mffca constitution
MFFCA Constitution (revised February 2014, revisions shown in italics)
Article 1:
Name
The Organization shall be known as the Manitoba Fire Fighters Curling Association. (M.F.F.C.A.)
Article 2:
Aims
(a) To promote curling and good will among the Fire Department personnel of the Province of Manitoba.
(b) To declare a winner to represent Manitoba at the Canadian Fire Fighters Curling Championships.
Article 3:
Affiliation
The Manitoba Fire Fighters Curling Association shall be affiliated with Canadian Fire Fighters Curling Association.
Article 4:
Membership
(a) Any member, presently employed or retired from a paid department who is or was actively involved in fire fighting will be eligible.
(b) Membership will be open to Volunteer /Paid Volunteer and Industrial Fire Brigades of Manitoba whose members are or were actively involved in fire fighting and who qualify under the conditions outlined in Article 5.
(c) Residency requirements shall be as follows. Eligible former members who move to another province/territory/country shall still be eligible to compete in the Manitoba playdowns as long as they do not register to compete in their new province/territory as well. Fire fighters (subject to Articles 4 and 5) moving to Manitoba from another jurisdiction shall be eligible to compete in Manitoba as long as they do not register to compete in their old province/territory as well.
Article 5:
Rules for Volunteers
(a) All volunteers must have at least ONE year active service prior to January 15th, the year of the last championship, to be eligible.
(b) All volunteers must be registered with the Secretary of the rural municipality the town office or their Industrial Fire Marshal.
(c) A complete roster of Volunteer Department members must be forwarded to the Provincial Secretary with revisions, if any, by January 15th each year. This list must be signed by the Chief of the applying Department.
(d) Volunteer Departments or members of Volunteer Departments can immediately be disqualified if these rules are not adhered to.
(e) Any Volunteer Fire Fighter who has retired and can show 10 years of service to the Volunteer Fire service shall be eligible.
1. Volunteer Departments will be assessed a yearly charter fee of $50.00. A list of members eligible to compete in the current play downs shall be submitted to the M.F.F.C.A. This list must be signed by the Chief of the applying Department and the secretary of the rural municipality or town.
2. Paid department will be assessed a yearly fee of $10.00 per registered member. This fee and an eligibility list shall be submitted to the Secretary of the M.F.F.C.A., no later than January 15th of the current curling season.
3. When individual members of an un chartered Volunteer Department wish to register, they will be assessed a registration fee of $10.00 per person.
4. When combination departments (paid and volunteer) apply, they will be treated as a volunteer department.
5. The minimum fee for a charter will be $50.00.
Article 6:
Volunteer Departments
A complete new town which applies for membership may compete the year of application, provided they meet all the requirements set out in Article 5.
Article 7:
Dues
(a) Annual membership dues shall be set each year by the Provincial Executive of the Manitoba Fire Fighters Curling Association.
(b) All registration of attending teams with dues paid must be submitted by January 10th of the said year. (This is to allow the MFFCA executive to decide whether the Provincial Championship is to be started on the Thursday evening or Friday morning, in an effort to eliminate one day from provincial play downs.)
NOTE: Article 7(b) will be enforced only if an appropriate draw can be made in conjunction with Curl Manitoba rules of Provincial Competition.
It also allows for consideration of the number of teams playing in the provincials.
Article 8:
Provincial Director
(a) The Provincial Director to the Canadian Fire Fighters Curling Association shall be the President of the Manitoba Fire Fighters Curling Association.
(b) Duties of the Director are laid out in the Canadian Fire Fighters Curling Association Constitution.
(c) The Director shall be sent to each Canadian Fire Fighters Curling Championships to attend the general meeting and carry out the wishes of his provincial association.
(d) The cost of sending the Director to the championships shall be the responsibility of this association. He shall be entitled to the same expenses as the winning provincial team.
(e) In the event the President cannot attend the championship then an alternate shall be appointed by the Provincial Executive.
Article 9:
Executive
The executive shall consist of:
(a) President elected for a TWO year term
(b) 1st Vice-President elected for a ONE year term
(c) 2nd Vice-President elected for a ONE year term
(d) Secretary elected for a TWO year term
(e) Treasurer elected for a TWO year term
(f) Two Trustees elected for a ONE year term
Article 10:
Terms of Office
(a) The term of the executive office shall commence SEVEN (7) days following the Canadian Championships.
(b) The office of President is limited to TWO consecutive terms.
(c) The executive positions will be held by the same individual for not more than THREE consecutive terms, except for the President which is limited to TWO consecutive terms.
Article 11:
Nominating Committee
A nominating committee of five shall be appointed at the general meeting to screen and approach suitable candidates to hold office for future positions on the provincial executive. Names of such candidates are to be posted to the membership FOURTEEN (14) days prior to the general meeting. Members may be nominated from the floor. All members nominated must be a member in good standing of the M.F.F.C.A.
Article 12:
Duties of Officers
President:
(a) He shall preside all meetings.
(b) He shall be a signing officer of the Provincial Association.
(c) He shall call executive meetings and a general meeting.
(d) He shall be the Provincial Director to the Canadian Curling Association.
(e) He shall forward all dues from his association to the Canadian Secretary-Treasurer.
(f) He shall see that all Canadian Association Bulletins are distributed throughout the province.
(g) He shall be responsible for all arrangements and plans for the Provincial Play downs.
(h) He shall be the ONLY one to deal with or approach a sponsor of the Manitoba Fire Fighters or the Canadian Fire Fighters Curling Associations.
1st Vice-President:
(a) He shall be a signing officer of the Provincial Association.
(b) He shall assist the president with his duties or carry out the president’s duties in his absence.
2nd Vice-President:
(a) He shall assist the first vice-president and the president in the performance of their duties.
Secretary:
(a) He shall keep all minutes and records of all meetings.
(b) He shall send all provincial departments throughout Manitoba, the minutes, progress on play downs and financial statements at the end of each play down.
(c) He shall record all membership dues and assist the president in preparation and distribution of all M.F.F.C.A. and C.F.F.C.A. bulletins.
Treasurer:
(a) He shall be responsible for all moneys of the Association.
(b) He shall be a signing officer of the Association.
(c) He shall prepare a financial statement at the end of each season for distribution to this membership.
Trustees:
(a) Shall act as sergeants at arms at all general meetings other than executive meetings.
(b) Shall be members of the executive committee.
(c) Shall be responsible for ensuring that the officers and members uphold the constitution and by-laws of this association in its entirety.
(d) See that the financial books are audited each season.
Article 13:
Remuneration
(a) There shall be no remuneration to any member or executive officer of this association.
(b) Reimbursement will be for expenses incurred in attending to the business of this association upon acceptable receipts to the Treasurer.
(c) M.F.F.C.A. paid travel expenses are limited to 4 team members and the Director if approved by the membership at the general meeting prior to the Canadian Championship and are to be paid directly to the facility providing the service by the M.F.F.C.A. signing authority.
(d) M.F.F.C.A. paid hotel accommodations at the Canadian Championship are limited to one room per night per two team members and one room per night for the Director, (3 rooms total) if approved by the membership at the general meeting prior to the Canadian Championship and are to be paid directly to the facility providing the service by the M.F.F.C.A. signing authority.
(e) Daily per diem is to be limited to a maximum of $40.00 per day per team member and Director. The total daily limit is $200.00 for all Manitoba representatives, combined, if approved by the membership at the general meeting prior to the Canadian Championship.
(f) Clothing allowance to be as follows:
Manitoba representatives’ on ice wear to include (per curler (max. 4) and director): 1 curling jacket c/w cresting, 1 pair curling pants, 2 on ice shirts. Off ice banquet wear to be determined each year as per the C.F.F.C.A. requirements for that year (ie. Fire Dept. dress uniforms or on ice jacket with slacks, shirt and tie). Allowable costs will be as determined by the Executive to stay within budgetary constraints.
Other clothing such as extra on ice shirts, team jackets, etc. is the responsibility of the attending team.
Article 14:
Executive Vacancies
All vacancies shall be filled by a member of the executive until the next general meeting.
Article 15:
Host Department Duties
(a) It shall be the duty of the host department to assist the executive with all arrangements necessary for the carrying out of the provincial play downs. A chairman for the host department shall be named at the time their application is submitted.
(b) The chairman for the host department shall be responsible to the executive that satisfactory arrangements are completed for:
1. Suitable and sufficient ice.
2. Referees on duty at all times.
3. The banquet and general meeting.
4. Appointment of sufficient committees to handle the necessary work.
Article 16:
Rules and Regulations
(a) To be eligible to compete in the provincial play downs each participant must hold a current membership card.
(b) Rink entry fee to be set each year by the provincial executive.
(c) Rink entry fee to the paid in full with application by January 15th of each year.
(d) All rink personnel wishing to compete in the provincial play downs must support the methods set in raising funds as decided upon by the provincial committee.
(e) All games played in the provincial playdowns shall be governed by the rules of the Canadian Fire Fighters Curling Association except where there are conflictions, then this constitution shall supersede all sets of rules.
(f) In cases of disputes all Committee decisions will be final.
(g) Method of declaring a provincial winner shall be determined by the executive.
(h) Teams may consist of any combination of eligible members (volunteers or paid departments and retirees).
(i) Teams having a fifth player will be allowed in the Provincial Playdowns but if that team wins the Championship, all costs associated with having a fifth player attend the Canadian Championship are to be the responsibility of the team.
(j) As per the CFFCA Constitution, “In the event two or more members from the winning Provincial Champion team are unable to compete (at the Canadian Championship). The winning provincial team will forfeit their right to participate and the runner-up team to the provincial champions shall represent their province. In the event that the runner-up team cannot compete under the aforementioned rules, then the Provincial Firefighters Curling Association executive and Provincial Director shall decide the team to represent the province.”
The Manitoba Champion team must announce their availability to attend the Canadian Firefighters National event no later than midnight of the Friday (5 days) after the Provincial Championship has ended. If one original player cannot attend, one substitute player chosen by the attending team will be allowed.
The Provincial Runner-up team will be notified of the possibility that should the winning team not fulfill their commitment within the five days, the Runners-up will be offered the opportunity to represent the Province. The Runner-up team will then have another 3 working days (ie. Until midnight of the next Wednesday) to arrange time off of work and to retrofit family life. If one original player cannot attend, one substitute player chosen by the attending team will be allowed.
In the event the Champion and Runner-up team both cannot compete, under the aforementioned rules, the Manitoba Firefighters Curling Association Executive and the Manitoba Director shall decide the team to represent the province.
(k) If for any reason the Canadian Championship is cancelled, the team that won the Manitoba Championship and was scheduled to attend that Canadian Championship shall receive monetary compensation. This amount would be the greater of $2,000 per team, or the daily per diem amount that is allocated per player that year for a 10 day period (Maximum of 4 players per team). Manitoba will crown a new champion the next year at the MFFCA Provincial Playdowns.
Article 17:
Constitution Amendments
(a) All amendments to this constitution shall be submitted in writing to the Secretary not later than January 15th by members in good standing of this association.
(b) Amendments to be posted to the membership FOURTEEN (14) days prior to the general meeting.
(c) The vote must have 2/3 (TWO-THIRDS) majority of members present to the carried.
(d) NO amendments from the floor will be accepted.
Article 18:
Order of Business
(a) Reading and approving of minutes
(b) Reports of officers
(c) Reports of committees
(d) Correspondence
(e) Unfinished business
(f) New Business
(g) Good and welfare
(h) Election of officers
(i) Adjournment
In case of dispute Roberts Rules of Order will govern.
Revised
February 1984
February 1989
February 1993
February 1994
February 2002
February 2009
February 2014
February 2023
Above posted constitution is not necessarily the most up to date or accurate one available and any queries should be addressed to the President or Secretary of the MFFCA. Every attempt is made to keep the website current. There may be typographical errors that are not the responsibility of the Association.
– B. Poole, website designer/manager