BASSMASTERS
(a BASS Federation
Nation Affiliate Chapter)
CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
Revised: February 2008
ARTICLE I – NAME
This chapter shall be called the VIRGINIA BASSMASTERS.
ARTICLE II –
PURPOSE
To
stimulate public awareness of bass fishing as a major sport. To offer our state conservation department
our organized moral and political support and encouragement. To promote full adherence to all conservation
codes and to demand adequate water standards and legal enforcement of existing
regulatory standards. To detect and
report any polluter and call public and political attention to his crime. To improve our skill as bass anglers through
a fellowship of friendly exchange of expert bass catching techniques and ideas,
and to function as a dynamic and effective link with other chapters embracing
the principles and purposes of the Bass Angler’s Sportsman Society.
ARTICLE III –
MEMBERSHIP
The
chapter shall begin with at least six but not more than ten charter
members. During the chapter’s first six
months of existence, total general membership shall not exceed 25 members. Presently, the membership shall not exceed 50
members.
Section
1. Requirements for Membership
To
become a chapter member, a person shall:
a. Be a Virginia or
b. Be at least 16 years of age.
c.
Voluntarily express a genuine interest in membership.
d. Be recommended by one
member at a regular monthly meeting.
e. Be voted on by the
membership.
Section 2. Membership Dues
The
membership dues shall be one hundred twenty five dollars ($125.00) annually, twenty
dollars ($20.00) shall be submitted to the state’s B.A.S.S. Federation Nation
of Virginia and twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be submitted to the national
B.A.S.S. Federation Nation prior to December 31. The balance of Eighty Five dollars ($85.00) shall
be due at the first meeting in February or no later than the March tournament.
Section 3. Removal of Membership
A person may be
removed from membership for any of the following:
a. Failure to pay dues.
b. Any action which would
reflect dishonor and disgrace on this chapter.
c.
Any member willfully breaking any of the above will be subject to
suspension by the Board and removal of membership at the next regular meeting
by a quorum of the members. There will
be no refund of membership dues.
ARTICLE IV –
OFFICERS AND ELECTIONS
Section
1. The elected officers and their
duties shall be:
a. PRESIDENT – Preside over all meetings and direct all official business. Appoint and direct all committee
functions. Supervise all club
functions. Represent the club at Region
and Federation functions.
b. VICE PRESIDENT – Act as program chairman, assist the President in his duties and
preside in the absence of the President at club, Region, and Federation
functions.
c.
SECRETARY – Keep and distribute to all
members all minutes of all the proceedings of all meetings, to handle all
correspondence and to notify the membership of all meetings, and/or club
functions, maintain a current roster, to call the roll and record all votes, to
notify all new members of their election to membership, and to update these
bylaws, as required.
d. TREASURER – Receive all monies paid into the club treasury as dues or otherwise,
to give a receipt of all monies received by him and enter same on records of
the club treasury, to issue checks or pay out money when ordered to do so by
the membership of the club or an order signed by the Board of Directors.
e. TOURNAMENT CHAIRMAN – Keep all tournament records for determining yearly award winners,
notify all members of the yearly standings each month, notify all members of
the winners of each tournament, notify all members of the times, location,
limits, and pairings for each tournament, and present trophies to tournament
and yearly award winners.
Section 2. Board of Directors
The
Board of Directors shall consist of all officers and shall attend to the
affairs of the club during the interim between meetings of the club, but its
acts shall not conflict with actions taken by the club.
Section
3. Eligibility for Holding Office
To
be eligible for an office, a member must:
a. Have been a member for six
months.
b. Have attended at least 75% of
the chapter meetings and 75% of chapter tournaments.
c.
Have shown an active interest in all chapter functions.
ARTICLE V – METHOD
OF AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
The
constitution may be amended at any regular meeting by a quorum of the members,
provided notice of the proposed amendment has been presented to the membership
at least one regular meeting prior to the vote.
The same motion to amend the bylaws cannot be made more than twice
during a fishing season.
ARTICLE VI –
COMMITTEES
Special
committees shall be appointed by the President.
The President shall be a member of all committees.
ARTICLE VII –
VIRGINIA BASSMASTERS CLUB TOURNAMENTS
1. One club tournament will be
held in each of the following months:
March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November.
2. The Tournament Committee,
headed by the elected Tournament Chairman, shall present a tournament schedule
for the year at the first regular meeting to be approved by the membership.
3. Upon approval of the
tournament schedule at the club’s first annual meeting, it shall not be
changed.
4. The Tournament Committee
shall decide the times of each tournament and notify all members of such times
at least two weeks before said tournament.
These times may be altered at the tournament site by the Tournament
Chairman.
5. Scoring for tournament and
yearly awards shall be by pounds and ounces.
In scoring, an 8 ounce penalty will be given for each dead fish
weighed. A bonus of 5 ounces will be
added to each member’s yearly total for each meeting attended. The criterion for meeting attendance shall be
a member’s presence at roll call.
6. Trophies shall be awarded at
each monthly tournament for first through third place, first place non-boater
and lunker. The non-boater trophy will
be awarded to the top non-boater finishing out of the top three in the overall
tournament.
7. Yearly trophies shall be
awarded at the last regular meeting of the year to the top three Fisherman of
the Year, the Lunker of the Year winner, and the top three Non-Boater Fisherman
of the Year.
8. There shall be no entry fee
for regular monthly club tournaments, other than a member’s yearly dues. There will be, however, a voluntary Lunker
Pot collected at each tournament by the Tournament Chairman. To enter the Pot, a member may pay ten
dollars ($10.00) prior to the start of the tournament. One half of the money collected will be
deposited in the club treasury, with the other half won by the member
participating in the Pot with the largest bass.
This shall be a purely voluntary Pot open only to dues-paying members of
Virginia Bassmasters.
9. Members that qualify to
represent Virginia Bassmasters in BASS Federation Nation of Virginia tournaments
are expected to fish them. The top two
men at the end of a fiscal year qualify for the next year’s Mr. BASS
Tournament. The top six men at the end
of the fiscal year qualify for the next year’s Chapter Team Tournament. If, for any reason whatsoever, qualifying
members fail to fish the Federation tournaments for Virginia Bassmasters, they
will be fined $100.00. The offending
member(s) will be ineligible to fish any subsequent club tournaments until the
$100.00 fine is paid. Members fishing
the Federation Tournaments will receive $100.00 expense money for each
tournament fished.
10. A
a partner who is also a
member of Virginia Bassmasters in good standing.
ARTICLE
VIII – VIRGINIA BASSMASTERS CLUB TOURNAMENT RULES
The
following rules and regulations have been formulated and designed with the
expressed intent of affording each contestant equal opportunity of success
depending upon his angling skill. These
rules are not subject to change and their interpretation is reserved solely for
the Tournament Committee.
1. PARTICIPANTS AND ELIGIBILITY – Must be dues-paying members of Virginia
Bassmasters. A contestant shall fish
only with another dues-paying member of Virginia Bassmasters or alone.
2. CONTESTANTS PAIR-OFF – Contestants shall be paired by the Tournament Committee prior to
each tournament, assuring that at least one of the members has access to a
boat. Boaters paired together are not
required to fish together. If two
members are paired to fish together and they have already fished together in a
fiscal year, they have a right to request their names be withdrawn. A member may fish alone if his partner does
not show up, provided no one is left on the bank. If someone is without a ride, the Tournament
Committee may make appropriate adjustments to pairings. Such adjustments should stress keeping paired
contestants together. When two contestants
check out at the beginning of the day, they must stay together throughout the
day and until their weigh-in is completed.
A contestant must not allow any bass caught by him to be counted on the
score of another contestant. In such
cases, both contestants will be disqualified for the tournament and future
tournaments.
3. TOURNAMENT FISHING HOURS – To be announced two weeks before the tournament
and just prior to morning take-off.
Starting to fish before the official starting time shall be cause for
disqualification. Returning to weigh-in
after tournament hours shall result in a 1 lb. penalty per minute up to 15
minutes. After 15 minutes late, shall be
cause for disqualification. Boat and
motor trouble and other problems will not be an excuse for tardiness. The Tournament Chairman will keep the
official time.
4. SAFETY
– Safe motoring conduct must be observed at all times by all tournament
participants. Caution and safety on
morning take-offs must be observed. Each
contestant is required to wear a chest-type life preserver at all times the
outboard motor is in gear. This
preserver must be strapped, snapped, or zipped securely and maintained in that
position until the outboard motor is shut off.
Penalty for failure to abide by this rule is a $100.00 fine. The offending member(s) will be ineligible to
fish any subsequent club tournaments until the $100.00 fine is paid.
5. SPORTSMANSHIP – Sportsmanship, courtesy, safety, and conservation is expected from
each participant. Any infraction of
these fundamental sporting principles may be deemed cause for
disqualification. Drunkenness on the
part of any contestant during the tournament will not be tolerated and shall be
cause for automatic disqualification.
Alcohol may be consumed if not abused.
Individual members may be restricted from drinking alcoholic beverages
by the Tournament Committee.
6. TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT – Only artificial lures may be used.
NO “live bait” or “prepared bait” will be permitted; however, pork type
strips, rinds, etc. may be used. Only
one rod is permitted in use and in the water at any one time. Other rigged rods may be in the boat for
substitute purposes. All bass must be
caught live and in a conventional sporting manner. Electronic depth finders, temperature gauges,
light meter, etc. may be used.
7. BOAT AND MOTOR – Fishing boats and motors may be of any size. Electric motors may be used to maneuver the
boat while casting; however, “trolling” as a method of fishing is prohibited.
8. BASIC BOAT EQUIPMENT – Every boat must have standard coast guard safety equipment and an
aerated livewell.
9. BOAT OPERATION AND EXPENSE – A full discussion should be held between the two
partners prior to a morning departure as to a schedule of the boat
operations. A schedule must be set
that permits each contestant equal time at the controls. It is suggested that gas and oil be furnished
by the partner not owning the boat and motor.
The contestant who is operating the boat shall have the privilege of
selecting their route and fishing water.
In the event that one contestant elects not to operate the boat, and
such election is satisfactory to his partner, the contestant waiving the right
to operate the boat shall still have the right to choose the fishing spots
one-half of the time. Any contestant
found operating the boat in an obvious and deliberate manner to handicap his
partner shall be disqualified.
10.
PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS – Fishing is permitted any
place in the area chosen for a tournament.
However, no fishing is permitted within 50 yards of another contestant’s
boat that was first at the location and their trolling motor up with boat
anchored. All fishing must be done from
a boat. Contestants must not depart the
boat to fish or to land fish. Boats must
stay in the water during the tournament day.
All contestants must leave the official area by boat and return by
boat. If a boat is disabled, a
contestant and his/her fish may be taken to weigh-in by the best means possible
keeping one’s own catch in their site at all times prior to check-in.
11. DON’T KILL YOUR CATCH – Each contestant will be expected to keep his bass
alive to the best of his ability. All
fish will be brought to the scales I plastic bags with water and all live fish
will be released except trophy fish.
12. SCORING
– Only largemouth or smallmouth bass will be weighed. During the tournament day, each contestant
must keep his fish separated from that of his partner. At no time shall any contestant have more
than the legal number of bass allowed per person, on the body of water being
fished. Each contestant must present his
own catch to weigh-in. A bass will not
be counted nor weighed that is not within the limit of the body of water being
fished. As a penalty, one pound will be
subtracted from his total weight. Any
contestant bringing in more than the limit, will have his bass culled down to
the limit by the Tournament Committee and the largest bass on the stringer will
be culled first. It is the
responsibility of the individual contestant to ensure his weight is recorded
correctly.
13. TIES
– In the event of a tie, the winning contestant in each instance shall be
decided by the weight of the largest bass caught during the tournament by each
contestant and declaring the one with the largest bass the winner. In the event of a tie for lunker, the winning
contestant in each instance shall be decided first by the number of fish
caught, second by the total bag weight, and third by a toss of the coin. It is the responsibility of the individual
contestant to ensure that his largest bass is weighed.
14. FISHING CONDITIONS – The tournament will be held unless the ramp is unavailable due to
weather related conditions. An alternate
ramp, if available, may be selected by the Tournament Committee, time
permitting.
15. PROTEST
– Any contestant wishing to protest the score of a fellow contestant must do so
in writing and within thirty (30) minutes after that day’s official weigh-in
time.
16. LATE
– If a club member is late to a tournament, the late member will be docked his
biggest fish during the weigh-in. His
biggest fish will be culled by the Tournament Director or designee. Late will be defined as not having your boat
in the water and ready to go at the prescribed time set by the Tournament
Director.
17. RATIO
– Membership must maintain a minimum 2 to 1.5 boat owner to non-boat owner
ratio. Any current club member who is a
non-boat owner may remain a member until which time he chooses to renew his
membership.
18. INSURANCE:
A
contestant may not operate a
boat unless that contestant and/or boat owner has provided valid documented
proof of a minimum of $100,000 Boating Liability
Insurance on the boat to be operated.
The documented proof must show an effective date and must be received by
a club officer prior to the first tournament in which the boat is to be used.
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF BYLAW AMENDMENTS:
Amendment to
bylaws proposed, voted on, and passed
A Virginia
Bassmaster member, in good standing, who is participating in the Region 7 Tournaments,
will only be allowed to fish with a partner who is also a member of Virginia
Bassmasters in good standing.
Amendment to bylaws proposed, voted on, and passed
Article VIII. 16. Late. “Late will be defined as not checking in with
the tournament chairman prior to blast off the morning of the tournament: shall
be changed to “Late will be defined as not having your boat in the water and
ready to go at the prescribed time set by the Tournament Director.”
Amendments made to bylaws as voted on by the
membership December 1999:
Reflect increase in dues from $125.00 to $150.00 and
Article III.3.b shall now read “Failure to attend 50% of the chapter meetings
and 50% of chapter tournaments, including the Don Sprinkle Open, during a
12-month period. **Note: This was later removed.
Amended to include the insurance requirement
rule 18 as part of the Constitution & Bylaws 2000 on May 13, 2000.
Amendment to tournament bylaws proposed, voted on and passed May 2001:
Amendment to Bylaws tournament rule 2 to reflect that
boaters paired together are not required to fish together.
Amendment to bylaws reflecting that a motion cannot be
made more than twice during a fishing season was proposed, voted on and passed
July 2002.
Amendment to tournament rules late to weigh-in penalty was proposed, voted on and passed September 2002:
Article VIII.3. Tournament Fishing Hours shall read “Returning
to weigh-in after tournament hours shall result in a 1 lb. penalty per minute
up to 15 minutes. After 15 minutes late,
shall be cause for disqualification.
Amendment voted on during the 2004 season and Reprinted: August 25, 2004
Section
3.b of Article III-Membership “Failure to attend 50% of the chapter meetings
and 50% of chapter tournaments, including the Don Sprinkle Open, during a
12-month period” has been deleted. Once
a member pays dues, he/she is a member for the year and cannot be removed from
the roster unless requested by that member.
Section
17 of Article VIII-Tournament Rules has been changed to indicate that the boater to no-boater ratio is now 2 to
1.5. There must be at least 2 boaters for every 1.5 non-boaters.
Amendment made to reflect
Section 2. Membership Dues has been changed to
reflect the increase in State dues as required to $20.00.
Amendment made to reflect National B.A.S.S.
Federation dues change for 2006:
Section 2. Membership Dues has been changed to
reflect the increase in National dues as required to $20.00.
Amendments made throughout the Constitution and Bylaws to reflect the name changes of National B.A.S.S. Federation to BASS Federation Nation and Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation to BASS Federation Nation of Virginia: January 12, 2006
Amendment proposed, voted on and passed November 2006:
The phrase “in site of one’s
own catch” be added to tournament rules regarding the transporting of a
competitor’s fish to the scales in the event of a boat breakdown. An angler’s
fish and the angler may be transported to weigh in (i.e. an angler’s catch must
be in their site at all times prior to check-in), in the event of a breakdown.
Amendments proposed, voted on and passed, March, 2007:
Article VII, part 5. There will be 4oz added to the dead fish
penalty making the total penalty 8 oz.
Article VIII, part 2. The fine for not contacting the tournament
director prior to a club tournament ($25.00) has been removed from the bylaws. There will not be a fine for not contacting
the tournament director.
Article VIII, part 4. Replacing the sentence “Each contestant is required
to wear a chest-type life preserver at all times the outboard motor is running”
with “…a chest type preserver at all times while the motor is in gear.”
Article VIII, part 10. Fishing is not permitted within 50 yds. of
another contestants boat that was first at the location, has his trolling motor
up and is anchored.
Article VIII, part 13. The means of resolving a tie for the ‘lunker’
will be as follows: First, the
contestant with the most fish caught that day will win; Second (if the first
option does not work), the contestant with the heaviest bag wins the lunker;
Third and final (if the second option does not work), a flip of the coin will
decide the lunker winner.
Article VIII, part 14. Replace the existing sentence with “The
tournament will be held unless the ramp is unavailable due to weather related
conditions. An alternate ramp, if available,
may then be selected by the Tournament Committee, time permitting.
All other information contained herein is believed
to be accurate and reflects any and all amendments made by the membership to
the Virginia Bassmasters’ Constitution and Bylaws to date in accordance with
Article V.