CONSTITUTION

ROCKLAND MINOR HOCKEY ASSOCIATION

REVISED May 14, 2006

(Note:  This is the HTML version of the official RMHA document, contact RMHA if you want an official version.)

This and the following articles shall supersede all previous constitutions, rules and regulations of the Rockland Minor Hockey Association.

ARTICLE 1:    NAME

  1. The organization shall be called the Rockland Minor Hockey Association (RMHA) in English and Association du Hockey Mineur de Rockland (AHMR) in French.
  2. RMHA is a non-profit organization and is subject to the constitution, rules and regulations of District III of the ODMHA, Ottawa District Minor Hockey Association (ODMHA), Ottawa District Hockey Association (ODHA) and Hockey Canada.
  3. The girls division is jointly managed by RMHA and Clarence Minor Hockey Association (CMHA) and is called the Clarence-Rockland Girls Hockey Association (CRGHA).
  4. CRGHA is a non-profit organization and is subject to the constitution, rules and regulations of the Ottawa District Women's Hockey Association (ODWHA) and Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA) & Hockey Canada.

ARTICLE 2:    AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The following are the aims and objectives of the Association:

  1. To provide recreation and allow our young hockey players to have fun.
  2. To foster the best training possible for the youth in the short and long term.
  3. To protect and maintain the interests of minor hockey.
  4. To work towards the development and improvement of minor hockey.
  5. To encourage the involvement of parents within the Rockland Minor Hockey Association.

ARTICLE 3:    MINOR HOCKEY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

  1. The RMHA Executive Committee shall consist of 14 positions as follows:
    1. President (preferably bilingual)
    2. Past-President and
    3. Eleven (11) Directors
    4. One appointed Referee-in-Chief
  2. In addition, three (3) Life Members may be included on the committee.
  3. All members must either
      1. reside within the RMHA boundaries as defined by District III of the ODMHA and the ODHA.
      2. have a child playing in RMHA or
      3. have served on the RMHA executive in the previous year.
  4. All persons occupying a position in any other minor hockey association is ineligible for any position on the RMHA Executive Committee.
  5.  
    1. The President shall assign each Director to one of the executive positions (See Article 3, #7).
    2. The President shall appoint a Referee-in-Chief which must be approved by 50%+1 of the executive committee.
  6.  
    1. Life membership is the highest honor which can be bestowed by the Association and is awarded only for distinctive services to the Association.
    2. The maximum number of life-members shall be limited to three (3) at any time.
    3. Life members shall have the same rights and privileges accorded to the elected Directors.
    4. Life membership shall remain in effect until he/she resigns or does something detrimental to RMHA.
  7. The following is to be used as a guideline for assigned executive positions:
    1. Vice-President PGL
    2. Vice-President Nation
    3. Vice-President Girls
    4. Vice-President Initiation
    5. Risk & Safety/Abuse & Harassment Director
    6. Secretary/Publicity
    7. Treasurer
    1. Ice Scheduler
    2. Timekeepers
    3. Equipment
    4. Banquet/Special Events
    5. Tournaments/Fund Raising
    6. Registrar
    7. Development Director (Coach Mentor)
  8. Any position not filled at elections or vacated during the year will be appointed, voted & approved by the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE 4:   EXECUTIVE MEETING PROCEDURE

  1. Quorum: 50% of the executive members must be in attendance in order to have quorum.
  2. Executive meetings will proceed in accordance with the following general agenda:
    1. Attendance;
    2. Acceptance of the Agenda;
    3. Acceptance of the Minutes of the last meeting;
    4. President's Report;
    5. Directors' Reports;
    6. Rolling Action List;
    7. Financial Report;
    8. New Business;
    9. Adjournment.
  3. A maximum of ten (10) minutes will be allowed for the discussion of an item which appears on the agenda. If a vote is required, it will be taken. If an item cannot be resolved because of lack of information, this item will be referred to the agenda of the next meeting. The president or his/her assigned delegate has the power to refer the item to the agenda of the next meeting.
  4. The Rockland Minor Hockey Executive Committee shall meet at least once per month from August to May.

ARTICLE 5:   ELECTIONS

  1.  
    1. Election of the RMHA executive committee will take place between May 1st and May 31st of each year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
    2. All positions are for a one-year term, June 1st to May 31st except as noted in c) and d).
    3. The President shall be elected for a two-year term.
    4. The Past-President is automatically appointed or re-appointed.
  2.  
    1. To accede to the position of President, the candidate (s) must have served for a minimum of two (2) years on any minor hockey executive.
    2. To accede to any position within the Executive Committee, the candidate(s) must be present at the AGM.
    3. In the event that the candidate(s) can not be present, the nomination, along with the candidate's acceptance of the nomination, must be submitted in writing to the RMHA Secretary at least two (2) days prior to the AGM.
  3.  
    1. In the event of a tie vote, the Election's President shall call for a second, third, etc vote until the tie is broken and a winner elected.
    2. In the event of a tie where there are more than 2 candidates, the candidate with the lowest number of votes will be removed from each subsequent vote.

ARTICLE 6:   ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)

  1. The AGM shall occur between May 1st and May 31st.
  2. The time, date and location of the AGM must be advertised in the local newspaper(s) at least two weeks in advance. In addition, it is to be announced at the year-end banquet(s).
  3. Any amendment to the Constitution must be submitted in writing to the RMHA at least two weeks prior to the AGM. Proposed changes must be signed and seconded before they can be accepted by the RMHA Secretary.
  4. Proposed Constitution changes are to be voted on prior to the election of the new Executive Committee (see Article 7 Voting Eligibility). and require a 50% + 1 majority in order to be passed.
  5. Nomination for Life Membership must be made at the AGM with the endorsement of at least 90% of the members present.
  6. Director Reports and Financial Report shall be submitted by the outgoing Executive Committee prior to the election of the new committee.

ARTICLE 7:   VOTING ELIGIBILITY

At AGM

  1.  
    1. Each RMHA parent with children registered in the current year.
    2. All persons recognized by RMHA as being an official, coach, trainer or manager in the current year.
    3. All current members of the RMHA Executive Committee.

At RMHA Executive Meetings

  1. All current Directors, Past-president and Life members that have accepted director positions, are eligible to vote.  The President can only vote in the case of a tie.

ARTICLE 8:   DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE

  1. A Disciplinary Committee shall be formed by the President as required to deal with any matter referred to it by RMHA Executive Committee.
  2. Membership on the Disciplinary Committee shall be adjusted in order to ensure the fairest committee possible for any given situation.
  3. The Disciplinary Committee will have the authority to discipline any team official, referee, player, team, parent or member of the Executive Committee who fail to follow the guidelines set forth by RMHA.
  4. Decisions made by the Disciplinary Committee are final and can not be overruled by the RMHA Executive Committee. Appeals may be made to District III in accordance with their Rules and Regulations.

ARTICLE 9:   TEAM OFFICIALS

  1. The President shall convene a Coach Selection Committee, which shall consist of at least three members of the RMHA Executive Committee and no more than five.

ARTICLE 10:   REFEREES

  1. The referees are under the guardianship of the Rockland Minor Hockey Association and shall be supervised by the person appointed to the position of Referee-in-chief.

ARTICLE 11:   JUNIOR "C"

  1. Junior C was purchased by individuals in 1998 at the cost of $2,000.00 with the condition that RMHA has first right of refusal if the team is ever offered up for sale. The purchase price to RMHA is to be $2,000.00 at that time. (See attached Appendix 'A')

ARTICLE 12:   COLOURS

  1. The Rockland (NATS) Minor Hockey Association colours are the same as the New York Rangers (2000).
  2. The Clarence-Rockland (LIGHTNING) Girls Hockey Association colours are the same as the Minnesota Wild (2001).
  3. Any team wanting to purchase articles with the RMHA or CRGHA name and/or logo must have prior approval of the executive committee.

ARTICLE 13:   RULES AND REGULATIONS

  1. The RMHA Rules and Regulations Document, although separate, form part of the Constitution.
  2. Changes to the Rules and Regulations may be made, at any time during the year, by the Executive "in-power" with an absolute 2/3 majority of the Executive eligible for voting. In order to be ratified, all changes made during the playing season must be submitted in accordance with Article 13, #3 below.
  3. Proposed amendments to the Rules and Regulations, including any changes made during the playing season by the Executive, must be submitted in writing to the RMHA secretary, two weeks prior to the AGM.
  4. Proposed amendments to the Rules and Regulations are to be voted (see Article 7, Voting Eligibility) on, prior to the election of the new Executive Committee, in the following manner:

The above Constitution, dated revised May 14, 2006, has hereby been amended and approved.