Team Rules

The overall structure of the team is outlined in the organisation's official constitution. The team rules, aka By-Laws, are enumerated below.

Cornell DanceSport Club By-Laws

1. Membership Requirements
   1. Membership is open to the Cornell Community (including but not limited to the Faculty, Staff, and Students of the University).
   2. To become a member, one must pass one of the bi-annual auditions, and then pay team dues on time to the Team Treasurer.
   3. Once a member leaves the team, they are no longer considered a team member, and must pass auditions to regain team members status. (This does not apply members on a committee approved leave of absence)
   4. Team Dues this semester (Fall 2005) will be $45. A $10 discount will be made for those who volunteer for tasks important to the organization
   5. A non-student must arrange specifically with the leadership of the organization to be considered a member for liability purposes.
   6. All persons considered members of the organization are entitled to the benefits and opprortunities presented by the organization, including but not limited to lessons, practice space, workshops, team mailing lists, and competitions.
   7. Prospective members will not be considered a member of the team until they have paid team dues, and are approved by the committee for admittance. Note that paying team dues for the team means that you are aware of these team rules, and agree to abide by them.
2. General Guidelines for Team Members
   1. Always try to contribute positively and constructively to the team.
   2. It is considered a strong recommendation that a prospective member have previous partner dance experience before joining the team.
   3. Help others with their dancing during practices.
   4. Volunteer for various duties when they are announced to ease the burden off of the leadership. (Examples: running practices, home comp organization, away comp planning, etc.)
   5. Help the team newcomers progress to bronze as quickly as possible.
   6. Practice with your partner(s) regularly!
   7. Practice by yourself regularly - there are a lot of things you can work on and improve without wasting your partner's time.
   8. Respond to emails quickly.
   9. Read the emails that the team officers send out (they often contain vital information)!
   10. Always remember why you started to dance in the first place! Try keeping a healthy balance between serious practice and enjoying your time as a part of team.
3. Rules of Conduct
   1. Respect fellow organization members and instructors.
   2. Approach instructors personally, politely, and privately if you disagree with the information being taught.
   3. Inform the team-captain or vice-captain at least 10 days in advance of a competition if you are unable to go but have previously committed yourself to going. If you drop out of a competition less than 10 days before the competition, and your partner(s) are left partnerless, you will be expected to still pay the full price of the competition registration fee.
   4. Use the e-mail list-serve sparingly, and for organizational purposes only.
   5. Send all complaints about the organization and operation to either individual officers or the committee e-mail list (dancesport-com-l@cornell.edu).
   6. Refrain from assuming the responsibilities of committee members unless specifically delegated the task.
4. Partnering
   1. Newcomer level team members will be partnered with an assortment of people for competitions whenever possible.
   2. As a newcomer, don't be too quick to try to find a steady partner because the information you gather from dancing with many people is invaluable.
   3. As you progress in your dancing and on the team (bronze and up), trying to find a steady partner for some styles is encouraged.
   4. A good steady partner guideline is to have one partner for International style and one partner for American style, or one partner for the Smooth and Standard dances, and one for Rhythm and Latin.
   5. Due to an often imbalance of leaders to followers, it is considered common team ettiquete to dance with more than one person at a competition to give more people a chance to compete. Be considerate, and help give your fellow team members the opportunity to compete if they don't have a partner.
   6. Team Members are required to partner with other team members for practice and competition. Having a partner external to the team is generally not allowed if it conflicts with partnership on the team: your #1 duty to the team is to partner with other team members. This is more important than any other contribution to the team. If there are no other dancers of suitable level on the team, then certain exceptions can be made in this case only.
   7. A Team member's choice of competition partner(s) is a privilege, and not a right. The executive committee has the official authority over partering. However, the committee will endeavor to ensure that everyone's partnering preference is taken into strong consideration.
5. Team Structure
   1. Lessons
      1. These is the regular time during which the team meets and dances.
      2. There will be atleast one team lesson per week
      3. The lessons will be taught by the assitant coach and/or upper level team members.
      4. Topics covered will be syllabus Latin, Standard, Rhythm, and Smooth and will focus on competitive technique and amalgamations
   2. Practices
      1. Practices are for practicing within your competitive partnership(s) and honing down your personal technique.
      2. There will be multiple practices available during the week, mostly during the evenings.
      3. Team members are expected to come regularly to practice: regard this as team 'section' with the lessons viewed as the 'lectures')
      4. There will be up to two people assigned to each practice session, to ensure that a stereo and music collection is provided.
   3. Workshops and Private Lessons
      1. A Team coaches will come approximately three (3) times a semester to teach weekend workshops and private lessons.
      2. Workshops will be open to all team members, although topics presented may not be appropriate for everyone. For example certain workshops may focus on upper level patterns, or partner oriented excercises (which may not be applicable to those without partners)
      3. Workshops will be partially or fully subsidised by the team.
      4. There will be approximately 3-4 team workshop lessons per weekend. With certain workshops designated as general team workshops, and others baring a more specific lesson plan
      5. Team Members are REQUIRED to attend all workshops designated as general team workshops. when people do not show up to the workshops the coaches do not want to come back.
6. Team Match Specifications
   1. Team matches will be prepared by the team captain and/or vice-captain.
   2. Couples will be selected to be on the team match based on a combination of skill and service to the team.
   3. If you aren't in the official team match, you may form your own team match group or you may join another team's group.
7. Officer Duties - Enumerated in this section are the duties and responsibilities of the officers of the organization
   1. Captain
      1. Serve as a role model to members of the organization.
      2. Coordinate all aspects of the organization and delegate management responsibilities to committee and team members.
      3. Act as president of the organization in all university transactions.
      4. Register the organization with the Student Activities Office (SAO) at the commencement of each year.
      5. Act as chief representative in all matters concerning the organization, including but not restricted to undergraduate and graduate concerns, and special correspondence.
      6. Act as a liaison to the faculty advisor, USABDA, and other parties affiliated with the organization.
      7. Ensure the website of the organization is informative, up to date, and effective.
      8. Oversee the coordinatation of lessons, practices, and workshops
      9. Oversee the registration process of all members of the organization planning to attend a competition sponsored by that organization.
      10. Oversee the coordination of transportation to and from a competition of all organization members planning to attend the competition.
   2. Vice-Captain
      1. Assume all responsibilities of Captain in the absence of the Captain.
      2. Support all efforts of the Captain, contributing to the efforts in all possible ways.
      3. Oversee the coordination of all space allocation for the organization throughout the year.
      4. Be the main disciplinarian of the organization, and enforce all policies of the organization.
      5. Aid the Captain in overseeing the coordination of all Lessons and Practices for the organization members.
      6. Aid the Captain in overseeing the coordination of transportation to and from a competition of all organization members planning to attend the competition.
   3. Treasurer
      1. Maintain all bank accounts held by the organization.
      2. Manage all financial issues associated with the activities of the organization.
      3. Submit reports on the financial status of the organization to the committee as per request.
      4. Maintain complete records of all transactions associated with the organization as well as reports on categories of expenditures and income.
      5. Oversee the timely completion of the semester budget and all necessary credentials, and submit all files to the SAFC in order to obtain funding for that semester.
      6. Act as chief representative and liaison to the SAFC.
      7. Submit all required paperwork to the SAFC in a timely fashion, and ensure the collection of all allocated funds by coordinating all necessary contract arrangements and completing all required documentation.
      8. Oversee the collection of all team dues.
      9. Arrange all reimbursements to members of the organization for all items related to expenses of the organization.
      10. Coordinate efforts with the competition manager on competition budget submittal.
      11. Post all debts of members of the organization on the organizations website.
   4. Secretary
      1. Effectively log the minutes of all committee meetings.
      2. Ensure that all minutes are posted to the executive committee list-serve within 2 days after each committee meeting.
      3. Collect and maintain committee reports
      4. Manage regular correspondence with any outside affiliations as necessary.
      5. Coordinate all space allocation in the absence of the vice-captain.
      6. Complete all other tasks necessary for the smooth organization and seamless running of all committee and organization activities.
8. Additional Officers - Aside from the officers described in section E, the following titles will also be held (preferably by non-committee members):
   1. Practice Leader(s)
   2. Webmaster
   3. Librarian
   4. Club Liaison
   5. Space Reservation Manager
   6. Teacher Coordinator
   7. Away Competition Leader
   8. Away Competition Organizer
9. Status of Officers
   1. Executive committee is comprised of the following
      1. Captain
      2. Vice-Captain
      3. Treasurer
      4. Secretary
   2. The competition manager is a member of the executive committee on Cornell Competition issues only, and may only vote on non-competition issues only if all other executive Committee members unanimously allow it.
   3. Depending on the dynamic change from year to year, the positions, responsibilities, or names can be shifted according to the needs of the committee. For example, an acceptable model is President + Captain instead of Captain + Vice-Captain. In this case, the president is is in charge of administration, and the captain is in charge of lesson planning, teaching, partnering, and other team member related issues.
10. Position Specific Election Rules - The following is the delineation of all rules associated with allowable candidacy for each position on the executive committee of the organization
    1. Captain
       1. Must have been on the team for at least one whole year.
       2. Must have experience serving on executive committee and be majorly involved in running or helping run the team for at least one full semester prior to year of potential captainship. (full year is preferable)
       3. In the event that no one fulfilling the above two prerequisites chooses to run for Captainship, the committee will appoint a nominee(s) for Captain from the organization roster. This appointee must be aware of the policies and procedures of the executive committee, and must be in good standing with the organization.
    2. Treasurer / Vice - Captain
       1. Must be a member with a record of dedicated service to the DanceSport Team or the Cornell Ballroom Dance Club.
    3. Secretary
       1. Any member of the organization in good standing.
11. Withholding Membership
    1. In the event that a member of the organization does not follow the constitution and/or bylaws of the organization such that the actions of the individual conflict with the goals and operations of the organization, this individual will not remain be good standing with the organization.
    2. The organization reserves the right to withhold membership privileges to, and withdraw membership status from that individual.
    3. An individual who is not in good standing with the organization will receive an official warning issued by the captain or vice-captain.
    4. A serious infraction or repeated string of infractions will be officially brought to the attention of the committee, which will vote on how to proceed.
    5. In the event of expulsion, the individual must settle all financial accounts with the organization, and henceforth have no privileges associated with the organization. The individual will be removed from the organization roster.
    6. The committee reserves the right to deny admission to the team to anyone who has in the past demonstrated a blatant disregard and disrespect for the team constitution, by-laws, or committee and/or has behaved in a way destructive to the team.
    7. All decisions made by the committee on this issue are final.

Last updated: 28 Jan 2005