Article 1: Purpose

1.1 The purpose of the eass is the promotion of social sciences and social research in sport at the European level. For the purpose of these statutes 'sport' refers to all forms of human movement which aim to maintain or improve physical fitness or mental well-being, create or improve social and cultural relationships, or obtain results in competition at all levels.

1.2 The eass shall support European institutions such as the EU and the Council of Europe by offering scientific advice and assistance to coordinated European research projects defined by these bodies.

1.3 The eass intends to cooperate with organizations on international, continental and national levels.

1.4 The eass is a non-profit organisation; the pursuit of financial gain shall not be its main priority.

1.5 The funds of the eass can only be spent to further the purposes of these statutes. The members shall not receive dividends or any other form of salary from the eass.

1.6 The European Journal for Sport and Society (ejss) is the official publication of the eass.

Article 2: Membership

2.1 Membership is open to all who share the same objectives as the eass.

2.2 Regular members shall be persons with a substantial interest in research in the sociology of sport and related fields.

2.3 Institutional members shall be organizations, associations and academic institutions.

2.4 Special members shall be persons, including students and unwaged individuals who have active interest in the work of the association, but whose ability to pay full membership fees is limited.

2.5 Honorary members of eass shall be persons who have contributed substantially to the development of the sociology of sport. Honorary members shall be elected by the Executive Board of the eass.

2.6 A person becomes a member on receipt by the Secretary General of the appropriate fee and the completed membership form. If the fee is not paid annually the member shall be deleted from the regular eassmembership list.

2.7 The Secretary General shall send a “Welcome” letter to each new eass member immediately on receipt of the membership application and fee.

2.8 Membership fees are to be paid annually. The membership year is the calendar year.

2.9 The amount of the relevant annual fee shall be determined by the Executive Board.

Article 3: The Board

3.1 The Executive Board consists of the President, the President-Elect, the Past President, the Secretary General, and the Editor-in-Chief of the journal (ex officio). The President-Elect and the Past President also hold the status of Vice-President. The President-Elect is elected at the beginning of the term of office of the President. The President-Elect becomes the President at the end of the term of office of the current President.

3.2 The members of the Executive Board in their respective functions are in office for a two-year term.

3.3 The Extended Board consists of the Executive Board plus four Fellows. No country may be represented by more than two persons.

3.4 The members of the Executive Board and the four Fellows are not remunerated for their work. They can receive compensation for the expenses they incur in the pursuance of their mandates as officers of the eass.

3.5 The Extended Board shall direct the affairs of the eass on the basis of the principles contained in these statutes. It shall advise the Executive Board on fundamental matters relating to the policy of the eass.

Article 4: Election

4.1 The President-Elect of the eass will be elected every two years by the General Assembly. Re-election is not permitted.

4.2 Eligible candidates for President-Elect can be nominated both by the Executive Board, and by at least ten members from at least three different countries ten weeks prior to the General Assembly at the latest.

4.3 The Secretary General will be elected every two years by the General Assembly. The candidate is proposed by the Executive Board. A Secretary General can only be re-elected once.

4.4 The Editor-in-Chief of the ejss is nominated every four years by the Executive Board.

4.5 Fellows are elected by the General Assembly for two years and can only be re-elected once. They are proposed by the Executive board and/or by at least ten members from at least three different countries ten weeks prior to the General Assembly at the latest.

4.6 All members who are in good standing are eligible to be elected and to vote.

Article 5: President

5.1 The President represents the Association in all matters and may ask another member of the Executive Board to represent her/him.

5.2 In the absence of the President the meetings of the eass will be chaired by one of the Vice-Presidents.

Article 6: Secretary General

6.1 The Secretary General is responsible for executing the business of the President, Vice President and the full Board. In agreement with the President, s/he is responsible for the correspondence of the eass and for the minutes of the meetings of the Executive and Extended Board.

6.2 The Secretary General is also the Treasurer of eass. As Treasurer, s/he is responsible for all financial matters pertaining to the eass. In addition to the administration of membership fees, s/he solicits financial support from other sources. S/he provides an annual budget and arranges for auditing of expenses/income.

Article 7: General Assembly

7.1 All members of the eass form the General Assembly.

7.2 A regular General Assembly must be held every two years.

7.3 The Executive Board is responsible for the invitation to the General Assembly and the drafting of the agenda. Both the invitation and the agenda must be sent to members four weeks in advance of the General Assembly.

7.4 Elections are held by secret ballot.

7.5 The results of the General Assembly are to be minuted. The chair of the meeting and the Secretary General must sign the minutes.

Article 8: Alteration of Statutes

The statutes can be altered by the Extended Board with the approval of the General Assembly.