The by-laws are in the process of being reviewed and revised as we move to incorporate the Association in the Province of Ontario. The following by-laws remain in place until the new by-laws are written and approved by the membership
1: PLAYER ELIGIBILITY
2: TEAM ELIGIBILITY
14: STANDING COMMITTEES
15: AD-HOC COMMITTEES
16: TEAM REPS
17: TOURNAMENT REPS
21: AGENDA
22: ATTENDANCE AT GAARA MEETINGS
All other by-laws have been replaced with the GAARA Operational Procedures Manual as approved by the membership at the September 13 2022 General Meeting.
BY-LAW 1: PLAYER ELIGIBILITY
1.1 In accordance with Ringette Ontario (RO) guidelines, players in the Open division must be 18 years of age and over, with the player's age being determined by December 31st of the current playing season. Consequently, exceptions to this age limit may be made in the following manner only:
(a) with the request filed with GAARA in writing by the September general meeting; and
(b) with the approval of GAARA and the Adult Development Coordinator for the Eastern Region Ringette Association.
1.2 Players can register with RO or GAARA at any time of the year, but cannot play in sanctioned events unless they register with RO by January 8th.
1.3 An eligible player is one:
(a) that meets the age requirements;
(b) that is not under suspension;
(c) that is a member of GAARA in good standing;
(d) that is registered on the RO Team Registration Form of a team playing in GAARA or is registered on a GAARA “Spares” RO Team Registration Form. Players may not be included on more than one RO Team Registration Form in GAARA each season; and
(e) that has signed and submitted a “Player Evaluation and Registration Form” to GAARA if required.
1.4 All players new to GAARA or who have not played in the GAARA league play for the previous two playing seasons must complete a Player Evaluation and Registration Form which is to be submitted to the GAARA Vice President at vp@gaara.ca along with the pre-registration submission.
1.5 Players must wear the equipment deemed mandatory in the Ringette Canada Rule Book.
1.6 All players are considered members of the team on whose RO Team Registration Form their name appears for purposes of GAARA league play.
1.7 In exceptional circumstances and if not addressed in a timely manner under the provisions of by-law #25, the executive reserves the right to reassign players to different skill divisions if the player’s skills are deemed inappropriate for the level in which they are registered.
BY-LAW 2: TEAM ELIGIBILITY
2.1 All teams must indicate their intention to play in one of the Skill Divisions as outlined in by-law #23 by the pre-registration and ice scheduling date. Teams indicating interest after this date will be accepted at the discretion of the Scheduler. Teams must submit a Team Pre-Registration Form along with Player Evaluation and Registration Forms where applicable at the pre-registration and ice scheduling date. The executive reserves the right to re-assign teams to different Skill Divisions if the Team Pre-Registration Form and Player Evaluation and Registration Forms warrant such action.
2.2 All teams must register with RO and obtain a RO Team Registration Form in one of three ways:
(a) register with RO through GAARA;
(b) register with RO through another association; or
(c) register with RO as an independent team.
2.3 All teams registering with RO through an association other than GAARA must provide GAARA with a hard copy of their RO Team Registration Form by November 15th. Any team which does not receive their TRF by November 15th must notify the GAARA Registrar as to when it will be submitted.
2.4 All teams, including those registering with RO through an association other than GAARA, must provide GAARA with a copy of any RO Information Change Forms promptly.
2.5 All teams registering with RO through GAARA must provide the GAARA registrar with all necessary information as requested in the GAARA registration package on or before the September GAARA registration date. Failure to do so will result in a team fine as set out in the GAARA Team Contract.
2.6 All teams must provide a list of home ice times for league play within seven (7) days of the City of Ottawa releasing their ice allocation packages. For all teams new to GAARA or for any returning team who is changing their hours of home ice time, the Executive must approve the ice time before the team will be allowed to play in GAARA. The Executive reserves the right to refuse any home ice time that is deemed unusable given the timing that is outside of the regular GAARA season or cannot be scheduled due to unavailability of referees or other intractable league scheduling conflicts. The Executive will return any unusable home ice times to teams before the City of Ottawa deadline for ice cancellations.
2.7 The Executive reserves the right to limit the number of teams registering in any or all divisions should a lack of available resources warrant such action. The decision as to which teams will be allowed to register will be at the sole discretion of the Executive. Grounds for limiting teams from any or all divisions will be considered in the following priority order:
(a) availability of resources (i.e. referees);
(b) ice time availability;
(c) date of registration;
(d) receipt of payment;
(e) history with GAARA; and
(f) number of teams within a particular division or within all divisions.
BY-LAW 14: STANDING COMMITTEES
14.1 Tournament Committee:
(a) Shall consist of the Tournament Director and such other members of GAARA and its teams as is deemed necessary; and
(b) Shall, under the direction of the Tournament Director, run the annual SilverSpoon Tournament.
14.2 Grievance/Disciplinary Committee:
(a) Shall consist of a panel of three (3) persons selected by the Vice President on behalf of the Executive, from an established list, to consider any particular case. If a conflict of interest occurs, shall be selected by the President;
(b) Shall be chaired by the Vice President of GAARA. If a conflict of interest occurs shall be chaired by the President; and
(c) Shall be responsible for decisions regarding game protests, grievances, and disciplinary actions.
BY-LAW 15: AD-HOC COMMITTEES
15.1 The executive may appoint ad-hoc committees as necessary to plan, implement, and execute specific tasks or projects as directed by the executive.
BY-LAW 16: TEAM REPS
16.1 Each team playing in GAARA shall select from amongst themselves a GAARA team rep.
16.2 The team rep:
(a) shall ensure that her team is represented at all GAARA General Meetings;
(b) is encouraged to attend all GAARA Executive meetings as an observer;
(c) shall review the GAARA Constitution and By-Laws with all members of her team before the first league game;
(d) shall keep the members of her team informed in regards to the minutes of GAARA meetings and team standings;
(e) shall notify all members of her team as to the date and location of all General Meetings and encourage them to attend;
(f) shall ensure all required documentation regarding team registration has been passed on to the Registrar prior to the league deadline;
(g) shall bring areas of concern to the attention of her Executive Division rep;
(h) shall ensure that an ice time schedule has been given to the Scheduler by the set deadline; and
(i) shall sign a contract with GAARA at the start of each year and agree to the conditions of the contract (see by-law #26).
BY-LAW 17: TOURNAMENT REPS
17.1 Each team playing in GAARA, regardless of whether or not they play in the SilverSpoon Tournament, is responsible to support the activities of the Tournament Committee as appointed by the Executive.
17.2 Each team representative:
(a) shall ensure her team is aware of the activities of the Tournament Committee; and
(b) shall delegate tasks as necessary for the running of the SilverSpoon Tournament to the members of her team.
BY-LAW 21: AGENDA
21.1 The agenda for all GAARA meetings shall be set by the President and shall be approved at the commencement of each meeting, and shall include:
(a) Call to order
(b) Minutes of the previous meeting
(c) President's report
(d) Vice President's report
(e) Treasurer's report
(f) Secretary’s report
(g) Referee’s report
(h) Statistician’s report
(i) Registrar’s report
(j) Division reps' reports
(j) Standing Committee reports
(k) New business
(l) Adjournment
BY-LAW 22: ATTENDANCE AT GAARA MEETINGS
22.1 Any team not represented at a general meeting, or at a Tournament Committee meeting:
(a) shall pay fine as per Team Contract (see by-law #26);
(b) may be called upon to explain the absence to the Executive; and
(c) shall forfeit their say on issues raised on that occasion.
