ECWPRA

Eastern Chapter of the Women's Professional Rodeo Association

 

2004 BY-LAWS

 

2004 ECWPRA OFFICERS

 

PRESIDENT                 Christine McKeon         250 Perkintown Road                                                                                                            Pedricktown, NJ 08067

                                                                             (856) 351-1940

                                                                            jackhighpockets@aol.com

 

VICE-PRESIDENT      Cathie Dyer                  2525 Sheridan Ave.                                                                                                               Franklinville, NJ 08322

                                                                             (856) 875-2365

                                                                             catdyer@hotmail.com

SECRETARY/

TREASURER               Becky Clanton              260 South Golfwood Ave.

                                                                             Carneys Point, NJ 08069

                                                                             (856) 351-9998

                                                                             rodeo__1@hotmail.com

 

POINT DIRECTOR     Stephanie Barker         409 Peach Bottom Rd.

                                                                                                Peach Bottom, PA 17563

                             (717) 548-2648

rodeoprnces@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purpose:

 

To encourage women to join the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (referred to as the WPRA) and participate in approved ECWPRA barrel races.

 

The Eastern Chapter of the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (referred to as the ECWPRA) is affiliated with the WPRA and adheres to the official rulebook of the WPRA.  To the extent that any conflict between the ECWPRA by-laws and the Articles of the Inc., by-laws, and rules of the WPRA exist, the WPRA rules and by-laws shall control to the extent of such conflict.

 

Nothing in the incorporation of any state or chapter or in their by-laws shall be in conflict with the WPRA national incorporation or by-laws, except by approval of the national WPRA board of directors.

 

Membership Eligibility:

 

To be considered a member in good standing, all members must:

 

A.        Be a member of the WPRA and in good standing.

 

            B.        Pay annual ECWPRA membership dues of $75.00.

 

1.         By the act of paying dues, all members accept all rules contained herein and rules and/or policies hereafter adopted by the officers of the ECWPRA.

 

C.        Current ECWPRA members must pay ECWPRA membership dues, as well as WPRA membership dues, on or before December 31st of the current year for the following year. 

 

1.         Failure to pay WPRA membership dues on or before December 31st will result in that member losing any money points or permit points and rodeo count accumulated between October 1st and December 31st.

 

2.         Failure to pay ECWPRA membership dues on or before December 31st will result in that member losing any money points or permit points and rodeo count accumulated between October 1st and December 31st.

 

D.        Any new members that wish to join the ECWPRA at the beginning of the rodeo season must join by October 1, of the prior year to start their rodeo count and begin accumulating money points or permit points.  The ECWPRA point season starts October 1, of the year prior to the number year points are kept and ends on September 30, of the year designated as point year. The 2004 season for the ECWPRA starts October 1, 2003 and ends September 30, 2004.

 

1.         Members are permitted to join at anytime during the year.  That joining member will start to accumulate money points or permit points and begin their rodeo count from the date that their completed membership application is received forward. In order for the membership application to be considered complete, membership dues must be received by the ECWPRA Secretary within five (5) business days, following the submission of the completed membership form.

 

a.         Should the member fail to pay her membership dues within five (5) business days following the submission of her completed membership form, the member will start to accumulate money points or permit points and begin her rodeo count on the date that her membership dues are received by the ECWPRA Secretary.

 

b.         Prospective members joining at a WPRA sanctioned rodeo or Divisional Tour must notify an ECWPRA Officer of her intent to join the ECWPRA and must submit a completed membership form prior to competing. The new member must then submit her membership dues to the ECWPRA Secretary within five (5) business days of the event, if she wishes the event to be included in her rodeo count and to have any money points or permit points earned from the event to be accumulated.

 

Member Classification:

 

ECWPRA members are to be classified into one of two divisions. The member’s division classification may change during the current rodeo season, subject to a change in the member’s WPRA membership status.

 

A.        Top Ten Division.

 

1.         A WPRA member that is a card holder.

 

2.         A WPRA permit holder who has won the ECWPRA Permit Champion title. Any previous Permit Champion in the ECWPRA will be placed in the Top Ten Division, regardless of whether her permit has been filled.

 

B.        Permit Division.

 

1.         A WPRA member that is a permit holder and has never been the ECWPRA Permit Champion.

 

a.         Any ECWPRA Permit member who fills her WPRA permit and elects to buy her WPRA card during the current rodeo season will automatically be removed from the Permit Division and placed into the Top Ten Division.  All points accumulated while the member was in the Permit Division will be erased and the member will begin with 0 money points in the Top Ten Division.  The member may also elect to purchase a second WPRA permit.  This would allow her to remain in the Permit Division for the remainder of the year, continue to accumulate Permit points, and retain Rookie eligibility.

 

Rookie Eligibility:

 

Rookie status shall be given to ECWPRA members who are competing for the first year on their WPRA card. If a member becomes eligible and purchases a WPRA card during the current rodeo season, that member will then be assigned rookie status for the remainder of the current rodeo season.

 

Officers:

 

To qualify to hold office, the individual must be a member in good standing and have been a member of the ECWPRA for at least one year.  The officers shall consist of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Point Director.  The President and Vice President of the ECWPRA must be WPRA card holders.

 

Voting Procedures:

 

All ECWPRA members are entitled to vote providing they have met all their membership requirements (see section on Membership Eligibility.)  To be consistent with the policies and procedures of the WPRA, the ECWPRA voting procedures are as follows:

 

A.        Secretary will forward ballots for election of officers, special awards, and/or impending issues that need to be voted on by general membership and officers.  A numbered pre-addressed envelope may be attached to the ballot.

 

B.        The ballots will stipulate a return and postmark deadline allowing at least two days for mail carriers.  Any ballot postmarked after the deadline will not be included in the voting procedure and will not be opened.

 

C.        Ballots will be returned to the ECWPRA Secretary.  A minimum of two officers will then meet to count the ballots. 

 

D.        In the event of a tie for the election of officers, special awards, and/or impending issues that need to be voted on by the general membership, a tie breaker vote will be conducted and voted on by the membership.

 

E.        A tally sheet will be devised and inserted into the ECWPRA records, along with the returned ballots, including any void ballots.  The officers will sign and date the tally sheet.

 

Treasury:

 

A detailed Treasurer's Report will be published monthly.

 

ECWPRA Approved Barrel Races:

 

All WPRA sanctioned or co-sanctioned rodeos and Divisional Tours, designated as First Frontier Circuit events, shall be declared ECWPRA approved barrel races.

 

The ECWPRA reserves the right to declare other regional barrel races as ECWPRA approved barrel races. These barrel races will be referred to as “ECWPRA approved only”.

 

All ECWPRA approved barrel races must be published.  Publication of ECWPRA barrel races must be conducted a minimum of fourteen (14) days prior to the event.

 

Payoff:

 

The payoff for ECWPRA approved barrel races will be made in accordance with the WPRA rulebook specifications. 

 

Point Tabulation:

 

Money points and permit points are to be determined from the barrel racing results of all ECWPRA approved barrel races.  Members in the Top Ten Division will receive money points, while members in the Permit Division will receive permit points. The total money points or permit points awarded are to be equal to the dollars paid, including go-round and average dollars paid.

 

A.        Money points and permit points for WPRA 3-D or 4-D Divisional Tours shall be awarded in the same manner as a regular Divisional Tour.

 

1.         The Top Ten Division and Permit Division members will be ranked according to their times and awarded money points or permit points equal to the dollars paid.

 

2.         The number of places receiving money points or permit points will be equal to the total number of places paid for the entire event.

 

For example, if a total number of six (6) places are paid for the entire event, i.e. two (2) places paid in the First Division (1D), two (2) places paid in the Second Division (2D) and two (2) places paid in the Third Division (3D), then the top six (6) ranking Top Ten Division and Permit Division members will received money points or permit points.

 

3.         If a member enters the event on more than one horse, only the run that she designates to count toward the WPRA Divisional Tour Standings will be used to determine ECWPRA points.

 

***The ECWPRA money/permit point cut-off date is September 30, 2004.***

 

Money Point and Permit Point Standings:

 

Money point and permit point standings shall be determined by tabulating the accumulated amount of money points or permit points each member has won.

 

A.        The Top Ten Division Standings shall be determined based upon money points accumulated.  Members will be ranked numerically, based on the total amount of money points accumulated.

 

B.        The Permit Division Standings shall be determined based upon permit points accumulated.  Members will be ranked numerically, based on the total amount of permit points accumulated.

 

C.        In order for a current member to maintain any money or permit points earned between October 1 and December 31 of the calendar year, the member must renew both her WPRA and ECWPRA membership on or before December 31 of the calendar year.

 

1.         Failure of a current member to renew her WPRA and/or ECWPRA membership on or before December 31 of the calendar year, will result in the forfeit of any money or permit points won between October 1 and December 31 of the calendar year.

 

2.         Following December 31 of the calendar year, the money and permit points will be re-evaluated, based on current ECWPRA members.

 

a.         Any Top Ten Division member who did not renew her WPRA and/or ECWPRA membership on or before December 31 of the calendar year will be removed from the Top Ten Division Standings. No money points will be recalculated.

 

b.         Any Permit Division member who did not renew her WPRA and/or ECWPRA membership on or before December 31 of the calendar year will be removed from the Permit Division Standings. The permit points from any event in which that member competed in between October 1 and December 31 of the calendar year will be recalculated and awarded to the current Permit Division members who competed in the event(s).

 

Chapter Finals:

 

A.        The ECWPRA may hold a Finals barrel race each year at a suitable time and location.

 

B.        The top ten ranking barrel racers in each division will be required to pay the entry fee for the Finals whether or not they compete.  Failure to pay the entry fee will render the member ineligible for any year-end awards. All entry fees from the top ten ranking barrel racers in each division will be included in the total purse for their respective division.

 

Chapter Finals Eligibility:

 

A.        In order to be eligible to compete in the ECWPRA Finals, members must compete in a minimum of 40% of the ECWPRA approved barrel races, which includes all WPRA sanctioned, First Frontier Circuit rodeos and/or Divisional Tours and ECWPRA approved only barrel races, held throughout the ECWPRA season. Vet releases, doctor releases, or a turnout of any kind will not count toward the member’s rodeo count.

 

1.         Each ECWPRA member’s rodeo count will begin on the day her membership application is completed. In order for the membership application to be considered complete, membership dues must be received by the ECWPRA Secretary within five (5) business days, following the submission of the completed membership form.

 

a.         Should the member fail to pay her membership dues within five (5) business days following the submission of her completed membership form, the member’s rodeo count will then begin on the day that her membership dues are received by the ECWPRA Secretary.

 

2.         In order for any events competed in between October 1 and December 31 of the calendar year to be included in the member’s rodeo count, the member must renew both her WPRA and ECWPRA membership on or before December 31 of the calendar year.

 

a.         Failure of a current member to renew her WPRA and/or ECWPRA membership on or before December 31 of the calendar year, will result in the elimination of any events competed in during that time from the member’s rodeo count.

 

3.         It is the individual ECWPRA member’s responsibility to track their personal rodeo count throughout the ECWPRA season.

 

B.        The top twelve ranking members in the Top Ten Division and the top twelve ranking members in the Permit Division will qualify to participate in the ECWPRA Finals.

 

1.         If one of the top twelve ranking members in either the Top Ten or Permit Divisions is unable to or does not wish to compete in the ECWPRA Finals, the next ranking member in the respective division will become eligible to complete, provided they meet all other terms for eligibility. The next ranking member’s entry fees will be added to the total purse for her respective division.

 

Dress Code:

 

Long sleeve shirts, clean denim jeans, western hat and boots are required at all ECWPRA approved barrel races.  Any deviation will be decided by the officers and/or show committee.

 

***NOTE: Check the WPRA monthly newspaper for dress code(s) concerning nationally approved events.

 

Meetings:

 

General membership meetings may be held at various times during the year as deemed necessary.  Notice of such meetings will be published prior to the meeting.  The purpose of these meetings is to discuss ECWPRA business as it pertains to current events, member interests, fundraising, and any other relevant issues.  ECWPRA meetings are limited to:

 

A.        Current ECWPRA members.

 

B.        WPRA members who would like to assess the meeting for possible membership in the ECWPRA.

 

C.        Speakers, instructors, or presenters invited by a minimum of two ECWPRA officers to make a contribution on behalf of the membership.

 

Awards:

 

Year-end awards will be given to the top ten (10) ranking members in both the Top Ten and Permit Divisions.

 

Awards Eligibility:

 

To be eligible to receive year-end top ten awards, a member must:

 

A.        Meet all requirements of membership eligibility.

 

B.        Must have qualified for and paid entry fees for the ECWPRA Finals.

 

C.        Must have competed in a minimum of 40% of the ECWPRA approved barrel races, which includes all WPRA sanctioned, First Frontier Circuit rodeos and/or Divisional Tours and ECWPRA approved only barrel races. Vet releases, doctor releases or a turnout of any kind will not count toward the member’s rodeo count.

 

Miscellaneous:

 

A.        In the event of an ECWPRA dissolution, any material assets accumulated by the ECWPRA (such as timers) will be sold and the income from said sale, along with cash accumulation left in the ECWPRA Treasury will be donated to the JUSTIN HEELER PROGRAM or other such charitable organizations pertaining to the betterment of the sport of rodeo.

 

B.        No relative or person having a personal relationship with an ECWPRA member shall interfere or harass the officers or members of the ECWPRA.  The associated member shall be held responsible and will be fined $50.00 (payable to the ECWPRA.)  Failure to pay the fine within thirty days will make the member ineligible for year-end awards.