International Silken Windhound Society Racing Program
BYLAWS OF THE International Silken Windhound Society's Racing Program (AN UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATION)
ARTICLE I: OFFICES
Section 1.01 PRINCIPAL OFFICES
The principal office of the Association for the transaction of
its club business is located at the address of the ISWS Correspondence
Secretary. The Race Director is appointed by the board as is the
Registrar who maintains the records. The Racing Liason communicates
concerns from the Race Director directly to the Board of the ISWS.
ARTICLE II: MEMBERS
Section 2.01 CLUB MEMBERSHIP
(a) Club Membership is the only class of membership in this Association.
(b) All Large Gazehound Racing Association member clubs that offer
ISWS racing shall be considered ISWS clubs.
(c) Clubs other than LGRA clubs may be formed by any individual
or collection of individuals that meet Qualifications below.
(d) Member clubs only retain property rights to equipment owned
by the member club.
Section 2.02 QUALIFICATIONS
Sighthound Clubs that are already member clubs of the below organizations
are to be considered member clubs if they elect to have ISWS meets.
(a) Previously sponsored a race meet held under the rules set
forth by the Whippet Racing Association, the North American Whippet
Racing Association, National Oval Track Racing Association, or
other recognized racing association, or
(b) Has held one duly scheduled Qualifying Race Meet under the
Rules of the ISWS racing to include 3 programs of racing over
a 200 yard track with at least 4 Silken Windhounds racing at the
meet, and the results were reported to the ISWS registrar.
(c) The first race meet of a new club may be co-hosted with an
approved club. The new club will be responsible for all paperwork
and reports. All such race meets will be run under the Rules of
ISWS racing.
(d) Clubs sponsoring ISWS racing must have insurance and must
provide proof of such to the Race Director.
Section 2.03 ADMISSION
Qualified Clubs of LGRA, WRA and NOTRA shall be admitted to membership
upon making it known that ISWS racing will be sponsored by their
club. Other clubs upon making application therefore and upon approval
of the application by the Board of ISWS. Application for Club
Membership shall contain the statement that the applicant’s
directing officer and Club Delegate have read the Constitution,
Bylaws, and Rules of the Association, are familiar with and understand
them, and that as members they agree to be bound by these documents.
Section 2.04 FEES, DUES, ASSESSMENTS, AND APPLICATION
FEES
The only fees to be collected by ISWS are the registration fees
of $4.00 per dog for a racing number to be assigned by the ISWS
racing registrar. These fees will be used to defray the cost of
keeping records and mailing out title certificates. Club Delegates
from clubs other than WRA, LGRA or NOTRA will forward to the Race
Director proof of insurance by January 31st of each year. This
may be accomplished through regular mail or email scans.
Section 2.05 TERMINATION, RIGHTS, AND REINSTATEMENT OF
MEMBERSHIP
(a) The membership of any Member Club of the Association shall
automatically be terminated:
(1) On its written request for such termination mailed to the
Secretary; or
(2) By its failure to provide results of an ISWS Race held pursuant
to the Rules of the Association within ten (10) days of the date
of the Race.
(3)By its failure to provide a proper certificate or other proof
of insurance to cover the conduct of race meets, as stipulated
in Article 2, Section 2.04 herein.
(4) In the case of clubs that are LGRA, WRA or NOTRA; clubs termination
will be automatic if the club reaches a decision to no longer
sponsor ISWS racing.
(b) All rights and interest of a Member Club in the Association
shall cease upon termination of membership as herein provided.
(c) Any Member Club whose membership is terminated may have its
membership reinstated by providing the requested documentation
to the Registrar in the case of records or Race Director in the
case of insurance, or by declaring its intent to once again sponsor
ISWS racing.
Section 2.06 SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION
(a) The Board of ISWS is authorized to suspend or expel from membership
a Member Club for good cause.
(b) “Good cause” as used in this section means:
(1) Any conduct that brings the ISWS into public disrepute or
violates the purposes for which this Association is formed.
(2) Any willful failure or refusal to abide by the Constitution,
Bylaws, or Rules of ISWS racing and ISWS.
(c) Definitions:
(1) A “suspension” terminates the member clubs voting
rights and the right to hold meets for a specific time period
(2) Expulsion removes the member club from the list of clubs approved
to hold ISWS meets
(d) Procedure:
(1) Proceedings against a Member Club may be initiated by a resolution
by majority of the Board of ISWS specifying charges, and served
by personal service or by certified mail on the Club Delegate
and President of the Member Club, and, if by mail, with a Return
Receipt required. Said Resolution shall specify a hearing date
not less than fifteen (15) days, nor more than forty - five (45)
days after passage and service of the resolution of the Board
of ISWS.
(2) The Member Club shall be entitled to participate in the hearing.
The Race Director shall appoint a hearing committee consisting
of three ISWS members from the region of the Member. The hearing
shall be informal and the rules of evidence and rules of judicial
procedure need not be observed. One ISWS member will be selected
by the Race Director to serve as Chairperson.
(3) The hearing shall be presided over by the Chairperson who
shall:
(a) Read the charges against the Member Club
(b) Require that the charges be verified by the testimony of the
person making them, and such witnesses as the Committee deems
appropriate;
(c) Allow the Member Club, by its Club Delegate to question each
witness or written statement;
(d) Allow the Member Club by its Club Delegate, to make a statement
in its own behalf, and call witnesses in its own behalf;
(e) Allow the Board of ISWS to question witnesses; and
(f) Rule on the admission and exclusion of evidence and on questions
of hearing procedure.
(4) After the hearing is closed, the committee shall vote on whether
they uphold the charges or dismiss them and if they uphold the
charges what sanction they recommend. The vote imposing discipline
or dismissing the matter shall be reviewed and approved, or rejected,
by the Board of ISWS prior to the decision regarding the charges
becoming final. Please note that the above section does NOT apply
to Member Clubs that are members by virtue of being approved LGRA,WRA
or NOTRA clubs.
ARTICLE III: MEETINGS OF ACTIVE MEMBERS
Section 3.01 MEETINGS
Due to the widely dispersed geographical area of the ISWS, and
its nonprofit nature, the lack of compensation of its officers
and members, there shall be no regular Member Club meetings and
business of the Association and elections shall be conducted by
mail or e-mail. However, the Race Director is authorized to schedule
meetings if urgent business dictates such.
Section 3.02 MEETINGS AND NOTICES
Notice of the time and place of meeting shall be delivered by
United States Postal Service to the Club Delegate at least fourteen
(14) days prior to such meeting.
Section 3.03 VOTING
Voting by member clubs shall be limited to voting as to the time
and place of an ISWS racing National Race Meet. ISWS racing shall
be run by the rules that govern ISWS racing which shall closely
parallel LGRA rules.
SECTION 3.04 CONDUCT OF MEETINGS
(a) In the event a meeting of Club Delegates is held, the meeting
shall be presided over by the Race Director, or in the Race Director’s
absence by the Racing Liason. The Secretary of ISWS shall act
as secretary of all meetings, provided that in the absence of
the Secretary, the presiding officer shall appoint another person
to act as Secretary.
(e) Meetings shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order,
insofar as such rules are not in conflict with these Bylaws or
the Constitution of the Association, or with the law.
ARTICLE IV: CLUB DELEGATES
Section 4.01 ELECTION OR APPOINTMENT, AND TERM OF OFFICE
Club Delegates shall be elected or appointed by the Member Clubs.
Each Member Club that is not a member of WRA, LGRA or NOTRA shall
advise the Race Director in writing of the name, address, and
telephone numbers of its Delegate. In the event that a person
is elected or appointed to be a Club Delegate by more than one
(1) Member Club, this person shall be entitled to cast a vote
on behalf of all Member Clubs they represent.
Section 4.02 QUALIFICATIONS
When possible, the Club Delegate that is elected or appointed
by a Member Club should have a least two (2) years experience
in sighthound racing.
Section 4.03 DUTIES AND COMPENSATION
It shall be the duty Club Delegates who are not from WRA, LGRA
or NOTRA clubs:
(a) To perform any and all duties imposed on them by law, by the
Constitution of this Association, or these Bylaws.
(b) To register their addresses and telephone numbers with the
Race Director
(c) Club Delegate shall serve without compensation.
(d) Any two (2) Club Delegates from clubs that are not WRA, LGRA
or NOTRA clubs by joint written request presented to the Association
Secretary, may require any decision or act of the Race Director
be placed before the ISWS Board for approval or reversal.
Section 4.04 REMOVAL
Club Delegates shall serve the Member Club electing or appointing
them, and can only be removed by their respective Member Club.
Section 4.05 VACANCIES
A vacancy of Club Delegate shall be filled by election or appointment
of the Member Club whom the Club Delegate represents. The Member
Club shall provide the Association with notice, as set forth in
Section 4.01.
ARTICLE V: OFFICERS
Section 5.01 OFFICERS AND TITLES
The Board of Governors of the ISWS racing and their titles shall
be:
(a) Race Director
(b) Racing Liason
(c) Registrar – Recorder
(d) Racing Secretary who shall be the Correspondence Secretary
for ISWS until such time as another ISWS member applies to the
board and is appointed.
(e) Racing Treasurer who shall be the ISWS Treasurer until such
time as another ISWS member applies to the board and is appointed.
Section 5.02 ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE
The four (4) officers named in Section 5.01 shall be appointed
by the ISWS board to indefinite terms. The term of office shall
be determined by the ISWS board. Those ISWS members who are interested
in appointment shall make application to the ISWS board and prepare
a short statement explaining why they feel they are qualified
for the appointment, their experience in racing and what they
feel they will bring to the office. The ISWS Board may at any
time replace an officer to ISWS racing if the need arises as determined
by the ISWS Board.
Section 5.03 COMPENSATION
Officers of the ISWS Racing shall serve wtihout compensation.
Section 5.04 REMOVAL
Any or all officers may be removed from office at any time by
the decision of the ISWS Board
Section 5.05 VACANCIES
The following procedures shall be used in filling vacant positions
on the Board of Governors:
(a) The following order of preference shall be used to fill the
office of Race Director if it is vacated without an appointment
(1) The Racing Liason
(2) The Registrar
(3) The Secretary
(4) The Treasurer
(5) If no person remains on the Board of Governors to fill this
position, the President of the ISWS shall call for volunteers
to fill the vacant remaining term of the Race Director from the
membership of ISWS.
(b) The Race Director shall have the power to appoint an acting
replacement for any other vacant Board of Governor position.
Section 5.06 OFFICIATING AT LOCAL EVENTS
Association officers as listed in Section 5.01 shall be exempted
from officiating (Foul and Finish Line Judge and Local Rules Committee)
at local meets during programs where Silkens are running with
the exception of meets that are designated by the ISWS as being
Regional Specialty meets or the National Specialty meet, to ensure
the sanctity of the ISWS racing appeals procedure. They may serve
as Paddock Official, Announcer, Lure Operator, Starter, and Box
Operator.
Section 5.07 DUTIES OF THE RACE DIRECTOR
(a) The Race Director shall serve as Executive Officer for ISWS
racing and shall, in general, be subject to the control of the
ISWS Board.
(b) The Race Director shall supervise and control the affairs
of ISWS Racing.
(c) The Race Director shall perform all duties incident to his/her
office and other duties as may be required by law, by the ISWS
Constitution, or by the Bylaws, or which may be assigned to him/her
from time to time by the ISWS Board.
(d) The Race Director shall be the final reviewing authority for
all protests received, and is responsible for appointing all protest
committees with the chairman of the committee being one of the
ISWS racing board of governors. The Race Director can serve as
the chairman of the protest committee.
(e)The Race Director shall keep the name and Club delegates name
for all member clubs other than LGRA, NOTRA and WRA based clubs.
Section 5.08 DUTIES OF THE RACING LIASON
(a) The Racing Liason shall serve as the Vice President of ISWS
Racing.
(b) The Racing Liason shall perform the duties of the Race Director
in the absence of the Race Director.
(c) The Racing Liason shall serve as the primary means of communication
between the ISWS racing program and the ISWS board.
(d) The Racing Liason shall perform all duties incident to the
office and other duties as required by law, by the ISWS constitution
by the Bylaws or as designated by the ISWS board.
Section 5.09 DUTIES OF THE REGISTRAR – RECORDER
(a) The Registrar - Recorder shall register all hounds participating
in ISWS Racing.
(b) The Registrar - Recorder shall maintain and publish records
of each race meet held by Member Clubs pursuant to the Association’s
Rules governing sighthound racing.
(c) The Registrar - Recorder shall issue racing championships
to the owners of those hounds, which complete the requirements
set forth in the Rules.
(d) The Registrar - Recorder shall collect the registration fee
for each hound registered with ISWS Racing and perform all duties
incident to his/her office and such other duties as may be required
by law, by the Constitution of the ISWS, or by the Bylaws, or
which may be assigned to him/her from time to time by the Board
of Governors.
Section 5.10 DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY
(a) The Secretary shall keep the original Constitution, as amended,
and the original Bylaws, as amended.
(b) The Secretary shall be responsible for notifying the ISWS
membership of annual changes to the rules of Racing that the ISWS
will be running under. Posting email links to a website where
the changes may be read or printed off shall suffice.
(c) The Secretary shall keep in the Minutes Book the minutes of
all meetings of the Club Delegates, and the names of those in
attendance.
(d) The Secretary shall see that all notices in the cases of suspension
or expulsion are duly given in accordance with the provisions
of these Bylaws, or as required by law.
(e) The Secretary shall keep records of independent ISWS meet
premiums.
Section 5.11 DUTIES OF THE TREASURER
The Treasuer for ISWS will supply financial records to the ISWS
racing if these are needed. If funds are needed for postage or
certificate printing above and beyond the registration fees submitted
to the Registrar the Treasurer will provide them to the ISWS Registrar
upon receiving a financial request for such and records indicating
the need for it.
ARTICLE VI: COMMITTEES
Section 6.01 GENERAL
The Race Director shall appoint such committees, and designate
its members from ISWS volunteers, or Club Delegates to serve on
such committees.
Section 6.02 RULES COMMITTEE
At this time ISWS Racing is to be administered using the rules
that are parallel to the Large Gazehound Racing Association (LGRA)
and will adhere to any rule changes voted on by LGRA. The rule
changes will be announced at such time as they are made known
to the ISWS racing Board. At such time that the ISWS racing decides
to no longer adhere to LGRA rules, the ISWS board will appoint
4 ISWS members to serve as the rules committee. This committee
would be chaired by one of the ISWS racing board of governors
and would have the power to formulate rules for ISWS racing and
amend them from time to time. Individual clubs could propose in
writing changes to the rules that would have to be approved by
the ISWS racing Rules committee. Submissions for rule changes
would be required by November 15 of each year so that the changes
decided on could be implemented by January 1 of the following
year.
Section 6.03 PROTEST COMMITTEE
The Protest Committee shall be comprised of 3 of the ISWS Racing
Board of Governors. The Race Director will be one of these three
members and the other two members shall be appointed by the Race
Director. Such a committee will be appointed by the Race Director
in order to review and render a decision upon the merits of each
protest filed against an official race meet. All protests must
be filed within ten (10) days of the ISWS meet in question. Due
to the widely dispersed geographical area of the Association,
and its nonprofit nature, the lack of compensation of its officers
and members, there shall be no physical protest hearing. Instead,
all protests will be handled by mail or e-mail. The Protest Committee
will complete its work as quickly as possible. All protests much
be accompanied by the appropriate fee or they will not be reviewed.
ARTICLE VII: EXECUTION OF INSTRUMENTS, DEPOSITS AND FUNDS
Section 7.01 EXECUTION OF INSTRUMENTS
The Race Director may enter into contracts and deliver instruments
in the name of and on behalf of the Association only after their
approval by the Board of the ISWS.
Section 7.02 CHECKS AND NOTES
Except as otherwise determined by resolution of the Club Delegates,
or as otherwise required by law, the Constitution of this Association,
or by these Bylaws, checks, drafts, promissory notes, orders for
payment of money, and other evidence of indebtedness of this Association
shall be signed by the Treasurer of the ISWS.
Section 7.03 DEPOSITS
All funds of the ISWS Racing shall be deposited promptly to the
credit of the ISWS Racing in such banks or other depositories
as the Registrar may select. The Registrar will provide to the
Board of Governors an annual statement as to income and expenditures
by December 15th of each calendar year, which statement will also
be provided to any ISWS member upon written request.
ARTICLE VIII: BYLAWS
Section 8.01 ADOPTION, AMENDMENT AND REPEAL
The Bylaws were adopted February 28, 2004. The Bylaws may be amended
or repealed, in whole or in part, and new Bylaws adopted by the
vote by the decision of the ISWS board.
Section 8.02 CERTIFICATION AND INSPECTION
The original of the Bylaws, as amended, shall be recorded and
kept in a book which shall be kept by the ISWS Secretary, and
such book shall be open to inspection by the ISWS membership upon
written request.