I.      The Purpose of the World Cup Roller Fly is to promote the performing roller pigeon and camaraderie among its fanciers by means of an annual intercontinental kit competition that recognizes teamwork, quality and depth.  This competition shall have preliminary regional contests open to all entrants followed by at least one fly-off among finalists to determine the eventual Winner.

II.   Organizational structure is based on participants electing Regional Directors (RDs) who in turn select Continental Coordinators (CCs), with one serving as the General Coordinator (GC).  The RDs and CCs compose the World Cup Committee which is the highest governing body of the World Cup Roller Fly.  The World Cup Treasurer is elected annually by the Committee.  Specific Details are as follows. 

A.    Regional Directors (RDs) shall be elected annually at the conclusion of the World Cup fly-off by the popular vote of all paid entrants, that year, from the RD's affiliated region.  RD duties include notifying the CC of a centralized major airport through which too route the fly-off judge, setting entry fees, scheduling the regional preliminary fly, and selecting a judge. RDs also advertise the event in appropriate regional or national publications; collect entry fees from the entrants and forward the required portion to the CC prior to the deadline specified under Bylaw II; arrange for meals, lodging and transportation to and from the region and between local areas for the regional judge and possibly several traveling companions; immediately inform the CC of the results including the names, address and telephone numbers of all finalists, arrange for all regional awards, and submit the judges report to regional and national publications. RDs are further responsible for arranging transportation and accommodations for the fly-off judge around their regions from the designated major airport.  RDs also select Local Area Directors (LADs), if any are needed, to help in any aspect of coordinating the regional fly. Finally, RDs elect their CC for the next year.

B.    Continental Coordinators (CC) shall be elected annually at the conclusion of the World Cup fly-off by the majority vote of all RDs on the respective continent who served for the prior contest.  CC duties are primarily secretarial and involve promoting the event in appropriate national and international publications, including advertising names, addresses and telephone numbers of the appropriate RDs.  CCs also collect the entry fees for the fly-off from the RDs and provide transportation for the fly-off judge through each region or to the region’s designated major airport.  The CC representing the continent with the largest number of participants shall also be named the General Coordinator (GC).  The GC is further responsible for setting up the finals fly-off, arranging all intercontinental transportation and awards for the top ten finalists, expense money (not less than $100 per week judging) and a recognition plaque for the fly-off judge. He also announces the official fly results and submits the fly-off judge’s report to national and international publications.

C.   Assistant General Coordinator (AGC) shall be elected annually at the conclusion of the World Cup fly-off by the majority vote of all RDs on the respective continent who served for the prior contest.  AGC duties include working with and at the direction of the GC on all World Cup Fly business. In the event that the GC cannot complete his or her term of office, the AGC will assume the responsibilities of the GC, and through the World Cup Executive Committee elect or appoint a new AGC for the remainder of that term of office. The AGC will be on the Executive Committee, and shall have one vote that may be used only to break ties.

D.    The Treasurer will be elected annually at the conclusion of the World Cup fly-off by the majority vote of the WC Committee. The Treasurer will work at the direction of the General Coordinator managing the WC funds and accounts. He will collect moneys from entry fees and sale of WC items. He will order score pads and hat pins for the fly upon approval of the GC and send them to the Regions for their regional flys after receiving their entries. He will furnish an annual report submitted to the GC and to all major publications.

E.     The World Cup Committee shall be composed of all RD’s and CC’s that are currently serving that position, and the GC will serve as the head of the Committee.  CC’s are primarily responsible for secretarial chores but each shall have one vote that may be used only to break ties.  If necessary, the GC shall have one additional tie-breaking vote. All matters concerning policy, fly rules, fly-off judge selection shall be determined by the World Cup Committee. All matters must be submitted to the Committee for a vote via the GC.  The Committee requires that the GC verify that all issues submitted for a vote are from legitimate sources being (1) a Committee Member (RD or CC) and 2 paid WC participants, or (2) a paid WC participant with the signatures of 4 other paid participants. In the event that a matter involves issues concerning more than one person, the GC will inquire to all parties involved, and report all facts that he has collected to the Committee along with the vote, as accurately as possible and without prejudice.  RDs and CCs that step down or have been voted out will relinquish the voting rights as well to the new RD or CC.

F.   Web Site Director (WSD) will be elected annually at the conclusion of the fly-off by the majority vote of the WC Committee. The WSD will work at the direction of the GC, and in conjunction with all other WC positions to keep the web site updated with current information and promotions.

G.      Special Promotions Director (SPD) for each continent will be elected annually at the conclusion of the fly-off by the majority vote of the WC Committee members on that continent. The SPD's will work with the SPC to coordinate all promotions and fund raisers on his/her continent, forwarding monies collected to the WC Treasurer. The SPD for the continent of which the GC is of will be the Special Promotions Coordinator (SPC), The SPC will work at the direction of the GC, and in conjunction with SPD's and all other WC positions to create artwork for sale items, have them produced, promoted, sold, and shipped. WC Bird Auctions will be conducted annually for fund raising purposes by the SPD's, soliciting donations and contributions from Top WC Flyers, and offering them at a major event or in a real time internet/phone in auction. The proceeds will go into the WC general fund.

III.     Expansion

A.    A new region may be formed or an existing region may, for legitimate reasons agreeable to the majority of flyers in that region,  be split by the World Cup Committee, if valid proof of votes taken and a petition is submitted with the necessary minimum number of participants specified under Bylaw I to the appropriate Continental Coordinator by the newly elected RD.  Such an expansion or reorganization requires a 2/3 majority approval by the World Cup Committee.

B.    An additional Continent may be considered for the contest if application is made by the duly elected CC to the World Cup Committee via the GC.  Such inclusion is subject to reasonable scheduling for the fly-off judge and additional funding for intercontinental transportation.  Such expansion requires 2/3^rds majority approval by the World Cup Committee.

IV.   AWARDS

Champion of Champions Award will be awarded to WC Flyers that excel in World Cup competitions and meet the following criteria: (1) Three First Place Champion Wins, or (2) acquire a minimum of 50 points using the following Top Ten Fly-off point system; 1st place-10points, 2nd place-9, 3rd place-8, 4th place-7, 5th place-6, 6th place-5, 7th place-4, 8th place-3, 9th place-2, 10th place-1.

V.    Amendments to this Constitution requires a 2/3^rds majority approval by the World Cup Committee.

VI. Bylaws dealing with policy matters may be changed by a simple majority vote of the World Cup Committee.  If such a majority is not obtained on the first attempt, a second ballot shall decide between the two choices receiving the largest number of votes.

 

 

By-Laws of the World Cup Roller Fly

(adopted Fall 1995, revised November 2006)

 

I.      A region must enter a minimum of 15 paid kits to qualify as an independent entity.  At the discretion of the particular region,  a flyer may enter a maximum of  2 kits composed of completely different birds as long as other flyers are not disadvantaged by the schedule.  Each flyer is allowed to pay and fly 2 kits but each flyer must fly at least one kit out of the 2 entered. If a flyer has paid for a kit or kits but due to circumstances is unable to fly he must notify the judge as to the reason, or his paid kit or kits cannot be used for the number of kits for a fly-off representative. Each region must fly a minimum of 50 percent of the kits entered for each fly-off representative, (an example is: 8 flyers paying for 2 kits each equals 16 kits which equal one fly-off representative, 15 flyers paying 2 kits equals 2 fly-off representatives, etc.) no region may pay for any ghost flyers, and each region must turn in a fly report for that region signed by the judge to the GC prior to their finals, in order to maintain the integrity of the WC on this issue. The only variance to the minimum of one kit flown for two kits paid by each flyer shall be for the new and or the smaller regions which cannot meet the required number of kits required for the first qualifier so that we can promote growth, with the approval of the GC these regions must have a minimum of 6 actual flyers entering 12 kits and buying 3 kits for a maximum of 2 years, any regions not obeying this shall face possible expulsion from future flys.  One fly-off representative is granted for the first 15 kits entered plus another for additional 15 kits up to a maximum of 5 total.  The Regional Director also gets one World Cup Committee vote for each fly-off representative and may distribute the votes as he wishes.  This policy encourages growth of a region until it becomes so large that it should split.

II.   Funding for the fly-off is provided by sponsors, individual contributions, promotional sales, and an entry fee of $15 in U.S. funds for each kit entered in the regional competitions.  Regional Directors must forward these fees including a list of flyers and address’ to their Continental Coordinator, who must forward lists to the GC and entry fees to the Treasurer  by April 1. Late entries and lists are allowed only for new participants, and all entries must be received by the WC Treasurer before the regional fly begins.  Additional regional entry fees are the responsibility of the particular regions. All regions and Continents (regardless of previous arrangements with the WC) must pay the proper amount of entry fees to the WC Treasurer or GC before the entry deadline in order to be granted representatives in the fly-off.

III. The fly-off judge shall be the winner of the previous World Cup Fly unless that individual declines by November 1.  In that case, the judge and an alternate shall be elected by a majority vote of the World Cup Committee from a list of qualified and, willing nominees.  Past World Cup winners who have not previously judged the fly-off may nominate themselves, but all other candidates must be nominated by members of the World Cup Committee.  All nominations are due by November 1, and at least the alternate must be elected.  If majority consensus is not reached on the first attempt, a second ballot between the top two choices shall determine the judge with the runner-up serving as alternate.  The deadline for final determination is December 1.  In case of an emergency where neither the judge nor the alternate can complete the duties, the General Coordinator may appoint a qualified replacement. In the event a judge can not complete a fly-off schedule for any reason the General Coordinator will:

   *      Secure transportation for the departing judge and his replacement if any.

   *       Inform all finalists of the problem.

   *       Secure a majority consensus by polling all finalists before continuing the fly-off with a replacement judge.  If the majority is in favor of continuing the fly-off, those in the negative will be eliminated as finalists-and be automatically qualified with entry fee waived for the next World Cup.

   *      If the vote does not support finishing the judging with a replacement judge the Executive Committee will make the final determination on the course of action to be taken.

IV. The fly-off Schedule is determined by the GC and usually runs for a period from May through July.  Each Regional Director must report preliminary results to their Continental Coordinator at least two weeks prior to the regions scheduled fly-off so that the Continental Coordinator can arrange cost-effective transportation for the judge.

 

V. Fly-off rules. All regions must have a regional fly by World Cup Fly-off rules to select the regional fly-off

representative(s) for the region.

1) Kit size. The kit size may range from 15 to 20 birds, but at least 5 must ROLL together in order to score.
2) Time-in. The flyer shall announce to the judge the number of birds that are being flown prior to release of the birds. No additions or subtractions are allowed after release, but the flyer is allowed to chase up any birds that land or hit before time is called in. If the number of birds released is different from the number of birds declared to the judge the kit shall be disqualified. The flyer has up to 5 minutes after release in which to declare “time-in.” If the flyer does not call “start” or “time-in” earlier, scoring begins automatically five minutes after release. Any interference with the kit after “time-in” may lead to disqualification. Attempts to ward off birds of prey are allowed, but any directly related kit activity shall not be scored.
3) Fly time. The kit is “in judgement” for 20 minutes after time-in or until the second bird lands, whichever occurs first. However, the kit shall be disqualified if more than one bird fails to fly for at least 15 minutes after time-in unless driven down by a bird of prey or extreme weather. A bird down that spontaneously crashes (after one bird has landed) shall be given up to 10 seconds to resurrect and resume flight or else it shall be considered the second bird down.
4) Time-out. The judge may call a single discretionary “time-out” for up to 5 minutes in case of an attack by a bird of prey , blow-away, or other whim of nature or act of God, the flyer must ask for the "time-out" and ask the judge to put them back on the clock if he deems necessary before the 5 minute deadline. Although the 20-minute time for judgment shall be extended by such a time-out, the 15 minute minimum qualification time is not affected.
5) Bird-out. Except for a 15 bird kit, scoring shall continue if one bird leaves the kit. Scoring is suspended but timing continues if 2 or more birds are out. A bird is not considered “out” if it is returning directly from a roll or it has been separated by extreme weather or chased off by a bird of prey - even if the pigeon lands or is captured.
6) Extra birds. If additional Rollers join the kit, a simple discount for the extra birds shall be made for each turn involved. For example, if 2 extra indistinguishable birds are in the kit and 7 roll together, the judge would record 5.
7) Scoring. It is mandatory for the region to furnish a timekeeper/scribe for the fly-off judge for each finalist. The judge shall simply estimate and record the number of birds rolling adequately in unison for each break involving 5 or more. “In unison” means that the last bird involved must begin performing within ½ second of the first, and that all continue performing together for a least ½ second. The suggested minimum depth for scoring is 10 feet. Afterwards, the judge shall multiply those numbers by 1 for (5-9), 2 for (10-14), 3 for (15-19) and 5 for 20. Those results shall be added together to produce a raw score. Next the raw score shall be multiplied by a quality factor of 1.0 for “adequate’ to 2.0 for “truly phenomenal” based upon the judges overall impression of the average quality exhibited in all of the turns scored. Likewise, a depth or duration factor of 1.0 to 2.0 shall be multiplied to produce a final score. The judge shall announce the final score before leaving.
8) Integrity. The judge shall NOT score anything that does not meet his standard for adequate quality and depth or duration of performance. This competition is for ROLLERS and not tumblers! Roller flying is a subjective sport and the judge may have to make allowances for extraordinary circumstances. In any case, the judge's decision is final and anyone verbally or physically attacking the judge will be disqualified from the fly and may be banned from future WC events by the WC committee.