Northeast
Texas Chapter
Texas Association of Sports Officials
Article I
Name
This
organization shall be known as the Northeast Texas Chapter of the Texas
Association of Sports Officials.
Article
II
Purpose
The
purpose of this organization shall be the promotion of the welfare of the
American intercollegiate and interscholastic game of football.
This
Chapter shall develop and maintain a membership consisting of experienced and
capable football officials whose integrity is above reproach.
Members must be actively engaged each year in officiating football games
and be in good standing with the Texas Association of Sports Officials (TASO)
and other member sports.
Article
III
Officers, Board of Directors, and Area Representatives Officers
The
officers of this organization shall consist of one President, one Vice
President, and one Secretary-Treasurer. These
individuals shall be elected and shall hold office as provided in these By-Laws.
Terms
of office for each elected officer will be two (2) consecutive years.
The President and Secretary-Treasurer will have terms concurrently with
elections held during even numbered years.
The Vice President will be elected during odd numbered years.
After each term has expired, the member is eligible for re-election.
The
Board of Directors will meet during the third meeting in October for the purpose
of selecting candidates to serve as officers.
The Board will present their recommendations for these candidates for
officers to the membership at the members meeting. These candidates will be active members of the Northeast
Texas Chapter and the Texas Association of Sports Officials.
The
elections of chapter officers will be held the first meeting in November.
Nominations may be made from the floor.
The membership will vote on the candidates and those candidates receiving
the highest number of votes will be declared elected.
Board
of Directors
The Board
of Directors shall be comprised of the President, Vice President,
Secretary-Treasurer, and Area Representatives.
Area
Representatives
The
members making up the areas will elect representatives from each area.
The areas consist of the following:
1. Greenville Area
2. Paris Area
3. Sulphur Springs Area
4. Terrell
Area
Area
Representatives will be elected for a term of one (1) year.
Each year, after the general election is held during the first meeting in
November to elect chapter officers, the membership will divide into their areas
and conduct informal elections to choose Area Representatives.
At the completion of these elections, the membership will reconvene and
report the results to the Secretary-Treasurer.
The results will be considered final once accepted by the
Secretary-Treasurer and those Area Representatives will serve from that point
until the next election. In the
event of a vacancy, the area members will report to the Secretary-Treasurer the
name of the replacement.
Article
IV
Duties of the Officers and Board of Directors
The
President shall:
preside over all meetings of the organization.
perform such
other duties as ordinarily pertains to this office.
coordinate the
recruiting of new officials.
coordinate the
legal solicitation of schools.
coordinate the
general promotion of the Chapter.
make every
possible effort to further the policies adopted by this Chapter.
have the
authority to call special Board of Directors meetings, as necessary.
The
Vice President shall:
preside over any meeting in the absence of the President or the
President inability to act.
perform such
other duties as ordinarily pertains to this office.
be responsible
for continued training of the members of the Chapter.
The
Secretary-Treasurer shall:
have charge of the collection and disbursement of all fees and dues authorized by the Chapter.
place all receipts of the Chapter into one fund from which disbursements shall be made.
carry the Chapter funds in an account in the name of the Chapter at a bank, and issue checks on this fund.
Present an annual written accounting of these funds at the first
scheduled meeting of the membership or at any other time upon demand of the
Board of Directors.
Receive and conduct the processing of all applications for membership,
present them to the Board of Directors, and notify each candidate of approval or
rejection.
Have charge of the necessary printing and publications ordered by the
Chapter and the proper distribution of these items.
Provide proper records to the TASO office.
Notify each member of funds due to the Chapter and TASO for that member
and advising of the penalty for failure to do so.
Have the authority to assign or delegate the assignment of members to
non-varsity games and chain crews for varsity games.
Have the responsibility of informing members of their game assignments
and make varsity game assignments only whenever time does not allow a meeting of
the Board of Directors prior to a playing date.
Be responsible for notifying members of the first meeting.
Turn over to the successor Secretary-Treasurer all books of accounts and
any other records pertaining to the Chapter.
TASO and Chapter dues will be paid by the Chapter.
The
Board of Directors shall:
Act in an advisory capacity to the President.
Have full power to adopt all regulations to govern its own deliberations.
Do all in their power to further the interest and objectives of the
Chapter.
Has the power to act on all matters of business pertaining to the Chapter
provided these actions are in accordance with the By-Laws.
Assign all varsity games at dates and times determined by the
Secretary-Treasurer.
Meet during the third meeting of October for the purpose of selecting
candidates for officer.
Hear grievances of officials against whom a school or coach has
registered a complaint and take any appropriate action deemed necessary
including a reprimand or dismissal of the member.
Hear grievances of officials against a school or coach and make the
decision whether to file a complaint with the University Interscholastic League.
Have the authority to call for an election to fill the remaining term
caused by a vacancy of an officer or Board member at the next regularly
scheduled meeting of the members.
Have full power to reprimand and discipline members for acts not covered
in these By-Laws.
The
Area Representatives shall:
Present concerns incurred by the area members to the Board of Directors.
Present concerns incurred by schools and coaches to the Board of
Directors.
Serve as a direct line of communication to the area members of Board of
Directors decisions.
Article
V
Members
Membership
A membership year shall begin annually on January 1 and end on December 31 of that year.
Application
for membership shall be made in writing to the Secretary-Treasurer on printed
forms provided by the TASO. New
members must have attained age eighteen on or before September 1 of the current
year and have a qualifying score on the CCA examination as specified by TASO
published guidelines. The Board of
directors must approve new members.
Active
members must meet the following requirements:
Must be a member in good standing with the TASO.
Must have a qualifying score on the CCA examination as specified by TASO
published division guidelines.
Must attend not less that 70% of the Chapter meetings.
Failure to
attend at least 70% of the Chapter meetings will automatically place a member on
probation for one (1) year. In
addition, no varsity games will be assigned for the following football season
unless there are extenuating circumstances and the Board of Directors excuses
them.
Crews
shall be represented by a minimum of 3 members per meeting at a minimum of 9
meetings per year. Failure to meet
these criteria will result in the crew being ineligible for playoff
consideration for the current year and be ineligible for the coaches draft the
following year.
Any
official who misses an assignment (varsity or sub-varsity) will be subject to a
$20 fine. If an official misses
more than 2 assignments in a year, he will be subject to review from the Board
of Directors where disciplinary action shall be taken at that time.
The Board
of Directors must approve the reinstatement of those members on probation.
Regulation uniform approved by TASO shall be worn by members when
officiating any game. Uniforms
shall be properly fitted, clean, neat, and present a favorable and professional
appearance.
Arrival attire for varsity games shall consist of full-length trousers,
collared shirts, and leather footwear.
Specifically prohibited are shorts, T-shirts, workout or warm-up suits,
flip-flops, or athletic shoes.
Sport coats or suits are encouraged.
Hair, sideburns, and mustaches will be of moderate length and neatly
trimmed.
No visible jewelry will be allowed on an official during an assigned
game.
Meetings
The Board
of Directors shall meet before the beginning of football season for the purpose
of setting the dates and locations of chapter meetings.
The Board of Directors shall meet at each subsequent regular meeting of
the members, if deemed necessary.
The
Chapter will be represented at the State Meeting as required by TASO guidelines.
Chapter
Dues
Chapter
dues shall be assessed at a rate of $30 to active members.
In addition, members will be assessed $1 for each varsity game assigned
by the Chapter and for each playoff game worked.
Any member
paying after February 1 of the next membership year will be assessed a $25 late
penalty. Members in violation due
to late payment of dues will be deleted from the eligibility list.
The Board of Directors must approve the reinstatement of those expired
members.
The
Assigning Secretary and his designees shall be exempt from any and all chapter
and state dues payments.
Fees
and Travel Expense
Interscholastic
League rates will be followed in determining fees for all varsity games.
The Board of Directors shall have the authority to set fees for all
sub-varsity games. Sub-varsity game fees shall be set at $30 per game with no
mileage.
When a
school requests chapter members to operate the line to gain markers in varsity
games, the Board of Directors shall have the authority to set these fees.
Travel
expense will be determined in accordance with Interscholastic League rates or as
amended by the Board of Directors, with the originating point being the
officials home. Officials will travel together when practical to do so.
In the event more than two (2) vehicles are used, the officials involved
will settle the expenses among themselves.
Schools
will be asked to remit payments in a timely manner. An unconscionable delay in payment will be reported to the
Chapter Secretary.
Solicitation
of Games
Game
soliciting by chapter members will be prohibited unless delegated by the Chapter
President and/or Secretary-Treasurer. Chapter
members will abide by the rules and regulations set by UIL in this manner.
Game
Assignments
The
Secretary-Treasurer or his designated assistants will assign all games.
A member must be in good standing to be assigned varsity games.
The
Secretary-Treasurer strictly prohibits the canceling or swapping of assigned
games without prior approval.
In the
event of an unplanned incident that prohibits an official from attending a
previously assigned varsity game, the Secretary-Treasurer or Chapter President
is to be notified immediately by the Referee of the crew so the necessary
arrangements may be made. A violation of this procedure will place the offending
official on immediate suspension pending a review by the Board of Directors.
Failure of proper notification by the Referee of the crew will place the
Referee on immediate suspension pending a review by the Board of Directors.
Arrival
at a Game Site
All
officials shall arrive at the game site no less than one and one half hour prior
to game time unless the referee gives prior approval.
The referee shall report to the home teams head coach immediately upon
arrival at the game site.
Records
Each
official shall keep a record of games officiated on forms provided by the TASO.
Records must be delivered to the Secretary-Treasurer no later than
January 1 of the next membership year. These records are for the use of the Secretary-Treasurer and
will be forwarded to the TASO only if desired by the official.
Conduct
All
members shall conform to the mechanics and procedures administered by the Board
of Directors.
A
member shall not:
Engage in conduct that violates the TASO ethics as may be amended.
Influence, request, or communicate, directly or indirectly with a coach,
athletic director, assigning authority or an athletic governing body to enhance
the opportunity of assignment as an official of such member or other individual
member.
give, accept, or exchange any gift, favor, or thing of monetary value for
possible assignment as an official to a football game.
discredit the ability or performance or criticize the assignment of
another official or team of officials to gain the opportunity of assignment for
himself or another individual member.
Each
member of the Chapter shall conform to the principles of the TASO ethics, and as
may be amended, in obtaining officiating assignment opportunities for the
members of that chapter and shall not:
criticize or censure the ability, performance or assignment of members of
this chapter or any other chapter.
communicate directly or indirectly with a coach, athletic director,
assigning authority or athletic governing body to promote the assignment
opportunities for the members of that chapter in a regularly scheduled or
playoff football game other than a general program of promotion of this Chapter
conducted between successive football seasons which is January 1 to August 1.
promote the services of this Chapter except by letters signed by the
President and/or Secretary-Treasurer for the Board of Directors of this Chapter
which only:
1.
states the number of members in each division.
2.
describes assignment procedures of the Chapter.
3.
states the availability of Chapter members for assignments to sub-varsity
programs.
4.
includes a roster of Chapter members, and copies of which are sent to the
District Director and the Executive Director.
offer any gift, favor, or thing of value to a coach, athletic director,
assigning authority or athletic governing body in exchange for the opportunity
of assignment of member of that chapter to officiate a football game.
This
chapter in no way encourages or condones the use or purchase of alcoholic
beverages or illegal drugs when an official is involved in any game assignment
or is representing the Chapter. A
game assignment is defined as the time the official leaves his home en-route to
the assignment and until he leaves the school premises.
Any
violation of the above ethics codes shall be reported to the Board of Directors
immediately and the person involved will be required to meet with the Board of
directors at the earliest date.
Article
VI
Amendments
Any
proposed amendment to the By-Laws must be submitted in writing to the Chapter
President. By-Laws may be revised
by a vote of two-thirds of the membership present.
Membership will be notified two (2) weeks prior to voting.
The Board
of Directors shall have the authority to make editorial changes for the purpose
of clarifying the verbiage but not changing the content or intent of the
By-Laws.
Revised:
October, 2000