Mt. Rainier Soccer Association

By-Laws

Revised February 15th 2008

INDEX

Constitution;

Article I. Name��..�2

Article II. Purpose and Boundaries��.....2

Article III. Affiliations��..�2

Article IV. Administration��...2

By-Laws;

Article I. Duties of the association��...��3

Article II. Membership��...��..3

Article III. Team formation within MRSA��...�..3

Article IV. Tryouts��...��.4

Article V. Players playing up��...��4

Article VI. Field use��...��...5

Article VII. Duties of affiliated clubs��...�5

Article VIII. Meetings��...�6

Article IX. Executive board��..6

Article X. Duties of board members��6

Article XI. Voting��..7

Article XII. Quorum��.7

Article XIII. Fiscal year��....��7

Article XIV. Fees��.�..7

Article XV. Committees��7

Article XVI. Registration��.7

Article XVII. By-Law changes��.8

Article XVIII. Undefined areas��8

Article XIX. Appeals��.8

Constitution

Article I. Name

The name of this organization shall be �Mt. Rainier Soccer Association‟ hereinafter referred to as �MRSA‟. This Association is and shall be a non-profit organization.

Article II. Purpose and Boundaries

The purpose of MRSA shall be to Govern and promote soccer for youth players in the area of the affiliated clubs, which is defined as;

 Cascade Foothills Soccer Club, (CFSC), Enumclaw and White River School districts.  Sumner Soccer Club, (SSC), Sumner and Dieringer School districts.  Orting Soccer Club, (OSC), Orting School district.  Mt. Rainier Futball Club, (MRFC), MRSA‟ premier club, all districts. Where particular local conditions exist, this association shall put into effect such laws as are best suited to its particular needs, giving full recognition to, and being in accord with the underlying and basic principles set forth by the Washington State Youth Soccer Association (WSYSA) and District-3. This association is divided into affiliated youth soccer clubs as described above.

Article III. Affiliations

MRSA shall be affiliated with WSYSA and District-3.

Article IV. Administration

MRSA shall be governed by its constitution and by-laws. These by-laws shall conform with and be governed by the by-laws of WSYSA and District-3. The governing authority of MRSA shall be vested in the members of this association as evidenced by the executive board.

BY-LAWS

Article I. Duties of the association

MRSA shall be the governing body to organize, help and represent each of its affiliated clubs and to promote youth soccer within our region.

Article II. Membership

The membership of MRSA shall consist of affiliated clubs.

Article III. Team formation within MRSA

 Teams that were registered in MRSA the previous year and are in good standing have priority to continue as a team within MRSA. Each affiliated club has the right to select coaches and teams that will best represent their club.

 New teams or coaches that have a desire to join MRSA must submit a written request to the MRSA board for approval. This request must include a coaches and team profile, the teams previous club name, the teams level of play and record, the reason for leaving that club and the number of players that will be move with the team. An explanation of how the team plans to obtain additional players shall be included. The application should be mailed to MRSA, PO. Box 937, Enumclaw, WA. 98022. Coaches that desire to start a new team must submit the same applicable data.

 The MRSA board will review each application for completeness and each affiliated club will be contacted for additional review. After the reviews the coach will be contacted with our decision.

 The intent of this is not to diminish the available player pool within MRSA. This is especially critical at the older age groups.

 Only teams registered with MRFC are eligible to attend LPTs. All other Association teams may participate in any level of district play.

Article IV. Tryouts

 When scheduling tryouts at each age group, MRFC‟ schedule shall take precedence, causing the other affiliated clubs to hold tryouts after MRFC has completed theirs at any given age/gender. CFSC, SSC, and OSC are further strongly encouraged to message players in their club the schedule set by MRFC.  The coach of any team that desires a tryout must have a valid risk management card. MRSA strongly suggests that the coach of each team holding tryouts hold a class "E" license.  After the selection and ranking process, the clubs will notify all coaches.  Mailing labels for players within MRSA will be available to all teams included in tryouts. The coach must request these labels from the association registrar.

 Tryouts will begin the first week after state cup finals. Teams may request mid week tryouts but field availability and limited daylight must be considered.  Tryout dates will be assigned as fairly as possible. Conflicts will be decided by giving the preference to the highest-level team.  The length of time per tryout per team will be 2 hours or less.  Same age gender teams may elect to have combined tryouts and the coaches must decide amongst themselves who picks first second and so on. MRSA recommends combined tryouts but it is not a requirement. MRFC has the right to make this decision within their club.

Article V. Players playing up

 MRSA strives to keep the number of players playing up in age to a minimum, especially at the younger ages where the available player pool is large. Players that are �occer young‟but are in the same school grade as most of the team may play up. As teams get older the player pool and the number of available teams shrink. It is the desire of MRSA to have the strongest teams at the Premier level.

 Under no circumstance will MRSA allow any team to purposely solicit players from a younger team.

 It is recommended that no more than 3 players play up on a team that is U12 or younger.

Article VI. Field use

Each soccer club within the boundaries of MRSA has their club boundaries formed by their local school districts; refer to Article II of the Constitution. Teams that are registered within MRSA must practice and play games within their club boundaries. Teams registered to MRFC may practice and have games at any field within MRSA.

At this time there are 3 turf fields within MRSA. Two are located in the Sumner school district and one in the White River school district. These fields are rented to the soccer clubs and the rates are determined by the school districts. The soccer clubs with the turf fields within their boundaries have the first option to rent the fields after the school district needs. After the school district and local clubs have booked their time, the remainder of the time is made available to clubs and organizations from outside the local club. The school district decides which club or organization has the next pick and determines the rental rate. Example; The Sumner school district and the Sumner soccer club have booked their needs for the month of June. A team from Orting would like to rent the turf field on a day that is still open. The Orting team contacts the school district to book their time

and is given the rental rate, which is higher than the local club rate. There are three exceptions to this rule. 1. MRFC pays the local rate. 2. Teams from outside the local club but have 50% of their players that reside within the local school district pay the local rate. 3. During the Association tryouts and the regular season lighted practice, November 1st through December 15th, all MRSA teams will pay the local rate.

Article VII. Duties of affiliated clubs

It shall be the duty of all affiliated clubs to supervise all games of youth soccer involving registered teams, which take place within their club boundaries. Affiliated clubs are responsible for the conduct of their players, parents, coaches and officials and their by-laws shall not conflict with those of MRSA without written consent. Affiliated clubs need to be responsible stewards with respect to all financial transactions. It is highly recommended that each affiliated club have their financial books audited or reviewed on a yearly basis by an independent agency or individual. Affiliated clubs should use a version of QuickBooks for record keeping.

Article VIII. Meetings

Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order. The MRSA annual general meeting (AGM) shall be held in the month of February of each year and shall be scheduled with at least 30 days notice. Other meetings will be held as the need arises and maybe called at the request of any board member, but will be held not less than quarterly

Article IX. Executive Board

 The executive board members of MRSA shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, Registrar, and the President of each affiliated club.

 Board members are elected for a two-year term, the President and Secretary/Treasurer are elected in even numbered years and the Vice President and Registrar are elected in odd numbered years.

 The President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, and Registrar shall not be permitted to hold elected office with any of the affiliated clubs. In the event that there is no one filling one of these positions, the Executive Board may appoint someone from the Board or an elected official of one of the affiliated clubs, but that person may not cast a vote on behalf of that position.

 Election of President of affiliated clubs shall be in accordance with their respective bylaws.

Article X. Duties of board members

 President; It shall be the duty of the President to organize and be the chairman of and preside at all board meetings.  The Vice President is responsible for representing the views of MRSA at District-3 and WSYSA meetings and report to MRSA and shall succeed to the powers of the President in the President‟s absence.  The Secretary/Treasurer shall attend to and be the custodian of all correspondence and record the minutes of all meetings and shall keep an accounting of collections and disbursements and prepare a statement for the annual general meeting and shall also be responsible for the collection and payments of MRSA debts as authorized by the executive board.  The Registrar shall assist the affiliated clubs and shall have the authority to request that the affiliated clubs supply him/her with the club documents and information she/he needs in the pursuance of his/her duties. They shall see that the affiliated clubs prepare the proper forms and furnish them to the association registrar.

Article XI. Voting

 During all board meetings, each Board member shall have one vote.

Article XII. Quorum

A quorum for all meetings shall be 5 members of the Executive Board.

Article XIII. Fiscal year

The fiscal year of this association begins and ends 12:01 am the 15th day of February of each year.

Article XIV. Fees

Fees shall be determined and assessed by the MRSA board after registration is complete. Assessments shall be based on the number of players per affiliated club each year.

Article XV. Committees

Disciplinary committee: There shall be one person that represents the association at District-3 disciplinary meetings. This individual must be an elected official of MRSA or its member clubs. Sharing of this responsibility is acceptable.

Article XVI. Registration

MRSA registration procedures shall adhere to the WSYSA and District-3 rules and procedures.

Article XVII. By-Law changes

Proposed by-law changes must be made in writing to the association secretary 15 days prior to the annual general meeting.

Article XVIII. Undefined areas

Any area not covered by these by-laws shall be governed by the by-laws of District-3 and WSYSA.

Article XIX. Appeals

Any member player, coach, official or parent may appeal any decision by any board within MRSA.

Article XX. Notification

 MRSA shall make available minutes from its meetings on its website

 The date of the AGM shall be posted on the MRSA website as soon as it is available. Where practical, e-mail notification is also encouraged.

END.