CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS


GEORGIA STATE HORSESHOE PITCHERS' ASSOCIATION
Adopted 1979, Alpharetta, Georgia
Revised on 10/13/07

PREAMBLE

In order to promote and develop the game of horseshoe pitching as a competitive sport and recreational pastime, and desiring to encourage the development of clubs, leagues, and other horseshoe pitching throughout the state of Georgia, we do hereby establish the CONSTITUTION and BY-LAWS of the Georgia Horseshoe Pitchers' Association, a division of the National Horseshoe Pitchers' Association.

ARTICLE 1 (Name and Purpose)
Section 1
The name of this association shall be the Georgia State Horseshoe Pitchers' Association, hereinafter referred to as the association.

Section 2
The purpose of this association is to further the sport of horseshoe pitching in the State of Georgia.

ARTICLE II (Officers)

Section 1
The officers shall consist of a President, Vice-president, Secretary-Treasurer, and Publicity Director. They shall be elected for a term of two years. The President and Vice-president shall be elected on odd number years; the Sec-Treas and Publicity Director on even numbered years.

Section 2
The President shall appoint a nominating committee of three members. Prior to t he annual meeting, this committee will seek out one qualified candidate for each office to be filled, and present their selections at the membership meeting. Nominations may also be made from the floor.
Section 3
Election shall be by majority vote. if no majority on the first ballot, the top 2 candidates will be the only ones on the second ballot.

Section 4
The term of office shall start on the first of November of the election year

Section 5
Duties of the officers are as set forth in the By-laws.

ARTICLE III (Executive Board)

Section 1
The Executive Board will be composed of the elected officers plus one member from each organized club within the state. A club must be recognized as being organized in order to have voting representation on the Board (see ARTICLE V, Section 3 for club eligibility requirements).

Section 2
Each club must submit to the GHPA President and Sec-Treas the name of its representative and the name of one alternate prior to the 31 January each year.

Section 3
The Executive Board shall have the authority to act upon all matters pertaining to the association. Any action by the Board will normally be held in conjunction with the annual membership meeting. The President may, on matters of great importance, call a special meeting, or obtain votes via phone or mail from the Executive Board.

ARTICLE IV (Meeting)

Section 1
"Robert's Rules of Order" shall govern all meetings.

Section 2
The annual membership meeting shall be held during the State Tournament. Time of meeting will be set by the tournament manager in conjunction with the President.

Section 3
The order of business at the annual meeting shall be:

1. Call to order by the President.
2. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
3. Prayer.
4. Reading of the minutes of the previous meeting.
5. Approval, addition, or correction of the minutes.
6. Reading of the Financial Report.
7. Reports of Officers, Boards, or special Committees.
8. Bids for next State Tournament. ( optional )
9. Old Business.
10. New Business.
11. Election of Officers.
12. Adjournment.
Section 4
Only lawful meetings shall be recognized. A lawful meeting is:


1. One called by the President.
2. The annual meeting.
3. One called by a majority of the members of the Executive Board.
4. One called by a petition of at least 25% of the members.

Section 5
A notice of all special meeting with the agenda will be sent to each club president a minimum of one week prior to the date of the meeting. The president of each club will notify his members.

ARTICLE V (Membership)

Section 1
Any resident of Georgia is entitled to membership in this association upon payment of dues as set by the Executive Board. Each member will be issued a combined State-national card by the Sec-Treas. Present dues are as follows:

NHPA GHPA TOTAL
Men $12.00 $8.00 $20.00*
Women $12.00 $8.00 $20.00*
Juniors $ 5.00 $2.00 $ 7.00*

* A $2.00 insurance charge is required by the NHPA for all registered members
(Adult Members Total = $20.00 and Junior Members Total=$7.00)


Section 2
A member is considered in good standing and entitled to vote only if he is a paid up member. Juniors are not authorized to vote unles they are no longer pitching as a junior and have paid adult dues.


Section 3
A club may become a member of this association by haveing a minimum of 6 members and 8 courts. A club is eligible to have members elected as officers of the association to be represented on the Executive Board.


BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I (General)

Section 1
The Georgia Horseshoe Pitchers' Association may adopt BY-LAWS as deemed necessary for the promotion and betterment of horseshoe pitching in Georgia. The rules of the NHPA shall govern in all cases unless specifically stated otherwise in these By-laws. In case of conflict, the Executive Board will decide.

Section 2
This constitution and these By-laws may be amended only at the annual meeting by a vote of two-thirds of those present. Any changes must be submitted in writing to the President or the Sec-Treas prior to 31 July each year. Proposed changes will be printed and mailed with the State Championships Tournament schedule. Members not entering the State Championships may request a copy of proposed changes.

Section 3
A member may be suspended for any of the reasons listed in the By-laws, ARTICLE II of the NHPA constitution. A member may not be suspended until given a fair trial by the Execution Board.

A member may have his pitching privileges revoked for the remainder of the pitching season for withdrawing from a tournament during tournament play without just cause two times in a season.

ARTICLE II (Duties of the Officers)

Section 1
President. The President shall be the chief executive officer. He may assign specific duties to the members of the Executive Board, shall preside at all meetings, be an ex-officio member of all committees, approve all expenditures beyond normal operating expenses, appoint delegates to the national convention by letter, and perform any other duties necessary to promote the interests of the association.

Section 2
Vice-President. The Vice-President shall perform all duties of the President in the event of death, disability, resignation, or absence of the President.

Section 3
Secretary-Treasurer. The Sec-Treas is the fiduciary agent of the association. The law defines "fiduciary" as a person who is in a position of trust in regards to another. This duties are to:




1. be the custodian of all associations' funds.
2. deposit said funds in a checking account in the name of the association. Checks
must be serially numbered.
3. furnish a complete and accurate financial statement at the annual meeting and at
other times if requested by the President.
4. be a repository for all statistics on State Championships, association tournaments,
etc.
5. keep an accurate record of minutes of all meetings.
6. work closely with the NHPA to assure NHPA rules are being adhered to in the
state.
7. use "Award Program" of the NHPA to insure Georgia association members
receive awards due them.
8. perform any other duties deemed necessary to promote the well-being of the
association.
9. receive all entries to the Georgia State Tournament and determine the class in
which each entrant will pitch based upon the entrant's average for the past year,
said year beginning with the State Tournament.
10. publish the schedule for each class to include the amount of prize money, the
pitchers, and their ringer averages. This schedule shall be mailed to each
participant to arrive at least 3 days prior to the State Tournament date.
11. Entry blanks for the State Tournament must be printed on a separate sheet of
paper and be distributed a minimum of 30 days before the tournament.
12. Prize money shall be awarded to all classes in proportion to the average ringer
percentage in those classes. The amount for each 8 man class shall be distributed
as follows: 1st place, 40%; 2nd place 30%; 3rd place, 20%; 4th place 10%. Prize
money for classes with less than 8 pitchers shall be determined by the President
and the Sec-Treas.
13. the Sec-Treas will see that a State Tournament program is published each year.

Section 4
Publicity Directors. The Publicity Director shall perform such duties as will foster a public awareness of association activities. He will:

1. work closely with the President and the Publicity Director of each club.
2. contact radio, TV, and newspapers for release of horseshoe pitching news.
3. supply data to local news media of site of State Tournament.
4. keep club presidents informed of special news on horseshoe pitching.
5. work closely with Sec-Treas to assure statistics and data released are accurate.
6. The Publicity Director shall prepare and publish the GHPA "Ringer"
7. Publish the records of state club’s League Records and maintain on the internet web site.

Section 5
All officers shall have their books, records, and any other property belonging to the association at the annual meeting. They shall turn over to their successors the records and property of the association that they may have in their possession by November 1st of said year to the new officer.
ARTICLE III (Salaries)

Section 1
Salaries will not be paid to the officers of the association with the exception of the Sec-Treas. Salary for the Sec-Treas will be $200 per year.

Section 2
Officers may apply to the Sec-Treas for administrative expenses such as stamps, envelopes, etc. Travel expenses will normally not be approved. Sec-Treas must receive Executive Board approval to pay any travel expenses.

ARTICLE IV (Clubs of the Association)

Section 1
As required by the Constitution, a "CLUB" must have a minimum of 6 members and a facility of 8 courts. Courts should be clay but a club may be admitted to the association if it has sand courts.

Section 2
Clubs shall be organized similar to this organization.

Section 3
The President of each club is responsible for:
1. appointing or electing a Sec-Treas and Publicity Director.
2. seeing ringer averages are kept on all members and forwarding these averages to
the State Sec-Treas not later than 30 September each year.
3. seeing that local news media (radio, TV, and newspapers) are made aware of
horseshoe events in their community.
4. insure that his Publicity Director works closely with the State Publicity Director.
5. Every club should have two sanctioned tournaments per year.

ARTICLE V (Tournaments)

Section 1
STATE SINGLES TOURNAMENT

1. Must be sanctioned by the NHPA.
2. All contestants must have a combined NHPA and Georgia State Association
membership card for the current year.
3. Military personnel whose home of record is Georgia are eligible to compete.
4. The tournament site must have a minimum of 12 clay courts and an established
sanctioned club.


5 Will be held as the last tournament of the year, to be held on the second Saturday of October. The State Singles Tournament held each year will be the first tournament of record for next year’s qualifying for the State Singles Tournament
7. Will be scheduled for one day only if at all possible.
8. Shall not be played in the rain. The tournament manager, President, and Sec-
Treas shall decide when to stop play and when to start it again. All games shall
be resumed at the same point as when stopped.
9. Will be conducted by classes of 8 or more if feasible. If not feasible (due to a
small number in a class), then double or even triple round robins shall be pitched
in order that no championship will be won on less than 6 games.
10. To qualify for the State singles Tournament, a player must establish an average
ringer percentage by the following requirement:
a. Pitching in any 3 GHPA/NHPA sanctioned tournaments throughout the year.
b. Sanctioned league play under the NHPA and GHPA rulings may count as one of the qualifying event averages as it is recorded as a tournament by Natstats.
c. Juniors may qualify to pitch in the State tournament with pitching in only 1 sanctioned tournament.
11. All Pitchers' averages shall be based on the three highest NHPA/GHPA
sanctioned tournaments pitched in the preceding 12 months or the last 10
tournaments during the same period, whichever occurs first. Sanctioned league
play may count as an average for one of the required tournaments
12. All entries must arrive at the Sec-Treas's office a minimum of 21 days before the
State Tournament date.
13. Entry Fees.
Men - $25.00
Women - $25.00
Juniors - $ 5.00
14. Ties.
a. First place ties in every class will be played off as follows: if two tie, a one
game playoff. If more than tow ties, first place shall be decided by a ladder-
type playoff based upon ringer percentage.
b. All other ties in all classes will be decided by overall ringer percentage.
15. Dress. All players should have their name and city on the back of their shirts.
16. Type of games. The championship class in all divisions,and all other classes with
a combined ringer average of 35% or higher shall pitch 40 point cancellation
games. All remaining classes will pitch 40 point / 50 shoe limit, cancellation
games.
17. Trophies. Each class will be awarded 3 trophies if it has 8 players or more. If
less than 8 players, 2 trophies will be awarded.


18. The location of the following years State Singles Tournament will be voted on at the annual meeting .
19. The Executive Board will appoint the Tournament Manager for the State Singles
Tournament and that person shall complete his duties in co-operation with the
Sec-Treas and, as noted elsewhere in these By-Laws. He shall also be
responsible for obtaining scorekeepers for the tournament if possible.
Section 2
Association Tournaments (other than the State Tournament)

1. all players must be association members.
2. tournament manager decides the format.
3. If two tie, the tie will be broken with a one game sudden death. If more than two
tie, the tie will be broken by a ladder playoff based on ringer percentage.
4. a Master Sheet will be used to record all tournaments. A copy, or the original,
will be forwarded with the ringer averages and results to the Sec-Treas within one week after the tournament. All entry fee monies will be paid out at each of the association tournaments.
5. Tournament averages shall be the average of the player's three highest
tournaments in the past year for all tournaments. (Natstats)
6. Players shall pay their scorekeepers 50 cents per game for all tournaments.

Section 3
State Doubles Tournament
1. All contestants must have a combined NHPA and Georgia State Association
membership card for the current year.
2. The tournament must be sanctioned by the NHPA.
3. Military personnel whose home of record is Georgia are eligible to compete.
4. The tournament will be held at the same location of the State Singles Tournament which is voted on at the previous years annual meeting.
5. The tournament will be held on the weekend preceding or following the
Memorial Day weekend,whichever is suitable for scheduling.
6. The tournament will be conducted on a high-low draw basis for teams with a
minimum of six teams in each group. The two best teams, based on wins and
losses, from each group will advance to the finals. Play will be round robin and
will be walking doubles.
7. To qualify for the State Doubles Tournament, a player must have an established
ringer percentage. A player may establish qualification for the State Doubles Tournament if that player has only 1 sanctioned tournament average and /or a sanctioned league average which is based on completion of 300 shoes to establish that average. The tournament shall be mixed play which includes 40' and 30' pitchers (women, juniors & elders included).
8. The State Doubles tournament shall be conducted by the Sec-Treas acting as the
tournament director under the format of item 6 above, unless changed by the vote of the members at the annual meeting


ARTICLE VI (Financing)

1. The GHPA treasury will be supported by membership dues only.

2. Money will be used as determined by the Executive Board at the annual meeting.
The amount of salary for the Sec-Treas must be the first item considered.

ARTICLE VII (Georgia Horseshoe Pitcher of the Year)

The award of "Georgia Horseshoe Pitchers of the Year" shall be established and presented annually to the member of the association. The award shall include a trophy for the winner and the runner up.

The award shall be based on participation in Sanctioned tournaments through out the year.