Team BALANCING Requirements
Please note: this next section only applies to Associations having multiple teams playing within the same division.
The Simcoe Region Local League has balancing rules in place requiring Associations (with multiple teams playing within the same division) to not exceed a predetermined percentage spread specified in the constitutions policy set to keep one stacked team, from an Association with a number of teams in the same division, from running away with the division. This will require Associations to trade players among their own teams within that division prior to the November AND December deadlines each season if the winning percentage spread between the top and bottom team from that same Association is too wide, or "out of balance".
Associations are required to ensure all their teams play a certain number of games by November, and again by December, so they can monitor and report to the other league members at the monthly league meetings on their progress and all steps taken to achieve balancing.
All teams are to be balanced by certain deadlines, but once the teams are within the percentage spread requirement on the deadline, there is no requirement to maintain this spread after the deadline. Good coaching can improve team performance and is not penalized. The intent of the policy is simply to prevent any Association with multiple teams within the same division from entering a stacked team.
Any Association with teams that fail to balance and are still out of balance by the middle of December each season will have been fined two times for missing two deadlines. Those Associations have until the end of the season to bring the unbalanced percentage spread back into balance.
If at seasons end, the winning percentage spread between the "unbalanced" top and bottom same Association teams exceeds the allowable spread set by the policy, the Association is fined one final time and faces the possibility of having one or more of those teams in the division denied entry (disqualified) into the playoffs.
This long standing League requirement was developed, voted on and inserted into the SRLL Constitution by the Association Presidents who created this League (including its predecessor) 30+ years ago