ARTICLE I – ASSOCIATION RESPONSIBILITIES
B 1.00 The SCA shall be responsible for the affairs of the Class as granted by the ISAF.
B 1.01 The SCA shall not be responsible for debts incurred by its fleets, officers or members.
ARTICLE II – ASSOCIATION DUES
B 2.00 All members shall register and pay dues annually.
B 2.01 Dues shall be set by the Executive Committee for the coming year subject to majority approval at an Annual Meeting.
B 2.02 Dues shall be received in U.S. dollars by January 15 of each year.
B 2.03 All changes in dues must be published within 30 days following an Annual Meeting.
ARTICLE III – FLEET RESPONSIBILITIES
B 3.00 Each fleet shall consist of at least three boats owned by Active Members.
B 3.01 Each fleet shall hold an Annual Meeting. A copy of the meeting minutes shall be transmitted to the SCA Secretary.
B 3.02 The SCA shall be notified promptly of election results.
B 3.03 Each fleet shall be responsible for providing its own local races and shall be permitted to make local rules and regulations on matters within fleet jurisdiction.
B 3.04 Each fleet shall maintain a roster of members and their boats. Each fleet shall file its roster and list of officers with the SCA during January. Any new boats entering a fleet after January should be registered with the SCA as soon as possible.
ARTICLE IV – REGISTRATION
B 4.00 It is each Sonar owner’s responsibility to register with the SCA.
B 4.01 The NCA shall inform the SCA of the names and addresses of owners of boats along with their sail numbers and the boat names.
B 4.02 Each registered Active Member of the SCA shall receive a Membership Sticker annually as proof of membership in good standing. This Sticker shall be applied to the hull in accordance with the Class Rules.
ARTICLE V – RESPONSIBILITY
B 5.00 Payment for a measurer’s services is the responsibility of the owner.
B 5.01 Responsibility for compliance of a Sonar to the By-Laws and Class Rules rests with its owner.
B 5.02 Responsibility for the monitoring of compliance of a Sonar with the Class Rules shall rest with:
(a) the SCA before an international or continental championship, or;
(b) the NCA before a national or district championship or other majority championship held in the district, or;
(c) the fleet for local fleet events.
ARTICLE VI – ONE-DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
B 6.00 As stated in Article III of the Constitution, it is the intent of the SCA to provide strict one-design racing among equal boats. To this end, the ISAF has defined a standard Sonar with fixed design of hull, deck, keel, rudder, rig and sail plan. Hull and deck plugs, keel and rudder drawings filed with the ISAF and SCA, and the Class Rules with the measurement certificate delineate these designs. Given that stated goal, the Class still recognizes the need for sufficient flexibility to appeal to a diverse group of sailors and to permit alterations for the benefit of the Class. The Class Technical Committee will consider the adoption of alterations which meet the following criteria:
B 6.00.01 Alterations shall not compromise the safety or structural integrity of the boat.
B 6.00.02 Alterations shall not increase the inherent speed potential of the boat.
B 6.00.03 Alterations shall be simple, easy to implement and not overly costly.
B 6.00.04 Alterations shall be easily adopted by all Sonars.
B 6.01 All proposed alterations shall be submitted in writing to the Technical Committee, care of the SCA. Submissions shall be judged based on their relative merit and compliance with the above statement of philosophy. The recommendations of the Technical Committee will be submitted to the Executive Committee for their approval. Recommendations accepted by the Executive Committee shall be submitted to the ISAF for approval. Changes will be made in writing, published in the next Class newsletter and will become part of the Class Rules.
ARTICLE VII – RACING RULES
B 7.00 All Sonar races shall be conducted under the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS).
ARTICLE VIII – SANCTIONED EVENTS
B 8.00 The SCA shall have the power to sanction any Sonar championship series or race which is open to members of more than one fleet and when the series or race is a perpetual, semi-perpetual or open trophy. The SCA may grant the right to sanction a national or district championship to an NCA. The SCA may withdraw any sanction for cause.
B 8.01 If an event has been granted sanction for two consecutive years, there shall be no need to reapply. When an event has lapsed for two or more years, sanction must be reapplied for.
ARTICLE IX – CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS
B 9.00 Each year the sanctioning authority shall set dates, with approximately one year’s prior notice, for international, continental or national championships. If any special events, such as mid-winter championships, are initiated by the SCA, these shall have a minimum of four months prior notice.
B 9.01 Fleet Championships shall be set by fleet officers. However, a fleet championship shall end at least one week prior to its district championship, and district championships shall be held at least two weeks prior to any international, continental or national championship.
B 9.02 The SCA may set limits on the number of qualified entries in any sanctioned event.
B9.03 The Principal Race Officer for all sanctioned events and the International
Jury for the World Championship shall be approved by the sanctioning authority. The sanctioning authority shall approve the sailing instructions and notice of race for all sanctioned events.
ARTICLE X – SCORING
B 10.00 At all sanctioned events, the Low Point Scoring System shall apply.
B 10.01 The minimum number of completed races for a sanctioned event shall be three.
B 10.02 The minimum number of races to be scored before a throw-out is awarded shall be six.
ARTICLE XI – LIMITATIONS
ARTICLE XII – REGULATIONS THAT APPLY AT SANCTIONED EVENTS
B 12.00 To be eligible to race in a sanctioned event, the Person in Charge must be an Active Member of the SCA.
B 12.01 Unless chartered, a boat shall display the SCA assigned sail number of its owner. A chartered boat may display a unique SCA assigned sail number.
ARTICLE XIII – APPEALS
B 13.00 Appeals of jury, fleet, district and event measurement decisions
concerning the By-Laws and Class Rules may be taken to the Technical Committee.
B 13.01 An appeal must be filed within two weeks of notification of the decision to be appealed.
B 13.02 The appeal must be typewritten and include references to articles, paragraphs or rules on which the appeal is based. The name and address of the Race Committee and/or Measurer must be included.
B 13.03 The Technical Committee shall issue instructions on procedure and shall fix limits for the filing of answers and other information. Those failing to comply with such instructions may forfeit the right to be heard.
B 13.04 In deciding any question, the spirit and intended meaning shall be considered rather than any technical misconstruction that might be derived from the wording. Precedent and established policies of the SCA shall also be taken into consideration. All rulings of the Technical Committee shall be preserved for future reference.
ARTICLE XIV – INTER-FLEET DISPUTES
B 14.00 Inter-fleet disputes shall be heard by the Executive Committee, except that disputes involving interpretations shall be filed with the Technical Committee. There is no time limit for submitting disputes.
ARTICLE XV – NON-CONFORMANCE
B 15.00 All boats shall conform to Class By-Laws and Class Rules. Should an Active Member wish to protest the validity of a boat, a request for re-measurement shall be sent to the Class Measurer together with the agreed fee to cover the cost of re-measurement. An official measurer shall then be authorized by the Chief Measurer to carry out the re-measurement. The completed measurement documents shall then be forwarded to the Chief Measurer for a decision.
B 15.01 An event measurer shall report any deviation from the Class Rules to the Chief Measurer and the Member.
B 16.02 When the deviation is corrected, an Owner shall have the boat re-measured.
B 15.03 If the deviation is not corrected, the Chief Measurer or event measurer may either apply a penalty weight or issue a Notice of Non-Compliance. Boats that have been issued a Notice of Non-Compliance shall not be allowed to compete in Sanctioned or Championship Events.
B 15.04 A Notice of Non-Compliance may be appealed to the Technical Committee.
ARTICLE XVI – AMENDMENTS
B 16.00 The By-Laws may be amended by the following procedure:
B 16.00.01 Amendments may be proposed by a Standing Committee or by proposal from a fleet, in which case the proposal must have been approved by two-thirds present plus proxies at a fleet meeting for which advance notice was also sent to all its voting members.
B 16.00.02 The proposed amendment must be received at the address of the SCA.
B 16.01 By-Laws Amendments by Mail:
B 16.01.01 The Class Secretary shall inform all Active Members of the proposal within 60 days by newsletter, special mailing, or electronic means giving the deadline by which ballots must be received.
B 16.01.02 Approval shall require a two-thirds vote of ballots received in hard copy and/or electronic form by the published deadline date.
B 16.02 By-Laws Amendments at the Annual Meeting:
B 16.02.01 The proposed amendment must be received at the address of the Class Association at least 60 days in advance of an Annual Meeting in order to be included in the agenda.
B 16.02.02 The proposed amendment must be mailed in hard copy and/or electronic form to the Active Membership at least 30 days before an Annual Meeting.
B 16.02.03 At an Annual Meeting, the amendment must be approved by a two thirds vote of Active Members present, including proxies.
B 16.03 Results of the balloting shall be printed in the next newsletter published either in hard copy and/or electronic means.