CAROLINA BASSERS
CHAPTER # 4390
Final for 2010
(Changes are in red text)
SECTION 1: NAME
This chapter shall be called
the Carolina Bassers of Harnett County
SECTION 2: PURPOSE
To stimulate public awareness
of bass fishing as a major sport. To
offer our state conservation department our organized morale and political
support and encouragement. To promote
full adherence to all conservation codes and to demand adequate water
standards. To detect and report polluters
and call public and political attention to their crime. To improve our skill as bass anglers through
a fellowship of friendly exchange of expert bass catching techniques and ideas
and to promote and encourage youth fishing, and a love for this great recreation. To function as a dynamic and effective link
with other chapters of the state FLW Chapter Federation, embracing their
principles and purposes of the FLW and TBF.
SECTION 1: REQUIREMENTS FOR AFFILIATION
B.
Update FLW and TBF with chapter
membership roster once a year at the mandatory Federation annual meeting.
D.
Maintain 100% FLW
membership
E.
Support state federation and conservation
youth programs. Any additional
requirements that the state federation establishes for chapters, such as
membership dues, attendance at meetings, etc., would be necessary in order for
the chapter to participate in the state federation qualifying tournaments, and
any other federation sponsored tournaments or events.
SECTION 1: NUMBER OF MEMBERS
The chapter shall begin with
and maintain at least six members.
SECTION 2: REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP
A.
Voluntarily expresses a genuine interest
in membership and attend at least 1 club meeting.
B.
Be recommended by one member at a regular
monthly meeting.
C.
Be a current member of FLW with a card
expiration date through the year you will be joining. (Example: If you join in Oct 08 for the 2009 season,
your card must be good through Dec 09.)
D.
Membership dues for full membership and
rights are $50.00 annually if paid prior to or at the regular club meeting held
in October. Dues for full membership
thereafter are $55.00.
E.
A Xeroxed copy of your valid FLW card
(front and back) is required when turning in membership paperwork. Payment and paperwork can not be processed
without this.
F.
Individuals that sign up during the year
will be entitled to full membership into the Federation.
G.
Those under the age of 18 must have a parent
or guardian in the club as an active full member. (See Jr. Division By-Laws for
membership details)
SECTION
3: REMOVAL OF MEMBERSHIP
A.
Any action that would reflect dishonor
and disgrace on the chapter.
B.
Failure to abide by the rules and by-laws
of the chapter.
C.
By a 2/3 majority vote of those present
at the next meeting after the motion has been made to remove a member and
seconded.
ARTICLE IV
Officers,
Elections, and Eligibility
SECTION
1: OFFICERS
The
officers of the chapter shall consist of:
A.
PRESIDENT: The primary function of the president is to
assure proper and fair enforcement of the club’s constitution. Presides over all meetings and directs all
official business. Appoints all
committee members and becomes an ex officio member of all committees. Also the newly elected president will appoint
2 financial auditors during their term of office. Supervises all club
functions. Ensures that each club
function is run properly and assists the activity committee chairperson with
any problems that may arise. The
president is governing official over any situation that may occur that is not
covered by the club constitution. Runs
meetings according to parliamentary procedures so that business can be
accomplished in as short a time as possible.
Must attend or appoint a member to be present at each regional meeting.
B.
VICE PRESIDENT: The primary function of the vice president is
to assist the president in any function.
Acts as program chairperson and presides in the absence of the
president. This office automatically
becomes a member of the tournament committee.
C.
SECRETARY: The secretary is an elected official whose
primary duty will be to assure that complete and legible minutes are kept of
all meetings. Maintains and keeps
accurate minutes of all regular and special meetings as called for by the
chapter president. Maintain regular
liaison between the chapter and FLW. The
prior meeting’s minutes will be read at each meeting for the club’s
approval. The secretary will also handle
all correspondence with FLW and TBF assuring that all rosters are up-to-date,
keep up-to-date the constitution with amendments and keep the president abreast
of all regional news as they come through the mail. Even though it is not required, it is
advisable for the secretary to attend regional meetings to take minutes of
their proceedings. This will be a
requirement if the president and vice president are unable to attend. Only one representative from a club is
allowed a vote, but the secretary can voice his/her opinion if accompanied by
the president or vice president. The
secretary will maintain a current and previous year score sheet standing of all
members.
D.
TREASURER: Collects and disburses all club moneys. The treasurer is responsible for ensuring
that all funds are collected and deposited in a bank account established by the
club or established by the treasurer if approved by the club. The treasurer will keep a record of all
income and expenses in a legible and easy to read ledger with a current total
balance. The treasurer will report to
the club at each meeting. The report
will include all transactions that have occurred from the last report and the
ending account balance. The treasurer
will act as the club’s collection agency for all collections. The treasurer can appoint a tournament
committee member to assist in collecting tournament fees. No one will be added to the club roster or be
given any tournament points until fees are collected. The treasurer will be responsible for the
purchasing of all tournament and award trophies either personally or through an
appointed assistant. Trophies and
plaques will be purchased from club sponsors if applicable. The treasurer will also make yearly payments
in January and retain receipts for the rent we pay to utilize the
E. YOUTH DIRECTOR:
The primary function of the youth director is to oversee and maintain
all aspects of the Jr. Division’s activities.
They will assist the Jr. Division president in presiding over all
meetings, supervise all Jr. Club functions and ensure that each function is run
properly. Maintain all correspondence
with N.C. Federation and BASS or FLW on any youth related activities. Keep Jr. Division By-Laws current and mediate
any problems with them.
F. TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR: The tournament director is
responsible for ensuring that all tournaments are carried out according to
tournament rules and club by-laws. The members of the tournament committee
will be assembled during the October meeting. This committee will be a
minimum of three individuals, besides the president and vice president who
automatically become members once elected. Responsibilities of the tournament
director and committee shall consist of:
1. Developing a tournament schedule that will be
presented to the club at the November meeting for approval. The approval process shall consist of a simple
majority vote by the club members present at the meeting. Should the selected lake/date not meet with
approval, alternate lakes/dates will be chosen and voted on. (Exception: The April tournament date will be left open
to be scheduled a week prior, and at the same lake the regional tournament is
going to be held at.)
2. Through the year, the committee will be responsible
for ensuring that the lakes are suitable for tournaments (such as lake levels,
etc…) and choosing adequate landing sites.
(See Article VI, Section 1,
3. If there is a protest at a particular tournament, the
committee will be the ones responsible for determining a solution and making a
ruling. All questions concerning a
tournament past, present, or future, at a regular monthly meeting, will be
directed to the Tournament Director who will be responsible to answer them or
acquire an answer by the next meeting.
4. It will also be the responsibility of the committee to
assist in assuring that each individual has a partner for each tournament. It will be the responsibility of each
individual to EXHAUST
SECTION
2: TERM OF OFFICE
The
term of office for all officers and committees is for one year and shall begin
at the November meeting and conclude at the following October meeting.
SECTION
3: ELIGIBILITY FOR HOLDING OFFICE
A.
Has been a member for at least six
months.
B.
Have attended a majority of the Chapter
meeting and a majority of all Chapter functions.
C.
Have shown an active interest in all
chapter functions.
SECTION
4: ELECTIONS
The
elections of officers will be held in October of each year. Elections shall be by simple majority of
members present. Election for each
officer shall be held separately in the order listed in Article IV, Section 1.
SECTION
5: ELIGIBILITY OF VOTE
Each
full member is entitled to one vote.
Proxy votes are not permitted.
ARTICLE V
Appointed
Officials
The
president will appoint the following officials each year. Each person will serve for one year or until
a new official is appointed. The
president will appoint members with concurrence of the vice president and
secretary.
A.
AUDIT COMMITTEE: A total of two (2) members whose purpose is
to verify all tournament scores for accuracy and audit the club finances.
B.
REEL KIDS CASTING FOR COLLEGE
DIRECTOR: The Reel Kids Casting for
College director will be responsible for all Reel Kids Casting for College
events. He will be empowered to select
club members to help him with these events.
C.
SCOREKEEPER: The scorekeeper is responsible for keeping
angler point standings. Ensures the
standings are accurate and published as soon as possible. The scorekeeper will keep records on the
largest fish caught at each tournament, smallest creel, largest creel,
attendance, or any other statistics that is of importance for end of year
publication. The scorekeeper will make
the score sheet in three copies at the tournament, one for the secretary and
one for the tournament director.
D. ARCHIVES DIRECTOR:
The Archives Director is responsible for maintaining the
“Scrapbook”. The Scrapbook will contain
a record of each club tournament and activity through pictures, news clippings
and personal comments.
E.
PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR
ARTICLE VI
Tournament
Rules and Youth Division Guidelines
SECTION
1: TOURNAMENT RULES
The
tournament committee sets forth the following rules and regulations and will be
responsible for the interpretation of them.
A.
PARTICIPATION: Requirement for participation in the club’s
tournament season is for the new member to attend at least one meeting prior to
actual tournament participation.
Previous members from the prior season are exempt from the meeting
requirement; however, they must turn in all FLW and membership paperwork when
paying their membership dues. Tournaments are open to Carolina Bassers Bass
Club members only, with the exception of the following:
A club member in good standing may have a total of one youth guest (17 or
under) a year. the youth will not be
eligible for points or trophies. The
youth cannot operate gas or electric motors.
(Emergency Only).
B.
TOURNAMENT CATEGORIES: Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass and Spotted
Bass.
C.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: Tournaments will normally be held regardless
of weather conditions. The tournament
director reserves the right to change starting times, dates, and/or locations
due to unforeseen circumstances that are beyond the control of the club. If possible, when voting for an alternative
lake due to unforeseen circumstances, the club will round table where they
would like to fish. The president will
then call for a vote on all the places selected. The top 2 vote getters will be voted on again
to get a majority vote by the club. Club
tournament dates will be changed if they fall on the same date as the Southern
Regional or State tournament. One
non-points tournament will be scheduled during the tournament season. This non-points tournament will be a
two-person team tournament, ten fish total limit, highest combined weight wins.
D.
BOATS
E.
TACKLE
F.
LATE PENALTY: There will be a penalty of 10 ounces of the
total for each (one) minute a contestant is late checking in at the close of
the tournament day. Any member who fails
to check in within 10 minutes after the close of the day will not be allowed to
weigh in. Individuals arriving to the
tournament site late will have two hours from the scheduled start time, to find
any club member and pay their entry fees.
No fishing will be done during this period of searching for a club
member. Once a club member has been
located, it will be the responsibility of the club member to collect the entry
fees, check live wells and document the time he/she was contacted. EXAMPLE:
If a tournament is scheduled to start at 7:00 am and a member arrives at
the site at 8:30 am, he/she has 30 minutes to locate a club member. If the late arrival has failed to locate a
club member within the time limited, he/she will not be credited for or allowed
to weigh in that tournament.
G.
SCORING:
The scoring year will begin at the November meeting for the following
year. Club members will receive 5 points
for each meeting they attend. Tournament
scores will be based on the total weight in accordance with state laws. Only bass listed in Section 1 Sub-Section B will
be weighed. Where legal, Two (2) bass
can be a minimum of ten inches; the remainder must be a minimum of 14
inches. Angler will receive points in
accordance with the FLW Tour scoring system. Points will start with the first place
position receiving 75 points and will decrease 1 point for each position below
first place. Tournament anglers not weighing in a fish
will receive 25 points for tournament participation. Any angler bringing
more than five fish to the weigh-in site will have the entire weight
disqualified from the tournament and will receive minimum points allowed for
participation. Weigh-in slips will be
given to each member weighing in fish.
It is the responsibility of the member to ensure posted website score is
accurate. Member has 30 days from the
time of website posting to contact Tournament Director to contest inaccurate
scores.
H.
TIES:
Only 5 places/trophies will be paid; if a tie occurs the payout/trophy
will be comprised of the tying position and the next place. Tournament
Sponsored cash/prizes will be divided at the discretion of the president and
tournament director.
I.
PENALTY:
Violation of any rules may be cause for disqualification for the
tournament and/or expulsion from the club.
J.
PROTESTS:
Protests must be made within 30 minutes after the tournament scales have
been closed. Protests must be in writing,
signed, and given to tournament director or president.
K.
ADVANCE FEES: If any member pays tournament fees in advance
and fails to show up, they forfeit their fees to the club. The only exception to this rule would be in
personal or family emergencies or any unforeseen circumstances in which case
the president and or tournament committee decides the validity of the
emergency.
L.
BLAST OFF: Blast off will by numbers drawn
previously. The numbers drawn will start
with the members in attendance at the meeting being drawn first (per the
sign-in roster). After all attendees are
drawn then the non-attendees (remaining club members in good standing) will be
drawn.
M. PAIRINGS:
Participants may choose their own partners. Non-boaters should make sure
they have a partner for upcoming tournaments.
If required, Tournament Director will pair a
non-boater with a boater in the following method. Tournament Director will draw boater names
until a boater is found to take the unpaired non-boater.
N.
DEAD FISH PENALTY: Penalties for dead fish will coincide with
FLW tournament rules in effect at the beginning of the tournament season.
O.
FEES:
Tournament fees will be $35.00 per tournament and the member must
indicate that he is in the “Big Bass Pot” (Optional - $5.00). The distribution
will be $7.00 for first, $6.00 for second, $5.00 for third, $4.00 for fourth,
and $3.00 for fifth for each entry paid.
The remaining $10.00 will be placed in the chapter treasury.
P.
TOURNAMENT FISH: All fish caught during a tournament becomes
the property of the tournament director except for trophy bass.
Q.
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES: Alcoholic beverages are not allowed during
any club function. This includes tournaments, tournament weigh-ins, and club
sponsored events and fundraisers.
R.
SHARING INFORMATION: To help improve the
bass angling skills of our club members, the top five from each tournament will
describe their tactics and pattern of catching their winning bag. Specific location does not need to be
mentioned, but type of structure, general location (i.e. road bed, points, up
river, lower lake, etc…) and most productive lure/color will be shared with the
rest of the club members at the following meeting.
SECTION
2: YOUTH DIVISION GUIDELINES
The Carolina Bassers will support and maintain a Jr.
Division for the purpose of bringing young boys and girls into our club and
sport. We will also encourage them to
learn to fish and be an active member with fishing clubs in the future.
ARTICLE VII
Regional
Tournament Qualifying
SECTION
1: TEAMS
The
club will send two teams when financially able.
The first team will consist of places 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The 13th place finisher will be
the “7th person” for this team.
The second team will consist of places 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. The 14th place finisher will be
the “7th person” for this team.
Boater preference will be given to the top 6 finishers in the club;
however, if the 4th, 5th, or 6th place
finisher chooses to be a boater they will move down to the second team and give
up their rights and privileges of being on the first team. (See Section 2: Expenses Covered) If a lower place finisher decides to be
non-boater they will move up to the first team and gain the rights and
privileges of that position. Team
members that have qualified to fish this event have until the February meeting
to commit to this tournament. Once
committed, if any member drops out, any expenses incurred by the club will be
reimbursed from the member.
SECTION
2: EXPENSES COVERED
A.
The first team’s entry fee and motel
rooms are to be paid by the club if money is available. The club pays all 7th men’s motel rooms. The second team’s entry and motel will be
paid if the club has the resources to do so.
If there is not enough money to cover the expenses of the second team,
they will be asked to pay any remaining balance they incur.
B.
Should a club member make it to the state
level tournament and resources are available, the club will pay $100 in
expenses for that person.
ARTICLE VIII
Awards
Presented
A.
The CHARLES R. RHODES AWARD – “MEMBER OF
THE YEAR”: This award plaque will be
given in memory of Charles R. Rhodes.
The award will be given to the member who has demonstrated the most
enthusiasm and participation in club tournaments, functions, and special
projects. The member of the year will be
selected by the executive committee and presented by the president at the “End
of Year Awards Banquet.” Should there be
a tie for this award, then both members will receive the award.
B. The BILL PIERCE AWARD – “MOST IMPROVED
FISHERMAN”: This award plaque will be
given in memory of Bill Pierce. The
award will be given to the member who has shown most improvement as calculated
by the scorekeeper. The most improved
fisherman will be determined by the following:
1. Participant must have fished a minimum of 50% of the
tournaments for both this year and previous year.
2. Total all points earned at the tournaments including
the 25 bonus points for being a participant.
Do not use meeting points.
3. Then average out the points for each tournament by
taking the total points and dividing them by the number of tournaments fished
that year.
4. After doing this for both years, choose the person
whose average points increased the most.
C.
END OF YEAR TROPHIES: The club presents to the top six finishers
and the top youth trophies at the year-end Banquet. The first place finisher will receive a check
for $100.00 and the “Angler of the Year” club jacket. The second place finisher will receive a check
for $50.00 and the third place finisher will received a check for $25.00.
D.
BIG BASS AWARD: A plaque will be given to the member who
caught the biggest bass during the tournament year.
E.
PRESIDENT’S AWARD: The president will receive a plaque presented
by the treasurer.
ARTICLE IX
Interpretation,
Protests, and Disagreements
All
interpretations, protests, and disagreements will be brought before the
executive committee for a ruling, whose decision is final. This executive body will handle all the above
except in cases involving tournament rules and procedures, which lies under the
tournament committee’s jurisdiction (Article
IV, Section 1,
ARTICLE X
By-Law Changes
All
By-Law change proposals will be brought before the club during the September
meeting for discussion and voted on during the October meeting. This will ensure new By-Law changes adopted
will be in effect for the coming season.
This is the only time that the club By-Laws can be changed.