about PADA

PADA’s Disciplinary Rules and Procedure

I. Jurisdiction.

A. The Board of Directors has exclusive jurisdiction over matters of discipline which may result in the suspension of a Member.

B. At the beginning of each term of the board, the Board of Directors will appoint five (5) of its own members to serve as the standing disciplinary committee. In addition, the Board will vote one member of the five to serve as the chair of the committee..

C. If an event occurs that warrants investigation by the DC all complaints shall be forwarded to the DC for redress.

II. Offenses which may result in suspension:
A. Activities that violate PADA’s membership policy. That policy states: “All members are expected to behave in accordance with the rules and spirit of Ultimate . . . [this includes not] abusing anyone verbally, physically or in writing, during a PADA event at the location of an event, while representing PADA or as a PADA member.”

1. Examples include any violence resulting in physical damage or injury including, but not limited to: pushing, punching, kicking, and hitting someone with an object;

2. An intentional act which causes physical damage or loss to property of PADA or its members;

3. repeated and flagrant violations of the "Spirit of the Game" including severe verbal abuse, threats, and dangerous play;

B. Activities that violate PADA’s Forum policy. That policy states that “The PADA forum is a newsgroup open to posts from anyone that becomes a member of PADA and pays the yearly membership fee.. Its purpose is to provide PADA members with a place to discuss Ultimate related news and events of interest to the PADA community. Unacceptable communication on PADA Forums includes any “commercial content”, personal threats or personal comments reflecting a fundamental disrespect for a fellow PADA member.”

C. Misrepresentation of PADA authority to third parties, for example, using PADA's name without authorization or claiming to have insurance through PADA, or conducting unauthorized negotiations on PADA's behalf.

D. Disregard for property and equipment that is owned or rented by PADA. This covers inappropriate use of the clubhouse and/or fields (e.g. playing in poor weather, using fields that are closed for field maintenance, or otherwise using fields without permission).

E. Failure to abide by other rules and regulations published and set forth openly to the members by PADA, including rules related to dogs and guests.

III. Procedure.
A. A complaint against a Member shall:
1. Be submitted to the Disciplinary Committee
- through an online form available on the PADA website.
- by hand, through the mail, or via email
2. be made only by someone involved in the incident, or who witnessed the entire incident;
3. set forth in detail the facts of the incident from the complainant's perspective and list any other witnesses to the incident.
4. If an incident occurs within PADA in which a member is known to have engaged in an act of intending physical violence the chair of the DC can investigate the incident without having a formal complaint logged and will bring the information before the DC to determine if the incident warrants punishment by the DC.

B. After receiving a complaint the chair of the DC will contact the member(s) who have had the complaint logged against them and then will conduct a preliminary investigation into the matter to determine if the complaint is credible and if it warrants further action. Upon receipt of the preliminary investigation results, the Disciplinary Committee will vote on whether the complaint may be credible. If a majority of the Disciplinary Committee believes that the complaint may implicate one of the offenses outlined in paragraph II above, the Disciplinary Committee shall take further action.

C. Upon determining the validity of an offense, the DC chair shall notify all parties involved in the offense in writing, delivered by hand, mail, or electronically, of the existence of the complaint and of the date for a hearing on the matter. At this time, the DC may suspend the alleged perpetrator from play until the disposition of the hearing, if it believes such action is necessary to protect the members of the league. It is the responsibility of the chair of the Disciplinary Committee to ensure that all parties involved in the offense have received notification of their hearing and an explanation of the disciplinary process.

D. Hearings by the DC shall be held within 30 days of the time that involved parties are notified of the complaint. Delays in the hearing will not affect the outcome of the complaint, except that a hearing must be held within 90 days of the perpetrator's notification, or the complaint shall no longer be valid.
1. The hearing shall be held at a place and time set by the DC and a quorum of DC members (at least 3) must be present.
2. At the hearing, complainant can either provide oral testimony of the incident or the Board can use complainant's written statement of the incident (including the initial complaint).
3. Other witnesses can also provide testimony. The defendant may also provide oral or written testimony of the event and may have fact or character witnesses speak on his/her behalf.
4. Following testimony, the DC shall vote on whether to impose sanctions and what type of sanctions to impose. The DC shall notify the defendant within 5 days of its decision.

IV. Sanctions.
Sanctions can range from long-term suspension from PADA to a letter of censure. It is up to the DC to determine the appropriate sanction for a given incident. Some of the purposes of the sanctions are: 1) to protect league members from harm; 2) to prevent further infractions; and 3) to provide an opportunity for a violator to make it up to the person or people he/she injured.