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Post by Parry Nine on Mar 27, 2006 15:17:50 GMT -6
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liz
Apprentice
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Posts: 6
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Post by liz on Apr 4, 2006 17:01:08 GMT -6
So I just spent the weekend at the USACFC cheering on The Aggies and it reminded me how much I've enjoyed collegiate fencing over my rather extended collegiate fencing experience (my undergrad at Purdue where our club wasn't NCAA but we fenced many team meets with NCAA fencers, to my graduate career at TAMU where I fenced in many of the incarnations of SWIFA, to fencing in my first & last USACFC last year, and then seeing how much better things worked at the USACFC this year). And with the memory of how much I've enjoyed fencing collegiately came a desire to get more involved.
So...are the plans that are in the works only going to be revealed at SWIFA#4? It seems to me that more discussion going into the plans in the works is only going to make the plans stronger.
Liz
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Post by Parry Nine on Apr 4, 2006 23:05:48 GMT -6
I haven't heard anything yet. If anyone knows who these people are, please met them know that the fencers up at Texas Tech want to help!
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Post by kd5mdk on Apr 5, 2006 0:40:49 GMT -6
I get the impression they want to present the plan fully formed and ready to go, to minimize confusion about what they intend by presenting drafts.
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liz
Apprentice
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Posts: 6
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Post by liz on Apr 5, 2006 10:21:02 GMT -6
So does anyone know if they are planning on revealing the plans at some time prior to when it's voted on? It's seems like this would help expediate a future meeting by allowing people to ask questions and put their two cents worth in beforehand.
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Post by Parry Nine on Apr 5, 2006 13:49:05 GMT -6
From his comments, it would seem that Longblade would be the person to answer some of these questions. Comments, Longblade?
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Post by LongBlade on Apr 14, 2006 13:16:25 GMT -6
Yes. I am going to post the draft proposal for the By-Laws for S.W.I.F.A. We expect there to be comments and suggested changes. Nothing is written in stone! It is merely a DRAFT PROPOSAL!
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Post by LongBlade on Apr 14, 2006 13:29:39 GMT -6
***DRAFT PROPOSAL***
By-Laws of the Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association
ARTICLE I: Name of Organization 1. The name of the organization shall be the Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association, hereinafter “S.W.I.F.A.”.
ARTICLE II: Objectives The purposes and objectives of S.W.I.F.A. are as follows: 1. To promote, encourage, and develop the sport of youth and collegiate fencing in Texas. 2. To provide local competitions and tournaments for youth and collegiate fencers in Texas. 3. To assist individual member fencers and member teams in reaching their full potential in the sport of fencing weather as competitors, coaches, armorers, or referees.
Article III: Membership - Dues - Competitions a) Individual Membership Section 1. Any individual who is a member of a youth or collegiate fencing club within the boundaries of the State of Texas is eligible for membership in S.W.I.F.A. Section 2. Members must be enrolled in an accredited public or private vocational school, two year or four year college or university, graduate school, or similar institute of higher education.
Section 3. Members must not be on academic or disciplinary probation.
b) Team Membership Section 1. Teams who are members of S.W.I.F.A. shall include the following organizations: Baylor University, The University of Houston, The University of Texas, Texas A & M University, The University of Texas - San Antonio, Texas State University, Texas Tech University, The Rice Institute, Gary Job Corps.
Section 2. Any member team shall be qualified to vote and shall have one vote at the Annual Meeting or any called Special Meeting.
Section 3. Additional teams may become members of S.W.I.F.A. upon application and a simple majority vote of the existing member teams at the next Annual Meeting.
Section 4. Membership fees, if any, shall be determined by the Executive Committee from time to time.
Section 5. S.W.I.F.A. may add a Head-Tax in addition to any registration or entry fees for a S.W.I.F.A. sanctioned tournament to defray S.W.I.F.A. expenses. Section 6. The S.W.I.F.A. Executive Committee shall prepare the seasonal fencing schedule and shall determine the conditions and restrictions governing the qualifications, entries, and conduct of all competitions under its jurisdiction.
ARTICLE IV: Officers and Duties The officers of S.W.I.F.A. shall consist of a Chair, a Vice-Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. All officers shall take office the first day of the month next following their election, and shall hold office until the last day of the month following the next Annual Meeting. The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
Section 1. Chair: Shall preside at all meetings of S.W.I.F.A. and its Executive Committee, and perform other duties as usually pertain to that office and are not inconsistent with these By-Laws. The Chairperson may assign officers and members to chair standing or ad-hoc committees. The Chairperson shall be anex-officio member of all committees.
Section 2. Vice-Chair: Shall perform the duties of the Chairperson in their absence, and any other duties as assigned by the Chairperson and/or the Executive Committee.
Section 3. Secretary: Shall conduct all official correspondence, keep a record of the meetings of S.W.I.F.A. and the Executive Committee, issue notices to members of all meetings, and perform such duties as may be assigned by the Chair or any other proper authority. The Secretary shall also be official custodian of S.W.I.F.A. and Executive Committee records. The Secretary shall maintain a website which sets out the names and contact information for the members of the Executive Committee, information concerning the tournaments scheduled for the coming competitive year, these By-Laws as may be amended from time to time, and any other information which may be of use to the membership.
Section 4. Treasurer: Shall, with the assistance of the Executive Committee, present a budget for the following fiscal year at the Annual Meeting. The Treasurer Shall keep the accounts of S.W.I.F.A., receive all monies, fees, dues, pay all bills approved by the Executive Committee, and preserve all vouchers for such disbursements. The Treasurer shall, at the Annual Meeting, submit a report of the financial transactions of the preceding period. All disbursements shall be made by check from the S.W.I.F.A. checking account. Receipts stating the nature of the transaction and the payee must support such disbursements. All funds of S.W.I.F.A. shall be maintained in an FDIC insured account under the name of S.W.I.F.A., checking and/or savings. No amounts above $50 will be dispersed without Executive Committee approval, and no amounts over $1000, not part of the budget presented at the annual meeting, will be dispersed without the approval of S.W.I.F.A. membership by a majority vote. Said vote may be taken by either electronic mail or at a membership meeting. The Treasurer will provide upon written request of at least five (5) members of S.W.I.F.A. current financial records within one (1) month of the request. The Treasurer shall perform other duties as may be assigned by the Chair or other proper authorities.
Section 5. Any officer of S.W.I.F.A. may be removed from office by the following procedure: 1. A petition by twenty-five (25) voting members of S.W.I.F.A., and 2. An election in which the officer receives less than a majority. 3. The election may be held at either an Annual meeting or a special meeting of the S.W.I.F.A. membership.
ARTICLE V: Management by the Executive Committee Section 1. Composition: The management of S.W.I.F.A. shall be vested in an Executive Committee consisting of the officers of S.W.I.F.A. Section 2. Quorum: A quorum shall consist of three-quarters (3/4) of the members of the Executive Committee or two (2) members, whichever is greater.
Section 3. Meetings: shall be held on a regular basis at such time and place as shall be designated by the Chair, and shall also be called upon the request of two or more members of the Executive Committee. All members shall be given not less than forty-eight (48) hours prior notice of all special meetings. All meetings except those in which disciplinary action is to be taken or contemplated against any Executive Committee member or S.W.I.F.A. member shall be open to the membership.
Section 4. The Executive Committee using the following procedures may remove any member of said same Executive Committee who fails to perform his or her duties: a. Written notification of the causes for removal must be provided to the entire Executive Committee, including the member to be removed. b. At any meeting in which the removal of any member of the Executive Committee is contemplated, three quarters of the members of the Executive Committee must be present. c. The member so charged has the right to appear at the meeting and present any arguments against removal. d. The member who is contemplated for removal has no vote at this meeting. e. The majority of the Executive Board members present must vote for removal before the person in question is removed.
Section 5. The Executive Committee may replace a member who has resigned or who has been removed by the following procedure: a. At any Special Meeting where a new member is to be voted upon, three-quarters (3/4) of the members of the Executive Committee must be present. b. Three-quarters (3/4) of the General Membership at this meeting must cast votes of approval before the new member of the Executive Committee is so approved.
ARTICLE VI: Meetings of the Member Teams Section 1. Annual Meeting : The member teams of S.W.I.F.A. shall hold an Annual Meeting which shall be held during the last tournament of the competitive season. The Chairperson shall designate the date, time, and place for the meeting.
Section 2. Special Meetings: a Special Meeting may be called at any time, and held at any place where a member team is located, by the Chair, and shall be called by the Chair upon request of not less than a majority of the member teams of S.W.I.F.A.. Member teams shall be given no less than two (2) weeks advance notice of any such Special Meeting.
Section 3. Quorum: shall consist of those members of S.W.I.F.A. present in person, by written proxy, by telephone or teleconferencing, and a majority of those present shall control.
ARTICLE VII: Elections Section 1. Candidates for all offices established under these By-Laws shall be nominated from the floor by the member teams at the Annual Meeting of S.W.I.F.A. Section 2. If not more than one (1) nomination is made for any office, the Secretary of S.W.I.F.A. shall cast a unanimous ballot at the Annual Meeting for the candidate nominated. If two (2) nominations are made for any office, voting for the candidates shall either be in person or proxy and the candidate shall declare receiving the majority of the votes elected. Written ballots shall be used. In the event that three (3) or more candidates are nominated for any office, and no candidate receives a majority vote, a run-off election shall be conducted between the two candidates receiving the most ballots on the first round and the winner shall be declared elected.
Section 3. Members teams in good standing may give their proxy for election of officers only to any other member team in good standing of S.W.I.F.A. All proxies shall be in writing and verified by the Secretary. The member team designated in the proxy must be in attendance at the Annual Meeting in order to exercise it.
ARTICLE VIII: Tournaments Section 1. Number: S.W.I.F.A. shall hold no less than four (4) nor more than six (6) sanctioned tournaments in a competitive season. The final tournament shall be a two-day tournament at which the Annual Meeting shall be held.
Section 2. Rotation of Competitions: Each member team shall be allowed to bid to host a tournament. To ensure that all member teams are allowed to periodically host a sanctioned tournament, the chairperson shall draw the names of the member teams at the first meeting of the Executive Committee following the adoption of these By-Laws to establish the order of the teams which may bid to host a tournament or decline in favor of the next team in the rotation. The order of the teams in the rotation shall continue from season to season, and shall begin with the next team which did not decline or bid on a tournament in the preceding competitive season. No member team shall be required to host a S.W.I.F.A. sanctioned tournament in any competitive season in order to compete at other tournaments or maintain standing as a member of the S.W.I.F.A. organization. Additional member teams which are allowed to join S.W.I.F.A. shall be added to the end of the rotation list unless a different order is approved by a simple majority of the member teams at the Annual Meeting at which the new teams is approved for membership.
Section 3. Format and Rules: Any member team which undertakes to host a S.W.I.F.A. sanctioned tournament shall within thirty (30) days provide the Secretary with the format of the tournament and the rules which will govern said tournament, which shall be posted on the S.W.I.F.A website and which shall be binding, unless changed by a majority vote at a Special Meeting of the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE IX: By-Laws, Rules, and policies of S.W.I.F.A. All By-Laws, rules, regulations and matters of policy concerning the conduct of competitions as set forth in the Fencing Rules and Operations Manual of the United States Fencing Association are hereby incorporated as part as these By-Laws without action by the Executive Committee or member teams of S.W.I.F.A., unless they are specifically contradicted herein.
These By-Laws may be amended at any Annual Meeting of the membership. An amendment receiving a majority of all votes cast by the members voting shall be deemed as adopted.
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Post by kd5mdk on Apr 14, 2006 16:27:24 GMT -6
Offhand, what is the role of an individual membership?
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Post by Parry Nine on Apr 14, 2006 18:23:13 GMT -6
Thanks so much for posting that, Longblade. I like it.
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Post by LongBlade on Apr 14, 2006 21:40:26 GMT -6
Offhand, what is the role of an individual membership? None, other than to just make sure that the people involved are of good character and quailty so eventually we may be able to elevate S.W.I.F.A. and make it a varsity-level sport in Texas. ALL the kids who put their input into this project said this is how they wanted to do it.
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Post by LongBlade on Apr 14, 2006 22:07:38 GMT -6
Thanks so much for posting that, Longblade. I like it. Thank you, Parry 9! I just really want everybody to know that I put the first preliminay draft together. It has been reviewed and critiqued many times by the kids involved in S.W.I.F.A. because they knew there was a problem and they enlisted my help to fix it. I have tried my best to make the concepts they gave me work. They, and I, expect there to be changes! If you have a problem with it, direct those comments to me! I'm a big boy and a professional attorney practicing law before most of the people involved in this project were born. (I will not reveal those involved in this project under any circumstances!) But I will tell you it is the result of a bunch of kids who saw a problem and who got together and asked me to help them fix it. It was never, ever, ment to be the final word on the way S.W.I.F.A. ends up! But it is a starting point.
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Post by LongBlade on Apr 14, 2006 22:47:31 GMT -6
I haven't heard anything yet. If anyone knows who these people are, please met them know that the fencers up at Texas Tech want to help! Yes, Jay, we DO want the Double T club involved! Double T is an intrigral part of the new S.W.I.F.A.! The last straw on how S.W.I.F.A was working and worked... badly... was demonstrated at the Baylor tournament. (Baylor didn't do anything wrong, mind you! There were just no rules to follow!) I was not there as the Texas State coach, and avoided refereeing those matches. I was just a referee then, but everyone saw there was a problem. What happened there was wrong... very, very wrong! This is why the new proposal is out.
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Post by Dan Gorman on Apr 15, 2006 0:16:10 GMT -6
What is meant by supporting youth fencing? Y10? Junior? Cadet? I think SWIFA's focus should be purely collegiate fencing.
I'm not sure on the concept of individual members. I'll get into why later. Meanwhile as a very minor nit to pick, weather should very likely be spelled whether.
Does this mean the youth fencers at Salle Mauro are eligible for SWIFA?
Never mind I guess. Should Section 1 and 2 be joined by an -and-?
Does The Rice Institute refer to Rice University? Have they shown an interest in SWIFA?
I think this needs to be a function of a vote by the member schools. If individual members can vote the EC into place, larger schools have an advantage in any election. As a larger membership probably leads to greater resources, dues would be set by those who are impacted the least. Giving each school an equal say in what dues would be helps balance that.
How about SWIFA endeavors to stay in budget for SWIFA sanctioned tournaments instead?
Within what scope?
So how are the voting members of SWIFA determined? If it's the club roster, A&M can submit continual petitions for the recall of any officer we decide we don't like. UT could do that also, as well as possibly a few other schools. Why not base it on something like 1/3 of the member schools leads to a special election?
So if someone from Tech is the chair and calls a meeting in 2 days at his place (his roommate is the Treasurer), they get to set pretty much all SWIFA policy for the season. If the other 2 EC members get sick of this, they can call a meeting in San Antonio the following Wednesday and change everything?
Why not those meetings? We hold (most) trials in public, don't we?
This has come up -- how long does the chair get to call the meeting? It can't be sooner than 2 weeks, but could it be in 3 months? So each team can nominate officers, or can the individual members?
By whom? The teams or the individuals?
I would like SWIFA to review how it conducts tournaments. I would like to see it move in the direction of more dual meets like the NCAA schools. Can't we agree on rules for an entire season? An operations manual that would only be tweaked as needed to provide a measure of consistency?
I realize some of the situations I put forth tend to the absurd, but I've seen a lot of screwy stuff over the years. I think SWIFA membership should be strictly geared to teams and specifically to college teams.
I think most policies should implemented by the member schools and executed by the EC. The EC should have the authority to deal with situations that may arise, but the membership as a whole should try to anticipate things that could happen and lay them out in an ops manual for guidance. This gives a sense of continuity from one administration to the next. Without this continuity, the organization might tend to be more mercurial.
Just a couple thoughts.
Dan
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Post by LongBlade on Apr 15, 2006 1:23:54 GMT -6
Yes, Dan, these are all very good points. I actually saw a couple or four of those same things myself when typing it up (And I have NEVER, EVER claimed to be a good typist or speller!) I actually have no dog in this fight (I'm a quarter of a century away from being a collegiate fencer), but I can put out the proposal so everybody has input! As I said before, we DO expect for there to be changes, and what you have to say is very welcome and valued! I have absolutlely NO expectation that this will be anywhere near being the final draft! And your input is most welcome! Thank you! Do you have other suggestions on how we can try to do this? My first thought is to allow meetings to be attended by by telephone or internet. What I would like to see is not merely criticism, but suggestions on how it can be done better.
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Post by Parry Nine on Apr 15, 2006 8:24:40 GMT -6
My only question (and I saw that Dan has the same concern) is are we going to include youth, cadet, and junior fencers? I think that for competetion, the fencer must be a member of a Collegiate team AND be a college student at said University. The reason I believe that is the name Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Assn.
Which, in turn will include many Junior fencers (and maybe a few Cadet), but SWIFA wouldn't differentiate between age groups.
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Post by LongBlade on Apr 15, 2006 9:38:46 GMT -6
My only question (and I saw that Dan has the same concern) is are we going to include youth, cadet, and junior fencers? I think that for competetion, the fencer must be a member of a Collegiate team AND be a college student at said University. The reason I believe that is the name Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Assn. Which, in turn will include many Junior fencers (and maybe a few Cadet), but SWIFA wouldn't differentiate between age groups. Actually, I voiced the same concern myself. I am almost positive that part will change, but the wording was put in because Gary Job Corps has competed in SWIFA meets before and we didn't want to leave them out. Any ideas on how to work that out?
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Post by Parry Nine on Apr 15, 2006 13:00:15 GMT -6
Well, I'm not trying to alienate anyone, but there are regular USFA tournaments that they can attend. I mean, if we're going to include EVERYONE, then we might as well call it Southwest Fencing Association. For us, the collegiate side of things is what draws us to make the extra effort to participate. Yes, USFA tournaments are lots of fun, but there's a camaraderie with fencing other college students.
Now, if those from the Job Corps want to join a collegiate club, more power to them. I'm not trying to be eliteist, but a line has to be drawn somewhere if we want this to be a successful organization.
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Post by kd5mdk on Apr 16, 2006 10:36:04 GMT -6
Offhand, what is the role of an individual membership? None, other than to just make sure that the people involved are of good character and quailty so eventually we may be able to elevate S.W.I.F.A. and make it a varsity-level sport in Texas. ALL the kids who put their input into this project said this is how they wanted to do it. I'm sorry. I just don't see how the one leads to another. Surely if there's somebody who shouldn't be involved, they can be either not elected, or permanantly black carded, depending on the situation. What difference does an individual membership make? I agree that an Operations Manual would make a lot more sense than having potentially a different format at each tournament. Finally, if Gary Job Corps complicates things too much, perhaps they can be included as a special exception for historical reasons, and everyone else fall under the requirements for academic standing.
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Post by Parry Nine on Apr 16, 2006 13:18:55 GMT -6
I like this better than my idea of complete exclusion.
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Post by Dan Gorman on Apr 16, 2006 16:05:34 GMT -6
Things I would like to see are basically the following:
1) The individual memberships are done away with. All votes are conducted by a simple majority of the member schools. Every school in SWIFA should have an equal voting stake not based on the relative strength of their club. Individual eligibility to compete would be based on enrollment at a member university.
2) Policy and fees are set by the member schools in annual or special meetings. The EC exists solely to execute these policies and collect the appropriate fees. The EC has no authority to set policy. If something needs to be done immediately, they can do it and then be accountable for their actions to the membership. If the action is deemed necessary/in SWIFA's interest fine, otherwise punitive action should be taken.
3) SWIFA members should offer college credit.
4) Tournament format should be addressed in an operations manual. It should be consistant throughout a season and not vary according to the hosts whim. It can be amended separately from the by-laws.
That's what I have now. I'll try to post more detail in a few days.
Dan
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Katman
Squire
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Post by Katman on Apr 16, 2006 20:01:20 GMT -6
3) SWIFA members should offer college credit. I'm not sure what this one means. Does it mean that students participating in a SWIFA club (such as UH) should recieve course credit for it from their university?
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Post by LongBlade on Apr 16, 2006 20:31:40 GMT -6
3) SWIFA members should offer college credit. I'm not sure what this one means. Does it mean that students participating in a SWIFA club (such as UH) should recieve course credit for it from their university? I don't understand that one either.
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Post by LongBlade on Apr 16, 2006 20:40:01 GMT -6
Things I would like to see are basically the following: 1) The individual memberships are done away with. All votes are conducted by a simple majority of the member schools. Dan We can probably do that, but it was originally only put in for the purpose of establishing who would be eligable to compete on a SWIFA team, not to be qualified to vote. It would probably be just as effectively done by omiting the words "individual member" and replacing it with something like "in order to compete as a member of a SWIFA team...".
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Post by kd5mdk on Apr 16, 2006 22:24:09 GMT -6
3) SWIFA members should offer college credit. I'm not sure what this one means. Does it mean that students participating in a SWIFA club (such as UH) should recieve course credit for it from their university? I believe the idea was that SWIFA teams should represent college credit granting institutions.
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