Rules and Regulations

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Introduction

 

These rules and regulations are supplementary to the statutes.
The statutes are written in general terms and can only be changed by a two third majority of the General Assembly (GA). These regulations take care of practical matters and can be changed by a simple majority of the GA. For instance, the membership fee is set every year by the GA for the year to follow. The amount of this fee and the criteria for membership are found in these regulations.

 

1. Structure
 

1-1 The official bodies of the WPF are:

General assembly (the WPF’s main decision-making body);
Board of directors;
Director
Committees (as named by the general assembly);


1-2 The director is a paid position; the board members are not paid.


1-3 Board members, who are individuals and not members of the WPF, are not entitled to vote, unless they are also the representatives of a member-country.


1-4 The agenda of a general assembly will be prepared by the director and determined by the board.


2. Membership
  

2-1 The minimum annual membership fee will be 400 euro’s. Exceptions can be made by the board.


2-2 The benefits of membership include:
 

a) Right to use the WPF logo;

b) Shared Rights of the WPF Puzzles as follows:

- Limit the exclusive rights that members currently have to republish WPF puzzles in their own country to one year, with nonexclusive rights continuing thereafter. After one year the WPF can sell reprint rights to third parties, with the events' organizers (or the puzzle creators, if agreed) and the WPF sharing the proceeds 50/50.

- The WPF and its members may freely use up to 5% of the puzzles from a WSC or WPC within the first year after an event in order to publicize and promote the WPF online. The entity reprinting the puzzles may decide, with the approval of the WPF and with the event host's consultation where possible, which of the puzzles are to be used. 

Additional Notes:

• As the puzzles from WPF GPs are already online and open to everyone, they are free for WPF members to use, with the exception of GP 2014 where the permission of the respective authors is necessary before any usage.

• For any republication of puzzles from WPF events, including GPs, the source of the puzzles must be given, including the names of the puzzle authors, if known. The WPF will ensure that Members are involved in any agreement within their own country.

• Puzzles from events that the WPF sanctions, but does not itself organize (such as the Asian Sudoku Championship), are not covered by these rules. WPF members do not have reprint rights to these puzzles without the hosts' permission.

• Members can sell their rights to third parties within their own countries.

• If a single publishing market spans multiple countries -- such as Germany/Austria/Switzerland or the U.S./Canada -- the WPF members in these countries are urged to cooperate and share proceeds fairly.

c) Right to send a team to the World Puzzle Championship and World Sudoku Championship

d) Right to attend the WPF General Assembly and vote on WPF matters during the assembly and through the year.

e) Subscription to the WPF Newsletter, with an option for WSPC participants to receive it offline. 


2-3 The criteria for WPF membership are:

Conducting open, national qualifying tournaments to select members of a WPC/WSC team;

Promoting and publicizing these tournaments;

Encouraging quality and innovation in puzzling;

Representing the interests of the WPF in the member’s country.


Membership can be possible without meeting these criteria, but only as long as there are no applicants from the same country meeting all these criteria.

2-4 If a country is already represented in the WPF and a second group would also like to represent that country, the board will first encourage the two groups to work together. If that is not possible, then the second group should apply for membership in writing, explaining why it would be a better representative for the country than the existing member. The board should study the proposal and make a decision, carefully considering the criteria outlined above.

2-5 The WPF will follow International Olympic Committee criteria in deciding which countries are eligible to be admitted to membership and to compete in the WPC/WSC.

2-6 Personal memberships will also be available to individuals. The fee will be 50 euros/year. The benefits of personal membership include:
 

a) Subscription to the WPF newsletter;

b) Right to visit all parts of the WPF website and to participate in on-line activities;

c) Right to participate in the WPC/WSC if the person's country is not already represented by a national team.

d) Access to exactly 2 collections of the WPF Archive.

e) Right to attend the WPF General Assembly, without a right to vote.  

 

3. WPC/WSC

 

3-1 Bidders for future WPC/WSC are encouraged to discuss their bids with the board before presentation to the general assembly. The WPF assembly should always vote on sites two years in advance.


3-2 The criteria for hosting a WSPC event include:
Agreeing to create the puzzles according to the approved rules of variety and fairness;
Ensuring that the rules of the competition and the scoring system are clear to all competitors before the event begins;
Ensuring that the judging is subject to review and challenge;
Making the cost of the event no more than 600 Euros per person for at least the first five people from a country*;
Providing good puzzles, decent hotel and food, and a competition site that's quiet .

* The figure of 600 Euros is subject to change based on the HICP inflation index. 

3-3 If there are bids that do not fit the criteria above, including the participation fee limit, they will be dealt with on a case by case basis by the Board and the Members.


3-4 WPC/WSC shall be held somewhere in the period September - November. Exceptions can be made, as long as the host confirms the timeline at least 1.5 years before the event.


3-5 Individuals who are active in the WPF and who contribute to its success should have to pay only the lowest amount to attend the WPC/WSC. (Any higher rate should apply only to nonessential guests.)


3-6 Complete set of the rules regarding the Organization, Nomination and Competition rules of the WPC/WSC can be provided upon request.

 

4. Finances
 

4-1 The WPF has two accounts:
The main WPF account managed by the treasurer and the director in general manages all income, such as membership fees, sponsor money, royalties etceteras.
Office account is managed by the director. This account will be used for managing the WPF-office. It will get its money from the main WPF account.


4-2 Finances will be checked and reported on as described in the statutes