INDIAN HEAD TORPEDOES BY-LAWS

Purpose: The The Indian Head Swim Team (IHST), is comprised of children up to 18 years of age. We are members of the Prince-Mont Swim League founded in 1959 to sponsor and coordinate competitive swimming programs to develop children's aquatic skills, teamwork, love of the sport and principles of good sportsmanship. The Prince-Mont Swim League is comprised of teams from Prince George's, Montgomery, and Charles Counties, as well as the District of Columbia. These by-laws are established to provide a set of standard guidelines for the organization and conduct of the IHST.

Membership: Swim team membership is open to all local children of Southern Maryland up to 18 years of age. The IHST membership shall consist of the swimmers and their legal guardians. Applicants must register annually prior to each swim season. Membership shall be limited to 100 swimmers maximum. Registration dates will be determined prior to each swim season and published in the IHST Web Site each spring. Registration requires the completion of the registration form with the legal signature of parents or guardians, full payment of the registration fee, and the verification of birth date. Proof of date of birth is required for all new members. Members are required to report special medical conditions or medications to the coach and the board of directors. Medical conditions will be kept strictly confidential. No swim team applicant may participate in swim team functions or practices until registration is complete and in order.

Qualification for membership on the swim team shall be at the discretion of the swim team coach(es) and the swim team Board of Directors. If, after a reasonable amount of time, the coach(es) determines a child is not ready to participate in competitive swimming, the child will be dismissed from the team and the membership fee will be refunded.

Officers And Board of Directors: The IHST is a non-profit entity governed by the IHST Board of Directors and is operated by volunteers, with the exception of the coaches who receive a seasonal salary. Coaches will receive a 1099 form after the swim season. The board comprised of the elected officers and the chairpersons of Standing Committees, shall be elected by majority vote of the membership at the general membership meeting held at the conclusion of each swim season. Each swim team family will have one vote. The elected officers, each having one vote, shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and League Representative. The elected Standing Committee Chairpersons, each having one vote, shall consist of Meet Manager Chairperson, Team Gear Chairperson, and the IHST Booster Club Chairperson. The Head Coach will have one vote except on issues pertaining about her or him. Alternate League Representative and Assistant Meet Manager, two non-voting officials, shall be elected by majority vote of the membership at the general membership meeting held at the conclusion of each swim season, In addition, there shall be two non-voting swim team representatives’ chosen by the swimmers (one male and one female each from the 15-18 age group, Under Head Coach Supervision ). The term of all offices shall be from 1 September to 31 August.

The Board of Directors may appoint special committees, to handle specific needs or activities. The Chairperson for each special committee shall be appointed by the Vice President, with approval of the other elected officers, and shall have no voting powers.

The specific duties of the elected officers and appointed committees shall be followed as described in the IHST Job Descriptions of Elected Officers, Appointed Committees, and Volunteers.

The Board of Directors [BOD] shall meet in an executive session in January,March and September to discuss and conduct business of the swim team. The Board of Directors shall hold a Team Meeting in June and August for orientation and elections respectively. Special Team Meetings should given 14 days notice and the membership must be notify via e-mail and must be advertised on the Swim Team web site. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the elected members of the IHST BOD. A quorum is required in order for the BOD to vote on policy and contracts.

Responsibilities: The responsibilities of the IHST Torpedoes coaches, parents and swimmers are outlined in the following paragraphs. They are established to provide a code of conduct for all participants in the IHST Torpedoes swim team.

Coaches responsibilities: The Board of Directors will hire a head coach and coaching assistants, as needed, who are responsible for the training and instruction of the swimmers. The head coach will recommend to the Board of Directors the practice times. The coaches will conduct the practices every weekday and manage the swim meets on the weekends in accordance with the Prince-Mont Swim League schedule. They will also manage any special meets scheduled during the week or weekends. The coaches will prepare the team for meets including the seeding of the swimmers for each event at the meet, and selection of the relay teams. Parents should be aware that not all swimmers can/will swim in all events. The coaches are solely responsible for the seeding and parents shall not interfere with such responsibility. The coaches shall be attentive to the needs of each swimmer and shall strive to achieve fairness and equality to all swim team members. The coaches are the final authority for discipline and suspensions of members for disciplinary reasons. (Money will not be refunded for discipline reasons, should the coaches recommend removal of a swimmer from the team.)

Parents Responsibilities: The parents (or guardians) are responsible for making sure their swimmer(s) attend practices and meets. Parents must provide transportation for their swimmer(s) to and from practices and swim meets. Swimmers with valid driver’s license may drive their siblings to and from practice. At the completion of all practices and meets, swimmers are required to exit the pool area, Swimmers must notify one of the coaches when leaving the swim area, therefore parents must be timely picking up their swimmer(s). Parents must notify the head coach, in writing, no later than the close of practice on the Wednesday before each meet if their swimmer(s) will not be able to attend a swim meet. Interfering with the coaches, swimmers, or officials during swim meets or practices is strictly prohibited and will result in ejection from the pool area. The swim team is responsible for cleaning the designated team area prior to departure, after both home and away meets.  

Swimmers Responsibilities: Each swimmer must actively participate in a minimum of three practices before each meet to be eligible to swim in the weekly swim meet (unless otherwise approved by the head coach). Each swimmer must swim in a minimum of three Prince-Mont dual meets during the season in order to be eligible for a team award. If a swimmer is unable to attend a meet, the coach must be notified in writing no later than the close of practice on the Wednesday before each Saturday Meet. Swimmers, who fail to report to the pool at the designated time, or refuse to swim a particular event, will not swim in the meet that day.

Swim Team Rules and Regulations: The IHST Torpedoes will follow the rules and regulations required by the Prince-Mont Swim League. (Please refer to the Prince-Mont Swim League Handbook)

Problem Resolution: Problems regarding the swim team shall be reviewed by the Board of Directors and resolved in a timely manner. Whenever possible, problems should be submitted to the board in writing. Final decisions on all swim team problems rest with the Board of Directors.

Changes to By-Laws: Changes to these by-laws must be made by a two-thirds majority vote of the membership. Any swim team member may recommend changes. Changes must be specific and submitted in writing to the board with supporting rationale/justification. The board shall consider all changes, vote and notify the membership of their decision.

Effective: The IHST By-Laws have been approved by a two-thirds majority vote and are effective as of September 2, 2010 .

__signed ______________________ 9/02/2010

President, IHST Torpedoes Date

__signed______________________ 9/02/2010

Vice President, IHST Torpedoes Date