Constitution & By-Laws

  

Article I:  Name and Purpose

Section I:Name

This private competitive bass fishing club shall be called the “Buford Bassmasters”

Section II:Purpose of the Buford Bassmasters

The purpose of this club is to have the most amount of fun allowed by local, sate, and federal laws, to poke fun at each other whenever possible, and to fish our asses off.

Section III: Tournaments

1.) The Buford Bassmasters will hold a minimum of one one-day tournament event per month, one two-day tournament event per year, and one championship year-end "Classic" per year.

2.) All tournaments will result in cash pay-outs for first place and big fish.

3.) The accommodation expenses (hotel/cabin rental, food, beverages) not including tow vehicle or boat expenses for the year-end "Classic" will be paid for through a portion of monthly dues being held aside expressly and solely for this purpose.

Article II:   Membership

Section I: Requirements For Membership

Any person over the age of 18 with an interest in competitive bass fishing and a current valid Georgia fishing license is eligible for membership.

Section II: Guests and prospective members

1.) Guests are allowed at all regular season events for a fee of $30.00, with $10.00 going to the club and $20.00 going to the event pot. Guests are not allowed at the “Classic”.

2.) Prospective members must fish three (3) events to qualify for full membership. Full membership is granted by favorable vote of the board of directors. New members must fish four (4) events to be eligible for the “Classic.

Section III: Dues and tournament fees

1.) Member dues are $30.00 per event, with $10.00 going to the club for “Classic” expenses, and $20.00 going to the individual event pot.

2.) Current members have the option of paying $5.00 per event to enter the “7 lbs. +” ongoing pot. Any new member wishing to participate in the “7 lbs. +” pot must pay $5.00 per month back-pay starting from the pot’s inception of March 2007.

3.) All dues and tournament fees must be current by blast-off of all events.  Any person failing to ensure all fees are paid by the blast-off deadline will be in violation of club rules and subject to disqualification of said event, and may face ejection from all future club events.

4.) All non-boaters must pay assigned or paired boater a minimum of $35.00 per event on the day of the event to help off-set the rising price of fuel, oil, and other boat expenses. For any two-day event, the non-boater’s expense will be set a minimum of $50.00 to the paired boater. The exact amount paid at each event is to be determined by the boater and non-boater paired on the day of the event immediately following weigh-in. Any non-boater failing to pitch-in on expenses will be in violation of club rules and subject to disqualification of said event, and may face ejection from all future club events.

Section IV: Leave of Abscence

Beginning January of 2008, all “leave of absence” requests are to be handled on a case-by-case basis, the outcome of which is to be decided solely by the board of directors. Any member on leave of absence as of December 2007 is considered defunct and upon returning to the club, must begin the membership process anew.

 

Article V: Club Regulations

Section I:  Approved Tackle

1.) Only artificial lures/tackle may be used for all club tournaments; however, pork rinds or pork strips are allowed.

2.) Only Casting, Spinning or Spin-Casting rods and reels are permitted.  Rods must not exceed eight feet in length.

Section II:  Operation of Boat and Motor

1.) Boater is to maintain control of the boat at all times. Both combustion and electric motors are the sole responsibility of the boater.

2.) Boater is to fish from the front of the boat, and non-boater is to fish from the rear of the boat.

3.) All tournament boats must be equipped with a fully functional kill switch and must always be attached to the driver while the main engine is running.  Failure to comply with this will result in automatic disqualification.

4.) All tournament boats must be equipped with an operating live-well system capable of keeping two limits of fish alive and in good condition.

5.) All boaters are to have proof of liability insurance of reasonable amounts at all tournament events.

Section III:  Permitted Fishing Locations

1.) Fishing is permitted anywhere on the designated tournament lake.  A distance of 100 yards must be given to other tournament contestants while fishing.

2.) Boats must remain in the water at all times during the designated tournament hours.

3.) Any and all grievances must be filed with the Tournament Director, in writing, within thirty minutes after the tournament weigh-in. 

Section IV:  Late Penalty

Penalties will be incurred for being late to the weigh-in.  Being “on time” to the weigh-in is defined as being within the no wake buoys.  There will be a one-pound penalty for each minute the contestant(s) are late.  After ten minutes, the contestant(s) will be disqualified from the tournament.

Section V:  Ties

In the occurrence of a tie situation at the weigh-in of a tournament, the tie-breaker will first go to the contestant with the highest number of fish.  If both contestants have the same number of fish, the contestant with the single largest fish will be declared the winner.

Section VI: Blast-Off for Tournaments

1.) Boats must leave the blast-off point in a numerical order as they are called out by the designated club member performing blast-off duties.

2.)  All Contestants must be wearing PFD when blasting off.  PFD should always be worn anytime the boat is “on-plane”.

Section VII: Legal/Safety Issues

1.) Members agree to indemnify and hold harmless Buford Bassmasters from any incident involving personal injury or property.

2.)  The Tournament Director and/or President shall always have the inherent right to change either the proposed lake location or the time and date of the tournament due to any and all extraneous circumstances.

Article VII: Points and awards

Section I: Tournament Point System

1.)Tournament points will be awarded based on weight of catch.

2.) Each contestant will receive 1 point for each pound fish weighed.

3.) Each contestant will receive 1 bonus point for each pre-tournament meeting attended.

4.) Each contestant will receive 2 points for each tournament fished (this also includes any “pot” tournaments or fundraising tournaments which the club hosts).

5.)  A penalty of one-tenth of a point for every pound will be given for all dead fish weighed in during a tournament.

Section II: Awards

1.)  The top three places of each monthly tournament will receive a trophy.

2.)  The top point accumulator for the year will receive a trophy.

3.) The number two through number six point accumulators will also receive awards to recognize their top six achievements.

4.)  A trophy will be awarded to the member have the largest one fish in a club tournament for the year.

5.)  Trophies shall also be awarded to the Sportsman of the Year, based on attendance, sportsmanship and numerous contributions to the club.  This member must be a club member for at least six months.  Winner shall be chosen by the general membership via secret ballot.

    Article III:  Executive and Judicial System

    Section III: Officers and their Duties

    President:
    Preside over and mediate all meeting issues and discussions and direct all official business during the course of all meetings.

    Vice-President:  
    Assist President with his duties and preside over club meetings in the event that the President is not able to attend.  Vice-President will also be responsible for all current as well as new membership activity.     Should the club’s monthly meeting require cancellation, postponement or rescheduling, the Vice-President will be responsible for notifying the membership of any changes.

    Secretary/Treasurer:
    Maintain minutes of all meetings and report to the general membership.  The secretary/treasurer will be responsible for maintaining the club’s financial records, collect dues, report to general membership regarding financial information. 

    Tournament Director:
    Responsible for conducting and presiding over all phases of all tournaments (e.g. boat inspections, blast off, weigh in, etc.).     Tabulate and maintain tournament results and report to membership after each tournament.

     

    Section II:  Board of Directors

    The Board of Directors shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer and Tournament Director. All decisions made by the Board of Directors are final and not up for discussion.

    Article IV: Amendments to Buford Bassmasters Constitution and By-Laws

    All proposed constitutional changes are to be submitted to the club Secretary, in writing, by the beginning of the monthly meeting.  The club Secretary will then present the proposed change(s) to the membership during the following monthly meting and open the floor for discussion.  All proposed amendment changes to the club constitution will be voted on during the following meeting. If the changes presented to the general membership are approved, the changes will be implemented and effective January 1st of the following year.

    The passing of any new changes/policies will require the majority rule of the general membership present at the time of voting.

    The current acting club President will serve as the tie-breaker for any changes of policies that receive a tie vote from the general membership.

     

    Amendments