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The purpose of this document is to define the rights and responsibilities of all those who participate in the Co-ed Fred Volleyball Club including its league members, tournament participants, volunteers and club executive. It is also defines for all participants, the course of action and procedures available to address issues.

Mission: The goal of the Co-ed Fred Volleyball Club is to promote a fun and recreational atmosphere of co-ed volleyball for adults wishing to participate at a competitive or semi-competitive level.

Expected Conduct: All participants are expected to conduct themselves with an appropriate behaviour and sportsmanship towards fellow players, volunteers, officials and the club’s executive. All participants must follow the Co-ed Fred Rules and Regulations as adopted by the club and support the club’s efforts in good faith.

Representation: The Co-ed Fred Volleyball Club is comprised of a co-ed indoor league, co-ed 4’s beach league, monthly indoor and beach tournaments including the well-known Beach Blast Volleyball Tournament. Other beach leagues are backed by the club but are managed separately. The following describes the rights and responsibilities of each component within the club: 

Teams: Any team can register to participate in a Co-ed Fred volleyball tournament. Acceptance in tournaments will be on a first come basis until the maximum allotted numbers of teams have registered. Teams wishing to participate in league play must either be part of the league or must apply to be accepted into the league. 

Players: Any player, with the exception to those limited by the restrictions outlined in the rules, is eligible to participate in tournament and league play. A player does not have to be a member of the league to participate in a tournament. Players participating in league play must be registered as either a member of the club or as a designated spare. Members or players wishing to raise issues with the club are to forward their concerns through their team captain. Only club members may present themselves for committee roles or positions within the executive. Only members can vote when issues are presented at the player level.

Captains: Any player designated as captain takes full responsibility for their team and is the main contact for league and tournament information. It is the captain’s responsibility to distribute information to their team, control team conduct, enforce team rule violations and shall be the only designate to discuss issues with other captains, tournament officials or the executive. It is the team captain’s decision as to which player will or will not be accepted on his / her team. Any captain (tournament or league) can raise an issue with the executive to be officially tabled for discussion at a Club’s Captains Committee meeting. Captains are also responsible for nominating volunteers from their teams.

Executive:  The executive is comprised of the club president, promotions and sponsorship coordinator, club treasurer and two elected representatives. A tier one and tier two representative for the indoor and beach league will take part in the executive. Elected representatives will be delegated responsibilities within the executive. The executive is responsible for the overall management of the club, indoor league, beach league and all tournaments.  Responsibilities include overseeing the management of committees, volunteers, accounting, distribution of funds, schedules, registrations, sponsors, prizes, advertising, promotions, equipment, facilities, web hosting, volunteer appointments, rule enforcement, discipline, suspensions and appeals. At the executive’s discretion, any of the above noted tasks can be delegated to club volunteers or committees.

Volunteers: Interested club members can submit their name to their team captain or executive for volunteering. Each league team must have one volunteer available for the entire season to assist on committees and with various tasks when requested. Volunteers can be delegated various responsibilities and authorities as designated by the executive. Volunteers can also be appointed into various committee roles and official functions as required by the executive.
 

Club Captains Committee:  A Club Captains’ Committee meeting will be held in May for the beach league, in September and January for the indoor league. The Club Captains Committee meeting is opened only to existing league captains of the associated league and club's executive in which matters such as rules, new team application, league expansion and other tabled issues are discussed. Captains are responsible to vote on rule changes, appointments to the executive and other issues impacting the club’s (tournaments or league) direction. Captains only represent the season in which they play (beach or indoor). Captains failing to have representation at these meetings will result in the team being moved to the new team list for reapplication into the league. Once direction is established, the implementation and administration is turned over to the executive. Unless already a team captain, an executive member will only vote at the Club Captains’ Committee meeting if there is a tie. The executive may seek, from time to time, a vote of confidence from the captains for feedback on the management of various club issues. Changes to the Rules and Regulations or the Charter must be voted on at this meeting.

Controlling Interest: As teams split up and players change teams, the following guideline outlines the rights of captains and players in tournament and league participation.

Tournaments: The team captain retains control of the team’s spot and name when registering for tournaments. The captain can change players within the confines of the rules without notification to the club’s executive. Players can freely change teams as long as it is not during the same tournament.

League: An individual designated as a team captain has the controlling interest for the team’s spot for the entire season and automatically retains such control when applying for the following season. Players can freely transfer to another team as long as the new captain advises the executive of any such additions. The captain, at their discretion, can also change players on their team within the guidelines outlined in the rules. However, the controlling interest of the captain will be lost if the following conditions occur: 

-          If they do not fulfill their responsibilities as a captain and are requested by the executive to step down. (Captains will be issued 3 warnings for non compliance before any such decision is made)

-          If a large number of members from a team submit a request to the executive to have the team captain replaced. (The executive will evaluate and render a decision)

-          If the individual or team is suspended or ejected from the league.

-          When registering at the beginning of the season, if the team captain does not have a minimum of 3 players for indoor or 2 players for beach (including themselves) from the previous year’s roster. (They will be considered as a new team requesting application)

New Team Applications (League only): Prior to the beginning of each season, a request for new team submissions will be posted on the club’s web site and via e-mail. Any interested team can apply to be part of the upcoming season. New teams must submit their team name, player roster (min 6 / max 8 for summer and min 8 / max 10 for indoor), team captain’s contact information (phone & e-mail) and a volunteer. The number of teams accepted is dependant on the number of positions available within the league. The acceptance of new teams including the decision to expand the league is voted by the captains at the Clubs Captains Committee meeting. New teams will be evaluated based on the following: Number of previous club members, participation over the previous year in club tournaments, skill level of the team and likelihood of consistency.  If the number of new teams applying is less than the number of spots available, the executive will decide if a captains’ vote is needed.  

Elections and Appointments:  Every two years an election will be held to vote for a league tier 1 and tier 2 representatives on to the club's executive. The election will be held at the start of the indoor season in the election year.  An Elections Committee will be appointed at the Club’s Captains Committee meeting to seek out representation for each position. All nominees and their candidate statements must be sent to the Elections Committee Chair within the 1^st week of the season. The election will be held during the 2^nd week in which the league captains or club members will vote for their representatives. Any failure to find candidates for any of the representatives will either result in the post remaining vacant until the following year or someone may be appointed to that role. Any appointments must be supported in majority by the captains. Any election committee member that decides to present himself or herself as a candidate must first resign from the committee.

The other positions within the executive will remain occupied until vacated through the following means:

-         The executive member resigns

-         The other members of the executive unanimously vote for the individual step down for not fulfilling their duties or for any other conduct that is not in the best interest of the club.  If a unanimous vote cannot be achieved, then the vote will be put to the Captains Committee.

-        The Captains Committee cast a majority vote of no confidence asking for that individual to step down.  

Once vacated, the Elections Committee will seek potential interest in any of the executive positions. If sufficient interest exists, an election will be called rather than a candidate appointed. Any appointments to the executive must be supported in majority by the Captains Committee. If replaced, the president will sit in the position of past president for the period on one year.  

Volunteers fulfilling league functions such as web page developer, journalist, maintenance managers, committee members or other designated functions will be asked to continue their role on a yearly basis by the executive. Volunteer positions will be held until the following conditions occur:

-         The volunteer resigns or does not accept to continue their role for another term.

-         The executive requests for that individual to step down for not fulfilling their duties or for any other conduct that is not in the best interest of the club. 

Penalties and Suspension: Any player that does not abide by the Rules and Regulations of the club or this Charter may be issued a warning or suspension. Penalties in accordance with the guidelines outlined in the Rules and Regulations or the Charter will be determined by the executive and may carry a suspension for up to one year. Severe violations could result in the time frame being extended indefinitely. League captains will be informed of any such decisions; however, the authority remains with the executive. 

Appeals: Any player suspended from tournament or league play can submit their request for reinstatement through their league or tournament captain. The captain must notify the executive prior to any of the Club's Captains Committee meeting for the matter to be given consideration. With the approval of the executive, the matter may be raised for discussion at the Club's Captains Committee meeting. The executive will seek input at this meeting before they render a final decision on the appeal.   

Club Organizational Chart: