[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Township Committee of the Township of Readington as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Parks and recreation areas — See Ch. 168.
[Adopted 5-16-2005 by Ord. No. 16-2005]
This article shall pertain to:
A. 
Adult and youth sports events sponsored by Readington Township Recreation that are conducted within the Township of Readington;
B. 
Anyone or any organization leasing property or leasing a facility in Readington Township for an adult or youth sports event; or
C. 
Any individual attending an adult or youth sports event held at a facility in the Township of Readington.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
SPORTS EVENT
A competition, practice or instructional event involving one or more sports teams organized pursuant to a nonprofit or similar charter, or which are member teams in a league organized by or affiliated with Readington Township Recreation.
A. 
All coaches and assistant coaches for youth sports must possess a valid coach's card and must have attended and passed the Rutgers Youth Sports Council's Safety Clinic (or another equivalent training program approved by the Readington Township Recreation Committee and Director) prior to coaching. This requirement may be temporarily waived by the Readington Township Director of Recreation for up to a maximum of 90 days if such training is unavailable. However, in all cases, the training must be completed within 21 days after the first day that the sports program begins.
B. 
Every coach and assistant coach of a youth sport must first successfully pass a background investigation by the New Jersey State Police as described by the Volunteer Review Operation (VPR) Program.
C. 
All individual players, coaches and parents shall be required to sign the Township's form of code of conduct prior to participation. The applicable codes of conduct are on file at the Recreation Director's office at the Readington Township Municipal Building.
A. 
Any coach, assistant coach, volunteer or official who commits an act of violence, assault or criminal activity while participating in a youth sports event, or who has violated this article, shall not be permitted thereafter to coach, assistant coach, or otherwise engage in any support effort, whether voluntary or official, at any youth sports event.
B. 
Any student, coach, official, parent or other person subject to the terms and conditions of the athletic code of conduct adopted by the Township of Readington, who violates the provision of the athletic code of conduct, may be banned from attending any subsequent youth sports event conducted in Readington Township. In the event that any student, coach, official, parent or other person subject to the terms and conditions of the athletic code of conduct is banned from attendance, that person may petition the Township for permission to resume attendance. Prior to being permitted to resume attendance, the Township shall require the individual to present proof of completion of an anger management counseling course approved by the Township Administrator, Recreation Director and the Recreation Committee.
The removal of unruly participants, coaches, parents, fans and other individuals shall be authorized as follows:
A. 
Officials, whether they are paid or volunteers, Recreation Director/Assistant Director, league officers/directors (as designated on the Readington Township application for use of the facility), certain Recreation Committee liaisons and coaches shall be empowered to direct that an individual remove himself or herself from a playing field and/or park for engaging in "unruly behavior" violative of this article. Such unruly behavior includes, but is not limited to, any criminal or abusive behavior, fighting, assault, threatening or intimidating physical or verbal behavior, including foul or derogatory language, towards any participant, official or individual attending or viewing the event at any time, including the time period preceding or following a game, practice or instructional event.
B. 
The order of authority for directing removal pursuant to Subsection A above shall be as follows: 1) paid or volunteer game official or, if needed: 2) game official in conjunction with the Recreation Director or Assistant Director. If neither the Recreation Director or Assistant Director is present, then: 3) the game official in conjunction with league officer/director (as designated by the Readington Township Recreation Director) in charge of the particular event; or 4) the game official in conjunction with the Township Recreation Committee liaison for that particular sport. In the event that none of the above individuals is available or present, the coach of the home team may direct the individual to remove himself or herself, provided that the coach has not engaged in the behavior in violation of this article.
If an individual continues unruly behavior after being asked to stop or leave the premises, the official in charge shall call "911" and allow the Readington Township Police to handle the situation as directed under the law.
C. 
If a game official is in violation of this article, another game official present may make the removal decisions in the same manner described above.
An individual failing to remove himself or herself from the sports event, facility, or park when lawfully requested to do so shall be considered to be in violation of this article and may be subject to a fine not in excess of $1,000 per violation and confinement up to 72 hours. Each violation may be considered a separate violation.