Note: A nicely formatted PDF Version of the Bylaws is available as well.
Article I — Name
A. The name of the Association shall be the Great Falls Soccer Club (GFSC) Soccer Program t/d/b/a “Great Falls Soccer”.
B. The Association shall be a non-stock corporation organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and shall seek tax-exempt status under the Regulations of the Internal Revenue Service.
Article II — Purpose
The purpose of Great Falls Soccer shall be to provide a wholesome, well-organized medium to teach soccer skills, teamwork, and good sportsmanship as well as contribute to the general health and social well being of all participants, in accordance with these bylaws.
Article III — Membership
Any parent or legal guardian of a member, who is registered to play soccer, or any volunteer head coach, shall be considered a member of and be entitled to one (1) vote in this organization for one (1) year from the date of last registration or 1 year from the date of the end of the last game coached. No one shall be denied participation because of an inability to pay the registration fee.
Article IV — Government
Sec 1: The government of Great Falls Soccer shall be vested in a Commissioner and a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall consist of the following positions:
• Vice President of Fields
• Vice President of Field Scheduling
• Vice President of Rules and Regulations (Competition)
• Vice President of The Recreational League and Suburban Friendship League
• Director of SFL
• Secretary
• Vice President of Finance
• Vice President of Coach, Referee and Player Development (External)
• Vice President of Outreach
• Vice President of Administration
• Vice President of Travel
• Directors of Travel Leagues (Three Positions)
o Director of NCSL
o Director of WAGS
o Director of ODSL
Sec 2: Steering Committee – The Commissioner and the Board of Directors shall comprise the “Steering Committee” that will be responsible for managing Great Falls Soccer affairs subject to the will of the membership.
Sec. 3: Appointment of Directors – The appointment of Vice-Presidents and Directors on the Steering Committee shall be at the sole discretion of the Commissioner.
Sec 4: Selection of a Commissioner – There shall be a standing Nominating Committee chaired by the current Commissioner and further comprised of two (2) Board members appointed by the Vice-President of Administration for purposes of selecting a Commissioner. The members of the Nominating Committee shall be approved by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall charge the Nominating Committee with eligibility criteria for potential nominees at the March Steering Committee meeting. The Nominating Committee shall report back to the Steering Committee’s April meeting with at least one candidate for election to the position of Commissioner. At the April Steering Committee meeting, the nominating committee shall report the results of their search. The Steering Committee, by majority vote shall approve the nominating slate proposed by the nominating committee. Election of the Commissioner shall occur at the annual meeting as set forth in Section 5, herein.
Sec. 5: Election of the Commissioner shall be by majority vote of the voting members present at the annual meeting of Great Falls Soccer. There shall be no voting by proxy.
Sec 6: Term of Office – All members of the Steering Committee shall take office immediately upon election or appointment and serve for two years. All terms shall commence on the day of appointment and terminate when a successor takes office.
Sec 7: Vacancies on the Board of Directors – Vacancies of the appointed Board members shall be filled by the Commissioner after obtaining consent of a majority of the Board of Directors. Such appointees shall serve the remainder of the term of the individual being replaced. A vacancy of the office of Commissioner shall be filled by the Board of Directors.
Sec 8: Vacancy of the Commissioner – A vacancy in the office of Commissioner, because of death or prolonged absence, may be declared by a two-thirds (2/3) or more vote of the Board of Directors at a duly called meeting.
Article V — Meeting
Sec 1: There shall be an annual meeting of Great Falls Soccer, held on the first Monday evening in May (unless otherwise specified). The purpose of this annual meeting shall be to conduct elections and to conduct other matters of interest to the general membership. At least ten (10) days prior to the date of the annual meeting, announcements of the meeting, and the names of the candidate(s) the Nominating Committee is putting forth for election, shall be sent to all voting members by electronic mail to the most current e-mail address on file with the Director of Administration and shall be posted on the Great Falls Soccer web page.
Sec 2: Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held at least six (6) times a year at such time and place as decided by the Commissioner. A majority of the Steering Committee shall constitute a quorum.
Sec 3: Special meetings of the membership may be called by the Commissioner, a majority of the Board of Directors or a written petition of at least one hundred (100) members. Notice of such meetings shall be given to the membership seventy-two (72) hours in advance. Petitions for special meetings must be presented in triplicate, one copy to the Director of Administration, one copy to the Commissioner, and one copy to the Director of Rules and Regulation.
Article VI — Duties of Officers
Sec 1: The Commissioner:
a. Appoints the fourteen Directors who, along with the Commissioner, constitute the Steering Committee.
b. Appoints one of the Directors as the Deputy Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner will serve as the Acting Commissioner when the Commissioner is unavailable or unable to attend a meeting of the Steering Committee.
c. Calls and chairs meetings of the Steering Committee, as well as the general meeting; casts only a tie-breaker vote in the Steering Committee.
d. Shall be the soccer representative to the GFSC.
e. Shall oversee the activities of all Directors.
f. Shall appoint and oversee the activities of the Administrator.
g. Shall appoint the KIDSAFE Coordinator who shall ensure that GFSC is in compliance with U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and Virginia Youth Soccer Association (VYSA) mandate regarding the establishment of a Risk Management Program.
h. Shall be responsible for public relations and communications, including the web page and maintenance of the telephone Hotline.
i. Shall serve or appoint a delegate to serve as a member of the National Capital Soccer League (NCSL), Washington Area Girls Soccer League (WAGS) and Old Dominion Soccer League (ODSL).
j. Makes decisions on the cancellation of practices and games and publishes such information on the Hotline.
Sec 2: The Vice President of the Recreational League and Suburban Friendship League:
a. Shall have two season’s experience as a soccer coach or Age Group Coordinator, unless otherwise agreed upon by the Steering Committee.
b. Shall select Age Group Coordinators and SFL Director.
c. Shall assist Age Group Coordinators and SFL Director in selection, supervision, and replacement of coaches.
d. Shall be responsible for purchase and distribution of equipment, awards, and uniforms for Steering Committee approval.
e. Ensures that the Age Group Coordinators and SFL Directors carry out their responsibilities as listed below.
f. Shall be responsible for the administration and selection of All Star teams and coaches for the All Star soccer program.
g. Shall be responsible for sending in all star tournament application form, collecting money, distributing uniforms, patches and schedules.
h. Foster the development of all-star teams by encouraging the team concept and facilitating the transition of U8 players into the Travel Program and of other players into the Travel Program as appropriate.
i. Sets up schedules for all leagues.
j. Responsible for working with Vice President of Field Scheduling to schedule all practices and games on fields.
Sec 4: SFL Director
a. Shall act as the SFL Club Representative
b. Shall act as liaison between the SFL and the Great Falls Soccer Steering Committee.
c. Coordinates all aspects of organization of Great Falls teams participating in the SFL, including uniforms, registration forms, notices, scheduling rosters, etc.
d. Shall coordinate the SFL post-season tournament, including field availability and referees.
Sec 3: The Vice President of Outreach:
a. Shall coordinate with the Commissioner on communication and program marketing matters.
b. Shall be responsible for planning and developing marketing materials including brochures and circulars on various events.
c. Shall make recommendations on web content and improvements.
d. Suggests to the Steering Committee any means of raising funds which require Steering Committee approval.
e. Shall coordinate all fundraising events, including advertising, purchasing necessary items and organization of volunteers.
Sec 4: The Vice President of Field Scheduling:
a. Shall confer with the Vice President of the Recreational League if there is a request or need to release or change a field or location during the season.
b. Shall be responsible for obtaining adequate fields and for allocation of fields for practice and games, coordinating the responsibility with other sports.
Sec 5: The Vice President of Fields:
a. Shall be responsible for planning and coordinating the maintenance and preparation of fields.
b. Acts as liaison between the GFSC and Fairfax County Recreational Authority and any other County Boards or Departments with jurisdiction over sports/soccer and/or fields.
c. Attends and participates in meetings concerning field allocations and GFSC field needs.
Sec. 6.: The Directors of the Travel Programs (Three Positions: Director of NCSL – Director of WAGS – Director of ODSL).
a. Shall be responsible for organizing and supervising the appropriate travel teams which compete in their designated league.
b. Shall be responsible for recommending travel team coaches to the Steering Committee for approval by majority vote.
c. Shall attend meetings as GFSC representative to the appropriate league.
d. Shall be responsible for practices and games including cancellations of fields on which travel teams would play with notifications to teams and appropriate league of such cancellations.
e. Sets up practice schedules for teams.
Sec. 7: The Vice President of Rules and Regulations (Competition)
a. Act as Parliamentarian at all meetings of the Steering Committee and general membership.
b. Maintain up to date copies of the rules, bylaws and regulations of VYSA, USSF, Laws of the Game, the SFL, and all travel leagues in which Great Falls teams participate.
c. If necessary, updates and/or revises the Rules and Procedures for the House and Travel Leagues, advises the Steering Committee on the changes to these documents and obtains approval of any updates from the Steering Committee.
d. If necessary, updates and/or revises the bylaws and the rules and regulations of Great Falls Soccer, advises the Steering Committee on the changes to these documents and obtains approval of any updates from the Steering Committee.
Sec. 8: The Secretary
a. Shall take and publish the minutes of all Steering Committee and general membership meetings.
b. Shall publish and distribute notices of Steering Committee and general membership meetings.
c. Shall publish and distribute proxies for the general membership meeting.
d. Shall take roll at all Steering Committee and general membership meetings and advise the Commissioner of whether a quorum is present.
e. Shall oversee the activities of the KIDSAFE Coordinator who shall ensure that GFSC is in compliance with U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and Virginia Youth Soccer Association (VYSA) mandate regarding the establishment of a Risk Management Program.
Sec. 10: The Director of Coach, Referee and Player Development (External)
a. Shall develop programs and clinics for players, coaches and referees.
b. Shall identify organizations authorized to hold Coach licensing classes.
c. Shall organize coach licensing classes, publish notice of such classes and encourage coach attendance.
d. Organize classes for referee training.
e. Shall establish minimum certification requirements for referees.
f. Shall oversee the relationship between GFSC and its Technical Director
Sec. 11: The Vice President of Finance
a. Coordinates with the GFSC Treasurer the financial information regarding soccer during the seasonal year.
b. Ensures that there are sufficient funds for all particular issues regarding the expenditure of funds.
c. Shall raise all issues involving finance at Steering Committee meetings.
d. Prepares a budget for the soccer program.
Sec. 12: Vice President of Administration
a. Oversees the relationship between GFSC and its Administrator.
Sec. 13: Vice President of Travel
a. Shall oversee the travel leagues and coordinate with the Directors of Travel Leagues
Sec. 14: The Administrator (non-voting position):
a. Shall be responsible for registering all players and collecting all fees.
b. Shall be responsible for bookkeeping, bill payment, financial reports and tax returns.
c. Shall coordinate all Steering Committee meetings and prepare “Source Books” for new Steering Committee members.
d. Files membership report with VYSA and insure all fees due to VYSA are paid
Article VII – Removal from Office
Sec 1: Any Board member who misses three (3) consecutive regularly scheduled Board of Directors meetings shall be removed from the Board of Directors, unless good cause is established to the satisfaction of the majority of the other Board members.
Sec 2: If it shall be called to the attention of the Board of Directors that it would be in the best interest of Great Falls Soccer that a person be removed from the Board, that person may be removed by the following procedure:
a. Notification in writing to the Board member in question of pending action concerning his or her removal at least ten (10) days prior to consideration by the Board of Directors.
b. For due cause and by a vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Board of Directors, the Board of Directors shall recommend to the membership at the next regularly scheduled membership meeting that such Board member should be removed from office.
c. For due cause and by a secret ballot vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members present at such membership meeting, the person shall be removed from office.
Article VIII — Standing Committees
Standing Committees may be established by the Commissioner with approval of the Board of Directors.
Article IX — Rules of Order
Roberts Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the proceedings of all meetings of Great Falls Soccer and its constituent parts, except as provided in these Bylaws.
Article X — Delegations
Delegations or special committees, as may be necessary, may be appointed by the Commissioner to represent Great Falls Soccer in any convention or meeting, subject to the approval of and/or direction of
the Board of Directors. Such delegations shall be free to vote on all matters unless specifically instructed by the Board of Directors.
Article XI — Coaches’ Code of Conduct
The Board shall adopt an appropriate Coaches’ Code of Conduct and shall amend and modify it as necessary.
Article XII — Audit
There will be an annual audit of financial accounts related to the soccer programs conducted by an independent auditor. There will be a report of the results to the members at the annual meeting.
Article XIII — Indemnification
The Board shall adopt an appropriate policy for the Indemnification of the Commissioner, Directors, former Directors and Commissioners, or any person who may have served at the request of the Commissioner or the Steering Committee and shall amend and modify it as necessary.
Article XIV — Amendments
These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) or more vote of the members present at any regular or special meeting, provided that the members shall be given written notice of the proposed amendment(s) at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting at which the amendment(s) shall be acted upon. Publication of a general notice of proposed Bylaw changes in the local press shall constitute adequate notice.
Article XV —Dissolution
In the event the Association decides to dissolve and cease operation,
A. The dissolution shall be made by a two-thirds (2/3) or more vote of the members present at any regular or special meeting, provided that the members shall be given written notice of the proposed dissolution at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting at which the dissolution shall be acted upon. Publication of a general notice of proposed dissolution in the local press shall constitute adequate notice.
B. Upon dissolution of the Association, no board member, officer or member shall benefit by receiving any asset of the Association. All such remaining assets shall be distributed to successor or similar organizations, the decision of the board being final in determining which such organizations.