Constitution of the Rock Climbing Club of the College of William and Mary

Williamsburg, Virginia

I. Name of the Organization

This organization will be known as the Rock Climbing Club of the College of William and Mary.

II. Purpose

The purpose of the organization will be to increase and explore the interest in rock climbing. Its main goal will be to offer the members more chances to climb by organizing related functions and trips, and by holding weekly or more frequent meetings in Adair Gymnasium.

III. Membership in the Organization

Membership in this organization will be open to all interested members of the William and Mary college community, but due to the risks involved, members will be asked to pass a basic climbing safety test administered by the officers. To remain a voting member, one will have to pay all dues as stated in article VIII. Failure to pay dues will result in the loss of membership status and may result in the member being asked by an officer to leave the club meetings until dues are paid. Members will not be permitted to climb until they have provided the club with the designated Waiver and Agreement to Participate Form (Appendix W), in accordance with the Recreational Sports Department policy.

IV. Officers

The organization will have an elected president, two vice presidents, and a treasurer, who will each serve for a full year after election. The duties of the president will be to preside over the meetings, attend all Recreational Sports Club Meetings or arrange a proxy, insure all paperwork is handed in filled out correctly and on time, and promote the general welfare of the club. At the time of elections the officers will divvy up the following duties between the two vice presidents: updating and maintaining a club web site, updating and maintaining a club member roster and e-mail list, keeping track of and inspecting current equipment, and purchasing new equipment. The treasurer will be responsible for organizing the collection of dues and maintaining the club checkbook. All officers shall be responsible for maintaining the safety of the equipment and for monitoring the safe behavior of participants.

V. Elections

Elections will be held on a yearly basis at the first meeting of the last full week of class before exam periods begin during the fall semester. Only those dues paying members present at the election may vote. The term of office for all positions will be one year. Elections will be held by secret ballot, and a simple majority will be required to win. If an elected officer fails to complete his or her term, a special meeting will be immediately called to elect a new officer. The new officer's term will be equal to the time remaining in the term of the officer that he or she is replacing. If the organization feels that an officer is not fulfilling his or her duties, a special meeting will be called by any officer. An attendance of seventy-five percent or greater of the club's voting members must be present, or the meeting will be rescheduled. The officer shall be told the reasons for dissatisfaction with his work, and members will then vote by secret ballot on the issue. A 2/3 majority will be required to remove the officer from duty. In the event that the officer is removed, a replacement officer will be elected. The new officer's term will be equal to the length of time remaining in the removed officer's term. The vote of an officer will be equal in weight to that of each member. Tie votes on general issues may be broken by the president.

VI. Committees No separate committees will be consistently standing, although the president may request a member of group of members to voluntarily attend to a particular issue.

VII. Meetings

The organization will schedule two meetings per week. The club will be able to meet more often than this, but will maintain this as a minimum requirement.

VIII. Dues

The amount of the dues and the intervals that they cover will be decided upon by the officers. The dues will be used to benefit the entire club and neither they nor anything purchased by them, whether material or otherwise, will go to a specific person or persons unless expressly stated by the membership through voting.

IX. Amendments

Amendments to this constitution are to be proposed at the election meeting and will be discussed in detail at this time. The amendments will be re-discussed and voted on at the following meeting. A 2/3 majority vote is required to make an amendment. This is the only time that amendments may be officially proposed and voted on.

Amendment I

In order to ensure the safety of the club participants, the officers will inspect, maintain, and retire climbing gear in accordance with standards set by the club officers. The club officers will maintain an inventory of functional and safe ropes and belay devices, such that there is one available for every wall put into use in the Adair Gymnasium. Club funds will be used to replace, in the following order, safety gear (ropes, belay devices, harnesses, webbing, etc.), general gear (shoes, chalk bags, holds for the wall, climbing guides, etc), before it is utilized to pay for incurred expenses such as travel cost, lodging, and gym fees.

Amendment II

Equipment many be lent out to active club members who have successfully paid their club dues at no additional cost to the member. Equipment will be available on a first come, first serve basis and the issue of equipment must be done by a club officer. The borrowing member must show the knowledge of how to safely operate any equipment being requested, and any club officer has the right to deny a request for equipment for safety reasons. All equipment loans will be recorded in the Equipment Log. The borrowing club member is responsible for any equipment in their possession and must report any damage that may occur to a club officer upon the equipment’s return. The return of equipment will also be recorded in the Equipment Log, along with any details pertaining to damage of misuse.

X. Ratification

The endorsement of 2/3 of the members present at the first meeting of the first full week of class of the spring semester is needed to ratify a new or updated constitution. This constitution for the Rock Climbing Club of the College of William & Mary was ratified on January 29, 2007 by a 2/3 majority of the members present. This constitution, upon ratification, voids all previous constitutions or by-laws for the Rock Climbing Club of the College of William & Mary.