Tallgrass Mini Boat Bass Club

PREAMBLE

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We, being a group of anglers living in the Flint Hills Kansas area, wishing to share in fellowship and develop friendships with our neighbors have formed this club.  These rules are to govern the club’s meetings and activities.

 

ARTICLE I    NAME AND PURPOSE

   Section 1.  We shall be known as Tallgrass Mini Boat Bass Club

   Section 2.  Our purpose as a club is to:

                     A.  Promote fellowship and unity.

                     B.  Assist in insuring our local area water quality and improving our fishing communities.

                     C.  Organize our friends and neighbors interested in preserving our local fisheries.

                     D.  Organize competitive fishing events.

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ARTICLE II   MEMBERSHIP

   Section 1.  Anyone whose possesses a boat or kayak of 16 feet length or less, propelled by any means of 15 hp or less and                       embraces the club’s purpose is eligible to become a member.

   Section 2.  All members with their dues paid within the guidelines set forth in Article III of this document, are considered                       to be in good standing. These members are eligible to become an officer in the club and have voting privileges                       on bass club issues, including voting on changes to the Tallgrass Mini Boat Bass Club Rules and Bylaws.                                 Voting privileges for changes to the TMBBC rules and bylaws are limited to one (1) vote per paying                                         member.

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ARTICLE III  DUES

   Section 1.  Annual membership dues are $25.00 per person . All members paid in full prior to their second event are                                 members in good standing.  

   Section 2.  A receipt will be issued by PayPal to all members paying dues.

   

ARTICLE IV  OFFICERS   ( Must be a member in good standing )

   Section 1.  The officer positions of the club will be President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Tournament                                  Director.

   Section 2.  All officers shall serve as Executive Committee members.

   Section 3.  Nomination of officers will occur during the October meeting or by specified proxy. Election shall be                                       determined at the November regular monthly meeting.

   Section 4.  Any member that is unable to attend the October meeting may place his/her proxy with the Secretary at                                   any time prior to that meeting.

   Section 5.  In the event an office becomes vacant, nominations and the election to fill that office will be held at the next                            monthly meeting after the vacancy exists.

   Section 6.  The term of office shall be for one year.  The term will begin at the annual banquet held in November until the                        next banquet the following year.

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ARTICLE V   DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

   Section 1.  President

                     A.  To insure the purpose and rules of this club are upheld.

                     B.  To chair all club meetings and activities.

                     C.  To call and chair all executive committee meetings.

                     D.  Form committees for special events, socials, or any situation that is not covered by this document.

   Section 2.  Vice President

                     A.  To insure the purpose and rules of this club are upheld.

                     B.  Assume the duties of the President in his/her absence.

                     C.  Assist the Tournament Director in judging all tournaments.

                     D.  Assume the duties of the Tournament Director in his/her absence at any club meeting or tournament.

   Section 3.  Secretary

                     A.  To insure the purpose and rules of this club are upheld.

                     B.  To maintain attendance records at all tournaments, record tournament points, and supply the Tournament                                  Director with this information.

                     C.  Maintain and distribute a current point standing list at each monthly meeting accompanied with any new                                  club news.

                     D.  Accept and record election proxies from members that cannot attend the November meeting.

   Section 4.  Treasurer

                     A.  To insure the purpose and rules of this club are upheld.

                     B.  To collect all dues and inform the club at the March meeting of all members in good standing.

                     C.  To secure all trophies and awards.

                     D.  To keep accurate records of club funds and report the club operating and stocking fund balances at every                                  monthly meeting.

                     E.   Assist the Secretary at all tournaments.

    Section 5. Tournament Director

                     A.  To insure the purpose and rules of this club are upheld.

                     B.  To direct all tournament activities including;

                           1.)   The accurate measurement of all fish entered into TourneyX.

                           2.)   Insure the members have and maintain proper tools required to participate in tournaments such as a                                         cellphone with service, TourneyX app on the phone, an approved Hawg Trough/Ketch board, and                                             issuance of a participant ID for each tournament held.

                           5.)   Insure the tournament procedures in the procedure section of this document are followed.

                           6.)   After polling officers available, the Tournament Director makes the final decision as to when or if to                                       postpone, extend or cancel a tournament due to weather.

   Section 6.  Committees  ( All committee members must be in good standing ).

                     A.  Committees may be formed at any regular meeting for any specific activity or issue.  Such as fund raising,                              social activities, rules or any situation not covered in this document.

                     B.  All committees report to the President.

                     C.  All committees are automatically dissolved upon completion of the activity or situation.

• Budget committee.  The bass club officers are the budget committee.  The Committee will present a yearly budget to the club members at the March meeting.  The budget committee approves or denies expenses not in the annual budget.  At year-end the budget committee will decide how much general fund money gets rolled over to the next year and how much rolls over to the stocking fund.  The Treasurer chairs the budget committee.        

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ARTICLE VI   CLUB MEETINGS AND TOURNAMENT DATES

   Section 1.  Club Meetings 

                     A.  A minimum of two in person meetings will be held each year, beginning of year and end of year.

                     B.  Tournaments will be held any Saturday of each month determined by the Executive Committee.

                     C.  The meeting and tournament dates may be changed by the Executive Committee if a conflicting event                                      exists, and it is the club’s interest to make a change.

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ARTICLE VII  TOURNAMENTS

   Section 1.  Tournament Awards and Prizes

                     A.  $35 entry fee per tournament, of which $25 goes to big stringer prize, $5 to big bass prize, and $5 for the                                 TourneyX app fee.

                     B.  All prizes from the club will be distributed via PayPal for each Tallgrass Mini Boat Bass Club event.                                       PayPal MUST be paid to email address TMBBC2018@GMAIL.COM after completing the TourneyX                                  registration and same time cutoff applies. Awards are calculated after deduction of TourneyX fees. A                                        spreadsheet is utilized for payouts.

                     C.  Tournament awards may be recognized at the end of the year meeting with engraved plaques, plates,                                        or certificates.

                     D.  Prizes shall be presented for each tournament based on aggregate length of fish caught by each member,                                  Prizes will not be presented for zero lengths.

                     E.  First, second, and third place individual prizes may be presented for each tournament dependent of number

.                         of participants entered.

                           1). Payout info: minimum 4 participants required, if no fish are caught the money will be refunded.

                                a). Big stringer prize is dependent on the number of participants as follows:

                                     4 participants = Winner takes all

                                     5 - 9 participants = 65% for 1st and 35% for 2nd

                                     10 + participants = 60% for 1st, 25% for 2nd and 15% for 3rd

                                b). Big bass prize = Winner takes all (25% of total fees before stringer awarded)
                           2). Tie Breaker – whoever has longest fish, if still a tie, tournament RULE 10E applies.

                     F.   Big bass of each tournament will be awarded a prize, this is based on the longest single fish. Tie                                               breaker decided by first fish caught via TourneyX app photo time stamp.

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   Section 2.  Tournament Pairings

                     A. Very limited amount of non boaters may apply due to the nature of small boats. It is solely the responsibility                            of the non boater to find a boater member to partner. TMBBC can not guarantee a non boater slot.

                     B.  If after pairings have been made, a member finds his/her circumstances have changed and he/she can no                                  longer fish that tournament, it is imperative that they notify the boater/non boater member and Tournament                              Director as soon as possible.

   Section 3.  Tournament Guidelines

                     A.  The only method of fishing permitted during tournament competition is the use of artificial lures from a                                  boat.

                     B.  All members must be present on time, and on the shore at check-in. The tournament director's clock will be                              official time. The Tournament Director will determine the year’s exact check-in procedure at the beginning                              of the year meeting.

                     C.  A member may present up to 5 longest fish of the black bass family per tournament.  

                     D.  All decisions concerning the tournament including the TourneyX catch verification are the Tournament                                    Directors and are final.

                     E.  The schedule is from March thru September for all standard tournaments.        

                     F.   The tournament times will be set by using sunrisesunset.com for civil twilight for nearest city to the                                         tournament lake plus adding 5 hours to that time and may vary at each location. The Tournament Director                                will have the final decision on start and finish times. Locations will be voted on for the entire year in the                                 March meeting.

                     G.  Trolling is not permitted in TMBBC events.

                     H.  The tournament Director and their partner shall not be allowed to judge their own or their partner’s fish.                                  Someone else in the club will judge those fish.

                     I.   Only one fishing rod per angler may be used at any one time. Additional rods may be in the boat and ready                              for use; however, each cast and retrieve must be completed before another cast is attempted or rod is used.

   Section 4.  Tournaments Points.

                     A.  Tournament first place finish earns 100 points, second place earns 95 points, third place earns 90 points                                    and so forth.

                     B.  If an angler fails to submit a fish or finishes 19th or below, 10 finish points will be awarded.

                     C.  Any fish judged to be dead will be denied entry. The decision as to whether a fish is to be counted as                                        alive or dead is made by the Tournament Director at the time of weigh-in.  This deduction applies to                                        individual and big bass weights. This only applies to big bass if the dead fish is presented as “Big                                            Bass”.  Each new Tournament Director will present to the club, prior to the March tournament, his/her                                    standards for determining a live or dead fish and must be consistent throughout the year.

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ARTICLE VIII  ANNUAL AWARDS

   Section 1.   Awards Banquet.

                      A.  An annual awards banquet may be held each November.

                      B.  The outgoing officers are responsible for coordinating this event and will transfer their offices to the                                         newly elected officers at this time.

   Section 2.   Awards for excellence in angling

                      A.  Angler of the Year award. The member in good standing that has accumulated the most tournament                                          points.   

                      B.  Big Bass of the Year award. The member in good standing that has submitted the longest bass of the year at                             a tournament event.

                      C.  Sportsmanship Award award.  The member in good standing who best exemplifies our clubs                                                     purpose. This member is chosen at the October regular meeting by secret ballot/proxy.  

                      D.  The members that finish in the overall point standing of second and third will also be recognized with                                      an award for their efforts and abilities.

                      E.   An appreciation plaque or certificate for the outgoing President thanking him/her for their unselfish time                                 and talents will be awarded. A first time president will receive a plaque. If the president has been                                             president before he or she will receive a certificate.

                                            

ARTICLE IX   REMOVAL FROM MEMBERSHIP

   Section 1.   A member may be removed from club membership for any action that would reflect unfavorably upon the                               club.  There will be no reimbursement of dues.

   Section 2.   The member removed will forfeit all points earned for that tournament year.

   Section 3.   Removal from membership shall require a 75% approval of the members in good standing.  Each member                               is one vote.

   Section 4.   The removed member may submit a request to the members in good standing to be re-admitted to the club at                           the beginning of any tournament season.  A 75% approval by the members in good standing will be needed                             for re-admittance.  Each member is one vote

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ARTICLE X    RULES AND PROCEDURES

   Section 1.   Any amendments to these By-Laws will require 75% approval of the members in good standing                                               each member is one vote.  This applies to changes during the year.

   Section 2.   The tournament RULES will be totally reviewed by a new rules committee. The committee will be formed                             during the end of year meeting. The committee will decide if any rules changes are needed.  The committee                             will meet between the November meeting and the March meeting. If a committee is not formed, there will be                         no rule changes.  All proposed rule changes must passed by a MAJORITY vote of at least 50% of the members                       in good standing PRESENT OR REPRESENTED BY PROXY at the first of year meeting.

 

ARTICLE XI  FORMAL PROTEST OF RULES AND BY-LAWS 

   Section 1:   It will be the responsibility of the Executive committee to meet with all involved parties and hear all sides at                          the time regarding the formal protest before reaching a conclusion.

   Section 2:   This committee can and will be allowed to assess any penalty it deems appropriate regarding the formal                                  protest, with the exception of removal from membership.