consideration. Informing South Bay Sports Staff is only the first step in the protest procedure.

A valid Interpretive Protest must be made to the game Official before the next "live ball" situation. For a protest to remain valid, this Protest Form must be filed with the South Bay Sports web site by 5:00 p.m. of the business day following the game under protest. Only misinterpretations and/or misapplications of a rule are grounds for a valid protest. A decision on the protest will be made and you will be notified within two business days.

A valid protest must include the following points:

Once play has resumed, no protest on past plays is acceptable. Games protested will be completed under protest. An official Protest Form, must still be submitted to the South Bay Sports web site by 5:00 p.m. the next business day for the protest to receive further consideration. Informing South Bay Sports Staff is only the first step in the protest procedure.

Teams that did not send a representative to the pre-season Team Manager`s Meeting waive their right to protest.

In most cases, games protested on technical grounds will not be replayed. In games where an interpretive protest is later upheld, we will make every possible effort to reschedule the contest from the point at which the protest was lodged or rectify the situation in some other manner. All games missed as a result of an invalid protest or appeal that is not upheld are declared forfeits.

Generally, a decision on your protest will be rendered with 48 hours. In some instances, decisions are delayed when extensive research and investigation are required.

Due to time constraints, South Bay Sports Staff will decide interpretive protests during playoff contests on site. The decision of South Bay Sports Staff is final and may not be appealed.