Article I: Membership
1. Any reputable resident of West Virginia, along with individuals of the Military
and their immediate family members that make the state of West Virginia their
principal residence, may become a member of the West Virginia Horseshoe
Pitchers Association (WVHPA) upon payment of both the WVHPA and NHPA
membership dues.
2. The WVHPA membership dues may be ratified or changed at the regular and
annual business meetings.
3. Each member in good standing shall be entitled to one vote when seated in the
WVHPA meetings. Juniors may vote, but are not allowed to hold office.
4. WVHPA members in good standing are accorded all rights and privileges
extended by the affiliated clubs and organizations of the WVHPA and of the
NHPA.
5. WVHPA members may be suspended for willfully violating any official playing
rule or ByLaw of the WVHPA/NHPA: for fixing games, cheating, and/or any
other conduct unbecoming of a member, such as: placing a bet of monetary value
on a contestant or self when participating in competition, using unsanctioned
horseshoes in a tournament, and forfeiting in a tournament for an unapproved
reason.
6. For all but the first violation, members may be suspended after being provided a
fair hearing.
7. Junior girls and boys are eligible to compete as juniors up to and including the
entire year in which they become 18 years of age.
Article II. WVHPA Executive Council
The WVHPA Executive Council is an administrative judicial body empowered to act on all matters not specified in the WVHPA Constitution and ByLaws, and:
1. The President shall act as the Chairperson and call for all necessary meetings.
2. At least four (4) members of the Executive Council shall be necessary for a
quorum.
3. Each Executive Council member is entitled to one vote and the majority shall rule.
4. In matters that the President shall decide are urgent enough for immediate action,
the Executive Council members shall be contacted by email, mail and/or telephone
without a formal meeting. In this situation, all members of the Executive Council
must be notified.
5. Members of the WVHPA Executive Council are to interact not only with their
fellow Executive Council members, but too with the general membership, and
when required, with the applicable officers of the National Horseshoe Pitchers
Association of America (NHPA), so as to promote organized horseshoe events,
and to operate the WVHPA with “fair and right” administrative written
guidelines.
6. Should any member of the WVHPA Executive Council (with the exception of the
President) not be able to fulfill his/her responsibilities/duties due to death, resignation,
suspension, or movement out of state, his/her position shall be filled by an appointee
of the President, within thirty (30) days. The President must receive approval of the
majority of the WVHPA Executive Council to seat the appointee to fill the unexpired term.
7. All members of the WVHPa Executive Council are to subscribe to the NHPA
Newsline magazine.
8. Minutes, making use of a tape recorder, and by hand, are to be recorded at all
meetings of the WVHPA by the Secretary-Treasurer, and they are to be made
available upon demand by any member of the WVHPA.
9. The WVHPA Executive Council has full power to conduct the business of the
WVHPA between annual and regular business meetings, provided such business
is not contrary to the WVHPA Constitution and the NHPA?WVHPA ByLaws.
10. The WVHPA Executive Council shall define and interpret these ByLaws, and its
rulings shall be official unless overturned by the seated delegates assembled in the
annual and regular business meeting.
Article III: WVHPA Affiliated Club and State Tournaments (Sanctioned)
1. The NHPA Official Playing Rules shall govern all NHPA sanctioned tournaments.
2. The WVHPA Regional Director provides the sanctioning of all NHPA sanctioned
tournaments by request of club officials and of the WVHPA State Tournament
Director (Secretary-Treasurer).
3. The horseshoe pitching facilities require approval by the WVHPA Regional Director
and an NHPA Sanction Certificate will be issued that certifies that NHPA rules are
to be enforced, sanctioned horseshoes will be used, and all participants are NHPA members.
4. Sites for the WVHPA State Championship shall be decided during the annual and regular
business meetings, making use of the established rotation schedule. Organizations must
make a bid/request two (2) years in advance for the WVHPA State Singles Championship
Tournament.
5. The WVHPA State Tournament Championship Committee is composed of the WVHPA
President, WVHPA Statistician, the host club representative, and the WVHPA Secretary-
Treasurer as the Tournament Director.
6. The State Championship tournaments must be advertised with an entry form,
prepared by the WVHPA Secretary-Treasurer/Tournament Director, so as to have
the intent of crowning champions in at least the Women, Men, Juniors, Cadets nine and
under and Elder/Short Distance Divisions. Any division not receiving four (4) entrants
can be cancelled, but all must be given the opportunity of pitching in another appropriate
division, and as pacers, so they may obtain their NATSTATS. (All 30-foot pitchers
should be seeded in 30-foot divisions and all 40-foot pitchers should be seeded in
40-foot divisions.)
7. In the WVHPA State Championships, the Women and Men Championship
Divisions cannot be mixed. Other classes in any other divisions may be mixed at
the discretion of the tournament committee.
8. Handicap percentage systems cannot be used in State Championship play where a
division title is involved.
9. All NHPA sanctioned tournaments shall provide for all eligible full and short
distance pitchers. Exceptions (such as “Juniors Only,” “Invitationals,” “Women
Only,” and “Men Only) are authorized by the NHPA in accordance with Article XI,
Section 1 of the NHPA ByLaws.
10. The Host Club/Organization of the WVHPA State Championship Singles
Tournament must submit to the WVHPA Secretary-Treasurer a minimum of
$300.00 for prize money awarded to adult classes, payable to the WVHPA, sixty (60)
days prior to the tournament.
11. The WVHPA State Doubles Tournament was approved in 1999, and details were
discussed on September 4, 2005 at Worthington. The State Doubles Tournament
Criteria are as follows:
1. Walking
2. Mixed
3. Maximum ringer percent per team of 110%
4. The host club has to come up with money for the event. It was decided that $200.00 would go to Secretary-Treasurer as a stipend for expenses, and that the host club would buy the trophies.
5. Entry fee for adults is $15, and for juniors is $5.
6. The tournament will be held on the third weekend in June and the deadline
date is June 5.
7. If one person on a team does not show up, the other team member will get
their entry fee refunded if they cannot find another partner in that ringer
percent group.
8. Tournament Committee will determine how many teams will be in each
class.
12. The WVHPA Secretary-Treasurer/Tournament Chairperson should notify the host
organization within two (2) weeks prior to the State Championship Tournament
of the number of trophies/plaques required that will be available at the tournament site.
13. Each entrant of the WVHPA State Championship Tournament is required to war a
shirt with sleeves that has the last name on its back, along with the entrant’s hometown.
(In World Tournaments, players must have the initials “WV” on the back of their shirts.)
Entrants of all sanctioned tournaments are required to wear footgear and to comply with
the dress code set forth in the WVHPA ByLaws. No cutoffs authorized, including: short
shorts, tanks tops, etc. These things will not be allowed during competition.
14. An Entry/Registration Form that includes the WVHPA State annual and regular business meeting
Agenda for the State Singles Championships shall be distributed by the WVHPA Secretary-
Treasurer/Tournament Director by July 31st and that has the deadline of August 15th. The
Entry/Registration Form shall announce the date, place, entry fee, and any other information a
member will need in order to participate, such as the divisions, method of play, length of games,
and if alternate pitch will be used.
15. The Entry/Registration Forms to enter the WVHPA State Championship Tournaments are to
be issued at least thirty (30) days prior to the tournament date(s).
16. Alternate sites for the WVHPA State Championship tournaments are normally those sites in
line to host the following year’s events.
17. Any new horseshoe pitching facility must have a minimum of twelve (12) courts to host the
annual State Singles Tournament and they must comply with the NHPA rules.
Article IV: WVHPA State Tournament Fees/Class Pitching Fees
The registration and entry fees shall be decided by the WVHPA Executive Council one year in advance of the WVHPA State Championship Tournaments. The entry fee for adults is $10.00, which is to be included with the appropriate WVHPA Entry/Registration Form. The entry fee for juniors is $5.00, also to be included with the entry form.
Article V: Qualifying for the WVHPA State Championship Tournaments
1. All WVHPA members entering the WVHPA State Singles Championship
Tournaments require a minimum of two (2) NHPA sanctioned events (one of
which may be a sanctioned league of 400 shoes), completed within the prior
twelve (12) months, and prior to the deadline of entering the events.
Any new card holder that year will be allowed to enter the State Singles or
Doubles Championship Tournament with his/her 100-shoe qualifier and one (1)
NHPA sanctioned event as explained in the prior paragraph and prior to the deadline
of entering the event.
2. The NATSTATS procured from the NHPA NATSTAT Director, and that are
thirty (30) days or less on record, and those maintained by the WVHPA Statistician,
shall be used to seed players into the WVHPA State Championship Tournaments.
3. Pitching of one hundred (100) consecutive shoes, witnessed and verified by two
(2) WVHPA/NHPA members, is to be used to seed players without averages into
club sanctioned tournaments.
Article VI: Scorekeeping
Pitchers in the WVHPA State Championship Tournaments are to pay the scorekeepers a minimum of $0.50 per game pitched.
Article VII: Conduct
The WVHPA State Championship Tournaments require “civility” among the participants, scorekeepers, and spectators. Foul language is prohibited on or near the horseshoe pitching facilities. Comradeship is to be expected at all times.
Article VIII: Alcoholic Beverages
Alcoholic beverages, including distilled spirits, are prohibited in parks, by State Code, when food is not being served. They are NOT authorized on and/or near the horseshoe pitching facilities during the WVHPA State Championship tournaments. Each individual is responsible for his/her own actions during the WVHPA State Championship tournaments, since each community and county has established its own ordinances that may be even more strict than the State Code.
Article IX: Use of Illicit Drugs
Illicit Drugs, those without a written medical approval, are strictly disapproved of on or near the horseshoe pitching facilities, and in parks. Use of these drugs is a criminal offense.
Article X: Use of Tobacco Products
Smoking is prohibited on horseshoe pitching facilities during NHPA World Tournaments, and is discouraged on horseshoe courts during the WVHPA State Championship Tournaments. Chewing of tobacco products is discouraged, and spitting on horseshoe pitching facilities is forbidden. Cell phones are to be off while in the confines of the horseshoe courts.
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