 |
|
|
|
|
LINCOLN YOUTH SOCCER ASSOCIATION, INC. BY-LAWS ARTICLE 1 NAME: The name of this association shall be the Lincoln Youth Soccer Association, Inc. (L.Y.S.A.) The term "ASSOCIATION" as used in these by-laws shall refer to L.Y.S.A. ARTICLE 2 PURPOSE: The purpose of this Association shall be to develop, promote and administer the game of soccer among players under the age of 19 within the Town of Lincoln. It shall do so by providing a positive athletic experience, teaching cooperation and team work, and improving the individual skills of the players. ARTICLE 3 COLORS: The representative colors of this Association shall be approved by the Board of Directors. ARTICLE 4 AFFILIATION: This Association may be a member of any Rhode Island state soccer association and may be affiliated with other organizations, including but not limited to U.S. Soccer. ARTICLE 5 MEMBERSHIP: The membership shall consist of all registered parents, coaches and any other adults interested in furthering this Association’s goals. The annual dues for membership in this Association shall be determined annually by the Board of Directors. In order to be considered a member in "good standing" the following criteria must be met: a) A member must have paid all current yearly dues in order to vote in any Association matter. b) A member must be personally present in order to participate in any vote other than the annual elections of officers. Proxy voting is not allowed except as hereinafter provided. c) Voting is limited to one vote per family. ARTICLE 6 ADMINISTRATION: This Association shall be governed by its By-laws and Rules and Regulations. They shall be administered by the Association’s Board of Directors. All meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order, most current edition. a) The fiscal year of this Association shall be from August 1st to July 31st or as mandated by the Internal Revenue Service. b) The fiscal year shall apply to all components of L.Y.S.A. ARTICLE 7 BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The authority of this Association shall be vested in its Board of Directors. a) The Board of Directors shall consist of the following officers who shall be elected by the membership in separate balloting by a majority of the votes cast: President, Vice President of Recreation, Vice President of Competitive, Secretary, Treasurer, Registrar, Membership Secretary and Director of Coaching. They shall take office immediately following their election and shall serve for two (2) years. Election of the positions of President, Vice President of Recreation, Treasurer, and Membership Secretary will occur in the month of January of even years, and the election of Vice President of Competitive, Secretary, Registrar, and Director of Coaching will occur in the month of January in the odd years. Any vacancies occurring during the course of the year will be filled for the remainder of the term by the Board of Directors by majority vote of the Board Members. b) The following positions shall be appointed by the President with the approval of the other members of the Board of Directors: State League Representative, Fundraising Coordinator, Sponsor Coordinator, Equipment Coordinator, Fields Coordinator, Referee Coordinator, Publicity Coordinator, Safety Coordinator, Tournament Coordinator, Spring Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator, and Concessions Coordinator. The appointed members shall serve at the pleasure of the elected officers, and abide by the job descriptions as outlined in the L.Y.S.A. Rules and Regulations. c) Each member shall have one (1) vote. d) A quorum for a Board of Directors meeting shall consist of 2/3 of the sitting members of the Board. e) Any Board member missing two (2) unexcused consecutive regularly scheduled Board meetings will be notified of the "intent to suspend his/her voting privileges and/or notice of removal. After notice, if a member is absent from a third consecutive scheduled Board meeting, the Board may vote to remove and replace the member. If the Board fails to remove the member, the Board member will not be allowed to vote, and voting privileges will only be reinstated after the Board member has attended two consecutive regularly scheduled Board meetings. f) The Board of Directors shall enforce the rules of the State and National Associations in which L.Y.S.A. is a member. L.Y.S.A. shall be responsible for all applicable regular fees associated with any such affiliation or membership. g) The Board of Directors shall have the powers to ratify, review, alter, or reject any proposal made by any member of this Association. The Board of Directors will settle disputes between two (2) or more members of this Association. Their decision shall be considered final. h) Any elected officer may be removed for cause at any meeting or special meeting by a 2/3 majority vote of the members eligible to vote who are present at the said meeting. ARTICLE 8 OFFICERS: a) The President shall preside at all meetings. He/she shall appoint all committees and shall be an ex-officio member of each. The President shall also perform the duties of the Treasurer when the Treasurer is not available. b) The Vice President of Competitive shall perform the duties of the President in his/her absence. The Vice President of Competitive shall be responsible for the operation of the Competitive Soccer Division (CSD). He/she shall report on the operation of the CSD to the L.Y.S.A. Board of Directors. The Vice President of Competitive shall be responsible for coordinating fields, equipment and supplies in the divisions and other activities as directed by the President. He/she will also be responsible for coordinating player tryouts for the CSD. c) The Vice President of Recreation shall be responsible for the annual Awards Day activities. The Vice President of Recreation shall be responsible for the operation of the recreation division of the association. He/she shall report on the operation of the recreation division to the L.Y.S.A. Board of Directors. The Vice President of Recreation shall be responsible for posting team standings, coordinating fields, equipment and supplies in the divisions and other activities as directed by the President. d) The Secretary shall be responsible for all general correspondence of this Association and shall keep the minutes of all Board meetings, general meetings and special meetings. He/she shall be responsible for the upkeep of the Incorporation papers of this Association. He/she shall be responsible for recording information involving Recreation and Competitive Soccer meetings. He/she shall also maintain a listing of all members attending the regularly scheduled Board meetings and general meetings of this Association. e) The Treasurer shall keep all accounts of monies received and disbursed for both Competitive and Recreational Soccer Programs. He/she will chair the Finance Committee and prepare the annual financial statement, budget and tax return. The Treasurer shall sign all checks under an amount to be determined by the Board of Directors. All checks and withdrawals over the amount stated by the Board of Directors must be signed by the Treasurer and the President; in the absence of either one, then the others authorized to sign shall be: the Vice President of Recreation, Vice President of Competitive, or the Secretary of the Association. f) The Registrar shall be responsible for the registration of all players and the distribution and maintenance of all team rosters. The draft (team selection) meetings shall be the responsibility of the Registrar. He/she shall be responsible for the verification that all players are properly registered with L.Y.S.A. and maintain all team rosters. He/she will also be responsible for maintaining player ratings. g) The Membership Secretary shall promote and maintain membership lists for the L.Y.S.A. fiscal year. He/she will be responsible for the collection of the individual annual membership fees as established by the Board of Directors. He/she will be responsible for the verification of membership in the event of any dispute. h) The Director of Coaching shall be responsible for coordinating the activities, training, and certification of the coaches. He/she shall assure the coordination of coaching assignments for each age group and divisions for each season. He/she shall maintain a valid seniority list of all coaches and assistant coaches. i) Any combination of office held by a member of the Board of Directors shall have only one (1) vote.
ARTICLE 9 MEETINGS: The Board of Directors shall meet at least nine (9) times a year. The Annual Meeting, which shall include the election of officers, will be held in January. The order of business of the Annual Meeting shall be as follows: Minutes of the previous meeting, Committee Reports, Communications, Old Business, New Business, Election of Officers, Announcements, Adjournment. Proposed By-law changes will be available to the general membership at least thirty days (30) prior to the Annual Meeting and voted on at the Annual Meeting. Thirty (30) days notice of the Annual Meeting shall be given to all members by public notice. Public notice shall consist of an advertisement placed in a daily or weekly newspaper with a general circulation including the Town of Lincoln such as, but not limited to, The Valley Breeze, The Times, The Providence Journal and/or the Woonsocket Call. Any member may request a special meeting by presenting the Secretary with a petition signed by fifty (50) members in good standing or ten percent (10%) of the membership in good standing, whichever is greater. Upon receipt of such petition, the Secretary shall notify the general membership of a special meeting by individual or public notice as specified above, not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the special meeting. ARTICLE 10 PROTESTS AND APPEALS: All game related protests shall be submitted in writing, by the coach of the protesting team to the Vice President of Recreation who shall have initial jurisdiction over the matter. A copy of the protest shall be given to the opposing coach, who shall have the opportunity to respond. All protests shall be lodged within three days of the action being protested. The Vice President of Recreation’s decision shall be submitted, in writing, to both coaches involved (and the President) within three (3) days of the receipt of the protest. It becomes the responsibility of the Vice President to keep the Board of Directors appraised of all Protests and Appeals. All appeals of the Vice President of Recreation’s decision shall be submitted in writing, within three days of the receipt of the Vice President of Recreation’s decision to the Board of Directors. The decision of the Board of Directors shall be considered final. (Refer to Rules and Regulations Game Protests.) ARTICLE 11 AMENDMENTS: Any Amendment affecting the By-laws of this Association must be carried by a 2/3 vote of the members in good standing in attendance at the annual meeting. ARTICLE 12 COMPETITIVE SOCCER DIVISION: This Association shall run a Competitive Soccer Division, known as CSD, which shall function under the rules and regulations of the L.Y.S.A. Board of Directors. The purpose of this division shall be to develop, promote and administer the competitive game of soccer among players under the age of nineteen (19), primarily residents within the Town of Lincoln. This division shall be governed by the L.Y.S.A Board of Directors. ARTICLE 13 DELEGATES: Delegates to the sanctioning organization will be appointed by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall appoint one delegate, and the President of L.Y.S.A shall appoint one delegate. If only one delegate is needed to be appointed it shall be by joint approval of both the Board of Directors and the President of L.Y.S.A. Any changes in the number of delegates will be subject to the L.Y.S.A. Board of Directors’ discussion and approval. ARTICLE 14 GENERAL ELECTION OF OFFICERS: The President, with the approval of the Board of Directors, shall appoint an Election Chairperson and a Nominating Committee of no less than four (4) nor no more than six (6) members to oversee the election of the general officers. The Election Chairperson and members of the Nominating Committee shall not be a candidate for any elected office unless the membership eligible to vote shall waive such requirement. At the Board of Directors Meeting in November, the Election Chairperson shall present nominations for each of the general officers to be elected in the following election. Nominations for each of the general officers shall be recorded. Nominations will be closed at the conclusion of the meeting. Candidates for each office will be listed (in writing) by office and made available to the members in good standing at least thirty (30) days prior to the elections at the Annual Meeting in January. Only members in "good standing" shall vote. Any member in "good standing" who is unable to attend the Annual Meeting in January may cast an absentee ballot for a candidate for each office nominated. The Election Chairperson shall prepare said ballots and verify with the Membership Secretary the members' eligibility to vote. Absentee ballots must be sealed. The Election Chairperson will conduct the voting and supervise the counting of the votes for each candidate for office at the Annual General Meeting. ARTICLE 15 RATIFICATION: The ratification and signature of eight (8) members of the current Board of Directors of the Lincoln Youth Soccer Association, Inc. shall be sufficient for the establishment of these By-laws. IN WITNESS HEREOF, we have hereunto subscribed our names this _____th day of ______________, 20____ ___________ ________________________ __ ________________________________ President Treasurer ______________________________________ ________ __________________________ Vice President of Recreation Vice President of Competitive ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Registrar Secretary _______________________________________ _______ ___________________________ Membership Secretary Director of Coaching
|
|
