BY-LAWS

OF THE

IDAHO STATE HORSESHOE PITCHERS ASSOCIATION

 

REVISED 8-2006

 

By-Laws

 

Preamble

 

 

We, the horseshoe pitchers of the State of Idaho, in order to promote, foster and develop the game of horseshoe pitching, both as a competitive sport and a recreational pastime, provide the opportunity and facilities, and insure the continued growth and existence of the game, do hereby establish these By-Laws for the Idaho State Horseshoe Pitchers Association.

 

 

 

ARTICLE I (NAME)

 

1.        The name of this association shall be “Idaho State Horseshoe Pitchers Association”, hereinafter referred to as “ISHPA”.

 

ARTICLE II (PURPOSE)

 

2.        The purpose of this association shall be to further the cause of horseshoe pitching by all proper means in the state of Idaho.  ISHPA is to be recognized as an active division of the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association (NHPA) and agrees to abide by the Constitution, Rules, Regulations and By-Laws of the NHPA.

 

ARTICLE III (MEMBERSHIP)

 

1.        Any person having residence in the State of Idaho for a period of thirty (30) days may become a member of the ISHPA. Annual dues of $25.00 for adults and $6.00 for Juniors includes both ISHPA and the NHPA dus. Upon receipt of dues, the Secretary-Treasurer will issue a current membership card. Dues entitle membership from January 1, through December 31 of the current year. Cards purchased after October 1st, will apply to the following year.

 

ARTICLE IV (OFFICERS)

 

1.        Officers of this association shall consist of a president, a First Vice President, a Second Vice President, and a Secretary-Treasurer.  A statistician shall be appointed.

 

2.        Election of officers will occur annually.  The First Vice President and the Secretary-Treasurer will be elected on the ODD numbered years.  The President and the Second Vice President will be elected on the even numbered years.  Officers are to take office on January 1. Persons interested in running for office are encouraged to announce their candidacy early by submitting their intentions to the Newsletter's editor.

 

 

ARTICLE V (DUTIES OF OFFICERS)

 

PRESIDENT:  Shall preside at all meetings. Administer the business of the association, pass on any obligations the association may wish to incur, and handle duties that come to his/her attention in promoting the interests of the association. The president shall have access to the checking and savings account in the event the Secretary-Treasurer is unable to perform duties or the office is vacant.

 

VICE-PRESIDENTS:  Shall have the same duties as the President, but will assume them only in the absence of the President and any other duties assigned by the President.

 

SECRETARY-TREASURER:  Shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings, act as custodian of all funds and properties of the association. Sign all warrants for the association expenditures, keep all correspondence and other duties which may come to his/her attention as necessary to promote the best interest of the association.

 

STATISTICIAN:  Shall figure each entrants ringer percentages and keep an up-to-date record of  pitcher’s percentages.  Shall send a current list to officials of the next sanctioned tournament upon request. They must be available to help tournament committees in whatever capacity is needed and forward all ISHPA tournament date to Nat-Stats..

 

Time & Expense Reimbursement 

Individuals mentioned in the positions below shall receive an annual stipend to defray the expenses of using their home, utilities, and equipment in serving their elected or appointed positions.

  • Sec-Treas            $1.25 per ISHPA member. plus costs of needed supplies
  • Statistician            $1.25 per ISHPA member or $.25 per entry whichever is higher.

 

 

 

ARTICLE VI (MEETINGS)

 

        Full meetings deemed necessary may be called either by the president or any officer, notifying all members in good standing of the time and place of such meeting. Executive Board meetings may be called by the President as needed.

 

ARTICLE VII (AMENDMENTS)

 

        The voting process for all items to be voted on or any By-Laws amendmnts or deletions will use the "ballot form" as a means to gather votes from the ISHPA membership. A simple majority vote is required to pass "ballot form" issues. Issues for the "ballot form" must be submitted to the President by December 31st and approved by the Executive Board before being placed on the "ballot form". Ballot forms must be returned to the President by August 1stfor tabulation. Minor issues as determined by the President, can be presented and voted on at the annual meeting.

 

ARTICLE VIII (ORDER OF BUSINESS)

 

Meetings shall be conducted in the following manner:

1.        Pledge of Allegiance.

2.        Meeting called to order.

3.          Reading the minutes of the previous meeting.

4.        Approval, addition or correction of minutes.

5.        Financial report by Secretary-Treasurer.

6.        Reports of officers, Boards and Committees.

7.        Unfinished business.

8.        Correspondence.

9.        New business.

10.     Election of officers,

11.     Adjournment.

 

 

 

ARTICLE IX (Judicial Body)

 

        The executive committee, consisting of the President, Vice Presidents, and Secretary-Treasurer shall be the judicial body.  It shall be their responsibility to decide technical points submitted.  Their ruling shall be final, with the exception of an overruling by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present.

 

ARTICLE X (Conduct)

 

        No player may indulge in actions, words or phrases disturbing an opponent, nor will profanity or abusive language be permitted on tournament grounds. It shall be the responsibility of all members to see that rules and rules of conduct are enforced.

Members may be suspended for non-payment of dues, for violation of the By-Laws or for conduct unbecoming a member. Members suspended for a non payment of dues may be reinstated upon payment of current dues. Members suspended for other reasons may be suspended for a period of one year and may be reinstated at the discretion of the executive committee.

 

ARTICLE XI (Tournaments)

 

        All tournaments that are to be sanctioned must meet the following requirements:

  1. Sanctions are to be issued annually through the Regional Director. Deadlines for accepting schedules for sanctioned tournaments will be December 1 of prior year with the exception of newly formed clubs.
  2. All entrants, including Junior's (17 years of age and younger) must be members of the ISHPA and NHPA.
  3. It shall be the duty of the tournament director to check membership cards of all entrants to verify eligibility into the tournament.
  4. All scores should be kept accurately by a third party scorekeeper if possible.
  5. Summary sheets or computer data must be sent to the State Statistician within seventy-two (72) hours of completion of the tournament. One dollar ($1.00) for each tournament adult player must be sent to the Sec-Treas to be used for the State Tournament fund
  6. Scores will be kept for all sanctioned tournaments and ringers percentages recorded for permanent records and inclusion into the Nat-Stats database.
  7. A minimum fee of 50 cents shall be paid by each pitcher to the scorekeeper at the beginning of the game.

Any pitcher, who has not pitched in a sanctioned tournament for a period of a year or more, must qualify by throwing one hundred (100) shoes. A state and national member should if possible keep the score and sign the score sheet with his/her name along with their current membership number. Results must be carried to his/her first tournament by the player and given to the tournament director.

All Idaho horseshoe pitching tournaments are mixed pitching unless specified in the tournament schedule or if the tournament director decides that fair groups can be formed using just Elders, Juniors or Women in a class. The exception being the Idaho State Tournament where individual classes are to be held. Pitchers can be grouped together to meet minimum shoe requirements.

 

 

ARTICLE XII (State Singles Tournament)

 

  1. To qualify to pitch in the State Singles Tournament a pitcher must have pitched in a minimum of two (2) sanctioned tournaments during the past 12 months.
  2. Any new members joining the Association after August first (1st) must pitch in at least one (1) sanctioned tournament to qualify for the State Singles Tournament.
  3. Members in good standing, attending a meeting held at the annual Idaho State Singles Tournament, shall select the site for the following years Idaho state Singles and Doubles Tournaments by a simple majority vote. The state is divided into three sections: North, East and West. The North section will include, Coeur d' Alene, Kellogg, Salmon and Challis. The West section will include Boise, Nampa, Caldwell, Meridian, Mountain Home and Fairfield. The East section will include Jerome, Twin Falls, Rupert, Pocatello and Idaho Falls. If possible, tournament sites will be alternated between the Northern, Western and Eastern sections of the state. Site selection will rotate counter clockwise for the State Singles Tournament.
  4. A city must hold at least one sanctioned tournament in that given year before it be allowed to host a State Tournament and needs to have a representative present at the selection meeting or submit a letter of interest to the President no later than August 1st.
  5. The hosting organization for the State Singles Tournament shall be given $100.00 to help provide the main meat dish for the Saturday potluck.
  6. The State Singles Tournament shall be held on or one week before or after Labor Day weekend. The host club will decide the date of the State Tournament.
  7. At the State Tournament, the use of Alcoholic beverages, illegal controlled substances and tobacco of any kind while in the confines of the courts shall be prohibited for all contestants, scorekeepers and officials during play. This is in accordance with the NHPA guidelines.
  8. 8. State Tournament entry fee for adult members shall be decided at the previous annual state meeting.
  9. Tournament signup deadline shall be no later than seven (7) days prior to the tournament start date or as set by the Tournament Committee.
  10. All Participants shall be required to wear a shirt that has a minimum of their last name professionally lettered on the back.
  11. At least two (2) judges shall be available and dressed accordingly for easy recognition.
  12. Pacers shall be utilized in bye games, if available for the entire round robin.
  13. There will be a fifty-(50) cent charge per game for scorekeeping.
  14. The State Singles Tournament shall be ran by the State Officers, thus allowing the hosting site to concentrate on all other duties associated with the tournament.
  15. The maximum class (division) size will not exceed eight (8) players.
  16. The minimum number of rounds pitched shall be two (2)
  17. A potluck dinner and the state annual meeting shall be conducted the Saturday evening of the tournament.
  18. The State Tournament application form must be available by May 1st. (Required by NHPA)

 

 

ARTICLE XIII (State Doubles)

 

  1. To be eligible to pitch in the State Doubles Tournament a pitcher must have pitched in at least one tournament in the last 12 months.
  2. 100% cap is utilized. (Total percentage of both partners not to exceed 100%)
  3. Doubles will be a mixed tournament with no restrictions.
  4. Play to consist of a walking doubles, round robin format. Play may consist of double rounds but should attempt to finish in one day if possible. Games can be either points or shoes but players should get at least 160 shoes pitched.

 

 

Article XIV (Hall of Fame)

  1. Purpose: The purpose of the Idaho State Horseshoe Pitcher's Hall of Fame is to create a Hall of Fame Committee which will in turn create Guidelines for nominating and inducting Adult members of the ISHPA into the Hall of Fame.
  2. Mission Statement: To seek out deserving people who have set aside years of their personal time and effort to promote, build and better the sport of horseshoe pitching within the state of Idaho.
  3. Committee: The committee shall consist of a committee Chairperson chosen by the Executive Board and 6 other adults whom are active members of the ISHPA who are in good standings. Committee members are to be chosen by the Chairperson.
  4. Committee Duties: It is hereby recognized that the Hall of Fame Committee shall adopt and set forth certain Categories and Criteria's within the Categories in order to allow all adult voting members guidelines for selecting potential candidates for the Hall of Fame.
  5. Membership: The nominee must have been an adult member in good standing of the ISHP A for a minimum of 10 years. His/Her attitude and initiative should uphold and enhance the image of the ISHPA.

    Pitcher: The nominee is one that must have or had and outstanding record of pitching performance and has won several titles at the state or world level.
    Organizer/Promoter: One who has made significant contributions to the game in an administrative capacity as a charter officer, as a promoter, or as an organizer. Any of the previous must have contributed a significant amount of time working towards the growth of horseshoe pitching within the state of Idaho above and beyond the norm.
    All nominees must meet the criteria listed above in the membership category and also the criteria requirements in either the Pitcher or the Organizer/Promoter category.
    An announcement for candidates will be placed in the first newsletter of the year. The request is to be completed by an ISHPA member expressing why the selected name should be considered for the hall of fame. Each letter of recommendation will be sent to the committee chairperson as they are received. Once received the chairperson will distribute the names via email to all other Hall of Fame committee members for discussion and a vote.
    Voting Procedures are as Follows: Each of the committee members has a total of 15 points they can vote on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis. No candidate can receive more than 5 points from a single committee member. First choice does not have to be a 5 if he/she is not a strong candidate.
    The highest score a candidate can receive is 5 points from each committee member for a total value of 30 points. It takes at least 64% of the 30 point maximum or 19 points for the candidate to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. It is possible to induct 2 (two) candidates a year into the Hall of Fame.

    6.