Constitution & By-Laws
Constitution & By-Laws
The name of this Association shall be the Madden World Syndicate (MWS)
To establish a forum by which its members through its various leagues, may gather and enjoy friendly, but competitive, standardized competition of John Madden Football. The Constitution and By-Laws of the MWS exist for the purpose of codifying and facilitating the stated purpose, and to provide the means for change and amendments as needed.
Membership in THE MWS shall be open to individuals who meet the qualifications of membership as specified in the By-laws
Section 1 -Leagues & Free Agents
The Association shall be comprised of members in MWS sanctioned leagues. Individuals not participating in formal league play may become members of the MWS as free agents.
Section 2 - Constitutional Authority
The MWS and all of it's leagues & free agents shall be governed by the Constitution, By-laws and Handbook of THE MWS.
Section 1 - OFFICERS
The Officers of this organization shall be:
A. President
B. Vice President
C. Secretary
D. Treasure
E. Member At Large
F. Past President
Section 2 - EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
A. The officers of this organization shall constitute the Executive Board of The MWS.
B. The Executive Board as representatives of the membership, shall be responsible for the conduct of the business and finances of THE MWS, except where such authority is specifically assigned by the Constitution, By-laws, or MWS Handbook.
Section 3 TERM OF OFFICE
The term office for all elected officials shall be two years. Terms shall commence on August 1.
SECTION 1 All Officers
A. Each officer shall be elected annually at the MWS Nationals meeting.
B. Nominations shall be made from the floor.
C. Votes shall be submitted by secret ballot.
D. All elected officials of THE MWS shall be elected by a majority of the constituency of casting ballots in the election. If such majority does not exist, further elections shall be held between the two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes until a simple majority is reached.
SECTION 1 BUSINESS OF THE LEAGUE
Business of The MWS shall be conducted annually at the National Madden Championships, Executive Board meetings, and other sanctioned MWS events.
SECTION 2 GENERAL BUSINESS MEETINGS
The membership of The MWS shall have one (1) business meetings each year, at the Madden National Championship
SECTION 3 EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETINGS
Executive Board Meetings shall be held when deemed necessary by members of the Board. Minutes shall be taken and freely distributed to the membership.
SECTION 4 Quorum
A. Quorum for the conduct of business at the General meetings shall consist of the voting members assembled, the President, and at least two other Executive Board Members. This shall be no less than 3/4 of the total MWS membership of the national field in attendance at the current games. The President reserves the right to appoint a designee of the Executive Board to preside in his absence.
B. At least 3 of the 5 Executive Board members must be present at any board meeting in order for that meeting to deemed official with either the President or Vice President present and presiding. The Commissioner reserves the right to appoint a designee of the Executive Board to preside in his absence.
SECTION 5 VOTING MEMBERS
Voting members of THE MWS are defined in the By-laws Each voting member shall have only one vote and may participate and vote in person or by official MWS absentee balloting.
ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENTS
SECTION 1 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Constitutional amendments shall require readings and approval by majority vote in one Executive Board meeting, followed by a majority vote at one General meeting.
SECTION 2 AMENDMENTS TO THE BY-LAWS AND HANDBOOK
Provisions for the amendments to the By-laws and for the changes in the MWS Handbook are found in the By-laws
SECTION 3 COMMENCEMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS
All amendments to and changes to the Constitution, By-laws and MWS Handbook shall take effect immediately following approval.
SECTION I. Membership in the MWS shall be under three categories:
A. League
B. Free Agent
C. Honorary
SECTION II. ACTIVE
A. To be eligible for Active Membership each member shall :
1. Be 18 years of age or above.
2. Be actively engaged in competition as a member of a MWS sanctioned League.
3. Have current local dues/franchise fees paid if applicable4. Own a Sony Playstation 2 and current edition of the Madden series CDRom.
5. MWS Sanctioned League must have all MWS dues and other financial business current and up to date.
B. Rights1. May vote and hold office.
2. May participate in all MWS sponsored activities.
3. Receives all MWS communications and other pertinent information.
SECTION III. Free Agent
A. To be eligible for Free Agent membership each member shall:
1. Be 18 years of age or above.
2. Be declared a bona fide free agent via the application process
3. Be actively engaged in Free Agent based Madden Competition in a non league setting.
4. Have current MWS dues paid
5. Own a Sony Playstation 2 and current edition of the Madden series CDRom.
B. Rights
1. May vote and hold office.
2. May participate in all MWS sponsored activities.
3. Receives all PFL communications and other pertinent information.
SECTION IV. Honorary
A. To be considered an Honorary MWS Member one shall:
1. Supporting member of MWS activities and events
2. All MWS dues current if applicable
3. Declared Honorary by the Executive Board
B. RIGHTS
1. May not vote or hold office.
2. May visit MWS sanctioned events.
3. Is still considered a MWS member.
4. Shall receive all MWS communications if so desired.
SECTION V. GENERAL STATEMENTS
A. Dues shall be submitted to the MWS Office. The membership is from August 1 to July 31 each calendar year.
B. Each member shall be morally responsible for adherence to THE MWS CODE OF ETHICS/DECORUM which follows.
Members of THE MWS are expected to:
1. Conduct their business and personal affairs on the highest ethical and professional level.
2. Treat all MWS members impartially.
3. Refrain from personal destructive criticism of other MWS (Light hearted trash talking is exempt).
4. Strive to maintain the highest possible competitive standards and practices.
5. Uphold the Constitution, By-laws, and Rules of the MWS.
SECTION I. The MWS shall be divided into the leagues & free agents to make up the membership. One representative from each league, and a free agent(s) may comprise of the League Council. The League Council shall serve as a liaison between each representative league, and the Executive Board. Each member of the league council shall carry one vote for their respective league.
A. Each MWS league in good standing shall have one representative that serves on the League Council. If there are 13 leagues in good standing, thus, 13 League Council members.
B. At least one Free Agent representative shall be voted onto the League Council.
C. Free Agent representation shall be proportionate to the number of league representatives. For every 5 league representatives, there shall be one free agent member on the League Council.
D. If necessary, the League Council can exist without free agent representation.
SECTION II. Expansion
Any member of an MWS sanctioned league in good standing, shall be considered a member of the MWS. Any individual that meets the criteria for membership as stated in Article I - Section III of the bylaws is considered a free agent. After charter membership
A. Perspective applicants to THE MWS shall meet all requirements as specified in the By-laws, Constitution and Handbook.
B. League approval requires a two-thirds majority vote at an Executive Board meeting.
C. Free Agents applicants must be approved by the Executive Board.
ARTICLE III - OFFICERS
SECTION I. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
A. President:
1. Chief executive officer of the MWS.
2. Member of the Executive Board
3. Ex-officio member of all committees.
4. Empowered to:
a. conduct business meetings of THE MWS.
b. establish agendas and conduct meetings of the Executive Board.
c. Call special meetings of the MWS and/or the Executive Board
d. create and appoint special committees or task forces.
e. appoint committee chairpersons.
f. levy fines where empowered in the By-laws and Handbook.
B. Vice President
1. Serves in the absence of the Commissioner
2. Member of the Executive Board
3. Sergeant-At-Arms for all general Business Meetings
C. Secretary
1. Performs duties as established by the Executive Board as agreed.
2. Such duties may include but are not limited to:
a. maintains membership records
b. handles all MWS correspondence
c. records and distributes minutes of the Executive Board and General Business Meetings.
d. assist in maintaining MWS web site.
f. serves as a member of Executive Board
g. collects dues/franchise fees for THE LEAGUE.
i. presents THE LEAGUE with all financial statements and documents.
j. serves as chief fiscal officer.
D. Treasure
1. Performs duties as established by the Executive Board as agreed.
2. Such duties may include but are not limited to:
a. collects dues/fees on behalf of MWS
b. maintain accurate financial records
b. maintains membership records
c. serves as member of Executive BoardE. Member At Large
1. Member of Executive Board.
2. Representative voice of members in free agent pool.
SECTION II. UNCOMPLETED TERMS
If any officer is unable to complete the term of office, an election will be held by league members to select a replacement to fill the uncompleted term. An individual who is elected to complete a term of office may be elected to a subsequent term.
SECTION I. FUNCTION
A. All committees serve in an advisory capacity to the President and the Executive Board Committees shall implement policies as directed by the Board.
B. The President is empowered to appoint special committees and task forces to deal with specific areas of interest not covered by standing committees.
SECTION II. MEMBERSHIP
Where criteria are specified in the By-laws, committee chairpersons select the membership of committees from members of MWS.
SECTION III. TERM OF SERVICE
A. Membership on all standing committees shall be for a term of one year. The chairperson shall appoint members to fill unexpired terms.
SECTION IV. CHAIRPERSONS
Chairpersons of standing committees shall be appointed by the President for a two year term commensurate with his term of office. The President shall appoint chairpersons to fill unexpired terms.
SECTION V. REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Reports of committee proceedings shall be sent to the Secretary for dissemination to the Executive Board no fewer that seven (7) days prior to Nationals.
SECTION VI. ORGANIZATION AND DUTIES OF STANDING COMMITTEES
A. COMPETITION COMMITTEE
Organization:
The committee shall be chaired by an Executive Board member and be composed of 4 representatives of leagues or free agents. Only one representative per league is allowed on any MWS committee.
Duties:
1. To promote a standardized means of competition through out the nation for all MWS sanctioned events.
1. Review and make recommendations concerning all MWS competitive rules and procedures.
2. Review competitive nature of MWS games.
3. Act as agent of the Executive Board in reviewing all concerns brought to the Board concerning MWS events and to make recommendations to the appropriate agency.
B. ETHICS/DECORUM COMMITTEE
Organization:
Chairperson (Executive Board member) and two (4) representatives of leagues or free agents. Only one representative per league is allowed on any MWS committee.
Duties:
1. to receive and investigate concerns of unethical actions, using adopted procedures.
2. to report concerns of conduct unbecoming a member of THE MWS Executive Board
3. to report to the Executive Board the findings of the Committee and to recommend appropriate disposition.
SECTION I. All MWS General Business meetings will take place at the National Championships. When needed and with due cause, Executive Board meetings may be scheduled by the President.
SECTION II. All Executive Council and General Business Meetings shall observe the following agenda:
A. Call To Order
B. Reading of the Minutes
C. Report of the Treasurer
D. Reading of Communications
E. Reports of Standing Committees
F. Reports of Special Committees
G. Unfinished Business
H. New Business
I. Election of Officers (when applicable)
J. Good And Welfare of the Association
K. Adjournment
SECTION III. The meetings of THE MWS shall be governed by Roberts "Rules of Order" in all cases where said rules do not conflict with the Constitution, By-laws and Handbook of the MWS.
SECTION I. MWS sponsors the following activities and events:
The Madden National Championship
MWS Sanctioned Regional Tournaments
Local League Play
The MWS World Ranking System
SECTION II. Sanctioning of MWS Events
1. Members that wish to sponsor regional tournament may apply to the MWS to earn sanctioned status for their tournament. In order for a tournament to be officially sanctioned by the MWS, the tournament would have to meet the following criteria:
A. Have at least a field of 16
B. Game play must be consistent with the standardized rules set forth in the Official MWS Handbook.
C. Must have at least two leagues other than the host league participating.
D. All scores, results and statistics must be reported to the MWS chief statistician and or web master within 24 hours after the championship game has been played.2. Leagues that wish to have their league play sanctioned by the MWS must comply with the following:
A. Be considered a league in good standing
B. Leagues are not bound by MWS rules for gameplay.3. MWS World Ranking System
The MWS World Ranking System is a simple formula used to rank ballers in the national field based on their performance in the following areas: The National Madden Championship, Regional MWS sanctioned tournaments, and local league play. A point system has been devised and will be applied to wins/losses, at MWS sanctioned events. The MWS World Ranking System shall be published for viewing of the national field and will be updated quarterly.
4. All MWS sanctioned events must gain approval of 2/3 majority of the Executive Board
5. The Madden National Championship is automatically an MWS sanctioned event and is exempt from sanctioning procedures.
ARTICLE VII - AWARDS
SECTION I. AWARDS AVAILABLE
Awards will be presented to the winners at the National Madden Championships.
1. The MWS National Championship Trophy - Awarded to the best baller in the nation.
2. The MWS runner up Trophy - Awarded to the second best baller in the nation.
3. The Consolation Trophy - Awarded to the third place winner at the national tournament.
4. Cash awards may be presented in addition to the awards listed above. Cash prize amounts will be determined by the size of the field, the amount of MWS overhead and expenses, and the total registration money in the prize pool.
ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENTS
SECTION I. AMENDMENTS to the By-laws of THE MWS shall require readings and approval by 2/3 majority vote in one (1) Executive Board meeting.
SECTION II. - CHANGES IN THE HANDBOOK
A. Changes in the Handbook shall require approval by a 2/3 majority vote of the Executive Board , followed by a reading and a 2/3 majority vote at a General Business meeting, or via online voting.
B. Changes in the Handbook that are introduced by a motion from the floor at a General Business meeting shall require a two-thirds vote of the assembly for passage.