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By-Laws of the Gulf Coast Division as they appeared before amendment April 3, 2004

By-Laws of the Gulf Coast Division of the United States Fencing Association

Preamble

These By-Laws and amendments, upon adoption by the membership and acceptance by the USFA do hereby supersede, supplant and otherwise replace any previous by-laws, amendments or other rules whereby the Gulf Coast Division has been or may have been governed. However, this shall not construe a break in the continuity of the Gulf Coast Division; it is indeed a continuing viable body, responsible for the organization and supervision of the amateur fencing within its geographic area. All Divisional Officers and representatives previous to these By-Laws have been and are legitimate in election. All previous victories, awards, championships, etc. are also declared valid and legitimate.

Article I -- Name and Affiliation

The name of the division shall be THE GULF COAST DIVISION of the UNITED STATES FENCING ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED. THE GULF COAST DIVISION shall hereinafter be referred to as "THE DIVISION", and the UNITED STATES FENCING ASSOCIATION shall be referred to as "USFA, INC." THE DIVISION is a duly chartered subordinate, constituent body of the USFA, INC., exercising powers given by, performing duties directed under, and subject to, the Charter and By-Laws of the USFA, INC., with jurisdiction over the following geographic area:

Geographic Area

Beginning at the mouth of the Sabine River, at the Texas-Louisiana border. Extending west down the Texas Gulf Coast to the Mexican Border. Thence west following the Mexican-Texas border to the junction of US Highway 77. Thence northward following US Highway 77 to the point where it is intersected by the 31st parallel of latitude. Thence east following the 31st parallel to the Texas-Louisiana border. Thence southward following the Texas-Louisiana Border to the mouth of the Sabine River. The foregoing geographic area is the historic and approved area for THE DIVISION. It shall not exclude any offshore developments in the Gulf of Mexico nor waive any claim to jurisdiction thereto.

Article II -- Objectives

The objectives of the GULF COAST DIVISION of USFA, INC., shall be:

  1. The encouragement and development of the art of fencing.

  2. The holding of local competitions and tournaments.

  3. The promotion of participation in state, sectional and national competitions sponsored by USFA, INC.

  4. Such other purposes and objectives as have been promulgated in the By-Laws of USFA, INC.

Article III -- Membership

Section 1
Eligibility: any person residing in THE DIVISION, or belonging to a fencing club located within the area of THE DIVISION, and who is not a member of another division of USFA, INC., and who meets the requirements for membership in USFA, INC., shall be eligible for membership in THE DIVISION.

Section 2
Classes of Membership: membership shall be of six (6) classes: honorary, active, collegiate, student, associate, and life. The requirements for membership in each class shall be as set forth in the By-Laws of USFA, INC.

Section 3
Admission to Membership: applicants who qualify under Section I of this article shall be admitted to membership upon payment of the required dues.

Section 4
Discipline, Suspension and Expulsion of Members: all matters pertaining to the discipline, suspension and expulsion of members shall be referred to the Board of Directors of USFA, INC., for appropriate action.

Article IV -- Officers

The officers of THE DIVISION shall consist of a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. All officers shall take office the first of August next following their election, and shall hold office until the following July 31st, or until their successors are elected and have qualified. The duties of the officers shall be as followed:

Section 1
Chairman: the chairman shall preside at all meetings of THE DIVISION and its executive committee, and perform such other duties as usually pertain to that office and are not inconsistent with these By-Laws. The Chairman has the responsibility for filing with the Secretary and the Treasurer of the corporation the annual reports called for under the corporate by-laws and the standing votes of the Board of Directors. The preparation of these reports may be delegated to the Secretary or Treasurer of THE DIVISION.

Sub-Section A. Duties of the Chairman:

  1. The Chairman shall be responsible for coordinating and directing the duties of the Executive Committees.

  2. It shall also be the responsibility of the Chairman, with the Executive Committee, to prepare the yearly schedule to members of THE DIVISION by September First.

  3. The Chairman shall have the power to fill by appointment any of the offices of the executive committee which are vacated by abandonment or dereliction.

  4. The Chairman shall appoint a bout Committee for each tournament. The Chairman or his appointee shall be the de facto Chairman of the bout committee at every tournament.

  5. It shall also be the responsibility of the Chairman or his appointee to purchase and deliver to all scheduled tournaments all trophies, awards, etc.

  6. It shall be the responsibility of the Chairman to annually inventory and record all divisional equipment and supplies and to make recommendations to the divisional membership for its repair and/or replacement. At the end of his term of office he shall immediately deliver all such equipment and inventory records to his successor.

  7. It shall be the responsibility of the Chairman to insure that all necessary and appropriate equipment and supplies are available at all
    scheduled tournaments at the proper place and the proper time.

  8. The Chairman shall insure that a full and complete financial account of divisional funds and expenditures be published three times yearly.

  9. The Chairman shall insure that all scheduled divisional meetings are convened.

  10. It shall also be the responsibility of the Chairman to insure that any divisional bank accounts shall require at least two signatures. The two required signatures shall be the Chairman and the Treasurer.

Section 2
Vice Chairman: the Vice-Chairman in the absence of the Chairman, shall perform the duties of the Chairman.

Section 3
Secretary: the Secretary shall conduct all official correspondence; keep a record of the meetings of THE DIVISION; issue notices to all members of all meetings, and perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Chairman of THE DIVISION or other proper authority.

Sub-Section A. Duties of the Secretary:

  1. The secretary shall provide every divisional member with a current yearly schedule of fencing events by September 1.

  2. It shall also be the responsibility of the secretary to have current divisional schedules available at every event.

  3. The Secretary shall maintain a current membership list of the divisional members.

  4. The Secretary shall ascertain the rating of all divisional competitions and shall certify each fencer as to his or her classification(s). These ratings and classifications shall then be reported to the national secretary of the USFA.

  5. The Secretary shall provide on request and shall have on hand in printed form the minutes of all the Executive Committee meetings. These shall be available to the members at the divisional meetings and shall be mailed to the membership after each Executive Committee meeting.

Section 4
Treasurer: the Treasurer shall keep the accounts of THE DIVISION; receive all moneys, fees, dues, etc.; pay all bills approved by the Executive Committee and preserve all vouchers for such disbursements. The Treasurer shall at the annual meeting of THE DIVISION submit a report of the financial transactions of the preceding year. The treasurer shall keep all funds of THE DIVISIONS in such account or accounts as the Executive Committees may prescribe. Nominal disbursements may be made from a petty cash fund under such regulation and control as may be established by the Executive Committee. The Treasurer shall perform other such duties as may be assigned by the Chairman of THE DIVISION or other proper authority.

Sub-Section A. Duties of the Treasurer:

  1. The Treasurer shall compile, publish, and present in printed form to the membership a full financial account of divisional funds and expenditures as follows:

    1. on the same day as prior to the first divisional fencing tournament.

    2. following the mid season Executive meeting- to every divisional member by mail.

    3. on the same day as the prior to the beginning of the Divisional Championships.

Section 5
The office of Secretary and Treasurer may be combined for any year upon majority vote of the members of THE DIVISION voting, in person at the annual meeting. In the event of such vote, the candidates for the office of Secretary and the office of Treasurer, nominated pursuant to Article VIII of these By-Laws, shall all be deemed candidates for the combined office.

Article V -- Management by the Executive Committee

Section 1
Composition: the management of THE DIVISION shall be vested in an Executive Committee consisting of the officers of THE DIVISION, such additional directors of the USFA, INC., as THE DIVISION may be entitled to elect and such additional members, not exceeding six (6) in number, as shall be elected by the members of THE DIVISION.

Section 2
Quorum: a quorum shall consist of one third (1/3) of the members of the Executive Committee, or three (3) members, which ever is greater.

Section 3
Meetings: meetings of the Executive Committee shall be held at such time and place as such time and place as shall be designated by the Chairman and shall be called upon the written request of three (3) or more members of the Committee. All members shall be given not less than forty-eight (48) hours prior notice of all meetings. The Divisional Executive Committee shall schedule meetings at the following times:

  1. at some time prior to September 1 to prepare the Divisional Schedule.

  2. at the chairman's discretion, a midyear meeting between December 15 of the old year and January 15 of the new year.

  3. at the discretion of the Chairman, so long as it shall convene at least three calendar weeks prior to the Divisional Championships.

Article VI -- Committees


There shall be four (4) standing committees of THE DIVISION whose chairman shall be appointed by the Chairman of THE DIVISION. With the exception of the bout committee any other committee shall be optional at the discretion of the Executive Committee.


Section 1
Bout Committee: The Chairman of the Bout Committee shall have charge of and conduct all competitions in THE DIVISION. He shall appoint (2) or more other members of THE DIVISION for each competition who with him shall constitute the Bout Committee for such competition. He shall decide all disputes arising during the course of a competition. An appeal may be taken from any decision of the Chairman to the Bout Committee as a whole, in which event the decision of a majority of the members of the Bout Committee shall control.

Section 2
Publicity and Membership Committees: the Chairman of the publicity and membership committee shall have charge of all publicity and public relations relating to THE DIVISION and shall also be charged with the conducting of continuing efforts to promote membership in THE DIVISION.

Section 3
Arrangements Committee: the Chairman of the Arrangements Committee shall have charge of all administrative duties involved in the conduct of any competition, other than the duties of the Chairman of the Bout Committee. The Arrangements Committee shall be in addition to and shall supplement the activities of the Executive Committee in its capacity as organizing committee for all competitions.

Section 4
Historical Committee: the Chairman of the Historical Committee shall compile a record of the results of all individual competitions conducted by THE DIVISION and results of outstanding individual performances by members of THE DIVISION in all other competitions. He shall also maintain a record of all the fencing and officiating classification of all the members of THE DIVISION. The Chairman and members of this committee shall be under the direction of the Secretary of the Division. The activities of this committee shall in no way negate the record keeping and reporting responsibilities of the Divisional Secretary.

Article VII -- Meetings of the Members

Section 1
Annual Meetings: the annual meetings of the members of THE DIVISION shall convene as follows:

  1. On the same day as and prior to the beginning of the first scheduled tournament; to receive a financial report and to allocate expenditures to the executive committee.

  2. On the same day as and prior to the beginning of the Divisional Championships; to receive reports from the executive committee, financial report, inventory and condition report of Divisional equipment, recommendations by outgoing officers, and to elect and qualify new officers.

Section 2
Special Meetings: special meetings may be called any time and place by the Chairman, and shall be called by the Chairman upon the written request of not less than five (5) members of the Division.

Section 3
Notice: written notice of the date, time and place of the annual meeting shall  be given to all members not less than fifteen (15) days in advance of such meeting. The notice shall contain a statement of the officers to be filled at such meeting, a statement as to any proposed amendments to the By-Laws to be voted upon at such meeting, and a statement of other matters required a vote of the membership at such meeting. All members shall be given at least seven (7) days prior written notice of all special meetings, which shall set forth the business to be transacted at the meeting.

Section 4
Quorum: a quorum shall consist of not less than seven (7) members of THE DIVISION present in person and a majority vote of those present shall control, except as herein otherwise provides.

Article VIII -- Elections

Section 1
Nominations: candidates for all offices established under these By-Laws shall be nominated from the floor at the annual meeting of THE DIVISION.

Section 2
If not more than one (1) nomination is made for any office, the secretary of THE DIVISION shall cast a unanimous ballot at the annual meeting for the candidate nominated. If two (2) or more nominations are made for any office, voting for the candidate for such contested office shall be in person and the candidate receiving the majority of the votes cast shall be declared 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 and the winner shall be declared elected.

Article IX -- Traditional Tournaments of THE
DIVISION

  1. THE DIVISION traditionally begins its fencing season with the Franks Memorial Invitational Sabre Tournament. The rotating trophy for this tournament is retained by the winner for one year. Other events are usually scheduled with the Franks.

  2. The Van Buskirk Sabre Tournament honors Harold Van Buskirk, former Olympic Team Captain, sabre fencer, US Epee champion and long time coach at Rice University. It is an invitational tournament, open to all, and held in March. It is held in conjunction with the Gulf Coast Invitational Tournament which includes all weapons and is also open to everyone.

  3. The Divisional Championships, which are closed to all but Gulf Coast Division members in good standing.

Article X -- Classification of Divisional Fencers

Section 1
Beginners: a beginner is defined as a fencer who has fenced less than one calendar year in THE DIVISION or in any other competitions sanctioned by the USFA, FIE, NCAA, AAU or any other recognized institution in the US or abroad. The beginner's calendar year begins on the date of his first competition and expires on the same date of the following year. The Beginner's status shall not be jeopardized by winning or placing in any higher classified tournaments. (Except as in Art. 10, Sec. 3 below)

Section 2
Novice: a novice is defined as a fencer who has completed his beginner's year and who has fenced less than one additional calendar year. The Novice's calendar year begins immediately on the expiration of his beginner's year and expires as outlined below. No fencer shall remain a novice, in whatever weapon, for more than three consecutive years inclusive. The novice's status shall not be any fencing achievements during his novice calendar year (except as Art. 10, Sec. 3, below). Each fencer shall be insured one calendar year as a novice in each weapon he or she is qualified to compete. Novice status, after the first calendar year, shall cease immediately upon a fencer's winning first place in an Open Tournament or Divisional Championships.

Section 3
Application of National Classification: No fencer holding a National or International classification or rating of any kind shall be a novice or Beginner in THE DIVISION. Also, beyond Novice class in THE DIVISION, USFA classification will apply.

Article XI -- Amendments

These By-Laws may be amended at any annual meeting of the members, or at any special meeting of the members called for that purpose. An amendment receiving a majority of all votes cast by the members voting in person shall be deemed adopted.