Constitution
Bylaws
Section 1 - Rights
- Members shall have the right to promote, advertise, or educate about fencing club in a manner that does not hurt or damage the reputation of the club.
- All members shall dress and act appropriately when representing Fencing Club.
- Members shall use and care for school lent equipment as if it was their own.
- Members shall be expected to treat all persons with respect regardless of personal disagreements, age, ancestry, color, creed, disability, gender, marital status, national origin, parentage, pregnancy, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
- There shall be “zero-tolerance” for unruly, dangerous, or disrespectful behavior.
Section 2 - Disciplinary Process
- In a case of misconduct, a letter shall be submitted to the President, Vice President, or Secretary outlining the exact offense, time, place, and any hurt individuals.
- At the Presidents discretion a private hearing between the President, Vice President, Secretary, and all advisors to determine an appropriate and fair punishment.
- The accused shall be informed of the private meeting and have the right to present their case to the panel before a verdict is decided.
- The accused shall have the right to appeal the decision of the meeting and go before PACSO for a second trial.
Section 3 - Dues
- All members must pay a club due before using school equipment or participating in Club practices.
- All members shall sign a release waiver for insurance purposes before using school equipment or participating in Club practices.
- A trial form shall be available to those that want to try fencing before paying the dues. All members that sign the trial form shall have access to use equipment and participate in practices without paying club dues for two weeks where after a member must pay dues and sign the release waiver before they can practice or use school equipment again.
Section 4 - Meetings
- Meetings shall be chaired by the President, or Vice President in the absence of the President.
- Meetings shall be held following Roberts Rules of Order.
- Quorum for meetings shall consist of all present members.
- Members shall be informed of meetings at least one week in advance.
Section 5 - Bylaw Amendments
- The bylaws shall be declared and voted on at a Bylaw meeting declared by the President.
- All members shall be informed of a Bylaws meeting at least one week in advance.
- Bylaw Amendments shall require a majority vote of all members present.
Preamble
To promote and enhance knowledge, on campus and in the community, of the sport of Fencing through discussion, practice, and competition.
Article I - Name
The name of the organization shall be “Fencing Club of the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point”.
Article II - Membership
Membership shall be open to anyone who seeks to join regardless of age, race, creed or religion, color, handicap, sex, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation or political affiliation. Of the participating members five must be in good academic standing with a GPA of 2.0 or higher.
A release waiver shall be signed before a member can actively participate in practices or use school lent equipment.
Membership dues shall also be paid before a member can actively participate in practices or use school lent equipment.
Non-students may join our organization. However, they may not hold office in it, nor may they handle our finances, ride in university vehicles, or act as agents of the state for our organization. Because the university’s self-funded insurance covers only UWSP students, our non-student members may wish to arrange for their own liability insurance to cover them for any activities they engage in as members of our organization.
Only people who are at least 10 years old may join as members of the Club. If a tournament event does not have an age restriction, it is implied that all fencers in that event must be at least 13 years or older. All members who are less than 18 years old must have a parent or guardian sign the release waiver in addition to themselves.
Article III - Officers
Section 1: Officer Positions shall consist of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Web Weaver.
Section 2: Officer Positions shall only be open to full or part time students in good academic standing (Cum. GPA of 2.0 or above).
Section 3: Officers shall be elected by a majority vote, of present members, two weeks previous to the start of Spring Finals.
Section 4: Officer Responsibilities
- The President shall be in charge of reserving rooms for practice, organizing meetings and practices, and finalizing club decisions.
- In the event that the President is unable to complete his/her term, succession shall be Vice president, secretary, treasurer.
- The vacant position shall than be filled by a member with a majority vote of present members.
- The Vice President shall be in charge of the Presidents responsibilities in his/her absence or any duty charged by the President.
- In the event that the Vice President is unable to complete his/her term, succession shall be secretary, treasurer.
- The vacant position shall than be filled by a member with a majority vote of present members.
- The Secretary shall be in charge of taking meeting minutes, organizing elections, and keeping records of members.
- In the event that the Secretary is unable to complete his/her term, succession shall be filled by a member by majority vote of present members.
- Duties of the secretary during transition shall be the responsibility of the Vice President until a new secretary is appointed.
- The Treasurer shall be in charge of Club accounts and membership dues.
- In the event that the Treasurer is unable to complete his/her term the position shall be filled by a member by majority vote of present members.
- Duties of the Treasurer during transition shall be the responsibility of the Vice President until a new secretary is appointed.
- The Web Weaver will be in charge of designing, maintaining, and updating a club website.
- In the event that the Web Weaver is unable to finish his/her term the position shall be filled by a member with majority vote of present members.
Article IV – Coaches
Section 1: Coach Positions shall consist of Foil Coach, Sabre Coach, and Épée Coach.
Section 2: Coach Positions shall be open to any member of the Club, students and non-students. If the Coach is a student, the Coach must be in good academic standing (Cum. GPA of 2.0 or above).
Section 3: Coaches shall have all the privileges and responsibilities of Officers. Coach selection follows the guidelines of Article IV instead of Article III.
Section 4: Temporary Coach Positions
- Temporary Coaches have all privileges and responsibilities of official Coaches.
- Temporary Coaches may hold their position for only a single semester.
- Temporary Coaches must be in good academic standing (Cum. GPA 2.0 or above).
- Temporary Coaches are under the authority of the (non-Temporary) Coaches.
Section 5: Coaches shall be chosen through the following selection process.
- An open call lasting at least one week for Candidates must happen first.
- After the open call, a series of one practical examinations and one oral examination will be administered to each Candidate.
- The practical examination will consist of each Candidate giving a ten to fifteen minute group lesson on a pre-chosen topic from a list of at least eight topics. The list of group lesson topics must be given to the Candidates at least one week in advance.
- The oral examination will be a private interview conducted by the Coaches. One other Officer may observe the oral examination, but they will not be allowed to speak.
- After all Candidates have completed their examinations, the Coaches will nominate one Candidate for the open position. There shall be no Candidates or other Officers present during the deliberation of the Coaches to choose a nominee.
- Officers who are not Candidates or Coaches must confirm the Nominee by a majority vote, of present Officers. If there exist no such Officers, the Club as a whole (excepting Candidates and Coaches) are considered the Officers below.
- No Candidates will be allowed in the room during the debate and voting of the Officers on a Nominee.
- Coaches will be present during the debate of the Officers on a Nominee, but not during the voting.
- Coaches will not be allowed to talk except to answer direct questions from the Officers.
- The Officers may have the Coaches removed for private debate.
- Coaches will be notified first about the result of a confirmation vote on a Nominee.
- If a Nominee is not confirmed by the Officers, a new Nominee may be chosen by the Coaches from the pool of Candidates without further examinations.
- If a Nominee is confirmed by the Officers, that Nominee will henceforth officially be a Coach. There may be an additional training period designed for the new Coach, at the current Coaches discretion.
- All Coaches must be reconfirmed two weeks previous to the start of Spring Finals by a majority vote, of present Club members.
- If a Coach fails to receive reconfirmation, then they are demoted to Temporary Coach status effective at the start of the following Fall term. Selection of a new Coach must be completed by 5 weeks into the following Fall term.
- Alternatively, if a Coach fails to receive confirmation and does not wish to be a Temporary Coach, the procedure outlined in Section 6 shall apply. If Section 6 is not enacted, the Officers may then appoint a Temporary Coach by majority vote, of present Officers.
Section 6: If a Coach leaves their position before a new Coach is chosen, one or more of the remaining Coaches may take on the additional Coach position with the approval of the other remaining Coaches.
Section 7: If there exist no Coaches, the Officers may appoint by majority vote, Temporary Coaches to fill the positions. If there exist no Coaches, the Officers may also appoint by majority vote, one and only one Coach (not merely a Temporary Coach) and bypass the selection process of Section 5 for this Coach.
Section 8: If a Coach will be absent for only a single semester, they may appoint a Temporary Coach for that semester with majority approval of the Officers. The Coach will return to their position the following semester. If a Coach will be absent for two or more semesters, they must relinquish their position.
Section 9: Coach Responsibilities
- Each Coach is the ultimate authority on their weapon.
- Each Coach is responsible for teaching their weapon.
- Each Coach must attend a Coaching Workshop once a year. Details of a Coaching Workshop are outlined in Section 10.
- This requirement is waived for Coaches who are absent for a single semester.
Section 10: Coaching Workshops
- Any United States Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA) or Académie d'Armes Internationale (AAI) sponsored clinic at any level may count as a Coaching Workshop for that semester.
- Any fencing clinic held at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point that is run by a USFCA or AAI certified coach may count as a Coaching Workshop for that semester.
- A one-day fencing coaching workshop, in which all Club Coaches run and attend, that meet the following requirements may count as a Coaching Workshop for that semester.
- The workshop must be at least four hours in length.
- Each Coach must teach the other Coaches for at least an hour.
Article V - Meetings
Section 1: Meetings shall be held on a weekly basis at the discretion of the club members.
Section 2: In the event that Special meetings are needed the President shall be in charge of setting up the meeting place and time and informing all members as far in advance as possible.
Article VI - Finances
Section 1: Student members shall be required to pay a $10 membership due per year of activity in Fencing Club.
Section 2: Non-Student members shall be required to pay a $25 membership due per year of activity in Fencing Club.
Section 3: The Treasurer shall be in charge of collecting membership fees and submitting them into the Fencing Club account.
Section 4: In the event that Fencing Club is dissolved the following shall occur:
- All current members shall be reimbursed their membership fees.
- All remaining Student Government Association (SGA) funds shall be returned to SGA.
- Any remaining money shall be donated to the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point to be used on Fencing equipment and Fencing Programs.
Article VII - Amendments
Section 1: Constitutional Amendments
- Constitutional amendments shall be declared and voted on at a constitutional meeting declared by the President.
- All members shall be informed of a constitutional amendment meeting in advance as far as possible, with at least one weeks notice.
- Constitutional amendments shall require a 2/3 vote of all present members.
Section 2: The Constitution shall be reviewed and updated at least once every three years.
Article VIII - Ratification
A majority of present members shall be needed to ratify the constitution.
Article VIII - Date of Constitution
Ratified: Semester II 2004-05
Reviewed: Semester II 2007-08
