Constitution

The Constitution of Goucher College Fencing Club

Article 1: Name

Section 1.       The name of this organization shall be Goucher College Fencing Club (GCFC).  

Article II: Purpose

Section 1.         The purpose/mission of Goucher College Fencing Club is to teach, support, and promote the art and sport of fencing at Goucher and in the surrounding community.

Section 2.         The organization shall function in accordance to all SGA and campus regulations and policies.  

Article III: Officers

Section 1.         Officers serving as the Executive Board shall include the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.

                        a) The President shall:

·  Serves as a liaison between GCFC and SGA.

· Serve as the primary means of communication between the club and the coach.

· Organize and run executive board meetings.

·Supervise and oversee the officers.

· Handle all administrative needs of the club with the exception of those specifically delegated.

· Act in the best interest of the club.

b) The Vice President shall:

·Assume all duties of the president should s/he be unable to fulfill any of his or her duties at any time for any reason.

·  Be responsible for the armory, including keeping a current and accurate inventory and keeping track of all equipment.

·Be responsible for special projects and presenting special projects to the executive board for approval upon completion.

·Oversee the webmaster.

c) The Secretary shall:

·Take attendance during practices.

·Record and distribute important decisions and events from executive board meetings.

· Assist the vice president with special projects.

d) The Treasurer shall:

· Be responsible for club funds in accordance with SGA guidelines for club treasurers.

·Not make purchases on behalf of the club without the approval of at least president and preferably the full club.

e) All officers are:

·Responsible to the majority of the club.

· Responsible for maintaining a safe environment for all members of the club.

·  Responsible for organizing and facilitating club events.

f) An officer must be present at all times at all club meetings unless otherwise agreed upon unanimously by the executive board in advance of the meeting in question.

g) Officers are responsible to the majority of the club.  If there is a problem with an officer, the entire remaining executive board must agree to bring the issue before the entire club for vote by secret ballot.  Majority vote needed for demotion.

h) SGA only requires the offices of president and treasurer.  In the event the offices of vice president and/or secretary are vacant the president assumes the responsibilities assigned to the vacant office(s).

Section 2.         The Term of Office for Executive Board Members

                        a) Officers’ positions roll over year to year unless circumstances prevent their rolling over.

                        b) Vacancy

1) The leaving officer or the president should nominate someone to fill the vacant position.  The executive board must unanimously approve the nomination.  To take office, a candidate must be approved by the majority of the club.

2) Election: If there is no clear choice for nomination, the club will be asked to nominate candidates for a particular office for election by majority.

Section 3.         Executive Board members must be in good standing with the institution.

Section 4.         The advisor may be a member of the institution’s faculty or staff.  However, as fencing is a sports club, the officers may elect to have their primary coach serve as advisor.  The advisor has no vote in the organization.

Section 5.         The Vice President of SGA will be notified of any and all changes of office as they occur.

Section 6.         Special Forces

                        The special forces are not officers and therefore not part of executive board.

                        a) Webmaster:

1) The webmaster is responsible for the club website, web group, public folder, and other technology resources.

2) Preferably, the Webmaster will be a current officer.  In the absence of an officer with the necessary skills, the vice president will oversee the webmaster, who must be a current club member.

b) The Practice Leader shall:

1) Have some knowledge and understanding of all three weapons.

2) CC (etc.) all relevant correspondence to the club president, as will the coach.

3) Be appointed by the club officers with approval of the coach, and can be removed from the position at any time by the officers.

4) Not impose disciplinary action on any club member without approval of the present ranking officer.

5) Attend the majority of club practices.

6) Implement and adhere to the lesson plan provided by the coach.

7) The position of the practice leader and/or the continuation of a person in the position of practice leader will be under review on a yearly basis.

8) The practice leader can be but does not have to be an officer.

9) In the absence of the practice leader, the ranking officer present will be responsible for leading practice.

10) The ranking officer present oversees the practice leader.

                                    c) The Coach

1) The coach must meet with at least the president, if not the entire executive board prior to the first official practice of the semester to establish a schedule.  The coach is then responsible for adhering to the completed schedule.

2) In the event that the coach must change the schedule, the coach must contact both the president and the practice leader in a timely fashion and provide the practice leader with instructions.

3) The coach is responsible for providing the president with his/her contact information, including emergency contact information.  The coach is only responsible for providing the practice leader with as much contact information as necessary for easy communication.

4) The coach must adhere to the entire constitution even though the coach is not a recognized member of the club.

5) The coach is responsible for overseeing practice and may delegate coaching responsibility to the practice leader as s/he sees fit.  When delegating, the coach must send a lesson plan and/or instructions to the practice leader before the event for which the delegation was made.

6) A copy of all correspondence between the practice leader and the coach must be provided to the president.

7) The coach must bring all disciplinary issues to the attention of the executive board.

d) The SGA Representative shall act in accordance with SGA guidelines for club representatives.  This is an optional position, to be used at the discretion of the majority of the executive board.

Article IV: Membership

Section 1.         Membership is open to any current Goucher College student.

Section 2.         Honorary membership may be extended to faculty, alumni, and community members with the approval of the executive board.  Honorary members my come to practice and use club equipment but have no rights or authority in the club.  For extension of any privileges, honorary members are expected to come to practice on a regular basis.

Section 3.         Due to the safety risks associated with fencing, all members must sign a waiver and adhere to the code of conduct outlined in Article VII.  

Article V: Election of Officers

Section 1.         Election of officers will occur two weeks prior to the date set by the Finance Committee for Spring Petitioning.

Section 2.         Each eligible voting member (as defined in Article VI, section 2) in attendance at the meeting that occurs two weeks prior to Spring Petitioning and shall be accorded one vote per office.

Section 3.         All elections will be held by secret ballot.

Section 4.         Following the election, the Secretary shall count the ballots.

Section 5.         A simple majority (or plurality) will constitute an officer’s election.

Section 6.         In the event of a tie, a runoff election shall be held immediately.

a. The election procedures as outlined above, also apply for runoff elections.

            Section 7.         Refer to Article III, section 2.  

Article VI: Meetings

Section 1.         All meetings will be held at a time and place determined by the organization at the beginning of each semester.

Section 2.         All members must attend a majority of the meetings held during the year to be eligible to vote at officer elections.  

Article VII: Code of Conduct

            Section 1.         Rules:

a) No one may point, extend or otherwise advance upon another person with a drawn blade unless the other person is wearing the full protective gear assigned by the club, usually both a mask and a jacket.

b) No horseplay.  Horseplay includes all activities not related to fencing practice which have not been approved by the ranking officer present.

c) Respect the equipment.  No tossing, throwing, bouncing or otherwise misusing club equipment.

d) Respect fellow club members, officers, coach, and coaching assistants.

            Section 2.         Regulations:

a) Dress code: All fencers must come to practice dressed in a manner which upholds club safety standards and is conducive to full participation in practice.  Sandals and shirts which expose any part of the midriff may not be worn.  All fencers are strongly encouraged to wear long pants and athletic shoes.  Shorts and bare feet or open shoes are unacceptable for epeeists.  The dress code for tournaments and non-practice GCFC events may vary and is at the discretion of the executive board.

b) Club equipment must be returned to the armory when members are finished using them or practice has ended.  If a fencer has met certain criteria, s/he may be permitted to keep their equipment to practice with when the club is not meeting.  The criteria include:

·The fencer must attend meetings regularly.

·The fencer must demonstrate good conduct with the equipment and fellow members.

·The fencer must have the approval of the Vice President.

· If a fencer has been allowed to take their equipment but is found abusing this privilege, the equipment will be returned to the armory.

c) All club members will be expected to participate in all group activities during practice sessions.  If there is a medical reason preventing the member from participation the member may abstain from participation.  However, any fencer who does not participate in individual or group drills will not be allowed to free fence during that practice.  The fencer may direct or line judge.

d) Fencers should not be sitting idly or socializing during practice.  If a fencer does not know what s/he should be doing s/he should ask the coach, practice leader, or an officer for ideas.

e) All club members must join the web group to facilitate easy communication amongst club members.  The web group is GCFC’s primary means of communication.  The URL of the web group can be obtained from the webmaster.

            Section 3.         Disciplinary Action:

a) The executive board reserves the right to impose disciplinary action, up to and including suspension from practice, on any current club member if s/he does not act in compliance with the code of conduct outlined in Sections 1 and 2 of Article VII.

b) Any single officer and/or the coach have the authority to impose appropriate disciplinary action on any current club member for minor infractions.  Minor infractions include first time offences of disrespectful behavior, improper use of equipment, and failure to observe safety regulations.  An appropriate disciplinary response to a minor infraction includes a verbal correction followed by a verbal warning.

c) Persistent inappropriate behavior will result in more severe disciplinary action.  All severe disciplinary action must be agreed upon by the majority of officers present at the time of the infraction.  If the officers are evenly divided, the coach may vote on disciplinary action for persistent inappropriate behavior.  An appropriate disciplinary response to persistent inappropriate behavior includes suspension from practice for any length of time, retraction of armory privileges for any length of time.

d) In the event that a current officer engages in a minor infraction or persistent inappropriate behavior the remaining present officers must react in accordance with the above outlined procedures.  The offending officer is not party to any decisions regarding his/her offence.  

Article VIII: Amendments

Section 1.         Amendments to this constitution shall be adopted by two-thirds vote of the members present at a regular meeting following the meeting at which the proposed amendment was distributed.

                        a) The proposed amendment shall be presented to and discussed among club members during a regular club meeting.

                        b) The vote to approve or deny the amendment will occur at least one meeting after the presentation and discussion of the amendment takes place.

                        c) Amendments to this constitution shall be instituted by means of a two-thirds vote of the members present at a regular meeting of the club.

d) Following the approval by a two-thirds vote of amendment, this constitution will be revised and all members not present will be made aware of the amendment in a timely fashion.