LES RANDONNEURS MONDIAUX
BYLAWS
(This constitution was developed by President Réal Préfontaine and adopted by the General Assembly on 23 August 2003.)
ARTICLE 1 - TITLE
Les Randonneurs Mondiaux (RM) is an international association of cycling organizations dedicated to the sport of randonneur cycling, created at the initiative of l’Audax Club Parisien (ACP) in August 1983 with the collaboration of representatives from eight countries, the founding members. The official languages of the society are French and English. The address is the head office of ACP. The laws of France apply and the courts of France have competent jurisdiction. In the event of any discrepancy between the English and French versions of these Bylaws, the French version shall prevail.
ARTICLE 2 - OBJECTIVES
1. To promote, encourage and applaud the efforts of those cyclists who wish to test their personal limits by combining the enjoyment of touring with the demands of long distance cycling.
2. To promote and encourage randonneur cycling events in accordance with the rules of "Brevets de Randonneurs Mondiaux (BRM) à allure libre", or self-paced randonneur brevets with set time limits, created in 1921 by the Audax Club Parisien.
3. To validate BRM of 1200 km or more, except the Paris Brest Paris (PBP).
ARTICLE 3 - MEMBERSHIP
1. Membership is open to all national randonneur cycling organizations which agree to organize BRM (at least the 200 km) every year in accordance with the rules promulgated by ACP and with those rules which may be developed and adopted by the General Assembly (GA) of the RM.
2. Application for membership must be presented to the President of ACP who validates the classic brevets of 200 km, 300 km, 400 km, 600 km and 1000 km. (See Note 1).
3. There are two categories of members :
a) Voting members: i.e., the founding members and members admitted after two years’ probation;
b) Associate members without voting privileges and members during the probationary period.
ARTICLE 4 - GENERAL ASSEMBLY (GA)
1. The GA will be composed of the voting members and the associate members. The quorum of the GA will be 50% plus one (1) of the voting members present at the meeting.
2. The GA will hold a quadrennial meeting after each PBP, and may in addition at the request of the President hold annual meetings by telephone conference or by correspondence (paper or by electronic means).
3. The responsibilities of the GA are :
a) Receive the reports of the Executive Committee and the members;
b) Establish policies and regulations for RM;
c) Approve application of new members;
d) Establish the one time application fee for new members;
e) Establish the annual fee for all members;
f) Establish the fee for validation of brevets of 1200 km or more and the cost of the RM medals and pins;
g) Approve and elect the Officers of RM.
ARTICLE 5 - OFFICERS
The officers of RM will be the President, the Vice President, and the Treasurer, elected by an absolute majority of the GA for a term of four years. The officers form the Executive Commitee of RM. The Past President will be an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee without voting privileges during the transition phase of presidential duties. The Executive committee may be supplemented by an Advisory Board of one or more members elected by an absolute majority of the GA as noted above but without voting privileges or administrative responsibilities. This Board will be given specific duties as determined by the current needs of the RM.
ARTICLE 6 - DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT
The President will :
1. Approve, on recommendation of the National Representative of the respective country, the routes of brevets of 1200 km or more;
2. Validate the individual results of brevets of 1200 km or more, issue a validation number and record the names of the finishers in the RM Registry;
3. Convene all meetings of the GA and of the Executive Committee;
4. Send an Agenda for the GA to all members as least four months before the meeting;
5. Chair the meetings of the GA and of the Executive Committee;
6. Supervise the dissemination of information to all members;
7. Send at least twice-yearly a PRESIDENT’S LETTER to members; and
8. Cast a deciding vote at the GA in case of a tie vote.
ARTICLE 7 - DUTIES OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
The Vice President will :
1. Assume all the duties of the President if the President resigns or becomes incapable, for whatever reason, of discharging the duties of his office;
2. Record the decisions and prepare a summary report of the meetings of the GA and of the Executive Committee for distribution to all members within two months of the meetings; and
3. Assume other duties that may be delegated to him by the President.
ARTICLE 8 - DUTIES OF THE TREASUER
The Treasurer will :
1. Collect all RM fees from voting and associate members;
2. Maintain records of income and expenses and prepare annually a report on the financial status of RM for distribution to all members;
3. Prepare and present a quadrennial financial report to the GA;
4. Prepare, with input from the President, a quadrennial budget for submission to the GA; and
5. Assume other duties that may be assigned by the President.
ARTICLE 9 - DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
1. The Executive Committee:
a) Will be responsible for administering the business of RM;
b) Will ensure policies of RM are implemented by the members;
c) May, in the interval between quadrennial meetings of RM assess an additional fee to meet urgent financial needs of the association. Any increase in fees whether approved by the GA or by the Executive Committee will become effective on January 1st following the approval.
2. Meetings of the Executive Committee will be by telephone or other electronic means.
3. Expenses, such as postage, communication (e.g., telephone & fax), office supplies and any other items approved in the budget incurred by the Officers of RM in the administration of the affairs of RM will be reimbursed by the treasury of RM in Euros.
ARTICLE 10 - DUTIES OF THE RM NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE
The National Representative should be an experienced randonneur cyclist, accepted by ACP and committed to adhere to the rules of the ACP for all brevets organized by himself or by his delegates (e.g. verifying the route itinerary and control points).
The National Representative will :
1. Represent the interest of, and ensure responsible supervision of all RM activities in their country;
2. Recommend for approval by the President, the routes selected for brevets of 1200 km or more in their country
3. Be the official contact between RM Executive Committee and their member organization;
4. Provide the President with relevant news items that may have international interest;
5. Communicate RM information and news items to all randonneurs in their country;
6. Submit to the President, if desired, a report and topics for discussion at the GA, at least six months before the meeting of the GA; and
7. Represent the views of their member organization at the GA.
ARTICLE 11 - ACCOUNTING
Les Randonneurs Mondiaux is a nonprofit organization. The financial year will be the calendar year.
ARTICLE 12 - VOTING AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Policies and other administrative issues of the Association will be adopted or rejected at a meeting of the GA at which they are presented by a simple majority vote of voting members present at the meeting.
ARTICLE 13 - AMENDMENTS
1. The Bylaws can only be amended at a meeting of the GA by a majority vote of two thirds (2/3) of the voting members and voting in favor or expressing such an opinion by postal or electronic means at least 15 days before the meeting of the General Assembly.
2. Proposed amendments to the Bylaws must be forwarded in writing to the President at least eight (8) months before the meeting of the GA. The President will communicate these to all members and request comments, sub-amendments or counter amendments pertaining to the proposed amendments.
3. At least four (4) months before the meeting of the GA, the President will send to all members, with the agenda of the GA, all debates, proposed sub-amendments and counter amendments to the Bylaws.
ARTICLE 14 - SPECIAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Should a grave problem occur, e.g. dereliction of duties by the President or other members of the Executive Committee, RM Representatives representing at least 25% of voting members may call a special GA by post or electronic means.
ARTICLE 15 - SUSPENSION
Members who become inactive (e.g., do not hold BRM on an annual basis) or are derelict in payment of their annual membership fee may be suspended from RM by the Executive Committee. Re-instatement is subject to payment of arrears as determined by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE 16 - RESPONSABILITIES
The Officers of RM are not in any way personally responsible for the organization of randonneur events listed in the annual calendar. These randonneur events are the direct responsibilities of the organizing clubs, which listed them in the RM calendar. The Officers are only responsible for their action in the administration of their duties on behalf of the association.
ARTICLE 17 - DISSOLUTION or LIQUIDATION
In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of Randonneurs Mondiaux, any assets remaining after all debts and obligations have been honored shall be transferred to the Audax Club Parisien.
Note 1:
During a probationary period of 2 years, the applicant must organize BRM regularly on routes approved by ACP and demonstrate that all ACP rules have been followed and route cards are well maintained. The ACP President then forwards the application with his recommendation to the President of RM who will submit it to the GA for approval and then will authorize the applicant to organize brevets of 1200 km or more.
