(a) Provide quality coaching, clinics, camps and team play;

(b) Provide competitive opportunities through participation in the West Michigan Youth Soccer Association, the Michigan State Youth Soccer Association and the United States Youth Soccer Association

(c) Promote and sponsor sanctioned tournament play for national and international amateur competition

(d) Support recreational and / or developmental soccer programs in the community and encourage SWM club players to participate in and support such programs

(e) Work cooperatively with local governmental organizations and boards to provide quality sporting facilities to the community

(f) Work cooperatively with other community sports programs

The activities of the SWM Club are not limited to the above activities, but all activities must be consistent with the following article of incorporation as a non-profit organization.

Section 1.2 – Non-Profit Organization Status
Consistent with the above stated purposes, the SWM Club shall be operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes as those terms are intended to be applied in Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and corresponding provisions of further Revenue Acts. No part of the Corporation’s net earnings is to inure to any private member or individual. No substantial activities related to legislative lobbying or political campaigning shall be performed by the SWM Club, except to promote amateur soccer. In no circumstance will the SWM Club operate on behalf of any political campaign on behalf of or against any candidate for public office.

In pursuance of the SWM Club’s above listed charitable and educational purposes, the Corporation shall be empowered to exercise, among others, the following:

(a) To solicit, accept, acquire, receive, take and hold by bequest, devise, grant, gift, purchase, exchange, lease, transfer, judicial order or decree, or otherwise for any of its objects, and purposes, any property, both real and personal, or whatever kind, nature, or description and wherever situated;

(b) To sell, exchange, convey, mortgage, transfer, lease, or otherwise dispose of any such property, both real and personal;

(c) To exercise such powers as may be permitted by law, including but not limited to, the Michigan Nonprofit Corporation Act (Act 162 of 1982) 53

(d) To transfer all assets to local community governmental parks boards in the event the Club should dissolve.

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Article II – Members of the SWM Club

Section 2.1 – Classes of Members
The SWM Club shall have the following classes of members:

(a) By the President. 76

(b) By the request of twenty percent (20%) of all Class B members. Any request for additional meetings shall state explicitly the purpose or purposes of the proposed meeting and shall follow proper notification of meeting time and location.

Section 2.4 – Notice of Meetings
Notice of the time, place and purpose of each meeting of the members, signed by the President or a Vice President or the Secretary and stating the authority upon which issued, shall be served either personally or by postal or electronic mail upon each member of record entitled to vote at such meeting. Notice shall be sent not less than 10 days prior to date of meeting.

Meetings can be held without notice if all members entitled to vote are present in person or by proxy or if attendance is waived by written notification or by another authored and signed source such as telegram, radiogram, cablegram, or e-mail.

Members wishing to express an objection to meeting, due to improper notification procedures, shall state the objection at the beginning of such meeting, prior to transaction of normal business. The President or his designee shall at that point in time make a determination regarding the objection and decide if the meeting must be re-scheduled with proper notification or if the meeting may proceed and the objection is not recognized.

Section 2.5 – Quorum
A quorum shall be 2/3 of the members entitled, by presence or by proxy, to cast votes at a meeting. Members may continue to do the business of the SWM Club so long as a quorum is present, with the single exception of calling for adjournment; and, re-scheduling a date and time for a future meeting.

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Article III – Directors and Management Committee

Section 3.1 – Directors General Powers, Number, and Qualifications
The property, business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by its Board of Directors. The Board of Directors will be comprised of the following nine (9) members of the management

3.2.2 - Treasurer (3 – Year Term):
The Treasurer of the SWM Soccer Club reports to the President, establishes and maintains accurate, up-to-date accounting records of the SWM Soccer Club business transactions and financial positions.

Article IV – Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Section 4.1 – Third Party Suits
To the extent permitted by Michigan law in effect and subject to the provisions of this Article IV, the Corporation shall indemnify any person who was or is a party to or is threatened to be made a party to any pending, current or past action suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative by reason of the fact that he is or was a director, officer, employee, member or agent of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation.

Article V – Rules, Regulations and Operating Policies

Section 5.1 – Club Operating Practices
The SWM Club will develop, regularly review and maintain, and publish on request its operating rules, regulations and formal operating policies. These operating guidelines are to be reviewed annually as each new Board of Directors begins its term. If any revisions are made, the changes must be published within 30 days.

WMYSA Rules and Regulations:

SWM Club will abide by the rules and regulations of the West Michigan Youth Soccer Association. A copy of these regulations is published each season and given to all head coaches. Any conflict which arises between SWM or WMYSA regulations is to be resolved by the board. Until resolved, the SWM Club regulation

SWM Club Rules and Regulations:

In addition to the above referenced WMYSA Rules and Regulations, SWM Club has adopted the following rules and regulations. A copy of these regulations is to be published each season and given to all head coaches.

Team Formation: Teams are formed by open tryouts publicized in the Herald-Palladium and other community publications. Tryouts may begin on June 15 for fall teams and January 15 for spring teams. The head coach is responsible for holding tryouts and team formation. Tryouts shall be run using the guidelines defined in the WMYSA rules and regulations, which dictate a fair and equitable tryout.

However, selection is the head coach’s responsibility and typically will include subjective assessments on teamwork, coach-ability, and parent support. Selection will avoid a team composition promoting a specific school district(s) or cliques. Selection will be made without bias to race, creed or color.

Age Brackets: Teams are formed by age brackets. U10, U11, U12, U13, etc. up through U19 (or whatever current WMYSA guidelines dictate). Teams (may) exist for both boys and girls brackets. Players are required to tryout, each year, within their appropriate age bracket.
Players may not play down under any circumstance. Players may play up, if ...

1) the coaches in both affected age brackets, agree that the individual is best served by playing up.
2) the player is objectively evaluated as being in the top five of the older team
3) the Coaching Committee approves the request.

Playing-up is discouraged and should be done on an exception basis only. Coaches requesting a player from a younger age group to play on his/her team must submit a written request to the Coaching Committee, stating the reasons for the exception. Consideration may be given for players locked out of another team due to age/season issues, players with established relationships on existing teams, and other special circumstances. Playing up for one year does not automatically guarantee that the player will play up in subsequent years.

Multiple Teams in Age Bracket: There may be multiple teams formed in a particular age bracket. The number of teams in an age bracket is governed by WMYSA regulations. Where multiple teams exist within an age bracket, the teams will be designated as A, B, etc. Team formation will be made on the basis of a single age appropriate tryout. The Coach Committee will identify the Coaches for each team. Player selection to the teams will be as follows:

The coach of the A team will make the first 10 player selections.
The coach of the B team will make the next 5 player selections.
The coach of the A team will make 5 additional player selections.
The coach of the B team will make 10 additional player selections.

This process maybe modified by the Coach Committee when necessary and when three or more teams are involved.

Practices: Per WMYSA regulations, teams may practice as frequently as they wish. SWM Club requires teams to practice a minimum of once per week during the seasons. Twice per week is recommended. Practices will be a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 2 hours. Coaches are expected to communicate clearly, to players and parents, the teams expectations for practice attendance, dates, times and locations of practices. Parents and/or players are to communicate to coaches when and why practices are missed.

Tournaments: SWM Club teams will play tournaments in addition to the league schedules, typically in the summer months. The Southwest Michigan Select Soccer Club board will designate one tournament for club-wide participation. Exemptions to participation in the selected club-wide tournament may be granted by the board if the skill-level of the team is not considered competitive enough for tournament play. Participation in additional tournaments is at the discretion of the teams; however, each team is encouraged to play in at least two tournaments per year.

Fees: Fees for league play are dictated by West Michigan Youth Soccer Association. A SWM Club membership fee, per team, per year, ( currently $50.00, but subject to committee vote) is required for participation in Southwest Michigan Select Soccer Club. These fees are to be spent at the discretion of the SWM club for purposes of referee and coach development, facility development, public relations or other club development activities. Motions and voting on expenditures are to be determined at club meetings. Actual expenditures are controlled by the SWM Club Treasurer.

Equipment: Each team is responsible for equipping their respective teams. Uniforms colors are dictated by the club to be: Royal blue with white trim as the primary jersey, shorts, and socks color. Alternate jersey is to be white with (optional) royal blue trim.

Playing time: Players are not guaranteed a minimum level of playing time. Playing time is dictated by game conditions, score, health, attitude, behavior, commitment, and/or skill level. Coaches are encouraged to provide players with a minimum, per game, playing time as follows:

U10, U11 & U12 Players receive a minimum of _ game playing time
U13 & U14 Players receive a minimum of 15-20 minutes of play
U15 & above No recommendation

Club Discipline: Head Coaches are accountable for players and parents. Teams, coaches, managers, parents or players who do not abide by the intent and letter of these rules are subject to board sanctions. Sanctions can range from reprimands to suspension of participation, to exclusion. Request for sanctions should be presented to the board in writing.

Additionally, SWM Club teams are expected to exhibit exemplary sportsmanship. Behavior to the contrary is subject to disciplinary sanctions imposed by the board.

Field Maintenance: Each team is responsible for supporting club efforts to maintain the playing fields in the best possible condition. This includes turf repair, field stripping, net replacement / repair, litter pick-up, general lawn / grounds keeping. This will require labor and proportional funding of materials from individual team budgets.

Field Assignments: Teams will be assigned to available playing fields by the Equipment and Field Coordinator, subject to the approval of the board. Field assignments will be based upon providing the highest quality fields that allow coverage by referee assignments as well as developing a ‘home’ field advantage.

Referee Assignments: Home games will be refereed by USSF registered referees. Every effort will be made to provide three officials for each game. The West Michigan Soccer Referee Association (WMSRA) referee coordinator will make the assignments. Referees will be paid based upon the WMYSA guidelines. Each team is required by WMYSA to have an available, USSF licensed, ‘sponsor’ referee.

Team Management: Head coaches are responsible for team management. Team management can be handled directly or by a team manager. Effective team management will consist of the following minimum activities: Hold a Parents Meeting prior to the beginning of each season to communicate the expectations for team involvement, finances (past year report and present year budget), fund raising, organization of practices, season calendar, tournament plans, and to distribute written information such as financial reports, rosters, call chain, the SWM bylaws and / or WMYSA regulations.
 

Appeal Process: Any member, (coach, player or parent) may appeal an organizational decision by petitioning in writing to the Board of Directors. The petition must state the reason for appeal and explain the interpretation of bylaw or procedure or precedent on which the appeal is made. Appeals must be submitted, in writing, to the President. The President is expected to bring the issue to the BOD and reach a resolution in a timely manner (30-60 days).

Each team is responsible for managing their funds for uniforms and team expenses independent of the SWM club, but the SWM club requires funds be handled responsibly and a proper accounting for receipts and disbursements must be published at each parent meeting. At no time should anyone personally, financially benefit from the operations of an SWM team or the club in general.

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Copyright 2003 SWMSSC