THE CONSTITUTION

The name of this Association shall be The Chicago Park District Tennis Association.

The purposes of this Association shall be:

• To create and stimulate interest in tennis as a sport;
• To bring together in closer friendship and companionship those interested in extending the ideals of tennis;
• To promote a more healthful and wholesome atmosphere in and concerning tennis;
• To foster and assist in the organization of public park tennis teams;
• To bind together in close harmony all public park tennis teams;
• To prescribe and adopt uniform rules and regulations for cooperation between public park tennis teams;
• To arrange for inter-team matches, schedules and tournaments;
• To establish and maintain affiliations with the Chicago Park District;
• To affiliate with the Chicago District Tennis Association and the United States Tennis Association;
• To cooperate with Chicago Park District in all tennis activities in the furtherance of better playing conditions for the contestants and to provide more satisfactory facilities for spectators.

Section 1. This association shall consist of all organized public park tennis teams who are in good standing.

Section 2. An organized tennis team is one using tennis courts under the affiliation of the Chicago Park District Tennis Association or suburban park districts and whose membership is open to the public.

Section 3. Application for membership shall state in writing the name of the park, division, names, phone numbers, addresses (including email), and birth dates of captains, co-captains and all team members, and shall be accompanied by the annual membership fee.

Section 4. Membership shall be granted to an applicant team submitting the above information and fees.

Section 5. All tennis teams making application for membership shall bear the name of the facility in which the courts on which it plays are located.

Section 6. Each member team in good standing shall be entitled to one vote on Constitutional revision or Rule and Bylaw changes considered by the Association.

Section 7. A member team in good standing is one who has been granted membership by the Association and whose membership fees are paid in full.

ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS, ELECTION

Section 1. The officers of this Association shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Webmaster and Tournament Chairperson, who shall hold office for an initial two year term and until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified. If officers choose to extend their term beyond two years, it will be on a yearly basis.

Section 2. Officers shall be elected annually in October in each year except in case an office shall become vacant in which case such office shall be filled at an election to be held at the next regular meeting except that the Vice President shall succeed to the office of President to fill the unexpired term.

Section 3. Nominations shall be made by a Nominating Committee of three appointed by the President and by nominations made from the floor.

Section 4. Election to office shall be by simple majority vote of the membership of the Association present at the Annual Meeting.

Section 5. All duly elected officers shall upon qualification be inducted into office after the elections are completed.

Section 6. Officers shall be entitled to preside at meetings in order of their listings in Section 1 of this article.

Section 7. The presiding officer may name at any meeting a temporary officer to perform the duties, at such meeting only, of any absent officer, except that he may name a presiding officer only during consideration of a question he desires to debate.

Section 1. The President shall preside at all meetings, shall decide, subject to the right of appeal, all questions of order and precedence and interpret the Constitution, Amendments thereto and By-Laws, conduct elections, appoint committees to assist in the management of Association activities and shall be ex-officio member of all committees.

Section 2. The Vice President shall act in the place and stead of the President in case of absence, inability or refusal to act and shall perform all the duties of the President. The Vice President shall perform such other duties as may be required by the President and by the Association.

Section 3. The Secretary shall keep a true and complete record of all matters pertaining to the Association, prepare and send out notices of meetings, be custodian of all club records except the Treasurer's records and the Tournament Committee records, and perform all duties assigned

Section 4. The Treasurer shall collect and record all moneys due the Association, and shall pay all expenses and bills of the Association that have been approved by the Association.

Section 5. The Webmaster shall be responsible for developing and maintaining the CPDTA presence on the World Wide Web. This will involve securing an appropriate domain name, reserving space on a web host computer, ensuring that the information on the CPDTA web site is accurate and current, and assisting other CPDTA officers, division chairpersons, and team captains with the operation of the site.

Section 6. The Tournament Chairperson shall appoint division chairpersons for each division, preside at the Captains’ Scheduling Meeting in May, collect rosters and membership fees, assist team captains and division chairpersons with problems that arise during the season, and arrange for and preside over the Final Championship Tournament.

Section 1. The supreme authority and power of this Association for changes to the Rules and By-Laws and to the Constitution shall be vested in a quorum of the votes that member teams in good standing are entitled to in a meeting assembled except those powers specifically granted to standing committees and this Constitution, Amendments, Rules and By-Laws shall be the supreme law of the Association except that Roberts' Rules of Order (Revised) shall supplement the Constitution, Amendments, Rules and By-Laws and operate until other rules and regulations are duly adopted.

Section 2. Regular meetings shall be called to order at the following times: Annual Meeting-October, Board Meeting-February, and Captains’ Meeting-May.

Section 3. Special meetings may be called by the President or the Presiding Officer at the discretion of such officer or upon the written request of six member teams in good standing upon five days' written notice (email acceptable) to all member teams in good standing, which shall state the time, place and purpose of such meeting.

Section 4. A quorum necessary for the transaction of changes to the Rules and By-Laws and to the Constitution shall consist of not less than six member teams in good standing.

Section 5. A quorum for the transaction of regular Board of Director’s business shall be half of the members of the Board.

Section 6. The vote of a simple majority present at a meeting shall be decisive in all matters except as herein otherwise provided.

Section 7. Any officer or member club or team may be impeached, suspended or expelled for failure to abide by this Constitution, Amendments or Rules and By-Laws pursuant hereto upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of team captains or their representatives present.

Section 8. All matches and tournaments played and conducted by this Association shall be governed by the rules and regulations of the Association, and the rules and code of conduct of the United States Tennis Association.

Section 9. The order of business shall be; Call to Order, Reading of Minutes, Reports of Officers, Reports of Standing Committees, Reports of Special Committees, Unfinished Business, New Business and Adjournment, except that when officers are to be elected, such election shall come under the head of new business and must be completed before adjournment.

ARTICLE VII - COMMITTEES

Section 1. The Standing Committees of this Association shall be Executive and Tournament. Members of these committees shall be appointed by the President and Tournament Chairperson, respectively. Executive Committee members shall serve for two years and the Division Chairpersons (who make up the Tournament Committee) shall serve for a term of one year.

Section 2. The President shall appoint such other special Committees as shall be required to assist in the functioning of the activities of the Association.

Section 1. This Constitution and any Amendment thereto may be amended or suspended upon the affirmative vote of two thirds of a quorum present in assembly convened or by absentee ballot, provided that a copy of the proposed amendment or suspension shall have been submitted in writing to the preceding assembly and a copy thereof mailed to all member teams in good standing.

REVISED 20th October, 2003