1 – THE USJ22CA
The United States J/22 Class Association shall be known and referred to as the USJ22CA.
2 – OBJECT
2.1 – The USJ22CA shall have sole authority for the conduct and management of all U.S. J/22 Class events.
2.2 – The USJ22CA shall promote the building and racing of the J/22 Class of sailboat as a strictly one-design class throughout the U.S.
2.3 – The USJ22CA shall coordinate and manage the affairs and rules of the J/22 Class in cooperation with the International J/22 Class Association (IJ22CA), the U.S. Sailing Association (U.S. SAILING), and other National J/22 Class Association (NJCA) and J-Boats, Inc., the copyright holder.
2.4 – The USJ22CA shall endeavor to keep the building and maintenance costs of the boat as low as possible consistent with racing efficiency.
3 – OTHER TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
3.1 – IYRU shall mean the International Yacht Racing Union.
3.2 – NA shall mean the National Authority recognized by the IYRU to control and organize yachting on a national basis in any country.
3.3 – NJCA shall mean the National J/22 Association organized by the IJ22CA and it’s NA.
3.4 – The Class shall mean the class of sailing yachts designed by Rodney Johnston and constructed in accordance with the building specifications and known under the name J/22.
3.5 – The Class Rules shall mean the rules relating to measurement, equipment, racing condition of a J/22 and the practice of its crew, annexed hereto and incorporated herein as Bylaw of this Constitution.
3.6 – The Board of Governors shall mean the governing bodies of the USJ22CA, the composition of which is defined in Article 11.1.
3.7 – The Executive Committee is defined in Article 15.
3.8 – A District shall be a territorial unit comprised of three or more contiguous fleet and independent boat owners within a specific geographic area. Designation of districts shall be the responsibility of the executive officers of the USJ22CA. Each district shall by a vote of their fleet captains within the district, elect officers. The chief executive officer of the district shall be known as the District Governor and shall have general supervision over J/22 activities with the district. Each governor shall represent his/her district to the USJ22CA.
3.9 – A Fleet shall be a local territorial unit that is self-governed in matters not conflicting with these by-laws and chartered by the USJ22CA upon application by three or more J/22 owners. The owners must be members in good standing of the Class and are not within the established territory of an existing fleet. A fleet shall elect its own officers from among boat owners that shall include a Fleet Captain, Fleet Secretary/Treasurer and Fleet Measurer. An owner may maintain an independent membership without affiliation with a fleet.
3.10 – The Measurement Certificate shall mean the certificate issued by the IJ22CA and forwarded to the USJ22CA to register the yacht in the USJ22CA Class Register and to record hull and sail measurements. A copy of the Measurement Certificate is annexed hereto.
4 – SPECIFICATIONS
4.1 – The Building Specification shall mean the manufacturing processes, techniques, hardware and materials used in the construction of the J/22.
4.2 – The Hull Numbers shall mean the Builder’s Code letters, the Hull Number allocated by J-Boats, Inc., on a consecutive basis world wide, and the Date of Molding onto the transom.
Example: TSP20949C989
Tillotson Pearson J/22 949 September 1989
4.3 – The Sail Number shall mean the national sail number allocated to the yacht by the USJ22CA. Each sail must have an USJ22CA royalty paid label.
4.4 – The Emblem of the J/22 shall be as shown on the sail plan and Plan B of the J/22 Class Rules.
4.5 – The USJ22CA Class Register of the J/22 and their owners and associate or sponsoring member shall mean that register to be kept as hereinafter provided.
4.6 – The Copyright Holder shall mean J Boats, Inc., with headquarters at P.O. Box 90, Newport, RI 02840, USA.
4.7 – Licensed Builder shall mean a person or corporation holding a valid license issued by the copyright holder to build the J/22.
5 – JURISDICTION
The USJ22CA shall have jurisdiction over all J/22 activities in the United States. The IJ22CA Class Rules shall govern all sanctioned J/22 events. The Constitution, Bylaws and other regulations are binding on all members. All registered J/22s must conform to the limitations imposed by the association.
6 – OFFICES
6.1 – The Principal Office of the USJ22CA shall be the address of its statutory agent for services of process.
6.2 – The Headquarters of the USJ22CA shall be located at the address determined by the Executive Committee from time to time.
6.3 – Other Offices may also be established at such places as the Executive Committee may from time to time determine.
7 – MEMBERSHIP
7.1 – The following types of membership shall be recognized:
7.2 – Active Members shall be owners, co owners or helmsmen who have paid IJ22CA dues and are members of the U.S. Sailing Association and the USJ22CA.
7.3 – Associate Members shall be individuals who are not J/22 owners and wish to receive all publications of the Class. They may not vote, hold office or helm a J/22 in sanctioned races.
7.4 – Student Members shall be full time high school or collegiate sailors who upon presenting proof of student status may receive student membership, which includes helm privileges and publications but does not include voting privileges.
7.5 – Institutional membership status will be awarded to all boats, not individuals, belonging to colleges, universities and sailing schools upon application and contingent upon having paid sail royalty fees. This category includes all periodicals but does not include voting privileges.
7.6 – Sponsoring Members shall be those individuals, companies and corporations who provide products and/or services to the USJ22CA or its members. Sponsoring members may not vote nor are they eligible to hold office. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to grant this category of membership.
8 – ANNUAL DUES AND FEES
8.1 – The USJ22CA shall be financed by annual dues and fee from active and associate members and by collecting other fees from sponsoring members and other sources. The dues and fees shall be determined annually by the Executive Committee. All Active Members must register annually. All dues and fees shall be made payable to the USJ22CA.
8.2 – Dues and fees for each calendar year are due and payable to the USJ22CA on January 1.
8.3 – Assessments may be levied only when approved by the majority vote of the Board of Governors.
9 – SUSPENSION, EXPULSION
9.1 – The Executive Committee shall have the authority to suspend Active, Associate, or Sponsoring Members for non-payment of dues and/or fees, gross violations of the Rules, or after due notice, for willful disregard of rulings of the USJ22CA. The term of suspension may not exceed one year unless the suspension is extended by the Board of Governors in the succeeding year. A suspension may be terminated if the issue is brought before a meeting of the Board of Governors and a majority of votes cast favor termination.
9.2 – A member may be expelled only if the issues of his/her expulsion are brought before a meeting of the Board of Governors and thee fourths of the votes cast are in favor of expulsion.
10 – MANAGEMENT OF THE USJ22CA
The affairs of the USJ22CA shall be managed by a Board of Governors and assisted by an Executive Committee and a Technical Committee.
11 – BOARD OF GOVERNORS
11.1 – The Board of Governors shall consist of one (1) member elected by each USJ22CA District, the immediate past President of the USJ22CA, and a President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, Chief Measurer and Technical Committee Chairman, elected at the Annual General Meeting. There shall also be one (1) member appointed by the Copyright Holder. The Board of Governors shall appoint an Executive Secretary.
11.2 – Each board member shall have one vote, except for the Executive Secretary, who shall not serve as s voting member of the board.
11.3 – The Board shall have the power to select any person or entity to assist it, whether a member or not, but such member shall have no vote on the Board.
11.4 – At meetings of the Board of Governors, three members shall form a quorum.
11.5 – If a District Governor is unable to attend a meeting, the District may appoint a substitute for that meeting only. Such designations shall be in writing and received by the Executive Secretary of the USJ22CA no later than seven (7) days prior to the meeting.
12 – DUTIES OF OFFICERS
12.1 – The President is the Chief Executive of the Association and presides at all meetings. The President is the Chairman of the Executive Committee, rules on procedures, summarizes decisions, appoints special committees and authorizes payment of all bills.
12.2 – The First Vice President officiates in the absence of the President; coordinates communications between the Class, District Governors and Fleet Captains, develops membership; and coordinates the results of sailing events with national sailing publications.
12.3 – The Second Vice President officiates in the absence of the First Vice President; coordinates financial sponsorship and advertising.
12.4 – The Secretary/Treasurer keeps the minutes of the Association, Board of Governors and Executive Committee meetings. Performs other duties pertaining to such offices as required by the President; is responsible for the collection of annual dues, royalties and fees and disbursement of funds; coordinate all financial matters for the Class including budgeting and audit.
12.5 – The Executive Secretary handles all correspondence, records of information regarding fleets, membership, yachts and sail numbers. Deposits all fund in banks of saving banks as approved by the Executive Committee. Keep books for the Association and arranges for an annual audit by a qualified C.P.A.. Disburses fund only on order of the President of Executive Committee. The Executive Secretary will receive annual payment for satisfactory fulfillment of the above duties at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
12.6 – The Chief Measurer shall supervise the measurement procedures of the Class and is responsible for the training of J/22 measurers in the U.S. and shall keep and maintain a list of those so qualified. The Technical Committee Chairman may also serve as the Chief Measurer.
12.7 – The Technical Committee Chairmen’s duties shall be as specified in Article 16.
13 – ELECTION OF OFFICERS
At its annual general meeting the Association shall:
13.1 – Elect the Executive officers to serve for a period of one year, from November 1 to October 30, or until the successors qualify.
13.2 – Each shall be nominated, seconded and voted upon separately by the association members in the order named. The candidate receiving the greatest number of votes shall be considered elected.
13.3 – The Executive Committee shall at its first meeting of the year appoint a nominating committee consisting of three active members in good standing.
13.4 – The slate of officers decided on by nominating committee is to be submitted to the Executive Secretary for publication to the member at least three weeks in advance of the annual general meeting.
13.5 – Nominations made by mail must be received by the Executive Secretary no later than seven days prior to the annual general meeting.
14 – VOTING, MOTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS
14.1 – Decisions of the Board of Governors shall be determined by a simple majority of votes cast. A two-third majority are required to make changes to the USJ22CA Constitution
14.2 – Substantive motions (other than amendments thereto) to be voted upon at a Board of Governors meeting must be received by the Secretary at least 60 days before the date of the meeting.
15 – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
15.1 – The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, a Governor’s Representative, Technical Committee Chairman, Copyright Holder and the Executive Secretary. The Executive Secretary shall not serve as a voting member of the committee.
15.2 – At meeting of the Executive Committee, three shall form a quorum.
15.3 – The Executive Committee may fill any casual vacancies among the officers and any persons so appointed shall hold office until the next meeting of the Board of Governors.
15.4 – The Executive Committee may appoint such agents and attorneys with such power and to perform such acts and duties on behalf of the Association as the Executive Committee may determine.
15.5 – The Executive Committee shall have and may exercise such authorities of the Executive Committee as it shall prescribe.
15.6 – The Executive Committee shall appoint a qualified auditor who shall examine the correctness of the accounts and certify the annual financial statement.
15.7 – The Executive Committee shall establish the guidelines to be followed by the Executive Committee in selecting the locations and dates for future national, regional and midwinter championships.
16 – TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
16.1 – The Chairman of the Technical Committee shall be head of this committee. In addition to the designer of the J/22 or his representative there shall be at least two other committee members who need not necessarily be officers, but who must be members in good standing of the USJ22CA.
16.2 – This committee shall be responsible for the interpretations of specifications and Class Rules and as such shall coordinate with the IJ22CA Technical Committee. It shall study such recommendations for changes or clarifications of specifications that are received by the committee and make recommendations for action to the Council in accordance with this Constitution.
17 – AMENDMENTS
17.1 – The Constitution and specifications may never be suspended but may be amended at an annual or special meeting by two-thirds of the vote present.
17.2 – Amendments to the specifications and the Class Rules shall be proposed to the Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Class who shall present the proposal to the committee for further study and action as described in Article 16.
17.3 – All proposed amendments at either annual meetings or a special meeting must be included in the notice thereof that shall be mailed or tele-faxed to the active members not less than 30 days prior to the date of the meeting.
Adopted 1988
Amended January 1992