Article 1: Associaton Overview Section 1. League Heirarchy The Steel City Pinball Association (SCPA) will appoint a president who will preside over all SCPA leagues and events. The role of the president is to sanction leagues and events, appoint league officers, and to change the league Constitution in whichever way is necessary to maintain the association's integrity. The SCPA will also appoint a vice-president to assist the president in the above duties, and to take over the role of the president in the case of temporary or permanent leave by the president. In the case that the vice-president is forced to take over the presidency, a special election will be called for the vice-presidency, as detailed in Section 3. The SCPA will also appoint players to ranks of authority so that there are at least 8 players in each league and 12 players in the association on this list. The president may change this list at any time, but must give 2 weeks' notice. Each league shall have a League Coordinator. The League Coordinator will be responsible for maintaining smooth operation of that league, including but not limited to, having all appropriate materials available to players at all times, being present at all league events, having a schedule made readily available to players at least 1 week before league commencement, collecting and accounting for dues, reporting scores and conferring with the Association president where necessary. Each League Coordinator shall be appointed by the president. Any special event shall have an Event Coordinator. The duties of the Event Coordinator shall be the same as those of the League Coordinator. Both the Event and League Coordinator may, at any time, appoint special officers to assist in their duties. The Event and League Coordinator is at all times responsible for the actions of any officers they appoint. Section 2. Membership A player is a member of the SCPA if that person is * A permanent member of a team that is currently playing, or of a team that played the previous season and will be playing in the upcoming season, or of a team that has played a previous season and will be skipping no more than one (1) season, and * A resident of Allegheny County, or an adjacent county, OR * Has been designated specifically by the Association President and Association Vice-President as a member. This special status can be revoked at any time by joint agreement of the Association President and Association Vice-President. Section 3. Elections All SCPA members are eligible to vote in any election, or to run in any election. Elections for SCPA President and Vice-President will occur once per year on the first Thursday in May. Any person may run for either or both offices without nomination. No person may be elected to both positions: if so elected, he must choose which position he wishes to fill. At any time, a written petition by 15% of the SCPA membership can force a recall election, provided that such an election has not occured anytime in the last 3 months. Such an election would take place 2 weeks after said petition is submitted to the Association President. Voting in all elections shall occur in a 3-2-1 fashion. Each member shall list on his ballot his first, second and third choices for each office. These choices shall be awarded three points, two points and one points respectively. The member receiving the most points shall be awarded the office. Any member voting may include a "None of the above" as one of his three choices. In the event of a tie between two or more members, the candidate receiving the most first-place votes shall be awarded the office. If that does not resolve the tie, all candidates still tied shall run a special run-off election, and then follow the same tie-breaker method above. If at any point such tie-breakers result in an unbreakable loop, the current association president shall decide the winner among all remaining tied candidates. Section 4. Meetings There are currently no general meetings for the SCPA. It is the responsibility of the president to schedule meetings as per the needs of the Association. Section 5. Changes to Constitution. The president and vice-president may, in agreement with one another, amend the league constitution without notice. However, all members as of before the time that the consitution was so altered may force a recall of said constitutional alteration with a petition consisting of 15% of the SCPA membership, submitted to the president no more than 2 weeks from the time of the alteration. In this case, a 2/3 vote of the membership is required to override the Constitutional change. The SCPA membership may also petition for a Constitutional rule change with a petition consisting of 15% of the SCPA membership. Any such petition must state specifically which rules are to be changed, with exact textual descriptions of the replacements/additions/subtractions to be made. Such a petition must be submitted to the president in writing. Votes on such a petition must be received by the league president no more than 2 weeks from the date the petition is submitted to the Association President. A majority vote is required to adopt the proposed change, except in the case where the President vetoes the vote, in which case a 2/3 vote is a required. A "no" vote from the Association President is not the equivalent of a "veto". Article II - Constitutional authority Section 1. League Governance The SCPA Constitution may detail guidelines for all leagues and events under its jurisdiction. Such rules may only be changed as detailed in Article I, Section 5. Types of rules include, but are not limited to, specific rules for individual machines, player conduct, dues, league scoring systems, and player membership. Section 2. League Autonomy Any rule not explcitly mentioned in this Constitution is left to the authority of the individual League Coordinator or League Charters, whichever is appropriate. The Association may not force a rule change to a league in the middle of a season, except to veto a change made by a League Coordinator in the middle of a season, per Section 4, or per an association-wide vote, commissioned by either both the Association President and Vice-President, or by a petition of 20% of the SCPA membership. Section 3. League Construction Each league must have a league charter prepared and presented to the members of that league no less than 1 week before the league's inception. Each League Coordinator must also present a schedule to its players, as well as at least an estimate of the end-of-the-season prizes. Section 4. Changes to League Charter Changes to a League Charter can be made either by decree of the League Coordinator or by a vote of that league's membership, mandated by a petition of 15% of that league's membership. Any changes to a League Charter can be vetoed by the Association President. A petition of 20% of the SCPA membership or 20% of the League Coordinators can be made to override this veto. All votes for such must be received no more than 2 weeks after the date the petition was submitted to the Association President. In the event of a tie in this vote, the Association Vice-President will issue a final ruling, even if he was already voted. All SCPA members are eligible to vote in such a referendum. Article III - General League Regulations Section 1. Recording Scores All scores must be recorded. The score of a unrecorded game is zero, except by permission of the League Coordinator who may estimate a score. A player who purposely erases scores or purposely records false information is immediately suspended from the league. If any player, either intentionally or unintentionally, restarts a game in progress or prevents any scores from being recorded, the opposing team receives a "zero" for both scores. Any player other than his partner who did not have their scores recorded may either replay their games or accept an estimated score from the League Coordinator. Such a decision has to be made before the games are replayed. If the player(s) decide to accept the League Coordinator's estimates, they may only change their mind via a filed protest. The League Coordinator may not estimate a score for a match he is involved with. He must defer to the next player of authority who is both present and not involved in said match. Section 2. Completeness All scoresheets must contain all of the following information: * The scores in all games of all players. * The full names of all players, including substitutes. * The full team names of all participating teams. * Any information regarding player absenteeism. * The machine the match was played on. * The time and date of the match. * The league name. * The signatures of one player of each team. * Any other information deemed necessary for proper scorekeeping of the match. It is the responsiblity of the League Coordinator to make sure that all of this information is included on each sheet. Section 3. Malfunctions/Special Rulings Any disputes in a match are first decided upon by any pre-existing Association guidelines for those conditions, as detailed in this Constitution. If the Constitution fails to address a problem, is the responsibility of the League Coordinator to issue a ruling. The League Coordinator options include but are not limited to the following: * Declare a machine unplayable and move any matches, including matches in progress, to another machine. In the case where a match in progress is moved, all games played in that match are erased. * Declare a malfunction to be acceptable and to order the players to continue to play on that machine. * Allow a player to replay a single game, one ball, or to add one ball via the buy-in extra ball. The option of using a buy-in extra ball must not be available before a player can be allowed to add the score of one ball of a seperate game. * Add or subtract from a player's score in conjunction with the effect of a malfunction. * Disqualify a player or team for a game or entire match. Once the League Coordinator has made a ruling, the ruling holds for the rest of the night, and cannot be taken back. That ruling must then be submitted to the Association President who may either accept the ruling or reject it and add an alternate ruling, adding either to the Association Constitution if it is for a likely repeatable situation. The Association President may order that the affected match be replayed or have its scores changed. Any rulings, either by League Coordinator or Association President can be protested as per Section 4. Section 4. Protests Any decision rendered by a League Coordinator may be protested by a player in that league. The protest must be submitted in writing to the Assocation President. A decision will then be made based on a three-person panel of the association's highest ranked members not directly involved with the match being protested. A majority decision from the panel in writing will decide the issue. Any protest must be accompanied by a $6 deposit. If the protest results in any change of the League Coordinator or Association President's decision, the deposit will be refunded. Otherwise, the deposit is kept by the association. Section 5. Suspensions Any player who is suspended from the league for any reason specified in this Constitution must present a written explanation of his situation before the president, vice-president and next highest ranking player. If one of the above mentioned individuals is the player suspended, the next highest ranking member takes his place. This explanation is due to the president (or vice-president if the president is involved) one week from the date of supsension. The three person panel will then issue a ruling regarding this suspension. Only the Association President may suspend any player for reasons not specifically outlined in this Constitution. Article IV: Specific league regulations, doubles leagues Section 1. Tilts Any player who tilts loses his ball, as per normal play. Any player who slam tilts the machine receives a zero for his game, as does his partner. The winning team may accept to either keep their scores or play another game alone. They must decide this together: either both scores are kept, or neither, and they must make this decision before any further games in that match are played. Slam tilts must be recorded on the scoresheet. Both the player who slam tilted and his partner receive two losses for individual standings, and their opponents each receive two wins. A player who tilts the ball of another player receives a zero for his game, though his partner's score is unaffected. The player whose ball was tilted must decide before starting his next ball if he wants to replay his game, or play one extra ball at the end of his game, either by using a buy-in extra ball, using an extra ball earned in the course of play, or playing the first ball of a seperate game and adding it to his final score. If he fails to decide before launching his next ball, it will be assumed that he wishes to add an extra ball to his game. A player who doesn't not tilt the ball of an opponent but rather gives him a danger warning does not receive a zero for his game unless it is his second or greater occurence of such in that match. The player who received the danger warning must decide before launching his ball whether we wants to simply continue playing as normal, or play an new game. He must decide this before launching his ball. If he fails to decide before launching his ball, it will be assumed that the player chooses to continue playing as normal. Section 2. Interference Any player who deliberately interferes with any match in progress is automatically supsended from the league and he and his partner receive a zero for the game in progress. Accidental interference results in a zero only for the player who caused the interference: his partner my still continue to play, assuming that it wasn't his game interfered with, else he also receives a zero for that game. If the opponents in that match were interefered with then they have the choice of replaying their match or accepting their score and adding one extra ball. If a player interferes inadvertently with a different match in progress, the player in that match may decide to continue playing his game and add one extra ball at the end or replay his match. He must make this decision at the end of his ball in progress, or whenever the machine has reached an indefinite stopping point requiring the player to do something to continue the game, such as when a player locks a ball and must serve another ball to continue. If a player receives a zero as a result of interference, that result is also factored into individual standings and seasonal and lifetime machine performance statistics. It is the sole discretion of the League Coordinator to determine what defines "interference". Section 3. Doubles Match Construction Each doubles match will consist of two teams of two players each, playing 3 four-player games on a single machine. Teams will alternate turns, so that player 1 and player 3 in each game are on the same team. Each team may choose which player they want playing in each available position. The team that goes first in the first match is determined by a coin toss: the winner of the toss decides whether they want to play 1st and 3rd or 2nd and 4th. The position of subsequent games is chosen by the loser of the previous game in that match. Section 4. Rules for scoring Five game points are allocated in each game in a match. Each match consists of all 15 game points, plus two bonus points for a total of 17 possible points. The points are allocated as follows: In each game, one game point is awarded to the team of a player who gets a higher score than a player on the opposite team. Each combination of scores is considered, so that this way four points are allocated. One additional game point is given to the team with the higher combined machine score among its two players. After all three games in a match are played, one bonus point is given to the team with the higher combined score of both of their players in all three games, and one bonus point is given to the team of the player with the highest single game score of all games played. Section 5. Player Absenteeism Substitute players may be used for players who do not show up. It is the sole discretion of the League Coordinator whether or not to allow any given player as a substitute. No permanent player of a team may also be a substitute player in the same league. One player may also play both players in a match, subject to the approval of all players in that match and the League Coordinator. If no person is available to substitute for a missing player, the match is played as normal, and the player on the absent players teams must simply launch the ball for him without flipping. His score is recorded and compared with other games score in that match as normal. If the player shows up in the middle of a match, he may join the match in progress. Any game where a player does not show up is not counted towards his individual rankings, although any game where the player plays at least one ball is. Alternately, games played entirely an absent player do not count towards individual rankings, whereas games played only partially against an absent player, where the missing player played part of the game, do count towards individual rankings. Section 6. Team Absenteeism If a team's opponents do not show up for a match, that team has the option of either accepting a forfeit or rescheduling the match. For the latter, it is up to the team that did not show up to reschedule the match, and if the match is not played before the last day of the regular season because the two teams cannot agree on a date to player the rematch, then the match is considered a forfeit for the team that showed up on the originally scheduled match date. If a team does not accept a forfeit and instead both teams agree on a date on which to play the rescheduled match, then the new rescheduled date for the match is now the official date for that match, and any new forfeits are now solely based on the teams' attendance on that date. Section 7. Team Standings A team's individual standings are determined by the number of match points received in an entire season divided by the number of matches that that team has played. If any team plays less than one third of their scheduled matches, results from all matches against that team are not considered for purposes of team ranking or individual ranking, although they are still eligible for high score awards. If two teams are tied, the higher standings go to the team with the fewest number of forfeits. If the two teams are still tied, the tie-breaker goes to the team with the better record in matches played between those teams in that season. If the two teams are still tied, the tie-breaker goes to the team with the better combined score in matches played between them. If those two teams are still tied, then the tie-breaker goes to the team who has the higher 2-player combined average score on more machines in that season, not counting any machines that either team did not play. If the two teams are still tied, and all regular-season matches have been played and a tie-breaker is necessary for purposes of playoffs, then the two teams will play one tie-beaker match on a machine to be determined by the League Coordinator. The winner of the match will be the higher ranked team. If three or more teams are tied, the teams are next ranked by which team had the fewest number of forfeits. If all teams are still tied, the tie-breaker goes to the team with the highest winning percentage based upon matches between the teams still tied. If all teams are still tied, the tie-breaker goes to the team with the highest points-per-match average based upon matches between the teams still tied. If all teams are still tied, then the tie-breaker goes to the team who has the higher 2-player combined average score on more machines in that season, not counting any machines that no team played. If three or more teams are still tied, then the remaining tied teams will play on match between each pair of teams still tied, on machines to be determined by the League Coordinator. The ranking of the teams is then determined by the winning percentage in these matches. If any teams have the same winning percentage in these matches, then they are tied, and the above tie-breaker rules are then re-applied only to the matches that these teams played. If at any time in determining the ranking of tied teams any tie-breaker eliminates any team, then the above rules must be re-applied to only the teams still tied starting from the first tie-breaker rule. Any tie-breaker matches played are not applied to regular season results for either team or individual performance, and scores from tie-breaker matches cannot be used to win high score awards. The scores may however be used for player ratings systems and may be recorded for statistical purposes not affecting the outcome of the season in progress. In order to be eligible for any post-season play, each team must have both players present at at least 2/3 of their scheduled matches. Section 8. Forfeits If a team forfeits a match, they receive zero points for that match. The team that won the forfeit receives as many points as the team that received the highest number of points that week of the entire list of teams that the winning team is in some official form in competition with. Matches considered when making this calculation are all matches scheduled to play the same week as the forfeited match, regardless of when those matches are actually played. The decision whether or not to accept the forfeit or reschedule the match must be made at the time of the allowed forfeit, which is 15 minutes after the start of the match, or earlier if decided by the League Coordinator. Section 9. Game Settings All machines are to be played on Tournament Mode, if it is possible. If it is not possible for some reason, this information must be recorded on the scoresheet. Any game which begins without Tournament Mode enabled when it was possible is null and void, and the player who pressed the Start Button is responsible for playing for all games lost. Section 10. Extra Balls Extra balls are not to be played. If a player receives an extra ball, he may only shoot the ball, and not touch the flippers. He is entitled to all points the game awards from launching the ball, including End-Of-Ball Bonus. If for some reason the machine will not allow the ball to end by simply launching it, a player on the opposite team will instead launch the ball and end the ball as quickly as possible. Section 11: Dues Dues are payable at the start of each match. Each player on each team must pay dues for each week that they are scheduled to play, whether or not they actually wind up playing their match. Substitutes are not responsible for dues: the responsiblity for those dues fall on the person that the substitute is replacing. The League Coordinator may disallow any match for any team that is more than 3 weeks behind dues, at their discretion. Section 12: Teammate assistance Except as otherwise noted in specific machines, players may provide verbal assistance to their teammate while their teammate is playing, and a player may request assistance from his teammate while he is playing. A teammate may not, however, touch either the machine or his partner. Section 13: Individual Standings Individual standings are determined by individual winning percentage. In the case of a tie the tie-breaker goes to the player with the most games played. In the case of a tie between two or more players, the tie-breaker goes to the individual with the better winning percentage in matches against the player he is tied with. If the two players are still tied, the tie-breaker goes to the individual who had the most higher average game scores in matches against the player he is tied with. If the players are still tied, then the tie-breaker goes to the player with the highest combined adjusted game average in all games together for that season. In the case that three or more players are tied, the tie-breaker goes to player(s) with the most games played. In the case that three or more players are still tied the tie-breaker goes to player with the best individual winning percentage based upon matches between all players who are still tied. If three or more players are still tied, the tie-breaker goes to the player with the highest adjusted game average in gammes together for that season. If when determining tie-breakers any tie-breaker rule eliminates one or more players from the tie-breaker algorithm, the tie-breaker rules must be re-applied to any remaining players using the above algorithm from the beginning. Section 14: Playoffs The League Coordinator is solely responsible for determining playoff format. The Association President and Vice-Presdient may veto his choice. The format of the playoffs must be explained to the players in that league before the start of the season. Article V: Singles league specific rules Article VI: Machine-specific rules Section 1: Malfunctions/special rules for all machines This section details rulings for problems that are roughly equally likely to occur on all machines. If there is a contradiction between this section, and any subsection following in regards to rules specific to a single machine, the latter mentioned subsection takes precedence. If in the opinion of the League Coordinator, a player is aware of these rules and attempts to get around them, he may disqualify the player's score for that game. Section 1.1: Power outages In the event of a power outage interrupting a game, all unrecorded games on the machine must be played over. This goes for games which were completed, but not recorded. Any recorded games stand. Section 1.2: Autoplungers Some machines have combination plungers that both automatically launch a ball and allow to player to manually do so. On some machines, it is possible to hold the plunger in to prevent an auto-plunger from firing a ball. This move is illegal. Any player who does so for any reason receives a zero for his game. Section 1.3: Ball troughs If any player receives a ball save for any reason and then ball ends because the machine failed to serve a ball to the player in the ball save grace period there is no compensation. Similarly, there is no compensation if the same thing happens during a multiball, causing the multiball either to be abbreviated or extended. Section 1.4: Stuck balls If a ball gets stuck on a machine, only the player currently playing may attempt to get the ball unstuck. If he tilts or receives a danger warning while attempting to get the ball unstuck there is no compensation. There is also no compensation for any scoring features which timed out while the ball was stuck, nor is there any penalty for someone in a multiball who gets one or more balls stuck. If the League Coordinator determines that the ball cannot be unstuck without the player receiving at least one danger warning, then the player has the option of tilting this ball and playing one extra ball. Section 1.5: Machine breakdown At any time during a match a player may ask the League Coordinator to declare a machine unplayable. If in the opinion of the League Coordinator the machine is unplayable, any previous scores are to be discarded, and the entire match is to be moved to another machine. Section 2: Malfunctions on specific machines Section 2.1: Junkyard If the machine servers two players to the plunger lane, both balls must be plunged. Once the balls are out on the field of play, the first ball must be drained, and the second ball played. The first violation of this rule will simply result in a verbal warning, if the person refereeing the game believes the violation to simply be an honest error. In other cases, the player must then let the ball end. There will be no compensation in either case for the increased difficulty in making the skill shot. If the machine automatically launches the ball, there will be no compensation. The player must continue to play the ball as normal. Before Revision 1.2, Junkyard does not award the player the score it dsiplays on-screen for the "Run From Spike" video mode. This score must be added on by a player in the match in progress. Deliberately ignoring this score will be considered interference: it is up to the League Coordinator to determine if this is the case. Because of disproportionate scoring levels, a player may only play the mode "Save The Girl" four times in a single game. If he starts the mode a 5th time or higher in a single game, he must let the mode time out. If he doesn't do so, his score will receive a penalty of 1,000,000 times the level number that he is on. Section 2.2: Cirqus Voltaire Because of disproportionate scoring levels, the "Ringmaster Battle" mode is modified so that once the player starts it, he must let the balls drain and the mode end after hitting the Ringmaster once. There is no point compensation for this. Section 2.3: Johnny Mnemonic If the machine inadvertenly picks up to balls from the mutliball matrix when it intended to pick up one, there is no compensation. The player must continue to play as normal. Teammates may not provide assistance in regards to which awards are given where in the multiball matrix. Section 2.4: The Twilight Zone At the end of a player's game in a multi-player game, the machine will possibly prompt the player to buy in. While it does this, it might also serve a ball to the plunger lane. Plunging this ball without hitting the buy-in switch will cause the next player's ball to not only be started, but to immediately be awarded a slot machine award. This move is illegal. If a player does this, he will be penalized the amount of the mode that he started, plus 10 million. It is the job of the League Coordinator to determine this amount, even if it requires estimation. Section 2.5: WHO dunnit Because of a bug in the machine, it is possible for a player to get multiple Super Skill Shots at the start of a ball by making the Super Skill Shot and letting the ball drain, which the machine would then treat as still being at the start of a ball. Because of this, a player is only allowed one Super Skill Shot per ball. If he gets more than one, he must let that ball drain. Section 2.6: Indiana Jones Players may not provide their teammate with any assistance during the "Choose Wisely" video mode.