Tennessee Valley Soccer Referee Association Bylaws

Article I.

Name

The name of this Association shall be the Tennessee Valley Soccer Referees’ Association (TVSRA).

Article II.

Object

The object of the Association shall be to encourage and stimulate high quality refereeing in the Knoxville area; to provide a source from which local soccer leagues may obtain referees; to assist in the administering of license exams; to provide training, education, and assessment leagues for the betterment of the game of soccer.

Article III.

Members

Section 1. Any individual interested in soccer and/or soccer refereeing shall be eligible for membership, provided that such individual shall be proposed by one member and seconded by another member of the Association. A majority of members present, subject to the provisions of section VII.4, shall elect individuals to membership. A person so elected shall be declared a member of the Association upon payment of the annual dues for the first year.

Section 2. The annual dues shall be payable within 30 days of the first regular meeting following July 1 of each year. The Treasurer shall notify members that are two months in arrears by written invoice sent by U.S. Mail, and those whose dues are not paid within two months thereafter shall be automatically dropped from membership in the Association.

Article IV.

The Executive Board

Section 1. The elected officers of the Association and the Chairperson of the Referee Review Committee shall constitute the Executive Board.

Section 2. The Executive Board shall have general control of the affairs of the Association between its regular meetings, fix the hour and place of meetings, make recommendations to the Association, and shall perform other duties as specified by these bylaws. The Board shall be subject to the orders of the Association and none of its acts shall conflict with action taken be the Association.

Section 3. The Executive Board shall propose changes to annual dues, refereeing fees, and scheduling fees at the annual meeting in June. These changes must be approved by a majority vote of members present.

Section 4. Meetings of the Executive Board may be called by the President and shall be called upon the request of two members of the Board.

Article V.

Officers

Section 1. The elected officers of the Association shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary-Treasurer, and a Member-at-Large. Appointed officers shall consist of a scheduling Officer, an Instructional Officer, and the Chairman of the Referee Review Committee. These officers shall perform the duties described by these bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Association.

Section 2. At the regular meeting held in May, a Nominating Committee of three members shall be elected by a majority vote of members present. It shall be the duty of this committee to nominate one or more candidates for the offices of President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Member-at-Large. The Nominating Committee shall report at the annual meeting in June. No member shall be nominated or selected without the member’s prior agreement to serve if elected. Before the election at the annual meeting in June, additional nominations from the floor shall be permitted.

Section 3. The offices of President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Member-at-Large shall be elected by majority vote of members present, subject to the provisions of section VII.4, to serve for one year or until their successors are elected, and their term of office shall begin at the close of the annual meeting at which they are elected.

Section 4. No member shall hold more than one elected, appointed, or Referee Review Committee position at a time.

Section 5. The Scheduling Officer shall be appointed by a majority vote of the Executive Board whenever the officer is vacant. The Scheduling Officer shall serve as long as he/she desires or until removed from office by a majority vote of the Executive Board.

Section 6. The Instructional Officer shall be appointed by a majority vote of the board whenever the office is vacant. The Instructional Officer shall serve as long as he/she desires or until removed from office by a majority vote of the Executive Board.

Article VI.

Duties of Officers

Section 1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association and the Executive Board; exercise general supervision over all affairs of the Association and, with the approval of the Executive Board, execute the policies under which the Association is operated; approve in writing all Association expenditures in excess of $100.00; establish committees to carry out special functions and appoint the chairpersons of all committees; have the authority, in the absence of the Secretary-Treasurer, to sign checks for the association; communicate on a regular basis with the soccer leagues served by the Association; and perform such other duties as described by these bylaws and the parliamentary authority adopted by the Association.

Section 2. The Vice-President shall, in the absence of the President, perform all of the President’s duties; assume the Presidency, should the President vacate office prior to the completion of the term; with the approval of the Executive Board, handle the duties of any vacant Position until it is filled; coordinate education and training programs for regular meetings of the Association; coordinate referee assessments; call all referees assigned to Division III (coed) games prior to the game to confirm the assignment; and perform such other duties as described by these bylaws and the parliamentary authority adopted by the Association.

Section 3. The Secretary-Treasurer shall receive and safeguard all documents of the Association; make available to the Association members the records of regular meetings; keep records of Executive Board meetings, and have custody of these records; serve notice of meetings and their agenda, and handle other correspondence at the direction of the President; keep records of all financial transactions of the Association, have custody of these records, and hold these records open for inspection; give receipts for all monies received, and deposit all monies received in the bank designated by the Association to the name of “Tennessee Valley Soccer Referees’ Association”; initiate all disbursement and sign checks; render a written account of the financial status to the Association at the direction of the President; preside over meetings when both the President and Vice-President are absent; submit a statement to the appropriate leagues for services performed by the Association referees; issue payment to Association referees following receipt of league payment for services; and perform such other duties as described by these bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Association.

Section 4. The Member-at-Large shall be elected from those members not serving as either elected or appointed officers, or serving as members of the Referee Review Committee. The duties of the Member-at-Large shall be to assist the other officers in managing overall affairs of the Association, to attend all meetings of the Executive Board, and to provide a fifth vote for all Executive Committee actions.

Section 5. The Scheduling officer shall, prior to the beginning of each season, request from all members their availability to serve as referees during the upcoming season; request game schedules from area leagues for which the Association referees are desired; assign Association referees to officiate these games; provide Association referees with a schedule of games to which they have been assigned, and be responsible for all reassignments of referees. The Scheduling Officer shall also perform such other duties as described by these bylaws.

Section 6. The Instructional Officer shall be responsible for the yearly instructional program of the Association and shall operate under the overall direction of the Vice-President. The Instructional Officer shall either present or coordinate the presentation of an instructional session at each meeting, unless informed by the Vice-President that an instructional session will not be on the meeting agenda. The Instructional Officer will ensure that the instructional topics and content are of such quality and depth to be acceptable as in-service training for the continuing education requirements of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association (TSSAA). The Instructional Officer shall coordinate for the Tennessee State Soccer Association (TSSA, the state affiliate for the USSF) and with the supervision of officials for the TSSAA. Coordination shall be to the extent necessary to ensure acceptance of the instruction program by the respective organizations. All instructional sessions intended to provide in-service training for USSF referees must be presented by instructors currently registered with the USSF or person approved by the SDI.

Article VII.

Meetings

Section 1. The regular meeting of the Association shall be held on the third Monday of each month from January to November inclusive unless otherwise ordered by the Association or by the Executive Board.

Section 2. The regular meeting in June shall be known as the annual meeting and shall be for the purpose of electing officers, receiving reports of officers and committees, and for any other business that may arise.

Section 3. Special meetings may be called by the President or by the Executive Board and shall be called upon the written request of ten members of the Association. The purpose of the meeting shall be stated in the call. Except in the case of emergency, at least three days notice shall be given.

Section 4. All votes, unless otherwise noted in these bylaws, shall be by majority vote of the members present, provided a quorum exists. Ten members of the Association shall constitute a quorum.

Article VIII.

Committees

Section 1. A permanent Referee Review Committee composed of three members shall be nominated by the Executive Board and approved by a majority vote of members present, subject to the provisions of section VII.4, at a regular meeting. The President shall designate a chairperson from among the three elected members.

The purpose of the Committee shall be to

(1) discipline members that miss game assignments,

(2) review all cases of alleged unprofessional conduct by members of the Association,

(3) review allegations of inappropriate conduct by leagues that the Association serves, and

(4) investigate other unusual circumstances, as requested by the Executive Board.

The Committee shall report its findings and recommendations to the Executive Board for its action. The Committee shall be responsible for conducting a thorough investigation, for the determination of mitigating circumstances, if any, and for imposing those penalties agreed to by the membership. No disciplinary actions shall be taken without first contacting the member involved. A copy of the Referee Review Committee report shall be given to the individual or league under review. The report shall include either a summary of the member’s description of the situation or a written description submitted by the member.

Association members shall have the right to appeal proposed disciplinary actions to the Executive Board and to the membership, in that order. In cases involving allegations of unprofessional conduct by TVSRA members, the member shall have the right to attend the Referee Review Committee meeting and be represented by Legal Counsel when cases of alleged unprofessional conduct by said member are heard. In the event a civil or tort legal action is likely to be brought against a member of the Association resulting from actions by the member while serving as a referee or other game official, the Referee Review Committee shall request guidance from the membership regarding whether to delay the investigation and judgment of said member until the civil action has been settled or resolved.

The Chairperson of the Referee Committee shall report on missed assignments and review existing disciplinary penalties at the June meeting. Any proposed changes to those penalties shall be approved by a majority vote of the members present, subject to the provisions of section VII.4.

Section 2. Such other committees, standing or special, shall be appointed by the President as the Association or Executive Board shall form time to time deem necessary to carry on the work of the Association.

Article IX.

Parliamentary Authority

The rules contained in the current edition of “Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised” shall govern the Association in all cases to which they are applicable and regarding which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the Association may adopt.

Article X.

Amendment of Bylaws

These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Association by a two-thirds vote of members present, subject to the previsions of section VII.4, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing at the previous regular meeting.