MASSA Bylaws
ABOUT MASSA
BY-LAWS of the MID-ATLANTIC INTERSCHOLASTIC SAILING ASSOCIATION
(as approved at the 12/18/04 annual membership meeting of MASSA
and amended at the 1/27/07 and the 1/22/11 annual membership meetings.)
Article I. Name
The name of the organization shall be the Mid-Atlantic Interscholastic Sailing Association (MASSA).
Article II. Objective
The objective of the Association shall be to further the sport of sailing among secondary schools in the Mid-Atlantic district of the Interscholastic Sailing Association (ISSA) and to organize and schedule competition for these schools using standard rules and procedures.
Article III. Membership
Each member school must complete annually an ISSA Membership Form including a complete team roster and pay dues. To be eligible to sail in national qualifying events, the teams must have joined ISSA (and MASSA) and their dues must have been received by the District Director, or his representative, as specified in Article XV of these by-laws.
Article IV. Leagues
Section 1. MASSA shall be organized into the following geographical leagues:
1. Virgina Interscholastic Sailing Association [VISA]: (generally schools from Virginia) 2. Maryland Interscholastic Sailing Association [MDISA] : (generally schools from Maryland, DC area, and Delaware) 3. New York Interscholastic Sailing Association - Northwest: [NYISA-NW] (generally schools from northern and western New York including Canadian schools) 4. New York Interscholastic Sailing Association [NYISA-SE]: (generally schools from Long Island and surrounding area of Southeast New York state) 5. New Jersey Interscholastic Sailing Association [NJISA] (generally schools from New Jersey and eastern PA )
Section 2. The Board of Directors shall assign member schools to the appropriate league.
Article V. Officers
Section 1. The officers shall be Director and Assistant Director.
Section 2. The normal term of all officers but the director shall be one year, beginning at the time they are elected. The term of the director will be as specified by ISSA.
Article VI. Board of Directors
Section 1. The Board of Directors shall consist of the League Directors, the MASSA Directors, and the at-large members as selected by a majority of the League Directors. Voting members of the board solely consist of the league directors, or their appointed representative, with each league limited to one vote.
Section 2. All officers shall be members of the Board of Directors. In addition, the MASSA Board of Directors may select at-large members of the MASSA Board of Directors.
Section 3. Each league shall elect an adult representative to be its League Director who shall be a member of the Board of Directors. The League Director shall act as the chief contact for his or her league on all MASSA matters such as membership and scheduling.
Section 4. All members of the Board of Directors shall serve for a period of one year. The term of members of the Board of Directors will be from the spring season following the Annual Meeting through the fall season prior to the next Annual Meeting, except for the District Director. The District Director will serve a term as specified in the ISSA By-Laws.
Section 5. For a League to have a vote at a meeting of the Board of Directors, the League’s Director, or a representative appointed by that League's Director, must be present at the meeting.
Article VII. Meetings
Section 1. Membership Meetings. District Membership meetings may be held upon petition in writing, by at least five member schools to the Board, who shall determine the time and place of the meeting. Each member school shall have one vote at Membership meetings. Member schools may authorize their League Director to cast their votes.
Section 2. Annual Meetings of the Board of Directors. The Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors shall be held during in December or January. In addition, the District Director may call meetings of the Board of Directors. Meetings may also be called by petition in writing by two members of the Board. The Director must give 7 days notice to all members of the board about the time and place of a meeting. Meetings may be held by conference call.
Section 3. The District Director, if present, shall run all MASSA meetings. A member of the Board of Directors shall be appointed by the Director to run a meeting in the absence of the District Director.
Section 4. Any action that can be taken by the BOD at a meeting of the board can be taken by a majority vote of the voting board members by email in lieu of a meeting.
Article VIII. Elections
Section 1. Election of officers and other members of the Board of Directors (except League Directors), shall be held at the Annual Meeting.
Section 2. A League Director shall be elected by the schools in each league before the Annual Meeting. Each school shall be entitled to one vote. Each league may determine how its election is to be conducted.
Article IX. Dues
Section 1. Member schools shall pay annual dues, in addition to the ISSA dues, the sum to be set by the Board of Directors.
Section 2. To be eligible to sail in a District event that does not require allocations for League attendance, e.g. the fall District Qualifier for the Cressy single-handed Nationals, school dues must be received by the District Director at least one week before the District event or paid directly at the on-site registration for the District event. To be eligible to sail in fall or spring District events for which League allocations must be calculated, school dues must have been received by the District Director, or an official League representative, 10 days prior to that District event. In addition to the dues being received, an application for registration or reregistration must have been completed in the ISSA membership database on the ISSA website.
Section 3. Dues shall be used for the benefit of MASSA in the discretion of the Board of Directors. The Board shall have the right to authorize any officer to expend money in that officer’s discretion.
Article X. Procedural Rules
MASSA shall adopt Procedural Rules to govern its administration and competition. Procedural Rules may be adopted and amended by majority vote of the Board of Directors.
Article XI. Amendments
These By-Laws may be amended by a majority vote of the MASSA Board of Directors at a properly called BOD meeting upon the exact proposed change having been posted on the MASSA web site at least 30 days in advance of such meeting.