Part 5: The SLSA has a Constitution?

Welcome to Part 5 of our series covering the Second Life Surfing Association (SLSA) Constitution in an on-going quest to familiarize and understand the constitution in bite-sized chunks.  Please refer to the earlier posts as this series will build on prior Parts*.

The Constitution:

1.  Structure

1.1. Association Structure (covered in Part 2 of this series)    
1.2. Mission Statement (covered in Part 3 of this series)
1.3. Membership (covered in Part 4 of this series)

1.4. SLSA Board of Directors

1.4.1. The SLSA board of directors shall be comprised of five (5) SLSA members.

1.4.1.1. The Directors will collectively govern event organization, rules, scheduling, and finances.

1.4.1.2. The Directors will collectively govern and administer the provisions and rules within the SLSA constitution.

1.4.1.3. The Directors may propose amendments to the SLSA constitution.

1.4.1.4. The Directors may amend SLSA Event Rules, SLSA Financial Management and SLSA Sportsmanship Code (all of which are separate adjuncts to this constitution).

1.4.1.5. Decisions of all types require that all of the sitting directors agree, or that there is no more than one (1) dissenting opinion.

1.4.2. Decisions relating to items 1.4.1.1, 1.4.1.2, 1.4.1.3 and 1.4.1.4 will be enacted immediately after director agreement.

1.4.3. Proposals for amendments to the SLSA constitution shall be voted on by the SLSA members (see Section 3).

1.4.4. Directors must actively participate in SLSA meetings and/or event planning and organization. If a director is out of contact (providing no written or other form of communication with the other directors) for one month then their position shall be declared vacant and a by- election held to fill their position.

1.4.5. Directors performing their duties must act in the interest of the majority of SL members, any unauthorized use of SLSA financial resources for personal gain, shall result in immediate dismissal from the board and ejection from the SLSA. This to be determined by a unanimous vote of the remaining board members.

Break Down:
This section is timely since June 1 will be election day for 3 SLSA director Board positions.  Be sure to submit your intent to run according to the constitutional requirements.  This section is the clearest part of the document to date:

• There are 5 SLSA director seats.  Although it isn't stated in this portion of the Constitution, for those new to the SLSA, elections are held every 3 months with 2 seats coming open and 3 months later, the remaining 3 seats coming open, then alternating to 2 seats 3 months later and so on.  Each term is held for 6 months.  This is an effort to ensure continuity of directors who are familiar with how to run events and conduct SLSA affairs.
• The directors collectively govern the organization, including events, finances, scheduling, overseeing the provisions and rules.  There is no King or Queen.
• The directors may propose Constitutional amendments.  They may also make amendments to Event Rules, Financial Management and the Sportsmanship Code which are separate documents to the Constitution we will be examining at a future point.
• All of the sitting directors must agree on decisions or have no more than one director disagreeing.
• Decisions relating to affairs pertaining to the SLSA defined in the first part of the section will be enacted immediately after director agreement.  This may have been added to avoid any prolonged delays in implementing a decided action.
• Amendments to the Constitution shall be voted on by SLSA membership.  It's specified that there is additional information related to this in a separate section.
• Directors must actively participate in meetings, events and/or organization of events.  This is by far one of the most important duties as Director - continuing the SLSA competitions, making sure they are in compliance with the regulations set forth for sanctioned SLSA competitions to maintain the integrity and legitimacy of the event and scores. It's important to note this point in the document:  if a Director is out of communication of any kind with the Board for a month, that seat becomes vacated and a by-election needs to be organized to fill the seat.
• Directors are required to perform their duties in the interest of the majority of SL members.  SLSA membership is not specified here - it specifically states the majority of SL members.  That could potentially bring up issues on whether a duty is performed in the interest of the majority of SL members as opposed to SLSA members.  Penalties for misuse of financial resources are immediate dismissal from the Board and ejection from the SLSA to be decided by a unanimous vote of the remaining Board members.
• Refer to Section 2.2 “SLSA Director Eligibility" for more details on becoming a Director.

Questions from Part 5:  

• No additional questions on this section at this time.

*This is not an SLSA sanctioned series.  SurfWatch is exploring the SLSA Constitution as a long time member, supporter, former sponsor and participant in the SLSA over the years with the goal of understanding and education.  We invite SLSA and public comment for clarity and discussion.

Previous posts in this series:
Part 1: We Have a Constitution? Take a bite of the SLSA's Constitution
Part 2: The SLSA has a Constitution?
Part 3: The SLSA has a Constitution?
Part 4: The SLSA has a Constitution?

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