ARTICLE I: NAME

1. The organization shall be called the Dauphin Soccer Association, hereinafter referred to as the Association, or DSA.

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the Association is to promote amateur soccer for players aged Kindergarten through Middle School, within the City and RM of Dauphin area, and to serve as the official regulatory and operating body at the minor soccer level.

To achieve its stated purpose the Association enacts:
i. This Constitution
ii. The Dauphin Soccer Association Code of Conduct
iii. The Dauphin Soccer Association Operating Bylaws

The Association claims the right to receive, hold, and use all money and other assets subscribed to it acquired in any other way, in a not for profit fashion.

The Association by virtue of its regulatory capacity, and through the auspices of the Manitoba Soccer Association and Canadian Soccer Association, facilitates registered players within its jurisdiction to participate in Provincial, Inter-provincial, and National competitions.

ARTICLE III: AFFILIATION

The Association is affiliated through the Manitoba Soccer Association (M.S.A.) with the Canadian Soccer Association (C.S.A.). In general, DSA concurs with the rules and regulations of these associations.

The Association may seek affiliation with other organizations that have similar purposes.

Affiliation with another organization, and any subsequent changes to the terms of such an agreement, shall require a two-thirds majority vote cast at a general meeting for which proper notice of motion has been given.

ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP

Full membership shall be obtained as follows:
i. Any parent or legal guardian of a fully registered soccer player, or a participant in the DSA program (i.e. coach, volunteer, official) meeting the age or majority shall be a voting member of the Association.
ii. Other persons may, by resolution of the Directors, become a voting member of the Association. This may include team officials or other guardians, but is not limited to these groups.
iii. Membership shall run from the date of player registration, to the date of player registration in the following year.

A member may be expelled by the Directors, by resolution passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of those Directors, at a meeting, providing:
iv. The member is given notice in writing to his last known address at least seven days prior to the meeting at which the resolution is presented.
v. The member is given the opportunity to be represented at that meeting.
vi. The member is notified within seven days that the membership is terminated by resolution.

ARTICLE V: BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors, herein referred to as the Board, shall consist of seven positions, to be determined by and elected from the general membership at the Annual General Meeting. The coordinator shall be an ex-officio member of the Board.

The Board shall be the governing body of the Association. The Board shall govern in a fashion consistent with the Purpose and Objectives of the Association.
i. Board members serve for a one-year term.
ii. Elections are held at the Annual General Meeting, which is held within three months after the completion of the fall season.
iii. Board positions include:
· President
· Past-President
· Vice-President (Equipment)
· Secretary/Treasurer
· Field Preparation Coordinator
· Registration Coordinator
· Public Relations Liaison
iv. Vacant Board positions may be filled by the Board

A simple majority (50% +1) of all members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.

Members of the Board must meet at least four times per year. Any member missing three consecutive meetings may be required to vacate their position upon majority vote of the Board.

Seven days written notice of a meeting shall be given to all Board members.

The Board of Directors may (as required) appoint a Registrar, Referee-In-Chief and a Disciplinarian to sit as members for a one-year term.

v. Registrar
· The Registrar shall be responsible for all registrations and transfers of players by league and/or age groups, and shall keep a complete and up to date record of same. This information may be available on written request from any member of the Association. All registrations shall be on the appropriate forms provided for youth players by the Dauphin Soccer Association. The Registrar shall ensure that all copies are forwarded to the proper parties as soon as conveniently possible after receipt of same.

vi. Disciplinarian
· The Disciplinarian shall deal with all cases of misconduct of players, team officials and members appearing on a Referee’s report in respect of a game played under the auspices of the Association.
a. All competitions sponsored by Dauphin Soccer Association.
b. All matches involving extra-territorial teams, i.e. teams from outside the Province of Manitoba, and DSA teams.
c. All matches involving teams from within or outside the Province of Manitoba and DSA teams.

The Disciplinarian shall advise in writing all individuals and teams
involved, and the Secretary of the Association, of the action taken by him/her in all cases of misconduct, coming under his/her jurisdiction.

He/she may also assume duties of Referee’s examiner and Assessor as designated by M.S.A., if in the opinion of the Executive Committee and M.S.A. he/she is qualified to do so.

iii. Referee-In-Chief
The Referee-In-Chief shall be responsible for the identification, training and supervision of all referees within the DSA. To this end, the Referee-In-Chief will assist the executive in determining training requirements and certifications of referees, and will be responsible for evaluation of all referees employed by the DSA.

The Board may appoint committees and the chairperson thereof. The President will be an ex-officio member of all committees, shall have the general supervision and direction of the other officers and the employees of the Association, and shall see that their duties are properly performed.

ARTICLE VI: OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

There shall be four elected officers, these being, the President, the Vice-president (Equipment), Secretary/Treasurer and the immediate Past President.

Duties of the President:
The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association, and shall, when present, preside at all meetings of the members of the Association and of the Executive Committee.
The President with the Secretary/Treasurer or other officer appointed by the Executive Committee for the purpose shall sign all resolutions and membership certificates and all other documents requiring their signatures.
The President shall submit a complete report of the operations of the Association for the year, and a statement of its affairs as at the end of the preceding fiscal year, to the Executive Committee at their first meeting thereafter, and to the members at the annual meeting, and from time to time shall report the interests of the Association required to be brought to their notice, and shall freely consult and advise with the other officers of the Association in regard to the business and interest of the Association.
The President shall be the DSA representative to M.S.A. and shall represent the views of the Association at meetings of M.S.A. and as well report M.S.A. activities to the Directors.

Duties of the Vice-president (Equipment):
The Vice-president shall perform all the duties of, and shall be subject to the same obligations as the President, whenever the President ceases to hold office for any reason or is prevented from attending to his/her duties, and shall preside at all meetings for the Association or the Executive Committee in absence of or upon request of the President. The Vice-president shall also perform such other duties as are prescribed by the Executive Committee or as outlined in this Constitution.
The Vice-president shall be the DSA liaison to all committees of an extraterritorial nature (i.e. Dauphin Joint Recreation Commission) or where field development or playing facilities are an issue.
The Vice-President shall be responsible for distribution, collection and storage of all DSA equipment (uniforms, balls, etc…)

Duties of the Secretary/Treasurer:
The Secretary/Treasurer shall prepare, distribute and maintain minutes, agendas, and such other notices as required by the presiding officer.
Maintain an up to date copy of the Constitution and such other rules, edicts, orders, and motions enacted by the membership.
Be responsible for the care and custody of the funds and other financial assets of the Association and for making payments for all approved expenses incurred by the Association.
Maintain records of the financial accounts which shall be made available to members of the Executive and/or the Directors of the Association for inspection upon reasonable notice.
At each Annual General Meeting and at every regular Board Meeting present an account of the finances of the Association.
The Secretary/Treasurer shall be Chairperson of the Association’s Finance Committee.

Duties of the Past President:
The Past President may attend all meetings of the Association and shall have a voice and vote at such meetings.
Act in an advisory capacity to the Executive Committee, and assume the duties of the President should the President and Vice-President both be unable to perform the duties of the office.
Review and collate suggestions for the revision of this Constitution each year, and present in motion format, possible revision at the Annual General Meeting.

2. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the President, Vice-President (Equipment), Secretary/Treasurer and Past-President.

3. The Executive Committee shall take the initiative in preparing policies and actions for consideration and possible action by the Board of Directors. This committee is also responsible for the implementation of all resolutions passed at general meetings of the membership and approved by the Board, and for the management of the affairs of the Association between Board meetings.

4. Meetings of the Executive Committee are called by the President, who is also responsible for the preparation of the agenda. The Executive Committee may meet with or without the other Board members. Unless otherwise determined by the Chairperson, the order of business at Executive Committee and Board of Directors meetings shall be as follows:

· Call to Order
· Correspondence
· Minutes of Last Meeting
· Business Arising from Minutes
· Reports
o President
o Secretary/Treasurer (Finance)
o Committee (Director’s) Reports
· New Business
· Adjournment

5. A simple majority of all members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE VII: GENERAL MEETING

1. A general meeting is any meeting of the membership of the Association called to conduct business of specific interest and/or requiring specific consideration from all members of the association.

2. The general membership shall retain all powers of the Association except those delegated in this constitution, to the executive committee.

3. The annual general meeting of the members of the Association shall be held each and every year on completion of the season’s business and in any case within 3 months of the final game of the fall season, for the purpose of ratifying the affairs for the Association.

4. Notice of the date, time, and place of the Annual General Meeting of members shall be given not less than fourteen days before the date of the meeting.

5. Unless otherwise determined by the Chairperson and approved by the membership, following the “Call to Order”, the order of business shall be as follows:

o Call to Order
o Adoption of Agenda
o Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting
o Business Arising From the Minutes
o Reports
§ President’s Report
§ Secretary/Treasurer’s Report
§ Committee Reports
o Amendments to the Constitution
o New Business
o Election of Officers/Committee Members
o Adjournment

6. Special meetings of the membership may be called by a Director at any time.
Notice of special meetings shall conform to the requirements of the General Meeting of members.

To assist the Chairperson, the Executive Committee may from time to time:
i. Recommend to the membership that a Moderator be appointed to chair general meetings. This recommendation shall include specific terms of reference for such an office. The moderator for this purpose shall be classified as a non­voting member with such class of membership terminating with the association of assigned duties.
ii. Appoint a member(s) to serve as Monitor, Recorder, or Parliamentarian to assist the Chairperson with his/her duties. Such member(s) shall not lose their voting rights while so assigned.
iii. Appoint a parliamentarian who needs not be a member of the Association, however, in such cases the Parliamentarian must be approved by a majority of the members present and voting.

The election of officers (Executive Committee) and members at large to the Board of Directors, shall take place at the Annual General Meeting, from a slate of members prepared by the nominating Committee or by nominations from the floor.

Ballot shall be taken where only one name has been submitted, in which case the nominee shall be declared elected by acclamation.

ARTICLE VIII: COMMITTEES

1. The following Standing Committees may be established to facilitate the achievement of the purposes of the Association. The committees must meet at least once yearly with or without the other Board members, and must maintain minutes of meetings for distribution to the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and other members as deemed necessary.

o Finance Committee
o Membership/Registration Committee
o Field Preparation Committee
o Disciplinary Committee
o Such other Committees which from time to time are deemed necessary by the Executive Committee.

The Finance Committee shall consist of the Treasurer as Chairperson and at least two other members from the board. Other ex-officio members of the committee may be selected if required.
The Membership Committee shall consist of the Past-President as Chairperson, the Registration Coordinator and at least one member from the membership at large.
The Disciplinary Committee shall consist of three members of the Association including the Referee-in-Chief, One member at large of the Association and at least one DSA age group convener. The Disciplinarian shall vote only to break a tie in a disciplinary action. If the same person holds both titles of Disciplinarian and Referee-in-Chief, the second and third members of the committee shall be members at large in the Association, one of whom has experience with the “Laws of the Game”.
The Field Preparation Committee shall consist of the Field Preparation Coordinator, Equipment Coordinator

ARTICLE X: RESPONSIBILITIES OF STANDING COMMITTEE

Finance Committee:
i. The finance Committee will prepare an operating budget at the outset of each fiscal year for the Association’s activities and present same to the Board for approval.
ii. The Finance Committee may formulate fundraising projects for the Association and upon approval by the Board, organize and implement projects.

Membership Committee:
iii. Shall assist the Registrar in the discharge of his/her duties.
iv. Shall maintain an accurate listing of all members.

Disciplinary Committee:
v. Shall review all reports of instances where disciplinary actions may be necessary, including game infractions, and appeals of disciplinary actions as a result of game infractions and /or misconduct.
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ARTICLE XI: FINANCIAL

1. The financial and fiscal year of the Association shall be for the 12 months from January 1 to December 31.

2. Fees for membership, i.e. player registration fees shall be determined by the Finance Committee based upon a proposed budget for the forthcoming season.

3. Player registration fees shall be ratified annually by a majority vote of the membership present at a General Meeting.

4. Where non-budget purchases to the association are in excess of $500.00, a minimum of two quotes are required. Recommendations for approval shall be made to the Board of Directors by the Finance Committee.

5. Cheques to disburse the funds of the Association shall bear the signature of the Treasurer, and any one of the President, Past-President or Vice-President.

6. The Association shall not incur debts by borrowing money.

7. The financial records of the Association shall be audited prior to the Annual General Meeting, or at any time as requested by the Board of Directors.

8. No officer or member of a Committee shall receive any remuneration for duties performed as an officer or member of a committee on behalf of the Association, but these persons may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred while performing these duties.

9. A budget for the forthcoming year must be prepared and presented for approval by the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting.

10. In all cases of procedural dispute, the most recent edition of “Robert’s Rules of Order” shall prevail, providing there is no conflict with this Constitution, the Bylaws of Operation of the Association or the Code of Conduct. The Association must have a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order available at all meetings. As far as interpretation is concerned, where no specific guidance is contained herein, M.S.A. and C.S.A. Constitutions shall apply.

ARTICLE XIII: AMENDMENTS

This Constitution, including the DSA Code of Conduct, may be amended at any Annual General Meeting – proposed amendments are considered to be accepted for immediate implementation once a two-thirds majority vote of members present at the Annual General Meeting is obtained.

The DSA Operating Regulations and Bylaws may be amended at a Board of Directors meeting or special membership meeting, provided that prior written notice of seven (7) days is provided. An amendment may be proposed by any voting member of the Association.

ARTICLE XIV: PUBLICITY

Announcements to the media regarding Association activities may be made by the Public Relations Coordinator only with the approval of the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE XV: CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Notwithstanding the principle that all DSA members may be involved in various activities for personal gain, Executive Committee and Board Members must bear in mind the fact of the service to the office entrusted to them. In view of the trust it is essential that elected members maintain a high standard of honesty, impartiality, integrity, and conduct. Elected members must be constantly aware of the need to avoid situations which might result in actual or apparent misconduct or conflict of interest, and to conduct themselves accordingly.

Elected members shall not engage in activities for personal profit by way of activities in the Association.

Elected members shall not divulge confidential, restricted, or sensitive information to any person in advance of authorization of its release.

Elected members shall not have direct or indirect business or financial activities with the Association.

Elected members shall not place themselves in a position where they are under obligation to any person or organization which might benefit from improper consideration or favor on their part, or seek in any way to gain improper treatment from them, in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities.

Elected members are expected to disclose to the Executive Committee any situation or matter where they may have a conflict of interest, or the foreseeable potential for a conflict of interest.

Any elected member who discloses the possibility of a conflict of interest, must be excused from the discussion and the meeting, until such time as the issue is resolved to completion.

Any elected member who fails to disclose a potential conflict of interest shall be subject to disciplinary action, or expulsion from the Association.

This guideline applies to all volunteers, and members performing duties for the general operations of the Association.

ARTICLE XVI: DSA Fair Play Guide

The Dauphin Soccer Association (DSA) encourages fun, physical activity and fair play within the context of an informally organized soccer association. The volunteer-based organization relies heavily on a mix of parent, youth and child involvement to ensure all participants have a positive soccer experience.

The DSA promotes an environment of learning – about soccer, teamwork, sportsmanship, and fair play. The DSA values:

Affordable registration fees
o DSA has a family rate
o KidSport™ funding applications available at registration
Fair play
o Kids play at a level consistent with their ability/age
o Teams are created with balance in mind
o Coaches may “swap” players prior to a game in order to keep teams as even as possible
o Our focus is on player development and improvement over the course of the season
Access
o All kids, regardless of ability, gender or affiliation are welcome

Parents Fair Play Code of Ethics:

Parents are encouraged to participate by helping out with:
o Coaching
§ Soccer experience or skill is not required
o Cheering
§ Parents are encouraged to cheer good play on both teams
§ Parents are encouraged to promote fair play to players
§ Our officials have participated in a soccer rules workshop, but they are kids, so please support and encourage them
o Supervising
§ Help coaches keep the kids focused and involved – ensure on-field and off-field activity is safe and fun

A Parent’s Code (from Sport MB A Guide for Sport Parents)

I will remember that my child plays for his or her enjoyment, not mine.
I will teach my child that doing one’s best is more important than winning, so that my child will never feel defeated by the outcome of a game or event.
I will never ridicule or yell at my child for making a mistake or losing a competition. I will provide positive comments that motivate and encourage continued effort.
I will make my child feel like a winner every time by offering praise for competing fairly and trying hard.
I will remember that children learn best by example. I will applaud good play by both my child’s team and their opponents.
I will show respect to my team’s opponents, because without them there would be no game.
I will respect the officials’ decision or judgement and will encourage participants to do the same.
I will respect the volunteer coaches, who give their time to provide sport activities for my child, and show appreciation for their efforts.
I will not use bad language, nor will I harass or abuse, verbally or physically, athletes, coaches, officials or other spectators.
I will not have unrealistic expectations.
I will remember that child athletes are not miniature professionals and cannot be judged by professional standards.