THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UMASS FENCING TEAM


ARTICLE I: NAME OF CLUB

The name of this club shall be the University of Massachusetts Fencing Team also known as the UMass Fencing Team.


ATRICLE II: PURPOSE AND TEAM MISSION STATEMENT

The purpose of the team is to perpetually ensure an excellent quality program of fencing preparation and competition at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and to support and promote the sport of fencing in general.

  1. The team will pursue this goal by teaching teamwork among its members.

  2. The team will pursue this goal by never ceasing to become more successful in terms of victories on the strip and in personal fulfillment.

  3. The team will pursue this goal by always striving to grow in numbers.


ATRICLE III: MEMBERSHIP

  1. FULL MEMBERS: Must be undergraduates at the University of Massachusetts. They must have successfully completed a novice semester of fencing under the novice coach. They must have dues paid in full. Full members shall be called varsity members of the UMass Fencing team. In order to have a meeting in which a vote or election may occur a quorum of the majority of full membership fencers must be present.

  2. NOVICE MEMBERS: Must be undergraduates at the University of Massachusetts. They must have paid dues in full.

  3. ASSOCIATE MEMBERS: Any person wishing associate membership in the UMass Fencing Team may receive such membership pending approval of the head coach upon payment of the associate membership fee. Associate members may not vote on team decisions and may not fence at the intercollegiate level. Associate members may, with team permission, wear team colors at USFA events.

  4. SUSPENSION: Any team member, full, novice or associate, may have his or her voting rights and/or membership suspended indefinitely for failure to attend practice, failure to pay dues or upon decision of the head coach and the majority of the team members.

  5. EXPULSION: Any person may be permanently barred from participation or attendance in any UMass Fencing Team activity. This expulsion will be based on unsafe behavior or repeated contempt for rules and regulations of the UMass Fencing Team. Expulsion shall be decided upon by majority of the coaching staff.

  6. NON-DISCRIMINATION CLAUSE: No person shall be denied acceptance to the team based on gender, race, ethinicity or sexuality.


ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS

The officers of the team shall be the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. All officers must be undergraduates at the University of Massachusetts and are the elected body of the team whom decided on the general direction of the team and will take and the jobs listed below. In addition it is with the Treasurer and on other Officer to have signature responsibility.

  1. ELECTIONS: There will be elections 1 month before the end of the spring semester to elect the new officers. They will start their terms on the first week after elections. Nominations will be accepted for running for an office during the mandatory Tuesday practice one week before the elections so that all voting members may know who is running. It takes 3.4th majority vote to elect an officer.


  1. PRESIDENT: The duties of the President shall be to ensure the smooth operation of the team’s training activities, fundraising, coaching, budget, alumni, meets, etc. The President shall be responsible for the welfare of the team as a whole and shall specifically act as a supervisor of all team activities. The President is the liaison with Athletics, Intramurals, SGA, SAO, GPE and the Alumni Association. The President shall also be the UMass Fencing Team liaison to the Friends of UMass Fencing organization.

The President shall assist the coaching staff in any way possible to ensure the smooth and victorious operation of the UMass Fencing team.


  1. VICE PRESIDENT: The Vice President must same the role of president if the President is unreachable or unavailable. Specifically, the primary role of the Vice President is fundraising. The vice president is responsible for obtaining vendors for the Campus Center concourse. The Vice President must ensure the compliance with dues and fundraising responsibilities by the novice, varsity and associate members.

The Vice President must also submit a budgetary report to the Office of Intramurals and Sports Teams in Boyden Gym. This must be dune prior to April 25th of the spring semester. During September it is the responsibility of the vice president to ensure that all prior paperwork for the Intramurals and Sports Teams Office has been completed by September 20th. This must be done to ensure the procurement of vital athletics matching funding.

It is with the Vice President that the final responsibility for the fiscal stability of the team lies. It is further the duty of the vice president to know the duties of Secretary and to be sure that the secretary continually fulfills his or hers responsibility.


  1. SECRETARY: It is the obligation of the team secretary to be an administrative assistant to the coach and/or other officers. The Secretary shall also be the Alumni Coordinator. The secretary thereby is responsible for the organization of the semi-annual Friends of UMass Fencing Picnics as well as the Semi-annual newsletter. The Secretary is also responsible for the “Christmas” card campaign.

It is also the responsibility of the Secretary to understand and to know the duties of the officer of Treasurer and to see that his duties are being done in a timely manner.


  1. TREASURER: It is the responsibility of the treasurer to spend team funds in a manner consistent with the wishes of the coaching staff as well as the stated goals of the team. It is the responsibility of the treasurer to deposit all collected team money in a timely manner.

It is further the responsibility of the treasurer to assist the Vice President in matters of fundraising when such assistance is deemed necessary by the Vice President, coach, or other responsible party.

The Treasurer is also responsible for the understanding the duties of vice president. The Treasurer must see that the Vice President id performing all his or her duties in a timely manner.


ARTICLE V: OTHER TEAM POSITIONS

  1. WEAPONS CAPTAINS: One captain shall be appointed per squad; Men’s and Women’s Foil, Epee, and Sabre. Weapon Captains, while not officers act as advisors to the coaching staff. They are responsible for the attendance of their squads and providing information to those members who can not attend practice, it is the weapons captain that is ultimately responsible for their squad knowing when and where meets are to be held. It is also the responsibility of the Weapons Captains to make sure that sufficient weapons and equipment are available for every member of their squad.

  2. ALUMNI PRESIDENT: One alumnus of the UMass Fencing Team, voted upon by all interested alumni and agreed upon by team officers shall be known as President of UMass Fencing Alumni Association. This person will be responsible for organizing petitions on behalf of the alumni and the team. He or she will be responsible for voicing comments and criticisms from the alumni to the fencing team President and or coach.

  3. EQUIPMENT MANAGER: One person, appointed by the officers, is responsible for monitoring the equipment in the armory. He/she maintains and enforces rules of the armory to ensure that equipment is properly signed out and returned. This position exists to ensure that equipment is handled properly and returned accordingly. It prevents loss of team equipment.


ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS

Meetings are held five times a week. Monday 4:00pm-6:00pm, Tuesday 6:30pm-10:00pm, Thursday 7:00pm-10:00pm, and Friday 6:0pm-10:00pm. Tuesdays at 6:30 there will be a half an hour time slot available for the officers to communicate the going ons of team affairs and meets with the rest of the team.


ARTICLE VII: OFFICER RECALL

Any officer may be recalled by a 2/3rd majority vote of the varsity members. A recall must be publicly announced at a team meeting at least one week prior to the vote. The officer recalled must be provided reasonable and proper speaking time before the assembled team prior to the recall.


ATRICLE VIII: THE CONSTITUTION

  1. RATIFICATION: this constitution may be ratified and commence to be in effect with a majority vote.

  2. AMENEMENTS: this constitution may be amended by a majority vote by all full members.


ARTICLE IX: DUES

  1. Competitive, Novice or Full Membership Dues shall be equal $100.00 dollars each semester. It is also required that they be currents members of the United States Fencing Association.

  2. Associate Membership dues shall be equal to $65.00 each semester.