Statutes

Article 1
Name and Headquarters

• The World Slingshot Association is an association duly incorporated in accordance with Sections 60 through 79 of the Swiss Civil Code.
• The World Slingshot Association is domiciled in Baar (Zug), Switzerland as a Not for Profit Association and will be registered with the Commercial Registry of the Canton of Zug. It will also have a European headquarters located at the Federazione Italiana Giochi e Sport Tradizionali (FIGEST), Italy and an Asian headquarters its Asian Headquarters will be located at the Chinese Slingshot Club Champions League (CSCC), China. The headquarters may not be relocated without the approval by the resolution of the Congress.

Article 2
Objectives

The objectives of the World Slingshot Association are to:

• Promote the development of the slingshot sport in the world according to the spirit of the Olympic principles.
• Develop and interpret the charter and regulations of the organization, and ensure the implementation thereof.
• Organize the Slingshot World Cup and the Slingshot International Championships, and confirm and maintain the world records (and the future post-Olympic records).
• Take appropriate actions to prevent any violation of the Charter, regulations or decisions of the Association.
• Prevent any behavior or practice that would jeopardize the integrity of competitions.

Article 3
Non- Discrimination or Racism

No discrimination on the basis of race, gender, language, religion, politics or other aspects of any country, individual or group of people. Any discrimination will result in penalty for suspension or termination of membership

Article 4
Promote Friendly Relations

• The World Slingshot Association shall:
• Promote friendly relations among the Members, Officials and Athletes. All individuals and organizations participating in the slingshot sport shall comply with this Charter, the regulations and the fair play principle; and
• Promote friendly relations in the communities for humanitarian goals.
• The World Slingshot Association shall provide the necessary institutional approach to resolve any disputes that may arise among the Members, Officials and Athletes.

Article 5
Athletes

The Executive Committee shall adopt specific regulations to manage matters relating to the status of and transfer of Athletes.

Article 6
Competition Rules

All members of the World Slingshot Association shall comply with the Competition Rules of the World Slingshot Association established by the Competition Committee of the World Slingshot Association. Only the Competition Committee of the World Slingshot Association may establish and amend the Competition Rules of the World Slingshot Association.

Article 7
Behaviors of the Organs and Officials

The activities of all Members and Officials shall comply with the Charter, regulations, decisions and codes of ethics of the World Slingshot Association. The code of ethics shall be established by the Executive Committee.

Article 8
Official Language

• The official languages of the World Slingshot Association are English, Italian and Chinese. English is the official language of minutes, correspondences and announcements.
• Each Member Association is responsible for translating the documents into their own language.
• The official languages of the Congress are English, Italian and Chinese. Professional translators will be responsible for the translation among these languages. Any delegate at the Congress may speak in their native language, but it must be ensured that a professional translator translates his or her speech into one of the official languages.
• The Charter and the Regulations Governing the Application of the Charter of the World Slingshot Association, the standing orders of the Congress, the decisions and announcements of the World Slingshot Association shall be published in English.

Article 9
Approval, Suspension and Termination of Membership

The approval, suspension and termination of a Member shall be decided by the Congress.

Article 10
Approval of Membership

• Any Association (or Promotion Committee) responsible for organizing and supervising the slingshot sport in its country may become a Member of the World Slingshot Association. Any country may only have one Member (except for the transition period).
• The Association applying for membership shall submit a written application to the Secretariat of the World Slingshot Association.
• The application must be accompanied by the statutory charter of the Association and include the following declarations of the Association:
• At all times comply with the Charter, regulations and decisions of the World Slingshot Association;
• Comply with the Competition Rules of the World Slingshot Association;
• Recognize the International Court of Arbitration for Sport designated by the Charter of the World Slingshot Association.
• An Association in a non-independent region may also request to become an independent Member of the World Slingshot Association with the consent of the Member Association of its country. Any dispute shall be resolved by reference to the practices of the Olympic Games.
• The detailed procedures for the approval of membership shall be set out in the Implementing Rules of the World Slingshot Association.
• During the initial period after the establishment of the World Slingshot Association, the Transitional Management rules shall be applied to the membership as defined in Article 74 "Transition Management".

Article 11
Application Procedures for Membership

• The Executive Committee shall request the Congress to approve or disapprove the application of the Association. The Association that submits an application shall state the reasons for the application to the Congress.
• Once approved, the enrolled Member Association shall immediately have the rights and obligations of a Member. The right of its delegates to vote and to be elected shall also take effect immediately.

Article 12
Rights of the Member Associations

• A Member Association shall have the following rights:
• Participate in the Congress;
  
• Submit proposals to the Congress for inclusion in the Agenda of the Congress;
• Nominate candidates for the Presidency of the World Slingshot Association;
• Participate in the competitions organized by the World Slingshot Association;
• Participate in the assistance and development plans of the World Slingshot Association;
• Exercise the rights under this Charter and other regulations.
• The exercise of the above rights shall be subject to the provisions of this Charter and the applicable regulations.

Article 13
Obligations of the Member Associations

• A Member Association shall have the following obligations:
• At all times fully comply with the Charter, regulations and directives of the World Slingshot Association and the decisions of the organs of the World Slingshot Association;
• Participate in the competitions organized by the World Slingshot Association;
• Pay the membership dues;
• Ensure that its members comply with the Charter, regulations and directives of the World Slingshot Association and the decisions of the organs of the World Slingshot Association;
• Comply with the Competition Rules established by the Competition Committee of the World Slingshot Association;
• Perform the obligations under this Charter and other regulations.
• Any breach of the above obligations by any Member Association will be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of this Charter

Article 14
Suspension of Membership

• The suspending of membership shall be decided by the Congress. However, the Executive Committee may immediately suspend the membership of a Member who materially or repeatedly violated its obligations. If the Executive Committee does not cancel the suspension, it will continue until the next meeting of the Congress.
• At the next meeting of the Congress, the approval of the suspension decision requires a 2/3 majority of the votes; otherwise, the suspension will be automatically canceled.
• The Association whose membership has been suspended will lose its member rights. Other Member Associations may not interact with it in respect of slingshot sport. The Disciplinary Committee may impose further penalties upon it.
• If any Member Association does not participate in two or more events of the World Slingshot Association events in four consecutive years, the Member Association will be suspended from voting at the Congress until it has fulfilled their obligation.

Article 15
Termination of Membership

• The Congress may terminate the membership of a Member Association if:
• The Member Association has not fulfilled its financial obligation to the World Slingshot Association;
• The Member Association materially violates the Charter, regulations, regulations or code of ethics of the World Slingshot Association;
• It loses its status as the Slingshot Association (or Promotion Committee) in its country.
• A decision to terminate the membership will become effective only if an absolute majority of all the delegates with voting power attend the Congress and the motion for expulsion receives a 2/3 majority or more of the votes cast.

Article 16
Withdrawal of Member

• A Member may withdraw from the World Slingshot Association and the withdrawal will take effect from the end of the calendar year. To withdraw from the World Slingshot Association, a notice shall be served to the Secretariat of the World Slingshot Association by registered mail at least six months before the end of the relevant calendar year.
• The Member Association intending to withdraw shall fulfill its financial obligation to the World Slingshot Association and other Members before it withdraws.

Article 17
Organs of Member Associations

• The organs of a Member Association (or Promotion Committee) shall only be elected or appointed by it. The Member Association shall set out the procedures for election in its charter to ensure full independence of elections and appointments.
• The World Slingshot Association will not recognize any association organ that was not established in accordance with the procedures set forth in Paragraph 1 above, even if it is transitional.
• The World Slingshot Association will not recognize any decision made by any association organ that was not established in accordance with the procedures set forth in Paragraph 1 above.

Article 18
Status of Leagues and Other Club Organizations at All Levels

• The Leagues or any other club organizations at all levels shall be recognized by and are affiliated with the Member Association. The charter of a Member Association shall clearly set out the scope of authority, rights and obligations of these organizations. The charter and regulations of these organizations shall be approved by the Member Association.
• Each Member Association shall ensure that the clubs affiliated with it have the right to make any decision in relation to membership without influence from any external institution, regardless of the legal structure of the clubs. To ensure that the integrity and competitiveness of the games is not compromised in any event, the Member Association shall ensure that no individual or body corporate (including its holding companies and subsidiaries) can control more than one club concurrently.

Article 19
Honorary Presidents and Honorary Members

• The Congress may award the title of Honorary President or Honorary Member to anyone who has made any outstanding contribution to the World Slingshot Association.
• The Honorary Presidents and Honorary Members are nominated by the Executive Committee.
• An Honorary President or Honorary Member may participate in the Congress and discussions but without voting rights.

Article 20
Confederation

• The World Slingshot Association recognizes the following Confederations consisting of the Member Associations in the same continent:
• South American Slingshot Association
• Asian Slingshot Association
• European Slingshot Association
• African Slingshot Association
• North American, Central American and Caribbean Slingshot Association
• Oceania Slingshot Association
• Under special circumstances, the World Slingshot Association may authorize a Confederation to grant membership to an association that is geographically in another continent but is not a member of the Confederation on that other continent, but it shall consult with and the opinion of the other Confederation shall be obtained.3. Each Confederation has the following rights and obligations:
• Comply with the Charter, regulations and decisions of the World Slingshot Association;
• Cooperate with the World Slingshot Association in various fields to organize international competitions and to accomplish the objectives set out in Article 2;
• Organize the club competitions of the continent according to the schedule of the international competition calendar;
• Organize the international competitions of the continent according to the schedule of the international competition calendar;
• Ensure that no international league organization or club or league consortium will be established without the consent of the Confederation and the approval of the World Slingshot Association;
• Accept the application of any association to join the World Slingshot Association as a temporary member according to the requirements of the World Slingshot Association. This will enable the association, if approved as a temporary member, to participate in the competitions and conferences of the Confederation;
• Elect the members of the Executive Committee of the World Slingshot Association as the representatives of the Confederation in accordance with this Charter;
• Actively and constructively develop good relationship and cooperation with the World Slingshot Association through advisory meetings, and negotiate with the World Slingshot Association to resolve matters related to the interests of the World Slingshot Association and the Confederation;
• Ensure that its representatives appointed to the organs of the World Slingshot Association and elected as the members of the Executive Committee of the World Slingshot Association faithfully perform their duties based on the principles of mutual respect, unity and fair play;
• Establish the committees corresponding to the committees of the World Slingshot Association, and closely work with the committees of the World Slingshot Association;
• Under special circumstances and with the consent of the World Slingshot Association, the Member Associations of another Confederation (or their affiliated clubs) are permitted to participate in the official competitions organized by the Confederation;
• Through effective cooperation with the World Slingshot Association, extensive and effective measures should be taken to encourage the development and improvement of slingshot sport in the continent (e.g. development of development plans, and holding seminars and conferences, etc.);
• Organize the necessary institutions to complete the tasks;
• Raise funds sufficient to complete the tasks.
• The Executive Committee of the World Slingshot Association may authorize the Confederation to perform some of its duties or functions. In this case, the World Slingshot Association shall sign an appropriate agreement with the Confederation.
• The regulations and regulations of a Confederation shall be submitted to the World Slingshot Association for approval.

Article 21
Organs

• The Congress is the legislative body and highest authority of the World Slingshot Association.
• The Executive Committee is the executive body of the World Slingshot Association.
• The Secretariat is the administrative body of the World Slingshot Association.
• The standing committees and the special committee shall perform their duties to assist and advise the Executive Committee of the World Slingshot Association. This Charter sets out the main duties of the standing committees and the special committees, while their composition, works and other duties shall be set out in the specific regulations.

Article 22
The Congress

• The Congress consists of regular (“Ordinary”) meetings and special (“Extraordinary”) meetings.
• The regular meetings of the Congress of the World Slingshot Association will be held once per year.
• The Executive Committee shall determine the venue and date of the meetings. The Member Associations shall be notified at least three months in advance and the written notice of the meetings shall be received at least one month before the scheduled date of the meetings. The written notice shall include the meeting agenda, the chairman’s report, the financial statements and the auditor’s statements.
• The Executive Committee may convene a special meeting of the Congress of the World Slingshot Association at any time.
• The written notice of a special meeting shall state the agenda of the meeting.
• The Member Associations shall be notified of the special meeting at least two months in advance, stating the date, venue and agenda of the meeting. The agenda of the special meeting shall not be changed.

Article 23
Voting Right, Proxy and Observer

• Each Member Association shall have one vote, which shall be exercised by their delegates. Only Member Associations attending the meeting may exercise the voting right. Vote by proxy, third party or mail is not allowed.
• The delegates of the Congress shall be the members of the associations they represent and be selected by the appropriate body of their associations.
• The delegates of the Confederation may attend the meetings of the Congress as observers.
• The members of the Executive Committee during their term of office shall not act as delegates of their respective associations.
• The name of the delegates of the Congress shall be submitted to the Secretariat before a meeting and the voters shall be indicated. If a voter leaves the venue during the meeting, the second person on the list submitted by the Member Association will perform the duty on his or her behalf. If there is no such second person, it shall be deemed as abstention vote.
• Only the delegates present at the meeting and having the voting right may vote.
• No one may represent more than one association concurrently.
• The President shall preside over the meetings in accordance with the standard procedures of the Congress.

Article 24

Only Member Associations may nominate the candidates of the President. The name of the candidate shall be submitted in writing to the Secretariat of the World Slingshot Association at least two months before the meeting of the Congress. The Secretariat of the World Slingshot Association shall notify the Member Associations of the list of all candidates at least one month in advance.

Article 25
Agenda of Regular Meeting

• The Secretary-general of the World Slingshot Association shall prepare the agenda of the meetings of the Congress based on the proposals of the Executive Committee and Member Associations. The Member associations shall submit proposals to the Secretariat in writing at least two months before the scheduled date of a meeting, together with short description.
• The agenda of a regular meeting shall include:
• Declaring that the convening and composition of the meeting is in compliance with the Charter of the World Slingshot Association;
• Approve the agenda;
• The President delivers a speech;
• Appoint five persons to check the minutes;
• Appoint the vote examiners;
• Suspend or terminate membership (if required);
• Approve the minutes of the previous meeting;
• Work report (including all works since the last meeting);
• Submit the prepared and revised balance sheet, income and expense accounts;
• Approve the financial report;
• Approve the budget;
• Admit members (if required);
• Discuss the proposal to amend the Charter of the World Slingshot Association, the Implementing Rules of the Charter, and the Standard Procedures for the Congress (if required);
• Discuss the proposals submitted by the Member Associations and the Executive Committee according to Paragraph 1 (if required);
• Appoint the auditor (if required);
• Elect the President, and appoint the Vice Presidents and the members of the Executive Committee (if required).
• The agenda of the meeting may be changed with the consent of 2/3 or more of the delegates attending the meeting and having voting rights.

Article 26
Amendment to the Charter of the World Slingshot Association, the Implementing Rules of the Charter and the Standard Procedures for the Congress

• The Congress shall amend the Charter of the World Slingshot Association, the Implementing Rules of the Charter, and the Standard Procedures for the Congress.
• The proposed amendment shall be submitted to the Secretariat in writing by a Member Association or by the Executive Committee, together with short description. The proposed amendment submitted by a Member Association becomes valid only with the written support of at least two Member Associations.
• To vote on the proposed amendment, the meeting of the Congress shall be attended with an absolute majority (more than half) of the Member Associations with voting rights.
• The proposed amendment may be approved only with the consent of 2/3 or more of the delegates attending the meeting and having voting rights.
• The proposed amendment to the Implementing Rules of the Charter and the Standard Procedures for the Congress shall be submitted to the Secretariat in writing by a Member Association or by the Executive Committee.
• The proposed amendment to the Implementing Rules of the Charter and the Standard Procedures for the Congress may be approved with a simple majority of the delegates attending the meeting and having voting rights.

Article 27
Election, Other Resolutions and Required Majority

• The election voting shall be made by secret ballot.
• The voting for other resolutions, if required, shall be made by show of hands. If the voting by show of hands cannot determine the majority, the voting will be made by counting the votes one by one. The counting of votes shall be in English alphabetical order according to the name of the Member Associations.
• The first round of voting for the election of the President of the World Slingshot Association must receive 2/3 or more of the valid votes. The voting in the second and subsequent rounds must receive an absolute majority of votes. If there are more than two candidates, the candidate with the least number of votes will be eliminated in turn from the second round of voting until there is only one remaining candidate.
• Other resolutions may be adopted by a simple majority unless it is otherwise provided in this Charter. The number of valid votes counted will determine the number of votes required for a simple majority. The abstention votes will not be counted.

Article 28
Minutes

• The minutes of the meetings of the Congress shall be maintained by the Secretary-general.
• The minutes of the meetings of the Congress shall be examined by the Member Association appointed by the Congress.

Article 29
Effective Date of Resolutions

Unless otherwise decided by the Congress, the resolutions adopted at a meeting of the Congress shall become effective for all Members sixty days after the end of the meeting.

Article 30
Composition of the Executive Committee, Election of President, Appointment of Vice Presidents and Members of the Executive Committee

• The Executive Committee of the World Slingshot Association is composed of 24 members. The Executive Committee will always include members of the founding member states of the World Slingshot Association who signed the agreement during the first Italian Slingshot World Cup in 2018. The founding member states (Italy, Belgium, Brazil, China, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Hungary and the United States).
• One President shall be elected by the Congress. Eight Vice Presidents and fifteen members of the Executive Committee shall be elected by the Confederations and Member Associations as described below.
• The President of the Executive Committee shall be elected by the Congress and shall have a term of four years from the end of meeting of the Congress at which he or she is elected. The President of the Executive Committee may be re-elected upon expiration of his or her term.
• The members of the Executive Committee shall be elected by the Confederations. The Vice Presidents shall be elected by the relevant associations. If a Confederation has not been established, all the Members of the continent shall hold a meeting to elect the Vice President and members of the Executive Committee representing the continent. If there are no members or the number of members in the continent is less than the number of members of the Executive Committee assigned to the continent, the vacancy shall be left as is.
• All members of the Executive Committee Members shall take their office immediately after they are appointed at the meeting of the Congress. The seats of Vice Presidents and members of the Executive Committee shall be allocated to the Confederations as follows:
• One vice president and three members for Africa;
• One vice president and one member for North America, Central America and the Caribbean;
• One vice president and one member for South America;
• Two vice presidents and three members for Asia;
• Two vice presidents and eight members for Europe;
• One vice president for Oceania.
• Each Member Association may only appoint one member of the Executive Committee.
• The vice presidents and the members of the Executive Committee shall have a term of four years and they may be re-appointed.
• If the President of the Executive Committee is temporarily or permanently unable to perform his or her duties, the most senior vice president in the office shall perform the duties on his or her behalf until the next meeting of the Congress.  A new President shall be elected at the next meeting of the Congress if necessary.
• If any member the Executive Committee ceases to perform his or her duties, the Confederation or Member Association that elected him or her shall immediately appoint another person to take his or her place until the end of his or her term.

Article 31
Powers of the Executive Committee

• The Executive Committee shall have the power to decide all matters other than the matters within the scope of powers of the Congress and those matters that shall be handled by other organs under the laws or this Charter.
• The Executive Committee shall meet at least once every year.
• Upon request of thirteen or more members of the Executive Committee, the President shall immediately convene a meeting of the Executive Committee.
• The Executive Committee shall appoint the chairman, vice chairmen and members of the standing committees.
• The Executive Committee shall appoint the chairman, vice chairmen and members of the Judiciary of the World Slingshot Association.
• The President shall draft the agenda of the meeting. Any member of the Executive Committee shall have the right to submit proposal to the meeting.
• The Executive Committee may decide to establish a special committee at any time if necessary.
• The Executive Committee shall develop the procedures for the organization of the standing committees and the Special Committee.
• The Executive Committee shall appoint or dismiss the Secretary-general on the proposal of the President.
• The Executive Committee shall determine the venue, date and number of teams and athletes participating in the World Slingshot Association World Cup and Intercontinental Cup.
• The Executive Committee shall approve the regulations governing the internal organs of the World Slingshot Association and designate the authorized signatories.

Article 32
President

• The President is the legal representative of the World Slingshot Association.
• The President is responsible for the following matters:
• Execute the resolutions adopted by the Congress and the Executive Committee through the Secretariat, and the President shall not concurrently act as the Secretary-general;
• Oversee the works of the Secretariat;
• Maintain the relations between the World Slingshot Association and the Confederations, Member Associations, political institutions and international organizations.
• The President may appoint a Swiss Representative with powers of representation to represent the World Slingshot Association in Switzerland and provide instructions to the Swiss Representative to sign documents and carry out tasks that may be required on behalf of the World Slingshot Association.
• The Executive Committee may appoint or remove the Secretary-general only on the proposal of the President.
• The President shall preside over the meetings of the Congress, the Executive Committee, the Emergency Committee, and the committee where he or she acts as the chairman.
• President has an ordinary vote in the Executive Committee. When the votes are equal, the President has a casting vote.
• If the President is absent or unable to attend the meeting, the most senior (by term of service) Vice President in the office shall perform the duties on his or her behalf.
• Other powers of the President shall be set out in the internal organization rules of the World Slingshot Association.

Article 33
Emergency Committee

• The Emergency Committee shall deal with all the matters arising between the sessions of the Executive Committee that require immediate resolution. The members of the Emergency Committee include the Chairman and one member of the Executive Committee appointed by each Confederation.
• The President of the World Slingshot Association is responsible for convening a meeting of the Emergency Committee. If the Committee is unable to hold a meeting immediately, decisions can be made by other means of communication and the decisions shall take effect immediately. The Chairman shall inform the Executive Committee of the decisions.
• All decisions made by the Emergency Committee shall be subject to the approval at the next meeting of the Executive Committee.
• If the Chairman is unable to attend the meeting due to whatever reason, the most senior Vice Chairman in the office shall perform the duties on his or her behalf.
• If a member is unable to attend the meeting, the Chairman may appoint another person to take his or her place. The other person so appointed must be a member of the Executive Committee and from the same Confederation which the absent member belongs to.

Article 34
Standing Committees

• The World Slingshot Association shall have the following standing committees:
• The Finance Committee;
• The Internal Audit Committee;
• The Competition Rules Committee;
• The World Cup Organizing Committee of the World Slingshot Association;
• The Intercontinental Cup Organizing Committee of the World Slingshot Association;
• The Referee Committee;
• The Technology and Development Committee;
• The Sports Medicine Committee;
• The Athletes’ Status Committee;
• The Legal Affairs Committee;
• The Ethics and Fair Play Committee;
• The Press Committee;
• The Marketing and Television Broadcasting Advisory Council.
• The chairmen and vice chairmen of the standing committees shall be the members of the Executive Committee, but the chairman and vice chairman of the Internal Audit Committee shall not be served by any member of the Executive Committee.
• The members of the committees shall be appointed by the Executive Committee based upon the recommendations from the Member Associations, the President of the World Slingshot Association or the Confederations.
• The chairmen, vice chairmen and members of the standing committees shall have a term of four years.
• The composition, detailed duties and powers of the committees are governed by the specific organizational rules.
• The chairman of each committee is the representative of the committee and is responsible for the works of the committee in accordance with the applicable organizational rules.
• Each committee may have an office or sub-committee to handle emergent matters as needed.
• Each committee may propose to the Executive Committee to amend its charter.

Article 35
The Finance Committee

The Finance Committee shall monitor the financial management and advise the Executive Committee on financial affairs and asset management. The Finance Committee shall analyze the budget and financial report of the World Slingshot Association prepared by the Secretariat and submit them to the Executive Committee for approval.

Article 36
The Internal Audit Committee

The Internal Audit Committee shall ensure the integrity and reliability of the financial accounts and review the report issued by the external auditor upon request of the Executive Committee.

Article 37
The Competition Rules Committee

The Competition Rules Committee shall be composed of the President of the Executive Committee, a vice president, a secretary-general and four members. The Competition Rules Committee shall establish and amend the competition rules and shall have the power to decide the establishment of and amendment to the competition rules.

Article 38
The World Cup Organizing Committee of the World Slingshot Association

The World Cup Organizing Committee of the World Slingshot Association shall be responsible for organizing the World Cup of the World Slingshot Association in accordance with the applicable World Cup competition rules, list of requirements and protocol of the organizing association.

Article 39
The Intercontinental Cup Organizing Committee of the World Slingshot Association

The Intercontinental Cup Organizing Committee of the World Slingshot Association shall be responsible for organizing the intercontinental cups of the World Slingshot Association in accordance with the applicable competition rules, list of requirements and protocol of the organizing association.

Article 40
The Referee Committee

The Referee Committee shall enforce and interpret the competition rules and propose to the Executive Committee to amend the competition rules. The Committee shall also appoint the referees and assistant referees of the events organized by the World Slingshot Association.

Article 41
The Technology and Development Committee

The Technology and Development Committee shall be responsible for analyzing the basic issues of slingshot sport and the technical developments in slingshot training.

Article 42
Sports Medicine Committee

The Sports Medicine Committee shall deal with all medical matters in the slingshot sport.

Article 43
The Athletes’ Status Committee

• The Athletes’ Status Committee shall establish the athlete status and transfer procedures and monitor compliance with the procedures, and determine the status of athletes participating in various events of the World Slingshot Association. The jurisdiction of the Committee is governed by the athlete status and transfer procedures.
• The Athletes’ Status Committee shall also be responsible for the work of the Dispute Resolution Committee in accordance with the athlete status and transfer procedures as well as the procedures and rules of the Dispute Settlement Committee.

Article 44
The Legal Affairs Committee

The Legal Affairs Committee shall analyze the basic legal affairs relating to the slingshot sport, and the evolution and developments of the charters and regulations of the World Slingshot Association, the Confederations and the Member Associations.

Article 45
The Ethics and Fair Play Committee

The Ethics and Fair Play Committee shall deal with all matters related to the ethics in the slingshot sport and promote the principle of fair play.

Article 46
The Press Committee

The Press Committee shall be responsible for the working conditions of the news media in the events of the World Slingshot Association and maintaining relations with the International Press Institute.

Article 47
The Member Association Committee

The Member Association Committee shall deal with the relations between the World Slingshot Association and the Member Associations and give recommendations for the best cooperation between them. The Committee shall also monitor the evolution and developments of the charters and regulations of the World Slingshot Association, the Confederations and the Member Associations.

Article 48
The Marketing and Television Broadcasting Advisory Council

The Marketing and Television Broadcasting Advisory Council shall advise the Executive Committee on the drafting and execution of the contracts between the World Slingshot Association and its marketing/television broadcasting partners and on the analysis of existing marketing and television broadcasting strategies.

Article 49

The disciplinary actions are:

• For individual and body corporate:
• Warning;
• Reprimand;
• Fine;
• Retrieval of award.
• For individual:
• Warning;
• Expulsion;
• Ban from competition;
• Ban from entering an event venue;
• Ban from participating in any activity related to slingshot sport.
• For body corporate:
• Ban from transfer;
• Participate in competition only at a neutral venue;
• Nullify the result of a game;
• Expulsion;
• Fine;
• Point penalty;
• Demotion.
• The Executive Committee shall establish the disciplinary rules of the World Slingshot Association.

Article 50
Judiciary

• The Judiciary of the World Slingshot Association are:
• Discipline Committee;
• Appeal Committee.
• The duties and roles of the above organs are governed by the disciplinary rules of the World Slingshot Association.
• The Judiciary shall not prejudice the decision-making power of the committees.

Article 51
Discipline Committee

• The Disciplinary Committee is composed of a chairman, a vice chairman and the required number of members. The chairman and vice chairmen shall have the statutory qualification.
• The role of the Committee shall be governed by the disciplinary rules of the World Slingshot Association. The Committee may make a decision only when at least three members are present. Under special circumstances, the Chairman may make a decision at his or her own discretion.
• The Committee may impose penalties on the Member Associations, clubs, Officials, Athletes, competitions and athlete agents, provided that the penalties are provided in this Charter and the disciplinary rules of the World Slinging Society Association.
• With respect to the penalty of suspending or terminating the membership of a Member Association, this provision shall be subject to the power of penalty of the Congress and the Executive Committee.

Article 52
The Appeal Committee

• The Appeal Committee is composed of a chairman, a vice chairman and the required number of members. The chairman shall have the statutory qualification.
• The role of the Committee shall be governed by the disciplinary rules of the World Slingshot Association. The Committee may make a decision only when at least three members are present. Under special circumstances, the Chairman may make a decision at his or her own discretion.
• The Appeal Committee is responsible for hearing appeals about the decisions made by the Disciplinary Committee, provided that these decisions are not final in accordance with the applicable regulations of the World Slingshot Association. The Appeal Committee is also responsible for hearing appeals about the decisions made by the Athlete Status Committee on the qualification of the athletes in the teams of the Member Associations.
• The decisions made by the Appeal Committee are fine and unchangeable and are binding upon the parties. This provision shall be subject to an appeal filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Article 53
The Court of Arbitration for Sport

• The World Slingshot Association shall provide the opportunity of resorting to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in resolving disputes between the World Slingshot Association, Confederations, Member Associations, Leagues, clubs, Athletes, Officials and authorized athletes and event brokers. The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an independent arbitration court headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• The arbitration proceedings are set out in the sports arbitration rules of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In essence, the Court of Arbitration for Sport will apply the regulations of the World Slingshot Association, or the applicable charter of the concerned Confederation, Member Association, League and club as well as the laws of Switzerland.

Article 54
Authority of the Court of Arbitration for Sport

Where a dispute cannot be resolved by exhausting the appeals of all levels from the club, League, Member Association, Confederation to the World Slingshot Association, the Court of Arbitration for Sport may arbitrate the final decisions and the appeals on disciplinary actions, provided that an appeal is filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 10 days after the notice of decision is given.

Article 55
Recognition

• The Confederations, Member Associations and Leagues shall recognize the Court of Arbitration for Sport as an independent judiciary and procure their members, athletes and officials to comply with the decisions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. This provision shall also apply to the authorized competitions and athlete agents.
• Nothing shall be resorted to the regular courts unless it is otherwise provided in the regulations of the World Slingshot Association.
• To ensure the enforcement of the provisions above, each Member Association shall include a clause in its charter stating that its clubs and members shall not appeal any dispute to the regular courts, and requiring all disputes be submitted to the Member Association, the corresponding Confederation or the Judiciary of the World Slingshot Association for resolution.

Article 56
Principles

• The Confederations, Member Associations and Leagues shall fully comply with the final and non-appealable decisions made by the relevant organs of the World Slingshot Association in accordance with this Charter.
• The Confederations, Member Associations and Leagues shall take all necessary actions causing their members, athletes and officials to comply with these decisions.
• This provision shall also apply to the authorized competitions and athlete agents.

Article 57
Penalties

Violation of any provision above shall be penalized in accordance with the disciplinary rules of the World Slingshot Association.

Article 58
Secretariat

The Secretariat shall carry out the administrative work of the World Slingshot Association under the direction of the Secretary-general.

Article 59
Secretary-general

• The Secretary-general is the Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat of the World Slingshot Association and shall be appointed by the President of the Executive Committee from one of the members of the Executive Committee.
• The Secretary-general shall be appointed on the basis of an agreement signed in accordance with Civil Law and shall have power to sign on behalf of the World Slingshot Association.
• The Secretary-general shall be responsible for:
• Implement the resolutions of the Congress and the Executive Committee in accordance with the instructions of the President;
• Properly manage and maintain the accounts of the World Slingshot Association;
• Prepare the minutes of the meetings of the Congress, the Executive Committee, the Committee, the Emergency Committee, the standing committees and special committee;
• Correspondences of the World Slingshot Association;
• The relations between the World Slingshot Association and the Confederations, Member Associations and committees;
• Organization of the Secretariat;
• Appoint and dismiss the staff of the Secretariat.
• The President shall appoint the managers (department directors) of the Secretariat on the proposal of the Secretary-general.

Article 60
Fiscal Period & Resources

• The fiscal period of the World Slingshot Association is one year, the initial fiscal year shall run form the date of formation of the World Slingshot Association to 31.12.2020 and thereafter shall end on the 31.12 of each year.
• The World Slingshot Association's resources are derived from:
• donations and legacies;
• sponsorship;
• public subsidies;
• membership fees;
• any other resources authorized by the law.
• The incomes and expenditures of the World Slingshot Association shall be managed to achieve break-even at the end of the fiscal period. Reserves will also be created to ensure that the World Slingshot Association can fulfil its duties in the future.
• The Secretary-general shall prepare the consolidated accounts of the World Slingshot Association and its affiliated bodies as of December 31st each year.

Article 61
Auditor

The auditor, if appointed, shall audit the accounts approved by the Finance Committee and submit a report to the Congress. The term of the auditor is four years and may be extended.

Article 62
Membership Dues

• Each Member Association shall pay its membership dues on or before January 1st of each year. The membership dues of a new Member for the first year shall be paid within 30 days after the end of the meeting of the Congress at which it becomes a Member.
• The amount of the membership dues may be determined by the Congress every four years, as recommended by the Executive Committee. The membership dues for each Member Association shall be the same and shall not exceed $1,000.

Article 63
Payment of Membership Dues

The World Slingshot Association may debit the account of a Member Association to pay off the membership dues.

Article 64
Royalties

• For each Level “A” international competition between the Member Associations, the Member Associations must pay certain royalties to the World Slingshot Association. The slingshot competition in the Olympic Games shall also be deemed as an international competition. The amount of royalties shall be specified in the Implementing Rules of the Charter based on actual income of the competition and shall not exceed the payment ability of the Member Association of the country in which the competition is held.
• A Confederation may also levy its own royalties according to its charter and regulations, in addition to the royalties levied by the World Slingshot Association.

Article 65
Rights

• All rights arising from the events and competitions within the jurisdiction of the World Slingshot Association, Member Associations and Confederations respectively shall be owned by them respectively without limitation of content, time, place and law. These rights include various financial rights, audiovisual and broadcast recording, reproduction and playback copyright, multimedia copyright, market development and promotion rights, and intangible assets such logos and copyrights.
• The Executive Committee shall decide how to use these rights and contents of these rights and shall establish special regulations in this regard. The Executive Committee shall also at its own discretion decide whether to exercise these rights by itself only, by working with any third party, or by any third party only.

Article 66
Authorization

• The World Slingshot Association, Member Associations and Confederations shall have the exclusive right to grant a license to the images, sounds and other data transmission means of the slingshot competitions and events within their respective jurisdiction, without limitation of content, time, place, technology and law.
• The Executive Committee shall establish special regulations in this regard.

Article 67
Venue of the Competitions of the World Slingshot Association

• The Executive Committee shall determine the venue of the competitions organized by the World Slingshot Association. In principle, the same event shall not be held in the same continent for two consecutive years. The Executive Committee shall establish guidelines in this regard.
• The rules of the World Slingshot Association World Cup shall stipulate that certain amount of revenue must be obtained for future development.

Article 68
International Competition Calendar

The Executive Committee shall develop an international competition calendar. After consultation with the Confederations, the Confederations, Member Associations and Leagues shall obey by the schedule of the competition calendar.

Article 69
International Competitions and Events

• The Executive Committee shall develop and publish the rules for the international competitions and events between the teams of the Member Associations, Leagues and/or clubs. No competition or event may be held without the permission of the World Slingshot Association.
• The Executive Committee may develop further technical provisions.

Article 70
Contact

• No competition may be held or contact for sports purpose may be made with any entity which is not a Member of the World Slingshot Association or with any association which is not a temporary member of a Confederation or any of their affiliated clubs, without the approval of the World Slingshot Association.
• Athletes and Teams should not compete with any team of athletes that are not from any club or League affiliated with the World Slingshot Association.
• Member Associations and their clubs may not compete in their territory without the approval of other Member Associations.

Article 71
Approval

Except for special circumstances, any association, league or club of a Member Association may not be affiliated to another Member Association, or participate in the competition within the territory of another Member Association without the permission of the existing or future Member Associations and the World Slingshot Association.

Article 72
Unforeseen Incidents and Force Majeure
The Executive Committee may make a final determination on any matter covered by this Charter or any event of force majeure.

Article 73
Dissolution

If the World Slingshot Association is dissolved, its assets shall be handed over to the supreme court of the country in which it is headquartered. The supreme court shall keep custody of these assets as “trusted assets” until the World Slingshot Association is restored. Or donated to an equivalent sporting association as prescribed by law.

Article 74
Transition Management

• At the time of establishment of the World Slingshot Association, certain countries may not have any association (or promotion committee) that is responsible for organizing and overseeing the slingshot sport in their territory. Therefore, the combination of a member state representative and an individual member of committee may be applied, so that an individual may act as the special representative of such country towards the World Slingshot Association in relation to slingshot sports.
• In these circumstances the special representative shall have the right to attend and vote at the meetings of the Congresses, and also serve as a member of the Executive Committee.
• When the country of the special representative has established an association (or promotion committee) responsible for organizing and overseeing  slingshot sport in its territory, the special representative of the country shall be replaced by an association (or promotion committee) but, if appointed, may   act as a representative of the Member at the next meeting of the Congress.
• The transition period is 4 years from the effective date of this Charter and shall expire on the date of the meeting of the Congress after 4 years. The Executive Committee may decide to extend the transition period by up to 2 years at a meeting of the Executive Committee as needed, and the total length of the transition period is up to 6 years.
• Upon expiry of the transition period, the combination of member state representative and individual member of committee, and thus the status of all special representatives and their service at the World Slingshot Association shall cease automatically.

Article 75
Execution of the Charter

This Charter was drafted in August 2019 and adopted at the Congress held in Shanghai, China on November 16, 2019, and takes effect as of November 17, 2019.

November 16, 2019 in Shanghai, China

In the name of the Executive Committee of the World Slingshot Association