Yes. As in, if you were to want to be in the ballot for this year awards, you wouldn't be elgible because of your join date.
I forget what it currently is exactly, but in my view all of the "of the year" awards should be of the year - that is, January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006. So, in this context, you need to have joined in calendar year 2006. I realize that this penalizes someone who joined in November, say, but such is life (someone who joined before the season started in August/September has enough time to make an impression, I think).
