A club allows you to get together with other skaters that are interested in advancing inline figure skating. You can let others know where you get together. You can post your club's name and location on the Internet so that you can attract new members. A club can also hold competitions and get help from USFIFS and postings on the website. USFIFS will also help in sending out advertisements to let others skaters know about your events.
Full Member Club
These are part of our legislative body. The USFIFS is currently run totally by the Board of Directors, which is the administrative body. This will change when there are sufficient clubs and then the Board will be the administrative body and the Governing Council will act as the legislative body. Needs at least 5 current USFIFS members Needs three officers that are adults and USFIFS members. The main officers are President, Secretary and Treasurer. There can also be a Vice-President. A person cannot hold more than one position. There is no requirement at this time to submit club bylaws or that your club become incorporated. However, these are good things for you to do. You also do not need to report any of your actions. You might want to let us know about your successes and activities so that we can publicize it.
Provisional Club
The primary focus of this club level is to become a full member club. A provisional club needs to have at least 3 USFIFS members. They can be youth or adult members. Needs to have funds handled by an adult if the treasurer is not an adult. Has a President, Secretary and Treasurer. One person can hold more than one position. Does not have any rights of representation at the annual meeting of clubs, the Governing Council. However, they can participate in discussion and can have the right to make statements on the floor at Governing Council. Can upgrade to a full member club by meeting the requirements of a full member club as described later in these instructions. Can be all youth except that an adult is needed for any legal signatures and to handle financial affairs.
Inactive Club
Is a club that does not annually report the officers. Is a club that does not send in the annual club application. Is a club that does not hold annual meetings, or events and so forth. Must pay an annual fee to avoid becoming defunct.This fee allows the club to reserve the club name during a reorganization. Otherwise the name can be reused. Is determined by the Board, or a committee or individual assigned by the Board.
Delinquent Club
Is aclub that has not paid their annual dues by Jan 1. Is aclub that blatantly violates some rule of the USFIFS. Does not have Full Member Club rights until the delinquency is remedied. Must pay an annual fee to avoid becoming defunct. This fee allows the club to reserve the club name during a reorganization. Otherwise the name can be reused Is determined by the Board, a committee, or an individual assigned by the Board.
Choosing a Name
You should choose a name that is not in use by another other skating club. The USFIFS Board can reject a name if it is not considered appropriate to the goals and image of the organization or is already in use. You should think of a name that ends in “Inline Figure Skating Club”For example you might choose a name like “North Shore Inline Figure Skating Club”.
New Members
It is preferable you submit all individual membership applications with this club application packet . If you are not able to do so, please forward your club application to us and then follow-up with the individual membership forms as soon as possible. If an individual joins after the beginning of the membership year of Sept 1st, please forward the application to us as soon as possible and the skater will be added to your club list. A separate Individual Membership Form must also be filled out for each member in addition to the Club Membership form. The fees may be paid together.
Location
The USFIFS is a rink-independent organization. USFIFS clubs can be based anywhere, such as a park, gym or rink. USFIFS members can train at multiple rinks. The only club requirement is that you are focused on inline figure skating. Individual facilities may impose their own training, insurance and registration requirements of which you need to be aware.
Upgrading Club Membership Level
A club can upgrade the level of membership from Provisional to Full Member Club by meeting the requirements of a Full Member Club that are listed earlier and paying a fee that is the difference between the Provisional and FullMember club fees. If you apply for the upgrade after Jan 1 then the fee will be half of the difference. You should see the Club Registration Form for the exact fee schedule. In order to restore your membership from Inactive or Delinquent you must remedy whatever caused your club to become Inactive or Delinquent. If the club is defunct then it must be reformed.You also need to pay any fees that are owed to the organization. The reinstatement is done by the Board of Directors.
Appeals of Status
If a Provisional, Delinquent , Inactive or Defunct status is assigned by the Board, a committee or individual assigned with this task it can be appealed to the Board or to a regular or special meeting of the Governing Council once we have enough clubs (a minimum of 10 Full Member Clubs are needed).
Holding Events and Getting Sanctions
If you hold any public event that you want to be USFIFS sanctioned, an application should be submitted to the USFIFS Board of Directors at least 120 days before your scheduled event. Upon approval of your sanction application, your club event must meet the standards of the USFIFS and will be able to use the USFIFS name as necessary. Failure to meet USFIFS event rules and standards may result in punitive action against the sponsoring club by the USFIFS governing board. USFIFS allows sanctioning from other organizations for the same event, such as USARS, but we cannot speak for the policies of any other organizations other than USFIFS.
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