BY-LAWS | NCGAA

NCGAA By-Laws

1. Jurisdiction:

(a) The NCGAA is the body responsible for organizing NCGAA sanctioned Hurling Gaelic Football Games between collegiate teams in North America.

(b) The NCGAA is final authority and enforces all decisions that are instructed to them by the NCAA and the participating University's rules and by laws, there is no appeal to any other organizations or authorities outside of the NCGAA, NCAA or the University that governs a club.

2. Registration:

(a) Prospective players must provide adequate documentation to prove their eligibility as
put forth in Section 5 of these by-laws. Documentation for players is defined as any
government-issued picture ID, which may include, but is not limited to, an official student
ID, driver’s license, or passport, accompanied by proof of enrollment as identified in
section 2(b)(i)-(ii).

(b) For player participation in the NCGAA National Championship Tournament, all players must
submit adequate proof of enrollment by producing one of the following documents, listed
in order of preference:
1. A Current Enrollment Verification Certificate as made available through the National
Student Clearinghouse
2. A Redacted Transcript accompanied by a link or screenshot of the university’s
webpage that clearly indicates the criteria which constitutes a full time versus part time
student (i.e. minimum number of credit hours) for that student’s respective university.

(c) Prospective players who are not enrolled full time for the college or university for
which they intend to represent at the NCGAA National Tournament must present adequate
proof of enrollment, as identified in 2(b)(i)-(ii), no less than one (1) month prior to the
NCGAA National Championship Tournament. These players will be assigned to a given
team at the discretion of the NCGAA board, although, if a clear, legitimate relationship
with a given team can be presented, this relationship will be honored to the maximum
extent possible.

(d) Teams entering the NCGAA Tourney must pay a $30 fee per registered player. There is a deposit of $100 for new clubs and $300 for existing clubs that is due by end of fall semester for the National tournament If your club is planning on players participating. That full fee amount is refunded after either a minimum of 4 players from a new club or 10 players from an existing club have registered. If a team knows they have less then 4 players attending, they can notify the board and request for an exception status on deposit.

(e) Prospective players must be able to produce the government-issued picture ID used for
proof of eligibility as defined in rule (2)(a) at the request of any organizing committee or
tournament official proving their eligibility to play at any NCGAA sanctioned event.

3. Regional Committees:

(a) Regional governing bodies are to be established to represent geographically proximal
college or university clubs.

(b) These bodies are to maintain a representative which attends NCGAA meetings,
represents the region’s opinions, and regularly updates the NCGAA board on their
region’s activities.

4. Annual Elections, Regular Meetings, and Voting:

(a) The NCGAA Board will organize an Annual General Meeting (AGM) during the
NCGAA National Tournament. The NCGAA Board will inform affiliated clubs in reasonable time where and when the convention is to be held, and affiliated clubs may submit motions to modify NCGAA by-laws. Any motions to adjust NCGAA by-laws at the AGM must be submitted to the NCGAA Board no later than two (2) weeks prior to the date of the AGM.

(b) Elections to the NCGAA Board will take place during the Annual General Meeting.
Any nominations for elected board positions, Chair/Vice Chair/Secretary/Alumni, must be submitted to the current years NCGAA Board no later than one (1) weeks prior to the date of the AGM. The Treasurer will be selected by the NCGAA Board and reviewed by clubs in good standing to make sure there are no objections. This is to preserve the Organizations standings with the IRS and USA registered organizations and laws.

(c) Regular meetings are to be held no less than quarterly throughout the regular playing
season. The regular playing meeting does not include months when students are typically
not in class or when field sports are not typically in season, such as the summer and winter
months.

(d) To make a decision, a quorum, constituted by the presence of at least half of the elected
NCGAA board members, must be present to vote. A simple majority of board members
present to vote to secure a decision, the Chair gets the casting vote in the event of a tie.

(e) A vote by a representative of each Voting Team and the regional representatives with a
75% majority can overturn any decision by the board. A Voting Team is defined as an
affiliated club that has attended an officially sanctioned NCGAA tournament within the
last calendar year.

(f) Any proposed by-law amendments must be sent to affiliated clubs two (2) weeks prior
to the meeting at which said amendments will be considered and voted on for
consideration, feedback, and the opportunity for said clubs to arrange to send a representative to the meeting to express their views if so desired. A vote to approve or
dismiss these amendments may be done individually or in any collective. Approval
requires a 2/3rds majority of voting parties. Voting parties for the purpose of the by-law
amendments consists of a vote from each Voting Team, as defined in (4)(e), each regional
representative, and each member of the board.

5. Player Eligibility:

(a) Anyone is eligible to register as a Mentor and/or Coach. Registration as a Mentor
and/or Coach does not alone permit the registered individual eligibility to play, nor does it
preclude their eligibility to play through other classifications outlined within these by-
laws. A Mentor is defined as an individual who may or may not be eligible to play given
the rules outlined within these by-laws and is considered an integral part in running and
maintaining the existence of a team. A Coach is defined as an individual who may or may
not be eligible to play given the rules outlined within these by-laws and is responsible for
leading the teams during, or in preparation for, practices or matches.

(b) Any student enrolled full-time with a campus in North America or in a
university approved study abroad program at a college or university is eligible to register
as a player for that college or university’s team, provided their enrollment at said college
or university takes place during the academic year of their registration. The academic year
is defined as beginning on September 1st and ending on August 31st of the following year.
Students who are enrolled solely in their schools summer session, or the equivalent to that
school's summer session, are not eligible to play.

(c) A maximum of two alumni will be eligible to play for their previous university’s team
if in their so doing a team is able to compete with no more than one substitute. These
players must be no more than one year out of eligibility for an NCGAA sanctioned
competition as a student, as defined in (5)(b), for the team on which they intend to
compete. Alumni who have competed at the U18, U21, or senior level in Ireland are not
eligible for competition under this rule. An alumnus is defined as someone who has
graduated from the institution and was a member of the club. Eligibility according to this
rule is superseded by substitute players as defined in (5)(f).

(d) Players must be registered prior to the first game in a tournament, where a tournament
is multiple games in one day or on consecutive days.

(e) Players may be any sex or gender identity. No team shall deny the participation of a
player based on their sex, gender identity, race, religion, ethnicity, color, or national origin.

(f) Substitute players are students from colleges without a current club that would be
eligible to compete if their college or university had an active club. These students may
participate in a competition provided that there are no school rules preventing this and that
all participating clubs and organizing committee(s) agree.

(g) Teams are limited to one player on the field at any one time that has played at Inter-
County Senior, U21, U18, and/or U15 level in Ireland, and/or the senior level with any non-Irish
GAA, within the past 10 years and must be reported prior to tournament.

(h) Regional units may request a deviation from eligibility rules for regional competitions.

(i) An individual player is limited to 6 (six) calendar years of eligibility, regardless of
changing team or university affiliation, starting from the date that the player is first
considered eligible to play with a current, or former, NCGAA team as put forth within
these by-laws.

6. Tournaments:

(a) Regional governing bodies organize conferences in their own respective jurisdictions
subject to these by-laws.

(b) All teams are eligible to go through to the national final(s), after reasonable participating at their assigned regional tournament and must be in good standing with the NCGAA. Nationals is to be played on an agreed weekend to be determined at the discretion of the NCGAA Board. All players are reminded at registration that they must be prepared to travel to the Regional Finals and teams must travel to the national finals to be eligible for travel reimbursement, if
travel reimbursement is available.

(c) The NCGAA Board reserves the right to change the championship format, including
adding more games to the national finals weekend, in the event of unforeseen
circumstances such as, but not limited to, new teams coming into the competition during
the course of the year post regional tournaments.

(d) The National Championship location will be finalized by the NCGAA Board and a
notice will be given to teams by the first of August immediately preceding the date of the
tournament. If a school desires to have the location at their campus they must submit all
required documents to the board no later than the first of May 1 immediately preceding the
date of the tournament.

(e) Teams that wish to compete in the National Collegiate Gaelic Athletic Association’s
National Tournament are expected to send teams that are capable of fielding a sufficient
number of players to compete in 11-a-side matches and must attend their Fall Regional Tourney

(f) Affiliated regional governing bodies may organize tournaments at their own discretion
and determine their own rules and tournament formats. NCGAA rules concerning the
national championship tournament and/or other NCGAA sanctioned events have no
bearing on any such tournaments which are separate competitions from the national
championship tournament and/or other NCGAA sanctioned events.

(g) Any NCGAA team competing in a sanctioned NCGAA competition who is found to
have knowingly competed with an ineligible player(s) shall automatically forfeit said
match and be under review by the elected NCGAA Board about future eligibility.

(h) Both Gaelic Football and Hurling shall be played at the same NCGAA National
Championship Tournament each year.

7. Location of the National Tournament:

The location of the NCGAA National Championship Tournament will be decided by the
NCGAA Board. Locations shall rotate geographically with the NCGAA Board
determining the appropriate location of each tournament.

8. Conduct:

(a) Players and mentors must behave in a respectful manner to any referees, officials, or
other volunteers who help to run the games. Straight red cards given to a player, mentor,
and/or coach for the abuse, verbal, physical, or otherwise, of a referee, official, another
player, mentor, coach, team, or other volunteer helping to run the games that is beyond
what would be considered acceptable behavior by society or a reasonable individual, will
result in removal of the player and/or mentor for the remainder of the tournament and
associated tournament activities. The Player and Mentor will be reported to their school's administration and a review board will be created for the forever ban from NCGAA activities and sports. The removal of any spectator on similar grounds will result in the same level of restriction from tournament activities and if necessary police will be called.

(b) A representative of the NCGAA Board will brief all coaches and referees of the
elevated expectations of conduct included in this section prior to any NCGAA sanctioned
tournament.

(c) The captain of each team participating in a championship final must have a victory
speech prepared that is appropriate for the dignity of the occasion.

(d) All players must shake hands with all players on the opposing team after each game as well as all Referees and Officials.

9. Prizes:

(a) The winning team will be presented with a perpetual trophy.

(b) Perpetual trophies must be brought to the subsequent competition for which that trophy
is a prize or made available to the hosting parties prior to said competition.

(c) Perpetual trophies must be kept safe and in good condition by the winning
team. Trophy holding teams are responsible for the replacement of any trophy that is lost.

10. Sanctions:

(a) If sanctions cannot be immediately levied on the team with which an offending
individual is registered, then sanctions will be levied in the next NCGAA tournament of
the same level (i.e. at the next national tournament if offense occurs at the national
tournament).

(b) In the case of any abuse covered under (8)(a) in which the offending individual either
returns to or refuses to leave the pitch, the following is to occur in order and escalate
following any subsequent offensive of the individual in question:
1. Associated team will play a player down, in addition to player down that would
occur if a player were to be the individual in question, while the individual is
present. If such abuse occurs while an affiliated team is not in a match, the
associated team will play a player down for first 25% of first half of their next game.
2. Associated team will forfeit match
3. Police will be called for removal of individual from grounds.

(c) If a team is not present for assigned refereeing duties, team will play a player down for
first 25% of first half of next game.

(d) Any other offense not listed in the current by-laws is to be addressed on a case-to-case
basis. It is the responsibility of the NCGAA to enact punitive measures first through
assistive actions that focus on supporting appropriate conduct. If assistive measures are
deemed inappropriate for the offense or such measures have otherwise proven themselves
ineffective, monetary or expulsive measures may be sought as a measure of last resort.