1. Name: This Organization shall be known as The Online Chess League, or OCL.
2. Purpose: The purpose of this organization shall be to provide and promote an online venue for chessplayers to compete in standard time-control team competitions.
3. Organization of Board of Directors: Operations of the OCL shall be governed by a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall consist of the officers, as specified in section four of these By-Laws, and the Player's Representatives, as specified in section five of these By-Laws. The Board of Directors shall be chaired by the Executive Director.
4. Officers and Duties:
A. The following officers shall be elected by majority vote of the remaining members of the Board of Directors:
I. Executive Director: carries out the decisions of the Board of Directors, and oversees in a general way the day-to-day operations of OCL. Acts as Chair of the Board of Directors, and as a member of the Appeals Committee. Serves a term of two years.
II. Chief Tournament Director: oversees the work and activities of the various tournament directors (TDs), also recruits and trains new TDs, acts as a resource to other TDs, Team Captains, and players. Chairs the Appeals Committee. Serves a term of two years.
III. Director of Internet Services: Webmaster, also serves as a resource to the Board about the various chess servers, and provide information and links at our web site about chess servers, interfaces, etc... Serves a term of two years.
B. The following officers shall be elected by majority vote of the Team Captains:
I. Director of Public Affairs: recruits new teams/players, and deals with any publicity issues, requests for information, etc... Serves a term of one year.
II. Directors of Player Services: oversees the team rosters, verifies eligibility of players, maintains the OCL mailing list at Yahoo Groups. There shall be one Director of Player Services for each section. Serves a term of one year. The various sections shall elect their Representatives on a staggered basis, to be determined by the Board of Directors.
C. Players representatives as provided for in Section 5 of these By-Laws.
D. Removal from office: Any officer or Player's Representative may be removed from office by one of the following methods:
I. by a two-thirds vote of the remaining members of the Board of Directors;
II. by a two-thirds vote of the Team Captains.
The Board Member in question shall be advised of the impending vote, and afforded an opportunity to address the Board and or Captains concerning the grievance(s) alleged. Any election to remove a Board Member under section 2 above shall be conducted by the Executive Director upon petition by at least one-third of the Team Captains; if the Board Member in question is the Executive Director, then the election will be conducted by the Chief Tournament Director.
E. All members of the Board of Directors are eligible to play in the league, excepting that no Tournament Director shall direct a Section in which he or she plays.
5. Players Representatives: Each section of players grouped together for the purpose of competing together shall, between the first and second round of alternating tournaments, in a manner and time established by the Board of Directors, elect a representative to the Board of Directors. Each team in the section is entitled to one vote, and that vote shall be cast by the Team Captain. The nominees for these positions must be nominated by a team Captain. The Captains will vote for either themselves, or another player from that section, to serve as the Players Representative for that section. The player so elected shall begin to serve on the Board effective with the completion of the second round of that tournament, and serve a term of approximately six months, until another election is held pursuant to these By-Laws.
6. Filling Vacancies: Vacancies in any of the positions of the Board of Directors shall be filled for the remainder of the vacating member's term by a majority vote of the remaining Board members, except as otherwise provided for in these By-Laws.
7. Appeals Committee: Appeals of decisions made by a tournament director (TD) are possible only to the Appeals Committee. The Appeals Committee shall have authority to override any decision made by a Tournament Director. The Appeals Committee shall be chaired by the Chief Tournament Director, and include the remaining TDs, the Executive Director, and in an advisory capacity, any other resource person(s) which the Appeals Committee deems appropriate to their tasks.
8. Ad Hoc Committees: The Board is hereby authorized to appoint any Ad Hoc Committees which it deems necessary and appropriate.
9. Adoption and Change: These By-Laws shall become official when adopted. They shall be considered adopted when they are approved by a two-thirds vote of the team Captains. Once adopted, changes to the By-Laws must be proposed to the Board of Directors. If the Board, by a majority vote, approves, then the proposed change shall be adopted only if approved by a two-thirds vote of the Team Captains.