(Revision 1.3 – 6/19/2008)

Update in progress, completion expected by June 2016.


ARTICLE 1 NAME

A) This Organization shall be known as the Holliston Youth Soccer Association, Incorporated.

ARTICLE 2 PURPOSE

A) The purpose of the Corporation shall be to provide recreational and competitive soccer for the youth of Holliston and to instill in the youth of the community, the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty and physical fitness.

B) The purpose shall be achieved by providing instruction, safe equipment, adequate field facilities and competitive athletic games. All members of the organization shall bear in mind the development of soccer skills, team play and the molding of future men and women are of equal importance.

ARTICLE 3 ORGANIZATION

A) The Organization shall consist of a President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Legal Counsel, Treasurer, Board of Directors, Voting Members and Players. All positions that have check signing authority are to be bonded positions with the proviso that this will not incur a charge of over $500.00 per position.

B) Officers will hold office for two years.

1. President

The President is the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation and Exofficio member of all Committees. The President shall preside at all Organizational Meetings. He or she shall ensure that all rules, regulations, policies and principles of the Organization are available to the Membership and are observed. In situations where misunderstanding and conflict with regard to interpretation arise, he or she shall, in conjunction with the other Officers, act as mediator. He or she shall serve as head of the Organization and Chairman of the Board of Directors and confer with Organization Officers and others to whom responsibilities have been delegated. At the meeting called for general election of Officers, he or she shall present a report of the Organizations activities during the time that he or she is in office. He or she shall have the authority to sign checks when the Treasurer is unavailable. The President shall ensure that a copy of Robert’s Rule of Order, these Bylaws and the Rules and Regulations of this Association are present at all meetings of the Organization.

2. Vice President

The Vice President shall preside in the absence of the President. He or she shall work with the other Officers and Committee Members and shall also serve as a member of the Board of Directors. He or she shall carry out such other duties and assignments as may be delegated by the President. He or she shall also have the authority to sign checks when the Treasurer and the President are unavailable.

3. Recording Secretary

The Recording Secretary shall record the attendance and the minutes of meetings which shall include a list of attendees, and shall keep all records and correspondence of the Organization. He or she shall carry out other duties and assignments as may be delegated by the President and shall serve as a member of the Board of Directors. He or she shall arrange meetings and notify Officers, all Board Members and/or General Members of the same. He or she is responsible to determine who is eligible to vote, prior to the commencement of each meeting, in accordance with Article 3, Section (C) and Article 4, Section (E), Subsection (7), of the Bylaws. He or she shall provide this information to the presiding Officer at the commencement of each meeting to allow for a role call vote to be taken at the request of each attendee.

4. Legal Counsel

He or she shall provide legal advice to the Organization and shall serve as a member of the Board of Directors.

5. Treasurer

The Treasurer shall be responsible for the Organization’s finances. He or she shall have his or her name on every H.Y.S.A. Account, shall sign checks, dispense Organizational funds, as provided by the Board of Directors and keep proper books of Account. He or she shall provide a Treasurer’s Report at each regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors and General Membership meetings. The Treasurer shall be a member of the Board of Directors.

C) Board of Directors: The Board of Directors shall consist of the five Officers, the immediate Past President and all Coordinators.

D) Voting Members: Voting Members shall include the Board of Directors and the Head Coach of each team or his or her representative. If the Head Coach cannot attend the meeting in person and wishes for another person to represent him/her, the name of the individual and the team that they will represent must be communicated to an Officer prior to the commencement of the meeting. Only one vote is allowed per Board position. Only one vote is allowed per team. If an individual serves on the Board and coaches a team, the Board Member must obtain a representative to vote for them.

E) Players: Players shall include any Holliston resident who has met all registration requirements.

F) Coordinators: Coordinators shall include persons holding said positions as detailed in HYSA’s “Rules and Regulations” and as assigned from time to time.

ARTICLE 4 GOVERNMENT

A) Annual Meeting: The Annual Meeting for the purpose of electing Officers shall be held during January in each year. Notice of said meeting and of said elections shall be sent at least ten days prior to said meeting. Newly elected Officers shall take office on February 1.

B) Elections: The Officers shall be elected by a majority of the voting membership present at the Annual Meeting.

C) Nomination of Officers and Election Procedures

1. A nominating committee of at least five voting members, excluding all present Officers, shall propose a slate of Officers. Said slate will be published ten days prior to the Annual Election Meeting. Additional nominations can be made from the floor and accepted at the Election Meeting from any voting member.

2. The members of the nominating committee shall be elected by the voting members. A Chairman shall be named by the members of the Committee prior to leaving the meeting. No member of the nominating committee shall be named on the proposed slate of Officers, unless he or she resigns from the Committee.

3. Each Officer shall be elected individually by a majority of voting members present.

D) Meetings

1. There shall be at least three meetings of the General Members each year and at least six meetings of the Board of Directors each year. Special meetings of the general members shall be held at the request of ten general members. Special meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held at the request of three Board Members. Such meeting shall be held within seven days of such request. All requests must be directed to the President. The President shall ensure that all members that are eligible to vote are notified of the meeting in advance of the meeting date.

E) Board of Directors’ Responsibilities

1. Review and approve all programs and coaches recommended by the Coordinators.

2. Review and recommend the annual budget as formulated by the Treasurer.

3. Call the Annual Meeting and any General Membership Meetings.

4. Adopt and Amend from time to time Rules and Regulations governing play and procedures in the Organization. A copy of such Rules and Regulations shall be distributed to all Coordinators prior to the start of each season. The age level Coordinators will be responsible for distributing them to their coaches.

5. Find a replacement for vacancies in the Board of Directors or Officers, providing such person shall be approved at the next meeting.

6. Should a coaching vacancy exist after the general membership vote has taken place, the Board of Directors shall immediately select a new coach, in order to keep the continuity of the program.

7. The membership of the Board of Directors are required to attend 50% of the meetings per year in order to maintain their voting status. Absences that are excused by an Officer are exempt.

8. The fiscal year of the Organization shall be from February 1 to January 31.

ARTICLE 5 FINANCE

A) The Board of Directors shall recommend an annual budget to be ratified by the General Membership not later than May 1. No category of this budget shall be exempt without the approval of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE 6 COACHES, REFEREES AND PLAYERS

A) Intramural coaches and all referees shall be approved by the Board of Directors. Travel coaches shall be approved by the Travel Coaches Selection Committee. All coaches and referees shall be subject to the direction and the control of the Board of Directors in matters involving the Policies of the Organization.

B) Upon substantial evidence of the misconduct of any coach, referee, Officer, player or Member of the Board of Directors, the Officers shall notify, in writing, the individual of possible disciplinary action at the earliest opportunity. The individual shall have the opportunity to appear before the Officers, who shall have the authority to recommend to the Board of Directors the suspension of the individual’ s right to further participate as a coach, referee, Officer or member of the Board of Directors. Suspension shall be by a two/thirds vote of the Board of Directors by written ballot, following a hearing at which the individual shall have the right to be present.

ARTICLE 7 TAX-EXEMPT STATUS

A) Said Corporation is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, including for such purposes, the making of distributions to Organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future Federal Tax Code.

B) No part of the net earnings of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributed to its members, Trustees, Officers, or other private persons, except that the Corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in the original Articles of Incorporation filled August 15, 1977. No substantial part of the activities of the Corporation shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the Corporation shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of any statement) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these Articles not permitted to be carried on (A) by a Corporation exempt from Federal Income Tax under Section 501 (C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding Section of any future Federal Tax Code, or (B) by a Corporation, contributions to which are deductible under Section 170 (C) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding Section of any future Federal Tax Code.

C) Upon the dissolution of the Corporation, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding Section of any future Tax Code, or shall be distributed to the Federal Government, or to a State or Local Government, for a public purpose. Any such assets not so disposed of by the Superior Court for the County in which the Principle Officer of the Corporation is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such Organization or Organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

ARTICLE 8 RULES OF ORDER

A) The Rules contained in Robert’ s Rule of Order shall govern the Association in all cases to which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the Bylaws and the Rules and Regulations of the Association.

ARTICLE 9 AMENDMENTS

A) The Bylaws, or any section thereof, may be amended or repealed by a majority vote of the Voting Membership at a General Meeting, provided that notice of such proposed changes shall appear in the notice of the Meeting sent to all voting members at least one week prior to the date the change is to be submitted to vote.

ARTICLE 10 ATHLETE’S RIGHTS

A) Athlete’s Bill of Rights: No member of the Holliston Youth Soccer Association shall deny or threaten to deny any registered player the opportunity to participate in the program due to the player being rostered player on a team outside of the Holliston Youth Soccer Association. The only criteria permissible for determining a player’ s eligibility will be the Registration Requirements.

B) An Athlete who alleges that he or she has been denied the right to participate in the program as a player, shall immediately inform the President, who shall promptly cause an investigation to be made and steps to be taken to resolve the complaint without delay, including instituting a review of misconduct as directed by Article 6 of these Bylaws.

ARTICLE 11 LARRY ANTONOLLI TROPHY

A) The Larry Antonolli Trophy is named, and reserved for the coach of the year. The offering of such an award, including guidelines for nomination and election, shall be defined in the Rules and Regulations.

ARTICLE 12 COMMITTEES

A) The creation of all committees, except emergency committees as declared by the President, shall be communicated in writing to the Voting Membership. Prior to the committee members being selected to allow for individuals to express their interest in being a committee member. The determination of the size of the committee and the selection of the committee members shall rest with the Chairman.

History
March 12, 1993 – Revision 1.2
November 30, 2004 – Reformatted.
June 18, 2008 – Revised 1.3.

Holliston Youth Soccer Association P.O. Box 6003 Holliston, MA 01746