MA Youth Rugby Organization

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Article 1

Name and Affiliation

The name of the organization shall be Massachusetts Youth Rugby Organization, Inc. hereinafter referred to as. MYRO. MYRO is a member of the United States of America Rugby Football Union and affiliated with the New England Rugby Football Union.

Article 2

Address

The physical address of the Organization shall be that listed on the annual corporate filing with the Secretary of State. The on-line address of the Organization shall be MassachusettsYouthRugby.org or MYRugby.Org

Article 3

Mission and Objectives

A. MYRO has the dual mission of

* Promoting, encouraging and developing the sport of rugby by providing school, community and regional youth programs with administrative, organizational, coaching and fund-raising support within the framework established by USA Rugby; and
* Developing the players by providing them with an environment which welcomes every child who wishes to play; respects all of the participants – players, coaches, referees, parents and fans; and values effort, integrity and sportsmanship as much as winning.

B. The objectives of MYRO shall be:

1. To support, educate, promote and foster the development of Youth Rugby in Massachusetts.
2. To advocate adherence to the Laws of Rugby Union Football as promulgated by the International Rugby Board.
3. To deliver education, programs, and services, to enable Rugby programs and participating athletes to achieve their maximum potential.
4. To provide structure and support for age grade (U-15) programs, U-19 and interscholastic competition, and high performance youth rugby opportunities.

Article 4

Not for Profit

The Organization shall be organized exclusively for one or more purposes as specified in section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and enumerated in Article IV of the Articles of Organization and Article 4 of the bylaws.

Article 5

Membership and Dues

A. Membership in the Organization shall be open to any organization or person interested in the promotion and development of Youth Rugby and agreeing to conform to the Articles of Organization and the Bylaws of MYRO and USA Rugby. The Executive Committee shall have complete authority to set membership class and dues structure.

1. A notice of any planned change in the dues structure must be sent to the membership not less than thirty (30) days before it is to go into effect so that members may have time to review the changes and provide comments to the Executive Committee.

B Categories of Membership:

1. Organizational Member: an organization which has been granted membership by MYRO and directly sponsors and supports an age grade (U-15), U-19 or High School program(s)
2. Supporting Member: an organization or institution which has an involvement in or commitment to the development of youth rugby in Massachusetts but does not directly sponsor and support a program or team.
3. Individual member: a player, coach or other person who does not have membership in USA Rugby through an Organizational Member but wishes to participate in or support the programs and objectives or MYRO.

Article 5

Officers

A The officers of the Organization shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary/Clerk and Treasurer and not more than 7 additional Directors, as described in Article 7..

B. Term of office.

1. Officers shall serve for the interval between Annual General Meetings.
2. If an office becomes vacant during the course of a term, the General Committee shall select a replacement by majority vote at the next Committee meeting.

C. Duties

The president shall be the chief executive officer of MYRO and shall preside over all meetings of the MYRO membership, the Executive Committee and the General Committee. The President or a designee shall represent MYRO to the larger Rugby community, including USA Rugby.
The Vice President shall assume the President’s duties in the absence of the President and shall be the chair of the Membership/Marketing Committee and MYRO’s representative to NERFU
The Treasurer shall have the custody of all monies and securities of the corporation and shall keep regular books of account. The Treasurer shall disburse the funds of the corporation in payment of the just demands against the corporation or as may be ordered by the Executive Committee or the General Committee.
The Secretary/Clerk shall be responsible for keeping all records of the organization other than those matters managed by the Treasurer and for complying with all state and Federal corporate registration and filing requirements.

Article 6

Committees

A. Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary/Clerk and Treasurer.
The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Organization.
The Executive Committee shall authorize all disbursements, and manage MYRO’s finances,
The Executive Committee shall appoint Discipline Committee members. The EC shall appoint a three member Discipline Committee, including at least one member of the New England Rugby Referees Society but no members from the Directors, if such responsibilities are not delegated to the New England Rugby Football Union
The Executive Committee shall: (1) provide that all notices are served in accordance with these bylaws or as required by law; (2) be custodian of the corporate records; (3) when requested or required, authenticate any records of the corporation.
The Executive Committee shall approve all contracts, sponsorships and any arrangement, obligation or commitment MYRO shall have that is in excess of one calendar year in duration.
The Executive Committee shall form temporary Committees as needed to conduct the business of the Organization and appoint temporary Committee Chairman.

B. Directors

The Directors shall consist of the Executive Committee and members elected to serve as chairs of the following committees: Communications, Age-Grade (U-15) program development, High School program development, U-19 program development, Fundraising, Membership/Marketing, Select Side & Competitions. and/or At Large.
Each year, no later than 90 days after the AGM, the Directors shall publish a Plan of Action for the year that will be effective until a subsequent plan is published.
The plan of action shall detail the steps to be taken by each standing committee to achieve its objectives during the membership year.
The plan of action will be distributed to all members.

Article 7

Meetings

A. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held between May 1st and June 30th of the calendar year. on a date selected by the President with proper notice. The Executive Committee shall pick the date, time and venue.

1. The Executive Committee shall report the status of Organization at the AGM.

B. The Executive Committee shall meet at the discretion of the President, but not less than once per quarter.

C. The General Committee shall meet at the discretion of the President. With the proviso: A minimum of two (2) meetings, with one each to be held: 1) between the AGM and December 1st. 2) between January 1st and April 28th.

D. A special meeting of the General Committee may be held at the call of the President or 50% pf the Directors provided the test for waiver of notice is met in accordance with Article 10, Section 4 of the Bylaws.

E. Executive Committee and Directors meetings may be held via conference call provided proper notice is given and the format is approved by 2/3 of the respective members.

Article 8

Notice

A. Notice of MYRO meetings and official MYRO business shall be by email or US Postal Service.

1. Notice of the AGM shall be distributed so as to be received at a minimum of thirty (30) days in advance.
2. Notice of any special MYRO membership meetings shall be distributed so as to be received at a minimum of fifteen (15) days in advance.

B. Notice of Directors meetings shall be distributed so as to be received at a at minimum of seven (7) days in advance.

C. Waiver of notice for special Directors meeting.

1. Notice may be waived if the following conditions are met.
(a) The President calls the emergency meeting and the reason for the meeting is stated in the call.
(b) Only business stated in the call shall be addressed.
(c) A minimum of 2/3 of the Directors must be present and agree to the need for an emergency meeting. If there are less than 2/3 present and in agreement, then the special Directors meeting will be adjourned.

Article 9

Quorum

A. After the initial meeting MYRO AGM in 2010, a quorum for the Annual General Meeting or any special MYRO membership meeting provided proper notice is given, shall be those members present, provided it is not less than one-third of the recognized, paid membership at that time.

1. For purposes of establishing a quorum at MYRO membership meetings, only member organizations will be counted,
2. For purposes of conducting a vote, each member organization will be given one vote and each of the members of the Executive Committee shall receive one vote

B. A quorum for any Directors Meeting, provided proper notice is given, shall be those members present.

Article 10

Elections

A. The President, Vice President, Secretary/Clerk, Treasurer and the Directors shall be elected at the AGM. A majority vote shall elect.

B. The Executive Committee shall appoint an Elections Committee of three (3) person from the membership.

1. The Elections Committee shall solicits nominations and shall oversee and have sole authority over the election of the officers/Directors at the AGM.
2. No member of the Elections Committee may be a candidate for a MYRO office.

Article 11

Reserved Powers

The powers, duties and authority not delegated to the Officers, Executive Committee, or a Director, by the Bylaws, are reserved for the Directors.

Article 12

Amendments

A. The Bylaws may be amended by a 2/3 vote at any MYRO membership meeting provided the amendment(s) to the Bylaws are submitted to the Directors prior to the meeting and approved by a 2/3 majority.

B. The amendment(s) and notice of time, date and place of meeting must be given to MYRO members no less than fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting as stated in Article 9

Competition Framework

Click here to download the 2011 season MYRO competition framework.