12.) Amends the bylaws to restructure the USQRA teams into three divisions. 

Submitted by: Tom Hamill, USQRA Commissioner 

Identify the specific provision that will be changed: 

Final language revisions will need to be made and approved by the Executive Board. 

State the language of the proposal: 

The League shall be divided into three Divisions, Premier, First and Developmental. These names may be changed at any time by the Executive Board. Teams will select at registration which division they will play in during the season, within parameters set in the Bylaws and subject to approval by the Commissioner. 

Premier Division teams will be based upon the current Division 1 teams of the USQRA. 

First Division teams will be based upon the current Division 2 teams of the USQRA.   These teams will remain community based teams.  

Developmental Division teams will be based upon the current crop of teams less than five years old and established teams in a developmental phase. Teams having played in Nationals the prior three seasons will be presumed not eligible for the Developmental Division, subject to appeal to the Commissioner. These teams will remain community based teams. Teams finishing first or second in the Developmental Division national championship will be promoted to the First Division. 

A program may have two or more member teams and may place their teams in any division, subject to the Bylaws. Pre-season transfers among teams in a program will not be subject to transfer regulations if both teams continue playing during that season.

Postseason structure

The Commissioner will submit the season’s postseason structure to the Executive Board by November 15 of each season. This list will be subject to member comment and may be amended by vote of the Executive Board prior to December 1 of that year.

Any division with six teams or less will hold a round-robin national championship tournament culminating in a national championship game. All other tournaments will be formatted pursuant to USQRA Bylaws and precedent. 

Any division with at least nine teams will be split into Sections. Any Section with at least nine teams will be split into Regions. In setting sections and regions, the Commissioner will balance geography, competitive balance and number of teams. No transfers between Sections will be allowed. 

Moving divisions for cause

A team deciding to move to a lower division shall submit a brief statement of reasons along with their registration. The Commissioner shall grant such a move provided it does not appear to be designed to allow the moving team to overwhelm lesser competition.