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New England Catamaran Sailing Association

BYLAWS

New England Catamaran Sailing Association

BYLAWS

ARTICLE ONE - NAME AND GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES

The name of the organization is the New England Catamaran Sailing Association, hereafter referred to as the NECSA.  The geographic boundaries of this organization include New Hampshire; Maine; Massachusetts; Connecticut; Vermont; and Rhode Island.
 

ARTICLE TWO - PURPOSE

NECSA was organized for the following purposes:

• To encourage and promote the racing of beach catamarans and to unify the rules in connection therewith;
• To encourage and promote catamaran sailing activities among the members of the organization and other multihull sailing organizations throughout the world;
• To formulate rules governing sailing competitions among the members and fleets of NECSA;
• To exercise advisory jurisdiction over activities carried on by the members and fleets of NECSA and to enforce the by-laws and rules of the NECSA upon all members, fleets and individuals who are subject to its jurisdiction;
• To foster educational programs for the training of members in the science of seamanship and navigation;
• To provide training for candidates and crews for international, national and regional competitions, by organizing and holding competitive events similar in nature;
• To foster and promote public interest in the participation in international, national, regional events;
• No person shall be denied the right to participate in any event within the jurisdiction of the region or to manage or otherwise be involved in the participation of such event, or have so participated shall suffer any penalty for having participated, on the grounds of race, color, religion, age, sex, or national origin. This section shall not prevent the conduct of separate events for males and females.

ARTICLE THREE - MEMBERSHIP

Membership in NECSA shall consist of:

• All Members as hereinafter described, and composed of NECSA fleets which by their membership in NECSA accept the responsibility to carry out in their respective areas the purposes for which the organization was organized;
• No person or fleet resident in the geographic area of NECSA who is interested in the racing of beach catamarans or any activity related thereto shall be denied membership in the region for any reason other than for misconduct or nonpayment of dues.
• All members shall have the privilege of attending or being represented at all annual and special meetings of NECSA.  All fleet Chairmen shall receive all publications. All Individual Members shall be eligible to hold office and serve on committees.  Membership in NECSA is validated by being a NECSA fleet member in good standing.

ARTICLE FOUR - MEETINGS  

• The Annual meeting of NECSA shall be held in October, November, or December of each year at such time and place as the NECSA officers may determine. Notice shall be sent to all members at least twenty-one days prior to the meeting.
• The membership representing one-quarter of all voting members shall constitute a quorum and shall be necessary to conduct the business of the organization.  A meeting at which there is no quorum may be adjourned for a period of not more than three weeks and the secretary shall send notice to all members not present at the original meeting stating the date of the rescheduled meeting.
• The organization Chairman may call special meetings of the organization when deemed in the best interest of the organization.  A notice of a Special Meeting shall state the reason for calling the meeting and the nature of the business to be transacted.
• At the written request of not less than 50% of the Voting Members, the organization Chairman shall call a Special Meeting to be held within six weeks of the receipt of such request, and notice of the meeting shall be mailed to all Voting Members twenty-one days before the date set for the Special Meeting.
• No business other than that specified in the notice of a Special Meeting may be dealt with at such meeting without 75% majority consent of those attending the meeting.
• The organization shall hold meetings in accordance with state and/or federal requirements.
• Officers shall be selected without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.
• Roberts’s rules will be in use in all meetings.

ARTICLE FIVE - VOTING

  a) All fleets in good standing shall have the right to one vote.

• Voting on special items may be done via electronic methods and US mail. Details for the votes tallied must be made public.

ARTICLE SIX - ORDER OF BUSINESS

• 1. Roll call
• 2. Reading of the minutes of the previous meeting and approval
• 3. Reports of officers
• 4. Election of officers
• 5. Reports of committees
• 6. Unfinished business
• 7. New business

The above order of business may be changed from time to time at the discretion of the Chairman.

ARTICLE SEVEN - OFFICERS

The organization shall have the following officers:

• Chairman
• Vice Chairmen, may be more that one but limited to two
• Secretary/Treasurer, may be more that one but limited to two
• If there are more than one Vice Chairmen (or Secretary/Treasurers), one will be designated as senior vice Chairman (or Senior Secretary/Treasurer).
• All officers will be NECSA members (fleet membership).

ARTICLE EIGHT - DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS
 

• Chairman:  The Chairman shall preside at all meetings and perform such other duties as may be delegated to him/her from time to time by the membership.  Specifically the duties shall include:
• Calling the annual Meeting,
• Being the focal point for all regional Appeals of protest committee rulings
• Keeping track of Points Regatta results.
• Vice Chairman: The Senior vice Chairman, if present, shall preside at all meetings in the absence of the Chairman.  In the event the Chairman is unable to perform the designated duties, the officers may designate one of the Vice-Chairmen to be Interim Chairman.  Specific duties of the Vice-Chairman include:
• Handling logistics for Points Regattas
• Advising regatta chairpersons on the conduct of regattas
• Secretary-Treasurer:  The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep a record of the proceedings of all meetings of the organization and shall keep an accurate record of all fleets of the region and the officers and delegates representing the fleet.  The Secretary/Treasurer shall conduct the correspondence of the organization, send out all notices and perform such other duties as usually pertain to the position of secretary. Specific duties of the Secretary-Treasurer include:
• Collecting and receiving all moneys,
• Keeping a correct account thereof and depositing said moneys in such bank or banks as may be designated by the officers,
• Submitting a written report of the financial condition of the organization, and
• No officer or member of the organization may receive a salary or compensation from the organization, but nothing herein shall be construed to prevent an officer from receiving compensation from the organization for duties performed in behalf of the organization other than in the capacity of an officer.

ARTICLE NINE – - COMMITTEES
(Other Than the Appeals Committee)

• All Committees and their chairmen as herein provided should be appointed and the Board of Directors shall delineate their duties.

• All Committees shall be subject to the direction and control of officers, but each Committee shall be authorized to prescribe rules and procedures for the direction of the activities assigned to it.

ARTICLE TEN - ELECTION AND TERMS OF OFFICE

• The Chairman, Vice Chairmen, and Secretary-Treasurers, shall be elected at the Annual Meeting for a term of one year and may be successively elected.

ARTICLE ELEVEN - APPEALS COMMITTEE AND APPEALS

• The organization Appeals Committee shall consist of five members, two of whom shall be appointed annually to serve terms of three years.  In the absence of the standing Appeals Committee, the NECSA Chairman may appoint an interim appeals committee for the purpose of handling NECSA appeals.
• It shall be the duty of the Appeals Committee to hear and decide in conformity with the Racing Rules, all appeals herein provided for.  A member of the Appeals Committee, who is the skipper, crew or owner in whole or in part of the yacht, which is a party to an appeal, shall not act as a member of the Appeals Committee in connection with such appeal.
• Appeals Committee members and the Chairman of the organization appoints their chairmen.
• The Appeals Committee shall accept appeals from a competitor or representative concerning the decision of the Race Committee or Protest Committee of the race in question.
• If any party to the Appeal is dissatisfied with the decision of the Appeals Committee, that party may appeal to the US Sailing.  The appealing party is responsible for the payment of fees, if any associated with the appeal.
• The Race Committee or Protest Committee must file appeals by members of the organization in writing within two weeks of the decision, and the procedures for making appeals shall comply with the current U. S. Sailing Racing Rules.

ARTICLE TWELVE - AMENDMENTS

Any amendment in the By-laws shall be initiated by a majority of the entire NECSA officers, shall be circulated to all fleets entitled to be represented by voting Delegates at the Annual Meeting at least 30 days prior to the Annual Meeting or special meeting called for the purpose of ratifying such proposed amendment, and shall not be effective until ratified by a majority vote of the voting Delegates at an Annual or Special Meeting; provided that if such proposed amendment is not so circulated at least 30 days prior to such meeting, the ratification of such amendment shall require the unanimous vote of all voting Delegates at such meeting.

People just want to sail
Newport, RI
Barry & Patricia

and have fun
Sebago Lake

Jim West solo

without restriction

Sebago Lake

Harry and Son ripping it up!