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Constitution [revised March 2023]

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1. NAME

Photo Blind Golfers on green putting IBGA Constitution

1.1 International Blind Golf Association (hereinafter referred to as IBGA).

2. PURPOSE

2.1 To promote golf as a sport for blind and vision impaired people.

2.2 To sponsor international competition for blind and vision impaired golfers.

2.3 To establish rules and conditions for IBGA sponsored international competitions.

2.4 To maintain a calendar of IBGA sponsored international events.

2.5 To sponsor World Championships biennially for blind and vision impaired golfers.

2.6 To sponsor other international tournaments.

2.7 To maintain a Handicapping System for blind and vision impaired golfers.

2.8 To solicit, collect and receive monies, gifts, personal or real property.

2.9 To maintain, administer and invest all money, gifts and properties received by the IBGA and to use the interest and/or principal to further the purposes and policies of the IBGA.

2.10 To represent Members in discussions with golf governing bodies, the International Blind Sports Association, blind welfare organisations and the International Paralympic Committee.

3. MEMBERSHIP

3.1 Membership shall be by National Association unless otherwise stated.

3.2 National Associations meeting IBGA criteria and supporting its purposes may qualify for membership.

3.3 National Associations must apply to the Board of Directors for membership and be accepted by the Board.

3.4 The Board of Directors may decline applications for membership.

3.5 A joining fee of US$250 [US] together with the appropriate annual subscription shall be paid by the new National Member within one (1) month of notification of membership by the Vice-Chairman/Administration.

3.6 Each National Member shall pay an annual subscription of US$250 [US].

3.7 The Board of Directors shall have the discretion to reduce the joining fee or annual subscription of a National Member in exceptional circumstances.

3.8 National Members must inform the Vice-Chairman/Administration in writing of any changes to their list of Registered Players as they occur.

3.9 Annual subscriptions shall be set at the Biennial Meeting on recommendation of the Board of Directors.

3.10 Annual subscriptions are due and payable to the Vice-Chairman/Finance before March One (1) each year.

3.11 Any Member failing to pay the annual subscription by the due date shall forfeit their membership and may only be re-admitted as a new Member.

3.12 An individual who is one of no more than two known qualifying blind or vision impaired golfers in a country shall be eligible to join the IBGA as an Associate Member.

3.13 An Associate Member will pay half the joining fee and half the annual subscription of a National Member.

4. HONORARY MEMBERSHIP

4.1 On the recommendation of the Board of Directors the Biennial Meeting can bestow Honorary Life Membership on any person who has made a valuable contribution to the work of the IBGA.

4.2 Honorary Life Members may attend Biennial and Special Meetings of the IBGA. They may speak at these meetings but not propose or vote on propositions.

4.3 On recommendation of the Board of Directors, the Biennial Meeting may appoint an Honorary Life President of the IBGA.

4.4 The Honorary Life President shall have the right to attend all meetings of the IBGA and may speak at these meetings but not propose or vote on propositions.

4.5 The Honorary Life President may represent the IBGA and be recognised at all its functions.

5. MANAGEMENT

5.1 The Biennial Meeting of Members is the ultimate policy and decision making authority of the IBGA.

5.2 The Biennial Meeting shall elect a Board of Directors who shall be vested with the authority of the Biennial Meeting to implement the policies and conduct such business as is necessary for the management of the IBGA.

5.3 The Board of Directors shall consist of a maximum of eight (8) Directors.

5.4 Six (6) Directors shall be elected at the Biennial Meeting for a period of four (4) years, three (3) of whom shall retire at each Biennial Meeting. A Director may not serve more than two (2) consecutive terms, for a period exceeding eight (8) years.

5.5 Each Director elected by the Biennial Meeting and present at meetings of the Board of Directors shall be entitled to one (1) vote.

5.6 The Board of Directors shall elect from among its Members a Chairman, Vice-Chairman/Administration and Vice-Chairman/Finance, biennially and these three shall form the Executive Committee.

5.7 The Chairman shall be the Executive Officer of the IBGA.

5.8 The Chairman or the Executive Committee may conduct any day to day business of the IBGA which could not reasonably be left to the next meeting of the Board of Directors.

5.9 At least two of the Executive Committee must be blind and/or vision impaired.

5.10 The Board of Directors shall consist of at least four (4) blind and/or vision impaired Directors. No more than one (1) fully sighted person shall be an elected Director at any time.

5.11 No more than one (1) elected Director from one (1) National Member may serve on the Board of Directors at any time. Co-opted Directors can be drawn from any National Member or elsewhere.

5.12 Any nominee for election as Director must be a member of the nominating National Member. Nominations must be received by the Vice-Chairman/Administration no less than forty-five (45) days prior to the date of the Biennial Meeting.

5.13 The Board of Directors may fill Director vacancies and co-opt persons for specific purposes.

5.14 Persons appointed by the Board to fill Director vacancies may only hold office until the next Biennial Meeting.

5.15 A quorum at a meeting of the Board of Directors shall be four (4) voting Directors.

5.16 The Biennial Meeting or the Board of Directors may establish committees for specific purposes. At least one (1) Director must be a member of each committee.

6. CONSTITUTION

6.1 The Constitution may be changed at the Biennial Meeting or at a Special Meeting called for that purpose.

6.2 Any change to the Constitution must obtain two-thirds (2/3) majority of the votes cast. Abstentions may not be counted.

6.3 Written notice of propositions to change the Constitution must be received by the Vice-Chairman/Administration no less than ninety (90) days prior to the Biennial Meeting or a Special Meeting called for the purpose of changing the Constitution.

6.4 Notice of a meeting and the text of the proposition(s) to change the Constitution must be circulated by the Vice-Chairman/Administration to all Members not less than sixty (60) days prior to the Biennial or Special Meeting.

7. MEETINGS

7.1 The Biennial Meeting of Members shall, ideally, be held in-person at the time of the World Championships. In the event that the World Championships does not go ahead as scheduled, the Biennial Meting shall be held remotely on the same date as originally scheduled with the platform and time to be decided by the Board of Directors.

7.2 A quorum at the Biennial Meeting is two-thirds of the National Members eligible to attend.

7.3 All decisions of the IBGA and the Board of Directors, unless otherwise stated, shall be by simple majority of the votes cast.

7.4 Where there is an equal number of votes for and against a proposition it shall fail.

7.5 Each National Association shall be entitled to one representative at the Biennial Meeting.

7.6 The name of the Representative of the National Association must be received by the Vice-Chairman/Administration no less than forty-five days before the Biennial Meeting.

7.7 Each Representative shall be entitled to vote at the Biennial Meeting.

7.8 Non-constitutional propositions for consideration at the Biennial Meeting must be received by the Vice-Chairman/Administration no less than forty-five (45) days prior to the Biennial Meeting.

8. ADMINISTRATION

8.1 The Vice-Chairman/Administration shall:

• 8.1.1 receive all propositions for the Biennial and Special Meetings.

• 8.1.2 receive sponsorship applications for presentation to the Board of Directors.

• 8.1.3 advise all Members of the dates of Biennial and Special meetings, circulate agenda and take minutes.

• 8.1.4 organize meetings of the Board of Directors, circulate agenda and take minutes.

• 8.1.5 keep an up to date list of Registered Players, including details of their sight classifications, which will be available to the organizers of IBGA sponsored tournaments.

• 8.1.6 receive from the National Members the written advice of their voting Representatives for any meeting of IBGA and report such information at the beginning of the meeting.

9. FINANCE

9.1 The financial year shall be from January one (1) to December thirty-one (31)

9.2 The Vice-Chairman/Finance shall administer a bank account at a bank or other financial institution agreed to by the Board of Directors.

9.3 All disbursements of money other than those under Clause 12.2 must be authorised by the Vice-Chairman/Finance.

9.4 All disbursements of money require a signatory authorised by the Board of Directors.

9.5 The Vice-Chairman/Finance shall:

• 9.5.1 present a set of accounts which have been prepared independently and signed by a qualified accountant to the Biennial Meeting.

• 9.5.2 present a set of accounts which have been prepared independently and signed by a qualified accountant at the end of each IBGA year to the Board of Directors for circulation to all Members.

• 9.5.3 present financial reports to each meeting of the Board of Directors.

• 9.5.4 pay all IBGA accounts.

• 9.5.5 pay sponsorship funds on direction from the Board of Directors.

• 9.5.6 invoice each Member by December thirty-one (31) each year requesting payment of the annual subscription for the following year.

10. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

10.1 The World Blind Golf Championships shall be held biennially.

10.2 The Biennial Meeting shall decide the host country of each World Championship.

10.3 At the World Championships ladies and men shall compete separately for the following trophies:

• World Champion Blind B1 Gross.

• World Champion Vision Impaired B2 Gross.

• World Champion Vision Impaired B3 Gross.

• World Champion Nett (All sight categories).

10.4 The World Championships shall be restricted to players registered with the IBGA Vice-Chairman/Administration who hold IBGA handicaps.

10.5 The Board of Directors shall liaise with the World Championships Organising Committee to ensure that IBGA policies and procedures are implemented.

10.6 In cases of dispute between the Board of Directors and the local Organising Committee the decision of the Board of Directors will be final.

10.7 The Board of Directors may withdraw authority from a National Member to conduct the World Championships and allocate authority to another National Member.

11. IBGA SPONSORED TOURNAMENTS

11.1 The IBGA may sponsor tournaments for blind and vision impaired golfers.

11.2 A Member may apply in writing to the IBGA Vice-Chairman/Administration for tournament sponsorship. The application must include date, venue, budget and local arrangements for the event.

11.3 The Vice-Chairman/Administration shall advise the Board of Directors of applications within 14 days of receipt.

11.4 The Board of Directors may approve the application and determine the amount of sponsorship.

11.5 The Vice-Chairman/Administration shall advise the Member of the decision of the Board of Directors.

11.6 All IBGA sponsored events must be played under the rules and conditions of the IBGA Constitution unless prior written agreement has been received from the Board of Directors.

11.7 The Board of Directors shall be entitled to withdraw sponsorship in whole or in part if the provisions of the Constitution are breached.

11.8 Only players registered with the Vice-Chairman/Administration are eligible to play in an IBGA sponsored event unless prior approval is obtained from the Board of Directors.

11.9 All IBGA sponsored events must include an overall Nett Championship.

12. DISSOLUTION

12.1 The IBGA shall dissolve if there are less than three (3) National Members.

12.2 The Chairman shall organize the dissolution by directing the return of all designated funds to their source and distributing the remainder to blindness charities and/or blindness sporting bodies.

13. DEFINITIONS

13.1 ASSOCIATE MEMBER - one of up to two individuals who are the only known qualifying blind or vision impaired golfers in the country wishing to join IBGA.

13.2 BIENNIAL MEETING - the meeting of Members held every two years.

13.3 BLIND (B1) - no light perception in either eye up to light perception but unable to differentiate between a blank sheet of white paper and a sheet of white paper with a black symbol on it at any distance or in any direction.

13.4 BOARD OF DIRECTORS - Persons elected or co-opted to serve as Directors meeting together to conduct the management of the IBGA between Biennial Meetings.

13.5 DIRECTOR - a person elected at the Biennial Meeting or co-opted by the Board of Directors to serve on the Board of Directors.

13.6 IBGA - International Blind Golf Association.

13.7 MEMBER - A National Association or an Associate Member.

13.8 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION - a national organisation promoting golf for blind and vision impaired persons.

13.9 NATIONAL MEMBER - a national association accepted by the Board of Directors as a member of IBGA.

13.10 REGISTERED PLAYER - a person who meets the IBGA sight classification criteria and is registered with their National Member and/or the IBGA.

13.11 REPRESENTATIVE - a person or persons authorised by a National Member to represent it at the Biennial or Special Meetings.

13.12 VISION IMPAIRED (B2) - from B1 to a maximum visual acuity of less than 2/60 or equivalent in any direction corrected in either or both eyes.

13.13 VISION IMPAIRED (B3) - from B2 to a maximum visual acuity of less than 6/60 or equivalent in any direction corrected in either or both eyes.