The name of the organization is "SACKVILLE MINOR BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION", hereafter referred to as "The Association", a member in good standing of Basketball Nova Scotia.
The Associations' representative colors are "Orange and White with Black" and the authorized nickname is the "STORM". Uniforms shall be the same for all players within the organization.
For the purposes of transacting business, the Association may also be known as the SMBA.
OBJECTIVE
The Association, operating as a volunteer, not for profit organization, seeks to foster, promote, and coordinate amateur basketball, for girls and boys of all ages and ability within established parameters, in the general community of Sackville. In addition to encouraging fun, fair play, and fundamental skill development, the Association seeks to give young people the opportunity to learn life skills through sport in a peer setting, which can assist them throughout their lives. Although team success and winning is important, the Association strives to make playing basketball an enjoyable experience for all individual players, as well as coaches, executives, officials, and parents.
SMBA is a "Fair Play" organization and strives to attain the values established in this nationally recognized program.
MEMBERSHIP
The membership shall consist of:
All players, female and male, registered to play basketball for the Association in accordance with Basketball Nova Scotia by-laws or specific Association restrictions, and their parents or guardians.
All people registered as coaches of the Association.
All people serving on the Association's Board.
Members shall receive all rights of participation in association activities as prescribed by the Association until such time as they no longer meet the membership qualifications, fail to provide the appropriate fees, or are deemed to be dismissed due to discipline or other inappropriate activities as prescribed by the Board.
The record of all active members will be maintained by the registrar.
Membership is normally restricted to players from Sackville and surrounding communities; however, players outside this residential area may be accepted if such registration is not in violation within any Basketball Nova Scotia eligibility guidelines or policies and sufficient space exists as not to prohibit entry from players within the geographic area.
The Board reserves the right to restrict membership, if deemed necessary, due to the number of players registered. Preference shall be given to returning players, and their families, who register during pre-registration, with new players and the remaining returning players placed on a waiting list if necessary. Requests for late registration shall be referred to the Registrar and may be subject to rejection or late charge fees as prescribed by the Association.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board of the Association shall consist of no more than 15 members with the following roles being elected: (members with * are voted in and as a result hold voting power)
President * - who shall be responsible for the overall operations of the Association, by ensuring the bylaws are adhered to and that activities are coordinated and offered in line with the Association's guiding principles. The President shall preside at all meetings and sign all official documents and will represent the Association at official meetings and act as official spokesperson. The President shall only vote to break a tie vote. The President shall be one of the signatories for the Association.
Past President - who shall act as a resource to the current President and Board. The Past President will not vote on matters of SMBA as this is an advisory role.
Vice President * - who shall act on behalf of the President at various times when the President is unavailable and may oversee specific areas within the Association as directed by the President. The Vice President shall oversee the Disciplinary committee when the occasion presents itself. The Vice President is responsible to review the information from the background screening process to determine if coach candidates are suitable to be coaches. The Vice President shall be one of the signatories for the Association.
Treasurer * - who shall maintain the financial records of the Association. The Treasurer shall submit financial statements at Board meetings and provide an annual report of the Association's financial position. The Treasurer is responsible for all banking related activities and shall be one of the signatories for the Association.
Secretary * - who shall keep an accurate record of the proceedings at all meetings. The Secretary shall notify the members of appropriate meetings and keep an up-to-date list of the board.
Registrar * - who shall plan the annual registration and keep an accurate account of persons registered in the Association and provide such a list to the President and Basketball Nova Scotia as required.
Technical Coordinator x2 positions* - who shall develop training aids, coordinate coach and player development programs and help train new coaches on player training. The Technical Coordinator shall be responsible for overseeing the player placement/tryout process and the team selection process.
Coaching Coordinator * - who shall be responsible for recruiting and providing coaches with the information required to perform their role throughout the season. The Coaching Coordinator shall be responsible for the completion of the background check process for coaches and managers. The Coaching Coordinator shall be the liaison between coaches and the Association.
Equipment Coordinator * - who shall maintain control of the SMBA equipment and uniforms, shall complete an inspection of all equipment at the end of each season and provide a detailed summary of the status of the equipment. The report shall also include a list of missing equipment. The Equipment Coordinator shall, in consultation with the Technical Coordinator and the Treasurer, prepare a list of replacement equipment for the upcoming season along with budget estimates.
Facilities Coordinator - who shall maintain communication with HRM and HRSB gym assignors, creates and assigns gym slots for each team in the organization. S/he is responsible for providing rescheduled gym times, when possible, cancellation notices or any issues pertaining to SMBA Facilities.
Social Media Coordinator/ Webmaster - who shall be responsible for maintaining the Association's social media presence including but not limited to website, Facebook, Instagram, and others as deemed appropriate.
Fundraising Coordinator - who shall be responsible for the development of fundraising strategies and supporting the fundraising program for the Association as a whole. This does not include fundraising for individual teams but may be asked for support and information regarding such initiatives.
Member-at-Large * -Up to three elected positions who have voting powers and will be assigned specific duties which will provide direct support and involvement in the Association's operations. For the 2022/23 season this will be Division Coordinators - 1 for Jr NBA, 1 for U10/12 and 1 for U14/16/18.
The Executive Committee shall be established as a standing committee and consists of the following positions: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Registrar and Past-President. This committee will be responsible for day-to-day operations of the Association, following the strategic direction of the Board. The Executive committee has authority to create ad hoc committees or temporary positions to act on specific issues including but not limited to authorizing expenditure of funds for operational items. This committee can make these types of decisions with a vote of this committee and does not need a vote from the full board. The Past President does not have a vote on this committee.
The Coordinator roles may have committees established to assist the coordinator. In the case of the Coaches Coordinator, Division Coordinators may be established to help manage teams. The Division Coordinators would be established for the season and are not part of the board and do not have votes. Committee members and Division Coordinators can consist of board members, coaches, managers, parents or the public subject to approval by the Executive Committee or the Board.
It is recognized and acceptable that a member may occupy more than one position on the board if positions are not two Executive Committee roles; however, the member would be entitled to a maximum of one voting right. For example, the Vice President could also serve in a coordinator role but not Treasurer or Registrar.
All board positions are for a term of one year, however it is anticipated that people will accept such positions with an expectation of offering for two terms.
The Board shall have the power to appoint a member in good standing to any vacant position at any time throughout the year.
POWERS OF THE BOARD
The Board is the primary decision-maker for the Association and can prescribe such policies and procedures to provide guidance in the operations of the Association.
OTHER POSITIONS
The President may appoint positions annually to allow for the effective operations of the Association, although such positions are not deemed part of the Board: (Examples: Spring League Coordinator, Tournament Coordinator, Division Coordinators)
MEETINGS
Meetings shall be called by the President with reasonable advance notice, stating the time, place and expected agenda. At least two meetings shall be called annually, generally considered to occur at the beginning and the end of the established playing season.
Special meetings may be called by the President as deemed appropriate to deal with specific business.
The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held within sixty (60) days of the end of the basketball season, for the reading of reports and election of officers for the following season. The Board will hold additional meetings throughout the year to administer the affairs of the Association.
A special general meeting may be called by the Board at any time, providing reasonable notice is given.
A special general meeting shall be called upon written request of 20% of the Association membership.
All matters of policy of the Association shall be decided by the consensus of the Board. If consensus cannot be agreed upon as determined by the President, a vote shall be held with a simple majority deciding the issue.
A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum, and all attending Board are provided one vote, with no absentee voting allowed.
All meetings will be open to the general membership; however, attendance at Board meetings would be in the role of observer only.
MANAGERS AND COACHES
Managers and Coaches of competitive teams shall be selected and approved by the members of the Board or may be delegated to the Coaches Coordinator. All registered coaches and managers (someone who sits on the bench during games or plays an active role in practices) must be approved by the Coaches Coordinator and must have a background check conducted before the beginning of season play.
Head Coaches will be assigned at the discretion of the Board and may be delegated to the Coaches Coordinator with the following being considerations in the decision-making process (coaches identified preferences, experience, training, philosophies, and other factors).
Assistant Coaches will be assigned at the discretion of the Board and may be delegated to the Coaches Coordinator with the following being considerations in the decision-making process preferences, (coaches identified experience, training, philosophies, and other factors).
Managers and Coaches shall be responsible for their team's conduct, their own conduct and wherever possible the conduct of team supporters. The Association has a proud reputation of exemplary coaching conduct and expects all coaches to act in a responsible and mature manner.
SMBA shall utilize an evaluation team to make team selections for all age groups. Evaluators with children in the same age group will abstain from evaluating their own child. For the top team of each age group, the evaluation team will narrow the selection to a max of 15 players and the coach shall select the final number of players to be on their team, with the selection subject to review by the Board
DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE/ CONDUCT
All coaches, players, parents, and fans of SMBA are expected to always maintain appropriate conduct while representing SMBA during practices, games, and travel. Coaches, players, and parents must sign a contract at the beginning of the year acknowledging this expectation and conduct contrary to the expectations set forth shall be penalized. Fair play, sportsmanship and professionalism is always expected. Any situations not meeting these expectations should be forwarded, in writing, to the President of SMBA. In their absence, it may be sent to the Coaches Coordinator for forwarding for action. A committee shall be struck by the VP or designate of the President within 48 hours of receipt of such written complaint and this committee shall make a final decision/ruling on any action that should be taken. Their findings and its outcome shall be final. Examples of action taken may include suspension, probation, or expulsion from the organization. Any situation found to be potentially of a criminal manner shall be immediately forwarded to the authorities
FINANCIAL POLICY
The Board shall decide all matters pertaining to the finances of the Association as outlined in the annual budget, including the setting of fees.
Funds will be dispersed (i.e., cheque signing authority) on the authority of any 2 of the Treasurer, President, or Vice President.
The President and Treasurer have discretionary powers of expenditures for emergency situations, however, shall report these expenditures as soon as possible to the Board.
All funds raised shall be used for the purposes of SMBA and the Board shall set fundraising guidelines for all members to follow.
An annual financial statement shall be produced and publicized for all members where practical.
Any audit or review of the documents can be brought forth by motion, however allowing for a reasonable time to produce such records, unless directed by law.
RULES
The Eligibility, Tournament and Playing Rules of Basketball Nova Scotia, as issued each year through the Office of the Executive Director, shall govern the playing of all games in all divisions.
The Association reserves the right to modify or alter certain rules for local house league operations through local policies approved and adopted by the Association if they do not materially alter the game or be in material violation of BNS standards.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Election of Officers shall take place at the AGM each year. Any member in good standing shall have the right to offer for any position on the Board.
The Past President of the organization shall reside as the Elections chair. A call for nominations shall be sent out with the notice of AGM and any interested candidates may submit for consideration. Any nominations from members shall need to be ‘accepted’ by the individual nominated. A notice of candidates shall be sent to the membership by the Nominations Chair (or communications officer of the Association).
Approved candidates, as deemed qualified by the Nominations Chair, shall be allowed to submit a ‘candidacy platform’ in which they wish to be considered for election. This shall be submitted to the Nominations Chair for approval of appropriateness and then circulated to the membership prior to the AGM by the Chair (or communications officer of the Association). This shall be a document of no larger than one single letter size page. The format and timing in which this needs to be received shall be determined by the Nominations Chair.
Any member in good standing can offer for any position at the AGM. This nomination requires being seconded by a member in good standing.
COMMUNICATIONS
Any Communication to the entire membership must first be approved by the President of the Association. In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall be the next person to approve this. In rare situations the board as a whole may approve this by majority decision. (Elections correspondence shall follow the procedure outlined in Article 12)
Communications to team contacts shall be at the discretion of the head coach of each team. For example, they may want to be the only person to send communication or may have a team manager or other designated person to take care of this for them. This is for ‘individual team information’ purposes. SMBA should include all members in communication that they deem necessary.
SMBA is entrusted with the contact information of its members and sees the responsibility of properly utilizing this information of utmost importance. SMBA does not share contact or membership information with any other party for any purpose other than the function of being a member of SMBA.
Violation of the protocol around communication to general members shall be reviewed by the Disciplinary Committee.
REGISTRATION OF ASSOCIATION
The Association shall register each year, in accordance with the Basketball Nova Scotia by- laws.
AFFILIATION
For the purposes of discipline, eligibility, rules, dispute resolution or any issue not specifically covered by this Constitution, the Association may utilize protocols established by Basketball Nova Scotia.
AMENDMENTS
This Constitution or any section thereof may be amended or repealed by two-thirds vote of the Board present at any stipulated meeting, provided, that notice of such proposed change or changes shall be read at a scheduled meeting of the Board at least 15 days prior to the meeting at which the proposed change or changes shall be submitted for vote.
DISSOLUTION
If for any reason, the Association ceases to operate for more than 2 consecutive years, any assets shall be dispersed by the last sitting President of the Association to a registered charity with some relation to child wellness or to Basketball Nova Scotia
