Area F Council of Sailing Associations

Bylaws, Responsibilities and Championship Policy
 

Area F organization and management is directed by the Bylaws and Responsibilities.
Eliminations are run in accordance with the Championship Conditions.

Bylaws of the Council of Area F Associations of US SAILING

Following Articles numbered I. through IX constitute the entire bylaws of the Council of Area F Associations of US SAILING, adopted by the Council at its Annual Meeting held January 15, 2000 and revised January 12, 2002.

Article I. Constitution

The governing bodies of the member Regional Sailing Associations ("RSA") within Area F of the United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), in recognition of the need for a council of representatives of the RSAs to implement required functions mandated by the US SAILING bylaws and regulations, hereby establish the Council of Area F US SAILING Associations ("Council").

Article II. Scope of Authority

The Council shall act as the supervisory and coordinating body in matters of mutual concern to the member RSAs. The reports, decisions and recommendations of the Council shall be binding upon the RSAs.

A.     The Council may make its own procedural rules, appoint committees and call upon others for assistance and advice in connection with the aims and objectives of the Council.

B.     The Council shall coordinate the Area F Championship racing events and assure that rules and regulations set forth by the Council and US SAILING are fully complied.

C.     The Council shall endeavor to train and qualify a list of quality race management personnel that are available to the RSAs for help in sailing event management.

D.     The Council may incur necessary expenses, which shall be paid from surplus entry fees of events coordinated by the Council or by assessment equally among the RSAs.

Article III. Members

Area F consists of Texas Sailing Association (TSA), Central States Sailing Association (CSSA) and Sailing Association of Intermountain Lakes (SAIL). The membership of the Council shall consist of:

A.     The Officers of the Council.

B.     The current Commodore of each RSA.

C.     One Delegate appointed by each RSA, who must not be an Officer of the Council.

D.     All Area F Representatives to the US SAILING Championship committees.

E.     The Area F Director of US SAILING.

F.     Any other members of the US SAILING Board of Directors who are likewise members of the RSAs.

Article IV. Officers

The Officers of the Council shall consist of Commodore, Vice Commodore, Rear Commodore and Secretary‑Treasurer.

A.     The officers shall be elected to serve two-year terms.

B.     Election of officers shall be at the annual meeting held during odd-numbered years.

C.     The Commodore, Vice Commodore and Rear Commodore shall be from different RSAs.

D.     In the event the office of Commodore becomes vacant during the term, the Vice Commodore shall become the Commodore and a new Vice Commodore shall be appointed for the remainder of the term from within and by the RSA that is not represented by an officer other than the Secretary‑Treasurer.

E.     In the event the office of Vice Commodore, Rear Commodore or Secretary‑Treasurer becomes vacant, the RSA which that Officer represented shall appoint a person from their RSA to fill the unexpired term.

F.     The Commodore shall appoint a nominating committee in even numbered years. The committee must consist of one person from each RSA. Current officers of the Council may not serve on this committee. The committee shall present a slate of officers to be included with the notice of annual meeting.

Article V. Duties of the Officers

A.     The Commodore shall be the chief executive of the Council, preside at all meetings and make appointments to special committees as needed.

B.     The Vice Commodore shall assist the Commodore, promote the Championship events and preside over meetings in the absence or disability of the Commodore.

C.     The Rear Commodore shall assist the Commodore and coordinate trophies for the Championship events.

D.     The Secretary-Treasurer shall send notice of the Annual Meeting, keep a full and complete record of the proceedings of all meetings and shall preserve all documents, reports and communications connected with the business of the Council.

Article VI. Area F Director of US SAILING

The Council shall elect a person to serve on the Board of Directors of US SAILING ("Director").

A.     The Director need not be a member of the Council or a RSA governing body.

B.     The Director shall be elected at the annual meeting held during even-numbered years to serve a two-year term. The Commodore shall appoint a committee consisting of one person from each RSA in odd-numbered years to select a candidate or candidates for this position.

C.     There will be a 4-term consecutive limit the Director may serve unless otherwise prescribed by US SAILING (rev 2-12-02).

D.     In the event the Director cannot serve a full term, a new Director shall be elected by simple majority vote of the voting members of the Council at a special meeting.

Article VII. Meetings

A.     The Annual Meeting of the Council shall be in January of each year.

B.     Notice of the time and place of the Annual Meeting shall be sent to all members of the Council at least 30 days prior to the meeting.

C.     The Commodore may call other special meetings of the Officers or the voting members of the Council as needed or may be requested by any member RSA. Special meetings may be held physically, by conference call or by on-line chat.

D.     Any Council member may speak, as recognized by the Commodore, at any meeting. They can propose changes in the Area F Regulations or Championship policies and argue the advantages of the proposal.

Article VIII. Voting

A.     On all matters coming before the Council, each RSA shall have one vote cast by their respective Delegate and one vote cast by the Vice Commodore, Rear Commodore, and the Commodore. In case of a tie vote, the Secretary‑Treasurer shall cast the tie-breaking vote.

B.     An Officer or Delegate may assign his vote to another person by notifying the Secretary‑Treasurer.

C.     Two RSAs must be represented to conduct business.

Article IX. Amendments

These by-laws may be amended only by a majority vote (4) of the Council, including the Secretary if a tie exists, at the Annual Meeting of the Council. All proposed changes shall be sent to the Council members 60 days prior to the Annual Meeting.

Responsibilities of the Area F Council

The prime function of Area F is the scheduling of competition between the clubs in the Area to promote a finalist in the National Championship Events. To best perform this, the roles of the Area F Council, the Event Representatives and the Host Clubs are defined as follows. Once the events are scheduled in the Annual Meeting in January, the coordination of the event is the prime responsibility of the Event chairman. 

1. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AREA F COUNCIL revised 1-6-2000      

1.1    The Board shall accept bids and select host yacht clubs, setting dates and determining the type of boats to be used. At the annual meeting in January. 

1.2    The Secretary-Treasurer shall provide the Host Club and all concerned parties with a current set of Policies and a list of administrative and key personnel in administrating the US SAILING Events. 

1.3    The Regional Race Officer and Regional Area Judge shall provide the Council with a current list of Judges, PROs and SROs potentially available for Race Management. 

1.4    The Event Representatives shall provide coordination for any necessary changes subsequent to the schedule through communications between the Secretary and Host Club. 

1.5    The Board shall make recommendations to the US SAILING Representative for replacement of the Event Representatives as the positions is vacated. 

1.6    The Board shall set a fee structure that will allow the events to pay for the finals fees, trophies and Borrowed Boat Insurance.

1.7    The Rear Commodore shall purchase and schedule delivery of the trophies to the Host Club or make arrangements through the Event Representative to have this handled. 

1.8    The Secretary Treasurer shall either pay the entry fee and Borrowed Boat Insurance to the US SAILING Finals or arrange for that to be done by his representative. This applies to those events designated by the Council. 

2. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE US SAILING REPRESENTATIVES 

2.1    To promote the event by actively working on the Championship committee at the US SAILING level. 

2.2    Procure bids from yacht clubs that would like to host an Event and present those bids at the Annual Meeting. Prime considerations are:

        a.    Holding the event in the same or very similar boat as will be used in the Finals.

        b.    Simulating the conditions under which the event will be held.

        c.    Rotating the event between the Associations providing active participants in the event.

        d.    Scheduling the event at a time that would encourage our strongest participation and competitors. 

2.3    To assist in training Association level Coordinators who can manage events on the YRA level. 

2.4    To prepare and distribute copies of the Area F Championship Notice of Race to the Secretary-Treasurer and the RSA Championship Coordinators at least a month prior to the event. 

2.5    Prepare the Sailing Instructions in conjunction with the Host Club and circulate them to the PRO, Chief Judge for review one month prior to the event. These need to conform to those provided by US SAILING. 

2.6    Work with the RSA Championship Coordinators, Competitors and Secretary-Treasurer to assure that all entry forms are in order and fees are paid prior to the Event. 

2.7    Select judges for the event. Judges from each association are preferred and at least one should be certified.

2.8    Work as an advisor to the host club to assure that the highest quality event will be run. See that the host club is familiar with the Insurance alternatives and that the forms are properly completed and sent to the carrier. Assure all fees and deposits are accounted for and distributed appropriately. 

2.9    At the completion of the event, the Regatta chairman writes a complete report of the event, including a copy of the score sheet showing the name and affiliation of each competitor. A copy of this report is to be sent to the US SAILING Championship Event Chairman, Area F Secretary-Treasurer and the Commodore. Be sure that the finals fees are sent and the winning competitor has a copy for his reference, if needed.

3.0    Responsibilities of the Host Club 

3.1    Shall comply with the Regulations for the event. 

3.2    Shall work with the Area F Representative in the preparation of the Notice of Race and the selection of the PRO and Judges. 

3.3    Shall provide a local contact for competitors to coordinate their arrival and make local arrangements for housing, practice and other considerations. 

3.5    Appoint a Boatswain to work with the local fleet in the selection of equalized boats. The Boatswain will inspect the boats prior to their use and administer any damage claims as to assignment of responsibility. 

3.4    Shall provide the Race Committee, support staff and equipment to assure the safe and quality management of the water activities. 

3.5    Prepare the Sailing Instructions in conjunction with the Event Chairman and circulate them to the PRO, Chief Judge for review one month prior to the event. These need to conform to the Notice of Race the Prescriptions set by US SAILING.

3.6    Work with the Event Representative to assure that trophies have been ordered and received prior to the event. 

3.7    Shall see that all entrance fees, damage deposits or Borrowed Boat Insurance fees have been paid prior to the event. The damage deposit is to be returned to all competitors who have no assignable damage. Special effort should be made to assure the damage is assigned the responsible individual. 

3.8    Shall send the Borrowed Boat Insurance fees and registration to the US SAILING insurance carrier prior to offering the boats to the competitors for practice or competition. The Regatta Event Chairman is responsible for administrating damage claims consistent with the requirements of the Borrowed Boat Insurance policy.

Area F Championship Policy

The following articles constitute the Policy of the Area F Council for the conduct of the
Area F Championships as adopted by the Council at its Annual Meeting held January 15, 2000.

1       ENTRY

1.1    Each Association be allowed up 8 competitors each in the Bemis and Smythe if they are scheduled in a BYOB/SYOB event. For events using borrowed boats and sailed round-robin, such as the Adams, Mallory, Sears and Hinman, each Association be allowed 2 teams. One team from each Association is allowed for POW.

1.2    Events that have unlimited entries are: Alter Cup, O’Day

1.3    In the event an Association fails to fill their quota of entries for any Area F Championship, the other Associations may fill such vacancies. The host Association has the option to fill the first vacancy and the remaining on an alternating basis by the other Associations.

1.4    Additional US SAILING Events may be scheduled as determined by the Council in the annual meeting.

2       FEES

2.1    The entry fees for each Area F event will be set at the Annual meeting for the Adult and Junior Championships to cover the cost of Trophies, Finals Fees and Borrowed Boat Insurance for both the Area F event and the Finals. The Multihull and Match racing championships will be set by the Event Representatives. Area F will not have any financial liability for these events.

2.2    The fee schedule is based on $50/competitor for Borrowed Boat events. The fee schedule for the Events is as follows; $150/boat for Adams, Mallory, POW, and Sears, $100/boat for Bemis, $35//boat for O'Day, Smythe. The individual or his club is responsible for the Borrowed Boat insurance and the Damage Deposit, to be paid no later than the day before the event.

2.3    The Host Club may, at its option, make additional charges for meals, refreshments and entertainment, provided these charges be optional with each contestant. The Host Club is encouraged to provide housing or at least arrange for economical lodging in the area.

2.4    In the event that there is no competition in an event, the Association providing the competitor will be responsible for the entrance fee to the US SAILING Finals. Competitors can be selected based on the standings on eliminations held for the Event in that Association. Any trophies awarded are at the expense of the Association.

3       TROPHIES

3.1    The Area F Council will provide trophies and participation certificates for all the Championships unless prior arrangements are made with the host RSA. Equal trophies shall be awarded helmsman and crew members except POW which will have one team award. Smaller trophies may be awarded 2nd and 3rd place.

3.2    Trophies will be awarded as follows:

        1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd        ADAMS, MALLORY, O'DAY, SEARS, BEMIS and SMYTHE
1^st                         POW

3.3    The Host Club will receive a recognition trophy.

3.4    Host clubs may award special recognition trophies such as a ship-shape award at their own expense.

4       INSURANCE

4.1    It is the responsibility of the Host Club to select the boats (including the alternate), prepare the US SAILING Borrowed Boat Insurance forms and send with a check prior to the first day of racing or practice.

5       PRACTICE

5.1    The host club is under no obligation to provide boats for practice other than at scheduled times prior to the competition.

6       FAILURE TO PARTICIPATE

6.1    It is the responsibility of the Individual, his Club and Association to enter the US SAILING Event competition in good faith and to compete in all events and proceed to the Finals if he wins the eliminations.

6.2    If circumstances prohibit a competitor or team from participating in an event that they had entered, they must immediately notify the Host Club Coordinator, the Association Secretary and the Event Chairman. Where a substitute can be arranged at no cost or unmanageable problem, there will be no penalties to the competitor.

6.3    If the Event chairman determines that the actions by the competitor were irresponsible, after considering all factors, he may recommend that individual be barred from further competition. Repetitive abuses by a club may result in the club being barred from fielding representatives for Area F events for the following year.

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Last updated 03/14/2007