CONSTITUTION
of The United States Rowing Association
As of December 3, 1994
ARTICLE I
The name of this Organization shall be The
United States Rowing Association.
ARTICLE II
The purpose of this Association shall be:
Section 1. To serve and represent the amateur oarsmen and
oarswomen of the United States of America with respect to:
a. Promoting an educational program devoted
to
development of amateur rowing as a means of athletic competition
and attainment of physical fitness;
b. Establishing classifications and rankings
for
competitions, promulgating general rules and regulations for the
sport of rowing; and sanctioning regattas run in accordance with
these rules and regulations;
c. Conducting an annual National
Championship
Regatta and promoting interest through competition in this and
similar events;
d. Serving as the National Governing Body
for
the sport of rowing in the United States, maintaining membership
in the international rowing federation, and maintaining
membership in the United States Olympic Committee;
e. Extending representation through active
member organizations.
Section 2. To receive money and other
property,
real, or mixed, by gift, devise, bequest, dues or otherwise; to
apply the same both as to principal and income in furtherance of
the foregoing and related educational, scientific and charitable
purposes.
The Association shall not be conducted or
operated for profit, and no part of its net earnings shall inure
to the benefit of any member or individual, nor shall any of its
net earnings or any of its profits or assets be used other than
for its declared purposes. No substantial part of its activities
shall consist of carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting
to influence legislation, nor shall the Association participate
in or otherwise intervene in (including publishing or
distributing statements) any political campaign on behalf of any
candidates for public office.
Section 3. USRowing shall provide equal
opportunity for participation in its sport to all individuals who
are eligible under applicable international or reasonable
national amateur athletic rules and regulations and apply such
rules and regulations concerning athletic competition without
discrimination to all such individuals; and shall not deny
eligibility to any athlete, except after according such athlete
fair notice and hearing as to the issue of his or her
eligibility.
ARTICLE III
Membership
Section 1. The membership of the Association
shall consist of organizations and individuals.
Section 2. The organization members shall consist of clubs,
associations, educational institutions and other organizations
which are interested in rowing and shall adopt the definition of
amateur as set forth in Article IV hereof. No organization member
may bar from membership in its own organization any person
because of race, creed, color or national origin.
An association for membership purposes shall consist of four
or more clubs, educational institutions, and/or other
organizations which are united in order to combine their efforts
to promote rowing. No association applying for membership may be
admitted if a majority of its organization members are also
members of any other member association. Associations of
associations are also ineligible for membership.
The dues for each organization member and association member
(as defined above) shall be as specified in the Bylaws.
Section 3. Individual memberships and fees shall be defined in
the Bylaws.
ARTICLE IV
Amateur Standing
Section 1. No oarsman or oarswoman can be an
amateur who practices rowing and who derives any direct monetary
gain therefrom.
Section 2. The decision as to whether individuals are amateurs
or professionals shall be made only by the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE V
Management
Section 1. The management of this
Association
shall be vested in a Board of Directors, each of whom at some
time has competed in, coached, or directly served rowing, is a
member of one or more member organizations, and is at the time of
election and continues to be during his or her term, an
individual member of this Association. The Board shall be
composed of:
a. One male Vice President elected to a two-year term by the
individual male members of the Association, such election to be
held in January of every even-numbered year.
b. One female Vice President
elected
to a two-year term by the individual female members of the
Association, such election to be held in January of every
even-numbered year.
c. One male and one female
Director
shall be elected from each of the regions specified below, to
serve two-year terms. Such elections shall be conducted in
January of every even-numbered year by vote of the organizational
members located in the respective regions.
d. One male and one female Athlete
Representative who shall be the United States Rowing Association
representative and the alternate to the United States Olympic
Committee's Athletes' Advisory Council.
e. One male and one female
"At-Large"
Directors and one male and one female Athlete Representative
shall be elected in March of every even numbered year to two-year
terms by those Directors described in the preceding paragraphs.
In electing the Directors (including the Athlete Representatives)
described in this paragraph, the votes of the Directors elected
from the regions shall be weighted in proportion to the number of
individual members of the Association residing in the Director's
region as of the prior February 15. The vote of each Vice
President and each Athlete Representative described in paragraph
(d) will be given an average weight.
f. In order to be an Athlete
Representative on the Board of Directors an individual must, as
of the beginning of his or her term on the Board, qualify as an
"active athlete", as defined by the Amateur Sports Act of 1978
and the United States Olympic Committee Constitution or their
successor provisions and as further defined in the United States
Rowing Association Bylaws.
There shall be six regions:
1. NORTHEAST: Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont
2. MID-ATLANTIC: Delaware, District of
Columbia,
Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
3. SOUTHEAST: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia,
Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto
Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and the Virgin Islands.
4. MIDWEST: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas,
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
5. SOUTHWEST: Arizona, California, Colorado,
Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
6. NORTHWEST: Alaska, Idaho, Montana,
Oregon,
Washington and Wyoming.
Any organization may petition the
Board
of Directors for placement into a contiguous region.
The term of all elected Directors
shall
begin in March at the first scheduled meeting of the Board of
Directors. Any vacancy in the Board of Directors or any Standing
Committee, whether by resignation, death, removal, or otherwise,
may be filled by majority vote of the Board. The person chosen to
fill a vacancy shall satisfy the same requirements for election
(including, where applicable, gender, age, or regional residency)
as the person being replaced.
A member of the Board or of a
Standing
Committee may be removed by a vote of two-thirds of the members
of the full Board, but only after the person whose removal is
sought receives two week's written notice of any vote for
removal. A member of the Board or of a Standing Committee who is
absent from two consecutive meetings without permission from the
Board or Standing Committee shall be deemed to have resigned.
Any vote to remove or replace a
member of
a Standing Committee shall take place only after a week's written
notice has been given to the Committee in question. Any vote to
remove or replace a Regional Director shall take place only after
two week's written notice has been given to the organizations of
that region.
Section 2. Standing Committees of the
Association shall be as follows:
Junior Women's Rowing Committee
Junior Men's Rowing Committee
Lightweight Women's Rowing Committee
Lightweight Men's Rowing Committee
Women's Olympic Rowing Committee
Men's Olympic Rowing Committee
Masters Committee
These standing committees shall
develop
and manage programs designed to select the best representatives
of the United States for international competition in that aspect
of rowing described in the committee's name. The Masters
Committee shall be charged with emphasizing to the American
public the lifelong health and exercise benefits of rowing and
developing programs suitable for the involvement of former
competitive rowers as well as of people who have never before
rowed. The Masters Committee shall devise and advise the Board of
Directors on appropriate age-group categories and recommend to
the Board on sites and dates for the annual Masters National
Championship for which the Masters Committee will provide
oversight. Programs and appointments of standing committees shall
be deemed to be the decisions of the Association upon review by
the Board of Directors, unless they are overruled by a vote of
two-thirds of the full number of Directors in person or by mail
ballot, provided, however, that any and all budget allocations to
such committees shall be made by the Board in its sole
discretion.
Each of the standing committees shall
be
comprised of nine members, who shall be elected pursuant to this
Section to serve two-year terms in January of each even-numbered
year.
The term of standing committees shall
begin on September 1 of the year of the election of its members.
The new committee will assume responsibility for the following
year's plans. No member of a standing committee shall also be a
member of the Board of Directors
All standing committees shall have
one
member elected from each USRowing region, with members of the
committees that exclusively concern women's rowing being elected
by the "women's ballots" specified in the Bylaws, and members of
the committees that exclusively concern men 5 rowing being
elected by the "men's ballots" specified in the Bylaws. The two
Olympic Committees and the two Lightweight Committees shall each
have one athlete member elected by each year's national team
under the jurisdiction of that committee, to serve a one-year
term until the election of their successor. The athlete
representative will be a voting member of the committee. The
remaining members of each elected committee shall be elected as
follows:
Each ballot shall contain two
identical
lists of the names of persons who are candidates for a position
on a committee, with the region of each candidate's residence
noted. Each organization shall vote first to elect a
representative from the organization's respective region by
casting votes for candidates from the region in column one. The
organization then shall vote to elect representatives from
anywhere in the country by casting votes for At-Large
representatives listed in column two. The highest vote recipient
form each region shall be elected; and At-Large positions shall
be filled by the top vote recipients in the nationwide voting,
except that persons already elected by regions shall not be
considered; and except for the Masters Committee where no more
than the five top vote recipients of one sex shall be elected
regionally and the sixth regional, if necessary, and the At-Large
positions shall be filled, in order of next highest votes, to
assure that at least four of the other sex serve on the Masters
Committee.
Each committee will meet at least
twice a
year. Each committee will liaise with the President and the
Executive Director through the Chair. Each committee will provide
an annual report to the Board of Directors and any other reports
as required. The chair of each committee will negotiate an annual
budget for its activities with the Executive Director for
presentation to the Board of Directors.
Section 3. The minutes of Board of
Directors' meetings and the Annual Meeting shall be mailed to
Board and Committee members and to each member organization no
later than the fifteenth business day following each meeting. All
decisions made by the Board or the Executive Committee between
Board Meetings shall be reported to the member organizations and
to Committee members no later than with the minutes for the next
Board Meeting following the decision. All main motions voted upon
by the Board or the Executive Committee shall be by roll call
vote, unless the vote is unanimous.
ARTICLE VI
Amendments
Amendments to the Constitution may be
offered by any member organization in proper form and submitted
to the Secretary through the national headquarters, and be
distributed for voting as specified in the Bylaws. The present
text and proposed amendments shall appear. Voting by mall or in
person by men's and women's delegates, as specified in the
Bylaws, is allowed with a two-thirds vote of those present at the
Annual Meeting and those voting by mail necessary for the
adoption of the amendment.
ARTICLE VII
Dissolution
In the event of liquidation,
dissolution or termination of the Association, whether voluntary
or involuntary or by operation of law, its property or other
assets, or any other proceeds thereof, shall be distributed to
such non-profit organizations which shall be exempt from Federal
Income Taxes under Section 501 (c)(3) of the International
Revenue Code or such corresponding section or sections as may be
from time to time in force, as the members of the Association, by
majority vote thereof, shall determine; and none of such
property, assets or proceeds shall be distributed to, or divided
among, any of the members of the Association.