Updated October 14, 2020
PEACE ARCH SENATORS CURLING LEAGUE
WHITE ROCK, B.C.
BYLAWS
1. SENATORS shall be the name used to designate this league of the Peace Arch Curling Club (PACC). All men 55 or older, when approved for membership, shall be eligible to enroll as members and to participate in regular league play.
a) However, to be eligible for Masters Competition with other clubs, members must be 60 (prior to December 31st of the current year) or older and must have paid the annual fees of Curl BC & the PCMCA.
LEAGUE MEMBERSHIP DUES shall be set each year by the parent Board of Directors of the PACC.
a) Additional dues may be assessed by the Senators as required for their operations.
MEMBERS can choose to register as either:
a) An ACTIVE MEMBER registered to play full time in either the first half or the second half of the fiscal year.
b) As a SPARE for a reduced fee and will have priority on the Spares List over Active Members.
THE LEAGUE DIRECTORS shall consist of:
a) Five (5) OFFICERS, also known as the Executives Committee: President, Past President, Vice President, Secretary & Treasurer.
b) And additional directors, the number to be determined from time to time by the Officers and/or the membership, to assist with but not limited to: a draw master, a spare master, bonspiels co-ordinator and any other league activities.
c) The Officers and Directors shall be Members (active or spares) elected each year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for a one year term, and shall be responsible for directing and supervising all operations of the Senators League. Officers and Directors, if willing, may hold an office for more than one year.
d) Additionally COMMITTEES may be appointed by the Executive, or by members at a General Meeting, to assist with the operations of the League.
SIGNING OFFICERS for the League shall be any two of the President, the Vice-President, Secretary, and the Treasurer.
AN ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Senators League shall be held each year prior to the conclusion of the spring curling session. Additional General meetings may be called by the President, the Executive Committee, or upon the written request of twelve (12) registered members in good standings.
a) A QUORUM for the transaction of business at a General Meeting shall be twenty-five (25) members.
NOTICE OF MEETINGS shall be by announcement to the membership either written, verbal and/or electronically, and by notice on the bulletin board.
A FINANCIAL REPORT approved by the Executive shall be presented by the Treasurer to the membership at the Annual General Meeting,
a) The league membership may request a Financial Report to be audited,
b) If a Financial Report is to be audited, the membership must appoint an Audit Committee consisting of a minimum of three (3) registered members in good standings to complete the audit.
TEAM SELECTION AND DRAW FORMAT
a) TEAMS shall be drawn prior to the first half-season (Fall draw) and the second half-season (Winter draw) each year, according to the principles of Masters Level play which requires that teams be drawn at random from the list of registered active members.
i. Skips will be designated by the Executive / Draw committee, and
ii. Minor adjustments may be made by the Executive / Draw Committee during the drawing of team rosters to balance team strength and/or player position.
b) DRAW FORMAT shall consist of two (2) halves:
i. Fall draw (September to December), from which the Fall season champion shall be decided and represent our club at the Zone Interclub playdowns.
a. Team rosters shall remain together for the duration of the Fall draw, and
b. Whenever possible a full round robin schedule will be employed and, game dates permitting, a playoff round.
ii. Winter draw (January to March), from which the Winter season champion shall be decided.
a. Team rosters shall remain together for the duration of the Winter draw, and
b. Whenever possible a full round robin schedule will be employed and, game dates permitting, a playoff round.
iii. Draw Format shall be determined by the Executive / Draw Committee prior to each draw (fall and winter) dependent on the number of ACTIVE MEMBERS and resulting Teams.
10. If you have the basis for a GRIEVANCES, the Skip must advised orally the opposition Skip before the game or at the time the infraction happens that you are playing the game under protest. Immediately following the game in question your grievance must be presented in writing to the Senator’s executive. The written grievance can be presented by email or letter. The grievance shall be dealt with by the Executive Committee, with the assistance of additional members as deemed appropriate. The Executive Committee decision shall be considered final. Failure to orally advise the opposition or a member of the Senators Executive Committee at the time of the infraction will result in the protest being denied.
11. RULES OF CURLING shall be the Canadian Curling Association Rules as contained in the British Columbia Curling Yearbook, supplemented by rules specific to the PACC, the PCMCA and the FVMCA.
12. USE OF SPARES for the Senators league shall be governed as follows:
a) If a member of a team is not able to play a game, he must inform the Spare Master in adequate time to arrange for a spare.
b) Spares can only be assigned through the Spare Master.
c) The Spare Master shall attempt to rotate the Registered Spares to ensure equal playing time.
d) The Spare Master shall attempt to assign a spare that best meets the needs of the team.
e) i. Spares may play up to the position of the missing player (excluding the skip). A substitute skip may skip if the team chooses to do so but MAY NOT throw last rocks. With two spares – if the skip and third are absent, one spare may skip and throw last rock and the other must play lead or second. Regular team members are encouraged to move up a position to fill the absent position
ii. FOR PLAYOFFS - If a player is on two (2) winning teams he will play for the team with the highest winning percentage. His position on the other team will be filled by the following spare guidelines.
a.) Any spares will come from the runner-up team in that draw and of the same position as the vacancy to be filled.
b.) If the second (2nd) place player is unable to attend [i]then the third (3rd) place qualifier of that position will be used. This process is to continue until the position has been filled.
c).In the event the position cannot be filled with a player of the said position, a player of a lower position will be used with the same replacement sequence kept in place.
f) All non-PCMCA members who have paid the required PACC fees (Curl BC, Curl Canada, Building Maintenance) shall pay a Registered Spare fee of $25.00 per season to spare in the Senators league. A season is designated as Sept. to Dec and or Jan to March. Registered Spares and PCMCA one day members will pay a nominal per game spare fee ($5.00).
g) If the league operates an odd number of team draw during a half season, necessitating a bye team, the players from the bye team will have priority on spare assignments. The skip from a Bye team cannot spare as a skip.
h) Registered spares (spares who have paid the prescribed spare fee) will have priority on spare assignments over Active Members and Casual spares, other than bye team members.
i) A Spare can only be assigned to the same team for a maximum of three (3) consecutive games.
j) If a long term vacancy occurs and an Active member is unable to complete his play term (due to medical reason, relocation, etc.) the team shall be considered a 3 man team unless a full time replacement can be found. The Spare Master and Draw Master must be advised of a long term vacancy as soon as the vacancy is recognized.
k) A team must have two members present or forfeit the game and the non-offending team awarded a win. Nevertheless the game may be played for the recreational benefit of all available players.
i. If a team is only assigned 3 Active members the team shall be allowed to play with only one active member and three spares without forfeiting the game.
l) Regular League games may not be postponed.
COURTESIES OF CURLING. All players shall observe the courtesies and ethics of curling.
“The purpose of the Senators curling league is to organize, foster and extend
the game of curling within the ranks of the men curlers 55+ in age within
the White Rock – South Surrey region and to encourage recreational
participation, good fellowship and healthy exercise”
14. AMENDMENTS to the Bylaws shall be recommended by the Executive Committee and approved at a General Meeting of the membership.
THESE BYLAWS replace the Senators Constitution and Bylaws which were originally adopted in 1991 and subsequently amended in 2003, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020.
APPROVED by the Membership on October 14th 2020
Rick Backman, President.