By-Laws of the HanoverTownship Cheerleading Association

Article I

NAME

This organization shall be known as Hanover Township Cheerleading Association (HTCA).

Article II

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this organization shall be to teach the basic fundamentals of

cheerleading. To provide an opportunity to cheer in a safe manner while developing

qualities of sportsmanship, teamwork, self-confidence, poise, and community; enriching

the lives of all participants while enhancing their community experience.

Article III

GOVERNMENT

SECTION 1, MEETINGS: Officers meetings will be held monthly at the HanoverTownshipCommunity Center.The President is to arrange times with the Community Center Liaison. Meetings are subject to change based on availability of the Community Center.

SECTION 2, MANAGEMENT: The government of the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association shall be under the supervision of its Members, Officers, and the HanoverTownshipCommunity Center.

SECTION 3, COMPOSITION: The Board Members and Board Officers shall consist of at least one (1) parent member from each squad of Peps, 85’s, 95’s, 110’s, 130’s and all cheerleading coaches from each squad (excluding Junior Coaches), the Fundraising Chairperson, the Marketing/PublicityChairperson and two Representatives theHanoverTownshipCommunity Center, theRecreation Director and the Liaison.

SECTION 4, OFFICERS: The Officers of the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. Any officers appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve the remainder of the term from the date of his or her appointment.

SECTION 5, DUTIES: The Officers shall perform the duties and exercise the powers prescribed by these By-Laws. These duties and powers shall include, but not be limited to the following:

A.PRESIDENT: The President’s term of office shall be two (2) years. The President shall be responsible for conducting the affairs of the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association, and for executing the policies established by Officers and the HanoverTownshipCommunity Center. The President shall be responsible for the conduct of theHanover Township Cheerleading Association, and be in strict conformity to the policies, principles, rules, and regulations.

  • The President shall have the authority to co-sign checks.
  • The President shall oversee all squads and their respective Coaches.
  • The President shall be responsible to obtain a list of all competitions prior to the start of the season. The President is responsible formaking arrangements to enter all Competitions, providing rules and regulations to all coaches, and ensuring payment is made for each competition in coordination with the Community Center. The President is responsible for providing parents and coaches with directions to all Competitions. The President shall be responsible for maintaining an updated email list of every member to distribute this information, in association with the Secretary.
  • The President shall be responsible for all arrangements regarding Soccer Games. The President shall work in conjunction with the cheerleading coaches to schedule all Soccer Games. The President shall provide all coaches and parents with directions to all away Soccer Games. Information is located at The parents will check with the coaches to assure that the minimum of 5 home and 5 away games have been met in order to compete.
  • The President shall obtain Halloween Parade information from the Hanover Township Community Center Liaison and distribute it to Members and Officers.
  • The President shall be responsible for distributing Rules and Regulations of Competitions to each coach. The President shall be responsible for maintaining updated rules and regulations for competitions as per the NFHS Spirit Rule Book available at President shall make available one manual for each squad.
  • The President shall act as a liaison between the Officers, Cheerleading Coaches and the Hanover Township Community Center Liaison.
  • The President should ensure that any questions or concerns should first be directed toward the coaches. If said questions and concerns cannot be resolved, the President should be notified. The President should ensure that questions and concerns attempt to be resolved between the President and Hanover Township Community Center Liaison. Other Officers and Members should not deal directly with the HanoverTownshipCommunity CenterLiaison without going through the proper steps in order to maintain a good working relationship with the HanoverTownshipCommunity Center.
  • The President shall work with the Secretary to develop meeting agendas.
  • The President shall create and distribute Agendas for all HTCA Meetings.
  • The President shall ensure that representatives effectively perform their duties.
  • The President shall suspend or remove members that do not conform to the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association By-Laws or Code of Conduct AND the HanoverTownshipCommunity Center.
  • The President shall keep hard copies of all agendas and minutes on hand.

B.VICE-PRESIDENT: The Vice-President’s term of office shall be two (2) years. The Vice-President shall preside in the absence of thePresident and shall work with other Officers and Membersrelating to internal affairs. The Vice-President shall carry out such assignments as may be delegated by the President.

  • The Vice-President shall assist the Secretary in verifying registration requirements.
  • The Vice-President shall be in charge of “Uniform Try-On Day.” The Vice-President shall work with the Treasurer for uniform/jacket/sneaker/etc. ordering and money collection on this day.
  • The Vice-President shall place all Uniform/Cheerleading Items Orders and disburse as appropriate.
  • The Vice-President shall issue and collect all cheerleading equipment, including poms, uniforms, etc as well as store and maintain said equipment to the highest safety standards at all times. In addition, the Vice-President will purchase new equipment as needed and replace badly worn items as soon as possible.
  • The purchase of first aid equipment and supplies for each squad shall also be the duty of the Vice-President.
  • The Vice-President shall organize safety and training day in July for volunteer adult spotters, coaches, junior coaches, and cheerleaders.
  • The Vice-President shall coordinate Fundraising with the Fundraising Chairperson.
  • The Vice-President will be responsible for coordinating all cheernastics/gymnastics classes that Hanover Cheerleaders take as a group.
  • The Vice President will be responsible for arranging all extra Cheerleading time at The Zone or any other related studio.
  • The Vice-President will arrange the End of Year Party.
  • In the event that the President cannot complete the designated term, the Vice-President shall complete the remainder of the term in the position of the President.

B.SECRETARY: The Secretary’s term of office shall be two (2) years. The Secretary shall maintain a register of members, record minutes of each meeting, inform members of said meetings, and maintain a record of the squad’s activities including but not limited to number of games attended and competition results. The Secretary shall be responsible forcorrespondence. The Secretary shall coordinate the registration of cheerleaders. The Secretary shall maintain a copy of the medical forms, insurance forms and birth certificates of each participant and distribute another separate copy to the head coaches of each squad. The secretary shall maintain an updated copy of the By-Laws and shall add any amendments to the By-Laws.

D.TREASURER:The Treasurer’s term of office shall be two (2) years. The Treasurer has the authority to co-sign checks and disperse funds as approved by the Officers. The Treasurer shall maintain financial records, prepare budgets, and present financial reports at each Officers meeting, as well as an annual report at the January meeting.

E.FUND RAISING CHAIRPERSON: The Fund Raising Chairperson is not an Officer Position but remains a Board Member. The term of office shall be two (2) years. The Fund Raising Chairperson shall raise money for the benefit of the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association. All fund raising efforts shall be approved by the Boardand all money raised by these committees shall become part of the Treasury of the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association.

F.MARKETING/PUBLICITY CHAIRPERSON: The Marketing/Publicity Chairperson is not an Officer Position but remains a Board Member. The term of office shall be two (2) years. The Marketing/Publicity Chairperson shall advertise on behalf of the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association. All marketing strategies shall be approved by the Board.

SECTION 7, GOVERNMENT:

1. CANDIDATES

  1. Candidates for the offices of President must be Members in good standing,
  2. Candidates for President must have one (1) full term experience as a Member of the HTCA. Exception upon inception.
  3. Candidates for Officers should be only those interested, willing, and fully able to participate directly in the oversight and operation of HTCA.
  4. Continuation as a candidate or as an elected officer is contingent upon satisfactory completion of background investigations performed under the authority of the HanoverTownshipCommunity Center.

2. ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE

  1. The officers of HTCA will be elected by the Members of the organization in the first Officers Meeting in January.
  2. Each officer will hold office commencing January 1st of the year following their election and serve until December 31st of the year of expiration (2 year terms) as set forth below, and are eligible for re-election.
  3. Terms for all officers elected for will expire on December 31 at the end of the two year term.
  4. Ideally, newly-elected officer should accompany the incumbent officers during the remainder of the season to sufficiently to become familiar with their responsibilities.

3. REMOVAL

Any officer elected or appointed by the Officers may be removed by the Officers whenever in its judgment the interests of the HTCA would be best served. Any such removal will be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the officer so removed. The vacancy shall be filled according to the process set forth elsewhere in this article.

4. RESIGNATIONS

The President or any Board Member may resign by giving written notice to the President or Secretary. Such resignation shall take effect immediately, unless otherwise stated in the written notice. The acceptance of the resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.

5. VACANCIES

In the event of a vacancy in any office, whether due to death, resignation, removal, disqualification, or otherwise, the President shall appoint a qualified representative to complete the unexpired term of the resigned officer, with prior approval from the Officers, subject to removal as granted in these Bylaws for any officer. In the event of the resignation of the President, the Vice-President shall assume those duties and responsibilities on an interim basis until such time as the Board may consider candidates and elect a replacement.

SECTION 6, SPECIAL EVENTS: The HanoverTownshipCommunity Centershall coordinate special event activities including the Hanover Township Community Center Annual Blizzard Bash Cheerleading Competition and the Hanover Township Halloween Parade. Participation in these events is mandatory for all cheerleaders, with the exception of Halloween where religious reasons prevent participation.

SECTION 7, RULES: The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the organization in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these By-Laws and special rules of order the organization may adopt (see appendix).

SECTION 8, BY-LAWS: The Secretary shall maintain the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association by-laws, and enter any updates related to the Officers approved motions on a monthly basis. In addition, the Officers shall inspect the By-Laws after each season to ensure that all amendments are recorded. The Officers shall also determine if any changes may be required for the next season.

Article IV

MEMBERSHIP

SECTION 1, ADULT MEMBERS: Any parent or guardian who has a child enrolled in the program and all registered coaches who are active for the cheering season then in progress,may be a Member of the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association, and shall be subject to its By-Laws and Code of Conduct and the Hanover Township Community Center.

SECTION 2, OFFICERS: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer as set forth in the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association By-Laws shall be eligible for participation. All Officers must conform to theHanover Township Cheerleading Association By-Laws and Code of Conduct and the HanoverTownshipCommunity Center.

SECTION 5, BOARD MEMBERS: The Board Members shall consist of Board Officers, all cheerleading coaches (excluding Junior Coaches), the Fundraising Chairperson, the Marketing/Publicity Chairperson and two Representatives the HanoverTownshipCommunity Center, the Recreation Director and the Liaison. The Board Officers shall consist of at least one (1) parent member from each existing squad (Flags/Peps, 85’s, 95’s, 110’s, etc.).

SECTION 4, CHEERLEADING COACHES: The Cheerleading Coaches Committee shall be made up of all coaches from all squads and is separate committee from the Officers and Board Members. There must be an initial Cheerleading Coaches Committee meeting prior to the first practice of the season. The Cheerleading Coaches Committee meeting maybe separate from the monthly Officers meeting or in conjunction with the monthly Officers meeting, but the initial meeting must be called prior to the start of the season. Each Head Coach shall be responsible to ensure the attendance of a minimum of one (1) member of their coaching staff for each Cheerleading Coaches Committee meeting. All Cheerleading Coaches are subject to the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association By-Laws and Code of Conduct and the HanoverTownshipCommunity Center.

SECTION 5, HANOVER TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY CENTER LIAISON: The Hanover Township Community Center Liaison will work in direct conjunction with the President. All questions or concerns from Members or Officers should be directed to the President first, and not the Hanover Township Community Center Liaison. If questions or concerns cannot be resolved by the President, the President should contact the Liaison. The Hanover Township Community Center Liaison will also be responsible for obtaining space at the Community Center for practices. Coaches should contact the Liaison if additional practices need to be scheduled.

SECTION 6, DISQUALIFICATION: Any member not conforming to the By-Laws or Code of Conduct of the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association or the HanoverTownshipCommunity Centermay be disqualified at the discretion of the Officers.

Article V

RULES AND REGULATIONS

SECTION 1, CHEERLEADING: All coaches, cheerleaders and parents shall conform to the rules & regulations as prescribed by the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association By-Laws, and by the Code of Conduct and the Hanover Township Community Center. The responsibilities shall include but not be limited to the following:

A. SQUAD COACHES: The Squad Coaches shall answer directly to the President. Their responsibilities shall include, but not be limited to the following:

  • Instructing the cheerleaders in the basic fundamentals of cheerleading.
  • Schedule practices in conjunction with the HTCA President through Hanover Township Community Center Liaison.
  • Secure musicand competition routine prior to beginning of season.
  • Obtain a background check from HanoverTownshipCommunity Center.
  • Stressing good sportsmanship, teamwork and fair play.
  • Advising Members in regard to details concerning practice schedules, games and other special activities.
  • Assisting the Vice President with issuance, maintenance and collection of uniforms.
  • Maintaining accurate attendance reports.
  • Ensuring that the cheerleaders are wearing proper uniform attire to games and other special activitiesas directed by the Vice-President.
  • Ensure all safety rules including but not limited to:
  • Basket tosses and other similar multi-base tosses may only be performed on appropriate mats, grass, rubberized and soft-yielding surfaces
  • No Jewelry including Body Piercing is allowed. No pins are to be worn, including award pins and bobby pins.
  • No glitter or face painting is to be worn to competitions.
  • Fingernails should be no longer than the length of the finger. No nail polish is to be worn.
  • Hair must be off the face and shoulders.
  • Assist the Vice-President with safety and training day in July.
  • Reschedule all cancelled practices in conjunction with the HTCA President and the Community Center Liaison.
  • Make caravan arrangements to all competitions.
  • Arrange Year-End Party in conjunction with the Vice President and other coaches.

B. CHEERLEADERS: The rules and regulations governing cheerleaderpersonnel are as follows:

  • All Cheerleaders must wear proper uniform attire at all games and special activities as directed by the Vice-President.
  • Uniforms must be kept clean and presentable. Any uniforms damaged due to improper care will require just compensation.
  • NO REFUNDS will be given for participants who elect to drop. The only exception will be for medical reasons with a doctor’s note required.
  • All Participants must submit all fees, deposits, forms, birth certificate, and insurance cards at registration.
  • Cheerleaders are expected to attend all practices. Any cheerleader can be dropped from the squad after five (5) unexcused absences.
  • All cheerleaders shall be expected to display sportsmanship at all times, both on and off the field. Participants shall be expected to support their Team, their Squad and the Organization by displaying their spirit, their enthusiasm, their loyalty and their maintenance of a high standard of moral and ethical behavior.
  • Participants shall be expected to pay attention to instructions from the Coaching staff without excessive and continued disturbances.
  • A cheerleader must not have any other obligations that will conflict with games or practices. This includes any other sport, music, dance, gymnastics, etc.
  • Missing practices, games, and/or competition will not be tolerated.
  • Any misunderstanding among cheerleaders will be brought to the attention of the coaches immediately. If the problem is not able to be resolved, the President of the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association may be notified.
  • A cheerleader must be at school ½ day before a game to cheer. (If absent the day of a game or practice, she may not attend).
  • Students are not allowed to participate in practice or game if they are not able to participate in P.E.
  • Any circumstances not covered by the rules will be brought before the Officers of the Hanover Township Cheerleading Association. This decision will be final.

Article VI

AMENDMENTS

SECTION 1, AMENDMENTS: These By-Laws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Officers by a majority vote of the officers. Any amendments shall be noted in the minutes of said meeting by the Secretary. At the end of each year, any amendments to the By-Laws shall be so entered in the original By-Laws by the Secretary.