IASRA Constitution - Dissection

Hivemind187

Irish Airsoft Sports and Retailers Association
Association Rules and Constitution
1*****TITLE
The title of the Association shall be: “ Irish Airsoft Sports and Retailers Association ”
2*****OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the association shall be:
“To be representative and regulatory body for: Airsoft Dealers, Skirmish Site Operators, Airsoft Importers and Wholesalers, Airsoft Repair Professionals, Other Airsoft Professionals, Airsoft Teams , clubs ,collectors and regular skirmishers ”
“The self regulation of the Airsoft industry in the Republic of Ireland as a whole”
“The registration with dealers and site operators of all Airsoft device sales”
“The restriction of sale to those only above the age of 18 years able to provide valid picture I.D. and proof of address to whom the devices sold shall be registered”
“For association to maintain a 5 year record of sales register”
“The enforcement, promotion and encouragement of Airsoft sports in a safe environment “
“ To encourage responsible safe and legal ownership of all Airsoft devices”
“To educate and promote good business practices amongst Airsoft Professionals”
“To assist the Department of Justice and An Garda Siochana in all matters pertaining to Airsoft and associated equipment”
“To make available on request to An Garda Siochana details of all sales kept in the register mentioned above”
“that all retailers, importers, site operators shall have and maintain a chronograph for the purposes of establishing the power level of Airsoft devices”
3*****MEMBERSHIP
The Committee may from time to time make such rules on membership as it considers appropriate.
Membership is open to but not limited to Airsoft Retailers, Airsoft Importers, Wholesalers and Warehouses, Airsoft Sites, Airsoft Repair Professionals, other Airsoft Professionals, Airsoft Teams and Groups who will sign up to a code of conduct and best practice enshrined in the objectives above.
The Committee may require a safety statement or other reasonable satisfactory information which they deem fit before accepting affiliation. In the interests of safety this is by no means exhaustible and the requirements may be altered by the committee at any time.
Application for affiliation or membership shall be made to the Secretary on the appropriate form and shall accompany any requested information deemed necessary by the Secretary or Committee or their appointee(s)
If membership or affiliation is not approved the interested parties will be notified in writing listing the reasons therein.
The Committee shall have the power to terminate any membership A member or affiliate whose membership is terminated shall have the right of appeal under Rule 12.
MEMBERS SHOULD NOTE THAT THE IRISH AIRSOFT SPORTS AND RETAILERS ASSOCIATION OR ITS OFFICERS , ACCEPT NO LIABILITY FOR DEATH OR INJURY OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY HOWSOEVER CAUSED WHILE AT ANY MEETING OR ON ANY SITES.
4***** OFFICERS
The Officers of the association shall be a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Chief Safety and Training Officer, Public Relations Officer and Best Practice Officer.* One person may hold two or more offices. The officers of the association may be drawn from the individual membership or a co-opted individual deemed to have skills appropriate by the Committee and the membership.. The Chairman & Vice Chairman of the association will have the final say in tied votes.
5**** COMMITTEE
The business of the association shall be conducted by a Committee comprising the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Chief Safety and training Officer, Public Relations officer, Best Practice Officer and four other committee members drawn as individual representatives of member organisations. There is no minimum of Maximum number for the overall committee.
Five shall form a quorum and the Committee shall have the power to co-opt.* Co-opted members or co-opted members of affiliate groups shall NOT vote.
6*****SUBSCRIPTIONS
Annual subscriptions shall be due at the AGM and no member shall be entitled to exercise any of the privileges of membership until his/her subscriptions for the current year beginning on that date and any arrears of subscriptions or other moneys that may be due from him/her have been paid. If the sum due remains unpaid three weeks after the AGM, the Committee may remove the debtor's name from the list of members and affiliates of the association. Such members or affiliates may be readmitted at the discretion of the Committee, after payment of an agreed sum.
7 ****YEAR END
The Financial and Operational year of the association shall end on 1st October.* The Accounts for the year shall be circulated to members and affiliates at the AGM.*
8*****ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The association AGM shall be held not later than 1st November in each year.* At this meeting the Committee shall be proposed, seconded and elected to hold office until the next Annual General Meeting.
Each Honorary and Individual Member shall have one vote each, represented affiliate group shall have three votes per club or association.* In the case of an equality of votes the Chairman of the meeting shall have the casting vote.
Fourteen days notice of nominations and any other matters for discussion shall be given to the Secretary. No member in arrears with his/her subscription shall have a vote or take office.

9*****EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
Extraordinary General Meetings shall be convened by the Committee when necessary within fourteen days of the receipt by the Secretary of a requisition in writing signed by ten individual members or the lawful representative of four affiliate groups, or a combination representing ten votes.* Seven days’ notice shall be given of such a meeting, and no business shall be transacted there other than that specified in the notice calling the meeting.
10*****QUORUM
No business shall be transacted at any General Meeting unless at least one third of the paid up membership and affiliates are represented at the beginning of the meeting.* In the absence of a quorum after 15 minutes the chairman shall have discretion to adjourn the meeting to another time and place.

11*****POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE
The Committee shall appoint Bankers, Marshals and any other officials it considers desirable for the good conduct of the Association.* It shall fix, and pay out of Association funds honoraria if any, and may terminate any appointment it has made.* The Committee shall have power to incur any normal expenditure that it considers will maintain the objectives of the Association, but a major expenditure will be referred to a General Meeting.* In particular it may :-
Purchase equipment necessary to the administration of the association
Fund equipment necessary to facilitate the best business practices.
Promote Prize Meetings and authorise the purchase of prizes.

Effect any insurance it considers desirable.

Affiliate to other bodies.

Nominate plenipotentiaries to enter talks with government and other bodies.
12*****DISCIPLINE
Members must comply with rules of the association as enshrined in the objectives above. The Committee shall have power upon sufficient reason being shown to expel any member and to exclude from association meetings and functions any person who in its opinion has been guilty of dangerous, illegal or dishonourable conducts.
The Committee may impose an alternative penalty if it sees fit.
Any member or affiliate dealt with under this rule, may appeal in person (or by representation if a group)to the next Committee meeting or to the AGM providing that notice in writing is given to the Secretary, not later than fourteen days after notification of the penalty.
13*****RESIGNATION
Any member or affiliated group may resign from the Association by giving notice in writing to the Secretary.*Unless such notice is given before 1 January in any year, such member shall be liable for the subscription for the year beginning on that date.* The Committee may re-admit any such member. The Committee may consider a refund or part or all fees paid.
14*****ATTENDANCE
Membership renewals shall be allowed at the discretion of the Committee.* A decision not to renew shall be subject to Appeal under conditions similar to those set out under Rule 12.
15****ALTERATIONS OF RULES
Alterations to these rules shall require the support of a majority of members present and voting at a General Meeting, fourteen days notice setting out the proposals having been given.
16*****LIQUIDATION
In the event of the Association being wound up, the property and assets of the Association after liquidation of outstanding liabilities shall not be distributed among the members or affiliates of the Association but shall be applied to some other purpose of deserving cause associated with target shooting in the island of Ireland .

Taken from the IASRA published document as of 24/07/2009 at 13.30

Hivemind187

“The registration with dealers and site operators of all Airsoft device sales”

Excuse me? Baking powder?

I thought this rubbish about registering sales etc was put to bed. I dont recall seeing anything about it in the legislation proposed bythe state so precisely what is the need/point of it?

“The restriction of sale to those only above the age of 18 years able to provide valid picture I.D. and proof of address to whom the devices sold shall be registered”

Proof of address? Sorry, but we arent in the US, the is no state sanctioned or operated data base for the retention of this information. The legislation proposed by the deparment of justice makes no reference to this being a requirement nor is required by An Gardai Siochana nor is it in anyway justifiable for any commercial entity to demand a proof of address for the purchase of an item which does not have any such restrictions placed upon it.

“For association to maintain a 5 year record of sales register”

Um ... what? do you mean "keep proper accounts for the purposes of tax and revenue" or do you mean the register of names and addresses? Because this opens a huge can of worms in terms of data protection and whether or not you actually have the right to store such data.

“To educate and promote good business practices amongst Airsoft Professionals”

I'm not touching this one with a thirty foot clown pole.

“To assist the Department of Justice and An Garda Siochana in all matters pertaining to Airsoft and associated equipment”

Please elaborate.

“To make available on request to An Garda Siochana details of all sales kept in the register mentioned above”

Not required by law or by An Gardai Siochana. Nor is it right, fair or justifiable to share such information with the Gardai or any body whatsoever. Please see data protection act.

“that all retailers, importers, site operators shall have and maintain a chronograph for the purposes of establishing the power level of Airsoft devices”

Meaningless. This is covered by the law as it stands wherein it indicates that devices must not be sold or made available to the end user in a state exceeding a muzzle energy of 1 joule. A "chornograph" is simply a tool for measuring this and is subject to a bunch of different factors influencing its accuracy.

Fallschirmjager

'Membership is open to but not limited to Airsoft Retailers, Airsoft Importers, Wholesalers and Warehouses, Airsoft Sites, Airsoft Repair Professionals, other Airsoft Professionals, Airsoft Teams and Groups who will sign up to a code of conduct and best practice enshrined in the objectives above.'

wow....even people from the 4th dimension can join or my dead dog.



'Nominate plenipotentiaries'

i think the last guy who tried that when forming the free state got into a spot of bother in cork in an ambush.....just sayin....

Hivemind187

Dr_Pepper wrote: »

<Image Snip>

Anyone else seen this?
Download it here if you dont believe me.
http://www.iasra.net/Iasra_constitution



Im no legal expert but you might want to get the legal rep to check the laws on plagiarism

Just for the sake of keeping it all in one place.

Hivemind187

Originally posted by Stephen Fay elsewhere.

Hi Guys

Thank you for making your constitution public, it brings clarity to who should be making the decisions for your organisation.

I must however distance both myself and the IAA from this document. As you stated in a previous thread that

This constitution was worked on with the IAA

this is simply not true. We did draft a framework for a new IASRA constitution, that I myself put several weeks work into, but that document was framed at forwarding the agreement between IASRA and the IAA of the 11th February 2009.

It is in our best interests, and the interests of the sport as a whole, that we all work together to better Airsoft as an industry and a sport. The IAA has worked tirelessly in this regard and the new IAA committee have built on the work of the previous one to build bridges with those who may have had run-ins with us in the past.
The IAA and IASRA have met, and acknowledged that while both have made mistakes in their dealings with each other, and with other members of the community, reparations can always be made, and it is in our best interests to work together for the good of our sport.
However, people have expressed reservations at any merger between the two organisations, and the two committees recognise this. The IAA and IASRA will not be merging. We are still working on details, but the agreed-upon solution is the following.
- IASRA will become a chamber of commerce for Airsoft businesses, open to all Venues and Retailers, and with a committee elected of same.
- IASRA will have a non-commercial independent person, elected by the businesses, sitting as Chairperson on their committee. This chair will then have a position in the IAA to represent the businesses.
- IAA will remain the governing body for Airsoft in Ireland, with no amendments to constitution, activities or current committee members.
In the coming weeks, IASRA will hold an open meeting to devise a charter, and elect a new committee from the pool of all Airsoft businesses in Ireland. The IAA have offered their assistance in the setup of this meeting, and writing of the charter. This meeting will be open to all Airsoft businesses, and by its very nature will not be under the control of any one site or retailer. The committee will also consist of a representative who is not a commercial interest, in order to avoid any chance of collusion between members of the chamber of commerce in the form of price-fixing or other practices that may be unfair to Airsoft.
It is understood that for whatever reason, some players may not wish to join the IAA as individuals. IASRA recognises that the new IAA committee have done excellent work in building bridges long thought burnt, and endorses the new IAA committee as an organisation that has the best interests of Airsoft at heart, and have the ability to act as a governing and representative body. For a transition period, it is proposed that individual members may join IASRA, with the understanding that the IAA will act in their interests to represent them, Full IAA membership will still be required to vote at general meetings, under the terms of the IAA constitution. If members are unsatisfied with the IAA, they may appeal to IASRA for mediation. In this arrangement, the two organisations will work together, and keep each other honest in all dealings.
The IAA and IASRA realise that there is a lot of opposition from supporters of both organisations to working together and finding a solution that may require concessions from both sides. It is our opinion that a split of the community has already happened, and it is up to us to work together for the good of the sport and for the industry.
A lot of harsh words have been exchanged in previous days, weeks and months from supporters of both associations about the other, and we would ask people to consider their words carefully, and remember that they are representing their sport to outsiders and new airsofters.
The IAA and IASRA committees have come to an agreement that they will not support any acts of character assassination, rumour, hearsay or unconfirmed facts about any member of the Airsoft community. It is our hope that once IASRA has a well-defined charter as a commercial representation organisation and a committee fairly elected, that IASRA and the IAA can work together in the spirit of mutual respect that this community deserves, and endorse each other as legitimate and professional bodies.
Regards the IAA and IASRA

We are disappointed that the work we did with the previous committee appears to have been left by the wayside. The IAA remains committed to every point in this statement and will do what ever is required to finalise this agreement.

Further, Stephen mentioned that there was no response to this from IASRA to the post as it appeared.

Puding

15****ALTERATIONS OF RULES
Alterations to these rules shall require the support of a majority of members present and voting at a General Meeting, fourteen days notice setting out the proposals having been given.

i was under an impression that a constitution by common practice that constitution rules could only be changed but a agm egm? stopped funny business going on

16*****LIQUIDATION
In the event of the Association being wound up, the property and assets of the Association after liquidation of outstanding liabilities shall not be distributed among the members or affiliates of the Association but shall be applied to some other purpose of deserving cause associated with target shooting in the island of Ireland .

bit strange to me, thought it would be better to go to charity, seems a little strange

Hivemind187

Further to Puddings point

16*****LIQUIDATION
In the event of the Association being wound up, the property and assets of the Association after liquidation of outstanding liabilities shall not be distributed among the members or affiliates of the Association but shall be applied to some other purpose of deserving cause associated with target shooting in the island of Ireland .

I thought the issue of Airsoft and the association to real-steel shooting was also put to bed.

By the Department of Justice.

When the IAA met with them in December of 2007.

The specific phraze "deserving cause associated with target shooting in the island of Ireland" suggests that the funding could only go to specific organisations involved in the promotion of firearms sports.

I dont have a problem with firearms, target shooting etc - indeed I am an amateur recreational shooter myself - but I do object to Airsoft being tied into those pursuits as they are entirely different in their nature and objectives. A point that was had out - at extreme length - on this very forum. It is a connection that was pushed for, with extreme unction, by a very specific group of individuals.

Puding

for all the criticize for boards at least we can discuss issues like this went over to see fayers post on the iasra forum and already locked down. i;ve been on the end of the heavy moding on there before, unless your slapping them on the back and saying good job you can;t say anything

so when is membership open to the public and when is the this debated and voted in? ow sorry the committee is already done and this is passed already , backwards way of doing it....

Rew

I'm very dubious about allowing this discussion here when IASRA have their own forums just like the IAA. Ill have to consult the other mods for a consensus. Haven't looked at what they locked down on their own forum but I would hope there is discussion of the constitution there. We will update or unlock in due course.