Lake Ronkonkoma Ice Boat and Yacht Club

Founded 1923

Constitution and Bylaws

Version 1 March 2003

CONSTITUTION

 Article 1

Name:  The Name of this sailing club shall be the “Lake Ronkonkoma Ice Boat and Yacht Club”.  The club was founded in 1923.

 Article 2

Objective:  The sole purpose of the club shall be to further the interest in the sport of ice boating.

 Article 3

Non-profit status:  The organization shall run as a non-profit one, collecting dues only to run events, such as swap meets, social gatherings and race events or to purchase tools or equipment for the membership to further safely enjoy the sport.

 Article 4

Governing Body:  The club shall have a board of directors consisting of at least four officers.  The officer

positions shall be decided by the club bylaws.

 Article 5

Membership:  Anyone who is interested in the sport of  ice sailing shall be eligible for membership regardless of race, sex, creed or country of origin.

 Article 6

Official Meetings:  Meetings shall be held at least once annually to discuss  business and elect club officers.  The bylaws of the club shall determine how often meetings are to be held.

Article 7

Voting Quorum:  All members in good standing shall have an equal vote.  A quorum at the Board of Directors meeting shall be a majority of the board of directors.  A quorum at a general or annual meeting shall be any number of members in attendance of such meeting that is properly advertised to the entire membership roles held in good standing. 

  Article 8

Membership Dues:  Dues are to be paid annually in order to keep members in good standing.  The club membership shall vote on the dues fee as necessary.

 Article 9

Dissolution:  If the club is to be dissolved, the Board of Directors shall decide as to what non-profit organization or organizations shall receive its assets upon dissolution.

 Article 10

Notice:  Notice of general meetings or annual meetings shall be made by mail or electronic mail, no later than one week prior to such meetings.  Attendance at such meetings shall waive any right as to claim of non-notification.

 Article 11

Changes to the Constitution:  To change the constitution or make amendments to it, a 2/3s majority of the entire membership role in good standing must vote in favor of such a change either at a publicized meeting or  via mail or electronic mail. 

 Article 12

Changes to the Bylaws:  Official Club Bylaws may be changed by a majority of any group of members present at any official general or annual meeting that has been advertised to all members in good

standing via mail or electronic mail.  No changes shall be made to the club bylaws that  would reverse, supercede  or modify the articles of the constitution.

 BYLAWS

 Section 1 Officers

1.1  The club shall have the following officers:

       Commodore, Vice Commodore, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer

       and Rear Commodore

1.2  The Board of Directors shall consist of all officers plus the immediate Past Commodore.

1.3  All officer candidates shall be members in good standing.

 Section 2 Management Duties

2.1  The Commodore shall preside over all meetings and events and shall be a liaison between the club 

       and other ice boating organizations and authorities.  He or she shall delegate authority or tasks to

      other officers and may create committees or positions as he or she sees fit.  The Commodore shall

       be trusted to and has the authority to approve expenses deemed necessary for the benefit of the

       general membership without the pre-approval of the membership. (i.e. dinner and event fees, trophy

       fees and emergency equipment fees)

2.2  The Vice Commodore shall preside at all meetings or events in the absence of the Commodore. 

       He or she shall be solely responsible for gathering regatta and trophy scoring and for the running

      of the annual championships.  The Vice Commodore is the Race Committee Chairperson of the club

      unless another designation is made. He or she is responsible for determining the winners of yearly

       awards.  If he or she is not present for any of these duties said officer must assign someone to take

       on these duties. 

2.3  The Recording Secretary shall take the minutes of all meetings and shall perform club

       correspondence  with any outside authorities or agencies. The Recording Secretary shall hold

       and take care of all past documents and historical data.  The Recording Secretary shall provide

       applications for membership

2.4  The Corresponding Secretary shall be responsible for all membership mailings and meeting

       notifications and shall provide a newsletter to the members in good standing.

2.5  The Treasurer shall be responsible for collecting all annual dues, shall keep all accounting records

       for the club, shall pay any debts officially incurred by the club and shall mind all the financial 

       matters of the club. 

2.6  The Rear Commodore shall be the caretaker of the club.  He or she shall help all other officers if

       need be.  The Rear Commodore shall help in all aspects of the club as needed.  The Rear Commo-

       dore shall make arrangements for the annual dinner.

 Section 3  Tenure of Officers

3.1  All officers shall be voted on at the last meeting of the winter season (March) of all even calendar years and shall serve a term of two years. All officers shall be installed at the annual dinner.

 3.2  In the event of a vacancy, the Commodore shall fill the vacancy with a member in good standing until the next election.  In the event of the Commodore’s death or long term absence, the Vice Commodore shall assume all responsibilities for the remaining tenure.

 Section 4 Meetings and Events

4.1  Any publicized meeting via mail or electronic mail to all members in good standing is an official meeting of the club.  All meetings shall be run accordingly to Robert’s Rules of Orders.

4.2  The club shall hold a meeting at a designated site on the first Tuesday of the following months each year. January, February, March and December.  The Commodore may decide to postpone or shift the date of any meetings as he or she sees fit. 

4.3  It is recommended that the club should hold the following annual events:  The Annual Trophy

Dinner, the Summer Picnic and the Fall Swap Meet.

4.4  The Commodore may call for a board of directors meeting when he or she deems necessary.  The board of directors may make decisions on policy, spending and scheduling as long as they do not violate the constitution or bylaws of the club at any time.  A majority of the directors is needed to pass any vote.

The Commodore may only vote to break a tie.

 Section 5 Voting

5.1  All members in good standing shall have voting rights at all meetings.  They shall only cast one vote per call to vote.  There are no absentee votes.  At any official meeting, the membership may vote to overturn any decision of the Commodore or the Board of Directors as long as it does not violate the constitution or bylaws.

5.2  Voting shall be by a show of hands or yay, nay unless the majority of voters vote for a call to be taken by written ballot.

 Section 6  Dues

6.1  The club membership shall decide as to the rate of the annual dues.

6.2  The initiation fee upon being accepted into the club shall be determined by the membership.

6.3  The Membership may vote to redistribute excess funds to help subsidize the annual dinner.

 Section 7  Committees

7.1 The Commodore, on the recommendation of the board of directors, of his or her own discretion or at the request of the membership may form a committee to investigate a club matter, nominate officers or run an event at any time. 

7.2 All committees must report to the board of directors unless otherwise directed by the membership.

 Section 8 Bylaw Amendments

8.1  The bylaws may be changed by the majority of the membership at any official meeting, as long as they do not violate the principles of the constitution.

 Section 9  Membership

9.1 There shall be four classes of membership as follows:

      Active:  A member in good standing who has paid his or her dues for the current season.

      Mailing:  A member who is not currently to date on their dues, has no voting rights or trophy

      eligibility but may receive the club notifications for up to two full years without renewing his

      or her dues.

      Inactive:  Any member who has not paid their dues for a period of more than two years will remain

      on the club member record list only.  This person has no privileges.  An inactive member may pay

      his or her  back dues in lieu of being subject to reinitiation.

     Honorary:  The club may vote to make a person an honorary member to have full privileges and

    mailing rights without a fee.  These memberships are for long term outstanding members to the

     club or community members who have dedicated a service to the club.  This membership may be

     revoked by the membership in cases where the person has defiled the honor bestowed.

 Section 10  Trophies

10.1  The following trophies shall be awarded by the club each year at the annual awards dinner if applicable to the season’s events:  LI DN Championship, LI Skeeter Championship, LI J14 Championship,

DN Point Trophy, Skeeter Point Trophy, Stern Steerer Point Trophy, J14 Point Trophy, Speed Trophy,

Diver’s Trophy, Rescue Trophy and the David M. Weeks Memorial Award.  Other trophies that are decided upon by club families may also be annually awarded.  Those not listed here officially, are decided upon by the families that award them at their own discretion.

10.2 Trophy descriptions:  a.) LI DN….Memorial Ed “Rock” Hildreth Perpetual Trophy plus keepers

                                           Perpetual “B” fleet trophy to top silver fleet champ plus keepers

                                           Platinum fleet award:  Top skipper over 65

                                           b.)  LI Skeeter….Memorial Warren Darress Perpetual Trophy plus keepers

                                                  Platinum fleet award:  Top skipper over 65

                                           c.)  LI J14 Trophy….Perpetual  trophy* plus keepers

                                          d.)  DN Point Trophy….. Perpetual Joe Wells Trophy plus keepers

                                          e.)  Skeeter Point Trophy….Perpetual trophy plus keepers

                                          f.)  Stern Steerer Pont Trophy….Perpetual trophy plus keepers

                                          g.)  J14 Point Trophy….Perpetual Trophy plus keepers

                                          h.)   Speed Trophy…..Awarded to the fastest clocked boat during the coarse

                                                                              of the season.

                                           i.)   Diver’s Trophy…..Perpetual Award for best “dunking”

                                           j.)   Rescue Award…...Perpetual Zebulon Wilson Award to the most

                                                                                courageous rescue of the season.

                                           k.)  David M. Weeks Memorial…...Perpetual Award to the top LRIBYC

                                                                                                Skipper at the annual DN  North Americans

10.3  The amount of awards given out each season is determined on a participation/cost basis by the commodore or board of directors or designated committee.

 Section 11 Major Events

11.1  The following events should be run each season if at all possible:

                         a.  LI DN Championship

                         b.  LI Skeeter Championship

                         c.  LI J14 Championship

11.2  Any major event racing class may be broken up into gold and silver fleets on a voluntary basis or by the discretion of the  race committee.  Depending upon the number of entrants or the location of the event, fleets may be separated at the start.  If racing together, the fleets shall be scored separately.

11.3  The Skeeter Championship may be a mix of different classes that meet the standards of the ISA with no handicaps.

11.4  The J14 class is for class legal boats under the J14 Class Association rules

11.5  The DN class is for class legal boats under the IDNIYRA rules.

11.6  LI championship events may be raced on the same day(s) or different day(s) depending upon conditions.

11.7  Eligibility:  All skippers must be a resident of Long Island or have been born on Long Island to be eligible for scoring.  Other sailors are welcome but will be scored outside of the fleet.

11.8  A race committee with official equipment must run these events.  (Official equipment  must include clearly visible marks and flags.  Starting blocks are recommended.)  No self starting is allowed.  The race committee is appointed by the Vice Commodore or race committee chairperson.  He or she

need not attend but is ultimately responsible for calling the event and finding a committee.

11.9  Events should be held on first good ice, due to the variable conditions in winter time on Long Island.

11.10 The events may be held at any time of the year that ice is available. i.e. December, if the regattas were not held the previous season.

11.11  These events should be sailed on Long Island ice.  They may be run off of Long Island if the

following conditions are met:  a. If a regatta has not been sailed by February 10th it may be moved to the closest available good ice.  b.  A minimum of eight (8) DNs or three (3) Skeeters or three (3) J14s must be met.  c. A race committee appointed by the Vice Commodore or race committee chairperson must   physically start and run the races with official club equipment (cones/marks, starting blocks, flags etc.)

11.12 Event rules:

A.          Rules that apply for these and all club events are those prescribed by the NIA.

B.       Each class’ individually prescribed racing and measurement  rules apply.

C.        Racing may be carried over into the second day of a weekend if necessary.

D.        A minimum of three (3) races constitute a regatta.

E.       The standard format shall be six (6) races with no throw outs, but the race committee chairperson may decide upon this at the onset of the event before racing has commenced.

F.        Scoring shall be the single point system as prescribed by the NIA.

G.        Courses shall be windward / leeward and usually contain three laps.

H.        Use of the “Darling Mark” is optional but recommended.

I.       Use of helmets is mandatory.

J.         The RCC may disqualify any skipper for unsafe sailing, equipment or unsportsmanlike conduct.

11.13  Past winners of the DN silver fleet in the LIDN Championship must thereafter sail in the

gold fleet.

11.4  Any DN entrant sailing  in the LIDN Championship with modern insert runners and / or a

completely fiberglass or other completely resin infused cloth fabric mast, must sail in the gold fleet.

11.5  The club may at any time decide to call a club sanctioned race.  Trophies may be added to the

trophy dinner for any such event or given out on the day of the event.  Race organizers should make an

attempt to notify other club members of such an event’s occurrence , i.e. “Playin’ Hookey Regatta”, “Cherry Pie Regatta”, “First Ice Regatta”, “Yankee Madness”, etc.

 Section 12  Point Race Rules

12.1  DN Class:  On weekdays a minimum of three (3) boats that are club members shall be entered

to qualify. A maximum of three (3) races per day may be counted.  If more races are held to accommodate late arriving skippers, each skipper’s first three (3) races shall count.  On holidays and weekends, the same minimums apply but a maximum of five (5) races may be sailed.

12.2  Skeeters, Stern Steerers and other classes:  The same rules apply as far as the number of races per day, but the fleet minimum is reduced to two (2) boats.

12.3  Time limits:  Races that count are all of those in the same season.  The season runs from November 1, until the annual Spring Frolic in New Hampshire.  In the event that the “frolic” is not held, the date of March 20th shall be the last day of official sailing that may be scored.

12.4  Scoring:  The officially recognized scoring system for point racing is as follows:

                        First place always gets the number of entrants plus one.  Each place afterward gets one

                        less point.  Scoring for each race is based on the number of boats that entered.  A DNF

                        always gets one point.

* Trophy yet to be crafted or donated.