These bylaws incorporate all changes made up to and including May 2005.
Click here for the archived version of the bylaws: BY-LAWS
OF THE MID-ATLANTIC SECTION
CHAPTER I
ORGANIZATION
Section 1
This organization will be known as the Mid-Atlantic Section of the
United States Fencing Association.
Section 2
It is the purpose of the organization to:
A.
Promote and encourage amateur fencing in
the Mid-Atlantic Section ( hereinafter “Section” or “the Section” )
according to the purposes, and under the auspices, of the United States Fencing
Association ( hereinafter “USFA”).
B.
Provide a formal and permanent
organization for the section and its memberships, and for the coordination of its affairs.
Section 3
A division of the USFA may become a member division of the Section by
properly organizing under the Constitution and
By-Laws of the USFA and being assigned to the Section by the governing body of the USFA.
Section 4
Individual membership in the Section shall be extended to all members of all divisions
in the
Section.
Section 5
The governing body of the Section shall be known as the Mid-Atlantic
Section Executive Committee. Its membership shall be constituted as set forth in Chapter
II, Section 5 below.
Section 6
There shall be a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and a Secretary –
Treasurer of the Section.
A. Chairperson
and Vice-Chairperson
1. The Mid-Atlantic
Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall thereafter be elected from the membership of the
Section by the Executive Committee of the Section and shall serve a term of four years.
2. Nominations for the
election provided in the immediately foregoing paragraph shall
be prepared and submitted by a nominating committee ( to be comprised of no fewer than
three members of the section from as many divisions ), selected before the expiration of
the term of office of the incumbent Mid-Atlantic Chairperson.
The nominations shall be submitted by mail to all members of the Executive Committee not less than six
weeks before the annual meeting at which the election of the Chairperson is to take place.
The election is to be conducted by tally of
votes of those members of the Executive Committee present, by their mail vote, or their
proxies. In the event the candidate of the nominating
committee fails to receive a majority of the votes cast, new nominations are to be made
immediately thereafter from the floor. After nominations are closed, voting will then take
place and the candidates receiving the greatest
number of votes shall then be declared elected.
The Mid-Atlantic Chairperson shall preside at the meetings of the
Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee and shall be responsible for execution of the policies
accepted by the Committee, for compliance with the constitution of the USFA, and for
enforcing the By-Laws of the Section. An
appeal from his administrative actions shall be referred to the Mid-Atlantic Executive
Committee, which shall have final authority on all questions that arise. In the absence of
the Chairperson, the Vice- Chairperson shall handle the duties of the Chairperson.
3. The Mid-Atlantic Chairperson shall vote in the meetings of the
Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee only to break or create tie votes.
B.
Secretary- Treasurer
1. The
Secretary –Treasurer of the Mid-Atlantic Section shall be appointed fromthe members
of the Section by the Mid- Atlantic Chairperson, with the concurrence of the Mid-Atlantic
Section Executive Committee, to serve a term co-extensive with that of the
Chairperson.
2. The
Secretary-Treasurer shall have no vote in the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee by virtue
of the office of Secretary-Treasurer, but nothing in these by-laws shall prevent him/her
from voting at meetings should he/she be elected representative of the division of which
he/she is a member.
3.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining a
permanent record of the minutes of the meetings of the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee
4. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining
a permanent record of the finances of the Section.
5.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining a
permanent and correct copy of the By-laws of the Section, complete with all amendments
adopted.
6.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining a correct current rotation roster for the responsibility of serving as host to the
Sectional Championship Tournament and the Under –19 Sectional Championship
Tournament.
7. The
Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible to the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson and the
Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee for compliance with all regulations and orders that may
be adopted from time to time and that are applicable to the Secretary-Treasurer office.
8. The
Secretary-Treasurer will be responsible for two financial reports annually, an interim
report for the annual meeting and one at the close of the fiscal year. The fiscal year of
the Mid-Atlantic Section shall coincide with the fiscal year of the United States Fencing
Association.
CHAPTER II
MEETINGS
Section 1
The Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee shall hold an Annual Meeting at
the time and place of the Mid-Atlantic Senior Championship Tournament on Saturday
after the competition to determine which divisions
shall serve as hosts for the next Mid-Atlantic Senior and Under-19 Championship Tournaments and to conduct such other
business as may come before it. The Committee shall hold such other meetings from time to
time as may be necessary or desirable upon at least 30 days notice from the Chairperson.
(NOTE: The approximate time of the annual meeting will be posted on the Section Web site.)
Section 2
A. A quorum for a meeting
of the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee shall be constituted by those members attending a
regularly called meeting of the committee, provided that there are representatives of at
least three divisions of the Section. On failure of a quorum
those present shall have the power to adjourn to a given time and place, sending
notice of such adjournment to all members of the
Sectional Executive Committee.
B.
Whenever action has been taken at a meeting which there were present fewer
than five members of the Executive Committee, any three regular members of the Executive
committee may require the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson (or, in his absence, the
Vice-Chairperson or Secretary-Treasurer) to resubmit the action to the Executive Committee
for mail vote. This demand must be received by the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson (or
Vice-Chairperson or Secretary-Treasurer) within thirty calendar days of the date of the
mailing of the minutes of said meeting.
Section 3
Each member of the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee shall have one
vote on matters coming before the Committee. ( cf. I, 6 A 3 above)
Section 4
All decisions shall be made by simple majority of those voting.
Section 5
The Mid-Atlantic Executive committee shall be comprised of the
Mid-Atlantic Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson (cf.
I, 6 A 2 and 3 above) and the Secretary-Treasurer ( cf. I, 6 B 2 above) and the divisional
chairpersons and all additional directors of all member divisions of the Section. At
meetings, in the absence of the elected representatives from a division, the elected representatives from a division, these representatives may
be replaced by other members of the division bearing written proxies to the designees,
provided that only members qualified to hold divisional office under the By-Laws of the
USFA may serve as such alternates by proxy.
Section 6
In the absence of the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson will preside of
the meeting. If neither of the officers are present,
a chairperson pro-tem shall be elected by themembers of the Executive Committee there
present. The Chairperson pro-tem shall exercise, as may be necessary, the full authority
for the conduct of the Championship Tournaments that the Mid-Atlantic
Chairperson would exercise if he/she were present.
Section 7
The Mid-Atlantic Section Secretary-Treasurer or Chairman shall send
copies of the minutes of each meeting to all regular
members of the Executive Committee as soon as possible after the meeting. The minutes shall include a full statement of
members present and the method of constituting the membership and organizing the meeting.
CHAPTER III.
VOTING BY MAIL
Section 1
The Mid-Atlantic Chairperson may on his/her motion, and on the
request of three members of the Executive
Committee, shall submit to the Executive Committee for vote by mail any such matters as may require action other than at the regular
annual meeting.
Section 2
All decisions will be by simple majority of those voting. (For the
special rules affecting amendments to the By-laws, see Chapter VIII below.)
Section 3
Only regular members of the Mid-Atlantic Section Executive Committee
may vote by mail.
Section 4
Except in emergencies the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson, before tabulating
the votes shall allow twenty-one days, counted from the time of mailing notices and
ballots to the addresses of record of the last reported members of the Executive
Committee.
Section 5
A. All mail votes shall
be mailed to the Secretary-Treasurer (in his/her absence to the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson)
who shall report promptly to the members of the Mid-Atlantic
Executive Committee the results of the mail votes.
B. All measures approved
by mail vote shall take effect on such report by the Secretary-Treasurer
(or in his/her absence by the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson)
CHAPTER IV
MID-ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT (SENIOR)
Section 1
The Senior Mid-Atlantic Championships shall be limited to open
individual events.
Section 2
A. The Mid-Atlantic
Senior Sectional Tournament shall be held within the geographic boundaries of one of the member divisions of the Section.
B. Each member division
with no fewer than thirty-five members (total of all classes)
shall be qualified by size to serve as host to the Mid-Atlantic Senior Championship Tournament and shall so serve in a rotating order based on
the sequence set forth in paragraph C below. A division with fewer than thirty-five
members, at its specific request will be
excused from the responsibility, but nothing in these By-laws shall prevent such a division from taking its turn in sequence, at its own
option.
C. The sequence for
the Mid-Atlantic Senior Sectional Championships:
Harrisburg
Maryland
Philadelphia
Central PA
Capitol
Western PA
New Jersey
South Jersey
When a division fulfills its responsibility as host, it shall
automatically drop to the bottom of the sequence. It shall be the responsibility of the
Secretary-Treasurer to maintain this sequence.
A .
When a division, whether qualified by
size or not, declines to hold the ChampionshipTournament when its turn arrives in
sequence, the Tournament shall be come the responsibility of the division next in the
sequence, and so forth, until a division accepts the Tournament. When a division declines
to be host for whatever reason, such division shall remain at the top of the sequence,
thus becoming responsible for the following year’s Tournament
and so on.
B.
A division newly admitted to the
Section shall have the option of making application within two years following its
admission to be host to either the Mid-Atlantic Senior Tournament or the Mid-Atlantic
Under-19 Tournament to be held in either of the two years following that in which the
application is made.
C.
If the application described in
paragraph E above is accepted, a newly admitted division shall be inserted in the rotation
for the proper Tournament. The division shall also be entered upon the sequence for the
other Sectional Championship Tournament four full years after the year of the tournament
which was first accepted. Pending such application, and should such application not be
made (or if made and disapproved by the Section Executive Committee), the newly admitted
division shall be placed, as of the date of the admission to the Section, at the bottom of
the rotating list of member divisions for the Mid-Atlantic Championship Tournament and
fifth from the bottom of the rotating list for the Mid-Atlantic Under 19 Tournament.
D.
Whenever, because of variations in the
rotation caused by any of the provisions of this Section, any division feels that it will
be called upon inequitably, it may petition the Executive Committee of the Section for a
review of the sequence. In any case, the Executive Committee shall review the status of
the two rotation sequences not less often than every five years.
Section 3
The host division shall be responsible for providing adequate
facilities for the Mid-Atlantic Championship Tournament.
Section 4
The Mid-Atlantic Championship Tournament shall be held not less than one
month before the scheduled start of the National
Championship Tournament.
Section 5
A. Before Sept. 15,
the host division shall notify the Mid-Atlantic Section Chairperson confirming the dates of the Championships for the
following year. The Chairperson shall than notify the
divisions in the Section of the dares for the following years
Championships.
B. Not later than
Jan. 15, the host division shall submit to the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson a schedule of events and a proposed budget. The schedule
shall be such that each of the men’s weapons events shall take place on the same day
with the women’s foil, every other year, on a rotating basis. The Mid-Atlantic
Chairperson or Secretary-Treasurer shall advise the host division and the appointed Bout
Committee no later than Jan. 31 whether the schedule and budget are approved.
C. Should the Executive
Committee or Chairperson elect to change the schedule of events to an order different from that described in the preceding
paragraph B or otherwise previously approved, the Mid-Atlantic Bout Committee Chairperson
or Host Division Chairperson must be advised of the desired schedule of events at the
earliest time possible.
D. Not
later than Jan. 1, the Chairperson shall advise each member division as to the place,
schedule of events, special rules, deadline for filing entries, and such other matters as
may be necessary or desirable to facilitate conduct of and participation in the
Tournament.
Section 6
Any fencer in good standing
from a division within the Section may enter the Division I-A (Senior) Championships
provided they meet the age requirements. (Adopted June 2005)
Section 7
Insofar as possible, the schedule of events shall provide for the
following:
A.
A final round of no fewer than 6 nor more than 9 competitors in each weapon or a
final by direct elimination of 8. Direct elimination format will only be held if the
number of entries in the tournament warrant it.
B.
Preliminary pools of no fewer than 5 fencers.
C.
The
qualification from each pool in each round of no fewer than three fencers.
D.
The completion
of the Tournament in two consecutive days, a Saturday and Sunday.
E.
The order of
weapon events shall be as follows:
Saturday
Sunday
Men’s Foil
8AM
Men’s Epee 8 AM
Women’s Epee 11 AM
Women’s Foil 10 AM
Men’s Sabre
2 PM
Women’s Sabre 12 Noon
Men’s and women’s Sabre shall be alternated each year so
that the men and women will be able to have a different schedule each year. In
addition, every year the events should be switched so that Saturday’s events will be
held on Sunday the following year and visa versa. The
above times are approximate start times for events. They may be changed to accommodate the
facilities and Bout Committee. In addition, the Women’s Foil may be held in the 8 AM
position with Men’s Epee moving to the Women’s Foil slot dependingon expected
number of entries. Any changes to this schedule format must be published in the registration material that is sent out to all
divisions in January.
F.
Check-in closes approximately one-half hour prior to starting time of the event.
Section 8
A.
Subject to the limitations imposed by these By-laws, the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee shall have final authority over all matters
pertaining to the Mid-Atlantic Championship Tournaments.
B.
The Chairperson of the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee, subject to review by that
Committee, shall be responsible for carrying out the policies and programs established by
that Committee and for enforcing the provisions of the By-laws.
Section 9
A.
A Mid-Atlantic
Bout Committee shall be composed of the Bout Committee Chairperson, the Sectional Chairperson, the Chairpersons of
all the member divisions of the Section, and such additional members as the Mid-Atlantic
Chairperson may appoint to facilitate the conduct of the Tournament.
B.
Subject to
review and approval by the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee, the Mid-Atlantic Bout
Committee shall exercise the usual functions of such a body as provided in the USFA rules,
except that directors shall be selected and assigned only
with the approval of and in accordance with procedures established by the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee, which will be guided by
the ratings monitored by the FOC.
Section 10
A.
An appeal from an administrative decision of the Mid-Atlantic Bout Committee Chairperson shall be made to the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson.
B.
An appeal from
the administrative decision of the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson shall be made to the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee.
C.
A protest against a decision of a director (referee) or of the M id-Atlantic Bout Committee
Chairperson, on the application of the rules shall be to the Mid-Atlantic Bout
Committee.
D.
In order to expedite the conduct of the competition and the hearing of the protest,
the Bout Committee Chairperson, with the approval of the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson, may
appoint not fewer than three members of the Mid-Atlantic Bout Committee to represent and
act for the full committee on protests. The three members may or may not include the Bout
Committee Chairperson and the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson. The decisions of these
representatives of the Bout Committee shall be deemed to be the decisions of the entire
Committee.
E.
An appeal from a decision of the Mid-Atlantic Bout Committee on the application of
the application of the rules shall be given directly to the Mid-Atlantic Bout Committee
Chairperson ( in his/her absence the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson ) who must, on his/her own
initiative or at the request of an individual competitor, director or other official, call
together the Mid-Atlantic Jury of Appeal to consider the appeal in question.
F.
The Jury of Appeal shall be composed and shall function according to the provisions
of Section 4 of Chapter II of the Operations Manual of the USFA.
G.
An appeal from a decision of the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee or of the
Mid-Atlantic Jury of Appeal shall be to the Board of Directors of the USFA. Such appeal
however, shall not be permitted to interrupt or terminate a Mid-Atlantic Championship
Tournament.
CHAPTER V.
MID-ATLANTIC UNDER – 19 CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT (JUNIOR)
Section 1
The Mid-Atlantic Under – 19 Championship Tournament shall be
held in accordance with the rules and regulations governing the Senior Mid-Atlantic
Championship Tournament, as set forth in Chapter IV
of these By-laws as it now appears or may after be amended with the following exceptions:
A.
The Mid-Atlantic Under –19 Sectional Championship shall be held no less than
one month prior to the USFA National Championships. Selection of the weekend is made after
the Senior sectional date has been scheduled.
B.
Any fencer in good standing from a division
within the Section may enter the Under-19 Championships provided they meet the age
requirements. (Adopted June 2005 )
C.
Men’s and Women’s Foil will be fenced in the same way as the Senior
Tournament with a yearly rotation of the day on which these will be fenced.
Section 2
The rotation of the responsibility for holding the Section Under
– 19 Championship Tournament shall be determined according to the following
principles:
A.
Each member division of the Section shall serve as host to the Mid-Atlantic Under
– 19 Championship Tournament in a rotation to be based on the following sequence.
When a division serves as host, it shall automatically drop to the bottom of the sequence.
It shall be the responsibility of the Secretary Treasurer to maintain and publish the
current state of this sequence. If necessary
, the sequence may be adjusted to prevent host divisions from being required to hold both
tournaments in the same year or either tournament in successive years.
B. New Jersey will host the Under-19
Tournament every third year. (Adopted May 2003)
Under – 19 Tournament Sequence
New Jersey
Western PA
Maryland
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Capitol
New Jersey
South Jersey
Harrisburg
New Jersey
Central PA
C. For
the method of ascertaining place in the sequence, see Chapter IV, Sec. 2B through F above.
CHAPTER VI
SEEDING OF FENCERS IN CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENTS
Section 1
The Mid-Atlantic Bout Committee shall establish the list of seeding based upon:
A.
Circuit Event National Points (
International Squad )
B. National
Classification
C. Performance
at division qualifiers and prior year’s Championship results.
CHAPTER VII
FINANCES
Section 1
The funds of the Mid-Atlantic section shall be handled by the Mid-Atlantic
Secretary-Treasurer.
( For financial reports see Chapter 1, Sec 6B – 8 )
A.
The entry fee for the Mid-Atlantic Senior Championship and that for the Under
– 19 Championship Tournaments shall be established by the host division, but subject
to approval by the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee, and shall be payable in advance by
each entrant to the Mid-Atlantic Bout Committee Chairperson or his/her designee.
B.
An entrant who does not compete shall be liable for payment of entry fee(s) unless
written notice of withdrawal is received by the appropriate Bout Committee Chairperson not
less than 72 hours before the start of the competition.
C.
Any person in arrears with entry fee(s) or dues in the USFA shall not be eligible
to compete in any Mid-Atlantic Section Championship.
Section 4
After defraying all expenses, the host division will keep all profits from the
Championship Tournament except for five dollars ($5.00) collected from every registered
fencer. The total amount of those fees will be forwarded to the Mid-Atlantic Section
Chairperson to be deposited in the Section Treasury. Those monies will be used to start a
Section Equipment Fund to supply money to each division on a rotational basis to enable
them to purchase a three weapon scoring machine. The initial amount to each division will
be set at fourteen hundred dollars ($1400.00). for scoring machine purchase. Once the
rotation is completed through all divisions, it will be continued to enable each division
to purchase reels and floor cords to complete the set. The amount for reels and floor
cords will be seven hundred dollars ($700.00). Each
division may use this equipment in their own division tournaments but will be required to
bring this equipment to each of the Sectional Championship Tournaments. Continuation of
the Equipment Fund once each division has received a complete set of equipment is at the
discretion of the Mid-Atlantic Section Executive Committee. (Adopted
June 1992 )
Section 5
Admission charges for spectators may be imposed at the discretion of the host
division, and such
income, when not required for the operation of the Tournament, shall be paid into
the Treasury of the host division.
Section 6
The host division shall not incur expenses in excess of the approved budget (
Chapter IV, Sec 5B above ) or the
estimated revenue from entry fees, whichever is less, without express approval by the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee. Any expenses
incurred in excess of the above limit, without prior approval of the Mid-Atlantic
Executive Committee, may be disregarded when computing the deficit, if any, to be met by
the Mid-Atlantic Section Treasury, or the surplus to be distributed to the treasuries of
the host division and the section, as provided in Sec 4 of this chapter.
Section 7
In case the host division secures financial sponsorship for any Section
Championship, all or part of the monies received from
such sponsorship, may at the discretion of the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee, be
excluded in computing the balance receipts for the distribution in Section 7 of this chapter. The funds so excluded will
be retained by the host division.
Section 8
The funds collected in the Section Treasury may be used for the following purposes:
A.
To meet approved deficits (approved by Section Executive Committee ) incurred
inconnection with Sectional Championship Tournaments.
B.
To encourage significant inter-divisional competition among Mid-Atlantic divisions
by helping to provide trophies and awards when the revenue from such competitions may not
be sufficient to cover reasonable expenses, including the cost of trophies and awards.
C.
To assist member divisions to be host to the National Championship Tournament
D.
To pay the reasonable routine expenses of the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson,
Vice-Chairperson, Secretary-Treasurer, or appointed designees ( i.e. telephone, travel,
food, lodging, stationary, per-dium, postage, etc. )
E.
To defray such other expenses as may be authorized by an absolute majority of the
membership of the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee.
CHAPTER VIII
AMENDMENTS
Section 1
These
By-laws and all amendments thereto shall be submitted to the Executive director of the
USFA after their adoption by a majority mail vote of the members of the Mid-Atlantic
Section Executive Committee.
Section 2
Failure of any member of the Mid-Atlantic Executive Committee to submit a mail vote
within thirty (30) days of the date of mailing of these By-laws, or of the text of the
proposed amendment thereto, to the last reported
address of record of such member, shall be deemed to constitute
a vote in favor of the By-laws or amendment thereto.
Section 3
In submitting By-laws or amendments thereto to the Executive Director of the USFA,
the Mid-Atlantic Chairperson shall advise the
Executive Director as to the number of aye and nay votes
actually received, and the number of ballots not returned and therefore tallied as aye
votes under the provisions of Section 2 of this
chapter.
