All registrations are filled on a first come first served basis. Registrations are only considered complete after full payment has been made for a program. If there are extenuating circumstances where the JAM cannot fulfill your registration, a league representative will be in touch as soon as possible. All JAM players should read and understand the below guidelines as well as the specific rules to their sport. In general, all JAM members should...
This means...
S: Safe play all of the time. Play with control and be conscious of your surroundings.
M: Members only. Anyone who plays on your team needs to have an active JAM profile.
A: Actively read through informational emails and rules every season. This will keep you up to speed on new issues.
R: Report all injuries which require medical attention and incidents if you desire official JAM investigation.
T: Talk to the other team. Together, JAM members can make a fun and safe playing environment.
NOTE: These guidelines may change periodically. JAM also reserves the right to pursue administrative courses of action that differ from what is written here in order to provide the best solution to issues that may arise.
JAM is for Everyone – Inclusion Statement
Our program offerings are designed to be inclusive for all members of the JAM community. Our goal is to create a welcoming gender policy that uplifts and supports each player where they are at. To ensure we can offer something for everyone, our programs may be offered in the following formats: Mixed-Gender, Women's, Men's, and Open.
Many of our league rules specify gender-based roster requirements, the goal of which is to ensure that each player has an equal opportunity to be included in gameplay.
Everyone participating in a JAM program is welcome to compete based on their gender identity and gender expression; regardless of their gender assigned at birth. Members whose gender identity does not align with the binary man/woman construct are welcome to play in all our mixed-gender and open programs.
Nonbinary, trans, genderqueer, and all other players who identify as a gender minority can count towards the roster minimums for either men or women in our mixed-gender leagues.
JAM Guidelines Table of Contents:
1. Team Captain Responsibilities
2. Waivers and how to be a Sanctioned JAM Player
3. Physical or Unsportsmanlike Play and Suspensions
4. Fighting/Punching
5. Alcohol/Drugs
6. Incidents Which Result in Loss of Permits
7. Emergency Contact List
8. First Aid
9. Blood During Games
10. Suggested Protective Equipment
11. Reporting Injuries
12. Game Scores
13. Spirit Points
14. Game Score Discrepancies
15. League Standings and Tie Break Guidelines
16. Defaulting League Games
17. Team Uniforms and Dress
18. Player Eligibility
19. Facility Care and Respect
20. Foul Weather Guidelines
21. Footwear & Clothing
22. Safety
23. Game Rescheduling
24. Cancellation Policy
25. Contact Information
26. Double Headers
27. Team Names
28. Pooling, Skill Levels and Divisions of Play
29. Prizing
30. Minimum Age Requirement for Players
31. Spectators at Leagues and Events
32. Game Ejections in Officiated Leagues
33. No Smoking at Playing Venues
34. Games Scheduled on Statutory and Religious Holidays
35. Parking Guidelines
36. Lost and Found
37. Conflict Resolution
38. Videos and Photographs
1) Team Captains must:
- Know the guidelines of the JAM outlined here as well as the rules of their specific sport.
- Ensure that their teammates are aware of these guidelines and rules.
- Ensure that all teammates have a JAM profile, and have signed a waiver.
- Ensure that all required equipment is present for all games.
- Provide the JAM with a complete list of players and their contact information for their team by completing their rosters using the T.E.A.M. invitation system.
2) Waivers:
To be a sanctioned JAM player, you must have an active JAM profile (this facilitates completing the JAM waiver and accepting the Sportsmanship and Fair Play agreement). To do this, the team captain must send the player an invitation from the T.E.A.M. system (the exception is individual registrants who complete the waiver when they sign-up). Teams that are using non-sanctioned players will default their game and may be asked to leave the leagues without refund. Please click here to read more about player eligibility.
3) Physical or Unsportsmanlike Play and Suspensions:
Play that is rough or overly aggressive, taunting, or unsportsmanlike acts (name calling, threats, intimidation and discriminatory behaviours of any kind) will not be tolerated by the JAM and may result in the infracting player/team being ejected from the league without refund.
If reports of this kind of behaviour are received, the following steps are taken:
i) First report - player or team receives a formal warning.
ii) Second report - player or team receives a second warning and a possible suspension, per the discretion of the JAM Head Office
iii) Third report - player or team may be ejected from the league without refund and is not welcome back!
JAM members that are suspended or ejected from any program are not welcome to attend as spectators.
If a player is suspended from any JAM program, the suspension will apply to ALL of our leagues/activities until the conclusion of the initial suspension, unless they are informed otherwise. For example, if a member plays Floor Hockey on Monday's and Wednesday's and is suspended for one game following an incident in the Monday league, the suspension also applies to the Wednesday league.
Unsportsmanlike play can be reported at your TEAM profile. You must complete this form to file an official complaint about unsportsmanlike play. Only "official complaints" will be investigated by the JAM.
PLEASE NOTE: Teams can and will be held responsible for their players' conduct. If someone on your squad is behaving inappropriately, it is YOUR responsibility to keep him or her from doing so.
The JAM reserves the right to skip these steps as outlined above at their sole discretion and immediately eject a team or player from the league without refund. These decisions are non-appealable and failure to comply with them may result in further punitive measures.
4) Fighting/Punching:
Instances of this behaviour will be cause for immediate expulsion for all individuals involved, whether they are the instigators or retaliating.
5) Alcohol/Drugs:
Drinking of alcoholic beverages at JAM facilities/venues by players or spectators (indoor or outdoor) is strictly forbidden. Offenders will be asked to leave the league without refund: no exceptions!
For the safety of yourself, your teammates, your opponents, and our staff, members are not allowed to participate in JAM programs while impaired by the use of drugs or alcohol. Players may be asked to leave the game by the JAM representative on-site if they feel that the member's impairment creates a dangerous environment for both themselves and other members.
6) Incidents Which Result in Loss of Permits:
Any team or individual involved with any incident that results in the loss of a permit or which causes harm to the relationship between JAM and a facility may be expelled from the league without refund. Incidents can include, but are not limited to, the consumption of alcohol and/or illegal drugs at a facility, damages or vandalism to a facility (not directly resulting from the nature of sports), and abusive behaviour towards facility staff and/or JAM staff.
7) Emergency Contact List:
All team captains are advised to carry a list of emergency contact numbers for players on their team. In the event of an injury/emergency, these numbers can be utilized to notify the player's family in cases where medical treatment/attention is required. Captains are also advised to include a list of hospitals with emergency room service on this page. It will take the guesswork out of situations that are stressful and time sensitive. Click here to find the hospitals in your city.
8) First Aid:
First aid is the responsibility of the team captain. Ice packs, band aids, tensors and athletic tape are all things which can be used in the event of minor scrapes and bruises. If a JAM representative is on hand when there is an injury, we will be happy to assist in any way we can. We are not, however, responsible for providing tape for bad ankles, fingers etc. There may be a first-aid kit on-site at some venues, but please be prepared for all situations.
9) Blood During Games:
Any player who begins to bleed during a game must leave the playing area immediately. This player cannot return to the game until the bleeding has stopped and the wound has been sufficiently covered.
10) Suggested Protective Equipment:
Though not mandatory, the JAM highly recommends the use of mouth guards, eye protection, head protection and any other reasonable safety equipment. Mouth guards and squash/racquetball goggles can be purchased from most sporting goods stores. Ice hockey players must wear a helmet. Softball players or teams may supply and wear their own helmets if they chose to do so in the interest of safety. For all other sports, if a player would like to wear head protection, it must be soft in nature (i.e. a rugby skullcap). This is to ensure the safety of all players.
11) Reporting Injuries:
Injuries requiring further medical attention other than basic first aid must be reported to the JAM by team captains or co-captains. The injury report form is accessed from your team profile page in the schedule section. Select the game date with the relevant check box, and then select "Report Injury" from the "Options" drop down box at the bottom right hand corner of the schedule. Complete the form that appears on the next page.
12) Game Scores:
It is the team captain's responsibility to report the scores from each game by noon, two (2) business days after the game. This can be accomplished by logging into your JAM profile (click the "my profile" button above). Follow the links through to your schedule and select a game date to submit a score for. For further information, please click here. Scores that have not been approved by noon within two business days will be automatically approved. Scores listed as being "Disputed" will not be approved until the teams agree on the score. If you think a score is incorrect, please dispute it by the noon deadline or else it will be automatically approved. NOTE: For the last regular season game of the season, the deadline changes to noon, ONE (1) business day after the game. This will assist with the prompt posting of playoff schedules. At the end of the regular season, all unreported scores from previous weeks will be entered as a 0-0 tie, if they haven't already.
If you would like to update a score that was automatically approved as a 0-0 tie, please reach out to us directly and we can look into rectifying the score. However, once the playoff schedule is posted, scores cannot be changed afterwards. Only a playoff score can be changed before the next playoff game if there was an incorrect score or tie submitted.
Both teams must agree on the final score. If an agreement cannot be made on the final score, then both teams will receive a default loss.
If a team plays the incorrect opponent, the score will be recorded as a tie for all teams involved. Please double check to make sure you are playing the right team prior to your game.
13) Spirit Points:
Spirit Points are awarded on a scale from 0-5. When reporting scores, the captain must indicate the number of spirit points they would like to award to the other team. If a captain fails to call in the score by the noon deadline, the other team will automatically receive a rating of 5. Once a spirit score has been submitted, it is considered final and cannot be changed. Note: If you make an error when submitting, you only have the option of increasing the spirit score.
UPDATE September 2019: Spirit Points are recorded for each game but DO NOT impact overall league standings.
Please note: Spirit points are not used in officiated leagues like men's and women’s basketball, men's and women's ice hockey, men’s floor hockey, men's softball, men's and women's soccer, and men’s touch football. Spirit points will still display in the standings table, but teams cannot lose or deduct spirit points (any deductions submitted in a game score will be automatically reset to full points).
If a team defaults their game, they automatically lose their right to award spirit points to the team that they defaulted against - and the team that was defaulted upon automatically receives a "5" for their spirit score. Teams that are defaulted against can award the defaulting team any value that they want.
Teams that play by the rules, get to games on time and play with good sportsmanship will flourish! Click here for more details on Spirit Points.
14) Discrepancies:
Discrepancies or arguments regarding scores, complaints or any other ambiguous item must be dealt with within 3 business days after the latest posting of the scores on our website for the week in question. During the final week of the regular season, any and all discrepancies must be resolved by noon the following day. Captains should ensure that the score of their game has been recorded correctly by checking the JAM website. PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE OFFICE LOOKING FOR SCORES: sometimes scores are delayed in being reported, but they will always be posted as soon as they become available.
15) League Standings and Tie Break Guidelines:
Wins are worth 2 points, ties are worth 1 and losses are worth 0. If a team defaults, they will lose one point. Standings can be accessed from your user profile.
To break a tie in the Final Standings:
1) Defaulted Games*
2) Head-to-head competition**
3) Head-to-head points /-
4) Head-to-head points against
5) Division points /-
6) Division points against
* If two or more teams are tied at the end of the regular season, the team(s) who defaulted the fewest games will recieve the higher seed.
** The head-to-head tiebreaker is based on the regular season match-ups between two or more teams that may be tied in the standings at the end of a season. Note that head-to-head tiebreakers will not apply if three or more teams are tied and those teams did not play against each other an equal number of times.
If two teams are tied, the winner of the regular season match between the two teams will be ranked higher.
If the two teams did not play each other, tied during the regular season, or played multiple games and tied in total points from those match-ups, then the next criterion for breaking a tie will be used.
If three or more teams are tied, all games between only the tied teams during the regular season will be evaluated, and the team that has a higher total game points from only those games will be ranked higher. This criterion can only be used if all of the tied teams played against each other during the regular season for the same number of games (i.e. Team A played Team B, Team B played Team C, and Team C played Team A). However, if the teams did not all play against each other during the regular season for the same number of games but common sense tells us one team should be ahead of others (i.e. Team A beat Teams B and C in the regular season, but Teams B and C did not play in the regular season) then in this unlikely (but still possible) situation, the JAM Admin reserves the right to use their best judgment to fairly seed the teams.
16) Defaulting League Games:
Teams that default more than 2 games may be asked to leave the league without refund. If you know you may not be able to field a full team, please call the other captain in advance; you should attend with as many people as you can and play pick up...it is the fun and polite thing to do.
Captains may agree to wave the rules regarding the minimum people but this MUST be decided before the game starts. Simple communication between team captains can clear this up quickly and easily.
- If you agree that the game will count in the standings, all players should be made aware of this decision. IF IT IS AGREED THAT THE GAME COUNTS, IT COUNTS!
- If you are entitled to win by default, you must clearly discuss your intentions to do so with your opponents. You can then proceed to play for fun with both captains completely understanding that the result will not count.
- If you start to play against a team without making your intentions crystal clear to your opponents, you CANNOT claim a default retroactively.
FOR PLAYOFFS, please refer to Player Eligibility:
- Teams that use players who are not listed on a team roster may be subject to default and/or ejection from the league.
- All players participating in playoff games MUST be listed on the team roster. Defaults may occur retroactively due to incomplete rosters.
- For regular seasons that are less than 5 weeks, players must attend a minimum of 1 game in order to be eligible for playoff games.
- For regular seasons that are 5 - 8 weeks long, players must attend a minimum of 2 games in order to be eligible for playoff games.
- For regular seasons that are 9 weeks or more, players must attend a minimum of 3 games in order to be eligible for playoff games. Please respect this rule. Ringers are not welcome at playoff night!
JAM will have the final ruling should teams contact the office regarding playoff defaults disputes.
17) Team Uniforms and Dress:
- While the TEAM System allows you to select a team colour, all players should bring both a dark & light coloured shirt to all games as some teams MAY have the same colour. Always bring alternate shirts!Players should remove all watches, bracelets, necklaces, rings, earrings, etc, prior to play.
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Braces and casts of any kind (knee, wrist etc.) must be covered with protective material or garment (eg. sweat pants over a knee brace or a long sleeve shirt over a wrist brace). Players who do not do this may be asked to removed the item by the other team or JAM Ambassador.
18) Player Eligibility:
- During the regular season, team captains can use ANYONE as a player for their team as long as they have an active JAM profile. This includes adding last minute players from games just completed prior to the start of your game. When adding players in this manner, it is good sportsmanship to let your opponents know. As well, it is also sportsmanlike to only add players of the same approximate skill level. i.e. please do not add superstars to your recreational team. In compliance with the above player eligibility rule, players are able to play in multiple games on any given day (as full time or substitute players), but once a commitment is made to play for a specific team, for a specific game, that player must remain with that team for the duration of the game. A player cannot move from one team to another during the course of a game. Exception: if a team acquires a sub from another team to achieve the minimum number of players until their teammates arrive. In this scenario, that player can return to their original team, once the team is able to field a full lineup.
- Teams that use players who do not have an active JAM profile will be subject to a default loss and/or ejection from the league. Our staff will be checking!
- All players participating in playoff games MUST be listed on the team roster.
- For regular seasons that are 4 weeks or less in length, players must attend a minimum of 1 game in order to be eligible for playoff games.
- For regular seasons that are 5-9 weeks in length, players must attend a minimum of 2 games in order to be eligible for playoff games.
- For regular seasons that are 9 weeks or more, players must attend a minimum of 3 games in order to be eligible for playoff games.
- Please respect this rule. Ringers are not welcome at playoff night!
- Every individual participating in a JAM program has the right to compete as a member of the gender that they identify with; regardless of their gender at birth and whether or not they have undergone any medical treatments. Example: If an individual identifies as a woman, she will count towards the minimum number of females her team is required to have on the playing surface at any given time.
19) Facility Care and Respect:
Respect the schools: put things back where you found them, take all of your items with you and put trash in provided receptacles. Remember: you are in someone's work and learning environment. You would not like it if someone came in at night and left a pile of water bottles and clothing on you desk. Please be out by the hour specified on your schedule. It will either be 9:30pm or 10pm. If you abuse this, game times will be made earlier and the league could lose it's permits leaving you with NO REFUND and NO GAMES. This is in your hands. Enter and exit ONLY by the specified areas. Do not wander the schools in areas other than the gyms. Showers are not provided.
20) Foul Weather Guidelines:
Please note: JAM will contact you by email if we are notified during business hours that a venue is closed causing games to be cancelled
>> OUTDOOR LEAGUES FOUL WEATHER GUIDELINES:
- All JAM Games go ahead rain or shine (including snow, high temperatures, air quality, etc).
- JAM will not cancel games nor reschedule games due to foul weather.
- Ensure that your opponents will be attending your game by contacting the other captain (you do not need to contact JAM). You can find the information for your opponents in your online profile.
- It is always YOUR choice as to whether you attend your game or not. You MUST contact your opponents if your team is not able to attend a game.
- Since weather predictions are often inaccurate and weather often changes by the hour, it is recommended that any decisions to cancel games due to weather (heavy rain, lightning, air quality) should be made at the field at the designated start time.
- In the event of electrical storms or other unsafe weather during games, play should immediately be stopped, and players should take cover away from open spaces.
- If the unsafe weather passes, and both captains agree to play, the game continues.
- If the unsafe weather does not pass and BOTH captains do not agree to continue, the GAME ENDS AND THE SCORE COUNTS AS IT WAS WHEN THE GAME WAS STOPPED (as long as at least 20 minutes of play in a 55 minute game, 30 minutes of play in an 85 minute game, or 3 full innings has transpired).
- NOTE: If only one captain wants to continue and the other captain does not (due to player safety), the game is over. Please note:
- Weather professionals recommend the following: "Once in a safe location, remain there for 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder is heard before resuming your outdoor activities."
- If a game is halted due to foul weather, it will not be rescheduled and there will be no refunds or credits.
- JAM will contact you if we know about any park or field closures during business hours and will do our best to re-route you to a new field, where possible.
- Field closures after hours are done at the discretion of the park supervisor or school staff (i.e. not JAM). If this occurs, please respect the person in charge and do not play on the field.
- For all games cancelled due to official field closures (during OR after business hours), JAM may attempt to reschedule your game to a non-regular league night (this includes weekends). Rescheduled games are often difficult to coordinate and may not be possible.
- There will be no refunds or credits for field closures due to weather.
>> INDOOR LEAGUES FOUL WEATHER GUIDELINES:
- If venues remain open, then games proceed as scheduled.
- If weather conditions cause the closure of a JAM venue, games are cancelled. JAM will always contact you if we have information about a venue closure in advance. NOTE: Sometimes venues cancel at the very last second and don’t communicate with user groups like JAM.
- Ensure that your opponents will be attending your game by contacting the other captain (you do not need to contact JAM). You can find the information for your opponents in your online profile.
- It is always YOUR choice as to whether you attend your game or not. You MUST contact your opponents if your team is not able to attend a game.
>> SEVERE WEATHER EXCEPTIONS (Indoor or Outdoor):
The only exception to the above foul weather rules is if JAM declares a Severe Weather Situation, based on extreme and unusual weather (including poor air quality). In the event of a Severe Weather Situation where venues remain open, game standings will be recorded as ONE of the following:
- Games where both teams still want to attend and where both captains agree to play the game, the result of the game will be recorded as usual.
- If one team does not want to play (regardless if the other team wants to play or not), the game will be scored as a 0-0 tie. i.e. no team will be penalized for not being able to attend a game during a Severe Weather Situation.
Severe Weather Situation status will be used at the sole discretion of the JAM Admin Team and is not subject to debate. A decision on this status will be made at 3:00 pm on game day.
- JAM also reserves the right to retroactively apply Severe Weather Situation status. (i.e. for weekend games or games in which extreme weather is not evident by the 3:00 pm deadline).
- As always, please contact your opponents if you do not plan on attending.
- It is expected that Severe Weather Situation status will only be necessary in the rarest of occasions.
- There will be no refunds or credits for games where venues remain open, regardless of whether you attend or not.
21) Footwear & Clothing:
- Proper footwear and athletic clothing is highly encouraged in all JAM league games.
- Metal cleats are not permitted in any JAM leagues.
- Only non-marking soles may be worn in gymnasiums.
- Clothing is nessessary upon request. ( i.e. basketball/soccer shirt/jersey to be worn if opponent requests)
- Some facilities or sports may have other footwear specific requests, and all JAM players must abide by them. These kinds of requests will be noted in the location descriptions or rule book which are accessible in your TEAM profile.
- Failure to comply to JAM footwear rules may result in warnings, suspensions or ejections for the player's or team's involved.
22) Safety:
JAM attempts to ensure that all venues are safe and suitable for play. The majority of JAM games are self-officiated and thus a league representative is often not present at games. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the captains and all participants to inspect the playing area prior to playing their game to ensure it is safe for play and to make their OWN decision regarding personal safety in terms of a scheduled venue, playing style and transportation to a JAM league/event.
If captains/participants/teams decide a venue is unsafe for play and thus not to play at the scheduled venue at the scheduled time for personal safety reasons, please contact the JAM office to discuss alternate arrangements and/or rescheduling of the game in question. In this situation, a default will not be enforced and every attempt will be made to facilitate a reschedule.
23) Game Rescheduling:
Cancellations, change of venues and or change of times or days may occur on short notice. Rescheduled games due to cancellations or venue disruptions may be played on a different night of the week, at a different (but comparable) venue or at a different time than originally posted.
Games where teams play the incorrect opponent will not be rescheduled. The score will be reported as a tie.24) Cancellation Policy:
CANCELLATION POLICY
Updated March 31, 2021
A) CANCELLATION REQUESTS MADE 14 DAYS OR MORE BEFORE THE ORIGINALLY POSTED START DATE OF YOUR PROGRAM: 100% refunds will be granted for any cancellation requests made 14 days or more before the originally posted start date of that particular program. No questions asked! Go ahead and register with confidence knowing that you can get a full refund if something comes up within this time frame. For example: if your original program start date is May 15th, just let us know that you need out before the end of the day on May 1st. If you prefer, we can provide you with full-value credits that can be used for a future registration instead - your choice.
B) CANCELLATION REQUESTS MADE WITHIN 14 DAYS OF THE ORIGINALLY POSTED START DATE OF YOUR PROGRAM: Cancellation requests of this nature will not be accepted. No credits or refunds will be issued. For example: if your program starts on May 15th, cancellation requests will not be accepted on May 2nd or beyond. We need this time to prepare for the launch of the program and a registration change will impact this process.
EXCEPTION: For extenuating circumstances, we will try our best to sell your spot to another member (essentially replacing you in the program).
- If we are successful at selling your spot, we will issue you a credit equal to the amount received from the spot sale. There are no refunds. NOTE: We can only sell the spot during the first half of the program's season. Also, it is possible that the amount received from the spot sale may be less than what you originally paid (e.g. the program has already started, and we are only able to sell your spot at a prorated price).
- If we are not successful at selling your spot, there will be no compensation issued. The spot will remain yours.
C) MISSED GAMES DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES. For any programs that are cut short or otherwise cannot be played due to unforeseen circumstances out of the JAM's control (non-weather related interruption to venue access, labor dispute, government mandate, etc.), the JAM will endeavor to provide full value to all participants with the following possible outcomes:
- Reschedule games to an alternative date or location, or
- Extend program dates beyond the original time frame in order to get games played, or
- Issue credits to all affected participants on a pro-rated basis. NOTE: Any credits that are issued will be calculated based on the "Program Fee" portion of the registration (75% of the total registration fee). Credits will NOT be issued based on the "Member Fee" portion of the registration (25% of the total registration fee). There are no refunds for missed games.
The JAM will do our best to help our members by ensuring credits are applied equally between all team members, transfer credits to friends or family members, and transfer credits between regions where our programs operate (as requested by the credit holder).
25) Contact Information:- Team-mates and JAM staff have access to all your contact information, including your email address.
- Non-team-mates can send you messages through our TEAM messaging system - which you receive as email - but cannot see your email address.
- If you are the captain of a team, other captains in the same pool can see your phone numbers, but not your email address. They can also use the messaging system to contact you (this does not disclose your email address). This is necessary to facilitate communication about game defaults, late arrivals etc.
- Finally, you have the option of hiding your phone numbers from any other users in the system other than ones listed above. This can managed in the "Edit My Profile" tab in your TEAM profile.
26) Double Headers:For standings purposes, every team must play the same number of games (Note: teams entering late into a league may be excluded from this).
- If everyone in your division plays a double-header, then both games will count towards the standings.
- If some teams do not play a double-header during the season, then the first game of the double-header will count for both teams in the standings, but the second game will only count for the double-header team's opponent in the standings.
- If some, but not all, teams play more than one double-header, then for the second double-header in the schedule the first game will count for both teams in the standings, but the second game will only count for the double-header team's opponent in the standings.
- NOTE: Double header schedules do not always work out perfectly. Sometimes a few teams (or only one team) will not have a double header week. The net result is that some teams end up playing extra games (i.e. more games than what was originally promised during registration) while some teams simply get the exact number of games promised during registration. We will NOT compensate the teams that do not get these extra games. Similarly, we do not charge more for teams that get extra games.
27) Team Names:
Team names that contain profanity, obscenities, and any other words or sentiments considered offensive and/or inappropriate and that conflict with any JAM guidelines and/or philosophy of sportsmanship are not allowed. Teams contacted by JAM must change their team name upon request.
28) Pooling, Skill Levels and Divisions of Play:
- Teams that finish in higher positions of a division may be moved up a level at the JAM's discretion at the end of a season.
- Teams that finish in lower positions of a division may be moved down a level at the JAM's discretion at the end of a season.
- Pools may be reshuffled mid-season if the JAM feels it is in the best interest of the majority of teams in a particular division.
- Skill levels may be combined depending upon the number of participants for each skill level.
29) Prizing:
- Prizes are awarded to the first place playoff championship team of each pool.
- Prizes are given to the winning team at the seasonal awards party which is designated by the JAM for a given day, time and location.
- Teams or a team representative must be present at the awards party to receive their prizes. Teams may forfeit their prizes if they --or a team representative-- are not in attendance at the awards party. Teams that forfeit their prizing are not entitled to any other compensation, financial or otherwise.
- Prize packages, including the actual prizes or the number of prizes, are allocated at the sole discretion of the JAM. Substitutions or exchanges may not be available.
- Prize packages change with each season. Please visit grandrapids.jamsports.com/awardsnight to see what the prize package is for the current season.
30 Minimum Age Requirements for Players: All players must be 18 years of age or older.
31) Spectators at Leagues and Events:
Spectators are welcome to view JAM leagues and events. Spectators are considered to be the equivalent of team members; as such, their actions are the responsibility of the team captain and each spectator must abide by all JAM rules and guidelines. JAM members that are suspended or ejected from any programs are not welcome to attend as spectators. Children also fall into the category of spectators, and any child that accompanies their parent to a game must be closely monitored at all times and may not wander around the venue or come near the playing surface. Children are the direct responsibility of their parent/guaradian. Parents must keep their children in a safe place that prevents them from interfering with the playing area and keeps them out of harms way at all times.
32) Game Ejections in Officiated Leagues:
If a player is ejected from an officiated game (i.e. a red card in soccer, 2 technical fouls in basketball, etc.), that player receives an automatic one-game suspension. Incidents are also subject to further discipline pending review. Please note that in basketball, fouling out (5 fouls) is not considered to be an ejection.
33) No Smoking at Playing Venues:JAM members must comply with posted no-smoking signs at playing venues. For example, there is no smoking allowed on any school board properties. Players who break no-smoking guidelines that cause loss of venues are subject to the sanctions posted here. Please note: This rule applies to cigarettes, marijuana and electronic smoking devices.
34) Games Scheduled on Statutory and Religious Holidays:In general, JAM games occur when venues are open for use. This means that games can occur on statutory and religious holidays. Games that fall on religious holidays that occur on dates other than recognized statutory holidays will not be re-scheduled by JAM. Individuals and teams affected by this guidelines are absolutely free to choose not to play their games; however, JAM will not be responsible for rescheduling of games or any financial damages for teams or individuals wishing to observe their religious holidays. If you are unsure whether or not your JAM league is affected by this guidelines, please make sure to check at the sports offered page in the specific details of your program.
35) Parking Guidelines:
Parking is not guaranteed at any of our venues. If you wish to drive to a venue, it is your responsibility to park legally and obey all parking signs and laws. JAM bears no responsibility if you fail to comply with parking signs and laws. JAM is also not responsible for such things like tickets, towing, or damages such as windshields or break-ins.
36) Lost and Found:
JAM is not responsible for any items that are lost/found while onsite at game venues. If you have lost or left behind a personal item at your game please first contact the head office at grandrapids@jamsports.com or 616-608-5003. Please do not contact (or visit) the venues yourself. We will do our best to help you locate your item.
37) Conflict Resolution:
There may be occasions where conflicts arise during your game and we recognize it can be difficult to manage these situations. To help prevent these moments from escalating, we’ve created a step-by-step process for captains to use in the moment. Find out what actions you can take to avoid conflict.
38) Videos and Photographs:
If anyone on or associated with your team would like to take pictures or videos of the game being played, consent must be given from the ENTIRE opposing team. If consent is not provided by ANYONE on the opposing team, the team or player must put the device away and refrain from taking any videos or photographs during the game. If a team continues to take videos or photos of the game after consent has been denied, they will be asked to leave the facility by the JAM representative and their team will be given a default loss. Teams may also face additional disciplinary actions under the discretion of the JAM Head Office.