JSN CFFL

Basic Rules of Play

This is just a basic guideline of rules of play, this is not the actual constitution, but will act as a Constitution and the Official Rules until such time that it is deemed necessary to write up a League Constitution. Until that time, in case of any discrepancy, this guideline shall act as the official rules governing the JSN CFFL and will be the basis upon what issues need clarification. If there are any grey areas or situations that arise that is not covered in this article, it will exclusively be the decision of the Commissioner to make the appropriate ruling on such issues. After that time, the new issues will be discussed at the next AOM and will be added to this document, until that time the Commissioner’s decision will be final.

1 – The opponents are determined by the schedule posted on the website. The Home team announces their starting lineup first on the league message board for all to see, (preferably a minimum of 2 hours before kickoff of the first game). Once the Home team has announced their lineup, the Visiting team can post their lineup before kickoff of the first game. The Visiting team CANNOT use ANY of the players that the Home team has advised is in their lineup. If this happens, the Visiting team will get a 0 for that player. There are many rules involved with what happens if one of the teams does not post their lineup on time which will be clarified later in the official Constitution, but it does allow for the non-infracting team to make changes to their lineup AFTER the games have started. So please post on time.

LINEUP PENALTIES:

In the event that the Home team does not post their lineup on the league message board, or advise their opponent or Commissioner of their lineup in time for the first game of the week the following can/shall apply:

The Visiting team can play any players whose game(s) have already started. This means that if a Home team does not post a starting lineup on by kickoff of the 1^st game of the week, the Visiting team can then wait until halftime of the game that has already started to decide to use any players from that game. Failure of the Visiting team to post a player by halftime eliminates this advantage for the Visiting team. Also, if the Home team has not posted by kickoff, they will not be allowed to post a lineup that includes any of the players from the 1^st game (or ANY game that has already started) at all.

If a Home team continually posts late, the Commissioner’s office will investigate and will deal with accordingly.

If the Home team has posted late but has used players from a game that has already started, it is the Visiting team’s responsibility to bring that to the Commissioner’s attention. The League Office will not be monitoring times lineups are posted, that is between the 2 owners involved in the game. The Commissioner will look at the time stamp on the message board and will allow a marginal grace period (usually around 15 minutes after the scheduled kickoff time, keep in mind that the scheduled televised time and kickoff time are NOT the same. Just because the game starts at 6pm on TSN, doesn’t mean that kickoff is right at 6pm, this will be taken into consideration when determining the lateness of an Owner’s posting), however, if the Commissioner deems the Home team to have posted late, the Commissioner will give a score of 0 to all of the infracting players from the Home team’s lineup, will advise the Visiting team of their deadline to post players/change lineup including players from the game(s) that have already started as well as using any illegal players in the Home team’s lineup. After the Visiting team has made their changes, the Home team is then allowed to correct their lineup but cannot use players that the Visiting team has played.

If either Owner starts a player that is not playing, they will be allowed to change them for another player but the Owner needs to bring it to the Commissioner’s attention immediately in order to determine if the infracting Owner has enough time to switch the player out with one from the same game or if it is simply too late and the player can then only be switched out for a player that is playing later. Because quite often a player is a game time decision or last-minute scratch a little extra leeway will be given with the grace period, but only an extra 5-10 mins. This is always up to the Commissioner’s discretion and the Commissioner’s decision is final.

If the Visiting team plays a player that the Home team has already announced as a starter for them, the Visiting team will be allowed to switch out that player for another one unless that player’s game has already started. No grace period will be given. Playing someone who has already clearly been indicated as a starter is different than a last-minute scratch.

Any other issues will be added as they are encountered.

2 – A starting lineup consists of the following:

Quarterback – as of the 2018 AOM it may be counted as a Canadian

6 offensive players – any offensive players from any team, only stipulation is that there must be 1 Canadian players (maximum of 1 at any position) changed from 2 Canadians to 1 at the 2019 AOM

Kicker – may be a Canadian, but ONLY the Visiting team has the option of using a Kicker as the 1 required Canadian in their starting lineup, the Home team does NOT have this option, amended at 2019 AOM

Special Teams/Defence

Head Coach – as per the 2020 AOM, the Coach’s score will be implemented into the Owner’s weekly score based on performance, see the Scoring Table below or on the homepage of the site

3 – You can make changes to your lineup by simply posting a message on the message board as to who is out and who is in, if your game hasn’t started yet. However, please keep in mind that there are a few minutes of leeway given regarding that. A lot of times the games don’t start right on time and we don’t find out who is playing until the first offensive series. Your messages are time stamped on the website, if you’re not more than 20 minutes past kickoff, you should be okay. The Commissioner will have final say if there are any concerns regarding late posting. Because the Home team has all week leading up to the first game’s kickoff, if kickoff was 6pm and your posting is time stamped as 6:01, you are late and the late penalties shall apply and the Visiting team can take advantage of this if they so wish.

4 – Any player can be replaced at any time through the course of the ‘game’ with any other qualifying player as long as none of the players’ games have started yet. (see rule 3 above for clarifications on start times)

5 – All starting lineups will accrue points based on the following table (which is also posted on the website)

6 – In the event of any discrepancy, the Commissioner shall rule on the issue and the Commissioner’s decision is final.

JSN CFFL Scoring Table: Updated Post 2020 AOM
		Red = Change or addition since last AOM
	OFFENSIVE SCORING			DEFENSIVE SCORING
	TYPE OF SCORE		PTS	TYPE OF SCORE	PTS
	TD Pass		5	Sack	1
	TD Rush		6	Interception	2
	TD Reception		6	Fumble Recovery	2
	2pt Cvt Pass		2	Safety Touch	2
	2pt Cvt Rush		2	DEF/ST TD	6
	2pt Cvt Rec		2	Shutout	10
	INT Thrown		-2	3rd Down Turnover	2
	Fumble Lost		-2	ALL DEF/ST Scores
	PERFORMANCE BONUSES			K & SPECIAL TEAMS
	10 rush yards		1	Field Goal	3
	10 rec yards		1	50+ Field Goal	2
	50 pass yards		1	Rouge	1
	Reception		1
	Rushing Attempt		0.5	HANDICAP SCORING
	Heach Coach Win		add 50% Coach Score	Visitor Victory	3
	Head Coach Loss		minus 50% Coach Score	Home Victory	2
	Head Coach Tie		add 25% Coach Score
	All scoring also counts for individual player as well when applicable

7 – The game is complete when the weekend’s CFL games are complete. At the end of the game, the Commissioner will post the final ‘unofficial’ scores on the message board including individual player scoring. This is all done manually for the most part so it is very possible that there are errors in the scoring. It doesn’t happen often, but there is a margin of error. It is each owner’s responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the scoring for both themselves and their opponent. Bring any issues to the Commissioner’s attention immediately. Once the next week’s games have started, the prior week’s games become official and cannot be changed. In this case an appeal can be made to the Commissioner.

One thing to note here is the difference between how John reported the scores and how I report the scores. John would wait until the games were over and post very soon after the final game. I like doing the “live scoring” way of things and posting them at the end of each “quarter” (1^st game of the week being the 1^st quarter and so on), this makes less work for me at the end of the game, gives you an idea of how you are doing and allows all owners to question scoring much sooner.

8 – Once the scores are posted, the Commissioner will update the schedule & standings and will post on website. We will continue in this fashion until all 14 weeks of regular season are played.

9 – As of the end of regular season, playoffs will be as follows:

1^st place team in each division will receive a bye in the 1^st round.

2^nd place team in each division will host their respective playoff game

The next 2 highest ranking teams, regardless of division will make the playoffs. The team that crosses over will stay in that division until the end of the playoffs. If no team crosses over, then the 3^rd place teams will play the 2^nd place teams and the winners advance and so on. The Commissioner will make all the final decisions regarding tie breakers, playoff placement etc. If there are any issues, the Co-Commissioner will make the final decision if the Commissioner cannot rectify the situation.

10 – When the season is over, the Commissioner will tabulate all the financial info, contact each owner individually and will assess the financial situation of the franchise, pay out all winnings and provide a financial statement for all to see. As per the 2016 AOM, the Commissioner will pay for all engraving out of pocket, but any and all money left over after all payouts and credits have been given out will go directly to the Commissioner for running the league and the league running financial total will be $0 every year.

11 – Miscellaneous stuff:

All owners will pay $60 entry fee

The Commissioner will pay for the engraving of the trophy out of pocket (as per 2016 AOM)

If there are ANY issues, the Commissioner’s decision is final. If it is acceptable, an appeal on any decisions can be made to the Co-Commissioner, his or her decision is final and cannot be appealed any further.

When in doubt, let your opponent know as well as posting something on the message board. Give others the same courtesy that you would like given to you. Almost all of us are texting now, shooting a quick text to your opponent is appreciated.

The only way this league stays so enjoyable and easy to play/run is when ALL the owners are on the same page and all abide by the rules, ESPECIALLY posting your lineups in a timely manner. I understand that we all get busy from time to time, but there is no excuse for not posting on time if you are the Home team. We had almost zero issues with this the past couple of years, I trust that will continue.

I am sure I am forgetting a bunch of little things here, I am sure they will come up at some point.

If anyone has any questions about ANYTHING relating to this league and its rules, please contact me directly. Thanks, and good luck to all this season.