Rules

Section I – About Rules

Art.1)  In accordance with article 25 of the Constitution of Society "The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society - Northern Italy Branch" (hereafter called “Society”), it issues the following Rules, the observance of which all members are called.

Art.2)  The present Rules, and any future amendments, supplements and completes the Constitution. It may not contain articles that are inconsistent with the articles of the Constitution.

Art.3)  The Management Board is the only structure that can implement future changes to these Rules and request ratification of the General Meeting.

Section II – About rights and duties of members

Art.4)  All members are required to comply with the Constitution and the Rules.

Art.5)  Members are required to formalize the annual subscription to the Society as well as the courses and activities involving payments within a reasonable period for courses and by the starting date for other activities.

Art.6)  All members in good standing with the provisions of article 5 have the right to participate in the activities of the Society, according to the individual capacity, availability and ambitions, implement the purposes and take elective office, occasional or temporary assignments.

Art.7)  All members have a duty to pursue the purposes of Society in the manner prescribed by the Society.

Art.8)  All members performing activities for the Society do it in a personal, spontaneous and free way.

Art.9)  All members have the right to be regularly informed on the activities of the Society.

Section III – About Organization

Art.10) The Management Board consists of seven members. The Management Board, who shall remain in charge for three years, is elected by the General Meeting except the first time when it is designated by the founding members.

Art.11) The Management Board shall meet under the conditions set in article 25 of the Constitution. At meetings of the Management Board may participate, without the right to vote, other members expressly invited to address specific issues. For the validity of the meeting is required the presence of half plus one of the Councillors including the President or the Vice President.

Art.12) The Auditors who shall hold office for three years, are elected by the General Meeting except the first time when they are designated by the founding members.

Section IV – Dei mezzi finanziari

Art.13) At the beginning of each year, the Management Board establishes the amount of the subscription (membership fee).

Art.14) The financial resources of the Society are provided by Article 32 of the Constitution. In accordance with the requirement of no-profit, any contribution helps to cover the costs incurred by the Society for its activities. These may also be provided refunds arising from agreements with public and private entities.

Art.15) The final balance of the current year and the budget for the next financial year of the Society, shall be prepared by the Treasurer, taking into account the criteria set out above, which presents them to the Management Board. These financial statements are available by the members at the headquarters. The balance sheet and budget are clearly outlined and illustrated in the General Meeting by the Management Board, are then submitted to the Assembly by open vote by show of hands.

Art.16) In the balance sheet are explained assets and bequests received for the business year and the costs incurred in the activities and in the ordinary and extraordinary maintenance of movable and immovable property of the Society during the calendar year preceding the convening of the Assembly. The budget covers the calendar year of the General Meeting.

Section V – About elections

Art.17) The Secretary in charge prepares the ballot which must contain a section for each elective office. Each section must contain the list of candidates in strict alphabetical order (surname, first name) and to the left of each candidate a box for the exercise of voting.

Art.18) To ensure the legality of the vote before the vote, is setting up the polling composed of the Secretary in charge as chairman's seat, and two tellers from among the members present at the General Meeting. To members of the polling station is provided the following materials:

a) list of members entitled to vote;

b) a number of ballot papers equal to the number of eligible voters increased by twenty percent;

c) five ballpoint pens of the same brand and color (blue or black);

d) two copies of the tables of scrutiny;

e) an urn to hold the ballot papers.

Art.19) Each voter recognized eligible to vote is registered in the list of claimants next to his/her name, receives a ballot paper and a pen and shall vote in the protection of privacy then, once folded the ballot, places it in the box and return the pen. Each member may receive a second card in case of error during the casting of votes. In this case, the ballot  must be canceled, making it impossible to recognize the vote.

Art.20) The vote is secret and is expressed by drawing a cross on the side of chosen candidates. For the election of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer can only make one vote for each office. For the election of Councillors can be expressed from one to three preferences. The sections that contain a number of preferences superior to those provided shall become null for the specific charge.

Art.21) In the event that the number of candidates is equal to the number of officers to be elected, the Assembly takes note of this and may decide to ratify an open vote by show of hands the election of the candidates themselves.

Art.22) Just finished voting, will start the public count of the votes. The president of the polling reads aloud each vote cast and, at the same time, the tellers shall record in the tables of the ballot. Once they have finished counting, is prepared the summary table containing the number of votes received by each candidate.

Art.23) Candidates who have obtained the highest number of votes are elected. In case of a tie between several candidates, goes to the ballot among the candidates to equal acclaim. In case of a tie on the ballot, the order in the list of those elected will be defined on the basis of seniority in the Society membership.

Section VI – About associative activities

Art.24)  In accordance with article 4 of the Constitution, the Society’s activities are developed mainly in the following moments:

a) The courses organized in cycles of lessons;

b) workshops and thematic events;

c) parties and dances internal to the Society;

d) major events in partnership with public and private entities;

e) public performances.

Art.25) Douring the courses you learn the dance techniques and choreography of the dances.

a) The courses are divided into homogeneous technical levels, each level requires appropriate technical requirements to be attended. The homogeneity of the levels makes possible the continuous advancement and improvement of each dancer. The class of each individual dancer is decided at the discretion of the Education and Training Committee, which may delegate its powers to the teacher of the specific course;

b) each class has a start and an ending time. Punctuality is useful at all because the lesson has a structure that must be followed in full. It is essential to follow the exercises of preparation to avoid physical accidents. Arriving late is invited to perform some warm up exercises before you start dancing.

Art.26) Workshops and thematic events are moments of study and meeting in collaboration with other organizations such as corporations, associations or individual scholars both Italian and foreign, that dealing with issues similar to those of the Society. They may also be in collaboration with public and private, domestic and foreign.

Art.27) Parties and dances are the moments of community life in which you put into practice what you learned in class and the meeting between members of the different courses. Parties and dances can be formal or not. The formal dance follows precise rules of etiquette and have a dress code. The informal party is a time to meet and dance that actualizes, through the contemporary way of dress, the sense of our dance.

Art.28) The performances are the moments in which the Society show in public the artistic results achieved by his own efforts.

a)  Participation in performances by members is voluntary and not mandatory;

b) the members can partecipate in performance only if they have received a positive opinion at the discretion of the Education and Training Committee, which may delegate its powers to the guide teacher of the specific event;

c) as public performances involving the dress code, participation is subject to the availability (or rental property) of an appropriate costume. The suitability of individual dress is subject to the unquestionable judgment of the Image and Decorum Committee which may delegate its powers to the guide teacher of the specific event;

d) the members who intend to attend the performance are expected to show their willingness and give any confirmation within a reasonable time to allow for a correct organization;

e) if the number of people available for a parformance is longer than necessary the names will be selected at the discretion of the guide teacher for the specific event. It is the task of the Membership Services and Relationship Committee to ensure a fair and equitable rotation among all members available during the various occasions.

Art.29) The Society is open and available to any type of cooperation provided for non-commercial, with public and private entities which achieve his own goals.