Membership Guide
UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
At the Field Hockey Alberta (FHA) 2023 Annual General Meeting, members voted to adopt a new set of bylaws. These bylaws came into effect on September 1, 2024.
Link: FHA Bylaws
The most noticeable change is the definition of members. Individuals are no longer voting members, and are now defined as Registrants, with similar divisions as in the past: youth, junior, senior, associate etc. More information on Registrants can be found here: Registrants
The following information has been compiled from the FHA bylaws as a guide to the new governance structure as it pertains to members.
Membership Categories
- Club Member - Club Members are not-for-profit organizations in good standing with FHA, or a registered member in good standing of a registered Regional Association, that have at least ten (10) Registrants registered with FHA. All Club Members need to be approved by the Board;
- Association Member - a Regional Association that is registered with the Alberta government, and has at least two (2) Clubs as members of their Regional Association.
Definition: Regional Associations are defined as Associations that are responsible for grassroots and recreational hockey within a defined Region (examples include Calgary Ladies Field Hockey Association, Field Hockey Association of Calgary, Edmonton Field Hockey Association)
Member Registration
Club and Association Members must register with FHA and agree to abide by their
By-laws, policies, procedures, rules and regulations. Link: Registration Form
Members additionally must:
- Submit the minutes of their Annual General Meetings;
- Submit their By-laws and annual financial statements; and
- Inform FHA of any change in their Directors or Officers within thirty (30) days of the change(s) occurring.
Admission
Any candidate will be admitted as a Member if the candidate member:
- makes an application for membership in a manner prescribed by FHA;
- was previously a Member, and was a Member in good standing at the time of ceasing to be a Member;
- has paid fees as prescribed by the Board;
- agrees to uphold and comply with FHA’s governing documents;
- meets any other condition of membership determined by the FHA Board;
- has met the definition as laid out in the Membership Categories;
- has been approved by the FHA Board or by any committee or individual delegated this authority by the Board.
Membership Fees and Duration
Year: The membership year of the Society will be September 1st to August 31st.
Duration: Unless otherwise determined by the Board, membership with FHA begins on the date the Board accepts the member’s registration and continues while the member remains in good standing.
Termination: Membership ends when the member resigns or is terminated from membership
Fees: Membership fees will be determined by the Board. Members will be notified in writing of monies payable by them to FHA, and if the monies are not paid in full within thirty (30) days of the notice of default, the Member will automatically cease to be a Member of the Society.
Link: <Fees Page>
Meetings of Members
- Annual General Meeting - FHA will hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of its members at such date, time and place as determined by the FHA Board. The AGM will be held within fifteen (15) months of the last Annual General Meeting and within 180 days of FHA’s fiscal year end.
- Special Meeting - A Special Meeting of the Members may be called at any time by the President, by Ordinary Resolution of the Board, or by thirty-three percent (33%) of the voting Members, for any purpose connected with the affairs of FHA that does not fall within the exceptions listed in the bylaws or is otherwise inconsistent with the bylaws, within fourteen (14) days from the date of the deposit of the requisition. The agenda of a Special Meeting will be limited to the subject matter for which the meeting was called.
Voting
Members have the following voting rights at all meetings of the Members:
- Club Members have the following votes:
- Each Club has one (1) vote regardless of number of registrants;
- Each Club receives a further vote for every ten (10) registrants, regardless of age or membership category (e.g. a club with 24 registered members would get 2 extra votes).
Registrant List
In order to calculate the number of votes allocated to a Member Club or Association at Member Meetings such as the FHA Annual General Meeting, the Member must provide a list of FHC/FHA registrants within their club or Association following the guidelines below:
- List submitted within _____ (__) days of the Member Meeting;
- Registrants who have registered with FHA/FHC within 365 days of Member Meeting
- All registrants are considered regardless of age, including youth and junior registrants.
- Registrants may only be included in one Membership List. In the case of multiple entries for one individual, the most recent Club with whom they have registered will take precedent, not the Association.
Association Director
Each Association Member is permitted to appoint one (1) Director who serves on the FHA Board as an Association Director of the Society.
The term is indefinite unless rescinded by the Association or if the Director is terminated from their position pursuant to the FHA By-laws.
The duties of an Association Director is as follows:
- Report to the Board the level of development and activity of hockey and indoor hockey in their respective regions;
- Serve on the Committees relevant to Regional Development;
- Facilitate the promotion and delivery of development programs throughout their respective regions;
- Facilitate the expansion of Club Hockey and opportunities for all age groups and gender identities to play;
- Liaise with Committees, staff and other regional development personnel and volunteers;
- Assist in the general running of the Society as deemed appropriate by the Board.
MORE INFORMATION
Please refer to the FHA bylaws for more details regarding members. In the case of a discrepancy between the bylaws and the document, the bylaws will be deemed correct.
Useful Links:
