Greater Victoria Mixed Slo-Pitch Association Constitution
CONSTITUTION
The name of the society is:
Greater Victoria Mixed Slo-pitch Association (GVMSA)
The Purposes of the Association are:
• To promote and encourage the sport of mixed adult Slo-Pitch in the Greater Victoria area.
• To promote participation in a sportsmanlike manner always.
• To provide for the mutual interests of all players in a harmonious manner.
• To provide an outlet for all levels of competition.
• To encourage players to become involved in the coaching, managing, umpiring and executive aspects of our Association’s operations.
• To continually maintain and improve the diamonds made available to the Association from all sources.
Dissolution
a) In the event that the association should at any time be wound up or dissolved, the remaining assets after payment of all debts and liabilities shall be turned over to a recognized charitable organization in the province or elsewhere in Canada as directed by the members. This provision is unalterable.
BYLAWS
INTERPRETATION
For the purposes of this Bylaw, the following definitions apply:
• “Executive” means the Executive of the Greater Victoria Mixed Slo-pitch Association;
• “Association” means the Greater Victoria Mixed Slo-pitch Association;
• Words importing the singular include the plural and vice versa, and words importing a male person include a female person and a corporation.
MEMBERSHIP
Existing Teams
Each new season, the Association will consist of all teams that played in the Association in the previous season, provided that they:
• Wish to retain their membership,
• Agree to abide by the Constitution and Bylaws and Association Rules,
• Are in good standing with the Association.
New Teams
New teams may be accepted at the discretion of the Executive.
REGISTRATION
• Team Representatives must confirm contact information, including Team Name to Executive before March 15th of the current year.
• The SPN Slo-pitch team roster must be completed online by Team Representatives no later than the deadline set by the Executive. Any team failing to complete a roster by the deadline will not be allowed to field a team and all scheduled games recorded as forfeits until a roster is completed and the Executive is notified.
• Rosters can updated until July 31 of the current year through your SPN account. No changes can be made past this date.
• Full name, email address, telephone number and birth year are required on the roster. Information must be complete and accurate for each player for insurance to be valid.
MEMBERS IN GOOD STANDING
To be a member in good standing, a team must meet the following requirements:
• Have no outstanding monies owed and,
• Have not caused their own disbarment or suspension through disruptive actions in the Association.
ORGANIZATION
The Association executive shall consist of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Statistician.
Duties of the Executive
The President shall
• Chair all meetings,
• Call meetings of the Executive and the Association as they deem necessary and subject to the requirements of these Bylaws.
• Represent the Association at any functions requiring a representative from the Association.
• Ensure that all Executive members are fulfilling their obligations.
• Assign additional duties to other Executive members as they deem necessary.
• Receive, conduct, and report on all Association correspondence.
In the event they cannot attend a function or complete a duty, they may appoint any Executive member of his choice as “Acting President.”
The Vice President shall:
• Be responsible to insure competent umpires at all Association and play-off games.
• Report all fines to the Treasurer at least one week before each general meeting.
• Perform other functions as required by the Association and the President.
The Secretary shall:
• Record and distribute minutes of all Association and Executive meetings.
• Maintain files with accurate records of all meetings, Association correspondence, trophy winners, championship teams and eligibility lists.
• Collect, process and distribute team contact lists.
• Where feasible, keep the membership informed of the Association happenings through email and social media.
• Perform other functions as required by the Association and the President.
The Treasurer shall:
• Be responsible for all financial matters of the Association.
• Prepare a budget to be voted on at the Annual Spring Meeting.
• Ensure spending of Association funds is within the approved budget.
• Keep an accurate record of fines levied and inform Team Representatives of their bond balance at each Association meeting. Collect new fine bonds as deemed necessary.
• Keep accurate and updated records of Association finances and report same to the Executive and Team Representatives at each Association meeting.
• Submit an annual financial report for the previous year to the incoming Executive and Team Reps at the Annual Fall Meeting.
• Perform other functions as required by the Association and the President.
The Website Tech shall:
• Ensure all league communications are posted on the website in a timely manner.
• Create web content relating to the league and sponsors.
• Ensure an accurate schedule is posted online at all times throughout the league.
• Maintain standings for each division within the league.
The Scheduler shall:
• Be responsible for the scheduling of all games. This will include the regular season and the playoffs.
• Be responsible for rescheduling playing fields and umpires for game cancellations and rain outs.
The Tournament Director shall:
• Organize all league tournaments, with the assistance of the Executive.
• Ensure all tournaments are insured by SPN.
• Book fields and schedule all games for the tournaments.
The Umpire Director shall:
• Schedule umpires for all league and tournament games, where required.
• Communicate with scheduler to ensure all rescheduled or cancelled games are recorded.
• Review umpire invoice to ensure the correct amount has been invoiced based on games played for the billing period.
All members of the Executive must not be remunerated beyond $4,100.00 per year (all positions included) for being or acting as an Executive, unless approved at a meeting of members, but may be reimbursed for all expenses necessarily and reasonably incurred by the Executive while engaged in the affairs of the Association.
TEAM REPRESENTATIVES
Each team will submit the name, email and telephone number of at least one (1) Team Representatives at the Annual Spring Meeting. Each team is responsible for keeping the Association current on changes to their Team Representative(s) as well as their contact information.
Team Representative Duties
Team Representatives will have the following responsibilities:
• Act as liaison between the teams, the players and the Executive.
• Ensures that all members of their Team are aware of the contents of this Constitution, Bylaws and Association Rules.
• Carry their team’s vote at all Association meetings (one vote per Team).
• Distribute information concerning Association rules to their players.
• Signs all protests made by their Team and submit such to the Executive.
• Attends all Association meetings, or if unable to do so, appoint an alternate Representative from their Team.
• Be responsible for all duties associated with game cancellation and rescheduling for games involving their Team.
• Perform other functions as required by the Association and the President.
MEMBERS AT LARGE
Members at Large shall:
• Assist with tournament activities as directed by Tournament Director;
• Ensure Executive compliance with transparent reporting and communication to Association;
• Provide the opportunity for mentoring to allow for future involvement in an Executive role;
• Perform other functions as required by the Association and the President.
NOTICE TO TEAMS
Notice may be given to a team by way of providing notice to the Team Representative(s), either by email and/or Facebook.
The Executive must give proper notice to all teams for any general meeting. Proper notice being no less than fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting time.
GENERAL ASSOCIATION MEETINGS
1. The Annual Spring Meeting (ASM) is to be held between January 15 and March 30 of each year.
2. The Annual Fall Meeting (AFM) will be held between September 15 and November 30 of each year.
3. A General Meeting may be called at any time by the President, provided proper notice is given.
4. Each team must have a Team Representative or his or her delegate present at both the Annual Spring Meeting (ASM) and the Annual Fall Meeting (AFM) or any General Meeting. Failure to attend any of Association meetings will result in the team being fined $75.00 per meeting.
5. Any Team Representative more than thirty (30) minutes late for the start of a meeting will be deemed absent.
INSURANCE
It is the responsibility of the individual player to file an incident report within 30 days of the injury and request a claim form from the national office. It is the responsibility of each individual to familiarize themselves with the accident claim procedure. The address for the national office is on the nsacanada.ca website. File a claim regardless of nature of injury as the injury may resurface at a later date.
All information and forms regarding insurance can be found at https://slo-pitch.com/forms
VOTING
A quorum at any General Meeting is 60% of the teams in the Association.
• Business, other than the adjournment or termination of the General Meeting, must not be conducted at a General Meeting at a time when quorum is not present.
• If at any time during a General Meeting there ceases to be a quorum present, business then in progress must be suspended until there is a quorum present or until the meeting is adjourned or terminated.
• All votes will be taken after a reasonable discussion of the issues.
• At a General meeting, each team will have one vote.
• Votes may not be cast by proxy.
• A quorum of 3/4 of the Teams in attendance (with voting privileges) is required to deal with Constitutional and Bylaw issues but shall never be less than three (3) teams present.
ELECTIONS
Term of Executive
• The Executive is elected to serve a two-year staggered term.
• To avoid a total turn-over of the Executive, the positions of President and Treasurer will be elected at the AFM in even years and the position of Vice-President, Secretary and Statistician will be elected at the AFM on odd years.
Nominations
• Nominations for all positions will be put forward at the AFM.
• Nominations can be for any number of positions and must be made by a Team Representative in good standing and seconded by same.
• Voting will occur at the Annual Fall Meeting. For each position being voted upon, Team Representatives will cast one (1) vote, with no Team being able to cast more than one vote.
• In the event no nominations are received for a position, the Executive will seek volunteers for acclamation. If the position cannot be filled with volunteers, the Executive will seek to appoint individuals.
• In the event that the positions cannot be filled by any of the above means, the Executive will call an emergency meeting in December to discuss the feasibility of the continued existence of the Association.
• If at the December meeting called to discuss the lack of nominations, or if during the season an Executive member resigns voluntarily or otherwise, then it will be at the President’s discretion to operate the Association with one or more of the Executive positions unoccupied. The President will have the option of assigning the duties of the vacant positions to other executive members. The only position which must be filled is that of President.
• The members may, by special resolution, remove an executive member, before the expiration of the executive member’s term, and may elect a successor to complete the term of office.
• The notice of special resolution for expulsion must be accompanied by a brief statement of the reasons for the proposed expulsion.
• The person who is the subject of the proposed resolution for expulsion must be given an opportunity to be heard at the general meeting before the special resolution is put to a vote.
EXECUTIVE MEETINGS
• Executive meetings will be called at the discretion of the President.
• A quorum at any Executive meeting shall be 2/3 of the Executive and must include the President.
• Any member of the Executive who absents themselves from two (2) regular and/or Executive meetings, without having been granted a leave of absence by the Executive Committee, shall cease to be a member of the Executive.
ASSOCIATION FINANCES
Entry Fee
• Association fees must be received in full by the Association no later than April 15th of the current year or the team forfeits their spot in the Association.
• A deposit, amount to be set by the Executive, will be collected by a date directed by the Executive.
• A $100.00 performance bond must be paid or topped up when deposits are due.
• All fines must be paid in full by the end of the season for the team to remain in good standing with the Association.
• When a team leaves the Association, any remaining performance bond will be returned to the Team Rep on file.
• Association fees can be paid by email money transfer. Cheques and cash will not be accepted.
• Association fees are meant to cover the operating expenses of the Association for the upcoming season. The Treasurer will give his best estimate for the revenues and expenses to be covered at the ASM. Team Representatives will have a chance to study and question the estimates prior to the vote being called.
• Entrance to the mid-season tournament is not included in Association fees.
Game Forfeit/Fine & Performance Bond
• Any team that fails to notify the opposing team, umpires and Executive of a forfeit with less than 24 hours’ notice will be fined $40 per game forfeited.
• Should the performance bond be exhausted, the Treasurer will inform the Team Representative and a new performance bond must be paid.
• The Treasurer will have a list of penalties levied against each team and will distribute this list at each Association meeting. Such listings shall include each Team’s balance and the reasons for any fines.
• All outstanding fines owing to the Association must be paid on or before the Annual Fall meeting. Failure to do so will result in the Team being ejected from the Association.
• Any team having outstanding monies owing to the Association at the time of the Annual Spring meeting will not be permitted to pay their entry fee until such monies are paid.
• All revenue received by the Association will be deposited and recorded within 72 hours of receipt.
• All Association expenses will be paid by e-transfer or cheque, if a member of the Executive is required to be reimbursed for Association related expenses they will be paid back by E-transfer that has to be approved by 2 members of the executive. No Executive may sign a cheque to themselves. Receipts for any expenses incurred should always be expected and should be filed for future reference.
• All Association accounts will have co-signing power. All cheques issued by the Association must be co-signed by two separate members of the Executive. All E-transfers must be approved by two separate members of the Executive.
• No cheques may be signed blank. When signed, the cheque must be filled out completely, containing the date, amount, payee and coded to indicate the reason for the payment, the invoice or receipt will be initialed by both signing members to indicate proper review of expenditure.
• The Treasurer’s report will be submitted at regular and other Association meetings and shall be a formal accounting document. Failure to do so will cause the Executive to immediately investigate.
• No members, directors or executive may, on behalf of or in the name of the Association, borrow monies for the purposes of the Association.
CONSTITUTION OR BYLAW AMENDMENTS
• In order that the Association be maintained, seasonal amendments of the Association Constitution and Bylaws may be put forward by the Executive during the year at any Association meeting. All changes to the Association Constitution and Bylaws will be presented to the Association and voted on by no less than 60% of teams in the Association, which will be considered a quorum. The majority of that vote will pass/defeat the proposed changes.
• Proper notice must be given for any proposed amendments.
• A Team Representative can suggest an amendment but only the Executive can put it before a meeting for a vote.
• It is understood that the Constitution and Bylaws will be enforced to the letter. Ignorance of any part(s) of the Constitution or bylaws shall not be considered valid grounds for infractions.
Appendix 2.0: Greater Victoria Mixed Slo-pitch Association; Fine Structure.
| Infraction |
Associated fine |
| Forfeit (cost per game) |
$40.00 (umpires fees) |
| Failure to provide representative at an Association meeting |
$75.00 |
| Failure to submit roster by agreed deadline |
$25.00 |
