AFA NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL EVENTS TOURNAMENT CHARTER
1.The National Committee shall consist of the following AFA members:
a. The Chairperson of each District
b . The Tournament Director
c. The Tournament Host (ex-officio)
d. A Representative of the Educational Practices Committee (ex-officio)
f. The Chairperson of the American Forensic Association National Individual
Events Tournament Board of Trustees
g. One Representative appointed by the AFA President from each of the AFA
Regional Forensic Associations, to serve for two-year terms
h. The Immediate Past chair of National Committee
i. The two Student Co-chairs from the AFA-NIET Student Committee
j. The chair of the National Committee (ex-officio with vote only to break a tie vote)
k. The Secretary of the National Committee
l. One Representative from a two-year school to be appointed by the chair of Phi Rho Pi
2. An ex-officio member may participate fully in the deliberations of the
Committee, but shall not have voting rights on any matter.
3. Election Procedures
a. The District Chairpersons shall be elected to office at the District
Tournaments and shall be members of the AFA.
b. The Tournament Director and the Tournament Host shall be appointed by
the NIET Committee.
c. District Chairs in odd numbered districts shall be elected during odd
numbered years, and District Chairs in even numbered districts shall be
elected in even numbered years.
d. Student Co-chairs will be elected by and from among the members of the
AFA-NIET Student Committee.
4. Term of Membership
a. The Tournament Director and the Tournament Host shall serve as long as
the National Committee wishes to retain their services, and as long as
those appointed to such positions consent to serve.
b. All other members shall be elected to a two-year term, except Student Co-
chairs who will serve one-year terms.
c. Terms of office shall. begin on May 1 of each year.
d. Members representing the Regional Forensic Associations shall be
appointed as follows: Southern and Eastern representatives shall be
appointed in odd numbered years, and Central and Western representatives
shall be appointed in even numbered years.
5. Officers
a. The Committee Chairperson and other necessary officers shall be elected by
and from within the membership of the voting members of the National
Committee.
c. The National Chairperson of the NIET Committee shall be elected for a
two-year term.
d. A Vice-Chairperson shall be elected to hold a special election to replace
the National Chairperson should the Chairperson resign or be unable to
fulfill duties of the office during the tenure of the office.
6. The constituency represented by the AFA-NIET Chairperson shall be
represented for that time period for the purposes of debate and voting during
AFA-NIET Committee meetings by a new person chosen by regular
procedures.
7. The constituency represented by the AFA-NIET Secretary can continue to be
represented for that time period by the Secretary or the constituency represented by the AFA-NIET Secretary can be represented for that time period for the purposes of debate and voting during AFA-NIET Committee meetings, by a new person chosen by regular procedures.
B. Duties
1.The following rights shall be reserved to the National Committee:
a. To review present district practices and initiate, when necessary, uniform
procedures for the selection of National participants and district
committees.
b. To regulate the number of districts and the geographical and numerical size of the districts.
c . To establish a uniform formula for determining the number of participants
whivh the districts may qualify via the District Tournaments, and the
formula for participants to qualify via the At-Large Method.
d. To establish and administer the National Individual Events Tournament
procedures with respect to:
(1) Number and form of qualifying rounds
(2) Events and rules
(3) Number of elimination rounds
(4) Other procedures which may be necessary to the function of the
NIET.
2. The National Committee shall be responsible for the establishment and
execution of tournament and related policy with respect to:
a. Number of judges per round
b. Qualification and selection of guest judges
c. Payment of guest judges
d. Social features (banquet, programs, publications, awards, etc.)
e. Eligibility of participants
f. Selection of a tournament director
g. Selection of a site
h. Selection of ballots
i. Publicity activities
j. Appointment of subcommittees to assist the Tournament Director in the
administration of the National Individual Events Tournament
k. Maintaining an up-to-date list of institutions carrying on individual event
forensic programs and the instructional staff of those programs.
1. A quorum of two-thirds of the voting members of the National Committee
shall be required for transaction of National Committee business.
2. Policy decisions shall require a two-thirds vote of the members present and
voting, or a simple majority vote in two consecutive years.
A. The AFA-NIET Committee shall have a minimum of two meetings each
academic year.
B. Each district should establish and hold an open meeting. The purpose of the
meeting shall be to elect district committees and for committee members to
receive information and feedback which they can bring to the attention of the
AFA-N.I.E.T. Committee.
III. AFA-NIET Eligibility
A. Any accredited (or pursuing accreditation) two or four-year college/university
shall be eligible to send participants to the NIET.
B. To gain eligibility, participating institutions must be in good standing with the
financial requirements as established by the NIET. Committee and Board of
Trustees.
C. Eligibility requirements for participants shall be determined by the AFA-
NIET Committee and set forth yearly in the Tournament announcement and
information, with the stipulation that no student should be allowed to compete
who has participated in judged intercollegiate competition in 3 or
more tournaments (as defined in the alternate qualifying procedures as
established by the NIET Committee) in eight or more six-month periods (July
1 – December 25 or December 26 - June 30).
D. Participants in the AFA-NIET. must be full-time or part-time undergraduate
students. An undergraduate is defined as a person not possessing a
baccalaureate degree.
E. If a participant qualifies for the AFA-NIET while eligible under Sections C
and D and graduates during the academic year, such participant will be able to
compete in the AFA-NIET for that academic year.
F. Students earning qualifying legs with the at-large qualification method must be
full or part-time undergraduate students enrolled for a minimum of six semester
hours or the equivalent per term.
IV.
Qualifications for the AFA-NIET
A. The NIET shall establish and maintain the procedure for determining the
qualification procedures to be met by participants in the NIET.
B. A District Qualifying Tournament shall be held in each District.
1. The District Tournament shall be open subject to the following criteria:
a. The NIET subscription fee must be paid.
b. The school has met established eligibility requirements.
c. The entry meets criteria established and published by the AFA-NIET
and District Committees.
2. Rules and procedures of District Tournaments shall not violate the intent of
rules and procedures of the AFA-NIET Committee.
1. The Board shall consist of five members of the AFA appointed by the
President of the AFA with the approval of the National Individual Events
Tournament Committee.
2. Each member shall be appointed for a term of five years except that of the five
members appointed to the Board of Trustees in 1979, one member shall be
appointed for a term expiring in 1980, one member for a term expiring in
1981, one member for a term expiring in 1982, one member for a term
expiring in 1983, and one member for a term expiring in 1984. In the event of
death or resignation of a member of the Board, the President of the AFA shall
appoint a person to fill the unexpired term.
3. The Chairperson of the Board shall be elected annually by and from the
membership of the Board of Trustees. Any member of the AFA shall be
eligible to serve on the Board.
4. The Board of Trustees shall be responsible for all financial affairs of the AFA
National Individual Events Tournament. It shall draft the budget for each AFA-NIET, established any assessments for the districts and the participating schools, and sign any agreements with sponsoring institutions, with the approval of the AFA-NIET Committee. It shall have the sole
authority in negotiating with the agent(s) financing the AFA-NIET.
5. The Board of Trustees shall be responsible for establishing whatever legal
framework is required for it to execute its duties.
VI. National individual Events Tournament Board
of Trustees - Statement of
1. Subsidy from the American Forensic Association: The amount of the subsidy
requested will be determined by the Board Of Trustees meeting at the
National Individual Events Tournament. The request for the subsidy will be
made by the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.
2. Subscription Fees: The amount of the subscription fee for the following year
will be established by the Board of Trustees meeting at the NIET.
Subscription fees are to be collected not later than December 31, by each
District Chairperson. A portion of the fees must be designated to be retained
by the Districts, with a check for the remaining fees, together with the names
of the schools, directors, and mailing addresses being forwarded to the
Chairperson of the AFA-NIET Committee. By January 10, all fees
collected by the National Chairperson of the AFA-NIET Committee shall
be forwarded, along with a list of subscribers, to the Treasurer of the Board of
Trustees. No subscription fees will be accepted after December 31, unless
approval is given by both the AFA-NIET Committee and the Board of
Trustees.
3. Registration Fees: The amount of the registration fee for the following
NIET. shall be established by the Board of Trustees meeting at the annual
convention of the National Communication Association. Registration Fees
shall be collected by the Treasurer of the Board of Trustees or a person
designated by the Treasurer. Receipts are to be issued by the Board of
Trustees.
4. Grants and Subsidies:
a. Procedure: The Board of Trustees shall be the sole agency-designated by
the American Forensic Association to negotiate with sponsoring
individuals, groups, organizations, or institutions. All negotiations must be
conducted by or at the direction of the Board. All agreements with
sponsors are to be approved by the Board of Trustees. The
AFA-NIET Committee is authorized by the board to negotiate with
educational institutions interested in hosting the NIET. Before the final
approval is given by the NIET Committee, the Board of Trustees must
be furnished the following documents:
(1) A letter of invitation from the principal officer of the institution.
(2) A statement of any goods and/or services to be provided by the
institution.
(3) A statement of any charges to be made for use and care of any
facilities.
b. The official acceptance of an invitation to host the NIET. shall be written
by the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.
a. The Treasurer, elected annually by the Board from among its membership
at the meeting of the Board during the NIET, shall be authorized to
receive and disburse funds in the name of the Board of Trustees.
b. The Treasurer shall be authorized to make cash advances to the
Chairperson of the NIET, the Director of the NIET., and the
Tournament Host. Any cash advances are to be covered by receipts and
any balances are to be received by the Treasurer not later than June I
following the NIET for which the advance was made. The Treasurer is
authorized to make payments on receipts of invoice for goods and
services listed as line items in the budget. A written report of income and
disbursements shall be prepared by the Treasurer and forwarded to the
members of the Board, the NIET Committee, and all subscribing
schools not later than August 1.
2. The Budget for the AFA-NIET: The budget for each AFA-NIET. is to be
developed by the AFA-NIET Tournament Director, the Chairperson of the
NIET. Committee, and the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees. The
NIET. Committee must be consulted concerning the line items of the
budget. The budget must be approved by the Board of Trustees during the
meeting at the annual convention of the National Communication
Association. Only the Chairperson of the NIET Committee, the NIET
Tournament Director, and the Tournament Host are authorized to incur
indebtedness in the name of the Board of Trustees. Such indebtedness may
not exceed the sum specified in the budget line item without approval of
the Board of Trustees. The Treasurer is to be notified when such approval is
given.
VII. Ratification
A. Upon passage by a majority vote of those AFA members present and voting at a
regular AFA business meeting, this charter shall be adopted.
A. The NIET. charter shall be subject to amendment by submitting a printed ballot
mailed to the membership of AFA after discussion and passage of the
recommendation by those present and voting at the annual AFA meeting. A
summary of the pro and con agreements from the discussion shall accompany the
proposal. The ballots shall carry instructions that include a return deadline date
no earlier than thirty days from date of mailing. Changes in the charter will be
accepted if ratified by a majority vote of the members voting. Changes in the
charter shall not apply to the NIET immediately following the annual meeting at
which changes are voted upon.
Adopted by AFA National Meeting, November 3, 1978
Amended by AFA membership vote, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2000, 2005