PRINCE-MONT SWIM LEAGUE BY-LAWS

(Current as of May 2004)

 

Article I - Name

 

        The name of this organization shall be the Prince-Mont Swim League (hereinafter referred to as the League).

 

Article II - Purposes

       

        The purposes of the League are to sponsor competitive and developmental swimming events and activities in and between the member swimming  teams; to develop in the children affected by this program, a love for the sport, advanced aquatic skills, teamwork, and the principles of good sportsmanship.  The League may also sponsor activities involving such member teams, provided such activities are not inconsistent with the purpose of the League as set forth above.

 

Article III - Members

 

        1.  Eligibility:  Bona fide swimming  teams shall be eligible to apply for membership in the League.  These member  teams may  be associated with community, military installations, private, and apartment pools operating their swimming facility in the summer months and shall consist primarily of family memberships.

 

        2.  Application:  Application for membership in the League shall be submitted to the President, in writing, on the form prescribed by the League for this purpose.  The applicant shall furnish all of the information called for on the application form and shall attach thereto a copy of the Constitution and/or By-Laws containing the  team's organizational description and membership qualifications.  Applicants shall agree to participate to the fullest extent practicable in  League programs, activities, and meetings.

 

        3.  Election:  New  teams shall be accepted for membership to the League, subject to  majority approval by the Board of Directors. 

 

        4.  Continuation:  Member teams of the League who participated in the scheduled activities of the League during the preceding summer season must submit their renewal applications to continue as members by reapplying no later than April 30 preceding the summer swimming season.

 

        5.  Termination:  Membership in the League may be voluntarily surrendered by written notification by the team's League Representative to the President of the League not later than April 1 as to intent not to participate in scheduled summer swimming activities for that year.

 

                a.  In any case in which the Constitution and/or By-Laws of a member team are changed in a manner relating to the team's or pool's status or to eligibility for membership in the  team, the President of the League shall be promptly advised in writing as to the exact nature of  such change (s).

 

                b.  Membership in the League shall automatically terminate on (1) the failure of the member to pay the annual dues and designated assessments by April 30th or (2) the failure to pay any assessment voted by the League within 60 days of the date set for payment thereof; or (3) the member no longer meets the conditions of eligibility set forth in Section I of this Article.  In the case of automatic termination of membership under condition (3), the termination shall be effective on the date of receipt of the notice of termination of membership by the team's League Representative, such notice to be issued by the President pursuant to the instruction of the Board of Directors on the ascertainment of the facts as to ineligibility.

 

                c.  Membership in the League may be revoked if the conduct and/or practices of the member team are found to be in conflict with the best interests of the League or contrary to the purposes of the League as set forth in Article II, by a two-thirds vote of the League Representatives present and voting.

 

                d.  In any case of contemplated revocation of a team's League membership, the President, pursuant to instructions of the Board of Directors, shall issue to the  team's League Representative a notice in writing setting forth the specific grounds on which the contemplated revocation is based and to provide the team with an opportunity to show cause why the team's membership should not be revoked.  An opportunity for a hearing before the Board with respect to such notice shall be granted the member team if requested within 10 days of receipt of the notice by the team in writing to the President of the League, such hearing to be on a date and at a place set by the President and to be held not less than ten (10) days nor more than (30) days from the date of receipt of the League's notice by the member team.  At such hearing, any other League member team may also present evidence with respect to which the hearing is being held.  The President or his designated representative shall preside at any such hearing and the Board shall, within 30 days of the conclusion of the hearing make a recommendation as to the action to be taken pursuant thereto.  Such recommendation shall be mailed to the League Representatives not less than 21 days before the meeting of the League Representatives at which the recommendation is scheduled for consideration.

 

Article IV - League Representatives

 

        1.  Designation:  Each member team shall designate a representative, one alternate representative and a team data manager to the League to represent the organization.  League Representatives and Alternates must be separate individuals, and along with the meet managers, may not be paid employees of the  team.  Such representatives shall continue to act until a successor has been designated by the member  team.  Each member team shall keep the Secretary of the League currently advised as to the name, address, telephone number and E_Mail address of the League Representative, alternate and team data manager, and must also advise the Secretary not later than April 30th of each year, upon reapplication, the identity of the persons who will represent the member team during the ensuing summer swimming season.  The designated representative, alternate, and team data manager shall be members in good standing of the member team by whom named.  Failure to designate a team data manager will result in the League representative assuming all duties of the team data manager.

 

        2.  Voting:  Each member team shall be entitled to cast only one vote in League matters, such vote to be cast by the designated League Representative, or, in his/her absence, by the Alternate or the Team Data Manager. 

 

3.       Functions: 

                a.  The League Representatives (including Alternate or Team Data Manager authorized to vote in lieu of the League Representative as stated in Section 2) shall constitute the governing body of the League, and shall, subject to the provision of these By-Laws, have full authority to act for and on behalf of the League in conduct of its activities.  League Representatives will coordinate the League's activities with their respective teams, and act as liaison between the team and League Officials.  They will attend all League meetings or send an Alternate.  ($5 fine if team is not represented.)  League Representatives are to cooperate with the Division Chair in preparing for the Divisional Meet. The League Representatives shall submit to the Secretary of the League one week before the first meet a team roster noting all instances of swimmers who have switched from another League's team from the previous season.

                b.  The Team Data Manager is responsible for ensuring that the Team for which they represent is utilizing the League approved version of “Hy-Tek” Team Manager and Meet Manager for Windows.  The Team Data Manager will provide the team roster to all other Team Data Managers, the Division Data Manager, and the Division Chair before the start of the season and as changes occur.  He/She shall also ensure that the “Hy-Tek” data results from home meets are sent to the Division Data Manager and all other Team Data Managers in their respective divisions within 48 hours after the completion of the Meet.  The Team Data Managers are to cooperate with the Division Data Manager and the Division Chair in preparing for the Divisional Meet.

 

Article V - Divisions

 

        The League shall be grouped by Divisions of member teams.  The Divisions shall be identified alphabetically in order of competitive strength (A, B, C, etc.) beginning with the highest ranked Division.  It shall be the policy of the League, as far as possible, to group member teams in these Divisions in order of the competitive strength of their respective teams, and to schedule five or six teams in each division.  When six-team Divisions are scheduled, the Divisions shall be filled, beginning with the highest ranked Division.  Each year, the Divisions will be regrouped in the following manner:  The Integrated Method (III) shall be followed, unless, by ordinary motion, the League Representatives vote to follow the Overall Team Performance Method (I) or the Individual Swimmer Performance Method (II).

 

I - Overall Team Performance Method:

 

        1.  A numerical list of all the member teams which competed during the prior season shall be compiled in accordance with the order of finish within each Division beginning with the highest ranked Division. 

 

        2.  The list shall be revised by interchanging the position of the member team which finished first in each of the lower ranked Divisions with the member team above it.

 

        3.  If any member teams on the revised list withdraw from competition, the vacancies on the list shall be filled by advancing the remaining  teams accordingly.

 

        4.  New member teams entering competition shall be added to the list in order of receipt of application.

 

        5.  The list established by this procedure constitutes the order of seeding for the new season.  Member teams will then be assigned in a Division to seeded positions 1 through 6 in accordance with their positions on the list, beginning with the highest ranked Division.  In no case, however, shall there be fewer than 4 seeded teams in a Division.

 

        6.  The order of seeding within each Division will establish the schedule of dual meets for six-team Divisions in accordance with the following grid:  

 

                First Meet:       1-6        2-5   3-4        4-3   5-2        6-1

                Second Meet:       1-5        2-4   3-6        4-2   5-1         6-3

                Third Meet:       1-4        2-3   3-2        4-1   5-6        6-5

                Fourth Meet:       1-3        2-6   3-1        4-5   5-4        6-2

                Fifth Meet:       1-2        2-1   3-5        4-6   5-3        6-4

       

(The numbers 1 through 6 indicate the seeding positions within the Divisions.)

 

        7.  The order of seeding within each Division will establish the schedule of dual meets for five-team Divisions in accordance with the following grid or a schedule approved by the Board of Directors:

       

                First Meet:       1-Bye        2-3   3-2        4-5   5-4

                Second Meet:       1-4        2-Bye        3-5   4-1        5-3

                Third Meet:       1-5        2-4   3-Bye        4-2   5-1

                Fourth Meet:       1-3        2-5   3-1        4-Bye        5-2

                Fifth Meet:       1-2        2-1   3-4        4-3   5-Bye

               

(The numbers 1 through 5 indicate seeding positions within the Division.)

 

II- Individual Swimmer Performance Method:

 

        1.  Simulated dual meets will be run by computer between all combinations of teams in the League for each week of the previous dual meet season and the Divisional Meets. Data will consist of the top two official times from each team for each event of each week. Each team will receive a score equal to the number of teams defeated by simulation on a given week.  The scores from the six weeks of simulation will be averaged to give an overall score. Teams will be ranked by overall score, highest to lowest.

 

        2.  New member teams entering competition shall be added to the list in order of receipt of application unless suitable records of prior competition, acceptable to the Board of Directors, are available.  In this case, a new member team may be treated as an ordinary member team in establishing placement on the list.

 

        3.  Separation into Divisions proceeds in accordance with steps 5 and 6 of the Overall Team Performance Method above.

 

III- Integrated Method

 

        1.     The teams initially will be listed as in the Overall Team Performance Method, following Article V Section I, #s 1,2,3&4.

 

        2.  Scores will be assigned to each team as defined in Article V Section II, the Individual Swimmer Performance Method.

 

        3.  The score of the team which finished first in B Division will be compared to that of the team immediately above it. The lower team on the list will interchange positions with the higher team if the score of the lower team is higher. This process will continue until a team with a higher score is reached. Each successive team down the list will repeat this process. There is one restriction, the integrity of Division standings restriction: a team can not move above another team which placed higher within its Division during the previous season.

 

        4.  New member teams will be added according to step 2 of the Individual Swimmer Performance Method.

 

        5.  Separation into Divisions will proceed according to steps 5 and 6 of the Overall Team Performance Method.

 

Article VI - Officers and Directors

 

        1.  Directors:  The Board of Directors of the League (hereto after referred to as the Board) shall consist of the Officers of the League, Immediate Past President serving in an ex-officio capacity, and the Division Chair for each Division.  The Board shall be the responsible administrative body of the League and shall perform the functions provided for in these By-Laws.  They shall meet pursuant to the call of the President, or as otherwise provided by the By-Laws.

 

        2.  Officers:  The Officers of the League shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

 

        3.  Eligibility:  The President and Vice President shall be selected from present or former League Representatives, Alternate, or team data manager whose teams are League members.  The Secretary, Treasurer, and Division Chairs may be selected from the membership of any member team.

 

        4.  Voting:  The presiding officer shall cast his/her vote only to break a tie, and the Immediate Past President shall serve in a non-voting capacity.  An individual member of the Board entitled to vote by virtue of being an officer shall not also vote by virtue of also being a Division Chair and/or holding another officer position on an acting basis.

 

        5.  Powers and Duties of Officers and Directors:

 

                a.  The President shall have general management and control of the business of the League, subject to the Board of Directors.  He/she shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the League, call and preside at all meetings, appoint all committee members at the direction of the Board, serve as ex-officio member of all Standing Committees, and promote the interests of the League in all ways.

 

                b.  The Vice President shall have and exercise all the powers, authority, and duties of the President during the absence or disability of the latter.  He/she shall serve as Chair of the Rules Committee.

 

                c.  The Treasurer shall have custody of all funds of the League, depositing same in a Federally insured institution.  He/she collects the League's revenues, signs all checks for disbursement of funds, and provides and maintains complete financial records of the League to provide a report at each meeting.  He/she shall be duly bonded at the League's expense to protect the financial interests of the League.  The President shall also sign checks in the absence of the Treasurer.

 

                d.  The Secretary shall prepare and maintain full records of all meetings of the League and the Board, including complete returns of all elections.  He/she shall conduct all correspondence pertaining to his/her office and keep a current list of membership.

 

                e.  The Immediate Past President shall mean the outgoing individual who served as the President of the League except when that person becomes a former President by virtue of removal from office by action of the Board, or if the President should fail to serve out the term for which he was elected for any reason.  In that case, the position of Immediate Past President shall not be filled by appointment or election, but shall remain vacant until another person becomes the Immediate Past President.  The Immediate Past President shall serve at the pleasure of the President as an advisor and resource to the President.

 

                f.  The Division Chairs shall coordinate the League's activities within their respective Divisions, and act as the liaison officer between their Division and the Board.  He/she shall keep team rosters and copies of all meet sheets in their Division.  He/she shall receive meet results (total scores) and any newsworthy items (League records, triple winners, etc.) following the meet, and in turn call the Publicity Committee with the information.  He/she shall instruct the League Representatives in the Division as to the rules pertaining to the Divisional and All-Star Meets, be responsible for seeding the Divisional Meet, assign officials for the Divisional Meet with advice and concurrence of the League Representatives; and have a program printed if the Division desires.  He/she shall collect all seed cards and meet sheets after the Divisional Meet and make them available for All-Star Meet seeding.  He/she will serve on the Rules Committee.

 

                g.  The Division Data Manager shall coordinate the League’s “Hy-Tek” Computer data within their respective Divisions.  He/She shall receive “Hy-Tek” meet results via E_Mail or data transfer from the Team Data Manager from the home team of the scheduled meet within 48 hours of the completion of the meet.  He/She shall ensure that the Division’s meet data is provided to the League’s Web Master in a timely manner.  He/She shall be responsible for collecting the entries from each team and seeding the Divisional Meet for their respective Division along with the Division Chair.  In addition, he/she shall attend the All-Star Seeding Meeting and provide the Divisional Data in the “Hy-Tek” format at the All-Star Seeding Meeting from their respective Division.

 

                h.  The authority for general direction and control of the affairs of the League shall be vested in the Board of Directors.  Their authority shall extend to, but not be limited to, such actions as the following, subject to the approval of the League Representatives:

 

                1) Establishing application fees, annual dues, and any necessary special assessments;

 

                2)  Accepting or rejecting new member team(s);

 

                3)  Establishing, publishing and enforcing swim rules for the League;

 

                4)  Electing of Officers and Directors to fill vacancies as herein provided; and

 

                5)  Fixing the amount and character of, and approving, surety bonds required of the Treasurer handling or housing custody of League funds.

 

        6.        Elections:

 

                a.  Officers: The Officers shall be elected with staggered terms so as to assure continuity of the programs of the League as follows:

               

                1)  On the odd numbered years the President and the Secretary shall be elected; and

 

                2)  On the even numbered years the Vice President and the Treasurer shall be elected.

 

                3)  In order to establish the staggering of the terms, the elections in 1999 shall be for a two year term for the President and Secretary and a one year term for the Vice President and the Treasurer.

 

                4)  Officers shall be elected at the first meeting of the League of the new swim year.  The election shall be by plurality vote of those member teams present and voting.

 

                5)  The President shall appoint a Nominating Committee to prepare a slate of candidates.  However, this shall not preclude nominations from the floor.

 

                6)  Newly elected officers shall assume their duties as of the close of business at the  meeting which they were elected or when appointed as provided below.

 

                7)  Upon resignation or vacation of the office of President, such office shall be assumed by the Vice President until the next regular election.  For any other office resigned or vacated, the Board shall appoint one of the League Representatives to hold such office until the next regular election.

 

                b.  Division Chairs: The Division Chair shall be elected each year at the meeting of the League in May and shall serve a term of one year.

 

                1)  Division Chairs are elected by the League Representatives from the teams comprising that Division.

 

                2)  Division Chairs shall assume office immediately following their election.

 

                3)  Upon resignation or vacation of the office of Division Chair, the Board shall appoint one of the League Representatives from that Division to hold the office until the next regular election.

 

Article VII - Regular and Special Meetings

 

        1.  Regular meetings of the League shall be held at least three times a year on such dates and at such places as may be determined by the President.  Additional meetings may also be held. For the purpose of conducting any meeting, 25% of all member teams must be present to constitute a quorum.  Notices of such meetings must be announced to the League Representatives not less than 14 days prior to the meeting date.

 

        2.  Special meetings of the League shall be called by the President if such meetings be requested by at least four of the League Representatives.  Special meetings may also be called at the discretion of the President or the Board.  Notice of such meetings must be announced to the Representatives not less than seven days prior to the date of the meeting by mail, telephone or by E-Mail.

 

        3.  Regular meetings of the Board shall be called by the Secretary at the request of the President.  Four voting Board members shall constitute a quorum.

 

        4.  Special meetings of the Board shall be called by the Secretary at the request of the President or any four members of the Board.  Not less than three days advance notice shall be given and four Board members must be present to constitute a quorum.

 

        5.  Failure of a League Representative or designated alternate to attend a regular or special meeting shall be cause for assessment of $5 to the team, this sum payable with the annual dues.

 

Article VIII - Dues

 

        1.  Dues shall be assessed in the amount determined by the Board and League Representatives each year, payable not later than the date of April 30th and preceding the commencement of the schedule of the competitive swimming season of each year.

 

        2.  Any unobligated balance remaining after each year's operation will be retained by the League.

 

        3.  League funds shall be used to defray normal operating costs, and to procure medals, awards, prizes, and ribbons etc., to be presented to individuals or teams in the course of the League's program.  Disbursements shall be consistent with the approved budget.  Exceptions to the budget shall be approved by a majority vote of the Board.

Article IX - Standing and Special Committees

 

        1.  Standing Committees are those for Rules, Records, Clinic for League Officials, Publicity, Grievance and Ethics, and All-Stars.

 

        2.  Special Committees shall be appointed by the President as required.

 

        3.  Each Committee with the exception of Rules shall consist of a Chair appointed by the League's President and such other persons as are selected by the Committee Chair.

 

        4.  The USA SWIMMING Representative and alternates shall be appointed by the President, and shall attend the meetings of the USA SWIMMING Board of Managers, function on such committees as designated by that Board, and serve at all times as liaison between the League and the USA SWIMMING.

 

Article X - Parliamentary Authority

 

        1.  The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the League in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these By-Laws or the special rules of order of this League.

 

Article XI - Amendments

 

        1.  These By-Laws become effective immediately upon approval by the League Representatives and shall remain in effect until amended in accordance with provisions contained herein.

                a.  Amendments may be proposed in writing by an Officer, a Board member, or a League Representative.

                b.  Proposed amendments, if approved by a majority of the Board, shall be presented for discussion at the next designated general meeting of the League.

                c.  The proposed amendments must be printed and circulated by mail to each member at least 14 days prior to voting thereon.  Two-thirds vote of those League Representatives present and voting will be necessary for adoption.

 

        2.  Copies of these By-Laws shall be made available to all member teams.

 

Article XII - Emergency Suspension of By-Laws

 

        These By-Laws may be temporarily suspended in whole or in part, in the event of an emergency, to be determined by the Board with the approval of two-thirds of the League Representatives present and voting.  The exact article to be suspended shall be identified as well as the anticipated duration of time for such a suspension.

 

Approved by League Representatives

April 19, 1997                                                 

Revised by League Representatives

May 14, 1998

Revised by League Representatives

April 24, 1999

Revised by League Representatives

March 31, 2001

Revised by League Representatives

April 27, 2002