TNHPA - Constitution

PREAMBLE

We the horseshoe pitchers of Tennessee in order to promote and foster the game on both the competitive and recreational levels and to provide all persons in our area (or state) with the opportunity and facilities for playing the game, and to insure its continued growth and existence, do hereby establish this constitution.

CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I - NAME
The name of this organization shall be The Tennessee Horseshoe Pitchers Association.

ARTICLE II- PURPOSE

The purpose of this organization shall be to further the game of horseshoe pitching by all proper means in this area, provide our membership with the best facilities and activities within our means, and to support and cooperate with the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association in every possible way.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

The requirements for membership shall be set out in the By Laws.

ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS

The officers of this organization shall consist of a President, First, Second, Third Vice-President and a Secretary-Treasurer. All officers shall serve a two-year term. The President and the Second Vice-President shall be elected in odd years. The First and Third Vice-Presidents and the Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected in even years. Officers are to be elected during the State Tournament Meeting.

The newly elected officers shall take office immediately after the election.

ARTICLE V - DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

1. President - The duties of the President shall be to preside at all meetings, to administer the business of the organization, to pass on any obligations the organization may wish to incur, and to handle whatever other duties mar come to his attention in promoting the best interest of the organization.

2. Vice-Presidents - The Vice-Presidents shall, in their order, assume the duties of the President in the absence of the President or whenever the President is unable to properly discharge his duties and shall assist the President, when requested, and assume any duties their offices may imply.

3. Secretary-Treasurer - The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings, act as custodian of the funds and properties of the organization, and attend to the correspondence and any other duties which may come to his/her attention as necessary to promote the best interest of the organization.

4. Any officer or officers may be removed from office in the event of flagrant misconduct or failure to perform their duties. A two-thirds vote of all regular members attending a special meeting shall be necessary for removal after a fair and impartial hearing of the charges.

ARTICLE VI - EXECUTIVE BOARD

The elected officers shall constitute the Executive Board and may act on behalf of the organization in all matters.

Meetings of the Executive Board shall be held at such times and places as the Executive Board may decide.

At least two-thirds of the members of the Executive Board must be present to constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE VII- COMMITTEES

The President shall appoint such committees as he/she deems necessary and shall serve as an ex-officio member of them.

ARTICLE VIII-BY LAWS

The organization may adopt such By Laws as it shall deem necessary. By Laws shall be adopted when approved by a majority vote of the members in good standing present at the regular meeting.

ARTICLE IX - MEETINGS

The annual meeting and election of officers shall be held during the State Tournament each year.

ARTICLE X - AMENDMENTS

This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds affirmative vote of all voting members present at any regular meeting provided, however, that no proposed constitutional amendment may be considered or voted upon unless notice of the regular meeting or the special meeting at which the amendment is proposed shall have contained a brief statement of the proposed amendment.

BY LAWS
1. The rules of the National Horseshoe Pitchers

Association of America shall govern in all cases except those specifically stated in the By Laws.

2. All officer and pitchers must become members of the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association.

3. Membership requirements shall be payment of annual TNHPA and NHPA dues and sportsmanlike conduct.

4. The dues of the association per member annually shall be set by the membership and shall include the cost of membership in the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association, the State membership, and liability insurance.

5. All tournaments sponsored by the Tennessee Horseshoe Pitchers Association shall be sanctioned.

6. Pitchers must have pitched in at least four(4) sanctioned tournaments to be eligible for the TN State Singles. Two(2) tournaments must be in Tennessee and two(2)in any NHPA sanctioned tournament regardless of the location. A fee of $4.00 per non TN tournament will be added to the entry fee.** Qualification for the TN State Singles start with the previous State Singles tournament.(voted 2021) 200* shoes pitched in a santioned league shall count as one(1) tournament. (voted in 2015)
*Requirement 2 Section F in the RGS
** Voted at the 2022 State Singles Meeting.
7. Effective in 2021 the Annual Membership meeting will be held prior to the State Championship Tournament on the last Saturday in September.

8. Any new business, to be brought up at the annual meeting, must be submitted in writing and published in the Newsletter.

9. All refunds for State Tournament will be issued on approval from the board upon written request and reason from withdrawing pitcher after tournament deadline has passed.

10. World Tournament entry fees will be paid for State Singles Champions that choose to attend the next World tournament. This includes Men's, Women's, Elder's, and Junior Champions. ( voted 2014) Effective 1/2021 the World Tournament entries will no longer be paid by TNHPA.

11. Pay for the filling of propane tanks for heating of Morgan's courts for fall/winter tournaments and practices as needed, limited to $60.00 per month unless approved. (voted in 2016)

12. Copies of the Tennessee Newsletter will be emailed to all pitchers. Copies will be mailed to those who do not have email. There will be a significant cost savings. (Voted on at the 2022 State Singles Meeting.)

TNHPA DUES: Adults $ 33.00 per year, includes NHPA dues ($17.00) & TNHPA due $8.00 Juniors $10.00, includes NHPA dues $5.00 and TNHPA dues ($5.00) Provisional($10.00)

TOURNAMENT STARTING TIME:

Effective Jan 2022 all Tournaments(unless noted) will start at 10 a.m. and Check in time will be 9:30 a. m.(Voted in 2021)

SIGN-UP TIME: One half hour before scheduled start time All Tournaments are pre-registration only. Please help all tournament directors by notifying them by Friday noon or sooner if you intend to play.

ENTRY FEES:

REGULAR TNHPA OPEN TOURNAMENTS

$ 25.00 per player*,** breakdown as follows:

$ 1.00 to local court

$ 4.00 to tournament director**(Voted Sep 2023)

$ 3.00 to State tournaments pay back fund

$ 14.00 to Class pay back

$ 3.00 to TNHPA (voted Sep 2023)

** Voted on at the 2022 State Singles Meeting.
CADETS AND JUNIORS DO PAY ENTRY FEE (NHPA Policy Rule Change 2019)

*Cadets and Juniors Entry Fee will be $14.00. (January 2022)

(They must have a sanction card)

The following is a segment from the NHPA RGS Rule Book pertaining to Cadets and Juniors: (pages 28 & 29)

REQUIREMENT 6 - CADET AND JUNIOR PITCHERS Additional Information (See also RULE 1, Section A)

Section A - Juniors Competing in Adult Divisions Any Junior Boy or Junior Girl pitcher may compete in an Adult Division of a mixed tournament without harm to their Junior standing provided neither of these Junior Division Classes is offered/available in that same tournament. When a Junior Division is offered, a Junior may pitch with the adults (without harm to their Junior standing) if their entering average is at least ten (10) percent higher than the next closest Junior. Note: This same requirement will also apply to Cadets; for their movement into other Divisions.

Section B - Eligibility Junior pitchers who request admittance and are accepted into an adult class outside the conditions set forth in Section A above, will forever forfeit their Junior eligibility. A Junior Boy who forfeits his Junior status must pitch from the full distance. Note: The same above requirements will apply to Cadets; for their movement into the Junior Division.

Section C - Awards Awards presented to a Junior or Cadet by the tournament/ league officials may have immediate or deferred monetary value.,

Section D - Responsibility Collegiate: Prizes or cash awards for horseshoe pitching achievements do not impact amateur status in any NCAA sports. ( Horseshoe pitching is not a NCAA sport ) Scholastic (High School): It is the responsibility of the youth participant and their parents/guardians to check state scholastic sport association regulations/restrictions when determining whether to accept an award with any monetary value. The host charter and/or the NHPA assumes no responsibility for any adverse effects which horseshoe pitching awards may have on the amateur status of any youth participant.

NOTE: Cadets and Juniors may receive prize money if Parents approve. This form must be completed by the parents prior to distribution of Prize Money to any Cadet or Junior. Form

SPECIAL TOURNAMENTS:

STATE SINGLES TOURNAMENT- PRE-REGISTER

$ 25.00 - Adults (voted in 2015)

STATE DOUBLES TOURNAMENT - PRE-REGISTER

$ 20.00 per player

SCOREKEEPERS:

REGULAR TOURNAMENT: $ .50 per game per player

SPECIAL TOURNAMENTS: $ 1.00 per game per player

PAYBACK: (Based on $ 14.00 per pitcher per class) voted in Sep 2018

2 Person Class ($28 total)
1st Place $28

3 Person Class ($42 Total)
1st Place $42.00

4 Person Class ($56 Total)
1st Place $42 2nd $14.00

5 Person Class ($70 Total)
1st Place $42 2nd $20.00 3rd $8.

6 Person Class ($84 Total)
1st Place $50 2nd $24 3rd $10.

7 Person Class ($98)
1st Place $50 2nd $25 3rd $15 4th $8

8 Person Class ($112 total)
1st $50 2nd $30 3rd $20 4th $12

9 Person Class ($126 total)
1st $55 2nd $35 3rd $20 4th $16

CLASS PLACEMENT:

Pitchers will be placed in classes based on their average according to the previous weeks NATSTATS standing. If they are new or have no average from lack of tournament play, they will be required to pitch 100 shoes and the score to be kept by an appointed TNHPA member.

30 FOOT AND 40 FOOT PITCHERS:

Pitch in same class according to percentage except for State tournament and special tournaments determined by Tournament Director. Handicapping is allowed if there is substantial difference in percentage to create a better class of tournament. NHPA handicap rules apply.

GAME TIES

Shoe Limit Games - Non Handicapped Classes: Flip a shoe to see who goes first, then down and back until tie is broken. (4-shoe innings) Handicapped Classes: Games that end in a tie remain as a tie.

STATE SINGLES TOURNAMENT:

DATE: The date for the State Singles Tournament will be the last Saturday in September. (Voted in 2004) Effective in 2021 The State Singles will rotate between between Clarksville and Crossville.

REGISTRATION: The State Tournament is pre-registered. Entries must be postmarked by two Saturdays before the tournament. The NATSTAT average of that Saturday will be used for entry %.

ENTRY FEE: $25.00 (voted in 2015)

FORMAT: Games for Championship Classes will be 40 points. All other classes will be 40 shoes. Play-offs for first place ties will be 20 shoe games - except for Championship Classes which will be 40 points. Regular tournament rules will apply for all other ties (2nd,3rd,etc.)

TROPHIES: Trophies will be given for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in 8 person classes. 1st, 2nd and 3rd for 6 person classes. 1st and 2nd in 4 person classes

STATE DOUBLES TOURNAMENT:

DATE: The date for the State Doubles Tournament will be the last Saturday in June. (voted in2009) Effective in 2021 The Doubles Tournament will rotate between Clarksville and Crossville.

REGISTRATION: State doubles are pre-registered and the format will be walking doubles. (added 2012)

Combined averages of entrants may not be over 115%.

FORMAT: Each game will be 60 shoes with each player pitching 30 shoes.

GAME FORM: It was voted on at the 2022 State Singles meeting to use the TNHPA Form for the games.

PAYOUT: In 2010 it was voted to have a payback for the State Doubles, and trophies for 1st and 2nd place. The payback amount to be determined by the number of entrants in each class.

PROCEDURE FOR BREAKING TIES at Regular Tournaments and the State Singles & Doubles Championships

First Place Ties:
20 Shoe Playoff games will decide the First Place Winner for Non Handicap and Handicap* classes at all Regular Tournaments and the State Championship. Exception: 40 point playoff games will be required for all Championship Classes at the State Championship.

First place ties of three persons will be decided by a ladder type playoff, with the two lower average pitchers for the Tournament meeting in the first match and the winner playing the high average pitcher in the Tournament for the title

First place ties of four pitchers will be settled by using the ringer percentage from round robin play and having the highest percentage pitcher for the Tournament play the lowest percentage pitcher for the Tournament, while the second and third highest play each other. The winners of those two games will play one game for the class championship. Third and fourth place will be determined by the procedure outlined below for "All Other Position Ties".

In case of five or more persons tied for first place there will NOT be a playoff game. Use the procedure outlined below for "All Other Position Ties"

*Tournament using HSMaster, the Handicap will NOT automatically be assigned. All Tournament Directors will have a copy of the Handicap Calculation Sheet supplied by the TNHPA Statistician.

All Other Position Ties:

Non Handicap Class:
1st tie breaker: ringer percentage
2nd tie breaker: head to head
3rd tie breaker: total points

Handicap Class
1st tie breaker: Head to Head
2nd tie breaker: greatest over avg. or closest to avg.
3rd tie breaker: total points including handicaps (voted in 2015)

HALL OF FAME:A committee appointed by the President will accept and review nominations for the Hall Of Fame Inductees. Any TNHPA member may submit nominations in writing listing the nominees qualifications and achievements. Nominees may be active or deceased. Nominees and their qualifications will be announced in a special Newsletter that goes out prior to the State Singles Tournament. Membership will vote by ballet at that tournament prior to the annual meeting with inductees being announced at the meeting. They will receive a plaque afterwards. A member may also be removed from the Hall of fame for actions unsupportive of TNHPA by a motion at the annual meeting with a two thirds majority vote.

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD: During the State Tournament, each registered member may get a ballot and vote for the pitcher who they think has shown the most sportsmanship throughout the season. The winner will have their next year's NHPA Card paid for. Award may be won 1 time every 3 years.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: The winner of this Honor will be announced at the State meeting. The winner will be a pitcher who has a natstat avg at the State Singles cutoff entry date that is most improved from their qualifying % and has pitched in at least 6 TN tournaments.



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