Match Club By-Laws

Stockton Match Club

Hank Arias

Mobile: (209) 601-1552 E-mail: [email protected]

STOCKTON MATCH CLUB BYLAWS

January 1 – December 31, 2024

Board of Directors:

President – Hank Arias (209) 601-1552

Vice President – Ron Taylor (209) 609-8392

Treasurer – Charles Carr (209) 993-1845

Secretary – Angel-Marie Thomas (209) 518-7053

Matchmaker – Kathie Medeiros (209) 406-4325

Sergeant-at-Arms – Fred Campbell (209) 649-8577

Members are encouraged to mingle, to be friendly, and to have fun with opposing club members at match games, always informing the opposing club members of upcoming events.
Refreshments will not be provided at all home matches. The refreshments will consist of coffee only provided by West Lane Bowl.
Every effort will be made by the Matchmaker to assure that couples will be scheduled to bowl together, unless told by the couple that they do not mind bowling separately.
Leaves of absence are allowed, but any member on leave of absence is considered inactive and not allowed to vote on club matters, participate in club matches, Fun Day Tournaments or Sweeper. The only exception is during the first meeting of the year when members are discussing, and voting on, the ByLaws.
Leaves of absence must be requested in writing with all dues and fines paid in full.
Should any member failing to be a member in good standing before his/her leave of absence or if no written request is submitted, said member shall be dropped from the club. Said member may be reinstated, upon vote of members, only by paying full fees as required by any new member.
When an elected officer of the Club submits a request for a leave of absence, that letter shall be regarded as a letter of resignation for that officer’s position. The President will appoint someone new for the remainder of the term, if the remaining term of office is less than six months. If the remaining term of office is longer than six months, then an election will be held for that officer’s position.
No leave of absence shall be longer than six (6) months unless the member has requested, in writing, an extension of leave; this excludes a military or medical leave of absence, which can be for one (1) year or more.
Upon return from leave of absence, the member must pay the current year’s sweeper fees for the months during his/her absence.
The Club’s banking account is maintained at Bank of the West and is available online. Up to four (3) current Board members will be listed on the account: President, Vice President and Treasurer. The bank statement must be reviewed each month by two (2) of the listed Board members.
The Board of Directors consists of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Matchmaker, and Sergeant-at-Arms; they exclusively will not pay dues including sweeper and prize fund fees during their terms of office. The Board of Directors will be elected annually, and elections of officers are held at the year-end meeting. A husband/wife or significant other(s) may not both hold places on the Board during the same term. A Director can only miss three (3) meetings per calendar year. Any Board member deemed to not be fulfilling his/her duties may be removed from office by majority vote of membership.
The President shall preside at all meetings; announce the business that comes before the members as listed in the agenda, verify monthly bank statements and enforce the Bylaws.
The Vice President shall assume all duties of the President and other officers in their absence.
The Secretary shall keep a record of all the minutes of the meetings and provide copies to members to review for approval prior to the next meeting; keep official membership records (i.e., applications, leave of absence, resignations); roll call at each meeting; maintain the Bylaws and Rules and Regulations with any amendments. attend to necessary correspondence; perform other duties as prescribed by the President.
The Treasurer shall collect and keep all monies of the SMC and deposit and disburse them within five days by the authority of the Board of Directors; bill members of dues and receives payment of them providing receipts for monies received and keep a ledger of each member’s account; maintain the bank account; submit monthly written reports of all monies received and/or paid out along with a report of the financial condition of SMC which shall be at all times open to inspection by the membership; makes a full financial report annually; file annual tax returns.
The Matchmaker shall coordinate all match club matches including scheduling with other clubs for the current and following year; team assignments and maintain the SMC website.
The Sergeant-at-Arms is responsible for checking in members at meetings and giving them a raffle ticket for the drawing to waiver fines; collects dues for the Treasurer; serves as doorkeeper to deny entrance to unauthorized persons as only members or authorized guests are permitted in meetings; preserving order at meetings and home matches.
The Tournament Director is appointed and shall coordinate the annual Invitational Fun Day Tournament and other tournament events.

Elected officers shall assume their duties on January 1 and serve through December 31 of the calendar year and are eligible to serve any number of terms in the same office. A member can hold more than one office at a time. In the event, an officer is removed from office, the President will appoint someone new for the remainder of the term, if the remaining term of office is less than six months. If the remaining term of office is longer than six months, then an election will be held for that officer’s position.

Other officers can be provided in the Bylaws as approved by the membership only at the first meeting of the year.

Any new Bylaws may be added with a majority vote. Old Bylaws can only be changed at the first meeting of the year during reading of the Bylaws and with a majority vote.

RULES & REGULATIONS

The following Rules and Regulations will govern the conduct of the Stockton Match Club.

MEETINGS

The Stockton Match Club, hereafter referred to as SMC, will hold meetings per the annual schedule. A quorum will be the membership present at any regular meeting. Motions can be enacted by a simple majority vote of membership present. When meeting is called to order, members in attendance who are scheduled to bowl will receive a raffle ticket. A drawing will take place at the end of the meeting. The winner will be able to bowl without paying his/her bowling fee for the day or waive one month's dues.

MEMBERSHIP

The league is classified as a mixed league and at least one bowler per team shall be of the opposite sex. The Board of Directors will decide upon any condition not covered by these rules, using the USBC rule book as a guide, although SMC is not USBC sanctioned.

A prospective member may bowl a maximum of two (2) matches as a guest of the club. The first match will be free; however, for second match bowled as a guest, the prospective member will be required to pay the same fees/fines as required of SMC members.

If any guest applies for membership, a secret written vote will be taken by existing club members present at the next SMC meeting, with a simple majority yes vote required to accept the person as a new member. Total membership of SMC shall not exceed 38 members.

New members who have an established USBC book average from winter/summer league will use their USBC composite average, with winter taking precedence over summer, for their first three matches and then their newly established match club average after that. New members with no average will establish a match club average with the three (3) games of their first match and handicap will be calculated after the match, if agreeable with the opposing club.

To maintain membership, all members must keep dues and fines in good standing. If there is a delinquency of two (2) months dues and/or fines, the member will be notified by an officer, and not be allowed to bowl matches. If said dues/fines are not received by the next meeting, the member will be dropped from the club.

Any SMC members holding membership in more than one match club must inform SMC. At Tournament/Fun days, such member must bowl with the match club presenting the event and must wear the uniform of the presenting club.

DUES / FEES

Monthly membership fees will be $10.00 per month: $7.00 for dues, $3.00 for sweeper and league prize fund.

The first month’s dues are waived for new members (sweeper and prize fund fees are not waived). To be eligible for sweeper and league award payouts, all new members joining after January 1 and before December 1 must pay the sweeper and prize fund amount due from January 1 through the current month joined. As in any league, sweeper and prize fund monies are not refundable. Any new member joining after December 1, will not pay into sweeper and prize fund until January, and will not be eligible for sweeper and prize award payouts for current club year. He/she may, however, bowl in club sweeper and participate in all other club sweeper activities provided he/she pays current house lineage fee for that day.

New bowlers must purchase a SMC bowling shirt. The cost of the shirt ranges from $45-$60 depending on the style and size.

Any prior club member who resigned in good standing may apply for reinstatement and must be voted on by secret written ballet. If accepted, he/she must pay sweeper fees from January through month joined. If a new shirt is required by returning member, no credits will be given towards purchase cost.

MATCHES

Members displaying poor sportsmanship will be warned by any SMC officer present and be brought before the Board. Repeat offenses may result in a vote being taken at the next meeting for possible dismissal from the club.

To remain in good standing, members must bowl at least the minimum required number of home and away matches per club calendar year. All members listed as active at the start of the club year (currently January 1) and any new member who joins during the first four months (January-April) must meet full eligibility requirement of three (3) home matches and three (3) away matches. Members who join during months five through eight (May-August) must meet the requirement of two (2) home matches and two (2) away matches. Members who join during months nine through eleven (September-November) must meet the requirement of one (1) home match and one (1) away match. Members who join in month twelve (December) will not have to meet these requirements until the following club calendar year. Away matches can count as home matches if needed to make the minimum required matches. Any disputes will be handled by the Board of Directors.

The team captains for each match will be designated by the Matchmaker; this member will be responsible for all team paperwork involving the match. At home matches, each team captain shall assure all information for both teams have been entered correctly on the computer monitor. The designated team captain is also responsible for entering all scores on the recap sheet and for the collection of monies owed by club members for bowling fees/fines.

At all matches, the maximum paid by each SMC bowler shall not exceed $5.00. Each bowler will pay $1.00 for each game his/her average is not met, plus $2 if series average is not met Any member who has signed up for a match and is not in attendance must have given at least a 24-hour notice to Matchmaker; otherwise, he/she is considered a No-Show and must pay a $15.00 No-Show Fee. This fee must be paid at next match/meeting where member is in attendance. Member will not be allowed to bowl until this fee has been paid. If the member believes the absence should not warrant payment of this fee, he/she may appeal to the Board for review. The Board will determine if the fee remains or be excused.

Any member bowling a 300 game will be awarded $100.00, limited to once each year.

UNIFORMS

The uniform for the Stockton Match Club is the SMC shirt and is required to be worn at all matches and Fun Day events. A $5.00 fine will be assessed on-site for failure to wear club shirt. This fine must be paid prior to the member being allowed to bowl.

MISCELLANEOUS

There will be no excessive drinking at matches or Fun Day events.

No children are allowed in the settee area during any matches.

At least two (2) officers must attend each match at home and away.

Before bowling a new club, the membership must take a vote to add said match club to the schedule.

All current club member averages will be carried over for the first nine (9) games of the year while establishing new average. New members will establish SMC average according to rules set forth in Section II, fourth paragraph.

SMC averages will be used for all SMC matches. High book average or other average, as required by sponsoring club, will be used for Fun Day events.

All members, prior to participating in match club functions, must be in good standing (i.e., all dues paid, and bowl required matches).

FUN DAY EVENTS

We will hold an invitational Fun Day event each year, to be held the Saturday of Super Bowl weekend (usually 1^st Saturday in February). All winners’ averages will be verified before paying out the prize fund. All members are required to attend and wear their match club shirts. A fun day chairperson is to be appointed by the President. Every member, bowling or not, is required to bring at least one (1) $20.00 value raffle prize or donate $20.00 for the purchase of raffle prizes for the Super Saturday Tournament. Donation to raffle of additional gifts is optional but encouraged.

SWEEPER

As is standard with leagues, the SMC will have a Sweeper at the end of the Club year. SMC Sweeper will be held in December each year. This Sweeper is for Stockton Match Club members only. To be eligible to bowl in the Sweeper, members must be in good standing with the club, and not be in arrears of any dues, fines, assessments, etc. However, only members who have bowled the minimum required number of home and away matches per club calendar year (see Section IV, Matches) shall be eligible to receive sweeper prize money and year-end monetary awards.

Any of the Rules and Regulations may be changed or new Rules added by a majority vote of the membership present at any monthly meeting during the calendar year.

__________________________________ ____________________________

Hank Arias, President Angel-Marie Thomas, Secretary

Mission Statement

Stockton Match Club

Stockton Match Club is dedicated to promoting good sportsmanship, good fellowship, and good physical and mental health through the sport of bowling. Stockton Match Club promotes adult bowling by accepting all persons regardless of sex, race or creeds, including veterans, seniors, and those physically handicapped into the Stockton Match Club. In addition, Stockton Match Club is committed to educating all new bowlers and non-bowlers in the benefits of bowling as a sport.

To promote our goals, Stockton Match Club holds various bowling matches, raffles and tournaments to raise funds to donate to other charitable bowling organizations, such as California USBC Youth Bowling, Senior Bowling, Bowlers Sharing Love (ADA league), and Bowlers to Veterans Link (BVL).