Argonne Ultimate Frisbee Club Bylaws

Last updated 20 Sep 97

ARTICLE I - Name and Purpose

Section A - Name

Section B - Purpose

ARTICLE II - Membership

Membership to the Argonne Ultimate Frisbee Club is open to all employees of Argonne National Laboratory, the Chicago Operations Office, and all family members and friends of these employees.

ARTICLE III - History/Activities

The "club" has organized a regular schedule of ultimate games played from Spring to Fall on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at noon and Tuesday at 5:15 pm at Argonne National Laboratory on the field just North of Building 200. The members of the "club" are a co-ed core group of about twenty with a group of approximately another twenty people who play intermittently. The "club" is comprised of people ranging from those who have been playing for several years and beginners to the game. Due to the nature of the game, everyone who plays has an active role regardless of their skill level. The "club" has been playing for four years and has played teams from Fermi National Laboratory and the Illinois Math and Science Academy.

"Ultimate Frisbee" or "Ultimate" is a competitive sport, but entails little or no physical contact and thus results in very few injuries. It is a sport most akin to soccer, with two opposing teams (usually seven players each) trying to score by advancing the Frisbee down the field towards an endzone. Each team tries to score by throwing the Frisbee from one teammate to another. The Frisbee cannot be advanced by running. A score is made when the Frisbee is thrown to a teammate within the endzone. Once the Frisbee either goes out-of-bounds, hits the ground, or is intercepted by an opposing player, the opposing team takes possession of the Frisbee and attempts to advance it towards the other endzone.

ARTICLE IV - Government

Section 1 - The officers of the club shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Secretary and Treasurer positions, at a any given time, may be held by the same person.

Section 2 - The officers will serve one year terms. A Board of Directors, consisting of the above officers shall be the governing body and, with input from a majority of active members, shall decide upon the intra-club play schedule, scheduling of games with clubs outside of the Argonne club, and other club operations.

Section 3 - Officers will be elected annually in December by a simple majority vote of members on the official club roster.

Section 4 - The President shall be the chief executive officer of the club. The President shall supervise the total club program and shall preside at club and Board of Director meetings. The President shall appoint all committees and shall represent the club, as required, at meetings of the Argonne Club. The President or an appointee of the President shall act as delegate to meetings of inter-club organizations concerned with Ultimate Frisbee.

Section 5 - The Vice President shall assist the President in carrying out the club responsibilities and serve in the President’s absence. The Vice President shall act as an alternate or second delegate to meetings of inter-club organizations. The Vice President shall hold the main responsibility of recruiting new members to the club and promotion of the club throughout the Argonne community.

Section 6 - The Secretary shall keep the current club roster, a record of all club meetings, serve all meeting notices, and be responsible for intra- and inter-club correspondence.

Section 7 - The Treasurer shall keep and prepare all financial records and transactions of the club. The Treasurer shall be a member of any committees concerned with finances or fund-raising. The Treasurer shall annually submit a membership roster to the Argonne Club along with $1.00 for each member of the club. The Argonne Club shall be periodically informed of changes in membership and be provided with $1.00 for each new member joining the Argonne Ultimate Frisbee Club.

Section 8 - The officers shall appoint other club members to carry out additional functions as defined in the By-Laws.

Section 9 - Vacancies in the Board of Directors between annual elections can be filled by a simple majority vote of those in attendance at a club meeting.

Section 10 - Officers can be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of all members on the current roster.

ARTICLE V - Club and Board of Director Meetings

Meetings of the club will be held as necessary.

ARTICLE VI - Property

In the event the Argonne Ultimate Frisbee Club disbands, all funds and other properties purchased with Argonne Ultimate Frisbee Club dues and supplemental funds from the Argonne Club (see Article IV, Section 7) shall be turned over to the Argonne Club.

ARTICLE VII - Rules of Ultimate

The rules of the game of ultimate to be played by the Argonne Ultimate Frisbee Club are the same as those adopted by the Ultimate Players Association with the following exceptions:

1. In all situations, good will between participants of the game shall supersede in importance strict adherence to the letter of the rules. If a rule dispute cannot be resolved in a timely fashion (within a few minutes) between the participants themselves, a toss of the Frisbee with the a call of "heads or tails" by the offensive team at the time of the dispute will decide possession of the disc.
2. Once a "goal" is scored by one team, possession of the Frisbee can either be given to the opposing team in a "kickoff" or the scoring team can retain possession of the Frisbee with the defensive team switching the endzone which they defend (make-it-take-it). The default mode of play shall be "make-it-take-it", the "kickoff" mode of play shall be in effect if chosen in a simple majority vote of attending members.
3. At each club game, the utmost effort will be made to allow every member in attendance to play as much as they desire. The importance of involving all members in the game supersedes the importance of having seven players on each team. In order to allow all people present to play when an odd number of people are present, the team with one additional players shall be subject to "offsides". This rule is similar to the offside rule in soccer. The rule does not apply when teams are of even strength. The offensive player closest to the opponent’s endzone must be even with the last defensive player when a pass is made to him. Once the disc is in the air he may move in the direction of the goal irregardless of the defenders’ positions. If a pass is attempted to an offensive player who is closer to the opponents endzone than any defender when the pass was initiated, he/she is offside. This results in a turnover. The defending team takes possession of the disc at the point where the pass was originated. The offsides rule does not apply when any defenders are in the endzone.
4. The actual keeping of a game score or a game time shall be decided upon by a simple majority vote of all members in attendance at the club game.
5. The field dimensions shall be defined either by the official field dimensions or by the space available for playing the game.

For reference, here is a pointer to The Ultimate Players Association Rules of Ultimate, Ninth Edition.