RAOA By-Laws

The Rochester Area Officials Association

Rochester, Minnesota

By-Laws

An official must have a love of the game; a desire to learn and master the game’s rules and mechanics; and a personality and temperament to adapt to the environment of the game.

Article I

Name

The name of this organization shall be the Rochester Area Officials Association.

Article II

Purpose

The purpose of this association is two-fold: first, to establish and maintain high standards of officiating; second, to provide a common clearing house for local schools to obtain officials.

Article III

Order of Business

All meetings of this association shall be held in Rochester.
The secretary shall notify all members of meetings not specified in article VI.
No proxy or absentee ballots shall be allowed.

Article IV

Membership

Membership of this association shall not be limited; however, the membership will be specified by the executive committee.
All members of this association shall be registered officials in the Minnesota State High School League.
New members:
1. Applicants in each sport will be considered in the order that their written applications are received by the secretary.
2. The executive board shall review letters of application to evaluate prior experience. The executive board shall have the right, at any time during the season, to ask that additional experience be obtained outside of the association.
3. Applicants with no prior varsity-level experience must work a specified number of games as assistants before final acceptance into the association. The number of games is as follows:
  1. Football: 7 games working with current association members at the below varsity level (9th-grade and above)
  2. Basketball: First year - 10 games working at the below varsity level. No formal game evaluations are done for first-year games. Second year – 10 games working with an association member at the below varsity level (9th-grade and above). Formal game evaluations are done for second-year games.
  3. Baseball/Softball: 6 games working at the below varsity level (9th-grade and above). A minimum of 2 of these games must be worked with or observed by an association member
  4. Volleyball: 5 games working with an association member at the below varsity level (9th- grade and above)
    1. Exceptions to the requirement for a minimum number of below varsity games in any sport may be made for applicants that worked one or more varsity level games because of a shortage of member officials available for game assignments. The vice-president for the sport will request the exception on behalf of the applicant
    2. The requests must be submitted to the executive committee and approved by them. In all cases, the total number of games (varsity plus below varsity) must meet the requirements listed for the minimum number of games.
4. Applicants that are currently members of other associations in the state of Minnesota may be accepted upon recommendation from the previous association.
5. Transfer applicants from other states may be accepted upon recommendation from the previous state association and/or previous local association.
6. All rookies who attain 75% or better scores in their game evaluations for the required number of games will automatically become members. Those who don’t attain 75% in the required number of games may continue the process the following year, if they care to do so. It is the responsibility of the vice-presidents for each sport to notify rookies of their current status during the course of each particular sport.

Article V

Section 1: Officers

The officers shall be: President, four (4) vice-presidents (one each for football, volleyball, basketball, and baseball/softball), and secretary-treasurer. These officers, with the immediate past-president, shall comprise the executive committee.
The term of office shall be one year for the president. The term of office shall be two years for the vice-presidents, with the volleyball and basketball vice-presidents elected during odd years and the football and baseball/softball vice-presidents elected during even years. The secretary-treasurer’s term of office shall be three years.
The officers shall be elected at the organizational meeting. Vice-presidents shall be nominated and elected by members of their respective sports groups.
Officers will be nominated from the floor, with the exception of the president. The candidates for president will be the two vice-presidents whose terms have expired.
Duties and compensation of executive officers:
1. President: Call to order and preside over the general meetings and executive committee meetings. Compensation: None
2. Vice-presidents: Call to order and preside over all meetings of the sport the vice-president represents and to perform any other duties that the president might delegate. Notify delinquent members of dues required to be paid. Collect rookie evaluation sheets and conduct training sessions for officials as needed. Compensation: None
3. Secretary-treasurer: Handle all correspondence and scheduling either directly or via assigned delegate(s). Keep all official minutes of the general meetings. Keep attendance records of the general meetings. Collect dues and handle disbursements. Furnish a copy of by-laws to each new applicant. Compensation: Remaining amount in treasury after yearly expenditures.
Board Member Replacement
1. Past President – If a Past-President is unable to fulfill their position through their term, the board will operate as a 6 member board until the next annual meeting.
2. President – replaced by Past President for remainder of term.
  1. In the event that the Past President is unable to assume this role, the Secretary/Treasurer will fill this office as an interim status until an election can be performed at the next annual meeting.
3. Vice President – replaced by past Vice President for remainder of term.
  1. If Past V.P. is current sitting President, the next previous V.P. will assume the position.
  2. If Past V.P. does not wish to fill the position for the remainder of the term, they will remain in interim status until a special election can be performed at the next annual meeting.
  3. Limit to regress to 2 previous past V.P.’s, in the event of neither being able to serve, a special meeting of the Executive Board and the specific sport representatives will be called to elect a new V.P for the remainder of the term.
  4. The new V.P. elected at this special election will serve out the term of the vacated office thus enabling the return to the original office election rotation.
4. Secretary / Treasurer – First offered to Past Secretary/Treasurer for remainder of the term.
  1. If Past Secretary/Treasurer declines: Replaced by Current Past President and President in a shared role for remainder of term, until a special election can be performed at the next annual meeting.
5. All above issues can be overridden by Executive Board majority vote, if the circumstances are extenuating.

Section 2: Charter Clinicians

Election of Charter Clinician for a term of 4 years.
Duties and Compensation:
1. Attend 2 MSHSL Charter Clinicians meetings, (more if required).
2. Be the liaison for rule interpretation in specific sport between the MSHSL and RAOA officials.
3. Assist scheduler in scheduling issues if necessary.
4. Communicate with MSHSL Regional Coordinators to clarify rule interpretations, procedures or protocols as deemed necessary.
5. Communicate with V. P., scheduler and mentor coordinator in any issue that might affect the performance of RAOA officials with their member schools.
6. Communicate with V. P. and scheduler to create a list of officials to be recommended to the MSHSL for state tournament selection.
7. Charter Clinicians are not members of the RAOA Executive Board, thus do not have voting rights on board issues
  1. Compensation: None
Charter Clinicians will be elected by sport specific members at RAOA annual Summer meeting every 4 years.
1. 1 representing Volleyball
2. 1 representing Football
3. 1 representing Basketball
4. 1 representing Baseball
5. 1 representing Softball
Criteria for election:
1. Currently registered Level 3 official
2. In good standing with the MSHSL
3. In good standing with RAOA
Criteria for Replacement:
1. Replacement due to geographically relocating or unable to continue their duties due to personal choice shall follow the procedure below.
  1. If most recent prior Charter Clinician meets the criteria of Section 4 above, they will assume the position on an interim basis until a special election is held at the RAOA annual Summer meeting.
  2. If past Charter Clinician does not wish to fill the position for the remainder of the term, the Scheduler and V.P. shall appoint a suitable replacement until a special election is held at the next RAOA annual Summer meeting.
  3. The Charter Clinician selected at this special election will serve out the remainder of the term of the vacated position.

Article VI

Meetings

There will be an organizational meeting held for the entire association in June of each year. The president will set the meeting date.
Each sport will have a minimum of one (1) meeting specifically for that sport prior to the tart of the sport’s season. The vice-president for the sport will set the meeting date.
Special meetings may be called by the executive committee or upon the written request of any five members.

Article VII

Dues

The annual dues for each sport shall be set at the organizational meeting held in June of each year. The amount levied shall be approved by a three-fourths (3/4) majority of the members present for each sport.
A special assessment may be levied at the organizational meeting held in June of each year. The special assessment shall be approved by a three-fourths (3/4) majority of the members present.
Dues are to be paid to the secretary-treasurer at the organizational meeting in June and no later than July 31. A late fee of $25.00 shall apply after July 31 of each year.
Membership in the association shall be terminated if dues for the previous year are not paid on or before the organizational meeting in June of the following year.

Article VIII

Ethics

The conduct of the official shall be such as to be a credit to the association at all times.
All members shall abide by the MSHSL Code of Sports Ethics for Officials.
Contracts made by members of this organization are considered obligations of the organization. As such, they shall not be broken, except in cases of illness, family emergency, or occupational demands. All such changes shall be cleared through the secretary and officiating partner(s).
All officials shall wear the official uniform required for their sport.
Promptness of the official is considered an obligation. Negligence shall be acted upon by the executive committee.
Officials shall clear games through the secretary before accepting them directly from schools.
Each crew shall notify the school where they are scheduled to work prior to the game. Each official shall obtain confirmation from their partner(s) prior to the game.
An official contracted to work a game shall not consume any alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs on the day of the contest prior to the contest.
Officials shall not solicit contracts from hiring schools. We shall operate under the premise that schools will contact the secretary for a list of available officials and will hire the officials they want.
Upon receipt of a formal written complaint, the vice-president of said sport shall contact and discuss the complaint with the individuals concerned. If not resolved, the executive committee will act on the complaint upon request. A written response from the association will be sent to the individual involved with the original formal complaint.
The penalty for a proven violation of any ethics item may include dismissal from the association. All members will be thereafter instructed not to accept contracts with the dismissed official.

Article IX

Amendments to the By-Laws

Any proposed amendment may be presented at any one given meeting and voted upon at the following general meeting.
A copy of the proposed amendment shall be mailed to each member prior to the second meeting and voting thereon.
A three-fourths (3/4) vote of those present is necessary for adoption.

Appendix A

Criteria for Emeritus Status for RAOA Membership
Emeritus Status is defined as an RAOA official who has retired from the court/field and wishes to remain involved with all aspects of the RAOA’s business, management and leadership.
Criteria:
1. Pay annual base dues only
2. Be a MSHSL registered official in a sport the RAOA serves.
Emeriti Benefit:
1. All email communications
2. Inclusion in all meetings of emeriti interest
3. Retain all RAOA member rights