From Bob Zaletel, Second Vice President (3/15/2011)

Proposed Change: Article VII By-Laws - Duties of Officers

Paragraph 8 - The four Regional Directors shall be ardent promoters of shuffleboard activities.

Paragraph 9 - 3.) Far Western United States - including the following 7 states - Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California.

4.) Near Western United States - including 13 states between the Mississippi River and the 7 states mentioned above.

Paragraph 10 - The four regional Directors will report to the President regarding Shuffleboard activities in their area; sixty days before each meeting.

Rationale: Currently 7 states West of the Mississippi are members of the USANSA - The West deserves two Directors to service these states: this will provide better representation to the organization.

Should this notice pass/be approved, then Article V of the Constitution needs to be changed to read - The Secretary and the four (4) Regional Directors shall be appointed by the President.

From Texas State Shuffleboard Association (10/1/2010)

We would like to recommend that the current Article XI of the NSA Bylaws be re-titled as Article XII. We would like further to recommend that the following "Article XI - National Team Selection" be added to the NSA Bylaws.

ARTICLE XI - NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION

The goal of this selection process shall be to identify and select shuffleboard players who have excelled in tournament play in national tournaments, as well as in state tournament play, with greater weight being given to participation and performance in national tournaments. No officer of the NSA or of any state board shall be given preference in this selection process based solely on their position. No factor other than merit based upon performance shall be considered.

When the ISA World Team Cup is being contested, members of two national teams shall be selected. Six men and six women from the east of the Mississippi shall be selected for the USA East Team and six men and six women from west of the Mississippi shall be selected for the USA West Team.

States who have hosted one or more national tournaments during the preceding year shall select one man and one woman to be members of those respective teams by whatever means is deemed appropriate by the board members of each of those state associations consistent with the stated goal of this selection process outlined above.

After those tournament-hosting states have selected their representative, representatives from non-tournament-hosting states shall be chosen by the national board from applications submitted by individuals from those non-tournament-hosting states in a number sufficient to fill the remaining roster positions of the respective national teams.

When the ISA World Team Cup Singles is being contested, an equal number of players shall be selected from states east of the Mississippi and west of the Mississippi. These players shall be selected based solely on their participation and performance in national tournaments and in state tournament play.

Rationale: Now that more than twelve states are members of the NSA, the old system of selecting a man and a woman from each member state has become unworkable. It is wonderful that we now have more member states. However, it is not necessary to completely change the system which has worked so well over the years.

We need to recognize the reality that all member states are not equal in their contributions to the NSA nor in the number of shufflers they represent. The reality is, that almost without exception, members of the new state associations are also members of long-time member state associations (i.e., Florida, Arizona, Texas or California).

It is unreasonable that a state association who hosts two or three national tournaments each year and represents hundreds or even thousands of shufflers should be treated the same as a state association with two or three members, some of which do not even have regularly-scheduled play within their state. It is unreasonable to take away from the larger, long-time member states the prerogative of selecting its own national team members. It is unreasonable to expect states to continue to host national tournaments, which are the main source of revenue to the NSA treasury, when there is no benefit to them for doing so. Therefore, we believe this change to the NSA Bylaws will offer continuity while maintaining fairness for all.

From Earl Ball, NSA Member (7/17/2011)

Existing Condition USA National Shuffleboard Association By-laws:

ARTICLE X - TOURNAMENTS

National Championship Tournaments: One Championship singles and one Championship doubles tournament shall be held annually during the months of January, February, or March. Similar tournaments shall also be held each year in July or other months of the year.

National Frame Game Championships Tournaments: One championship singles (Men and Women’s division). One championship doubles (any), may be held each year.

National tournaments may be played at any club in the jurisdiction of an affiliated member of the Association or by an associate member of the Association. Tournament sponsorship shall be determined on a competitive basis with the amount of guaranteed prize money taking high priority. The Board of Directors shall determine the location, date and format of all national Tournaments by majority vote at either the Annual or Semi-Annual Meeting. The National President will work with the host club to determine the distribution of the prize money after expenses.

National Invitational Tournaments: Invitational tournaments may be requested by any club in the jurisdiction of an associate member of the Association. The tournament dated, formats, prize money, etc., shall be coordinated with the National President. The finalized proposition shall be submitted to the Executive Board Members for approval or rejection by majority vote.

At all National tournament doubles or singles, $1.00 from each entry fee collected goes to the National Shuffleboard Association.

Proposed Change: ARTICLE X - TOURNAMENTS

National Championship Tournaments: One Championship Tournament of each different format may be hosted by each member state each year. Each Tournament is subject to approval by the National Executive Board and may have restrictions placed upon it by the Executive Board. Examples of formats are Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Any Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Any Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Draw, Team or Round Robin. There may be other formats subject to approval of the Executive Board. All Tournaments will be played by the rules used by the jurisdiction of the Host Club.

National Tournaments may be played at any Club in the jurisdiction of an affiliated member of the Association. Tournaments in different States will not overlap each other. Tournaments may be approved by the Executive Board at the semi annual meeting or the annual meeting; they may also be approved by the President in conference with the rest of the Executive Board at any time.

National Invitational Tournaments may be held by any State that is a member of the Association. The list of invitees must be approved by the National Executive Board.

At all National Tournaments of any format, $1.00 from each entrant will be collected and forwarded to the National Association Treasurer.

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SUGGESTED EXECUTIVE BOARD POLICY TO ACCOMPANY THE CHANGE:

A tournament field must have 16 entrees to be a recognized National Tournament. If a singles field does not have enough entries it may be combined with other Singles fields to accommodate the required number (example: walking with non-walking. Combining men with women means the field is an “any singles” field which is OK provided the State has not been approved for another “any singles” tournament.) If the field is still short the Tournament results will not be recognized as a National Championship. Doubles is similar: Two fields may be combined if the State has not already been approved for another Any Doubles Tournament.

Rationale: The Constitution needs to be updated to reflect what is really done in today’s world. The Executive Board Policy is needed to protect the integrity of National Shuffleboard Championships.

The State Association membership period in the Association shall be for the calendar year each year. New membershipapplications mustbe accompanied by the required membership fee ($20.00) and may be accepted by the President, conditional on their being approved at the next Annual Meeting.

Rule Change: Any state wishing to join the USANSA Association and has their membership fee paid before the July Semi-annual Meeting will be voted into the organization at the Semi-annual Meeting. After said meeting, any new state joining will be able to join at the January Annual Meeting. Rationale: For instance, North Dakota and Wisconsin paid their fee in Feb. Under the present format, they would have to wait until Jan. 2012 in order to join the assoc. That would also mean they could not vote on any changes or HoF candidates for over a year. This rule should have been changed a long time ago. If the Board so wishes by 2/3 vote, we can adopt this change at our semi annual meeting on July 19th, 2011.

USA National Shuffleboard Association Established 1931

USA National Shuffleboard Association
Established 1931