Article I – Name
The name of this organization shall be the Rock River Officials Association (RROA).
Article II – Purpose
The purpose of this organization shall be to bring together those people interested in sports and sports officiating.
The organization shall work at recruiting new members and educate these people and all members to the rules set forth by the National Federation of High Schools and the Illinois High School Association.
The organization will train and foster their membership for the best interpretation and understanding of the rules for all sports to be worked.
The organization will strive for proper sportsmanship at all levels and a balance of equal officials for all contests at all levels.
Article III – Membership
Membership in this organization shall be open to any person interested in the purpose of this organization and willing to aid in promoting and encouraging the same. Membership fees shall be reviewed, by the association board, on an annual basis and adjusted as deemed necessary. Fees shall be due on an annual basis at the same time as the ILLINOIS HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATION for the next school term. Any late payments shall be subject to a $10.00 fee. New members and officials moving into the area are not subject to late fees. Rosters will be printed following the first general membership meeting of August, and said late paying member may not be listed.
A student membership fee will also be reviewed and adjusted as necessary. Any full-time high school or full / part-time college student may be a member at a reduced fee. The student member’s legal address must be that of the same as their parents or legal guardian. A part-time college student may be one that also works a regular job in addition to going to school. The association board, upon the time of application or annual membership renewal, shall approve all part time college students.
Hardships – Any member who is undergoing a personal financial hardship may have fees reduced or waived after meeting personally with the RROA board. This will be totally at the discretion of the board to make this decision at any time during the season.
RROA honorary lifetime membership may be awarded to an individual for outstanding service to the association. This honor shall be bestowed at the discretion of the entire membership. The member shall be in good standing with the RROA and the IHSA at the time of nomination or retirement of being an official, and also society in general. An honorary member may be removed at any time in the future if said member does not live up to moral and ethical standards of society. This member has the same rights as any other member but will not be required to pay the general membership fee. However, any additional fees or costs above and beyond the general membership will be paid by this member. The honorary member may hold office until retirement from the association.
Rock River Officials Association honorary members:
- Shall not be listed on the active roster unless currently active in one or more sports.
- Shall be listed on the current RROA website with a short bio and photo based on current technology and capabilities of the web master.
- Shall be listed by first and last name only in “Membership” section of RROA constitution and by-laws.
The current RROA honorary lifetime members are:
John "Jack" Fox, Robert Gibler, Kevin McKinney, Larry Wilcoxen, Tom Starr, Ken Wilcoxen, Tom Full, James Burch, Steve McGrath, Keith Medema, Sam Hyland, John Kereven, Dave Olinger, Therol Anderson, Arden Anderson, Les Huisingh, Dave Trueblood
Article IV – Officers
The officers of the Rock River Officials Association shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Media Relations / Web-Master and three (3) At-Large members. The elected officers will elect one of the active board members as the IHSA contact person. The officers shall be elected to a two (2) year term. The election of officers shall be held at the first general membership meeting in August starting in 1999 and every 2 years thereafter. To be eligible to hold office a member must meet the criteria in Article IX – Section V.
Article V – Duties of the Officers
President
The President shall preside at all meetings of the RROA and shall appoint committees and shall be the ex-officio of all committees with the exception of the nominating committee. The President shall have a general supervision of all matters pertaining to the RROA.
Vice-President
The Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President in the event that the President is not present or is unable to perform the duties.
Secretary
The Secretary shall record the minutes of the meetings and furnish the President with a copy. The Secretary shall maintain and record all correspondence with and for the RROA. This person shall be responsible for maintaining the membership roster of the RROA and its distribution to the other officers and school officials as necessary.
Treasurer
The Treasurer shall record all transactions and maintain the financial records of the Organization. All funds are to be deposited in a bank in the name of the Rock River Officials Association. All disbursements shall be by check. The Treasurer will collect all dues and have a current list of the membership available.
Media Relations / Web-Master
Media Relations / Web-Master representative shall promote the affairs of the RROA and maintain relations with the newspaper, radio, television, other associations, as well as, other forms of media. Meeting dates, clinics and other pertinent information on members and the organization shall be disseminated to the necessary media organizations in support of the RROA.
The officers of the RROA shall have general management of the affairs of the association not covered by the by-laws. They have charge of the collection and safekeeping of documents and other items of interest belonging to the RROA.
Office Expenses - Any expenses beyond the normal operating shall be approved in advance by the membership. Normal operating expenses shall be limited to postage, education and miscellaneous supplies. Normal operating expenses must not exceed Two Hundred U.S. Dollars ($200) per expense. A receipt must be submitted to the Treasurer and justified by the RROA officers for a check reimbursement.
Vacancies of an office - The President of the RROA shall have the power to fill any vacancy occurring within its own body except that of the President.
Article VI – Committees
Budget Committee
The eight (8) officers and two (2) members appointed by the President shall be the “Budget Committee”. At a meeting five (5) members shall be a quorum. One (1) of the five (5) shall not be an officer. The budget committee shall set the dues schedule to be passed by the membership. A notice to all members shall be mailed (electronically and/or United States Postal Service) stating the date and time of this vote.
By-Laws Committee
This committee will be responsible for reviewing the current by-laws and submitting any recommendations to the President in writing. This committee will be voluntary and assigned by the President on a recommendation from any member. This committee will consist of at least two (2) board members and at least three (3) active non-board members.
Nominating Committee
At the annual banquet, the President shall appoint members to nominate members for the next term of office. They are to present their list at the first general membership meeting in August for election. Nominations may be made from the floor prior to the election for any position. Consent to serve, shall have been obtained from all nominees, who must be in good standing within the RROA. Elections shall be held at the first general membership meeting in August.
Auditing Committee
The “Auditing Committee” shall be appointed by the President to audit the books of the RROA at the August general membership meeting. The auditing committee shall consist of two (2) members in good standing. No officers shall serve on this committee.
Appointments and Other Committees
Appointments and other needed committees shall be requested and appointed by the President. All committees are voluntary.
Article VII – Amendments
These by-laws may be amended at any regular meeting of the RROA, by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those members in attendance of good standing. Notice of the by-law amendment will be read at the prior meeting before voting occurs.
Article VIII – Parliamentary Authority
Roberts Rules of Order (revised) shall be the parliamentary authority in all proceedings of the Rock River Officials Association not governed by the constitution or by-laws.
Article IX – Members Responsibilities
Section I
It is the responsibility of each member, to honor each contract the sign or electronically accept. They are to be at each contest on time.
Section II
There shall be a committee to oversee that the responsibilities of contracts are being carried out. This committee will consist of all of the RROA officers.
Section III
If the committee sees the need, they may pick one of their members to talk to a member who violates this responsibility. This person is the only one who shall talk to this member about this matter.
Section IV
If the member violates the by-law a second time, the member will not receive game assignments above the freshman level for a period of one (1) year. If this happens a third time, the RROA members will be asked to vote on a recommendation from the committee on a final consequence.
Section V
Members shall attend at least 50% of general membership meetings and 50% of the regular meetings in the sport, which they are licensed to officiate, in order to be a “member in good standing” and be eligible for the following:
- Hold an elected RROA officer’s position.
- Vote or be voted for any IHSA lists, Top15, etc., within the sport they officiate. Clinics, physical training sessions, and/or other sponsored RROA events may be counted towards meeting attendance records.
Section VI
Member must notify the RROA Secretary in writing of any clinic or physical training sessions, which is to be credited for attendance. RROA sponsored events will be documented without need of written notice.
Section VII
If a new member from a different area and or a physical personal condition exist, said member must request in writing to the RROA Board to be appointed member in good standing.
Article X – IHSA Procedure for Rating Officials
Members in good standing, as stated in Article IX, are eligible to vote and to be voted for on any IHSA list in which the sport they officiate. This shall be done before the IHSA stated deadline. The eligible official is only required to fill out member names of which they feel are capable of working the IHSA state tournament series. If unable to attend the meeting where the voting is taking place, the eligible official may request a hard copy or electronic rating sheet. It is the responsibility of the member to return the sheet to the RROA IHSA contact person.
The RROA IHSA contact person will tally all votes based on a point system in which #1 is worth 15 points and a #15 is worth 1 point. The RROA IHSA contact person will submit the compiled list to the IHSA in each sport requested before the deadline. The compiled lists are recorded with the RROA Secretary for a period not to exceed 10 years. Any member of the RROA is entitled to look at the lists, but no printed copy will be available for distribution.
Article XI – Mentoring and Recruiting Programs
IHSA Assignors should make every attempt to assign an experienced official with a new (less than 3 years) official when assigning lower-level games. All experienced members should make themselves available to do scrimmages and lower-level games so mentoring can be performed during this time.
Experienced officials should make themselves available to go to lower-level games to observe and evaluate new officials. Senior certified officials should fill out evaluation forms. They should discuss observations with the new official and give them a copy of the written evaluation. A copy of the written evaluation should be kept by the RROA for future reference. Forms can be obtained from any RROA officer or at any RROA meeting.
It is the responsibility of the RROA membership to actively recruit new officials. The RROA has a recruiting display that is maintained and updated annually. The display’s information can be converted per specific location/sport of use. The display will be used by the association membership at a minimum of four (4) times per year. If it is not being utilized, the RROA officers will make a request for a raise in dues to help defray costs of doing professional recruitment.
Article XII – IHSA Officials Observer Program
The association will establish and maintain an “Officials Observer Program” in compliance with the guidelines set forth by the Illinois High School Association.