1.  CORRESPONDENCE

All correspondence must be sent to and dealt with by the Secretary.

2.  COMMITTEE GENERAL

(A) Committee meetings shall take place as per Constitution Item 7.8.   All business discussed is confidential and shall not be disclosed or discussed outwith the meeting. Any committee member acting in breach of this byelaw may, at the discretion of the committee, be suspended from further committee involvement.

(B) Expenses: Expenses will not be paid without receipts and any cost over £50.00 must be approved by the committee in advance of re-imbursement.

(C)  Honorary membership of Dancesport Scotland may be given to committee members who have 15 years or more committee service.  This will not affect their voting rights while on the committee.

3.  ELECTION OF COUNCIL MEMBERS

3.1 Whereas in terms of clause 7.1 of the Constitution there is a requirement imposed on a General Meeting to elect members of Council, the arrangements for such elections shall be as set out in this byelaw.

3.2 In each case, nominations for appropriate posts shall be lodged with the Secretary before the date advised in each year, except that a nomination for the post of Secretary shall be lodged with the Chair

3.3 Each nominee must be a member of the Association and have been for at least two consecutive years. The length of membership may be changed at the discretion of the committee depending on the circumstances.

3.4 There must be lodged by or on behalf of each nominee a completed nomination form signed by the proposer and seconder making said nomination together with a statement signed by the nominee confirming the nominee’s willingness to act in the relevant post if successful and in the case of Executive Committee posts a Curriculum Vitae disclosing the nominee’s experience, skills and fitness for the post nominated. The proposer and seconder must be members of Dancesport Scotland at the date of the nomination and entitled to vote at a General Meeting.

3.5 In the event that there is more than one nominee for a particular post and/or more nominees than there are vacancies, the names of nominees and the identity of the relevant post to which the nomination refers shall be circulated to the membership of the association for the purpose of election by postal ballot together with a notice requiring completed ballot papers to be returned to the Secretary or Chair as appropriate by a date seven days prior to the General Meeting.

3.6 Those members of the Executive Committee who are not nominees for a particular post shall count the number of votes cast for each nominee and, after having made the ballot papers available for such scrutiny as may be necessary in the opinion of the Chair, announce the results of said election to the General Meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it shall be in the discretion of the committee to direct all ballot papers to be returned to and counted by an appointed external scrutineer.

3.7 In the event of a committee member resigning from the committee, such person shall not be eligible to be co-opted or nominated as a committee member until the first Annual General Meeting occurring not less than one year after the date of resignation.

4.  SCOTTISH CLOSED CHAMPIONSHIPS

4.1 The Scottish Closed Championships are held for members of Dancesport Scotland.  At least one member of a partnership must hold or be entitled to hold a United Kingdom passport. One member of the partnership must have Scottish birthright or have been habitually resident in Scotland for a period of not less than one year immediately prior to the event. Birthright can go back as far as grandparents. Proof by production of original birth certificate or certificate of adoption from the Adopted Children’s Register or proof of habitual residence must be supplied to the organiser not later than 14 days prior to the event.

5.  AMATEURS

5.1 Amateur competitors are allowed to teach dancing if and only if they are under the direct supervision of a professional.  The Dancesport Constitution sets out the conditions associated with this Byelaw and refers also to the British Dance Council Regulations under which Dancesport Scotland competitions are run.

5.2 Amateurs who have lost their status may apply to the Association for re-instatement.  The application should be submitted in writing to Council together with such fee as Council may prescribe.  A similar procedure will apply to dancers requesting regrading. Council will consider and rule upon such applications. The decision of Council shall be final and binding and shall not be open to appeal or review, except upon a point of law.

6.   POLICIES & PROCEDURES

6.1 The Council will establish and maintain a portfolio of policies and codes of conduct which will be displayed on the Dancesport website.  Any member who is alleged to be in breach of these will be subject to investigation.  The Chair will appoint a member of the Council to carry out an investigation to establish the precise nature of the complaint/reported breach, establish the facts and gather together the evidence from the complainant and any counter evidence from the member who is alleged to be in breach. The investigative report shall then be presented to the Chair who will determine the next course of action, in consultation with Council if appropriate.

7.  RISK REGISTER

To be an item on each committee meeting agenda and up-dated as required

8.  SELECTION FOR OVERSEAS REPRESENTATION

QUALIFICATION

Only those couples who qualify to represent Scotland may be considered by The Council of Dancesport Scotland (hereinafter referred to as The Council).

Rules for qualification shall be either of the following:

• Residency within the borders of Scotland for a minimum period of 6 consecutive months prior to the event in question
• Birthright by production of evidence of Scottish ancestry on the part of either person in the partnership in accordance with such criteria as may be determined by The Council from time to time

(As at the date of publishing this policy the criteria for birthright is production of proof of ancestry no further  back than grandparents)

Any future changes to the above criteria as may be resolved by The Council will be conveyed to the membership by publishing same in the Dancesport Scotland’s newsletter next published after The Council meeting at which the resolution for change is passed.

No subsequent resolution passed by The Council can retrospectively withdraw qualification rights once granted.

In the event of any split partnerships only those parties in the original partnership who comply in their own right with the above qualifications may be considered to represent Scotland.

SELECTION

In the event that The Council elect to accept any invitation to send representative couples to any event, selection of the couples concerned shall be made from a chart system of achievement based on that couples placement in recognised competitions as laid down in advance by The Council. 

As at the date of publishing this policy the recognised competitions are those 4 competitions currently organised by The Council. Any such other events as may be determined from time to time as being recognised for inclusion in the chart system shall be notified to the members with no less than 4 months’ notice by publication in the Dancesport Scotland’s newsletter.

The chart shall be based on each couple's best three performances in the immediately previous four competitions held. In the event of a tie, the points awarded in the couple’s fourth best event shall be used to break the tie – if a tie should then still remain then the points awarded in the immediately preceding event shall be taken into account to break the tie.

Points shall be awarded for final placements in the recognised competitions, The couple placed 1^st will be awarded the equivalent number of points to the number of couples who were selected to dance in the final of the relevant competition. A sequential reduction of points will be awarded to each subsequent couple thereafter.

 i.e. - in a six-couple final the points awarded will be as follows

Place	Points
1st	6
2nd	5
3rd	4
4th	3
5th	2
6th	1

In the event of any tied places both couples will share the aggregate points equally for the number of places occupied by them.

In the event of a non-eligible couple being placed in a final the points awarded to all eligible couples will reflect their actual finishing position as if all couples had been eligible.

A chart shall be kept for the following classifications:

• Amateur Modern (Standard)

• Amateur Latin

• Senior Modern (Standard)

• Senior Latin

The first representative couple will be that couple occupying the top position in the relevant chart subject to them not being the subject of disciplinary procedures by The Council and of which they have been notified in full. Any couple so notified will have the right to respond to any allegations made against them and request a hearing to present their response to any such allegations. Until such time as a hearing has been held and disciplinary action decided upon that couple shall remain eligible for selection.  Once a decision on appropriate disciplinary action has been taken, The Council reserve the right to withhold any invitation to any couple whilst any ensuing appeal process, following the original investigation and hearing, is ongoing.

Where it is decided to select two couples, it will be at the discretion of The Council to either select the second placed couple in the chart or a couple whose known expertise and form would undoubtedly justify selection for any major invitational event to ensure, in addition to the chart winner, the best of the rest of the couples, if justified by known capability and expertise, would be selected. 

A contribution towards the expenses of the first representative couple will be at a level to be determined by The Council according to the funds considered available to them at the time. Details of expenses payable will be advised to the couple in conjunction with the issue of the invitation and such other information as may be necessary to allow them to reach a decision on the invitation in question.

The Council can give no assurance that a contribution towards the expenses of a second representative couple will be possible and the invitation will be issued to the second couple on this basis, which will allow Scotland to have full participation should the second couple accept. Where the Council may that a contribution towards the expenses of a second representative couple will be possible details of expenses payable will be advised to the couple in conjunction with the issue of the invitation and such other information as may be necessary to allow them to reach a decision on the invitation in question.

October 2024