Updated: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 This constitution sets the formal rules and guidelines that the Ohio University Paintball Club is run and operated by. This Constitution is to be followed by everyone who is associated with the Paintball Club. This document can be altered after the point of its inception in a way that will better serve the club and individuals that are involved with it. This amending process will be done through voting done by members. Background The paintball club was formed to give men and women the chance to experience the sport of paintball, to better their skills in this sport, and meet other paintball enthusiasts. Several Ohio University students formed the club during the spring quarter of the 1998-1999 school year. I. Meeting Structure. Meetings are extremely important to the functioning of the paintball club. Meetings serve as a medium for the members to come together and discuss issues that they are concerned with and can’t be answered within the pages of this document. Below the three different types of meetings described are team, executive and other meetings. a. Team meetings Team meetings will be held when deemed necessary by the president. Meetings will be stated on the quarterly schedule, which is developed by the president, or will be posted on the web site at least one week in advance. Emergency meetings are exempt from this policy. Attendance is required and will be taken at the beginning of each meeting. b. Executive meetings Executive meetings will be held weekly at a time most convenient for the executives. This time is determined quarterly and will be strictly enforced for that quarter. The individuals who will be in office for that quarter will determine the times of the meetings. Attendance is required without a three-day notice. c. Other meetings Other meetings that are deemed necessary by the chairman of the event(s) will be required for the intended parties of the event(s). The chairman is required to give advanced notice to the intended parties as early as possible to give the parties as much time as possible to rearrange his/her schedule. Examples of other meetings include fundraising, tournaments, etc. II. Members. Membership is determined on a quarterly basis and is broken into four different sections. Active members, inactive members, friends, and Interns/Co-ops are the four different sections and are explained below. a. Active Member An active member (hereafter, active member(s), shall be referred to as member(s)) is an individual who has paid the dues for any given quarter and will be active for that quarter. (For more information about dues read article IV.) Members are given exclusive rights to various activities and benefits, which are further described later in the constitution and can be found, on the clubs web site. These benefits may or may not change depending on the quarter. Members are expected to come to team meetings that are set up. They are also given the right to vote on any issues that are brought before the club to be voted on. There are several requirements that an individual must meet in order to be considered a member. These criteria include: 1. Individual is a full or part-time student with no less than 8 credit hours any given quarter. 2. Individual must pay the dues for the quarter. 3. Individual must be physically able to attend meetings on a regular basis. (If unable to attend, prior notice is necessary) b. Inactive Member An inactive member is an individual who was at one time a member but did not pay the dues for the current quarter. Inactive members do not have the rights that an active member would have. This means that they do not have benefits that active members have, they cannot vote on club related issues, but are encouraged to come to club meetings if at all possible. c. Friends Friends are students that wish to have a limited partnership with the club in that they wish to go to club outings but not pay dues. Friends are encouraged to attend meetings but do not have any of the active members rights or benefits. d. Interns/Co-ops After long considerations and discussion, this section was deemed necessary for the common good of the paintball club. A certain dilemma arises in the discussions about what should be done with interns and co-ops. Interns and Co- ops are deemed as inactive members if there is the intent to return to the club after the work position. If, however the individual wants to be a member for that quarter then the individual will be given rights but only some of the member rights will apply. This is unless the individual can meet all the requirements of the club membership as stated above. However, if an individual wishes to pay dues then some of the benefits will be awarded to him or her. These benefits include those stated in article IV sections c and d. Interns and Co-ops can hold executive positions and are expected to pay the dues for the quarter they are gone. However, the intern/co-op cannot participate in scrimmages and tournaments unless he/she fulfills all the requirements of a member. III. Member Benefits. Being a member with the paintball club offers several benefits through the paying of dues. By paying dues Members will be given the ability to take a more active role within the Paintball club and also receive the benefits described below that are provided by the Club to its members. No one is to receive paintball club / member benefits until they pay the dues for the quarter that they are receiving the benefit. (More on dues in article IV.) a. Tournaments Tournaments are an important part of the promotion of the Ohio University Paintball club. Tournaments are typically helped in some way by the paintball club. The paintball club attempts to help its active members attend tournaments by funding and/or scheduling tournaments. Teams will be voted on and assembled accordingly. Prizes won at tournaments such as jerseys, paintballs, and the individual or the team who won them can keep other small items. Items such as markers can be kept by the individuals who won them upon condition: If the club funded the tournament entry, it is asked that the individual makes a monetary donation no more than ½ the cost of the marker and no less than 1/8 the cost of the marker. This is requested so that the club can recover some of the entry money, and the player can still get a good deal on a new marker. b. Scrimmages Scrimmages are competitions against one or more other schools. For an individual to participate in a scrimmage the individual has to be an active member. The participating team(s) are determined by voting. Size of the team(s) will be determined before voting takes place and is dependants on the guidelines for the scrimmage. c. Voting Rights Active members have the right to vote on all issues that pertain to the paintball club. Active Members have the right to vote on who gets to attend tournaments and scrimmages. Active members also vote on any other issues that may be brought up for voting. (For further information on voting procedures check article VIII.) d. Other Quarterly Benefits This category allows for different benefits that may be only applicable dependant on the quarter or time period for which the benefit is assigned. Unlike the benefits that are above, other quarterly benefits are not constant. The president will announce these benefits as soon as the benefits become apparent. An example of this type of benefit would be the wholesale price of balls or any other equipment that is supplied by our sponsors and use of club owned equipment. IV. Dues. Dues are paid by individuals in order to receive the benefits that members receive from the paintball club. Dues are paid quarterly and apply toward the quarter that they were paid for. Dues may not be paid for future quarters or delayed until another quarter with. a. Quarterly Dues Dues per quarter will be set at $20.00. This amount will be kept constant for each quarter an individual wishes to belong to the club. Dues are not paid for winter quarter unless some unforeseen increase in the budget is needed. b. Time at which dues are paid Dues must be paid by the end of the second week of the current quarter. Dues can be paid anywhere between the first day of the quarter and 14 days thereafter. IV. Executive Positions. Like any other club or organization executive officers are placed into office in order to help give that club or organization leadership. The designated positions for the executive committee includes: 1. President 2. Vice President 3. Treasurer 4. Secretary 5. Information Coordinator Officers hold office for one year and are nominated on a yearly basis. The nominations take place during the first weekend of May and each of the positions will be voted on individually. (For more information refer to article VIII, Voting.) Each Officer, upon taking office, is required to fulfill the duties assigned to him/her. (For further information about executive duty go to article VI.) VI. Executive Duties. The sections below describe the responsibilities of those individuals who are elected and decide to take the position. a. President The president is responsible for overseeing the club. He/She must schedule all meetings, outings, tournaments, etc. He/She is also in charge at all meetings and will be in charge of all voting except in the voting of the president’s position where the Vice President will take over and count all votes on that position and only that position. b. Vice President The Vice President is responsible for all fundraising. The Vice President will also head all meetings were the President is unable to attend. In the absence of the President, the Vice-President takes all responsibilities of the President. c. Treasurer The Treasurer is responsible for supervising and maintaining all monetary issues. He/She will also work closely with the Vice-President in handling all money that is raised through fundraising events. He will also work with the Secretary in the recording and handling all the dues. d. Secretary The Secretary will be responsible for recording all minutes in the meetings. The Secretary will work closely with all executive positions aiding in their selected projects. If for any reason he/she may need help he/she may ask for a committee to aid in the projects he/she may be working on. e. Information Coordinator The Information Coordinator is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the club web page. The Information Coordinator needs to be in close contact with the Secretary for information needed on the web page. If at anytime an elected official becomes unable to perform the duties that is assigned to him/her then that individual needs to immediately tell the president so that a meeting can be called in order to elect a new officer for the individual how cannot continue service. VII. Committees. Committees are sometimes necessary to help finish certain projects and get them done in an efficient manner. Committees are groups of individuals who are organized by a committee head or chairman to help the club finish important assignments. Anyone who is working on a task for the paintball club can organize and head a committee. If that individual needs help in asking others or would like to have it brought up in a meeting then the president should be informed so that prior arrangements can be made or a meeting called. VIII. Voting. Voting is an integral part of the paintball club. This function of the club gives the members the ability to move the club into the direction that they want to see it move toward. As stated above, voting on any and all issues that pertain to the paintball club and its affairs are the rights of members only. Each of the sections below describes the voting procedures in voting for executives, pertinent issues, team selection, and any other voting that may take place. a. Voting for Executives Executive positions are important for the club, as the individuals that are selected to take office make sure that the club is running efficiently. Elections for positions will take place the first week in May. It is recommended that all members participate in the election process so the most appropriate individuals will be selected to fill the positions. Positions will be voted on starting with the president then the vice President and so on, in the same order as stated above in article VI. Voting will be done in an open nomination/closed ballet format. This means that when a position is about to be voted on any member can raise his/her hand in self-selection or may nominate another member for the position. After each nomination the member(s) who were nominated will leave the room and a closed ballot/anonymous vote will take place. Once all the ballots are collected the president will tally the votes and announce who was nominated. The President will always tally the votes up except for any position that he/she may be running for. b. Voting on Issues Throughout the course of the quarter many different issues that are important to the paintball club, are brought up in meetings to be voted on. Member participation in voting is important and strongly recommended. Any time an issue is brought up for voting advanced notice will be given to members through the web page. Voting on issues will be done in an open forum/debate type manner and open vote. Issues will be brought up in meetings and discussed until solved; a definite conclusion has taken place, or postponed until a later date as will be decided at the meeting. c. Voting on Teams for Tournaments and Scrimmages Tournament and Scrimmage voting is will be done in three steps. First we will determine who is able to participate in the event. The second step is determining how many teams will go. The last step is voting on who goes on the first team and the following teams. The person with the most points will be on the first team and so on for the rest of the team. The rest of the teams will be voted on in the same manner. All voting is done on a point system. d. Voting on Unique Issues This section is designated for any other issue or topic that may not be covered in the above sections. The voting procedure for any issue defined in this section varies and will be defined prior to voting on the issue. IX. Impeachment of an Executive. This article was created so if, in the unfortunate event, an executive in office does not attempt to accomplish the duties assigned to him/her by the constitution then the members will have the opportunity to impeach the individual who is not fulfilling his or her duties. In this case a meeting will be called in which voting to impeach the executive will take place. This is an example of a unique issue and voting for this manner will be determined prior to the impeachment process. If the officer is impeached then another individual will be voted into office. A normal, voting on executives, action will take place in order to place the new individual into office. This process is the open nomination/closed ballot method. X. Rules for play and Safety. The club follows APPL rules for the guidelines and safety requirements, as well as the specific rules detailed at the field at which events take place. Fair play and safety are of utmost concern to the club. a. Safety 1. All markers used in club activities must be of proper working order. 2. If another player has concern with the functional safety of an individual’s marker, it is required that the marker be inspected and or repaired by a qualified gunsmith. Until other club members deem the marker safe, the marker cannot be used in connection with club games. 3. All players must have barrel plugs in use when off the field, or in areas designated by the field operators. 4. Players who behave in a manor, which is deemed unsafe, shall be first reprimanded and informed not to continue in the unsafe activity. 5. Masks must be worn in all time while on the field. Anyone caught breaking this rule will be reprimanded severely the first time. This includes a $5 fine payable to the club, and or expulsion from the daily activity. Further continuation will result in expulsion from the club with forfeiture of club dues (if paid). 6. Players should not mark an opponent from close range unless it is necessary. Necessity being “heat of battle” where the advancing player cannot take the time to make a “surrender” and must mark the defending player to insure the victory of the advancing team. 7. All markers shall be chronographed before entering the field. For club practices and scrimmages the required velocity limit is 300 FPS. Tournament events may differ in the velocity limit. 8. Club members or participants in activities shall not intentionally mark an opponent in an attempt to injure. Such behavior will result in expulsion from the daily activity. If the player continues performing the above-mentioned activities in future events they will face expulsion from the club and forfeiture of dues (if paid). b. Rules for Fair Play Rules detailing proper behavior on the field are contained in the APPL rules. For sake of completeness, those deemed of utmost importance are detailed below. 1. Cheating will not be tolerated. This includes wiping, playing on after an obvious hit, and revealing position of opposition after elimination “dead men don’t talk”, etc. Players caught performing the above mentioned activities will be asked to leave the daily activity. If the player continues performing the above-mentioned activities in future events they will face expulsion from the club and forfeiture of dues (if paid). 2. Further rules are detailed at the field which the event takes place. 3. Most scrimmages and or practices are carried out on the honor system. It is important that all players respect the rules and follow them in order to ensure the continuation of the good name of the club.