Wisconsin Rugby Football Union
By-laws
Updated December 5, 2020
ARTICLE 1: Name
The name of this organization shall be the Wisconsin Rugby Football Union, Inc., hereinafter referred to as The Union. It shall operate in the Wisconsin area of the United States of America.
ARTICLE 2: Statement of Purpose
The purpose of the Wisconsin Rugby Football Union shall be: to encourage and facilitate the involvement of as many people as possible in Rugby activities including the promotion of youth and
international amateur athletics. The Wisconsin Rugby Football Union shall operate as a non-profit organization as prescribed by the Internal Revenue Service code Section 501(c) (3).
ARTICLE 3: Objectives
The object of The Union shall be:
3.01 To encourage and promote the safe development of Rugby Football at all levels in the Wisconsin area;
3.02 To advocate adherence to the Laws of Rugby Football as put forth by World Rugby;
3.03 To sponsor and coordinate rugby events on a statewide and international level;
3.04 To support and assist a Wisconsin Rugby Referees Society;
3.05 To support and assist a Wisconsin Rugby Coaches Society;
3.06 To support and assist Wisconsin club rugby officials;
3.07 To support and assist the territorial and national governing bodies.
ARTICLE 4: Membership
Membership in The Union shall be open to any person, club, corporation, association, or organization interested in the promotion and development of Rugby Football, which agrees to conform to the
Bylaws of The Union. Clubs and other organizations shall be represented by a single person at General Meetings; these organizations shall be called Voting Members of the Union. The membership shall decide the approval of new Voting Members by a simple majority of those present at any General Meeting. Application for membership shall be made in writing to the Secretary of The Union.
Termination of membership shall be decided by a two-thirds majority of those Voting Members present at the any General Meeting where all Union members have been invited no less than three weeks in
advance.
Clubs, youth rugby associations and other organizations may be given more than one Voting Membership. The allowance of multiple Voting Memberships to any organization must be approved by
a simple majority at a general meeting.
ARTICLE 5: Governing Structure
The Board of Directors shall be composed of five (5) Officers. Other officers may be added by a two-thirds affirmative action of the Voting Members present at the last general meeting of the term.
OFFICERS:
President
Vice President of Competitions
Treasurer
Secretary
Member At Large
The President, Vice-President of Competitions, Treasurer, Secretary and Member At Large are elected by majority vote of the Voting Members. All Officers shall be members in good standing of an
organization affiliated with The Union. Elections of Officers shall be held at the last General Meeting of the term. The Vice-President - Youth shall be nominated by the youth organizations that are affiliated with the Union. The Vice-President - Youth nominee shall be ratified by at least a three-fourths vote of the elected Officers. Other people may be appointed by the Board of Directors to perform specific duties where a need is foreseen.
Officers shall be elected and appointed for a two-year term but no Officer shall hold more than one Board of Director position at the same time. Newly elected officers will begin their duties immediately
following the closure of the last General Meeting of the term at which they were elected.
5.01.1 The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of The Union. He/She shall preside at all
Union meetings and shall execute any and all decisions enacted by the Board of Directors or voted upon by the membership. In his/her absence, the Vice President of Club Rugby, or in their absence, the
Secretary shall preside on all Union matters.
5.01.2 The Secretary shall have custody of all non-fiscal records of The Union, maintain minutes of all meetings and send them to member organizations, electronically, within two weeks of a general
meeting, serve as the official correspondent of The Union, maintain corporate records and seal, and perform any tasks as normal to this Office and as directed by the Board of Directors.
5.01.3 The Member At Large shall be the primary liaison between the Board and the general membership of the Union.
5.01.4 The Vice President of Competitions shall have executive responsibility for, but not limited to, the management of all men’s and women’s teams and activities that fall within the purview of The
Union. He/she shall provide direction and assistance to individual clubs, teams and designees, and serve as a liaison to competitions committees at all levels of rugby as appropriate for the Voting
Members of the Union.
5.01.5 - The Treasurer shall preserve the financial records of The Union, collect the annual dues, develop budget proposals for the appropriate general meeting, prepare annual financial statements, file appropriate records with any and all appropriate taxation authorities, and perform any other financial tasks such as disbursements of funds, reconciliation of bank records, etc.
5.02 Coordinators and Directors of the Union
All Coordinators and Directors of the Union shall be members in good standing of an organization affiliated with The Union. Coordinators and Directors shall be appointed by the Board of Directors.
Coordinators will be assigned on an ad hoc basis as the need arises, and may be replaced or removed by the Board for cause as set forth in these by-laws.
5.02.2 DIRECTORS
Disciplinarian - The Disciplinarian shall be appointed by the Board. The primary duties of the Disciplinarian is to enforce and apply the guidelines for discipline as outlined in the Union handbook. The Disciplinarian will make all rulings of disciplinary action. Disciplinary actions may be appealed to the Board as outlined in the Union Handbook.
5.03 Vacancies
Where no person from the Union membership comes forward to fill an elected position, the President, in consultation with the Board of Directors, can appoint an individual to fulfill the requirements of that
office until the next General Meeting. Vacancies left by resignations or other departures of either Board members or coordinators shall be addressed by the President, in consultation with the remaining
members of the Board.
Open positions may be left vacant or a replacement may be named. In the case of a replacement of a Board member, that replacement will only serve until the next General Meeting. Coordinator
replacements will fill out the term.
The membership need not elect a vacant Board position at any General Meeting. If there is no election, the President may either leave the position vacant or appoint someone until the next General Meeting.
5.04 The Board (Officers) shall have the authority to remove an Officer, Coordinator or Director for cause upon approval by three-fifths of the Officers. Said cause may include, but is not limited
to:
i. continued failure to attend duly scheduled Board meetings;
ii. failure to perform the duties of the position as defined and described in the WRFU Bylaws;
iii. failure to carry out directives of the Board relating to the performance of said position;
iv. failure to act in a manner that maintains the respect of Rugby Football;
v. any other situation where just cause can be documented and agreed upon by two thirds of Board of Directors.
5.05 The Officers of the WRFU Board shall have the authority to act in The Union's stead on all matters that occur between General Meetings. Actions taken by the Board, that directly affect the
By-Laws, must be ratified at the next General Meeting to be valid. The Officers shall be The Union's official representatives at all territorial(MWRU) meetings. Representation of at least one Officer from The Union, is required at territorial meetings.
5.06 The Board of Directors shall manage Select (All-Star) Side activities. There shall be coaches for the Men's Club and Collegiate sides and the Women's Club and Collegiate sides respectively.
There shall also be youth select sides. The Board of Directors shall have authority over the Select Side coaches, including coaching appointments and dismissals, budgets, equipment and the
scheduling of games if there is a conflict. Coaches will serve on two-yearly appointments but can be discharged for cause.
5.07 Coordinators and Directors shall have leadership control of the programs they manage, with the authority to set standards, discipline teams/participants, and, in general, run the programs as they fit within guidelines and/or policies set by the Board of Directors and The Union. Officers of the Board shall monitor the actions of the Coordinators and Directors and may remove Coordinators and Directors for cause as set forth in these by-laws.
5.08 A Coordinator may be appointed or removed by the Board or the Officer who has authority for the activity, as previously stated in these By-laws. The Board of Directors shall have the authority to
nullify any such appointment or removal of a Coordinator. Coordinators shall have leadership control of the programs they manage, with the authority to set standards, discipline teams/participants, and, in general, run the programs as they fit within guidelines and/or policies set by the Board of Directors
and The Union. The Officer or Director who has executive management responsibility for that activity, as described in these Bylaws, shall monitor the actions of the Coordinators.
5.09 Internship: The Board of Directors, at its discretion, or when requested by The Union, will open up an internship to The Union. The Board of Directors will be responsible for developing the duties and
timeline of the internship project. Priority for the intern will be given to full time college students who can receive college credits for the internship. However any individual in good standing with The Union
may apply. Funds paid for the Internship, either as a stipend or for the project itself, will come from The Union through the normal budget process.
ARTICLE 6: Meetings of the Board of Directors
6.01 There shall be an annual meeting of the Board of Directors during the first quarter of
every calendar year, at a time and place to be designated by the Board of Directors.
6.02 All Officers and Directors in good standing shall receive written/electronic notification two
weeks prior to the meeting.
6.03 As designated by the President or his/her appointed representative, meetings will be held
at periodic intervals. These meetings may take place by conference calls or other electronic
means.
6.04 Two thirds of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum.
6.05 Each member of the Board of Directors (Officers and Directors) shall have one vote and
all matters not otherwise specified, shall be decided by a majority vote of those present.
ARTICLE 7. Meeting of Members
7.01 The Annual General Meeting of the members of The Union shall be held no later than
December 31st of the year preceding the applicable calendar year at a time and place designated by
the Board of Directors.
7.02 A minimum of one other General meeting will be called at the request of the Board of Directors.
7.03 An elected Officer or another appointed representative properly certified with the Secretary by
written proxy, shall represent each club.
7.04 All members in good standing shall receive written/electronic notification through their
affiliated representative at least three weeks prior to any meeting.
7.05 The presence of the majority, either in person or by proxy, of the affiliated representatives in
good standing and eligible to vote shall constitute a quorum. A quorum is necessary to act on matters
requiring a vote.
7.06 Proxy votes must be received by the Board in writing or via email at least 48 hours prior to the
meeting that the proxy is to be granted. The proxy vote must be sent by the member granting the proxy.
7.07 Each Voting Member in good standing and eligible to vote shall be entitled to one vote. All
matters shall be decided by a majority vote of those present unless otherwise specified.
7.08 The election of Officers shall take place at the Annual General Meeting.
ARTICLE 8: Dues
Dues shall be on an annual basis and shall be determined by the Board of Directors, subject to ratification by a vote of the representatives of the member clubs. Dues shall be billed and payable in advance of the applicable fiscal year for which they represent - subject to institutional constraints such as those experienced by collegiate teams. The Board of Directors will establish the dues structure for both individual members and Voting Members of the Union, subject to ratification by a simple majority
of Voting Members. Teams that are not dues complaint will not be recognized by the Union. Furthermore, teams who play non-compliant teams will also be declared ineligible.
ARTICLE 9: Fiscal Period
The fiscal period shall be from August 1st through July 31st.
ARTICLE 10: Rules
The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order Revised shall govern The Union in all cases to which they are applicable, in which they are not inconsistent with the Bylaws of The Union.
ARTICLE 11: Amendments
These bylaws may be amended only General Meetings or Special General Meetings called expressly for the purpose. Notice of the proposed amendment shall be given to the Secretary and distributed to all members at least three weeks before the meeting. A two-thirds vote of those members present shall be required for an amendment to the Bylaws. Proxies are not admissible when changing the By-laws.
