Preamble

As members and supporters of high school and college academic teams who organize and promote high school academic competition, we hereby form the Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence (PACE) for the following purposes: to promote and encourage the growth of quality high school invitational tournaments around the country; to provide guidance or assistance to other colleges or high schools that wish to organize such tournaments; to encourage innovation and creativity in academic competition; to establish visibility for college academic team programs that run high school tournaments; to foster cooperation among college and high school programs in preparation for upcoming regional, state, or national tournaments; to encourage participation of teams in tournaments across the country prior to regional, state, or national tournaments; and to celebrate quality academic competitions at the high school level and welcome students to compete at the college level.

Article I: Membership and Affiliation and the Termination Thereof

Section 1: Individual Membership

A. Any individual involved in or interested in the administration or organization of a high school academic competition is eligible for membership.

B. Membership shall include all tournament directors from affiliated tournaments as well as anyone who is supportive of the goals and objectives of PACE.

C. Membership is voluntary, and no dues will be levied to maintain membership.

D. Each member must renew membership on an annual basis by written statement on April 1 of the competition year.

Section 2: Group Affiliation

A. Any high school or college academic competition organization may officially affiliate itself with PACE, thereby awarding the group the right to have a member in the General Assembly.

B. All requests for group affiliation shall be sent to the Director of Communications. Approval of affiliation shall be granted by a two-thirds majority of the joint General Assembly and Board of Trustees.

Section 3: Termination of Membership

A. Should any member of PACE exhibit conduct deemed unbecoming of a member, the Board of Trustees may terminate his/her membership by a 4/5-majority of the Board of Trustees.

B. Any such member must be given at least 15 days’ prior notice setting forth the reasons for the termination of membership. The Board of Trustees shall provide an opportunity for said member to present arguments opposing such termination of membership at least five days before the effective date of said termination. A re-vote to terminate shall take place among the Board of Trustees following such defense, and a 4/5-majority is necessary for termination of membership. The Board of Trustees’ decision shall be final with no right of appeal.

Article II: Officers and Elections

Section 1: The Board of Trustees

A. The supreme authority of PACE and the management of the affairs of the organization shall be vested in the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees shall consist of five members: the Chief Editor, the Chief Financial Officer, the Director of Communications, the Current National Scholastics Championship (NSC) Tournament Host, and the Outgoing NSC Tournament Host.

B. The Current NSC Tournament Host and Outgoing NSC Tournament Host shall each serve a two-year term. The other three at-large trustee positions, the Chief Editor, Chief Financial Officer, and Director of Communications, shall each serve equally separated three-year terms.

C. Any member of PACE who is in good standing with the organization and who has been a member for at least one year is eligible to serve on the Board of Trustees. To complement the geographically diverse nature of PACE, no more than two members of the Board of Trustees may be members of the same PACE-affiliated organization.

Section 2: The General Assembly

A. The General Assembly shall serve as the primary means of interaction among PACE-affiliated organizations, the general membership, and the Board of Trustees. To that end, the General Assembly shall consist of at least one representative from each affiliated organization.

B. At the discretion of the Board of Trustees, members of PACE that are not members of any PACE-affiliated organization may become members of the General Assembly.

C. PACE-affiliated organizations that run more than one PACE-affiliated event each year are allowed more than one representative but shall in no case be allowed more than three representatives in the General Assembly.

D. Any member of PACE who is in good standing with the organization is eligible to serve on the Board of Trustees.

Section 3: Board of Trustees Nominations and Elections

A. At each annual meeting, exactly one of the at-large Trustee positions will be filled by election to serve a three-year term. The Current and Outgoing NSC Tournament Hosts are never elected at the annual meetings—their positions shall be determined by the Board of Trustees in a timely fashion.

B. Nominations shall be taken individually by all members of PACE. Each nominee will be given an opportunity to speak on his/her behalf following the completion of nominations.

C. A simple majority among all voting members is necessary to win election. If a simple majority cannot be reached, the top two candidates will remain in the contest, and a re-vote will take place to determine a winner.

D. All votes for the Board of Trustees must be delivered in person. Electronic and proxy votes will not be accepted.

Section 4: General Assembly Elections

A. Election of representatives of PACE-affiliated organizations to the General Assembly shall be handled by the affiliated organizations themselves without the intervention of PACE.

B. All candidates for the General Assembly that are not members of an affiliated organization must be approved by the joint General Assembly and Board of Trustees on an annual basis. A simple majority is necessary for approval.

Section 5: Duties of Officers

A. As a whole, the Board of Trustees serves as the chief delegation body of PACE. In addition, the Board of Trustees shall also have the following responsibilities:

· The Board of Trustees shall be in charge of establishing special committees to investigate particular matters or perform certain tasks as necessary. A member of the Board of Trustees or the General Assembly shall chair all committees.
· The Board of Trustees shall attempt to attract potential external sponsors to help support the NSC.
· The Board of Trustees shall establish a timetable for updates and progress reports from that year’s NSC host.

B. The Chief Editor shall have the following duties:
· To be in charge of all issues related to the questions used in each year’s NSC.
· To make an official call for original and secure questions for use at the NSC from all PACE-affiliated organizations and members of PACE, in addition to external writers.
· To chair any committees designed for the purpose of editing said questions for use in competition.

C. The Chief Financial Officer shall have the following duties:

· To maintain all financial records for PACE.
· To chair any budgetary committees related to PACE and that year’s NSC.
· To handle all collections of fees and disbursement of funds related to PACE in accordance with Section 501(C)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as a nonprofit organization.
· To maintain an accurate membership roster.

D. The Director of Communications shall have the following duties:

· To receive all requests for membership in or affiliation with PACE and to chair any committees related to PACE membership or group affiliation.
· To disseminate registration forms and publicize the NSC, setting appropriate deadlines for information requested.
· To receive at-large bids and to sit on any committees related to NSC tournament logistics.
· To chair the committee to determine the makeup of the NSC tournament field and playoff qualification procedures.
· To promote the growth of PACE throughout the country through frequent contact with local high school academic competition directors, coaches, administrators, and organizers.

Section 6: Duties of the General Assembly

A. As representatives of their respective PACE-affiliated organizations and/or various regions of the country, members of the General Assembly have the primary duty of serving as official contact persons in their respective areas and passing on any necessary information relevant to PACE to the general membership and/or the Board of Trustees.

B. Members of the General Assembly are entitled to sit on or chair committees with or independent of the Board of Trustees. Members of the general membership may not sit on committees.

Article III: Meetings of PACE

Section 1: Annual Meeting

The primary annual meeting of PACE shall be the NSC. The site of the meeting shall be determined at least 18 months in advance by the Board of Trustees. The date of the meeting shall be determined at least 9 months in advance by the Board of Trustees.

Section 2: Other Meetings

A. Other meetings of the general membership may be called at any time by any member of the Board of Trustees with a simple majority approval of the Board of Trustees. At least twenty-one (21) days’ notice shall be given prior to any such meeting.

B. Any member of the Board of Trustees or the General Assembly may call a joint meeting of the two bodies with a simple majority approval of each body. At least fourteen (14) days’ notice shall be given prior to any such meeting.

C. Meetings of members of the Board of Trustees shall be organized by the members themselves with PACE placing no regulations on their organization.

Section 3: Quorum

The presence in person, by proxy, or by electronic means of at least 25% of all votes entitled to be cast with at least three members of the Board of Trustees present shall be deemed a quorum for any meeting. At all meetings of the Board of Trustees, 4/5 of the group must be present to establish quorum.

Section 4: Meeting Procedures

A. A pre-determined member of the Board of Trustees who is in attendance shall chair all meetings of PACE. Records of all such meetings shall be kept by another member of the Board of Trustees or a member of the General Assembly appointed by the Board to act in such a position.

B. In all cases to which they are applicable, Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern all proceedings at meetings.

Section 5: Voting

At all meetings of PACE, all members entitled to vote shall have one (1) vote. All proxy votes must be dated and sealed.

Article IV: Amendments

Amendments to this charter may be proposed by any member of PACE. Approval of any amendment shall require a 2/3 majority of the full membership of PACE, a ¾ majority of the General Assembly, and a 4/5 majority of the Board of Trustees to pass.

Article V: Certification

This charter, as amended and restated effective 25 January 2001, is hereby certified as accurate and correct, this 26 day of January 2001.