Yale Skeet & Trap Team
Team Bylaws
I. Membership
A. Registered undergraduate, graduate, and professional students of Yale University are eligible for team membership with the approval of the coach and captain provided they meet the following requirements:
1. Members must make a minimum commitment of two academic years
to active membership on the team. This requirement may be waived by the coach and captain in the event that a prospective team member has
significant prior experience shooting skeet and trap.
2. Team members must attend 75% of all practices throughout the academic year. Definitive records will be maintained by the captain.
3.Constant demonstration of gun safety is mandatory at all times.
Failure to follow proper gun safety may result in immediate dismissal from the team.
4.A willingness to accept instruction from coaches and other instructors and a desire to improve one’s shooting is also expected of team members.
5.Active reflection on one’s shooting through the use of a shooting journal is expected of all team members.
6.Upon joining the team, all members must sign a written statement stating that they have read and understood these bylaws and agree to be subject to them.
B.In the event that a team member fails to meet any of these requirements, as determined by the coach and captain at any point during the season, the following measures will be taken:
1.The coach and captain will hold a meeting with the team member in question to discuss the issue.
2.At this time the coach and captain may initiate a probationary period of a length set by the coach and captain during which the team member is required to meet a certain set of criteria as determined by the coach and captain.
3.At the end of the probationary period, a second meeting will be held to determine whether the team member in question has satisfied the required criteria.
4.Following this assessment, the coach and captain may choose to remove the team member from probationary status, extend the probationary period, or dismiss the member from the team.
C.The team shall have a maximum of 15 active members in a given season due to space, resource, and coaching limitations. Special exceptions to this rule may be made at the discretion of the coach & captain. In the event that there are more shooters than positions on the team, prospective members will be taken on a first-come first-served basis. A waiting list may be created for prospective members who wish to join the team if the prospective members will meet the membership criteria listed in section I.A at the time an opening arises. Such a list will be maintained by the captain.
D.New members of the team will be limited to one round of shooting and instruction per practice for a minimum period of two practices. Following this two week period, new members may be “graduated” by the coach and captain to full membership status and may shoot as many rounds as they desire. The coach and captain shall make the decision to graduate new shooters based on their fulfillment of the conditions outlined in section I.A and based on improvement in scores.
II. The Coach
A.The coach’s duties shall include on and off-field instruction, advising to the captain and other team officers, oversight of operations and supplies, planning travel, and other unspecified duties as they arise. At the coach’s discretion these duties may be delegated to the captain or other team officers where appropriate. The coach represents the highest level of authority on the team and has the final say in any matters not regulated by these bylaws.
B.The coach is permitted but is not required to appoint an assistant coach in consultation with the captain when such a qualified person exists. The coach may also relieve the assistant coach of his or her duties if deemed appropriate. The duties of the assistant coach shall be limited to the following:
1.Assisting the captain and coach in planning the content of weekly practices.
2.On-field instruction at practices and assistance with practice management.
3.Specific duties as delegated by the coach or captain.
III. The Captain
A.The captain shall be responsible for the day-to-day management of the team, including but not limited to:
1.Management of team finances and the team ledger
2.Team communication
3.Team recruitment
4.Membership issues as described in section I.B.
5.Team development (shooting journals, instructional exercises, etc.)
6.Planning weekly practices
7.Facilitation in selection of a new captain
8.Selection of competition squads & management of competitions & travel
9.Other duties as delegated by the coach.
B. The captain is permitted but not required to appoint an assistant captain to whom certain specific duties may be delegated. General decision-making authority and responsibility remains with the captain. The captain is permitted to relieve the assistant captain of his or her duties if deemed appropriate.
C. All team members (including incumbents and previous captains) who have been a member of the team for one full calendar year or longer at the time of selection of the captain are eligible to be selected as captain. Individuals shall nominate themselves if they desire to be considered for selection.
D.Elections for the position of team captain shall occur at the end of every shooting season and shall not take place before the nationals competition.
1.Candidates to the position of captain shall submit a written statement to the team prior to elections describing their qualifications for the position. The exact content required in these statements will be established by the captain.
2.Voting shall take place by secret ballot in a format decided by the captain.
3.Team members are eligible to cast a vote for team captain if they meet the following requirements:
a.They have been a member of the team for six calendar months
b.They are in good standing with the team and meet the membership requirements outlined in section I.A.
c.The coach and assistant coach will be permitted one vote each for captain.
4.Team members who do not meet the criteria outlined in section III.D.3, as determined by the coach and captain, will not be permitted to cast a vote for captain.
5.A candidate must receive greater than 50% of the votes to be elected captain.
a.In the event that 3 or more candidates run for captain and no candidate receives greater than 50% of the votes, the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes will be put to a runoff election at a time and place to be determined by the captain.
b.In the event of a tie in the first round where two candidates are running, or in the event of a tie in the second round between two candidates, the current year’s nationals shooters will vote to break the tie.
c.In the event that a vote among nationals shooters results in a tie, the captain will be selected from among the candidates by the coach and the current captain.
6.The outgoing captain shall organize the voting, count the votes, and announce the results at a time of his or her choosing. In the event that the incumbent captain is running for reelection, he or she must delegate election organization to another team member who is not a candidate.
7.The new captain’s term shall begin following the final team event of the season.
8.In the event that the elected captain is unable to complete his or her term, the assistant captain shall become captain. In the event that there is not an assistant captain to fill the role of captain, the coach shall appoint a team member to be captain.
IV. Team Competitions
A. The coach and captain shall select team members to compete at nationals and other competitions based on the following criteria:
1.Scores, as determined by round officially scored by a team officer.
2.Fulfillment of membership requirements as outlined in section I.A.
3.Service to the team on and off the field
4.Past competition experience
5.Seniority
6.Future opportunities to compete
7.Attitude
8.Gender, where separate men’s and women’s events divisions exist.
B.Once selected to compete with the squad, a team member will have one opportunity to accept or decline the offer to compete. Following verbal or written acceptance of an offer to compete or travel, the team member will be responsible for all financial obligations of travel incurred thereafter. In the event that the team member withdraws from the competition or travel for any reason, he or she will bear full responsibility for any financial obligations arising from withdrawal.
C.Appropriate behavior as representatives of Yale University is expected whenever and wherever the team travels.
D.Appropriate behavior is also expected when team members are guests at shooting facilities belonging to other teams, clubs, or organizations, whether there as a team or as individual representatives of the Yale Skeet & Trap Team.
E.Failure to behave in an appropriate manner as defined by the coach and captain may result in probation, suspension, or dismissal from the team.
V. Adoption and Amendment of Team Bylaws
A. These bylaws shall come into force upon approval through voting of two-thirds of the active members of the team.
B. Amendments to these bylaws may be submitted to the team for approval by any active member of the team.
C. Amendments to these bylaws shall be approved with the support of two-thirds of active team members.
D. Those team members who are eligible to vote for adoption of these bylaws and for amendments to these bylaws shall be those that meet the criteria in section III.3 at the time of adoption or amendment. Team members who do not meet these criteria will not be permitted to vote.
Drafted:
March 16, 2006
Rob Person (GRD ’10)
Captain 2005-2006, 2007-2008
Assistant Coach 2006-2010
Approved by unanimous vote April 28, 2006
Amendments
Amendment 1:
This amendment supersedes section I.C of the Yale Skeet & Trap Team Bylaws. The team shall have a maximum of 15 active members in a given season due to space, resource and coaching limitations. Special exceptions to this rule may be made at the discretion of the coach and captain. New team members will be selected on an annual basis at the beginning of each academic year through an interview process conducted by team officers and coordinated by the captain. In addition to affirming commitment to the membership criteria listed in section I.A, prospective members may be required to answer additional interview questions as determined by the captain. Individuals will be selected to join the team by the captain in consultation with the coach.
Approved May 1, 2009
Amendment 2:
This amendment supersedes section III.C of the Yale Skeet & Trap Team Bylaws. All team members (including incumbents and previous captains) who have been a member of the team for one full calendar year or longer at the time of selection of the captain are eligible to be selected as captain. Individuals shall nominate themselves if they desire to be considered for selection. Two individuals may, in special circumstances, put forward a joint candidacy as co-captains only with the prior permission of the coach. Proposed co-captainships must provide a detailed division of responsibilities to the coach at the time of self-nomination.
Approved May 1, 2009