The Statute of the Panamerican Confederation - English

The Statutes of the Confederation

CHAPTER I

Article 1
The Pan American Fencing Confederation was created on March 8, 1951, in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina and legally constituted on March 23, 1955 in Mexico City. Its main goal is the development of the sport of fencing in the American Continent. It is recognized by the ODEPA and FIE.

Article 2
The headquarters of the Confederation will be in the Country where the last elected President lives.

Article 3
The symbol of the Pan American Fencing Confederation will be the annexed emblem.

Article 4
The official languages of the Pan American Fencing Confederation are Spanish and English.

CHAPTER II
OBJECTIVES AND FUNCTIONS

Article 5
Entre los objetivos que persigue la Confederación Panamericana de Esgrima, se encuentran los siguientes:
• Strengthen the ties of friendship among the affiliated Federations.
• Encourage and develop ideas leading to the development of fencing in the American Continent.
• Organize Pan American Championships for Seniors and/or Juniors in all weapons: Men's and Women's Foil, Men's and Women' Epee and Sabre.

Article 6
The Pan American Fencing Confederation has the following duties:
• Establish and strengthen good relationship among it's Members.
• Develop fencing in our Continent; organize courses, seminars or any other activity leading to the achievement of this goal.
• Organize, regulate ad assist in the administration of Senior and under 20 Fencing Championships, supervise their development, periodically informing the FIE and the ODEPA of their results.
• Meet annually to coordinate all activities during the four years in between the Pan American Games.
• Maintain good relationships with the two Organizations in charge of our Sport, FIE and ODEPA, advising them as deemed necessary.
• Provide material assistance to any Sport Association requesting such assistance.
• Establish schedules for annual Championships.
• Express the acknowledgement of the Pan American Fencing Confederation to those individuals, who merit such recognition, through their work and dedication, demonstrate in the development of fencing in our Continent
• All those functions agreed on during the Congress which lead to the accomplishment of the objectives listed in Article 5, as long as they do not interfere with the Bylaws and Rules of the FIE and ODEPA.

Article 7

The only matters which concern tire Pan American Fencing Confederation are those, related directly with the American Continent, without interference with regional matters concerning the South American Fencing Confederation or the Central American and Caribbean Confederation (both of which are recognized by the FIE) or any National Federation affiliated to it.

It is perfectly clear, that the Pan American Fencing Confederation does not represent any of the above mentioned Regional Confederations before the FIE, or any National Federation of the affiliated countries, all of which are recognized by the FIE as stated in the Bylaws.

Article 8

As there are some countries in our Continent without a National Olympic Committee officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee and ODEPA, as well as other countries without a Fencing Federation officially recognized by tire FIE, the Pan American Fencing Confederation may, after deliberating with the pertinent International organizations, invite them to participate at the Ordinary and Extraordinary Meetings and in the Pan American Junior and/or Senior Championships.
This exception is not applicable to participation in the Pan American Games, which are organized by ODEPA, every four years and to which, only countries recognized by ODEPA are invited.

CHARTER III
MEMBERS

Article 9

All countries on the America Continent, affiliated to the FIE and willing to observe its Bylaw, are members by right.
Article 10

Member Countries of the Pan American Fencing Confederation have the following rights:

• Be represented at the Congresses by a Delegate and one additional person, both of whom having voice, however possessing only one vote, that of the Delegate

• To empower the Executive Committee of the Confederation to the convocation of Extraordinary Meeting if necessary.

• Invite bids to and assign the location of the Junior, Senior or Cadet Pan-American Championships in timely manner, sending the established schedule to the office of the Confederation, at least three months in advance of the date of the event, that it can appropriately inform all Member Federations

• Solicit Technical advice from the Executive Committee as necessary, in order to carry out developmental Programs or in the organization of official Championships.

Article 11

The Countries, Members of the Pan American Confederation, have the following duties:

• Respect the Directives issued by the Governing Body of the Confederation.

• Be represented at the Ordinary and Extraordinary Congresses convoked by the Confederation.

• Be current with the annual dues established by the Confederation and prescribed in these Bylaws as well as the fees established by the FIE.
• Participate regularly in fencing events scheduled in our Continent.
• Maintain contact with the Confederation, informing it periodically of progress made in Fencing in their Countries.

Article 12
The Countries, Members of the Pan American Fencing Confederation are organized into three Geographic Zones, in order to give balanced representation of the Continent on the Executive Committee and tire Commissions.

SOUTH AMERICAN ZONE
The following Fencing Federations, affiliated to the FIE, belong to this Zone:
Federación Argentina de Esgrima
Federación Boliviana de Esgrima
Confederación Brasilera de Esgrima
Federación Chilena de Esgrima
Asociación Colombiana de Esgrima
Asociación Ecuatoriana de Esgrima
Federación Peruana de Esgrima
Federación Uruguaya de Esgrima
Federación Venezolana de Esgrima
Federación Paraguaya de Esgrima

All recognized by the FIE, adding to this Zone, the Following Countries do not have their own Fencing Federation, but should be considered as part of this region:

Guyana, Surinam, Guyana Francesa
CENTRAL AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN ZONE
Federación Amateur de Esgrima de las Antillas Holandesas
Federación Amateur de Esgrima de Puerto Rico
Federación Colombiana de Esgrima
Federación de Esgrima de Aruba
Federación de Esgrima de Costa Rica
Federación de Esgrima de Haití
Federación de Esgrima de Jamaica
Federación Mexicana de Esgrima
Federación Nacional Amateur de Esgrima de Cuba
Federación Nacional de Esgrima de Guatemala
Federación Nacional de Esgrima de Nicaragua
Federación Nacional de Esgrima de Panamá
Federación Nacional Deportiva Extraescolar de Honduras
Federación Salvadoreña de Esgrima
Federación Venezolana de Esgrima
Fencing Federation of the Virgin Islands

All recognized by the FIE, adding to this Zone, the following Countries do not have their own Fencing Federations, but should be considered as part of this region:

Costa Rica, Belice, Santo Domingo, Barbados, Bermudas, Bahamas, Trinidad-Tobago, Guadalupe Martinica.
NORTH AMERICAN ZONE
The following Fencing Federation, affiliated to the FIE, belong to this Zones:

Canadian Fencing Association
United States Fencing Association

CHAPTER IV
THE GOVERNING BODY

Article 12
The governing body of the Pan American Fencing Confederation is constituted by:
• The Congress
• The Executive Committee
• The Working Commissions

Article 13
The Pan American Congress is constituted by the President of the National Federations of the Countries affiliated or by those name to represent them, by the observers sent by the FIE or ODEPA, by the members of the Executive Committee and other Delegates.
Each Member Country will have one vote on each issue presented during the Congress. The observers and other Delegates will have voice, but no vote. In case of equality in the voting, the President of the Confederation will have the right to cast the sole deciding vote. No one can be represented by power of attorney.

Article 14
The Pan American Congress can be Ordinary or Extraordinary
he Ordinary Congress will be held annually in the Country where the Junior ad/or Senior Pan American Championships are held. The year of the Pan American Games, the Congress will be held in the headquarter City of the Games, one day before the Opening Ceremony or during the first week of this event. The date will be set by the Executive Committee after consulting the Organizing Committee of the Games and will be presided over by the President of the Pan American Fencing Confederation.

Article 15
The Ordinary Congress has the following responsibilities:
• Adopt the most suitable resolutions to achieve the objectives and functions of the Confederation.
• Elect the members of the Executive Committee.
• Issue and modify the Bylaws of the Confederation and regulate the Pan American Junior and/or Senior Championships and the Zones Qualification Tournaments for the Cadets.
• Determine the site of the Pan American Junior and/or Senior Championships and of the Cadet Zone Tournaments
• Accept new members.
• Bestow the established awards to those persons who meritoriously worked towards the furthering of the development of fencing in the Americas.
• Form as many working commissions as necessary to assist the Executive Committee. These Commissions have their own spheres of responsibility in their assigned activities. Their members are elected by nomination of the Delegates.

Article 16
The Extraordinary Congress will meet at the request, in writing, for justifiable reasons, of at least one third of the Member Federations of the Confederation or by the Executive Committee for the resolution of serious issue which the Executive Committee cannot resolve. The urgency of the problem does not permit that it be referred to the next Ordinary Congress. At this meeting, only issues put on the agenda in connection with the convocation of the Extraordinary Meeting can be discussed.

Article 17
The Congress is considered having a quorum if one half of the Member Federations plus one are represented.
All resolutions shall be considered adopted if a simple majority of the Members of the Confederation, present at the meeting, have voted in favor, and will oblige all Members, notwithstanding the fact how they voted on the resolution.

Article 18
All items to be put on the Agenda of the Meeting, must be sent to the President of the Confederation, at least 90 days in advance, before the date of the Congress, so that the Agenda can be mailed to all Members of the Confederation, to Members of the Executive Committee and the Members of the Commissions for study.

Article 19
The Executive Committee shall be the President and the three Vice Presidents (one from each Geographic Zone).
Its responsibilities are:
• To attain the outlined objectives and fulfill the Pan American Fencing Confederation's objectives.
• To carry out the resolutions taken during the Pan American Congresses.
• Represent the Confederation before the FIE and ODEPA in matters concerning the Confederation only.
• Set the date for the Ordinary Congresses of the Pan American Confederation, and when necessary, the date and location of the Extraordinary Congresses.
• Keep all members informed of the activities of the Confederation, as well as the FIE and the ODEPA, particularly issues concerning the involvement of the Confederation.

Article 20
The members of the Executive Committee shall be elected as follows:
• According to nominations made by Members, the election of the president of the Confederation will be held by secret ballot, by vote of the delegates representing each country at the Congress. Each Delegation may exercise one vote only.
• The election of the three Vice Presidents will follow the election of the President. The three Vice Presidents will be from a different country than the President and will represent each of the Geographic Zones stipulated in Article 12, Chapter IV, of these Bylaws. These Vice-Presidents must also be elected as 1st Vice President, 2nd. Vice President and 3rd. Vice President.
• The members of tire Executive Committee hold office for a period of four years, which is the time between two Pan American Games, they may be reelected for the same position or any other one in the Executive Committee.
• If, for any reason, The Pan American Games are postponed, the Executive Committee of the Confederation must convoke, immediately after the postponement is made known, an Extraordinary Congress, at which the elections will be the main subject on the agenda. The newly elected Executive Committee will hold office until the next Pan American Games are held, four years after the date of the election. The invitations to this extraordinary meeting must be mailed two months in advance.
• After the election, the new Executive Committee will immediately receive the files, archives, and goods of the Confederation from the outgoing Executive Committee and will assume its functions forthwith.
• In case of vacancy occurring in the office of the President through resignation, death, removal from office, or other causes, with the unanimous consent of the rest of the Executive Committee, the Presidency will be filled by the 1st Vice President, who will hold office for the remaining term for which the President was elected.
• Vacancy occurring in any Vice Presidency shall be filled by election during the next Ordinary Congress.

Article 21
The meetings of the Executive Committee will usually be held according to the sessions of the Congress. Nevertheless, they should meet once a year, either during the course of an official event or by convocation to a meeting in a certain country.
The letter of convocation for the annual meeting should be received by the Members of the Executive Committee two months in advance, in order to plan their attendance or to be excused by written request.

Article 22
The Executive Committee must inform the Member Federations of the Confederation, as soon as possible, about the meeting a held and the work performed by them periodically.

Article 23
The President of the Executive Committee shall nominate an Executive Secretary, a Treasurer and the necessary staff to help him/her to fulfill his/her duties. The appointees shall be of the country of the President and may be removed from their office by the President of the Executive Committee. These persons may participate at the Meeting of the Executive Committee, but are not entitled to vote; their work is administrative in nature.
The Treasurer must give an annual report on the finances and goods of the Confederation as well as of its expenses.

Article 24
The complete Executive Committee must participate, if possible, at the FIE Congresses, holding a meeting before the Congress, to establish and maintain a united position on matters affecting development of fencing in our Continent.
The President must be present at the FIE Congresses or be represented by one of the Members of the Executive Committee previously appointed by him/her.

Article 25
The Pan American Fencing Confederation will name the following working Commissions:
• Statutes
• Rules and Judges
• Medical
• Development of Fencing and Propaganda

Article 26
The Statutes Commission is constituted by:
3 members, each from a different Geographic Zone (Article 12, Chapter .IV). There could be as many as 6 members maintaining a balance‚ within the Geographic Zones.
The responsibilities of this Commission are the following:
• Report to the Congress of by propositions and modifications to the Bylaws presented by the Executive Committee, on behalf of a Member Federation or by the Commission.
• This Commission will finalize the written text of all resolutions taken, regarding the Bylaws, after approval by Congress.

Article 27
The Rules and Judges Commission is constituted of:
3 Members, each from a different Geographic Zone (Article 12, Chapter IV) There could be as many as 6 Members, maintaining a balance with the Geographic Zones.
The responsibilities of this Commission are the following:
• Report to the Congress about the development of judging, new judges, the work of the existing judges and the new rules approved by the FIE in between two Congresses
• Organize courses on FIE rules, hold judges seminars in order to prepare for examinations for A, B and C judges, whenever such examinations are offered by the FIE.
• Supervise judging during the official Pan American events.
• Prepare and maintain an official list of Pan American judges and work in order to further improve the quality of judging.

Article 28
The Medical Commission is constituted of:
3 members, each from a different Geographic Zone (Article 12, Chapter IV). There could be as many as 6 members, maintaining a balance within the Geographic Zones.
The responsibilities of this Commission are the following:
• Report to Congress about medical, psychological, or nutritional matters related to fencing in the American Continent.
• Give courses or seminars to help develop the scientific areas among the Members of the Confederation.
consideradas como Doping a las distintas Federaciones afiliadas.
• Keep all Member Countries well informed, regarding anti-doping tests. Periodically send a list of the substances that are considered doping, to the Members of the Confederation.

Article 29
The Fencing Development and Propaganda Commission is constituted of:
Three members, each from a different Geographic Zone (Article 12, Chapter IV). There could be as many as 6 members, maintaining a balance within the Geographic Zones.
The responsibilities of this Commission are the following:
• Report to Congress regarding the development of fencing in the Member Countries of the Confederation, in between Congresses and all means used to promote fencing in the American Continent.
• Look for new members among tire countries already recognized by the FIE and to keep active all countries which are already Members of the Confederation.
• Hold courses and seminars on technical matters, in order to increase the development of the Members. To achieve this, they shall coordinate with the Country where the course is to be held and invite the participation of outstanding persons to speak at the seminars.
• Organize, whenever possible, scientific and technical seminars at each event organized in the American Continent

CHAPTER V
PAN AMERICAN FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Article 30
The Pan American Fencing Confederation will organize every two years the Pan American Fencing Championships (for senior fencers) which will be named "Cup of the Americas"
In the years when the Pan American Games are held, the fencing events held at these Games, will be considered Pan American Championships.

Article 31
The Pan American Championships will be regulated by the FIE rules.

Article 32
The Pan American Fencing Championships will be held at a date which will not interfere with the most important events in fencing, which are:
• World Championships
• Junior World Championships
• World Universities Games
• Olympic Games
• Central American and Caribbean Games
• South American Championships
• Central American and Caribbean Championships

Article 33
The Championships will be fenced in all weapons, Men’s and Women's Foil, Men's and Women's Epee and Sabre - all of them individual.

Article 34
Each country is allowed three fencers per weapon, in order to develop our sport in our Continent.

Article 35
The site of the Pan American Fencing Championships will be decided at least one year in advance and awarded to a Federation which requests it at the Congress.
The organizing country must pay transportation and lodging expenses for the President of the Confederation or his representative.
In case of unjustified abandonment, after the site has been awarded, that Federation can be penalized by the Executive Committee of the Confederation.

Article 36
The Pan American Fencing Confederation will also authorize the Pan American Junior Fencing Championships (under 20). These Championships will be held annually or every two years, even in the years when the Pan American Games are held.

Article 37
The Junior Pan American Fencing Championships will only be fenced in individual events. Each Member Country of the Pan American Confederation may participate with three fencers in each weapon. All weapons will be included: Men's and Women's Foil, Men's and Women's Epee and Sabre.

Article 38
For the organization of the Eliminations for Cadets, the FIE has divided the American Continent into two Zones:
North American Zone:
Canada, U.S.A., Mexico, Cuba, Virgin Islands, Guatemala, El Salvador, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
South American Zone:
Colombia, Venezuela, Nederland Antilles, Argentina, Aruba Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador, Panama, and Chile
Candidatures
Candidatures for the site of these competitions will be entertained during tire Pan American Congress, two years prior of the event, so the site can be presented at the FIE Congress.
This competition should take place, as specified by the FIE rules, during the first three months of the year, in accordance with the special rules published by the FIE for this event.
Chapter VI
Good and Welfare of the Pan American Fencing Confederation

Article 39
The Pan American Fencing Confederation, in order to cover it's expenses, establishes the following annual dues for each member:
$100.00 USA (one hundred USA dollars)
This fee should be paid by the Members Federations during the first three months of the year.

Article 40
The members not paying their dues in timely, cannot participate in the following events organized by the Confederation: Junior and Senior Pan American Championships and Cadets Eliminatory.

CHAPTER VII
REFORMS OR AMENDMENTS TO THE STATUTES

Article 41
Reforms or amendments of the present Statutes will be presented to the of Statutes Commission in the month of December of the year prior to each Congress so that they will be able to study them for presentation to the Executive Committee in order that they be included in the Agenda of the Congress. Once they are included in the Agenda of the Congress, they will have to be approved by at least a two-thirds majority of the participating countries in this Congress.

TEMPORARY DISPOSITIONS
FIRST These Bylaws, once studied by each Member Country of the Pan American Fencing Confederation, should be subjected to approval during the Congress to be held during the III Junior Pan American Championships, from October 28 to November 2, 1988.

SECOND Once approved, these Bylaws will be sent to the ODEPA and the FIE for their acknowledgement, having been presumed that they are in conformity with the Bylaws of these two organizations.

THIRD All affiliated countries commit themselves to respect these Bylaws.

FOURTH The countries not represented at the Congress, where these Bylaws are approved, must ratify their affiliation to the Confederation in writing, once they have been notified by the Executive Committee that this document entered into force.
These Bylaws were voted and approved at the third meeting of the Pan American Congress the first of November, 1988, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the participation of representatives of the following Member Countries: Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, U.S.A. Guadeloupe, and Venezuela.