This constitution was amended and approved at the general meeting of the Gloucester and Area Adult Ringette Association on the 26th day of May in the year 2020.
ARTICLE 1: NAME
1.1 This association shall be known as the Gloucester and Area Adult Ringette Association, hereafter to be referred to as GAARA.
ARTICLE 2: BOUNDARIES
2.1 The area for which GAARA is constituted shall be the City of Ottawa and surrounding municipalities.
ARTICLE 3: OBJECTIVES AND AIMS
3.1 The objectives and aims of GAARA are:
(a) to promote ringette;
(b) to exercise general supervision and direction over the playing interests of its players, coaches, and managers, with emphasis on the enhancement of fair play, fun, and sportsmanship; and
(c) to formulate and administer policies beneficial to ringette.
ARTICLE 4: ASSOCIATION YEAR
4.1 The year shall begin on June 1 and end on May 31 of the following calendar year.
ARTICLE 5: MEMBERSHIP
5.1 Subject to the approval of the current members of GAARA in good standing, also eligible for membership are teams who:
(a) agree to abide by and comply with the Constitution, By-laws, and such other rules and regulations of GAARA as may be in force from time to time;
(b) have fully paid all fees and fines; and
(c) have passed on all required documentation regarding registration to the league registrar.
ARTICLE 6: GENERAL MEETINGS
6.1 GAARA shall hold a minimum of three (3) general meetings during the playing season. The first meeting shall be the Registration and General Meeting, to be held no later than September 15; the second meeting shall be the League Realignment meeting, to be held in November; but no later than November 25; and the third meeting shall be the Annual General Meeting to be held no later than May 30.
The association must provide a minimum of one week's notice of said meetings to each team.
6.2 Additional general meetings may be called by the Executive in which case less than one week's notice may be given.
6.3 A quorum for each general meeting shall consist of 2/3 of the GAARA team representatives and Executive.
6.4 Members of the Executive are entitled to one (1) vote regardless of whether or not they represent one or several teams. Each team present at meetings is entitled to one (1) vote.
6.5 Motions will be passed by a simple majority vote of the members in attendance where a simple majority is defined as a minimum of 50 percent of the votes cast plus one vote.
ARTICLE 7: EXECUTIVE MEETINGS
7.1 The Executive shall have regular meetings for the duration of the playing season.
7.2 All members of GAARA may attend these meetings to observe or to make presentations.
7.3 Only members of the Executive shall vote at Executive meetings.
7.4 A quorum will consist of seven (7) Executive members.
ARTICLE 8: OFFICERS (EXECUTIVE)
8.1 Officers shall be elected to the Executive by the members of GAARA present at the Annual General Meeting.
8.2 The officers of GAARA shall be the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Ice Coordinator, Registrar, Coaching Coordinator, Referee-in-Chief and at least two (2), but no more than seven (7) division reps.
a) The positions of President, Secretary, Ice Coordinator and Coaching Coordinator shall be considered for election in odd numbered years Eg. 2009/2010 season would be odd year going by the 2009;
b) The positions of Vice President, Treasurer, Registrar and Referee-in-Chief shall be considered for election in even numbered years Eg. 2010/2011 season would be even year going by the 2010; and
c) Division representatives shall be elected on an annual basis.
8.3 A member of the Executive may be removed from office by a resolution sanctioned by at least seven (7) members of the Executive.
8.4 No more than two (2) members of the Executive shall be from the same team except where a motion to exceed this number has been presented and agreed to by a majority of the members of GAARA present at the Annual General Meeting.
8.5 Four (4) weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting, the Executive shall appoint a Nominating Committee from amongst GAARA’s members; the Nominating Committee will be responsible for putting forth a slate of names of people interested in running for executive positions. These names shall be presented for election at the Annual General Meeting. In addition to the names on the slate, nominations shall be accepted from the floor at the Annual General Meeting.
8.6 The Executive may fill by appointment any executive position still vacant after the election at the Annual General Meeting or any executive position that becomes vacant during the association year.
ARTICLE 9: APPOINTED OFFICERS (NON-VOTING)
9.1 The GAARA Statisticians, League Scheduler, Webmaster and Tournament Director shall be Officers of GAARA but not voting members of the Executive.
ARTICLE 10: HONORARIUMS
10.1 The League Scheduler may qualify for an honorarium. This requirement and the amount will be determined via majority vote of the GAARA Executive each year.
ARTICLE 11: DUTIES OF OFFICERS
11.1 PRESIDENT:
(a) Shall be the chief executive officer of GAARA;
(b) Shall preside at all meetings and shall be chairperson of the Executive;
(c) Shall issue the call for Executive and General Meetings;
(d) Shall prepare the agenda for all Executive and General Meetings;
(e) Shall oversee the operations of all sub and ad hoc committees;
(f) Shall call for regular reports;
(g) Shall see that regular elections are held in accordance with the constitution;
(h) Shall exercise the power and authority of the Executive in the case of an emergency; all such decisions shall be reviewed at the next Executive meeting; and
(i) Shall vote only in the event of a tie, and then shall cast the deciding vote.
11.2 VICE-PRESIDENT:
(a) Shall perform the duties of President in the absence, or at the request, of the President and shall then have all the rights and powers of President;
(b) Shall, under the direction of the President, oversee the functioning of such committees as the President may designate;
(c) Shall oversee the Grievance/Disciplinary Committee and the Carding Committee except in cases where a conflict of interest may occur.
11.3 SECRETARY:
(a) Shall record the minutes of all Executive and General Meetings;
(b) Shall distribute the minutes of meetings to the Executive and team reps;
(c) Shall update and maintain custody of GAARA records for a period of seven years;
(d) Shall distribute the GAARA Constitution and By-Laws to the Executive and Team Reps; and
(e) Shall book facilities for all GAARA meetings.
11.4 TREASURER:
(a) Shall receive all monies from the teams related to regular season play (ORA registration fees and GAARA association fees including Team Bond) and the Tournament Committee and shall deposit the same in the banking institution as approved by the Executive;
(b) Shall pay out monies only on the authority of the Executive;
(c) Shall pay by cheque countersigned by one other officer as designated by the Executive;
(d) Shall report on the financial position of GAARA at each Executive meeting and at each general meeting;
(e) Shall prepare a budget for the association year;
(f) Shall present a financial statement at the first general meeting of the following year; and
(g) Shall make the financial records available at any time to any member of GAARA.
11.5 LEAGUE SCHEDULER
(a) Shall schedule both regular and playoff games;
(b) Shall maintain contact with the Referee-in-Chief and the Statistician regarding game cancellations and rescheduling;
(c) Shall decide on the playoff format in consultation with the Executive and the Team Reps;
(d) In collaboration with the Registrar, shall ensure that risk management and safety audit forms are submitted to ERRA for all rinks utilized by GAARA which are not utilized by ERRA minor teams; and
(e) If necessitated by the workload, the Executive may recommend that more than one League Scheduler be elected and that the responsibilities be divided accordingly.
11.6 TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR:
(a) Shall schedule and chair all Tournament Committee meetings; and
(b) Shall oversee all Tournament Committee functions.
11.7 DIVISION REPS:
(a) Shall liaise between the Executive and all teams in the division that they represent;
(b) Shall encourage all players from their division to attend GAARA meetings and to participate in the running of GAARA; and
(c) Shall monitor one (1) game for each team in their division during the season and report to the League Scheduler.
11.8 STATISTICIAN:
(a) Shall maintain current league statistics and team standings at each level of play;
(b) Shall provide team standings at the executive meetings for inclusion in the minutes;
(c) Shall monitor misconduct, match, major and unsportsmanlike penalties and notify the GAARA Executive when limit is exceeded;
(d) Shall monitor games for defaults and immediately notify the League Scheduler of same;
(e) Shall monitor game sheets for player eligibility and notify the Executive in the event of discrepancies;
(f) Shall monitor that scores and game sheets are received in a timely fashion; and
(g) Shall monitor the use of spares ensuring that spares are legal and that the spare is properly marked on the appropriate game sheet.
11.9 REFEREE-IN-CHIEF:
(a) In collaboration with the League Scheduler, ensure that appropriately-qualified officials are scheduled for GAARA exhibition, league and tournament games;
(b) In collaboration with the Treasurer, ensure appropriate payment to officials for games officiated;
(c) Liaison with Ringette Canada, ORA and ERRA (Eastern Region) counterparts on matters related to officiating;
(d) Provide advice to GAARA on current ORA rules and regulations and their interpretation;
(e) Co-ordinate rules clinics upon request of the GAARA Executive;
(f) In collaboration with other members of the GAARA Executive, address issues that arise between officials, players and team staff; and
(g) Co-ordinate registration of officials with the GAARA Registrar.
11.10 REGISTRAR:
(a) Ensure that all players, bench staff members, executive members, and officials registering with GAARA are registered with ORA and ERRA;
(b) In collaboration with the Treasurer, ensure appropriate payment is made to ORA; and
(c) In collaboration with the League Scheduler, ensure that risk management and safety audit forms are submitted to ERRA for all rinks utilized by GAARA which are not utilized by ERRA minor teams.
11.11 ICE COORDINATOR:
(a) Shall manage the ice contract(s) with the City of Ottawa and any private facilities for the GAARA ice pool;
(b) Based on ice costs, shall propose ice fees for the GAARA ice pool to the GAARA Executive for approval;
(c) In conjunction with the League Scheduler, shall ensure assignment of ice necessary for GAARA league and playoff games;
(d) Shall attend City of Ottawa ice allocation meetings on behalf of GAARA.
11.12 COACHING COORDINATOR:
(a) Shall ensure that all bench staff have appropriate credentials for level of play;
(b) Shall coordinate with ERRA Coaching Development Coordinator, ensuring proper communication regarding rule changes, qualification changes, and training required for all bench staff registered through GAARA;
(c) Will work closely with GAARA Registrar ensuring TRFs accurately reflect eligible bench staff;
(d) Communicate with GAARA bench staff regarding upcoming clinics, both required and for further coaching development;
(e) Attend annual ERRA Coaches meeting.
11.13 WEBMASTER:
(a) Shall maintain the GAARA website;
(b) Shall ensure that the GAARA domain name does not expire;
(c) Shall manage the list of email addresses associated with the Team Contacts and the Executive members;
(d) Shall manage GAARA’s social media platforms.
ARTICLE 12: AMENDMENTS
12.1 The Constitution of GAARA may be amended in the following manner:
(a) with two (2) weeks’ notice of the proposed amendment filed with the Secretary;
(b) with one (1) weeks’ notice to the team reps;
(c) at a General Meeting; and
(d) with the assent of a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the registered votes cast by the members present.
12.2 The By-Laws and Regulations of GAARA may be amended in the following manner:
(a) at a General Meeting; and
(b) with the assent of a simple majority of the registered votes cast by the members present.
ARTICLE 13: GOVERNING RULES
13.1 The governing rules of GAARA shall be the Gloucester and Area Adult Ringette Association By-laws and Regulations.
This constitution was amended and approved at the general meeting of the Gloucester and Area Adult Ringette Association on the 26th day of May in the year 2020.
Executive members present:
Gabrielle Rodrigue - President
Lisa Rausch - Vice President
Tanya Martin - Secretary
Terri-Lyn Campbell - Ice Contracts / Scheduler
Katie Robinson - Tresurer
Vicki Martin - Registrar
Caryn McKee - Coaching Coordinator
Steve Welch - A Rep
Stephanie Murray - BB/B Rep
Tracy Robillard - C/Dev Rep
Elysia Ford - Silverspoon Chair / Webmaster