SKIEF statutes

Statutes for SKIEF, accepted at SKIEF general meeting April 23rd 2016 Portugal.

Statutes October 2013.

The name of the organization is SKIEF.

SKIEF is short for: “Shotokan Karate-do International European Federation”

1. 1.      Purpose:

The purpose of the organization is to unite SKIF organizations in European countries and spread SKIF karate philosophy.  The philosophy of Shotokan Karate-do is based on the traditional Budo spirit of karate which seeks for the perfection of character through hard training and discipline. In addition to the traditional philosophy underpinned by the Rei-to-Setsu and Dojo-Kun, SKIF also seeks for the healthy mental and physical growth of youth and peaceful international exchange of friendships through the training and competition.

1. 2.      Membership:

a)      SKIEF accepts only one SKIF organization per membership country, except for countries named under b) + c).

b)     Members of SKIEF are countries recognized by SKIF GHQ and SKIEF per January 1st 2013.

c)      In countries with more than one SKIF organization, each organization recognized by SKIF GHQ and SKIEF per January 1st  2013 is a member of SKIEF Europe.

d)     Membership can be applied for by contacting SKIEF Secretary General and SKIF GHQ Tokyo.

e)     SKIEF board of directors can associate future membership countries with a one year trial membership. Associated countries cannot achieve Dan grading.  Membership can be verified by acceptance from membership countries/organizations at annual meeting of membership countries/organizations.

f)       The SKIEF board of directors can together with GHQ quarantine or exclude a country or an organization, not living up to SKIEF purpose (1). An exclusion of a country or an organization can be tried at the next annual meeting of the membership countries/organizations.

1. 3.      Organization:

a)      SKIEF is a democratic organization.

b)     SKIEF is under administration of “Board of Directors”.

c)      SKIEF Board of Directors consists of secretary general and representatives from maximum 11 countries/organizations and minimum 7 countries/organizations.

d)     Secretary general cannot be representative of a country/organization in the board of directors.

e)     Members of the board of directors are to be elected every year. (First election 2017) In order to maintain continuity in the work only half the board of directors are on election at a time. The election will be held in relation to the annual meeting of all membership countries/organizations. Names of candidates must be formally forwarded to the secretary general the latest 14 days prior to the meeting. Election by majority vote. It has been decided by membership countries/organizations that until otherwise decided UK1, Italy, Germany and Switzerland are permanent members of the board of directors.

Voting rules: Maximum one representative per country/organization can vote. Each representative has one vote per candidate. If four candidates from Board of Directors are on election, the representative has four votes. The Board of Directors will prior to election prepare a list of candidates for the representatives to fill out at the general meeting. In case of equal number of votes between two (or more) candidates a reelection between the two (or more) will take place. The voting is anonymous.

f)       If a member of the board of directors wants to withdraw in the middle of a term, the board of directors can choose a substitute from the same country or a different country. Only one vote per country/organization.

g)      The members of the board of directors can be reelected.

h)     The board of directors meets, at least once a year.

i)       SKIEF membership countries meet at least once a year. Suggestions for the agenda are to be sent to the secretary general.

j)       There will be an annual fee per membership country/organization. The size of the fee will be decided at the annual meeting of the membership countries/organizations.

Membership countries/organizations are recommended to pay for three years at a time. If a membership country/organization or associated country do not pay the annual fee by March 31st that year, the country/organization cannot vote at yearly general meeting of SKIEF and cannot participate in SKIEF European Championships or other SKIEF activities.

1. 4.      Dan grading and technical supervision:

a)      SKIEF outlines common rules for Dan grading under guidancefrom Japanese senseis in Europe and GHQ Tokyo

b)     Common rules named under a), will apply for all membership countries/organizations.

c)      Technical supervision will be led by Japanese senseis in Europe, Honbu instructors and senior European instructors.

d)     Referee training and education will also be a part of c)

e)     SKIEF European Championships will be held every 3rd year. (2014, 2017, 2020,…)

Participants can only be membership countries/organizations and associated countries.

(For countries with more than one organization, only one team is allowed. For individual disciplines maximum 4 fighters per organization/discipline.)

5.                        Guidelines for membership approval, SKIEF.

a) 

If an applicant already is a member of SKIF worldwide through approval of Headquarters Tokyo, the applicant can become a member of/ become associated to SKIEF, by applying for membership to the SKIEF Board of Directors. As stated in the Statutes for SKIEF the Board of Directors can associate an applicant for one year, and the final decision for full membership is made by the majority vote, by the membership countries, at the annual meeting for SKIEF membership countries/organizations.

b)

 If an applicant is not recognized by SKIF Headquarters Tokyo, the applicant cannot become a member of SKIEF or become associated to SKIEF. If in doubt SKIEF secretary general has the responsibility to investigate.

c)

 If an applicant is not a recognized member of SKIF worldwide the applicant must fill in a proper registration form and forward it to SKIF Headquarters Tokyo. This is the correct procedure and the message the applicant must receive from; SKIF Honbu instructors, SKIF Headquarters or SKIEF secretary general. Once recognized by SKIF headquarters Tokyo, SKIEF Board of Directors can associate the applicant as stated above.

d)

It is clearly stated elsewhere in the SKIEF Statutes that the applicant must be a country or an organization, and that SKIEF only recognizes one group per country.(Unless otherwise stated)

Niels Thomassen

Revised January 4th 2015

Revised October 3rd 2015

Revised March 10th 2016

Revised April 24th 2016

SKIEF board of directors