CONSTITUTION
OF
BLIND SAILING INTERNATIONAL
AS AMENDED AND RESTATED
ARTICLE 1. NAME
Section 1.1 Name. The name of the organization is "Blind Sailing International " ("BSI").
ARTICLE 2. LOCATION
Section 2.1 Locations, Records. The physical locations, postal addresses, world wide web addresses, and physical or virtual records retention locations of BSI shall be determined from time to time by the Governing Council.
ARTICLE 3. PURPOSE
Section 3.1 Purpose and Mission Objective. BSI is an international unincorporated association of blind and visually impaired sailors and their supporters whose mission purpose and objective is to engage in charitable, educational and scientific activities to expand and strengthen blind fleet racing and blind match racing as a competitive and recreational sport around the world, as well as promoting and encouraging opportunities for international, global regional, national, and local competitive blind sailing at every level to provide educational, charitable, Entrepreneurial, global cultural, collegial and recreational pathways for all blind and visually impaired persons to enhance their lives. The purpose of BSI also includes the provision of a central hub and forum for the exchange of ideas and information about blind sailing, the development of adaptive sailing technology and techniques to improve blind sailing skills, the further enhancement of safety protocols to ensure the safety of blind sailors on and off the water, and the development of teaching systems to increase the sailing abilities of blind and visually impaired persons at all levels. base’s purpose encompasses the creation and evolution of sailing technical and safety standards applicable to blind fleet and match racing for the betterment of the sport of blind sailing and the advocacy of such standards with the international, national and local governing sailing organizations to promote consistency within the sport of blind sailing and the safety of blind sailors on and off the water while engaged in fleet racing, match racing, and recreational sailing activities at all levels.
Section 3.2 Affiliations to Achieve Purpose. BSI shall work and affiliate with the worldwide and national governing sailing organizations such as World Sailing (“WS”), Para World Sailing (“PWS” under WS) and International Sailing Federation (“ISAF” world governing body for the sport of sailing under WS), the International Paralympic Committee (“IPC”) the national Paralympic committees of all countries throughout the world (“NPC”) and similar global, national and local organizations to integrate blind sailing events and activities into the international, national and local sailing scenes. BSI shall also work and affiliate with and through local organizations servicing the blind sailing community operating within and under the nonprofit tax-exempt laws of specific countries in which individuals within the blind sailing community live. The Governing Council shall maintain lists of all such organizations categorized as located within the following regions around the world as a resource for all BSI members and potentials members.
• Africa Region
• Asia Region
• Central & South America Region
• Europe (Scandinavia) Region
• Europe (non-Scandinavia) Region
• North America & The Caribbean Region
• Oceania Region
These global regions shall be referred to herein as the “BSI Regions”.
Section 3.3 Scope of Permitted Activities. BSI may engage in all lawful activities in pursuit of achieving the purposes and objectives described in this Article III in all regions of the world in the form of one or more tax favored or tax-exempt nonprofit charitable, educational or scientific organizations with worldwide regional or local country charitable organization subdivisions all of which shall be governed by the BSI Constitution as Amended and Restated as of September, 2019 (the “BSI Constitution”), and all of which shall report to the Governing Council.
Section 3.4. Related Empowered Activities. In addition, BSI has been formed for the purposes of performing all things incidental to, or appropriate in, the achievement of the foregoing specific and primary purposes. BSI shall not, except to an insubstantial degree, engage in any activities or exercise any powers that are not in furtherance of its primary charitable, educational and scientific purposes. BSI shall hold, and may exercise, all such powers as may be conferred upon a nonprofit tax-exempt unincorporated charitable organization by the laws of the relevant jurisdictions in which it operates and as may be necessary or expedient for the administration of the affairs and attainment of the purposes of BSI. In no event, however, shall BSI engage in activities which are not permitted to be carried on by BSI under any relevant tax exemption laws of any country in which BSI, or a local affiliate of BSI, operates as a nonprofit tax-exempt organization.
Section 4.1. Nonpartisan. No substantial part of the activities of BSI shall consist of the carrying on of propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation in any jurisdiction in which it operates if such actions would jeopardize the status of BSI or any affiliate as a tax favored charitable, educational and scientific organization within the subject jurisdiction. Further, BSI shall not participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office in any jurisdiction in which it operates if such actions would jeopardize the status of BSI or any affiliate as a tax favored charitable, educational and scientific organization within the subject jurisdiction.
Section 5.1. No Private Inurnment. The properties and assets of BSI are irrevocably dedicated to the above enumerated charitable, educational and scientific purposes listed in Article 3. No part of the net earnings, properties, or assets of BSI, on dissolution or otherwise, shall inure to the benefit of any private person or individual, including, but not limited to any Delegate to the Governing Council or officer of BSI. On liquidation, dissolution or winding up of its affairs, all remaining properties and assets of BSI shall be distributed and paid over to an organization dedicated to charitable, educational and scientific purposes which benefits visually impaired individuals, and which has established its tax-exempt status in the jurisdiction in which it operates.
ARTICLE 6. LANGUAGE
Section 6.1 Language. The official language of BSI is English.
ARTICLE 7. GOVERNANCE BY GOVERNING COUNCIL.
Section 7.1 Governing Council. The management and control of BSI shall be vested in a Governing Council whose duties shall include the formulation and execution of strategic and tactical directives to guide the organization within the scope of its authorized purposes in Article 3. The Governing Council shall be guided and controlled by this Constitution and the Bylaws of BSI.
ARTICLE 8. AMENDMENT
Section 8.1 Amendment. This BSI Constitution may be amended and restated as provided in the BSI Bylaws.
CERTIFICATE OF SECRETARY
I, ___________, the undersigned, certify that I am the presently elected and acting secretary of Blind Sailing International (“BSI”), an unincorporated association, and the above BSI Constitution, consisting of _____pages, is the Constitution of BSI as adopted by the BSI Members on September ____, 2019., and that they have not been amended or modified since that date.
Executed as of September ____, 2019 in the City of _____________, in the State/Province of ____________, the country of __________________.
/s/ ____________________________________
Title: BSI Secretary
Printed Name: ________________