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Charter

Official Charter of the Northern California Quiz Bowl Alliance

Article 1 – Name

  • The name of the organization shall be “Northern California Quiz Bowl Alliance” and shall be abbreviated as “NCQBA.”

Article 2 – Purpose

  • The purpose of NCQBA is to encourage the proliferation of high-quality quiz bowl throughout Northern California, defined as the area of the state of California north of (inclusive) Monterey, Kings, Tulare, and Inyo Counties.

Article 3 – Membership

  • Section 1 – Membership in NCQBA is open to anyone residing in or within reasonable proximity to the state of California who has a proven desire to promote high-quality quiz bowl and meets the criteria listed in the “Frequently Asked Questions” page.
  • Section 2 – No less than one half of the total members in NCQBA shall constitute a quorum for any voted motion.
  • Section 3 – A candidate for membership shall be nominated by a current member of NCQBA, which shall be seconded by another member. Once a nomination has been seconded, the Secretary shall send an e-mail message to the full membership indicating that a Nomination for Membership has been initiated. All members shall have seven days following the send date of the notification e-mail to contact the Secretary indicating a “Yes” or “No” vote to the nomination. After the seven day period, the nominee shall gain membership if a majority of votes received by the Secretary are in favor of the nomination.
  • Section 4 – Membership is perpetual. A person’s membership may be terminated by resignation or through a vote of the membership.
  • Section 5 – Any member may move for the removal of another member from NCQBA. The proposed membership termination shall be presided over by the Secretary, unless the Secretary is the subject of the proposed member removal, in which case the President shall preside. Member removal shall be discussed by the membership for a period not to exceed three days. Should a majority of members vote to proceed to a vote before three days has passed, the vote will then take place. If, during discussion of removal, the subject of removal has given by prior word or deed probable cause to the membership that he or she has engaged in any activity that is illegal, unethical, or would tend to bring NCQBA into disrepute within either the California or national community by an overt act or willful neglect, the presiding officer shall send an e-mail to the membership indicating that a vote for member removal has been initiated. All members shall have seven days following the send date of the notification e-mail to contact the presiding officer indicating a “Yes” or “No” vote to the removal. After the seven day period, if two-thirds of the received votes are in favor of removal, the applicable person shall no longer be a member of NCQBA.
  • Section 6 – Members shall keep contact information current by notifying the Secretary if and when a change in contact information occurs.

Article 4 – Officers

  • Section 1 – NCQBA officers shall consist of a President, a set of Vice Presidents with designated duties, Secretary, and Webmaster.
  • Section 2 – The President shall be the primary representative of NCQBA. Duties of the President include contacting schools about hosting NCQBA-certified events and responding to inquiries addressed to NCQBA via e-mail or any other method. The President shall serve as the official NCQBA liaison to other quiz bowl organizations such as National Academic Quiz Tournaments, the Partnership for Academic Competition excellence, or High School Academic Pyramid Questions. The President shall also preside over voting proceedings when the Secretary is unable to do so.
  • Section 3 – The Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining all official NCQBA documents and presiding over voting proceedings. The Secretary shall also be responsible for handling all finances such as maintenance of the NCQBA bank account, receiving and writing checks in the name of NCQBA, and filling out necessary paperwork in relation to the financial well-being of NCQBA.
  • Section 4 – The webmaster shall develop and maintain the NCQBA website located at norcalquizbowl.org, and coordinate transactions and activities regarding the technical aspects of the website.
  • Section 5 – Any member may be nominated to fill a vacant officer position by another member, which shall be seconded by a third member. Once a nomination has been seconded, the Secretary shall send an e-mail message to the full membership indicating that a Nomination for Appointment to Office has been initiated. All members shall have seven days following the send date of the notification e-mail to contact the Secretary indicating a “Yes” or “No” vote to the nomination. After the seven day period, the nominee shall be appointed to the office if a majority of votes received by the Secretary are in favor of the nomination.
  • Section 6 – Officers shall remain in office perpetually. A term may be ended by resignation or impeachment.
  • Section 7 – A motion to impeach an officer may be presented by any member. The proposed impeachment shall be presided over by the Secretary, unless the Secretary is the subject of the proposed impeachment, in which case the President shall preside. Impeachment shall be discussed by the membership for a period of three days. If there is sufficient rationale to proceed with impeachment, the presiding officer shall send an e-mail to the membership indicating that a vote for impeachment has been initiated. All members shall have seven days following the send date of the notification e-mail to contact the presiding officer indicating a “Yes” or “No” vote to the impeachment. After the seven day period, if two-thirds of the received votes are in favor of impeachment, the impeached officer shall immediately be removed from office.

Article 5 – Event Affiliation

  • Section 1 – NCQBA may associate itself with quiz bowl events by declaring an event as “NCQBA Certified”.
  • Section 2 – The criteria for NCQBA certification shall be defined in the “Criteria for NCQBA Tournament Certification” document, hereinafter referred to as the Certification Criteria document.
  • Section 3 – An event may be proposed for certification by any member or a representative of any school that has membership in the organization.
  • Section 4 – Events shall be reviewed by a minimum of four members who shall comprise a Certification Committee. A member may be added to or removed from the certification committee with majority approval by the NCQBA membership.
  • Section 5 – A minimum of two-thirds of the certification committee must approve an event for NCQBA Certification to be granted to a tournament that meets all criteria outlined in the Certification Criteria document. An event that does not meet all criteria may be granted NCQBA Certification only if all members of the certification committee approve.
  • Section 6 – The NCQBA membership shall review and discuss the “Criteria for NCQBA Tournament Certification” document annually during the summer.
  • Section 7 – Amendments to the Certification Criteria document may be made at any time, and shall take effect immediately with majority approval by the membership.

Article 6 – Amendments and Revisions

  • Section 1 – Amendments and revisions may be proposed by any member.
  • Section 2 – A proposed amendment or revision must be typewritten with all deletions in brackets and all additions in italics.
  • Section 3 – Once a proposal has been seconded, the Secretary shall send an e-mail message to the full membership indicating that an amendment or revision has been proposed. All members shall have seven days following the send date of the notification e-mail to contact the Secretary indicating a “Yes” or “No” vote to the proposal. After the seven day period, the proposal shall be approved if at least two-thirds of votes received by the Secretary are in favor of the proposal.

Article 7 – Definitions

  • “High-quality quiz bowl” defines the style of quiz bowl that rewards players for knowledge by using predominantly academic and pyramidal questions, a fair format that reduces the likelihood of luck determining the outcome of a game or tournament, and encourages widespread participation.
  • “NCQBA Documents” include the Charter, Criteria for NCQBA Tournament Certification document, voting records, member contact information, school contact information, and any other logistical documents regarding the operation of NCQBA.
  • “Technical aspects of the website” include maintenance of the hosting account and registration of domain names.

Credit goes to the Missouri Quizbowl Alliance for drafting most of this document.

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