Western Collegiate Water Ski Association

BYLAWS

FOR APPROVAL

REVISED FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Article I Name

This organization shall be officially known as the Western Collegiate Water Ski Association (WCWSA).

SECTION I: The WCWSA shall consist of the following states: Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Hawaii and Alaska. In addition, the WCWSA will be split into two conferences, The Pacific Conference, and the Northwest Conference. The Pacific Conference shall consist of the following areas: Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Utah, Colorado and the area of California south of San Luis Obispo, CA. The Northwest Conference shall consist of the following areas: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, and part of California from San Luis Obispo, CA and north. From time to time the Executive Committee will schedule tournaments in both conferences. If two tournaments are held on the same day, teams must attend the tournament in their conference. If there is no tournament in one conference and a tournament is held in the other, teams from both conferences may be invited at the discretion of the host. From time to time schools may host a tournament in which as little as one other school may attend.

Any tournament in which all members of the designated conference are not invited to participate will not count toward national or all-star qualifying unless agreed to by unanimous consent of the WCWSA board.

Article II Purpose

The purpose of the Western Collegiate Water Ski Conference is to serve as the Western Region organizational, administrative, and sanctioning body for collegiate team water skiing competition, and to promote safe collegiate skiing in every way.

Article III Membership

SECTION I: Membership is open to any college or university in the Western Region.

SECTION II: Eligibility; member schools must have a minimum of one skier to constitute a team, according to the provisions of Rule 4.4 of the NCWSA Tournament Rules; all team members must be registered students on their respective campus. Eligibility for each skier will be verified by the Regional Director according to the provisions of Rule 4.1 of the NCWSA Tournament Rules and Article 3 Section 2 of the NCWSA Bylaws. Any team competing with ineligible skiers (or skier) will be disqualified from each tournament affected. According to NCWSA Tournament Rule 4.1.1.2, a student shall be limited to four (4) spring and four (4) fall seasons of A-Team competition and four (4) All Star tournaments, which must be completed within six (6) years (72 months) from the date the skier first competed as an A-Team skier. Calendar year 2020 is not counted in the six (6) year (72 month) window, (expires 1/1/2027). A skier may apply for a medical redshirt and receive one extra fall or spring season of eligibility. For further clarification, please refer to NCWSA Tournament Rule Section 4.

SECTION III: A yearly membership fee will be charged to each school participating in the Region. This fee covers all Regional expenses, and the amount of this fee will be determined yearly by the Board of Directors.

SECTION IV: Each member school may be asked to sponsor or co-sponsor one tournament each term, Fall and Spring, depending on the lack of tournament reservations. Tournament requests must be made in writing to the Regional Chairman. The tournament schedule for the calendar year will be determined at the WCWSA mid-winter meeting. It is recommended each school be self supporting. (Judges, Drivers etc.)

Article IV Meetings

SECTION I: General meetings will be held one time each term unless otherwise scheduled by the Board of Directors or Regional Chairman. (Regional Championships & All-Star Qualifier)

SECTION II: Special meetings may be called by the Regional Chairman or Vice Chairman with one week notice.

SECTION III: The executive Committee meetings shall be held when necessary and shall be called by the Regional Chairman at any given time. All members of the committee will be notified.

Special meetings shall be as follows:

Opening of meeting by Regional Vice Chairman
Reading minutes of previous meeting
Officers Reports
Committee Reports
Advisors Reports
Balloting
Old Business
New Business
Announcements
Adjournment by the Regional Chairman

Article V Officers

SECTION I: The elected bodies of this Regional shall be the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. In addition, there shall be a treasurer and a secretary. Honorary Directors may also be elected by the board.

SECTION II: The Board of Directors will consist of one team captain or Coach from each member school. Team captains shall hold their position for a period of one term, or until their successor is elected. The Board of Directors will serve as representatives voting body for the general membership. Typical duties shall include; policy setting, communication, committee assignments, tournaments, administration, finances, and special projects.

SECTION III: The Executive Committee will consist of the Regional Chairman and Regional Vice Chairman. Conference Chairmen and AAC (Athletes Advisory Chair) are optional at the discretion of the Board of Directors. The Executive Committee shall be voted upon by the Board of Directors and shall hold offices for one term or until their successors are elected. The Executive Committee, including the treasurer and secretary will serve as non-voting communication liaisons between the Regional Chairman and the Board of Directors. No one person shall hold more than one seat on the executive committee, with the exception of an interim term, not to exceed 1 year.

SECTION IV: The Regional Chairman will consist of one elected person. The Regional Chairman shall hold their position for one calendar year or until a successor is elected. The Regional Chairman shall act as the Regional representative on the National Collegiate Water Ski Association Board of Directors. The Regional Chairman shall have the authority to vote and execute on behalf of the Western Region on the National level. This authority is received by popular consent of the WCWSA Board of Directors. Typical duties include; advising, communication on the National level, and voting on policies and rules for the National Collegiate Water Ski Association.

SECTION V: The Regional Vice Chairman will consist of one elected person. The Regional Vice Chairman shall hold their position for one calendar year or until a successor is elected. The Regional Vice Chairman will serve as advisor to the Executive Committee and Board of Directors. The Regional Vice Chairman will also serve on the NCWSA Board of Directors. The Regional Vice Chairman shall have the authority to designate or appoint people for special assignments. Also, the Regional Vice Chairman shall have the authority under unusual circumstances to make discretionary judgments and conduct executive business on behalf of the Board of Directors. The authority of the Regional Vice Chairman is received by popular consent of the Board of Directors. This authority may be revoked by the Board at any time. Typical duties include; advising, finances, committee direction, and special projects coordination – tournament scheduling, eligibility, etc.

SECTION VI: The Regional Chairman or Regional Vice Chairman shall have the authority under unusual circumstances to make discretionary judgments and conduct executive business on behalf of the Board of Directors, in the case of a vacated or non-performing committee chair. This authority is received by popular consent of the Board of Directors. This authority may be revoked by the Board at any time. Typical duties include; advising, finances, committee direction, and special projects coordination – tournament scheduling, eligibility, etc.

SECTION VII: The Regional Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining the checking account, invoicing teams for all payments due to the region, and preparing the year end budget statement. The Regional Vice Chairman shall oversee these responsibilities.

SECTION VIII: The Regional Secretary shall take the minutes at the midwinter meeting and any other scheduled captains meetings. The Secretary shall also collect and tabulate all email votes and record all email ballots during the year for presentation at the midwinter meeting. The Secretary shall also maintain the Region contact list and administer the email communication group.

SECTION IX: Honorary Directors may be elected to the board at the midwinter meeting. The term of these directors shall be for life. They must receive 2/3 vote of the board to be elected. Honorary Directors shall have a voice in board discussions but no vote. This position may be given to anyone with sufficient service as a Regional Chairman or Regional Vice Chairman on the WCWSA executive board. The current WCWSA Honorary Directors are Harley Wallace, Craig Batchelor, Brian Dulgar, and Bill Schneiderwind.

Article VI Voting

SECTION I: All members of the Board of Directors are eligible for one vote.

SECTION II: All Board votes will be decided by a simple majority.

SECTION III: A quorum shall consist of 51% of the current Board membership.

SECTION IV: The Regional Chairman and Executive Committee have no voting power.

SECTION V: All, by e-mail ballots must be sent by midnight of the day they are due. Nominations for executive Directors and all other changes or nominations should be in before the established deadline.

SECTION VI: In the case of no scheduled WCWSA mid-winter meeting, all votes for Regional Chairman and Regional Vice Chairman are due by February 28.

Article VII Amendments

SECTION I: The yearly dues of this Region, as decided by the Board of Directors at the WCWSA mid-winter meeting, February 2012, should be $200 per team. Reduced dues have been approved for teams of five or less members. Dues for 1 person are $45 plus $10 for each additional member up to 5 persons or $85. Special petitions for a reduction in dues may be made to the Regional Chairman.

SECTION II: This Region shall maintain a checking account in the name of the Region.

SECTION III: The Regional Vice Chairman has the responsibility to oversee the job of the treasurer, and is ultimately responsible for all region finances and money handling. The Regional Vice Chairman shall direct the treasurer to make a yearly financial statement to be reviewed by the Board of Directors.

SECTION IV: If any member drinks alcoholic beverages before or during a tournament, or if any member is deemed to be behaving in a disorderly manner during the tournament weekend, the individual will be penalized or disqualified for one or more tournaments at the discretion of the Board of Directors. If a problem persists the team may be disqualified from Nationals or All-Stars.

SECTION V: Code of Conduct, Violations, Suspensions, Expulsions

Code of Conduct to be followed:

For teams and collegiate skiers to promote the character development of participants, to enhance the integrity of higher education and to promote civility in society, student-athletes, coaches, and all others associated with these programs and events should adhere to such fundamental values as respect, fairness, civility, honesty and responsibility. These values should manifest not only in athletics participation but also in the broad spectrum of activities affecting the athletics program.

Any guidelines set forth prior to any NCWSA event are to be followed without question. Guidelines set outside of the standards for a NCWSA event are put in place to protect both the host and the participants. Vandalism of any kind will not be tolerated as it puts the WCWSA/NCWSA at risk as well as the host, and participants involved and their respective teams. Any behaviors or actions that could potentially discredit the NCWSA/WCWSA, any teams within the NCWSA, or any members of the NCWSA or put any of these entities at risk of harm will be treated as a violation and will be dealt with immediately.

Violations of Code of Conduct include but are not limited to:

Unsportsmanlike conduct*
Any willful violation of WCWSA, NCWSA, and/or USA Water Ski & Wake Sports rules or procedures
Criminal or fraudulent acts
Failure to pay indebtedness and/or regional and/or national dues
Theft
Failure to comply with tournament, host site, and/or host team rules
Any act that is contrary to the objective and purposes of the WCWSA, NCWSA, and/or USA Water Ski & Wake Sports
An active Safesport Investigation as the perpetrator
Under the Influence of a Mind Altering Substance**

*Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Any contestant (or their team) or official whose conduct is deemed unsportsmanlike or whose conduct may cause discredit to NCWSA/WCWSA, either on or off the tournament site before, during, or after the tournament, may be disqualified from participation in the tournament.

**Under the Influence of a Mind Altering Substance: Being under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or any other mind altering substance, or if his participation would be a danger to himself or others, subjects a competitor to disqualification procedures.

Procedures to be followed when Code of Conduct has been Violated:

Any further action regarding a skier or team who has violated the code of conduct will be at the discretion of the WCWSA Board of Directors to decide if harsher action than standard procedure should be taken and final decision will come from the WCWSA Executive Committee. An outcome of super majority of the WCWSA Board of Directors cannot be overturned by the executive committee.

Penalties are as follows:

Standard Policy for one violation for a member or team based on offense:
1. Disqualification from said tournament, if applicable
2. Loss of hosting own tournament for one year, if applicable
3. One year probation period
Second violation within two years of last violation, in addition to one violation penalty:
1. Four year probation period
2. Suspension from the current Fall Season or upcoming Fall Season
Third Violation within two years of last violation, in addition to first and second violation penalties:
1. Regional Chairman notifies the school of violations and consequences
2. Two year suspension, from date of violation, in all WCWSA related activities

Any decision can be appealed to the National Board according to the National By-laws.

Article VIII Communications

SECTION I: The Regional Vice Chairman will coordinate all correspondence within the Regional.

SECTION II: The Regional Vice Chairman may appoint people to assist with this task.

Article IX Tournaments

SECTION I: Sanctioned Tournaments

The Western Region will schedule an optimum of ten tournaments (five each term) excluding the All-Star and National tournaments. Each team is encouraged to host or co-host a tournament in any year. Tournaments should be scheduled in order to provide an equitable solution to traveling. It has been decided that tournaments should be scheduled to minimize travel for all.

In the case of no scheduled WCWSA mid-winter meeting, tournament dates must be submitted in writing prior to February 14th for the Spring and April 30th for the fall dates. The priority for tournaments will be as follows:

— tournaments submitted prior to the deadline

— three event tournaments

— two day tournaments

Teams submitting tournaments with these few requirements will be given equal priority. Late tournament bids will be considered by The Regional Chairman or Regional Vice Chairman if dates are available.

SECTION II: Regional Championship Tournament

The Regional Championship Tournament will be held in the Fall term to determine the five teams that will represent the Region at the Nationals. The tournament should be scheduled for the last week in September or the first week in October (at least two weeks prior to the Nationals) in order to allow teams to prepare for the National Tournaments. Teams wishing to host the Regional Championships must meet these requirements:

— proposal submitted one week prior to the midwinter meeting or February 14 in the case of no meeting

— two day events

— three event tournament

— AWSA sanction Class “C”

Teams that desire to host the Regional Championships at a “neutral” site will be given additional priority. A neutral site is defined as a tournament site that is not consistently used as a team practice site.

If directed by the WCWSA board of directors The Pacific and Northwest Conferences may hold a Conference Championship to determine the teams to be eligible to participate in the WCWSA Regional Championships. An equal number of teams will be required to be invited from each conference. No less than 4 teams from each region will be eligible to attend the Regional Championship. If no determination has been made by the WCWSA board, all teams must be allowed to participate in the Regional Championship.

SECTION III: Tournament Fees

A maximum of $25 per skier may be charged for three events at any tournament. A maximum of $30 per skier may be charged for three events at the Regional Championship Tournament to allow for team awards and extra Championship tournament expenses. Also $5 per person up to a maximum of $25 for a team fee may be charged at any tournament.

A regional sanction fee of $150 shall be paid to the WCWSA per tournament, to fund annual regional operations. The treasurer shall invoice all hosting teams for this fee within 10 days of the tournament scorebook being posted. The team hosting the tournament will have 60 days to forward this fee to the treasurer or they will be assessed a $25 late fee.

SECTION IV: Uniforms

All competitors shall wear competition bibs identifying them as members of a team from their school at the Regional Championship Tournament, and are strongly encouraged to wear them at all WCWSA tournaments. Ski vests and jump suits with a team identifier on them shall also be accepted. Acceptability will be at the discretion of the Pacific Conference Chairman, the Northwest Conference Chairman, the WCWSA Regional Vice Chairman and the tournament Chief Judge. If there is not a majority the Regional Chairman shall make the determination. At the Regional Championships, if it is deemed that a competition bib is unacceptable, the skier will be disqualified from the event.

Article X National Team Selection

SECTION I: National Championship Tournament

The teams that will be selected to represent the Western Region at the National Championship Tournament will be determined by their overall score at the Western Region Championship Tournament. The five highest scoring teams will be selected to represent the Region. In order for a team to be eligible to represent the Western Region at the National Championship Tournament, they must attend at least three collegiate tournaments during the full year, preceding the Western Region Championship Tournament. In the event that there are fewer than three collegiate tournaments during this period, the selected team must have attended the number of tournaments held. If the selected team does not meet the above requirements, the next highest overall scoring team that meets the criteria will be chosen. In the event the team is brand new starting in the fall of the qualifying regional championship, the team must attend all fall tournaments within their conference, including regionals, in order to be eligible for nationals.

SECTION II: All-Star Team

Individual performance data will be compiled by the Regional Chairman or Vice Chairman or an appointed person of eligible member teams only from all tournaments of the Fall/Spring season. This will be presented to the Board of the Directors at the Spring meeting optimally two weeks prior to an out of Regional All Star tournament or one week prior to a Western Regional hosted All-Stars. Assuming the three skiers per school All-Star rule, the top ten skiers in each event will be determined. In the event a team cannot be fielded at three skiers per school, it will be allowed to have up to four skiers per school per event per the NCWSA All-Stars Tournament Standards Team Selection Section 2. The Board of Directors may use any criteria deemed appropriate and fair in their selection. To be eligible to represent the Western Regional at the All Stars, a skier must participate in at least two tournaments in the fall season prior to All Stars, and two tournaments in the spring prior to All Stars. All ten spots will be treated as special cases. Two alternates per event will also be selected as well as All-Star Team Captain(s). Members of the Board of Directors may send a team representative if they cannot attend the selection.

Article XI Regional Records

Any time a skier sets a regional record, they are required to submit the regional board for approval of the new record. Please refer to the WCWSA website for a full list of regional records.