All of the proposals passed. Proposals 1-4
were unanimous, Proposal 5 had an abstain and one no
vote, Proposal 6 had one no vote.
PROPOSAL #1
Addition
to Policy & Procedures:
The Officers and Board of the WRA take the
necessary steps to enable a merger with NAWRA. These steps will not include
changes to the Constitution, By-Laws or Racing Rules without an election.
Reason:
There have always been
some members of both organizations that wanted a
merger of the two. Talks have
begun and further authorization is desired to
complete the merger. This time
seems to be right. The WRA will be stronger after a merger. How can the merger
happen without some changes to the rules?
CLUB
NAME: _________________CLUB VOTE:
_________________
Write or type in FOR or AGAINST.
PROPOSAL #2
Addition to Policy & Procedures:
On merger of the
NAWRA and WRA the name of the two merged organizations will be the Whippet
Racing Association (WRA).
CLUB
NAME: _________________CLUB VOTE:
_________________
Write or type in FOR or AGAINST.
PROPOSAL
#3
Addition to Policy & Procedures:
If
changes to the Constitution, By-Laws or Racing Rules are required that
cannot be addressed within the normal Rule Change proposal
process, Special Elections at different times are authorized.
There
will be least 30 days from the publication of the change to the date
of the election. Voting will occur as outlined in section 3.03
of the Bylaws.
Passage
will require affirmation by 2/3 of the Responding Member Clubs.
Reason:
The WRA and NAWRA are discussing
merging. Steps will be necessary for
that to happen and all cannot be addressed in a timely manner
within the
normal election process. It is important to define that the voting
will occur in accordance with previous rules.
CLUB
NAME: _________________CLUB VOTE:
_________________
Write or type in FOR or AGAINST.
PROPOSAL
#4
Change
Article III, Section 3.03 of the Bylaws
Section
3.03 Voting
Voting shall be by
mail on ballots, by e-mail by ballots or a web-polling site
which is set up to allow voting only by the appropriate
members set up by,
or overseen by the secretary. Each of the Club Representatives shall
respond
in the appropriate manner to the ballot. Election of the
Officers by the Club
Representatives shall
be by secret ballot.
Reason:
This
is proposed to account for the current means of casting ballots which,
over time, has become
electronically/digitally driven.
CLUB
NAME: _________________CLUB VOTE:
_________________
Write or type in FOR or AGAINST
PROPOSAL #5
Propose adding a new section to WRA
Rule Book, Section 3.2.2 Measuring.
Insert the following section after
Section 3.2.2.3 Procedure.
3.2.2.4
Exempt Status from Measuring
A
Whippet will be granted an exempt status from measuring if it is 2 years
of age or more and has participated in 30 race meets. An owner of another dog entered and
successfully measured in the meet can challenge the
measurement.
A fee of $50 is required for a challenge. The dog in question
will be allowed to measure twice by the measuring committee for
that meet.
If
the dog measures in, the club and owner each get $25 from the challenge.
If
the dog fails to measure, the owner that challenged the measurement is refunded
$50. Whippets meeting the necessary
qualifications are noted in the Grading Guide.
Also exempt from measurement are Whippets that raced and measured the
previous day at back-to-back WRA meets held at the same venue.
Reason:
As discussions are underway to merge
the two straight racing organizations, WRA and NAWRA, several sticking points
in the rules arise. As NAWRA has used the Exempt Status from Measuring for many
years, we feel that the addition of this section will help bridge one of the
differences between the two organizations. Many people have wanted a measuring
exemption for some time. Importing a
successful method should work here too.
CLUB
NAME: _________________CLUB VOTE:
_________________
Write or type in FOR or AGAINST.
PROPOSAL #6
Propose adding an option to the first program set up to
utilize the ranking rather than the grade. This will enable the option to fill
all races in accordance with the Set-up Chart for the first program.
Insert the following verbiage into Section 5.3 as noted:
5.3 Selection of Post Positions
(BOLD wording
is new. Italicized wording is moved
from Section 5.3.1)
The first complete program is arranged to run Whippets of
comparable speed together, based upon their past performances. In the second,
third, and fourth programs, racers are placed in races according to points
scored in the previous program or programs.
There are two
options for the first program set up. The Host Club will decide which option
they will use and this choice will be noted on the race schedule and in the
Host Club’s announcement. The option choice will also be stated on the WRA
website. A Host Club may change which option is used providing that change is
announced 14 days in advance of the meet in the methods prescribed above.
Under either
Option 1 or Option 2, Whippets that are entered for the first time in the Adult
Division, are designated as "FTE," (first time entered), and are
classed as grade D Whippets in that first race meet, with the following
exceptions:
1) Any Whippet
having a racing grade from the Continental Whippet Alliance (CWA), or the North
American Whippet Racing Association (NAWRA), or the National Oval Track Racing
Association (NOTRA), or the Canadian Amateur Racing Association (CARA) will retain
that grade when FTE in a WRA race meet.
2) Any
Whippet that the Race Secretary has personal knowledge of, either from having
seen it race as a puppy, or in training races, may be started, with the
approval of the owner, at any grade other than grade A. Decision must be based
upon personal knowledge, information acquired from others may not be used.
5.3.1 First Program
OPTION #1
(No change in wording from current Rule Book. Just “OPTION
#1” added)
The first step in selecting post positions in the first
complete race program is to determine the total number of entrants in that
program, adult, or puppy). Then group the Whippets in the first adult program
according to grade. If there is more than one race in any grade, then the
Whippets of that grade will be seeded by alternating, according to point
averages, between the races in that grade. If there is more than one race in
any grade, then the Whippets of that grade will be divided as evenly as possible
between the races, with the higher race containing the highest number of dogs.
The whippets will be seeded by alternating, according to point averages,
between the races in each grade. For puppies, use random draw. Whenever
possible, when two (2) or more Whippets have the same numerical point average,
they are arranged in ascending order within the group by the score of each
Whippet on its last complete race meet. When this information is not readily
available, the Race Secretary may use personal knowledge or a random draw to
determine placement.
The actual selection of post positions in the first
complete race program is then accomplished by randomly drawing the names of the
individual Whippet racers for each race. The first name drawn for each race will
get box #1, the second name will get box #2 and so on down through all races in
the first complete program. If an owner has two or three entries that carry
close averages, they will probably be running in the same race, but that’s just
the way it is. In the D races, First Time Entered (FTE) Whippets of same
ownership should be separated, if possible.
OPTION #2
In the first program,
Whippets shall be seeded in the order of national ranking. All boxes must be
filled in accordance with the Set-up Chart. First Time Entered Whippets will be
dispersed through the Grade D entrants as the Race Secretary deems appropriate.
Post positions in all programs shall be determined by random draw. If there are
5 dogs in a race, box #3 shall remain empty. If there are 4 dogs in a race,
boxes #2 and #5 shall remain empty. If there are 3 dogs in a race, boxes #2, #4
and #6 shall remain empty. If Whippets owned by the same owner, or which are
kenneled together, are scheduled to be in the same race because of their
averages, they shall not be placed in adjacent starting boxes unless there is
no alternative. , First Time Entered (FTE) Whippets of same ownership should be
separated, if possible. There will be two high point races in the first program
if there are 48 or more starters. If two high point races are required, dogs
must be seeded alternately, by ranking, between the two high point races.
Reason:
As discussions are underway to
merge the two straight racing organizations, WRA and NAWRA, several sticking
points in the rules arise. We thought that by offering an option to use the
Graded Option (as is done in WRA) or the National Ranking Option (as is done in
NAWRA), this might help bridge one of the big differences between the two
organizations.
CLUB
NAME: _________________CLUB VOTE:
_________________ Write or type in FOR or AGAINST.