Annual membership dues for the NYSHPA
are $27.00. The annual dues include
membership in the NHPA ($17.00) and membership in the NYSHPA ($10.00). It also includes NHPA Liability Insurance and
the state newsletter “the Mud”. Membership dues are payable and due January
1, or upon joining, and last until December 31 of the current year.
For the purpose of keeping the
Association membership better informed, a newsletter will be published 3 to 4
times a year and mailed to each member.
For the purpose of conducting the
business of the Association, the following officers shall be elected, and the
duration of his/her office denoted as follows:
a. President - two years, to be elected in even years;
b. First Vice President - two years, to be elected in even
years;
c. Second Vice President - two years, to be elected in odd
years;
d. Secretary-Treasurer - two years, to be elected in odd
years;
(A)
PRESIDENT:
The President
shall conduct the Spring and State meetings. He/she shall be responsible for
the selection of the site for holding the Spring meeting. He/she shall be responsible for the proper
handling of Association funds, as well as, an annual audit of the books. He/she shall assist the Tournament Director
in the selection of sites for Association sponsored tournaments, direct the
Secretary in keeping accurate minutes of the meetings of the Association, or
committees appointed by him/her, and delegate his/her responsibilities wisely
whenever he/she is unable to attend such meetings. Also, the office of President will receive a
stipend of $100 per year. In the event of death, resignation or the removal of
any officer or committee person, the President is empowered to make
appointments to fill unexpired terms.
(B)
VICE PRESIDENTS:
The Vice
Presidents shall act in all matters in the absence of the President and shall
work closely with the President in delegating advisable responsibilities for
the good of the Association. Should the
office of the president become vacant, the 1st vice president shall fill the
office of president for the remaining portion of the term.
(C)SECRETARY-TREASURER:
The
Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping accurate records of the
annual meeting and all meetings of special committees. He/she shall answer all correspondence
directed to the Association or officers, when directed to do so, and shall
further handle all moneys of the Association. He/she shall make all necessary
reports to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION.
Each May, the Secretary-Treasurer will mail each member of the NYSHPA a
copy of an addendum to the Bylaws, a list of the current officers, committees
and their members, a ballot to vote for candidates running for office, a list
of New York State tournaments, an application to the New York State
Championship Tournament and any other correspondence the President may wish to
include. Members joining after May 1st will receive these items at the time
they join. The Secretary shall receive
an annual stipend of $100.00 plus 50 cents per member in the carrying out of
duties.
(D)
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL:
a) The Executive Council
shall be made up of the officers of the NYSHPA.
b) The Executive Council
shall have full power to conduct the business of the NYSHPA between annual
meetings provided such business is not contrary to the bylaws of the NYSHPA.
c) The Executive Council
shall define and interpret these bylaws.
a) The Standing
Committees of the NYSHPA shall be: Bylaws; Hall of Fame; and Election.
b) Appointments: The
President shall make the following appointments: Analyst, Youth Director and
state newsletter editor. The Tournament
Director shall be appointed by the President if not appointed by the Host Club.
(A)
TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR:
The Tournament Director
shall be responsible each year for conducting at least one statewide tournament
for the purpose of selecting a champion in each class sanctioned by the
Association, with preference being given to the Championship Class in case of
inclement weather or unforeseen complications.
He/she shall conduct all sanctioned tournaments in strict compliance
with the regulations set forth in the By-laws.
He/she will be appointed by the host club. If this is not possible, the Tournament
Director will be appointed by the President of the Association. He/she will be empowered to appoint two
assistants to aid in conducting the State Tournament. He/she will receive a stipend of $100 after
fulfillment of State Tournament obligations.
(B)
ANALYST:
The Analyst, appointed
by the President, with the approval of the election committee, shall be
responsible for producing a listing of members' pitching averages, computer
generated if possible, that are received from the tournament directors
throughout the State. This listing will
be used by the Tournament Director of the State Tournament to seed the pitchers
in the tournament. The Analyst shall
perform any other analysis or data processing duties as directed by the
President or other Officers of the Association.
He/she shall receive an annual stipend of $100.
(C)
BYLAWS COMMITTEE:
It shall be the
responsibility of the Bylaws committee to verify that the revisions to the
Bylaws are complete and accurate.
(D) NEWSLETTER
EDITOR
The
Editor of the state newsletter shall be appointed by the President and shall
receive an annual stipend of $100.00.
The election format will be as follows:
a. All members desiring
to run for office must notify the chairman of elections by March 31.
b. Each member must
submit a short resume and their platform.
c. The chairman of
elections will send the ballots, resumes and platforms to each member by May 1.
Ballots should be marked and returned by Aug. 1, with the member’s NHPA card
number in the area of the return address on the envelope. This will allow the Election Committee
Chairperson to verify the unopened ballot as an unduplicated vote from a
current member.
d. Ballots will be
opened and counted at the State Tournament.
This will be done by the Election Committee.
e. If a candidate is
running for election or re-election without any opposition, ballots will not be
mailed. Instead, one ballot will be cast for each officer. This will be done at the State Tournament by
a designated officer or person.
f. In the event that no
candidate comes forth, by the cut off date, the President will survey the
membership and make an appointment to fill the post.
The newly elected officers will take
office at the completion of the State Tournament. Within two (2) weeks after the tournament,
all outgoing officers shall turn over to their successors, all records and
property of the NYSHPA which are in their possession. They will be liable for all missing property.
The President shall call a spring
meeting to be held in a place of his/her choice for the purpose of conducting
Association business. The Spring meeting
will be held after April 1st.
Members as of December 31 of the
previous year are to be notified of the time and place of the Spring Meeting,
as early as possible prior to the meeting, by the Secretary. Also, new members who have paid their dues
prior to this meeting should be notified.
Before March 1, the Secretary is to
receive from each club the names of their elected delegates and the names and
addresses and NHPA/State members from the previous year. The delegates from the various clubs who
attend this Spring Meeting are empowered to vote on issues as there will be no
voting at the State Tournament.
For voting purposes the delegates shall
be credited with One(1) vote for every registered member (NHPA/State card
holder) of their club. Voting on all
issues must take place at the Spring Meeting.
Independent members attending the
Spring Meeting can act as delegates for other independent members unable to
attend the Spring Meeting. Such
independent delegates shall have written permission from each NYSHPA
unaffiliated member they represent to act in such a manner, and shall notify
the State Secretary by March 1st of the number and names of the independent
members he/she will be representing.
Only the votes of the delegates and
independents will be counted at the Spring Meeting.
All delegates shall have the power to
vote on anything that arises at the Spring Meeting that should improve the game
of horseshoes in the State of New
York. This
does not preclude the written motions which are to be submitted to the
Secretary-Treasurer by Dec. 31.
Motions will pass on the majority of
club delegates and independent votes. Any
proposals to amend the Constitution and By/Laws must be submitted, in writing,
to the Secretary by December 31. All
Constitution and by-laws' motions voted on and passed by the delegates at the
Spring Meeting, shall become effective at the conclusion of the State Meeting,
except for those passed motions that contain provisions for them to become
effective at a specified date.
Business of such meeting is to be
conducted in the following sequence:
a. Call to order by the
President; b. Announcements; c. Reading of previous; meeting minutes; d. Treasurer's report; e. Old Business; f. Committee Reports; g. New business; h. Motion for adjournment
Eight (8) delegates shall be considered
a quorum to conduct Association business at the Spring Meeting. An independent member representing other
independent, unaffiliated members, as described in Article III, Section 5,
shall be considered a delegate and shall be included as part of the quorum.
If at the close of the Spring Meeting,
no club agrees to host the State Tournament, the President will designate a
Host Club. The Host Club will conduct
the Tournament at it's convenience no later than December 31st of that
year. The Host Club will appoint a Tournament
Director for a period of one year, if this is not possible, the Tournament
Director will be appointed by the President of the NYSHPA.
The Chairman for World Tournament
Delegates should be picked at the annual spring meeting. Delegates should also
be picked at this time also, if possible.
The state meeting will be held at the
State Tournament. All courts are to be closed while this meeting is in session.
Business of such meeting is to be
conducted in the following sequence:
a. Call to order by the
President
b. Reading and acceptance of Spring meeting
minutes
c. Treasurer's report
d. Discussion of old
business
e. Tournament Site for
next year
f. Introduction of new
business
g. For the good of the
Association (limit 5 minutes)
h. Announcement of
incoming Officers
i. Motion for
adjournment
The playing rules shall be governed by
the "Official Rules for Horseshoe Pitching" of the National Horseshoe
Pitchers Association. NHPA members are
allowed to pitch in only one state tournament in any given year. (NHPA Bylaws,
Article 7, Section 10). The Tournament
Director shall post the State Tournament rules and regulations in a conspicuous
place near the tournament registration desk.
The tournament director shall appoint a committee of three or more
persons to enforce the rules of the State Tournament.
The format will be at the discretion of
the Tournament Director, except where otherwise stated in these by-laws.
All contestants will wear a shirt
imprinted on the back with his/her name and city or town of residence.
All applications for NHPA cards must be
sent to the State Secretary by the applicant.
Members must have their cards by August 1st, or they cannot pitch in the
State Tournament. All sanctioned
tournament and league directors shall forward the ringer percentages of all
participants of all sanctioned tournaments and leagues to the Analyst in order
to be used as a basis for class placement in the subsequent State
Tournament. The pitcher must have
participated in a minimum of two sanctioned events (sanctioned leagues of 400
shoes or more or sanctioned tournaments) between August 1 and July 31. The high three sanctioned events will be
averaged except in the case that only two events are available. When only two events are available, they will
be averaged. Everyone must pitch in two
sanctioned events.
If a member cannot qualify for the
State Tournament because of sickness or injury, the member may qualify by
pitching 200 shoes, provided written evidence of said injury or sickness is
submitted to the Tournament Director one (1) month prior to the application
deadline for the State Tournament. The
member must qualify in the presence of a State Officer, or if this is not
possible, in the presence of a member appointed by the President. The qualifying scorecard signed by the
witnessing Officer or member, must be sent to the Tournament Director by the
witnessing Officer or member, as soon as possible. If, after review of the medical evidence and
scorecard, the Tournament Director approves, he/she will seed the member
accordingly. If the Tournament Director
disapproves, he/she will notify the member of the reason(s) for his/her
disapproval. The member may appeal to
NYSHPA President. The President and
Executive Council will review the circumstances and their decision is final.
The appeal process shall be completed by the August 1 deadline. Juniors, who are members and also legal
residents shall be allowed to pitch in the State Tournament. Juniors may qualify by pitching in one
sanctioned event or by pitching 100 shoes in the presence of a State Officer or
the President’s designee.
The application to the New York State
Horseshoe Pitching Championship shall include, but not be limited to the
following:
a. name; b. address;
c. NHPA card number; d. division
of participation; e. fee; f. dress code reminder; g. team event reminder; h. waiver of liability; i. Date of Birth for classes where age
requirements exist.
The deadline for entries shall be one
month prior to the Tournament or as indicated on the state tournament
application, whichever is earlier. After
that the Tournament Director will create a pitching schedule and each
contestant will be notified as to the time his/her class will play. Each contestant shall report to the
Tournament Director one hour prior to his/her actual scheduled pitching time,
and to be available to pitch if it is determined his/her class could start
earlier. Failure to do so could
disqualify him/her.
The pitching fee for all adult classes
shall be $27.00. The Junior pitching fee
shall be $2.50. These pitching fees are payable to the Tournament Director and
due at the application deadline. The
eight men and eight women that move into their respective Championship Class
shall pay an additional fee of $25.00.
The stated pitching fees do not include a scorekeepers fee of $1.00 per
person per game and a $1.00 per shift fee for judges and statisticians. Pitchers will pay the $1.00 score keeping fee
before each game begins. The Tournament
Director will collect the $1.00 fee for judges and statisticians before the
class/shift pitching begins. Juniors must also pay both fees. Pacers are
exempt from all fees & stats.
The Men’s Championship Class shall
consist of the top eight percentage contestants using the results from the
men’s classes ‘A’ through ‘E’. The Men’s
Championship Class shall pitch on Sunday
to determine the New York State Men's Champion.
The Women’s Championship Class shall
consist of the top eight percentage contestants using the results from the
women’s classes ‘A’ & ‘B’. The
Women’s Championship Class shall pitch on Sunday to determine the New York
State Women's Champion.
Type of play for Championship
Classes: Men, Women, Seniors, Elders and
Juniors shall be 40 point cancellation.
In the event that a seated player in a
championship class must withdraw before the start of the tournament, the next
highest available percentage player will automatically be moved up to fill the
vacated spot.
The Tournament Director shall set the
number of contestants in each class, with eight contestants in the open men’s
classes ‘A’ through ‘E’ and the women’s classes ‘A’ and ‘B’. Any such class champions shall be the official NEW
YORK STATE CLASS CHAMPIONS in their respective classes. Extra days may be added if needed so that the
tournament can be run during reasonable hours.
A 30 point or 40 shoe game format shall be used for all classes other
than the championship classes. The top 5
men’s classes (‘A’ through ‘E’) and the top 2 women’s classes (‘A’ & ‘B’)
shall be pitched on Friday or Saturday.
Play-off games will be used to break
ties for 1st place. Ringer percentages
will break other ties. Ties for 1st
place in championship classes shall be decided by a 40 point game. Ties for first place in all other classes
will be decided by a game with the format decided by the Tournament Director
prior to the start of the tournament.
The game shall consist of at least 20 shoes, but not to exceed 30
points. The format will be conspicuously
posted.
There shall be a class for Senior
Citizens if there are four or more participants. Players are Seniors if they are 60 years or
older at the start of the Tournament, or if they reach their 60th birthday
during the course of the Tournament.
There shall be a class for Elder
Men. Participants are Elders if they are
70 years old prior to the start of the Tournament. The Elders shall be a 30’ class and may
include any age man with a verified physical handicap that prevents pitching
from 40’.
There shall be a class for Junior Boys
and Junior Girls if there are four or more participants in each class. If either the Junior Boys or Junior Girls
classes have less than four participants, the classes will be combined to form
a Junior Class. However, there will be a
champion crowned for each category, (Jr. Boy and Jr. Girl) based upon the
results of the competition.
The Championship Men’s and Women’s Classes
shall have the following prize money:
1st Place -
$200.00; 2nd Place - $150.00; 3rd Place - $100.00; 4th Place - $75.00; 5th Place - $50.00; 6th, 7th, & 8th
Places - $25.00.
The balance of the prize money will be
distributed evenly to all other classes.
Prize money to be awarded is to be posted before the tournament
begins. Juniors will receive 3 trophies
per class. There shall be no restriction
as to the number of trophies obtained and distributed by the Host Club on its
own behalf. The Association is to give
the money which was formerly allocated to sponsor the Junior boy’s and girl’s
champions to the World Tournament to the Junior Scholarship Fund.
The Association will donate $4.00 for
each adult entry entered in the State Tournament to the host club.
Statistics are the responsibility of
the Tournament Director and the Analyst.
The Host Club shall be responsible for
maintaining pitching conditions consistent with the Official Rules and
Regulations. Pitchers are responsible
for preparing their courts prior to each game.
The host club shall file with the State
Secretary, ten days following the tournament, a complete report on the
distribution of all prize money and trophies, and in the name of the
Association, the Secretary shall send a letter of thanks to all
"outside" donors of money and trophies.
All exhibitions should be given or
played after the State Tournament's regular scheduled day's play, unless
scheduled by the Tournament Director prior to the start of the Tournament.
The number of entries for the State
Tournament is limited by how many entries a club can accommodate on their
courts. (Example: 11 courts -178 entries in 3 days; 12 courts -
206 entries in 3 days, etc.) Entries
would be accepted according to post office post marks (first come - first
served).
