The Manstituion
The manstituiton is the governing document of the Great Order of MOY. Written by the MOY founders.....
+ I. MANAGEMENT
The Man of the Year Competition shall be self governed.
Policies and sanctions not covered in this document shall be voted on by all competing members
(abstaining is allowed, especially when a competitor ''couldn't care less'' or when ''things have gotten too serious'').
A. Governing Body
''If men were angels, no government would be necessary.'' - James Madison
- Viceroy (Chairman)
Responsible for ensuring competitors are properly informed for Man of the Year activities, letting competitors know when it's business time, and breaking ties. The Viceroy may not be either Vice-Viceroy or Viceroy the following year. - Vice-Viceroy (Vice-Chairman)
Responsible for assisting the Viceroy, acting as Viceroy when needed, and determining the prizes to be given out at the end of the year ceremonies. Barring Ineligibility, the Vice-Viceroy shall be Viceroy the following year. - Chamberlain (Treasurer)
Responsible for setting and collecting fees from each participant, disbursing funds for activities and prizes, and keeping accurate records of financial transactions. - Scribe (Secretary)
Responsible for collecting acceptable bios from each competitors and keeping records of significant decisions during Man of the Year meetings. The scribe is also responsible for ensuring that the Man of the Year Competition is faithfully recorded in the pages of history. - Virtual Technician (Webmaster)
Responsible for maintaining the Man of the Year website in all its glory. - Sergeant at Arms (Peace Keeper)
Responsible for keeping general order during Man of the Year activities. - Tallyman (Point Keeper)
Responsible for keeping an accurate and public tally of points of all competitors. - Lyricist (Maestro)
Responsible for writing a ''Manthem'' and ensuring that acceptable music is played wherever possible during Man of the Year events. - Philanthropist (Public Relations)
Responsible for keeping the Man of the Year competition in good standing with the community, including but not limited to, daily interactions with police officers, bartenders, and disgruntled girlfriends.
B. Disputes ''It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them.'' - Pierre Beaumarchais
- A dispute may be put forth by any member of the Man of the Year competition.
- Each disputing party may make a brief (five-minute) argument for the merits of his position, with two two-minute periods for rebuttal. The format shall be as follows:
- Disputing Party A - Arguments (max five minutes)
- Disputing Party B - Rebuttal (max two minutes)
- Disputing Party B - Arguments (max five minutes)
- Disputing Party A - Rebuttal (max two minutes)
- If, due to logistical problems, verbal arguments are not possible, then arguments shall be made via email. In lieu of timed discourse, each disputer shall have 100 written words to argue.
- After arguments are made, the remaining participants shall vote on the merits of each position.
- Simple majority vote shall determine the winner of the dispute.
- A tie shall be broken by the following:
- By the Viceroy.
- If the Viceroy is a disputing party, then by the Vice-Viceroy.
- If both the Viceroy and Vice-Viceroy are disputing parties, then by the Treasurer.
- The use of white and black marbles, secretly placed within a polished cedar box lined in velvet is encouraged. If this or some permutation of this is not available, then some other, much easier way of voting shall be employed.
- After a dispute is resolved:
- The losing party must not take the decision personally and should realize that by this point, as referred to earlier, things have probably ''gotten too serious.''
- The winning party must act like a gentlemen and not gloat about winning the dispute.
+ II. PURPOSE
The purpose of Man of the Year Competition is threefold.
- Encourage awesome behavior amongst competitors, including but not limited to:
- Shenanigans
- Debauchery
- Self-Improvement
- Determine who has led most respected life within that year as judged by his peers.
- Celebrate life and friendship... for everyone.
+ III. ELIGIBILITY
In order to participate in Man of the Year, each competitor must meet specific criteria.
- You must not be a total douchebag.
- t is strongly recommended that each potential participant be flexible with time commitments throughout the year..
- All participants must be able to participate in such chants as ''u...s...a....U.........S.........A.......... U....S....A....U...S...A...USAUSAUSAUSA!''
- All participants must be signed up and all entry fees must be paid by January 31st of the year of competition.
- Entry fee shall be $100, though the Chamberlain reserves the right to increase the entry fee throughout the year based from actual costs and as approved by majority vote.
- Both men and women are eligible for the Man of the Year Competition.
- Should a woman win, all male participants shall feel emasculated and shall only drink wine coolers and Appletinis during the end of the year celebration.
- Female competitors must have ''thick skin'' and must not complain about typical male behavior of other participants.
- Every participants shall be required to attend the following events:
- The kickoff dinner.
- At least 50% of Man of the Year competitions.
- End of the year celebration / crowning of Man of the Year.
- Each competitor will be required to create a Bio including a photo, resume, and personal statement.
- Under no circumstances (hardship, travel, military, injury, etc.) will participants be allowed to use substitutes during the competition.
- The losing party must not take the decision personally and should realize that by this point, as referred to earlier, things have probably ''gotten too serious.''
- Must be at least 21 years old by the start of competition.
- New competitors must meet the above requirements AND have the respect of a 3/4 majority of current competitors.
- Previous competitors are automatically eligible to Man of the Year Competition.
- In case of death during the Man of the Year Competition, the deceased participant shall be automatically declared ''Honorary Man of the Year'' and his name shall live on in that the next year's competition shall be named in his honor.
+ IV. INELIGIBILITY
Ineligibility can result because of failure to comply with any of the eligibility requirements or if a heinous act is committed.
A. Heinous Acts
''In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.'' - Thomas Jefferson
- A Heinous Act is an act so severe that it may result in banning a participant from competition. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- Inflicting grievous bodily harm to another competitor.
- Engaging in sexual relations with another participant's significant other (past significant others are also eligible for Heinous Act consideration).
- Raping farm animals.
- Falsifying Significant Achievement (See Section V.B.11.a)
- To convict someone of a Heinous Act and therefore ban a participant from competition a unanimous vote of all other participants is required.
- If convicted of a heinous act, the convicted party shall be barred from all future Man of the Year competitions and his entry fee shall be forfeited.
- To reinstate a participant previously convicted of a heinous act, the vote must be unanimous. Though rare in occurrence, this could happen in cases of wrongful conviction.
- If a person convicted of a heinous act performs a Gold Significant Achievement after banishment then that person is eligible for automatic reinstatement to Man of the Year with a simple majority vote.
+ V. SCORING
The scoring system set out in the Manstitution shall be used to crown the Man of the Year.
- Scoring for Man of the Year shall be comprised of three elements:
- Individual Competitions
- Significant Achievements
- Greatness of Character
- Individual Competitions and Significant Achievements shall be scored objectively while Greatness of Character shall be subjective.
- The Man of the Year is the competitor with the most cumulative points at the end of the competition.
A. Individual Competitions ''While it's important to win, it's imperative to compete.'' - David Weinbaum
- Each participant shall select one Individual Competition to be held within the year. If, for example, 6 entrants participate in Man of the Year, then 6 separate Individual Competitions will take place.
- A maximum of 10 competitions shall take place. If more then 10 competitors take part of Man of the Year, participants shall each submit one competition entry and the official 10 shall be decided by vote.
- Examples of acceptable Individual Competitions are skills based games (beirut, darts, poker), knowledge based games (trivia, SATs), or complete shenanigans based games (horse track gambling, video game bowling).
- Duplicate events are not allowed.
- At least one competition must take place outside of the Bay Area and at least one competition must take place outside of California.
- Each participant is responsible for scheduling, coordinating, and hosting his selected event.
- At least one month's notice for events within the Bay Area, at least two month's notice for events outside the Bay Area, and at least four month's notice for events outside of California is required.
- When scheduling your event, be considerate of other participant's availability, and don't be a douchebag. (Please see Section III.1).
- Last place shall receive one point, 2nd to last shall receive 2 points, and so on. 2nd place shall receive 1.3 points X the number of Man of the Year Competitors. 1st place shall receive 2 points X the number of Man of the Year Competitors. For instance, if there are 10 competitors, scoring shall be as follows:
- 20
- 13
- 8
- 7
- 6
- 5
- 4
- 3
- 2
- 1
- Any absence from an Individual Competition shall result in receiving zero points for that competition. Remaining competitors shall receive points as if the full complement of competitors was present. For instance, if three people are absent from a particular competition, scoring shall be as follows:
- 20
- 13
- 8
- 7
- 6
- 5
- 4
- 0
- 0
- 0
B. Significant Achievements ''A steak dinner is incomplete without a potato, but the potato is certainly not a steak.'' - Sergio Soria
- Significant Achievements are specific deeds that are awarded a set number of points.
- Three categories of Significant Achievements exist within Man of the Year:
- Gold - Achievements ''Above and Beyond'' the call of ordinary men.
- Silver - Achievements noteworthy for one's obituary.
- Bronze - Achievements deemed ''braggable'' to one's friends.
- The list of Significant Achievements can be found in Appendix A.
- A Gold Significant Achievement shall receive 100 points.
- A Silver Significant Achievement can receive no more than 30 points.
- A Bronze Significant Achievement can receive no more than 15 points.
- Every Significant Achievement within a category shall receive the same number of points.
- The total pool of points for Silver and Bronze Significant Achievements shall be weighted with the total pool of points for Individual Competitions 11 to 15.
- If the ratio of the total number of Bronze Achievements to Silver Achievements is greater than 2:1, then the pool of points for each category shall be 1:1.
- If the ratio of the total number of Bronze Achievements to Silver Achievements is less than or equal to 2:1, then the pool of points for each category shall be altered to ensure that each Silver Achievement shall be worth at least twice as much as each Bronze Achievement.
- Multiple people can win the same Significant Achievement.
- Additional Achievements may be added to the list throughout the year as determined by a vote of all participants.
- A simple majority vote shall determine whether or not a proposed Significant Achievement can be added to the list.
- Once a Significant Achievement has been successfully added to the list:
- A majority of voters must agree to a Bronze classification.
- At least 70% of voters must agree to a Silver classification.
- All voters must agree to a Gold classification.
- Submissions of completed Significant Achievements need not be verified by physical proof.
- Submitting a falsified Significant Achievement results in a Heinous Act.
C. Greatness of Character ''You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans.'' - Ronald Reagan
- Greatness of Character deals with the general way each participant lives his life throughout the year, particularly all actions not captured within Individual Competitions and Significant Achievements
- As this is a gentlemen's competition, each individual is encouraged to honestly evaluate other participants Greatness of Character.
D. Crowning the Man of the Year ''Reason is God's crowning gift to man.'' - Sophocles
- The top 30% (but no less than 3 and no more than 8) of competitors, ''Paladins'', shall be eligible to win the Man of the Year competition.
- Each Paladin shall select another competitor to present his accomplishments to the Man of the Year Competition.
- Each presenter shall discuss the Paladin's three elements of Man of the Year scoring.
- Visuals and flowery language are encouraged.
- After presentations are completed, all ''Plebes'' (competitors not named Paladins), shall officially elect the Man of the Year.
- The Plebiscite will consist of competitors placing a Decision Sphere into the box indicating their choice for Man of the Year.
- Plebes must take Greatness of Character into account when voting for Man of the Year
- The larger the disparity of points is between Paladins, the greater the perceived difference in Greatness of Character is required to vote for other than the top Paladin.
- The lower half of Paladins is eliminated during each round of voting.
- Deliberations will take place before each round of voting.
- The Plebiscite will continue until the Man of the Year is chosen by a majority vote.
+ VI. FUN AND PRIZES
Prizes shall be given out to competitors, especially to those who have achieved great things.
- A plaque shall be created to honor the Man of the Year of years past and to honor honorary Men of the Year.
- Each participant shall receive a ''Man of the Year Competition'' token gift.
- The Overall Individual Competitions winner shall receive a prize.
- The Overall Significant Achievements winner shall receive a prize.
- The Overall Winner shall receive a tailored jacket with a ''Man of the Year'' crest.