North American County Board 2005 By-Laws

At a meeting ar an Déardaoin, 12 Bealtaine, 2005 Fo-Choiste na bhFo-Dhlíthe approved these Bye-Laws as follows :(Amendments, addenda etc. in italics).:

1. The NACB (North American County Board) shall be the Governing Body of the Gaelic Athletic Association in North America excluding the areas under the jurisdiction of Canada Co. Committee and the New York Board. It shall be the governing body for Ladies Gaelic Football and Camogie as well as Gaelic Football & Hurling.
   
2. The North American County Board shall be elected at a Convention to be held in a city with an affiliated G.A.A. Club on the 2nd weekend before Thanksgiving each year. Those entitled to attend are the outgoing Committee, two delegates from each men’s football and hurling club, two delegates from each ladies football club, two delegates from each Camogie club, two delegates from each division where there is a recognised Youth Programme, and the Chairperson, with a vote, of each Divisional Board. Only clubs that have competed in the current year’s Junior or higher level Competitions at divisional level are entitled to have delegates present.
   
   Note : The Youth delegation from each Division shall consist of (a) the Divisional Youth Officer and (b) another person involved in the Divisional Youth Programme.
   
3. (a) The Co. Convention shall elect the following officers whose term of office will last until the conclusion of the next year’s Co. Convention : Honorary President, Chairperson, Vice
   Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Registrar, P. R. O. and Youth Officer. It shall also elect a Central Council Representative. All, with the exception of the Honorary President, shall be entitled to vote.
   (b) The Youth Officer must be involved in the Youth programme in his divisional area.
   (c) A delegate to the NACB Annual Convention must be a member of the Club he/she represents and must be duly authorised, in writing, to represent that club at Convention.
   
4. The Co. Committee shall consist of the Officers and the Central Council Representative.
   
5. At its first meeting after Co. Convention the Co. Committee shall also appoint the following sub-committees whose membership, function and powers are as stated in Rule 59 and/or as detailed in these Bye Laws.
   (a) Management Committee It shall consist of the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary of NACB.
   (b) Games Administration and Disciplinary Committee : It shall consist of the Chairman and Secretary of NACB & Chairmen of major Divisions (Central, Midwest, Northeast, Philadelphia, Western).
   (c) Finance Committee : It shall consist of the Treasurer, Vice Chairman, Registrar, PRO & Youth Officer of NACB.
6. In accordance with R. 58 (b), T.O. 2003 the Co. Committee shall appoint the following subcommittees whose membership and functions shall be set out in Bye-Laws :
   (a) Bye Laws Review Committee : It shall consist of…Chairman, Secretary, Registrar of NACB & Chairmen of major Divisions (Central, Midwest, Northeast, Philadelphia, Western).
   It shall review the current Bye-Laws and make any necessary recommendations to the Co. Convention.
   (b) Pre-Playoff Committee : It shall consist of all NACB officers ….
   (c) Reinstatements Committee : It shall consist of the Chairmen of major Divisions (Central, Midwest, Northeast, Philadelphia, Western)
   On the eve of Convention the NACB shall consider and adjudicate on the recommendations made by the special Reinstatements Committee appointed by it. The Reinstatements’ Committee shall only consider applications made in writing, which are submitted at least two weeks prior to the date of Co. Convention.
   (d) Regrading Committee & Transfers Committee…It shall consist of Vice-Chairman, Registrar, PRO of the NACB
   (e) Youth Committee : It shall consist of the Youth Officer (as its Chair) and a maximum of 6 other members elected from candidates nominated by the various Youth Committees throughout the NACB.
   
7. In accordance with Rule 49 the NACB is authorised by Co Convention to select the NACB delegates to attend Congress.
   
8. Under the control of the NACB. there shall be the following Divisional Boards:-
   BOSTON N.E. : Boston and suburbs, New York (Camogie), Baltimore (Camogie)
   CHICAGO CENTRAL : Chicago and suburbs.
   BAY AREA WESTERN DIVISION : San Francisco suburbs, Burlingame, Oakland, San Jose
   PHILADELPHIA : Baltimore (Football, Hurling), Washington DC (Football, Hurling, Camogie) Herndon VA (Hurling), Philadelphia and suburb
   MIDWEST : Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rochester.
   EAST :Akron, Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago Loyola, Florida, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, South Bend, St. Louis, Kirksville MO. Waukesha, WI
   WEST : Albuquerque, Austin, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Orange County, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Seattle, Spokane.
   
   Divisional Boards.
   
9. (a) Each of the Divisional Boards shall be administered by a Committee elected at an Annual General Meeting of the outgoing committee and delegates from clubs which competed in the most recent Junior or higher grade competitions. The club delegates entitled to attend and vote are:-
   Two delegates from each men’s Gaelic Football Club
   Two delegates from each men’s Hurling Club
   Two delegates from each separately registered Ladies Football Club
   Two delegates from each separately registered Camogie Club
   
   (b) The AGM shall elect the following officers who shall hold office until the end of the next AGM. :
   Chairperson, Vice-chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, PRO, Registrar, Youth officer (who must be involved in the Division’s Youth Programme.)
   (c) Each Divisional Board shall consist of : (i) the Officers, (ii) two delegates from each affiliated adult hurling and men’s football club, (iii) two delegates from each Ladies’ Football and Camogie Club.
   (d) .Each Divisional Board shall be responsible for the organisation, control, discipline and management of Hurling, Football, Ladies’ Football and Camogie within its Division. It shall conduct its business in accordance with the Official Guide, the NACB Bye Laws and Regulations, and any other Regulations drawn up by the Divisional Board and approved by the N.A.C.B. and Central Council. No Regulation shall be contrary to any Rule in the Official Guide other than where deviation has been granted to the NACB by Central Council.
   
10. In the organising of its games and dealing with any matter arising the Divisional Boards will have the same Disciplinary powers as the County Committee. Appeals against decisions of a Divisional Board will be heard by the NACB Games Administration and Disciplinary Committee whose decision in all matters under its control shall be final. There shall be no appeal in any circumstances to Croke Park
    
11. If any Divisional Committee fails to function the NACB shall assume full control of that Division.
    
12. Registration
    (a) Each club shall register with the NACB Registrar through its Divisional Registrar according to the NACB requirements set out in NACB Regulations. The NACB fee for registration for all clubs shall be $400.00
    (b) A Registration Fee of $5 per member shall accompany each registration. €2 per member shall be forwarded to Croke Park to complete the registration of each member and the remainder shall be retained by NACB and/or the relevant Divisional Committee.
    (c) A member must be permanently resident in the Divisional area in which he/she is registering.
    (d) No member of a NACB club may play for any team under the jurisdiction of the New York or Canadian Boards. Penalty according to Rule 33.
    
13. Transfers.
    (a) A player must be a resident of the Division into which he/she wishes to transfer and must complete an Inter-County Transfer if he/she is transferring from a club outside the jurisdiction of the NACB.
    
    (b) An application for transfer between clubs under the jurisdiction of the same Divisional Board must be lodged with the Divisional Board Sec. on or before 30th April in any year.
    (c) An application for transfer between clubs in different Divisions must be lodged with the Secretary of the NACB on or before 30th April in any year.
    (d) A player who remains permanently in the NACB area for longer than one playing season will require an Inter County Transfer from his club in Ireland if he wishes to play for a club in the NACB area in his/her second or subsequent year. An application for such a transfer is made to Croke Park on an Inter-County Transfer Form.
    (e) Application for all transfers between clubs under the jurisdiction of the NACB must be made on an Official Transfer Form which has been prepared by NACB and can be obtained from the Co. Secretary or Divisional Secretaries.
    
14. Regrading :
    (a) Junior : All Senior and Intermediate players intending to play with a Junior Club shall regrade not later than April 30th.
    (b) Intermediate : A Senior player, intending to play with an Intermediate Club, shall regrade not later than July 20th.
    
15. Extra Time : In the event of a tie or a draw in playoff games the teams involved shall play two periods of ten minutes per period until a decision is reached.
    
16. Substitutes : In NACB games (Minor excluded) , 5 substitutes shall be allowed. In Divisional games substitutions may be in accordance with Divisional Committee Regulations.
    
17. Nos. on Teams : All teams, with the exception of Ladies Football and Minor Football shall consist of 13 players. Ladies Football and Minor Football shall consist of 15 players.
    
18. Status A team that wins Junior ‘B’ or ‘C’ competition two years in a row is required to compete at a higher grade the following year.
    
19. Status : Any team that wins the Junior ‘A’ Division Championship for two consecutive years must move to the next higher Division.
    
20. DISCIPLINE
    The following Disciplinary procedures will operate during the NACB Playoff weekend and at Divisional Playoffs, if necessary:
    
    1 (a) Notice of intent to lodge an objection must be given to the NACB Secretary or Chair only not later than 15 minutes after the finish of the game in question.
    
    (b) Such objection shall be lodged in accordance with the NACB Regulations (Time and Fee) and otherwise in accordance with the Official Guide. An objection must be lodged within 60 minutes of the end of the game in question.
    
    (c) Notice of intent to lodge a counter-objection must be given to the NACB Secretary or Chair not later than 10 minutes after receipt of objection.
    
    (d) Such counter-objections must be lodged with the NACB Secretary or Chair not later than 60 minutes after receipt of objection.
    
    (e) Objections arising from Quarter-finals, Semi-finals or a Final must be lodged within 30 minutes of the end of the game in question.
    
    (f) Any counter-objection arising from a Quarter-final, Semi-final or a Final must be lodged with the Co. Secretary within 30 minutes of receipt of objection. All objections and counter-objections shall be heard by the members of the NACB Games Administration and Disciplinary Committee.
    
    (g) All objections and counter-objections shall be accompanied by a fee of $200.
    
    2. (a) Appeals against the decision(s) of the NACB Games Administration and Disciplinary Committee shall be lodged with the Co. Secretary within 30 minutes of receipt, in writing, of the Disciplinary Committee’s decision.
    
    (c) All such appeals shall be heard by the current officers of the NACB who have not been party to the hearing at a lower level. There shall be no appeal against the decision of this body. Appeals shall be accompanied by a fee of $500 which shall only be returned if the appeal is upheld.
    
    (d) Clubs involved in lodging an objection, counter-objection or appeal shall request orally, and receive orally, notice of time and place at which the hearing will take place.
    
    3. (a) The Bye-Laws governing objections, counter-objections, investigations and appeals will apply to any Divisional playoff games within14 days of the start of the National playoffs. In these circumstances objections, counter-objections or investigations will be conducted by a Disciplinary Committee appointed by the Divisional Committee, with appeals against their decision(s) being heard by the officers of the Divisional Board who were not involved in the earlier hearing.
    
    4. The decision(s) of the NACB officers (or the Divisional Officers where appropriate) in relation to meeting the time-limits set out for objections, counter-objections or appeals is/are final and binding on all units.
    
21. General
    To participate in a game other than a game scheduled by the Divisional Board or the NACB a club must apply in writing and receive permission from the Divisional Board or the NACB. as appropriate.
    
22. The territorial area of a club shall be up to the halfway point to the next city which has a club/clubs registered.
    
23. Each Divisional Committee may draft regulations to govern its own operations subject to the following conditions:-
    
    (a) All such Regulations are subject to the approval of the NACB and must be submitted for scrutiny by NACB before 1st Jan. in the year to which they relate.
    
    (b) The NACB shall forward a list of the approved Regulations to Croke Park by 1st Feb. for examination and approval by Management on behalf of Central Council.
    
24. The NACB will affiliate annually with Cumann Peil Gael na mBan in Ireland and play the Ladies Gaelic Football competitions according to its rules.
    
25. The NACB will affiliate annually with the Camogie Association in Ireland and adopt its playing rules for all Camogie competitions.
    
26. A club, which is entitled to 2 votes at Co. Convention, may cast its two votes through one club delegate when it does not have its full quota of delegates at Co Convention. This concession applies only at Co Convention.
    
27. A club’s application for affiliation to the NACB will not be accepted if there are any outstanding debts owed to the NACB or to the Divisional Board.
    
28. Officers of the Divisional Boards shall remove themselves from any disciplinary hearing involving their own club. NACB officers shall remove themselves from any disciplinary hearing involving a club from their own Division.
    
29. A new Bye-Law may be enacted, at a Co. Convention, by a simple majority of those present, entitled to vote and voting.
    To be successful, a motion to delete or amend an existing Bye-Law requires a two-thirds majority of those present, entitled to vote and voting.
    
    A Bye-Law must not be contrary to any rule in the Official Guide and requires the ratification of the Management Committee on behalf of Central Council before it becomes effective.