1. AFFILIATION PROCEDURE
If a NGB makes an application for affiliation in a country where there is an existing WMA Affiliate, the Council shall make a recommendation to the applicant. If the recommendation to the applicant is not accepted, a special Commission consisting of an equal number of representatives from the IAAF and WMA shall be established to consider the matter and make a recommendation to the applicant to be sent through the IAAF Secretariat. If the recommendation is still not accepted, the Commission shall present a report to the IAAF Council, submitting its considerations and recommendations. The final decision shall be made by the WMA Council.
2. COUNCIL
(1) WMA’s accounting period shall be of two years’ duration and shall commence on the first day of January of each odd-numbered year. Not later than six calendar months following the end of each accounting period, the Treasurer shall send the relevant audited statement of account and balance-sheet to each Affiliate and to each member of the Council.
(2) Before January 31 of each year, the Treasurer shall submit to the Council a report on the year ending on the previous December 31. The Treasurer shall also submit to the Council an updated report at its periodic meetings.
(3) The Treasurer’s proposed budget as described in the Constitution shall cover the next accounting period and shall be subject to approval by the Council.
(4) Clerical, postage and telephone expenditure to a maximum of US $1,000 (one thousand United States Dollars) may be incurred by the Treasurer without the prior approval of the Council.
(5) Emergency expenditure (not included in approved budget) to a maximum of US $2,000 (two thousand United States Dollars) must be approved by the President and the Treasurer and there may be only one such emergency expenditure in any one calendar year.
(6) All expenditure, other than that authorised above, shall require the prior approval of the Council.
(7) A bank account in United States Dollars shall be operated in the name of WMA. All cheques on amounts above USD 5.000 shall be signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by the President or any Council members so authorised in writing by the President.
(8) The Treasurer is authorised to pay an invoice from a travel agent, for Council travel for an approved meeting in advance of that meeting.
(9) The Treasurer shall be bonded to a value of US $250 000 except as modified by the Council.
(10) WMA shall reimburse travel expenses of Council members, when authorised, by the most direct and least expensive airfare reasonably available from a regular airline.
(11) Except for emergency meetings, Council members are obligated to schedule travel sufficiently in advance to obtain the lowest economy fares.
(12) All requests for reimbursement shall be supported by receipts or other supporting documentation acceptable to the Treasurer.
(13) If a Council member is eligible for reimbursement from a third party source, such as his sport federation, the member shall not be entitled to duplicate reimbursement by WMA.
(14) In no event shall a Council member receive travel or other related reimbursement when the member has not personally incurred that expense.
(15) At the annual Council meeting, the President, in consultation with the WMA Council, shall decide the participation of WMA Representatives in Regional, or other major Championships.
(16) The WMA Executive consists of the elected officers:
the President,
the Executive Vice- President (hereinafter referred to as E-VP),
the Vice-President Stadia (hereinafter referred to as VP-S),
the Vice-President Non-Stadia (hereinafter referred to as VP-NS),
the Secretary,
the Treasurer, and
the Women’s Representative.
(17) The reference in clause 6 (c ) of the Constitution to the appointment of a replacement to fulfil the duties of a vacant office “until the next General Assembly” shall be interpreted to mean the next “quadrennial election General Assembly”.
(18) WMA Electronic Voting Procedure
Formal electronic motions may be submitted by any Council Member to the WMA Secretary. The Secretary shall immediately send the motions to the President by the best method, preferably by E-mail. The President will decide the acceptability and, in conjunction with the motion proposer, draft the final wording of the motion which will be documented by the WMA Secretary.
The WMA Secretary shall then immediately date and circulate the approved motion to all Council Members for voting by the fastest and best available method, preferable E-mail. The Secretary shall require acknowledgment of receipt, by the same method, within seven (7) days of the circulation.
All votes, or amendments, must be received by the Secretary within fourteen (14) days of the motion circulation. Motions are considered successful by a simple majority of votes of a quorum of at least two-thirds of the Council. The President has an additional vote to break a tie, if necessary, after the 14th day.
If proposed amendments to the motion in question are received, the Secretary, in conjunction with the original motion and the amendment proposers, will draft the final wording of the amended motion and shall circulate as above.
The Secretary shall then note and tabulate all voting messages and forward each vote message to the WMA Treasurer who will scrutinize the results and provide them to the President for immediate announcement to the full Council.
3. COMMITTEES
(1) Stadia Committee (hereinafter referred to as SC)
(a) The Committee shall be chaired by the WMA VP-S.
(b) There shall be six (6) members of the Committee plus the Chairman.
(c) The six (6) members of the Committee shall be appointed by the President, based upon nominations submitted to him by the Chairman.
(d) The Organising Committee of the next WMA World Championships Stadia shall have the right to appoint whoever will be in charge of the Stadia events to the Committee, under the same rules and procedures as stated in the previous section.
(e) The SC shall submit to the Council for approval or rejection such proposed amendments to the Rules of Competition as the Committee considers desirable.
(f) The SC shall consider any relevant proposal made by an Affiliate.
(g) Voting by mail, E-mail or fax shall be permitted.
(h) The Chair of the SC shall serve as the primary WMA Technical Delegate to all WMA, and WMA sanctioned, World Championships. If necessary, the Chair of the SC can nominate a designee for this position who is subject to approval by the Council. Other Technical Delegates, as nominated by the Chair of the SC and approved by the Council, may also be designated with specific or general duties as assigned by the Chair of the SC.
(i) The Chair of the SC is one of the required signatories to all WMA World Championships, and all WMA sanctioned World Championships, Contracts.
(2) Non-Stadia Committee (hereinafter referred to as N-SC)
(a) The Committee shall be chaired by the WMA VP-NS.
(b) There shall be six (6) members of the Committee plus the Chairman.
(c) The six (6) members of the Committee shall be appointed by the President, based upon nominations submitted to him by the Chairman.
(d) The Organising Committee of the next WMA World Championships Non-Stadia shall have the right to appoint whoever will be in charge of Non-Stadia events to the Committee, under the same rules and procedures as stated in the previous section.
(e) The N-SC shall submit to the Council for approval or rejection such proposed amendments to the Rules of Competition as the Committee considers desirable.
(f) The N-SC shall consider any relevant proposal made by an Affiliate.
(g) Voting by mail, E-mail or fax shall be permitted.
(h) The Chair of the N-SC shall serve as the primary WMA Technical Delegate to all WMA, and WMA sanctioned, World Championships. If necessary, the Chair of the N-SC can nominate a designee for this position who is subject to approval by the Council. Other Technical Delegates, as nominated by the Chair of the N-SC and approved by the Council, may also be designated with specific or general duties as assigned by the Chair of the N-SC.
(i) The Chair of the N-SC is required to be one of the signatories to all WMA World Championships, and all WMA sanctioned World Championships, Contracts.
(j) The Chair of the N-SC shall be in charge of all Race Walking matters, Stadia and Non-Stadia. He shall cooperate with the VP-S on Stadia Race Walk events. The VP-NS shall nominate the Chief Race Walk Judge subject to approval by the Council. The Local Organizing Committee shall choose the number of judges as defined by the IAAF rules
subject to approval by the VP-NS and the Chief Race Walk Judge.
(3) Anti-Doping and Medical Committee (hereinafter referred to as A-DMC)
(a) The Chairman shall be appointed by the President from amongst the Council’s ranks.
(b) There shall be six (6) members of the Committee plus the Chairman, with some of the members having medical and legal experience.
(c) The six (6) members of the Committee shall be appointed by the President, based upon nominations submitted to him by the Chairman.
(d) The Women’s Representative shall be an ex-officio member of the Committee.
(e) The A-DMC is responsible for doping control at all WMA World Championships, observing the IAAF ”Procedural Guidelines for Doping Control”.
(f) The A-DMC shall advise the WMA Council and the Law and Legislation Committee on all matters relating to doping generally as well as specifically.
(g) Voting by mail, E-mail or fax shall be permitted.
(4) Law and Legislation Committee (hereinafter referred to as L+LC)
(a) The Chairman shall be appointed by the President from amongst the Council’s ranks.
(b) There shall be four (4) members of the Committee plus the Chairman.
(c) The four (4) members of the Committee shall be appointed by the President based upon nominations submitted to him by the Chairman.
(d) All proposed amendments to the Constitution and/or Bye-Laws, received by the WMA Secretary, shall be submitted to the L+LC.
(e) The L+LC shall not modify the intention of the proposed changes without the written permission of the authors of said proposals.
(f) An allegation of any of the following offences shall be considered by the L+LC:
i Incorrect statement of age or age group.
ii Improper use of drugs.
iii Competing or attempting to compete as a member of the opposite sex.
iv Promoting, organising, conducting or advertising any international masters
competition which has not been sanctioned by WMA.
v Unsportsmanlike conduct.
(g) An allegation of an offence in terms of sub-section (f) i and iii to v above of the Bye-Laws shall be sent to the WMA Secretary who, within seven (7) days of his receipt thereof, shall send a copy of the allegation to each member of the Council, to each member of the L+LC and, by recorded mail, to the accused.
(h) The Secretary shall provide the accused with a copy of this section of the Bye-Laws and the names and addresses of the members of the L+LC.
(i) Within thirty (30) days of receipt of the allegation, the accused shall lodge, with each member of the L+LC, a written defence to the allegation.
(j) Each member of the L+LC, within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the defence of the accused (or, if no written defence is received, within fifteen (15) days of the expiration of the thirty-day period within which the accused was obliged to respond), shall submit written recommendations to the Chairman of the L+LC.
(k) Within fifteen (15) days of having received written recommendations from all members of the L+LC (but not later than forty-five (45) days after the expiration of the thirty-day period within which the accused was obliged to respond), the Chairman shall send to the WMA Secretary a summary of the L+LC’s findings.
(l) Anyone found guilty of an intentional offence under sub-section (f) (i-iv) above, shall be suspended from masters athletics, in respect of his first offence, for a period of two years and, in respect of any second offence, for life.
(m) Anyone found guilty of an intentional offence under sub-section (f)(i-iv) above, may not be a member of the Council or of any Committee or be a Delegate to a General Assembly.
(n) Anyone found guilty of an offence under sub-section (f) (v) above, shall be subject to such suspension (not exceeding a period of two years), or reprimand as shall be determined by the L+LC.
(o) The Secretary, within fifteen (15) days of his receipt of the L+LC’s findings shall inform the accused and the Council accordingly.
(p) Any suspension imposed under this section shall be observed by the Affiliate of which the accused is a member and by the Regional Association of which that Affiliate is part.WMA shall observe any suspension imposed by an Affiliate.
(q) Any athlete suspended by an Affiliate pursuant to the provisions of Bye-Law 3(4)(f) i - v shall automatically become ineligible to participate in any WMA Affiliate’s events for the duration of such suspension. To enforce such suspension it shall be the obligation of the Secretary of the suspending Affiliate to notify the WMA Secretary in writing of such suspension within thirty (30) days thereof, including the nature of the offence. Upon receipt of such notification the Secretary shall, as soon as possible thereafter, notify all Affiliates in writing of such suspension and the details thereof. The lifting of the suspension shall be dealt with in the same manner.
(r) voting by mail, E-mail or fax shall be permitted.
(5) Records Committee
(a) The Chairman shall be appointed by the President from amongst the Council’s ranks.
(b) There shall be seven (7) members of the Committee plus the Chairman.
It shall be composed of:
i the Chairman
ii the Record Manager
iii the six Area Statisticians
(c) Each of the WMA Regions shall have the right to appoint one delegate to this Committee within forty-five days (45) after the close of the WMA World Championships Stadia, held in odd numbered years.
If any Region does not notify the WMA Secretary by letter or wire, post marked within forty-five (45) days, the Chairman can then nominate a person to the Committee.
(d) The Chairman of the Records Committee shall have the right to nominate the Record Manager whose appointment shall be ratified by the Council.
(6) Organisational Advisory Committee (hereinafter referred to as OAC)
(a) The Committee shall be chaired by the WMA E-VP.
(b) There shall be six (6) members of the Committee plus the Chairman.
It shall be composed of:
i the Chairman
ii the VP-S
iii the VP-NS
iv four individuals, not on the WMA Council.
(c ) The four (4) individual members of the Committee shall be appointed by the President based upon nominations submitted to him by the Chairman.
(d) The Committee shall be charged with the responsibility of co-ordinating all non-competition aspects of the Championships including, but not limited to, accommodation, transportation, Opening and Closing Ceremonies, competitors’ handbook and award ceremonies.
(e) All questions regarding the operation of the non-competition areas of the Championships shall be directed to the Chairman, who will co-ordinate with the Local Organising Committee.
The OAC shall submit to the Council for approval all questions of policy regarding the non-competition aspects of the Championships and shall report to the WMA President regarding the status of the liaison with the Local Organising Committee.
(f) Voting by mail, E-mail or fax shall be permitted.
(g) The Chair of the OAC shall serve as the primary WMA Organizational Delegate to all WMA, and WMA sanctioned, World Championships. If necessary, the Chair of the OAC can nominate a designee for this position who is subject to approval by the Council. Other Organizational Delegates, as nominated by the Chair of the OAC and approved by the Council, may also be designated with specific or general duties as assigned by the Chair of the OAC.
(h) The Chair of the OAC is one of the required signatories to all WMA World Championships, and all WMA sanctioned World Championships, Contracts.
(7) Women’s Committee
(a) The Women’s Committee shall be chaired by the Women’s Representative.
(b) There shall be six (6) members of the Committee plus the Chairman.
It shall be composed of:
(i) the Women’s Representative;
(ii) one delegate from each of the six Regions;
(c) Each of the WMA Regions shall have the right to appoint one delegate to he Committee within forty-five (45) days after the close of the WMA World Champion- ships Stadia, held in odd-numbered years.
If any Region does not notify the WMA Secretary by letter or wire, post marked within said forty-five (45) days, the Chairman can then nominate a person to the Committee. Such person may come from any part of the world.
(d) The Committee shall be charged with the duty of representing the interests of Women athletes.
Important notice:
As a result of the transfer upon WMA of certain established responsibilities relating to anti-doping rules and results management procedures, WMA is currently reviewing and updating its current anti-doping policy. This process is anticipated to be concluded by year end 2006, and will then be published via the WMA website. Furthermore, it was decided for the printing of this current handbook, to not modify the 2003-2005 published references in sub-sections (3) Anti-Doping and Medical Committee and (4) Law and Legislation Committee relating to policy matters. The reader should be aware that the references in those sections will be amended.
4. ALTERATIONS TO RULES
The Rules of Competition may be modified by the Council in their application to particular Championships. Any application by an Organising Committee for such modification must be lodged with the WMA Secretary not later than ninety (90) days before the commencement of the Championships. The Secretary, in close co-operation with the VP-S/VP-NS, shall submit a motion for Council decision, no later than seventy-five (75) days before the Championships.
