Dangerous Play/Spirit of the Game - 3 Strikes and You're Out!

Effective June 1, 2005

Email falldisc@yahoo.com to begin the process of submitting an account of Dangerous Play/Spirit of the Game Violations. Use this subject line: 3 Strikes Submission.

Strike 1- an incident in which an individual receives a minimum of 4 eyewitness written signed accounts of very dangerous play. The individual will be presented with the 4 signed accounts. The accused can request an appeal and submit his/her case to the MUFA board in writing. If a majority of the board believes dangerous play has occurred, the individual receives Strike 1. Otherwise, the individual receives an official warning.

Strike 2 - a second incident in which an individual receives a minimum of 4 eyewitness signed written accounts of very dangerous play. The individual will be presented with the 4 signed accounts. The accused can request an appeal and submit his/her case to the MUFA board in writing. If a majority of the board believes dangerous play has occurred, the individual receives Strike 2 and is suspended from all MUFA leagues and events for a year starting from the date of the incident. Otherwise, the individual receives an official warning.

Strike 3 - a third incident in which an individual receives a minimum of 4 eyewitness signed written accounts of very dangerous play. The accused can request an appeal and submit his/her case to the MUFA board in person. 3 of the 4 eyewitnesses must also attend. The eyewitnesses and the accused will give their accounts. The decision will be made by the majority of the board. If the board determines dangerous play has occurred, the individual is ejected from all MUFA leagues and events forever. Otherwise, the individual receives an official warning.

3 Strikes and You're Out Policy Details

- "I was going for the disc!" is not a valid defense!!!!

- in the case of a Strike 3 appeal:

· 5 of the 7 board members must be present. If the board's vote is tied, the ranking officer breaks the tie. Ranks from highest to lowest are 1. President 2. Vice President 3. Treasurer 4. Secretary

· in addition to the eye witnesses, there may be present other individuals who feel they have something valid to present to the board regarding the incident or the accused*

· the accused may bring as many as 4 individuals to the appeal. These can be anyone the accused wants to bring.*

· the captains of the teams in question are encouraged to attend.

· there may be no more than 5 individuals total present on each side of the issue.

*The board will determine the relevance of the testimony made by these additional individuals

 - 'very dangerous play' means an action that could seriously hurt another player. Examples include but are not limited to:

                 - laying out into a crowd

                 - diving/running full-force  into someone's back or backs of their legs ("Submarining")

*the MUFA board will decide on a case by case basis if dangerous play has occurred.

- past official warnings can be used by the board as additional reasons to give an individual a Strike.

-if a board member is being accused of dangerous play, or is an eyewitness against another individual, that board member will not be involved in the voting.

- the board may, at its descretion, attend a game in which the accused is scheduled to participate in order to aid in the decision. The board may, but is not required to,  notify the accused or the accused's team of this.

- In all cases, the signed accounts must be submitted no earlier than 3 days from the date of the incident, and no later than 10 days from the date of the incident.

The signed accounts will be presented to the accused and his or her team captain within 1 week of the date of submission of the signed accounts. The accused then has 48 hours to request an appeal. If the accused is the captain of the team, the entire team will be notified.

The MUFA board has 2 weeks from the date of receipt of the appeal to decide whether a Strike or Warning will be given. If no appeal is made, the board has 2 weeks from the appeal deadline to decide whether a Strike or Warning will be given.

Once a decision has been made, the board has 3 days to notify the accused. The decision takes effect at the end of these 3 days.

- notification will be made through the email address listed for the accused and the accused team captain in the MUFA database. If the accused does not respond to the email, the accused forfeits the right to an appeal. The board may, at its descretion, attempt to contact the accused through other means, but is not required to do so.

-submission of signed complaints: the eyewitness signed written accounts must be delivered to the address specified by the Secretary. The accounts can be delivered by hand or through the mail. The submission must be accompanied by an email to the account specified by the Secretary, notifiying the Secretary that a submission has been made.

-submission of appeals: the procedure for submitting an appeal is the same as that for submission of signed complaints.

- any issue not included here can be determined by the board on a case by case basis. Changes to this policy can be made with approval of the majority of the board and an announcement on www.mufa.org.

- this policy can  be used for Spirit of the Game violations. There is no distinction made between a Strike given for a Spirit of the Game violation and a Very Dangerous Play violation.

 - this policy can be enacted against racial or sexual harrassment. In these cases, there is only one required eyewitness (the accuser) instead of 4. All other portions of this policy apply.