East Bay Swim League Rules and Regulations (2001 revision) ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ==> NOTE: See Changes to the EBSL Rules & Regs <==    Table of Contents Rule 1 - Reference       Section 1 - High School Rule Book    Rule 2 - Definitions       Section 1 - Personnel    Rule 3 - Team Personnel       Section 1 - Roster             Rule 3, Section 1 - PENALTIES       Section 2 - Eligibility of an Individual (revised 12/00)             Rule 3, Section 2 - PENALTIES       Section 3 - East Bay Swim League Season             Rule 3, Section 3 - PENALTIES       Section 4 - Entries by Team             Rule 3, Section 4 - PENALTIES       Section 5 - Entries by Individuals (revised 12/00)             Rule 3, Section 5 - PENALTIES    Rule 4 - Officials & Their Duties       Section 1 - Authorized Officials       Section 2 - The Starter       Section 3 - Timers and Recorders       Section 4 - Clerk of the Course       Section 5 - Desk Assistant    Rule 5 - Meet Management       Section 1 - Order and Length of Events       Section 2 - Starting Times    Rule 6 - Scoring and Awards       Section 1 - Places and Points       Section 2 - Team Scoring       Section 3 - Awards    Rule 7 - Swimming Events       PENALTIES FOR FALSE START    Rule 8 - Protest Procedure       Section 1 - Protests Rule 1 - Reference Section 1 - High School Rule Book Art. 1 Members and the EBSL Board of Directors shall default to the current book of High School Rules on matters that are not specifically covered by these East Bay Swim League Rules. The EBSL shall provide one copy of the current version of the High School Rule Book to each member team before the start of each season. High School Rule Books can be purchased through: National Federation of State High School Associations 11724 Plaza Circle, PO Box 20626 Kansas City, MO 64195 816-464-5400 www.nfshsa.org Top Rule 2 - Definitions Note: "Shall" denotes mandatory. Section 1 - Personnel Art. 1 Rostered Swimmer (hereafter referred to as "Regular Swimmer"): A Regular Swimmer is one that is selected to swim for points. A Regular Swimmer is eligible to swim at Championships. Art. 2 Complementary Swimmer (hereafter referred to as "Comp Swimmer"): A Comp Swimmer is a non Regular Swimmer. A Comp Swimmer shall not score points. A Comp Swimmer swims at the discretion of the home team. A Comp Swimmer shall not swim in the Championship Meet. If a Comp Swimmer swims in a relay at a Dual Meet, that relay team shall not score points for that event. At the discretion of the teams, a Comp Swimmer may receive awards at the Comp Swimmer's team cost, not EBSL cost. Art. 3 Prior competitive swim experience (hereafter referred to as an "Organized Swim Program") (Scholastic Programs are exempt): USS, City Recreation Programs (HARD, etc.), Organized Fitness Swim Programs (Club Sport, etc.), Any other recreational program (Contra Costa Swim League, Tri-City Swim League, etc.), Top Rule 3 - Team Personnel Section 1 - Roster Art. 1 Each swim team is limited to 100 Regular Swimmers (this does not include Comp Swimmers). Art. 2 If a Regular Swimmer swims in any Dual Meet, the swimmer's name remains on the roster throughout the season and cannot be changed to a Comp Swimmer. Art. 3 Swimmers listed on the roster as Regular Swimmers may be dropped, provided they have not competed in any Dual Meet. Art. 4 A Preliminary Roster (1 written copy per team plus 2 written copies for the EBSL Executive Board) will be submitted to the League Vice-President or a designee by the Monday prior to the 1st Dual Meet. The Preliminary Roster must be arranged alphabetically within age group by sex. The Preliminary Roster must list each swimmer's full name and birth date. The Preliminary Roster must include both Regular Swimmers and Comp Swimmers (designated with a "C" or "Comp"). Art. 5 Any changes to the Preliminary Roster: Written copies of the team's up-to-date roster must be provided to the League Vice-President or designee and Team Coach by the seeding meeting for each Dual Meet. Art. 6 A Final Roster (1 written copy per team plus 2 written copies for the EBSL Executive Board) must be received by the Monday after the 4th Dual Meet to the League Vice-President or a designee. The Final Roster must be arranged alphabetically within age group by sex. The Final Roster must list each swimmer's full name and birth date. The Final Roster must include both Regular Swimmers and Comp Swimmers (designated with a "C" or "Comp"). Art. 7 Additions to the roster after the Final Roster has been submitted must be made by direct written application to the League President. A team with more than 100 team members total (including Comp Swimmers) cannot add swimmers if they listed less than 100 swimmers on their Final Roster. A team which listed 100 swimmers on the Final Roster can add swimmers to replace rostered swimmers who cannot swim in the Championship due to injury, serious illness, family emergency, or other similar extraordinary circumstance. A team with less than 100 total team members may add to their Final Roster until they have 100 total swimmers. The League President shall take all relevant factors into consideration, including the swimmer's past history, in deciding whether to allow any team to add a swimmer to the Final Roster. The League President has the authority to deny any application for additions after the Final Roster has been submitted. All teams in the league must be sent written notice of the addition prior to the swimmer's participation in a Dual Meet. Such notification is the responsibility of the Team President. Art. 8 Written copies of both the Preliminary and Final Rosters will be sent to each Swim Team by the League Vice President or a designee. Rule 3, Section 1 - PENALTIES: For a team not submitting a Preliminary/Final Roster by the deadline: a fine of $10 per day until the roster is received. For a team swimming a swimmer not listed on their current roster or moving a swimmer from Regular to Comp after the swimmer has participated in a Dual Meet as a Regular Swimmer: forfeiture of that meet and a strike (See Penalty #3) towards the team being able to score at Championships with the exception of Rule 3, Sec. 5, Art. 6. For a team swimming a swimmer not listed on their current roster or moving a swimmer from Regular to Comp after the swimmer has participated in a Dual Meet as a Regular Swimmer at a second Dual Meet in the season: forfeiture of that meet and the team will not score any points at Championships. However, their swimmers will still be eligible to swim in Championships and to earn any individual medals, trophies, or awards. For a team swimming more than 100 Regular Swimmers during the season: disqualification of all swimmers added after the Preliminary roster, for the season. Top Section 2 - Eligibility of an Individual Art. 1 Each family must have an EBSL League Application on file with the League Vice-President or designee listing all of their swimmers prior to participation in a Dual Meet. The Team President will verify (with a signature) having seen a copy of each swimmer's proof of birth (i.e. Birth Certificate) and attach a copy for the year 2000 for all swimmers. In subsequent years, only new swimmers will need to attach a copy proof of birth to the League Application. The team must maintain a copy of each swimmer's League Application. Art. 2 A swimmer's age as of June 1 will determine the age group that he/she will swim in for the entire swim season. Art. 3 A swimmer who is 18 must have previously swum for his/her EBSL team. Art. 4 (revised 2001) Any swimmer is eligible to apply for participation in the EBSL season provided that the swimmer does not participate in any Organized Swim Program (excluding scholastic programs and those permitted under article 6 of this rule) from January 1 through March 31 of the same year. An EBSL swimmer shall not participate in any other Organized Swim Program (excluding scholastic programs) from April 1 to the end of the EBSL season. Art. 5 (revised 2001) A swimmer with 24 months of consecutive USS experience immediately prior to January 1 shall be able to participate only as a complementary swimmer for that season. Art. 6 (revised 2001) Swimmers may swim in instructional/conditioning swim classes (limited to swim lessons and stroke and turn clinics, not part of a competitive swim team) during the months of January, February and March not to exceed a total of 15 hours per month total water time during this period. Art. 7 The League Vice-President shall determine the eligibility of each swimmer based on the swimmer's League Application. Any protest of the League Vice-President's final decision shall be made pursuant to Rule 8. No swimmer ruled ineligible by the League Vice-President may compete in any meet unless and until the swimmer is reinstated pursuant to Rule 8. Rule 3, Section 2 - PENALTIES: For an individual submitting an false League Application affecting eligibility: disqualification for the season. For an individual swimming without a League Application on file: disqualification for the meet(s) in which the swimmer has participated. Top Section 3 - East Bay Swim League Season Art. 1 The season starts April 1, and ends at the conclusion of the Championship Meet as determined by the EBSL Executive Board. Art. 2 Teams may only practice during the season. Art. 3 League Divisions: There will be a North and South division in the EBSL. North Division: Chabot, Columbia, San Leandro, Southgate, Treeview, Washington Manor. South Division: Glenmoor, Kennedy, Mission Highlands, Mission Valley, Newark, Warm Springs. Art. 4 Each team will compete in seven Dual Meets during the season: Five Dual Meets with all other teams in their League Division. The first and last meets of the season will be with teams from the other Division of the same rank based on previous years Championship Meet final scores (i.e. 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6). Art. 5 The season will culminate with a Championship Meet to be held on or about the last Saturday in July. Rule 3, Section 3 - PENALTIES: For a team practicing prior to April 1st is forfeiture of scoring and placing at the Championship Meet. Note: Lessons open to the public are not considered team practice. Top Section 4 - Entries by Team Art. 1 Each team is permitted unlimited entries in an event: In Dual Meets, a maximum of 3 swimmers per team can score in an event. In Dual Meets, a maximum of 2 relays per team can score in an event. In the Championship Meet, one relay per team can score in even numbered events. Art. 2 Relay entries must be designated as Relay A, B, C, etc. on the scoring sheet, along with the names of the individuals participating in each relay. Art. 3 Comp relays may be entered, but cannot score points. Comp relays must be designated on the scoring sheet (with a "C" or "Comp"), along with the names of the individuals participating in each relay. Art. 4 Comp Swimmers may be entered, but cannot score points. Comp Swimmers must be designated on the scoring sheet (with a "C" or "Comp"). Art. 5 Entries must be made on league approved pink and blue cards for all meets. Art. 6 A Consolidated Entry Form listing all of a team's entries, by age group, for a meet must be: In Dual Meets, provided to the opposing team's Coach at the seeding meeting. For the Championship Meet Preliminary Seeding: Due on predetermined date set by the EBSL Board of Directors. Delivered to a location specified by the EBSL Computer Director. Submitted electronically in a format specified by the EBSL Computer Director and a legible written copy (i.e. one working Team Manager data disk and a written copy of the data contained on the disk.) For the Championship Meet Final Seeding: Due on predetermined date set by the EBSL Board of Directors. Delivered to a location specified by the EBSL Computer Director. Submitted electronically in a format specified by the EBSL Computer Director and a legible written copy (i.e. one working Team Manager data disk and a written copy of the data contained on the disk.). Art. 7 At Dual Meets the home team shall be responsible for providing 8 copies of the entry/score sheet to the visiting team's Meet Director. Copies may be distributed to Coaches, Clerks of the Course, and Scorekeepers. Art. 8 It is the responsibility of the Meet Director from each team to notify the League Vice-President or designee, of the final score of a Dual Meet within 3 days following the meet. Rule 3, Section 4 - PENALTIES: Late Championship consolidated entry form: For every day the Preliminary disk is late, a $50.00 penalty will be imposed per day. For every day the Final disk is late, $200 penalty will be imposed per day, up to a maximum of 4 days. If any team's Final disk is over four days late, the team will be disqualified from the Championships. Top Section 5 - Entries by Individuals Art. 1 A swimmer shall be permitted to enter a maximum of 4 events, no more than 3 of which shall be individual events. Participation in an exhibition relay shall count as one of the 4 allowed events. Art. 2 A swimmer must swim in their age group for all events, with the exception of Rule 3, Sec. 5, Art. 3. Art. 3 If a team has only 3 swimmers in an age group entered in the meet, a 4th swimmer may be moved up from a lower age group to form a complete relay: If a team has only 2 swimmers in an age group entered in the meet, 2 swimmers may be moved up. No more than 2 swimmers may be moved up to form a complete relay. Art. 4 A swimmer moved up to form a complete relay in a higher age group may not compete in relays in their age group for that meet. Art. 5 If an entered swimmer in Relay A has not swum in any of their entered individual events at the meet, then an entered swimmer in Relay B may replace that swimmer. The same rule applies to replacement swimmers in Relay B from Relay C (an exhibition relay). If there is no Relay B or Relay C then a swimmer who was not entered in their maximum number of events may be used as a replacement swimmer. Any such changes must be made in writing to the scoring desk and to all other Coaches: For the Medley relay, changes must be made prior to the start of the meet. For the Free relay, changes must be made prior to the start of the IM. Except at Championships, changes are in writing and submitted for approval to the EBSL Meet Director prior to 7:45 am. Art. 6 (revised 2001) A swimmer who does not swim in an event he/she was seeded for: In Dual Meets, will be scratched for the remainder of the meet unless the swimmer asks each Head Coach or the Meet Director to be allowed to competitively swim in the remainder of his/her seeded events in the meet. Both Coaches/Meet Director acting as Meet Officials will decide without regard to the High School Rules Book that: If the swimmer is not allowed to continue to swim for the remainder of the meet; If the swimmer is allowed to continue to swim for the remainder of the meet, but cannot score points; If the swimmer is allowed to continue to swim and score points for the remainder of the meet. At Championships, will be allowed to swim and score points for the remainder of the meet unless the Meet Director determines that the swimmer should be disqualified from the remainder of the meet due to unsportsmanlike conduct. The decision of the meet officials or the meet director is final and exempt from protest under Rule 8. Art. 7 No changes in entries are permitted after the seeding meeting, with the exception of Rule 3. Sec. 5. Art. 5. Rule 3, Section 5 - PENALTIES For submitting an entry card which is incomplete, inaccurate or delivered late, the swimmer or relay team shall be disqualified from that event. For a swimmer entering/attempting to compete in more than the allowable number of events, the swimmer is disqualified from event(s) beyond the allowable number. For a swimmer participating in more than the permissible number of events, the swimmer is disqualified from that event and further competition. For a swimmer participating in an event for which they were not entered during the seeding meeting, the swimmer is disqualified from that event. For a swimmer participating in a relay who is not on the original relay entry submitted at the seeding meeting, with the exception of Rule 3, Sec. 5, Art. 5, the relay team is disqualified from that event. For a swimmer entering an event in the wrong age group, with the exception of Rule 3, Sec. 5, Art. 3, the swimmer is disqualified from that event. For a Coach failing to provide written notice of a relay change per Rule 3, Sec. 5, Art. 5, the team's entries in that event are disqualified. Top Rule 4 - Officials & Their Duties Section 1 - Authorized Officials Art. 1 Championship swimming competition shall be administered by Referees, Starters, Stroke and Turn Judges, Takeoff and Finish Judges, Timers, Scorers, Recorders and Announcers: A meet committee and the Meet Director shall assume responsibility for all aspects of meet management. The EBSL Executive Board shall be present and shall call together Team Presidents or designees, to make decisions on matters not specifically covered by these rules of procedure, or set aside application of a rule during the meet. Each team shall have one vote. In the event of a tie, the League President shall vote to break the tie. Art. 2 Non-Championship Meets shall be administered by a number of officials sufficient to properly conduct the meet: It is recommended a minimum of 2 officials administer Dual Meets: The officials shall be the Head Coaches of each team competing; The home team Head Coach is designated as the Referee. The Referee is the Head Official and is responsible for making decisions on matters not specifically covered by the rules, setting aside application of a rule during a meet, or ordering a race re-swum when there is obvious unfairness: The Referee shall have general supervision of other officials and shall meet promptly with them in order to make a ruling on any situation; The Referee's decision is final. Art. 3 For all Dual Meets, each team is responsible for judging and disqualifying their own swimmers. Art. 4 For the Championship Meet, the number of officials, as well as the responsibilities of each team for providing them, will be determined by the EBSL Board of Directors at the Championship Planning meeting(s). Art. 5 An officiating clinic will be held for Coaches and all Meet Judges during the season. Art. 6 Video equipment shall not be used to verify decisions made during the meet. Art. 7 It is recommended officials dress uniformly in white attire. Top Section 2 - The Starter Art. 1 EBSL will have "Starter Clinic/Refresher Course" prior to the first Dual Meet. It is mandatory that every Starter & Team Referee be present for this course. Section 3 - Timers and Recorders Art. 1 At Dual Meets, each team shall provide the Timers for the entire meet, the home team provides a Head Timer. Art. 2 At Dual Meets the home lane assignments are 2, 4, and 6. Home lanes will have 1 Timer and 1 Recorder at lanes 2, 4, and 6 (away lane assignments are 1, 3, 5 and 7...with 2 away Timers at each of these lanes). Art. 3 At Dual Meets, each team shall provide the Recorders for the entire meet. Section 4 - Clerk of the Course Art. 1 The Clerk of the Course shall: Check swimmers' names with the entries on the cards. Assist in lining swimmers up by heat and lane. Assist in locating swimmers that haven't reported for their event. Mark "SCRATCH" on all cards for swimmers that do not appear. These cards must be turned in to the Recorder at the proper heat and lane. For 10 and under events, ensure that the cards are brought to the proper heat and lane. Art. 2 At Dual Meets, each team shall provide one Clerk of the Course for the entire meet. Top Section 5 - Desk Assistant Art. 1 The Desk Assistant shall: Check the results on the cards for any discrepancies. Assist Scorers by placing the swimmers in order by time. Assist Scorers by recording times on the official score sheet. Notify Coaches of any discrepancies or problems with entries or results. Write ribbons for the top finishers on their team. Art. 2 At Dual Meets, each team shall provide at least two Desk Assistants for the entire meet. Rule 5 - Meet Management Section 1 - Order and Length of Events Art. 1 Table of EBSL Meet Events Age Girls (event #) Boys (event #) Event Distance 8 & Under 9 - 10 11 - 12 13 - 14 15 - 18 2 6 10 14 18 4 8 12 16 20 Medley Relay Medley Relay Medley Relay Medley Relay Medley Relay 100 Yards 100 Yards 200 Yards 200 Yards 200 Yards 6 & Under 7 - 8 9 - 10 11 - 12 13 - 14 15 - 18 21 23 25 27 29 31 22 24 26 28 30 32 Freestyle Freestyle Freestyle Freestyle Freestyle Freestyle 25 Yards 25 Yards 25 Yards 50 Yards 50 Yards 50 Yards 8 & Under 9 - 10 11 - 12 13 - 14 15 - 18 33 35 37 39 41 34 36 38 40 42 Backstroke Backstroke Backstroke Backstroke Backstroke 25 Yards 25 Yards 50 Yards 50 Yards 50 Yards 8 & Under 9 - 10 11 - 12 13 - 14 15 - 18 43 45 47 49 51 44 46 48 50 52 Breaststroke Breaststroke Breaststroke Breaststroke Breaststroke 25 Yards 25 Yards 50 Yards 50 Yards 50 Yards 8 & Under 9 - 10 11 - 12 13 - 14 15 - 18 53 55 57 59 61 54 56 58 60 62 Butterfly Butterfly Butterfly Butterfly Butterfly 25 Yards 25 Yards 50 Yards 50 Yards 50 Yards 11 - 12 13 - 14 15 - 18 63 65 67 64 66 68 Individual Medley Individual Medley Individual Medley 100 Yards 100 Yards 100 Yards 8 & Under 9 - 10 11 - 12 13 - 14 15 - 18 70 74 78 82 86 72 76 80 84 88 Freestyle Relay Freestyle Relay Freestyle Relay Freestyle Relay Freestyle Relay 100 Yards 100 Yards 200 Yards 200 Yards 200 Yards Art. 2 By prior consent of both teams, events and/or distances may be changed in a Dual Meet. Art. 3 Odd event numbered relays are used at Championships for "B" relays only. Top Section 2 - Starting Times Art. 1 The Championship Meet will start at the time and place determined by the EBSL Board of Directors. Art. 2 Dual Meets (unless otherwise agreed upon by both teams): Saturdays -- Warm-ups 7:30AM -- Meet 8:30 AM. Night Meets -- Warm-ups 4:30PM -- Meet 5:30 PM. Rule 6 - Scoring and Awards Section 1 - Places and Points Art. 1 Swimmers and relay teams must complete an event to be eligible to place and score points. A swimmer who is disqualified from event shall not be eligible to score points in that event. Art. 2 In Dual Meets, or double Dual Meets, points are awarded for places as follows: Individual events: 1st- 6, 2nd- 4, 3rd- 3, 4th- 2, 5th- 1. Relay events: 1st- 8, 2nd- 4, 3rd- 2. No team may score more than 3 places in an individual event. No team may score more than 2 places in a relay event. Art. 3 In Championships and other multiple team meet scoring, points are awarded for places as follows: Individual events: 30 places - 1st- 40, 2nd- 38, 3rd- 36, 4th- 34, 5th- 32, 6th- 30, 7th- 28, 8th-26, 9th-24, 10th- 22, 11th- 20, 12th- 19, 13th- 18, 14th- 17, 15th- 16, 16th 15, 17th- 14, 18th- 13, 19th- 12, 20th- 11, 21st- 10, 22nd- 9, 23rd- 8, 24th- 7, 25th- 6, 26th 5, 27th- 4, 28th- 3, 29th- 2, 30th- 1. For all "A" relays: 1st- 60, 2nd- 57, 3rd- 54, 4th- 51, 5th- 48, 6th- 45, 7th- 42, 8th- 39, 9th- 36, 10th- 33, 11th- 30, 12th- 28. (No points awarded for "B" relays). A team may score unlimited places in an individual event. No team may score more than one place in a relay event. If a team's Relay A is disqualified, then that team's Relay B will be placed and scored. If both the Relay A and Relay B are disqualified, then the team will receive 0 points. Art. 4 In case of a tie by 2 or more swimmers for any place scoring in an event, the points for all places involved in the tie shall be divided equally among the tying swimmers. Top Section 2 - Team Scoring Art. 1 The winning team is the team which has accumulated the greatest number of points at the end of the scheduled events. Art. 2 A tie shall be declared when teams accumulate the same number of points at the end of the scheduled events. Art. 3 A forfeited Dual Meet is scored 68 - 0. The meet Referee may declare a Dual Meet a forfeit when: A team, without prior notification to the host team, is not ready to start the meet within 30 minutes of the scheduled starting time; A team refuses to continue competition after the meet has started; Water depth, water conditions and/or starting platforms do not meet rule specifications and there has not been prior mutual consent of the competing team(s). Art. 4 When a meet is suspended due to power failure or other unforeseen circumstances, it may be resumed from the point of suspension. Resumed meets start from the point of suspension with the score and entries the same as they were at the time the meet was suspended. Top Section 3 - Awards Art. 1 Ribbons and trophies will be purchased by the League, with all teams sharing in the costs. Art. 2 At Dual Meets, ribbons are awarded for 1st through 5th in individual and 1st through 3rd in relay events. Art. 3 At the Championship Meet, medals are awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, in both individual and "A" relay events. Ribbons are awarded 4th through 16th in individual events and 4th through the final place in both "A" and "B" relay events ("C" relays shall be included with "B" relays for the purpose of determining ribbons. Every relay team shall receive a ribbon even if more than one relay per team is entered.). Art. 4 At the Championship Meet, winners of each heat will be awarded a "Heat Winner" ribbon for individual events only. Art. 5 At the Championship Meet, swimmers setting a League Championship Record are awarded a trophy. Art. 6 Championship Team Trophies or Plaques are awarded at the conclusion of the meet, based on the final score. Art. 7 A Divisional Dual Meet Championship Trophy or Plaque will be awarded in each division to the team(s) with the best divisional Dual Meet record at the conclusion of the Dual Meet season. This award will be presented at the Championship Meet. Art. 8 A Divisional Team Spirit Award (Perpetual Plaque) will be given to the team in each division that, by vote of the League, has demonstrated the most "Sportsmanship and Team Spirit" during the Dual Meet season. This award is voted on at the Championship Seeding Meeting, with each team allowed 2 votes. Teams may not vote for themselves. Art. 9 A Most Improved Trophy or Plaque will be awarded to the team that improves by the most points over the previous year's Championship Meet. The current and immediate past Championship winners are ineligible for this award. Top Rule 7 - Swimming Events Section 1 - Starts PENALTIES FOR FALSE START: 10 & Under: When a swimmer is charged with a false start the starter shall announce this to the field prior to restarting the race. If a swimmer is charged with a second false start the swimmer or relay team is disqualified from the event, and shall not swim. 11 & Older: When a swimmer is charged with a false start the swimmer or relay team is disqualified from the event, and shall not swim. Rule 8 - Protest Procedure Section 1 - Protests Art. 1 Procedures: If a member team wishes to challenge the eligibility/conduct of another team/team's member because of an alleged violation: of the EBSL Rules and Regulations, or EBSL By-Laws, or the League Vice-President's determination that one of the team's own swimmers is ineligible, it shall file a written statement of the challenge or allegation with: the League President, and to the President of the team whose member or conduct is challenged, within 48 hours of discovering the alleged infraction or challenged action, but no later than 72 hours prior to the Championship Meet for that season. Within five (5) days after the League President receives the challenge, he/she shall schedule a meeting with a panel consisting of one representative of each team at which the challenge shall be ruled upon. Having heard from both parties in the dispute: A majority of the panel shall be required to rule on the protest. Only teams which send a representative to the special meeting shall be permitted to vote. The panel shall make its decision based upon its opinion as to the best interest of the EBSL. The decision of the panel shall be final. No individual member may protest his or her own team's decision not to permit that swimmer to compete in any meet. This is an internal team problem. Top