Policy Handbook
6/01/2007
A. General Information Regarding the Administration of the Association and Responsibilities of the Membership
1. Communication
The Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association (the Association) utilizes a listserve as its official means of communication. Use of this listserve must be consistent with the purposes of communication, coordination and administration of the Association and the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA). The listserve is public and users should follow the same standards of common sense, courtesy and restraint that they would follow in other public places. Proper use of the listserve respects individual’s rights to freedom from intimidation, harassment and annoyances. File attachments are prohibited.
Should instances of improper use come to its attention, the Conference Commissioner will investigate. The Executive Board may take appropriate corrective action to prevent further occurrences.
2. Conduct of Individuals
Each team will be held responsible for the conduct of its individual members while representing their organization. Misconduct will result in appropriate action by the Executive Board and may include the suspension of the individual(s) and/or organization(s) from the Association.
3. Insurance
The Association participates in the a Regatta Liability Insurance Program. This policy covers Association officers, committee members and judges.
4. Financial
Members of the Association will be billed in advance each season. Spring dues must be paid by April 1 and fall due must be paid by October 1. Schools will be fined $25 per month that their dues are late. Dues will be collected according to membership classification:
| Membership Classification: | Annual Dues: |
|---|---|
| Regular | $500 |
| Provisional | $400 |
| Associate | $200 |
An officer will notify a member of the Association of any fines at the time of infraction. The fine will be included on the next regular billing schedule. Questions regarding fines may be directed to an officer of the Association.
A member’s racing schedule may be suspended at any time if it fails to meet the financial obligations to the Association. Members that do not participate for one calendar year and have not met their financial obligations to the Association will be terminated from membership.
Failure to meet financial obligations prior to the Annual Meeting will forfeit the right to schedule events for the following year.
All payments are to be mailed to the Treasurer with checks made out to the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association, Inc. Any other method of payment, or payment to a different officer, may be returned.
The Association may loan members money for the purchase of boats and/or sails. The amount to be loaned shall be fifty percent (50%) of the cost up to a maximum loan of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for clubs with less than two racing boats. The loan is to be paid back in four equal payments plus interest at the rate of one percent (1%) over the prime interest rate within two years. Loan applications may be obtained from the Treasurer and must be approved by both the member’s faculty advisor and the Executive Board.
5. Annual and Mid-Year Reports
Each member of the Association is required to submit an annual report (due January 15) and a Mid-Year report (due September 1) each calendar year. Annual and Mid-Year Reports shall include postal mail address, email address and phone numbers (and other information as requested by the Executive Board) of the organization, team advisor's and team officers. Annual and Mid-Year reports must be completed using the Association website at
www.mcsasail.org and the ICSA Database at www.collegesailing.org
6. Required Publications
Each member of the Association is required to maintain one printed copy of the Association Black Book. Online copies will be kept current with policy changes. Members will be notified when these updates occur.
The Association shall maintain an internet website located at www.mcsasail.org
The Tell Tale is the official newsletter of the Association and is posted on the website. Paper subscriptions must be requested from the Treasurer.
7. Midwinter Session
The Annual Meeting of the Association is to be held on a Saturday prior to February 15. Each member is required to send an authorized representative to the Annual Meeting. A Notice of Meeting shall be posted on the Association website within fourteen days of the approval from the Executive Board. The notice shall contain: 1. The date, time and address of the meeting. 2. Cost, email address, phone number and deadline for registration with the host school and commercial housing provider. 3. A tentative schedule of events. Information pertaining to bids will be available on the Association website.
The host school may be appropriated up to $100 upon submission of a written report of the activities, planning and complete financial report to the Graduate Secretary.
The Agenda for the Annual Meeting shall be:
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of Minutes
4. Treasurer’s Report
5. Proposals from the Executive Boarda. Approval of New Members
b. Advancement of Members
c. Termination of Members
d. Appointment of individuals to the board
e. Confirmation of ICSA Representatives
f. Unreimbursed Expenses for Graduate Officers
g. Dues Increases6. Proposals from the Floor
7. Election of Officers
8. Installation of New Commodorea. Approval of Life Membership for outgoing Commodore
b. Transferring of the Commodore’s Plaque
c. Announcement of Transition Board Meeting9. Adjournment
Proposals from the floor must be presented in writing to the Conference Commissioner. The Annual Meeting shall authorize the disbursement of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) to the Conference Commissioner, one hundred dollars ($100) to the Treasurer and to the Intersectional Coordinator for unreimbursed expenses.
The Scheduling Meeting will be held as part of the Midwinter Session. Representatives will finalize the tentative schedule and determine which events require the trailing of boats. This will be determined so that the schools traveling form the farthest distance receive priority to the host school boats. Teams that tow three times in a season will be awarded second priority. Teams adding after the scheduling meeting will be placed at the bottom of the priority list, regardless of traveling distance or number of times previously towed.
8. Regatta Scheduling
Scheduling for all in-district (non-championship) regattas:
Scheduling will take place by teams (in ranking order) signing up for one regatta at a time. Each host school will automatically be scheduled for their own regatta. Teams scheduling the regatta after all host boats have been taken must provide their own boat for the regatta. Teams scheduling the regatta once it is full will be placed on the waiting list for the regatta. When teams withdraw from the regatta, all teams below them will move up one spot on the list. Teams wishing to add regattas after the scheduling meeting will be placed at the bottom of the list.
Rankings will be assigned based on the participation scale that follows:
District Championships – 4 points
In-District Intersectionals – 3 points
Other Regattas – 2 points
Clinics and one day events – 1 point
An exception will be made for single-handed events:
Other Regattas - 1 point for each entrant up to two points for each school
District Championships – 2 points for each entrant up to 4 points for each school
Teams meeting their scheduling obligations will receive the above points for each event. Teams withdrawing before the two week deadline will receive 0 points for each event. Teams withdrawing before the 24-hour deadline will have one-half of the available points for each regatta deducted from their total. Teams “no-showing” for a regatta (withdrawing after the 24-hour deadline) will have all of the available points for each regatta deducted from their total. Any team that leaves a regatta before it is completed will be charged with a no show for that regatta. The appropriate number of points will be deducted from the team's participation total as related to scheduling for the next year. If the team had to leave because of extenuating circumstances, the team may appeal to the board within 14 days of the regatta's completion.
The denominator for each school’s ranking will be the sum of all possible points for each team for the year.
9. Association Championships
All Association Championships are open to regular and provisional members of the Association.
Each member participating in an elimination or district championship is expected to start the same skippers and crews in the event for which they have qualified. These individuals must have sailed in at least one race of the qualifying event in the position to be started. Equal or better substitutes may be approved by the Race Chairman's Committee (Race Chairman, Vice Commodore and Conference Commissioner).
The Treasurer shall keep custody of all Association championship trophies and awards requiring engraving on an annual basis.
For the MCSA Sloop Championship ICSA Procedural Rule 18 (c) (ii) is modified to include a time limit of twenty minutes for the first boat to make the first mark, sixty minutes to the finish, and ninety minutes for all boats to finish. Each boat after ninety minutes is to be awarded an average (rounded off) of the remaining positions.
The Mark Timme Angsten Memorial Regatta is scheduled for the weekend following Thanksgiving at the Chicago Yacht Club. It is the Association’s fall Dinghy Championship. Entrance into the event is limited through the elimination process determined at the scheduling meeting. The name of the highest placing Association team shall be engraved on the Graduate Officers' Bowl.
The conditions for each of the ICSA North American Championships can be found in the ICSA Policy Manual.
10. Area East and Area West Boundary
The Area East and Area West shall be defined by the North-South line that represents the state borders between Illinois and Indiana, and as that line extends North and South for the duration of the district.
11. Championship Regatta Bids
Area East and Area West may submit one bid for each of the following year's spring Association Championships to the Conference Commissioner by the Monday following their Area Elimination. The Executive Board will award the bids such that each area will receive a minimum of one championship. Bids for fall championships are unrestricted.
12. Intersectional Regattas
Association members are to contact the MCSA Intersectional Coordinator with all questions regarding intersectional regatta participation. In the event of an emergency, when the MCSA Intersectional Coordinator cannot be reached, the Conference Commissioner should be contacted.
In October, the MCSA Intersectional Coordinator will distribute a list of intersectional regattas and Association members may respond with interest in attending one or more of these events. Should the number of berths available be greater that the number of members interested, the berths will be allotted by: 1. Highest Choice 2. Elimination of the most recent school attending 3. Elimination of the school with the highest number of requests 4. Choice of the MCSA Intersectional Coordinator.
The Association is taxed for intersectional regatta participation at a rate of thirty dollars ($30) per school. This tax will be distributed to the Association members participating and will be applied to the following season’s billing.
The Executive Board reserves the right to review any existing intersectional regatta with in the Association. Members desiring to host a new intersectional regatta must have them approved by the Executive Board and the ICSA Board of Directors before they can be sanctioned or scheduled. This process usually takes a year and a half.
Berths for the J. F. Kennedy Memorial Regatta and the Intrepid Match Race Regatta are determined following an application review process. Applications for the April event must be submitted to the MCSA Intersectional Coordinator by November 15 to be considered. The team(s) selected by the MCSA Intersectional Coordinator will be announced at the Scheduling Meeting.
The berth(s) for the Sugar Bowl hosted by Tulane University will be determined by the standings in a nonintersectional fall regatta to be announced at the Scheduling Meeting.
Berths for the Goodwill Regatta are determined by application. This event is sailed Thanksgiving weekend on an irregular rotating basis between sites at Newport Harbor Beach, CA and Japan. Interest in the event should be directed to the MCSA Intersectional Coordinator.
13. Perpetual Trophies
The Executive Board must approve all perpetual trophy regattas before they can be sanctioned or scheduled. No perpetual trophy regatta will be sanctioned without the host school’s agreement to maintain the trophy in a specific designated location.
14. Afterguard
All individual Association members become Afterguard Members when they have exceeded the limits of their eligibility for collegiate sailing competition. Those members of the Afterguard who keep their address current with the Conference Commissioner, or other designated individual, will be kept informed of Association and Afterguard activities.
Upon completion of their term of eligibility, or anytime thereafter, former college sailors are encouraged to sign up for the ICSA Afterguard List (see ICSA website for instructions). Association members will contact Afterguard members in their area for possible assistance in coaching, running regattas and other kinds of service.
B. Policies Regarding Events Sanctioned by the Association
1. Safety
The Association believes that safety is the primary concern of any event and will always support a regatta chairman, organizing authority or school that postpones or cancels a regatta in the interest of safety.
Inherently buoyant personal flotation devices (U.S. Coast Guard certified Type III or Type V, or conforming to the appropriate governmental regulations of the country where the competing college is located) shall be worn by all competitors while on the water. PFDs shall be worn outside all clothing and foul weather gear, except for a pinny.
2. Rules
All events shall adhere to the Racing Rules of Sailing, the Procedural Rules of the ICSA and this Association Policy Handbook.
3. Registration and Eligibility
All individuals must register with the ICSA Individual Directory and receive approval from their Team Administrator BEFORE sailing in any sanctioned events. At the start of each season, each individual is required to indicate his or her eligibility for that season with the ICSA Individual Directory.
If an individual transfers to another school, has not competed for more than a calendar year or has changed his or her surname, the Conference Commissioner should be notified as soon as possible and this individual is required to update their information on the ICSA Individual Directory.
Registration with the ICSA Individual Directory is conducted on-line at www.collegesailing.org
The ICSA Eligibility Case Book and Guide are used to interpret the eligibility rules including amateurism.
Any challenges to an individual's eligibility should be reduced to writing and sent to the Conference Commissioner. The Conference Commissioner will investigate the matter and make a ruling. If desired, the ruling may be appealed to the ICSA Eligibility Committee.
4. Fees
Host schools may charge each team a sailor’s fee for two-day events not to exceed ten dollars ($10) per person. If a sailor’s fee is collected, breakfast must be provided Saturday and Sunday, as well as lunch on Saturday. Lower sailor’s fees should be expected for one-day events and may be higher for three-day events.
Host schools may not charge an entry fee.
5. Housing
Host schools are required to provide housing options for a minimum of six individuals per team for fleet race events and a minimum of nine individuals for team race events.
6. Record of Participation
Competitors are responsible for entering information on the Record of Participation form before the first race, during the event and at the conclusion of racing. A member must sign the RP form prior to departure from the event.
7. Event Entrance, Cancellations and No-Shows
Teams listed in the current year's regatta schedule are officially entered in each of the events for which they are listed.
To withdraw from an event, a team must notify the host school and the MCSA Race Chairman by 12pm (noon) on the Friday two weeks before the event begins. Teams withdrawing from an event after the withdraw deadline has passed shall be fined sixty dollars ($60) for each fleet race event and ninety dollars ($90) for each team race event. The withdraw deadline is 12 noon 24 hours prior to the event.
After the two-week withdraw deadline for an event has passed, the MCSA Race Chairman will attempt to contact the listed alternates in order, after verifying the number of open berths with the Host School.
Teams that withdraw from an event within twenty-four hours and teams that do not show shall be fined one hundred dollars ($100) for fleet race events, one hundred fifty dollars for team race ($150) and twenty-five dollars ($25) for singlehanded events. These funds will be distributed to the host school for sailor’s fees and the Association will retain the balance. Teams not scheduled for a regatta may add the event by getting permission from the MCSA Race Chairman.
8. Regatta Format
Unless otherwise determined at the scheduling meeting, fleet regattas shall be sailed using ICSA Procedural Rule 22. The Conference Commissioner and the MCSA Race Chairman are authorized to add standard format regattas to the schedule following the scheduling meeting. Team race events shall be a 1 round round robin and a final four if possible. Team race events will not be umpired unless determined at the Annual Scheduling meeting or by prior approval of the Conference Commissioner.
9. Competitor’s Meeting
The host school shall have a competitor’s meeting at the sailing site the morning of the event.
10. Regatta Schedule
All two-day events shall be held to the following schedule:
Saturday
Report Time: 8:30am
Competitor’s Meeting: 9:00am
Race Warning: 9:30amSunday
Report Time: 9:00am
Race Warning: 9:30am
No A Division race shall be started on Sunday after 1:00pm local time except for Association Championships where the time shall be extended to 3:00pm local time. Agreement to sail later than these deadlines must be reached by all teams before 12:00pm (noon) on Sunday.
11. Second Squads
Teams wishing to add a second team to an event must get the approval of the host school and MCSA Race Chairman.
If approved, second teams are to participate as if they were an individual school, independently subject to all the rules.
12. Borrowed Crews
ICSA Procedural Rule 14(c) applies, with the exception that the borrowed crew may not alternate between schools and that crew may not concurrently participate in more than one event.
13. Disqualification
Authority is given to the Conference Commissioner to disqualify any team in any race of the regatta (after verifying with the Regatta Chairman) that has violated the ICSA Procedural Rules in those cases where the violation doesn't become evident until examination of the regatta report. The offending school will be sent a disqualification notice with the reasons stated. The corrected regatta results will be sent to the Association listserve. Upon receiving notice of the disqualification(s) a team may send an appeal to the Commodore for review by the Executive Board.
14. Trailed Boats
Team’s trailing a boat may be protested and disqualified under ICSA Procedural Rule 22 (b) (iii) if the trailed boat does not match the condition of the host school’s boats as it arrives at the regatta site.
Team’s trailing boats may not remove them from a regatta once the event has started. If an emergency causes a school to leave an event early, arrangements must be made for the boat’s return after the event has completed.
The host school should inspect all trailed boats before the first race to determine if it can be used in the event. If a trailed boat breaks down during an event, the host school is expected to repair it. If the host school uses parts to repair the boat during the event, it shall be reimbursed by the trailing school.
The host school is expected to provide a secure area where boats can be left at the regatta site during the event.
15. Sails
All sails used in Club Flying Junior events shall meet Club Flying Junior sail specifications as adopted by the Association.
C. Policies Regarding Regatta Host’s and their Responsibilities
1. Notice of Race
Host schools shall prepare a Notice of Race (NOR) and sailing instructions using the format on the Association website and send it to the MCSA Race Chairman a minimum of thirty days prior to the scheduled start of the event.
2. Regatta Reports
Additional requirements beyond ICSA Procedural Rule 16 may be implemented by the Executive Board and can be found on the Association website. When necessary, the regatta chairperson will be contacted by the Graduate Secretary. All information required in the regatta report must be postmarked on the Monday following the event.
3. Regatta Officials
Host schools should invite at least three individuals who are active sailors to serve as a protest committee. For Association championships, district eliminations and intersectionals, at least two members must be US Sailing certified, one of who must serve as the Chief Judge.
With the Limited Umpire system for team racing events, a minimum of two umpires must be US Sailing certified judges, one of who must serve as Chief Umpire.
The Conference Commissioner shall approve the sailing instructions, principal race officer, team racing umpires and protest committee members for all Association Championships. The Conference Commmissioner shall appoint a representative from the Executive Board to represent the Association and to rule on all matters of Association policy.
4. Required Equipment
- The host school shall provide the following equipment for the duration of each event
- i- Certified PFDs for all race committee members and other regatta personnel on the water.
ii- One rescue boat (operated by two individuals with the knowledge of how to pull a competitor from the water and how to right a capsized boat) is required for every ten competing boats. Rescue boats may not be used as coach boats or race committee boats.
iii- A suitable race committee boat. This boat shall be quipped with: boat anchor and line, marks with anchors and lines, whistle or other sound making device, recall flag or device, race score sheets from the Association website and a communication device to shore.
iv- A suitable computer and printer at the event site to score the regatta using the program designated by the Conference Commissioner.
v- Immediate access to the ICSA Individual Directory, the Association Black Book, the Racing Rules of Sailing and the Notice or Race.
5. Damage and Reimbursement Requests
To qualify for coverage, a boat must be inspected and approved as sound by an officer of the Association or an individual designated in advance by the MCSA Race Chairman.
The following scale has been adopted which limits the coverage as indicated:
| Wind Speed | Coverage |
|---|---|
| 0 – 14.9 mph | 100% |
| 15 – 19.9 mph | 75% |
| 20 – 24.9 mph | 50% |
| 25+ mph | 0% |
Coverage extends to parts and materials used by member teams in repairing their own boats that were damaged while racing. Racing is defined as the point of time between the preparatory signal for the for the first race day to the time when the boat finishes its last race of the day.
Coverage for non-member boats is limited to approval by the Treasurer. The Treasurer, with authorization from the Executive Board, may purchase borrowed boat insurance for non-BYO boat championship events in which privately owned boats are used.
A claim for damage reimbursement must be made to the MCSA Race Chairman within thirty days of the damage. The claim must include recipients for all parts and materials, the name of the individual that conducted the inspection prior to the event, the race committee’s determination of wind strength at the time of damage and a detailed description of how the damage occurred. If some part of the claim cannot be completed in the thirty-day period, a request for an extension must be filed with the MCSA Race Chairman. All claims must be resolved by the Annual Meeting.
The MCSA Race Chairman may authorize reimbursements to host schools for rental of a rescue boat, including the gas and oil to operate it, for a regatta to continue safely.