ARTICLE I TITLE, PURPOSE,
AIMS
The
title of the Organization shall be:
The Northern Officials' Association.
It
shall be the purpose of the Organization to foster and promote more efficient
officiating procedures and standard techniques in athletic contests through a
thorough study of the rules and regular discussions during the respective sport
seasons.
The
organization shall invite coaches, athletic directors, and school
administrators to meetings, so as to make interpretations and officiating
techniques common knowledge to all.
ARTICLE II ORGANIZATION
1. Officers - The officers
of the Organization shall consist of a General Chairman, a President of each
represented sport, an Assignment Chairman of each represented sport, a
Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Membership Chairman.
2. Board of Directors -
The Board shall be composed of the General Chairman, the Secretary, the
Treasurer, the Assignment Chairmen, the Membership Chairman, the immediate past
General Chairman, the President of each sport, the immediate past President of
each sport, and one elected member from each sport division. Should the President succeed himself,
the immediate past President's seat shall be filled by an elected member from
said sport.
3. Duties of Officers
A) General Chairman - He shall
preside over all board meetings, general membership meetings, and the first
meeting of each sport. He shall
appoint committees necessary for conducting the activities of the Organization.
B) Sport Division Presidents -
Each shall preside over meetings of his division and appoint committees
necessary for conducting the activities of his division. Each shall act as Chairman in the
absence of the Chairman at any meetings during the sport season.
C) Secretary - He shall
handle all correspondence for the Organization, keep attendance records, and
compile and maintain a roster of members in good standing.
D) Treasurer - He shall
accept fees and dues in accordance with the Organization By-Laws and disburse
the organization's financial obligations in accordance with same. He shall issue an annual financial
report of receipts and disbursements of the Organization and be prepared to
report the financial condition of the Organization at each meeting upon
request. He shall keep the
Assignment Chairmen informed of members not in good standing because of dues
delinquency.
E) Assignment Chairmen - Each shall
maintain a roster of members in good standing in the sport or sports which they
officiate. This listing shall be
made available to all schools, assignment chairmen, athletic organizations,
individuals, and member officials who may have a need for the same. Upon request for officials, each shall
furnish a list of all member officials who are available. Each shall be responsible only for
member officials who have supplied them with their open and closed dates.
F) Membership Chairman - He shall
recruit new officials through the I.H.S.A., local high schools and colleges,
and any other means desirable. He
shall provide applications and information to all new officials seeking membership
in the Organization. He shall
introduce new officials to the members and officers and act as their liaison to
the Organization.
4. Duties of the Board of Directors
The
Board of Directors shall act as the governing body of the Organization. It shall recommend policy to the
membership for action. It shall
dictate policy not specifically covered within these articles between general
member meetings.
The
Board shall meet prior to the first football meeting and at other times during
the year when deemed necessary.
General
Member Meetings shall be convened at the discretion of the Board; however, at
least one general meeting each year is recommended.
5. Fiscal Year
The
fiscal year shall run from August 1 to July 31 and be highlighted with a
banquet, if sufficient funds are available.
ARTICLE III ELECTION
OF OFFICERS
1. Each Sport Division -
Officers of each sport division shall be nominated and elected by each
division. These officers are the
President, Representative to the Board of Directors, and the Assignment
Chairman. The manner and method of
the same is to be decided by the division with the approval of the Board of
Directors. Only members in good
standing shall vote.
2. General Organization -
A nominating committee appointed by the General Chairman shall submit a
slate of officers for the following offices: (A) General Chairman, (B)
Secretary, (C) Treasurer, and (D) Membership Chairman. This is to be voted on by the General
Assembly. Additional nominations
may be submitted by individual members.
The vote shall be conducted at the Annual Spring Banquet; or, on
decision by the General Chairman, it shall be conducted by email. The nominating committee shall post the
slate of officers in the Whistling Zebra on the NOA website. The newly elected officers shall assume
their duties at the end of the current voting fiscal year and hold their
elected position for a period of two N.O.A. fiscal years.
3. Replacement of Elected Officers -
Should any of the elected offices be vacated during their current term
of tenure due to unavoidable circumstances, it shall be the duty of the Board
of Directors to appoint an interim member in good standing to perform the
duties of said office until the next sport division or General election.
ARTICLE IV MEETINGS
Meetings
for each sport shall be scheduled in advance and members of each division shall
be notified of scheduled meetings prior to the first meeting. Meeting attendance requirements shall
be determined by each sport division and be posted at the first meeting.
ARTICLE V MEMBERSHIP AND FEES
1. Status - There shall
be two categories of membership.
A) Member - A member in
good standing is one who has fulfilled and continues to fulfill the criteria of
full-fledged status as outlined in Section Two. Members shall have their name listed on the official roster,
be sent to assignment chairmen as available for varsity assignments, and be
first choice of assignments from the N.O.A. Assignment Chairmen outlined in
Article II, Section 3 (E).
B) Associate Members, New Members, Transfer
Members, and Old Members who have not fulfilled status as stated in Section 1
(A).
(I) New members - New members
shall be accepted on a probationary basis by the President and Assignment
Chairman for each sport division.
After a two year probationary period, the Board of Directors shall
review reports and recommendations submitted by the Membership and Eligibility
Committee pertaining to above probationary members for the purpose of
considering said probationary members for full membership in the N.O.A.
(II) Transfer Members -
Transfers to the N.O.A. from groups outside our Organization's
geographical area shall be accepted as in Section 1 (B) (I) above with a
probationary period of one year to be used as a basis of status review.
(III) Old Members - Full-fledged
members not fulfilling membership criteria as outlined in Section 2 (A-F) may
be dropped to Associate Membership by action of the Board of Directors on
recommendations from the Membership and Eligibility Committee. Such members may be reinstated to full
membership privileges after one year Associate Membership on review by the
Board of Directors in conjunction with the Membership and Eligibility
Committee.
(C) Dismissal - Associate
members may be dismissed from the Organization by vote of the Board of
Directors after review procedures as stated in Article V Section 1 (B) (II) and
1 (B) (III). A seventy-five
percent affirmative vote is required for dismissal.
2. Criteria for Determining Members in Good
Standing for each Respective Sport.
A) Attend 1/2 of the meetings the previous
year or as determined in Article IV.
B) Take the supervised I.H.S.A.
examination (Part II) unless such member holds the rank of certified in said
respective sport.
C) Be a member in good standing with the
I.H.S.A. and show evidence of seeking advancement within the framework of the
I.H.S.A. advancement procedures.
D) Show evidence of service to the
association such as acceptance of an officer position, volunteer for scrimmage
officiating, help in rules interpretation, and serve on committee of the
association.
E) Dues paid on time.
F) Show evidence of acceptable
professional conduct as defined by the Board of Directors: (accepting dates, proper uniform,
attitude at games, punctuality, decorum, etc.)
3. Fees - Initiation
fee shall be fifteen dollars. Dues
for the first sport officiated each fiscal year shall be forty dollars, and
dues for each subsequent sport officiated that fiscal year shall be thirty
dollars.
Fees
shall be due and payable August 31st for the current fiscal year. The delinquent date for fees and dues
is September 1, when a ten dollar late fee will be assessed.
4. IHSA Top 15 List -
members in each respective sport are to complete an NOA Rating
Information Sheet for their respective sport. These sheets will then be used by the Sport Presidents and
their committees in determining the Top 15 Officials List which is required to
be compiled and sent to the IHSA each year. The selection committee will be made up of the Sport
President, Sport Representative, Past Sport President, and Board Officers;
General Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Assignment Chairman, and Membership
Chairman. Only Board Officers who
work the respective sport will be allowed to rank officials for the Top 15
list. The results of the each
sports Top 15 will be posted on the NOA web site.
ARTICLE VI AMENDMENTS
Amendments
to these articles may be made by action from the floor in the form of a
resolution at any General Member Meeting or by action of the Board of
Directors. The Board, upon receipt
of said resolution, shall prepare and submit the same to the Organization
membership for vote, either at General Assembly or by mail. If presented to the membership at a
General Assembly, fifty-one percent of the members must be present; and three
quarters of this total must approve amendment or addition. If presented to the membership by mail,
two thirds of the membership must vote for approval. Only members in good standing shall vote.
Last Updated: July 1, 2006