MISSA BY-LAWS
MISSA By-Laws & Procedural Rules
(Revised April, 2004)
Section I: By-Laws
Article A: Name
The name of the organization shall be the Midwest Interscholastic Sailing
Association (“MISSA”).
Article B: Objective
The objective of the Midwest Interscholastic Sailing Association shall be to
further the sport of sailing in
Article C: Membership
Section 1. To be a MISSA member, schools must complete an Annual Membership
Form, including a complete team roster, and pay dues annually by December 31st.
Only member schools may compete in MISSA sponsored regattas.
(a)
Schools that
were not registered or active in the two immediately prior seasons, Spring and
Fall, may register after December 31 until as late as January 31, and will be
considered eligible to compete in the qualifying regattas for the Mallory and
Baker competitions.
(b)
Schools that
competed in the immediately prior Spring and/or Fall seasons and that file
Annual Membership forms or pay their dues AFTER December 31 will deemed
ineligible to compete in the qualifying regattas for the Mallory, Baker and
Cressy regattas. A school deemed
ineligible for the qualifying regattas may petition the Board of Directors, in
writing, for an exemption. The Board
will review the petition and will have the following options:
i.
Accept the
school’s petition for eligibility and grant an exception
ii.
Accept the school’s
petition but place the school on probation, to be defined by the Board, for one
year beginning January 1 immediately following the missed deadline
iii.
Not accept the school’s
petition maintaining the school’s ineligibility for one year beginning January
1 following the missed deadline.
Section
2. There will initially be three
areas in MISSA. These areas will be the west, the middle and the east. The west
will comprise of all of
Section 3. MISSA is a member of ISSA and US SAILING. MISSA
strongly recommends that all sailors and coaches be individual members of US
SAILING.
Article D: Executive
Committee
Section 1. The officers shall be President, three Vice-Presidents (one each for
the East, Middle and West Areas), and Secretary/Treasurer. Three or more
individuals as voted by the membership shall hold these offices. The president
may also appoint a person to serve as MISSA Representative to the ISSA. This
person will be a member of the Executive Committee and shall attend ISSA
meetings for MISSA.
Section 2. The Term of all officers shall be two years.
Section 3. Election of Officers:
(a)
A nominating
committee appointed by the current president will make nominations for officers
to be voted on at the Annual Spring Meeting. This Nominating committee will be
comprised of three members who may be from the current the board of
directors, past officers, or parents with extensive experience in high school
sailing.
(b)
An officer will
be elected by a simple majority vote of the membership present at the Annual
Spring Meeting.
(c)
In the event a
vacancy occurs for any position on the Executive Committee during any Term, the
remaining Executive Committee members shall appoint a replacement to serve in
that position for the remainder of the then current Term.
Article E: Board of
Directors
Section 1. All Executive
Committee officers are also directors. In addition, each area shall be entitled
to be represented at meetings by one director: faculty/coach, adult advisor, or
designated adult alternative. Students are welcome to attend MISSA meetings
with the area director but may not vote. For an area to have a vote a director
for that area must be present at the meeting.
Section 2. The director of
an area shall attend all meetings and shall act as a chief contact for his or
her area. Each area director shall also assist the Secretary/Treasurer on
membership duties.
Article F: Meetings
The Annual Spring Meeting of the Association shall be held during the spring
term in conjunction with the Mallory Qualifiers. The Fall Meeting of the
Association shall be held during the Fall term in conjunction with the Cressy Qualifiers.
Other meetings may be held upon petition
by at least five Regular Member schools to the executive committee who will
determine the time and place of the meeting.
Article G: Dues
Section 1. Annual dues shall be set annually by the board of directors at the
Annual Spring Meeting.
Section 2. Dues shall be paid to the MISSA Treasurer not later than December
31st of each year.
Section 3. Dues money may only be used for operational expenses only. This
includes regatta support as well as paper and electronic communication. No
travel reimbursements or other expenses will be allowed for any director or
officer.
Article H: By-Law and Procedural
Rules
The by-laws and Procedural Rules may be amended by vote of the majority of
Members at the Annual Meeting.
Section II: Procedural Rules.
Article J: Sailing Rules
MISSA will follow the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), applicable to the year, as
modified by the ISSA Official Procedural Rules. In a rule change year, the
"old" rules shall be used until the end of the school year.
Article K: MISSA Regattas
Section 1. MISSA has two seasons for competition in a year (Spring and Fall) and
sponsors the following annual regattas:
Fall regattas: Cressy
Qualifier and Fall Intersectional
Spring regattas: Mallory
Qualifier and Baker Qualifier
Section 2. Qualification
(a) MISSA Single-handed Championship: Each MISSA member school is entitled to
one entry. Extra slots may be available if the qualifier is a BYOB regatta. A
reasonable number of charter boats must be available when the event is held in
either the west or the east. The competitors from the most distant area shall
have priority of these charter boats.
(b) MISSA Double-handed Championship: Schools, which are MISSA Members and have
paid their dues according to article C, are eligible. If more schools register
than the number of available slots, personal boats may be used if the owner
consents to using the boat in the rotation.
(c) MISSA Team Racing Championship: Schools, which are MISSA Members, and have
paid their dues according to article C, are eligible.
(d) To compete in MISSA regattas each school must have an Adult Representative (a
coach, faculty advisor or parent) present at the regatta site. Each Adult representative may be responsible
for only one school at each event.
Article M - Trophy
Winner Responsibilities
Section 1: A school that wins a MISSA regatta for which there is a permanent
trophy may hold that trophy until the regatta is sailed next. The winning
school is responsible for engraving costs of the trophy, the trophy's
safekeeping, and returning the trophy to the appropriate regatta when it is
sailed next. Failure to return the trophy shall result in a DSQ for that school
in the first race in each division for that regatta if the event is a fleet
race. If the event is a team race, 1 loss will be added and 1 win will be
subtracted from the school's total.
Section 2: In the case where more than one school is to share the trophy, each
school shall have roughly equal time with the trophy. The school that holds the
trophy first shall be responsible for getting it engraved properly (at a shared
cost with the other school(s)). The school that holds the trophy last is
responsible for returning it when the regatta is sailed next. Failure to return
the trophy shall result in a DSQ for that school in the first race in each
division for that regatta if the event is a fleet race. If the event is a team
race, 1 loss will be added and 1 win will be subtracted from the school's
total.