Reglamento General ACES América

These Regulations constitute the legal frame of reference for the members of the ACES Evaluation Committees and the representatives of the cities submitting their candidacy for any of the awards. They are intended to serve as a guide for the members of the Evaluation Committees, the participating cities and any person interested in learning about the selection process of the American Capital/Community-Island/City/Town/Region of Sport.

Important: specific requirements for the American Community/City/Town/Region of Sport:

These Regulations establish the rules applicable to the awards of American Capital/Community-Island/City/Town/Region of Sport. Each of the articles refers, by default, to the American Capital of Sport awards. However, in those articles where any particularity exists for the American Community-Island/City/Town/Region of Sport awards, the requirements for those awards are highlighted. Appendix VIII provides a summary table with the main differences between the awards.

ACES undertakes to carry out its activities in a clear and responsible manner, exercising transparency and diligence at all times, complying with the data-protection laws in force in each country and providing truthful information to the following recipients:

a) The public authorities. b) Members of the Evaluation Committees. c) Society at large, both as recipient and as beneficiary of ACES's activities.

ACES America will keep interested parties informed about its activities through its website, to which it will periodically upload information on events, initiatives, agreements, activities and other relevant information related to its activity. These Regulations will be publicly available for consultation by any person who may be interested. The official languages of ACES America shall be, interchangeably, Spanish and English, and therefore all official documentation, information or communications may be issued in either language.

Rules applicable to the selection process of the American Capital/Region*/City/Town of Sport. *Region, State or Province, depending on the legal denomination used in each country.

1. All persons who form part of the Evaluation Committees of the municipalities submitting their candidacy for any of the awards granted by ACES America must have explicit and formally declared knowledge of these Regulations.

2. Adherence to these Regulations shall entail compliance with all the sections included herein, and awareness of them shall be recorded by each member of the evaluation team by signing the form included in Appendix III of this document, concerning compliance with the evaluator's code of ethics and the declaration of absence of conflict of interest, respectively.

The voting process is the act with which the visits conclude and by which it is decided which municipalities receive the awards. The importance of this fact makes it necessary to develop independent rules governing it. Appendix II of these Regulations offers a detailed explanation of the voting process, and it is available for public consultation whenever interested parties deem it appropriate. It must be known by all members of the Evaluation Committees.

The ACES America eligibility criteria provide the basis for evaluating the candidates for American Capital/Community-Island/City/Town/Region of Sport. The members of the Evaluation Committee assess the cities they visit according to their degree of compliance with these criteria. These twelve criteria address all aspects of sport in the cities. They are available for public consultation by any interested party as Appendix VII of these Regulations.

Should these Regulations need to adapt part of their contents to the requirements of the selection process of the American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport, the amendments shall be incorporated by the ACES Board of Directors, indicating the changes made and the date thereof.

1. Number of members of the Evaluation Committee. The Evaluation Committees for cities bidding for American Capital of Sport shall be composed of a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 9 members.

Specific requirements for Communities / Cities / Towns / Regions / Islands:

• 1b. For the evaluation of Community-Islands, the evaluation committees shall be composed of a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 members.
• 1c. For the evaluation of Cities, the evaluation committees shall be composed of a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 members.
• 1d. For the evaluation of Towns, the evaluation committees shall be composed of a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 members.
• 1e. For the evaluation of Regions, the evaluation committees shall be composed of a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 7 members.

Members of the Evaluation Committees of two cities competing for the American Capital of Sport award. The Evaluation Committees of cities competing for the American Capital of Sport award for the same year shall have at least 40% of members participating in both visits to the competing cities, in order to achieve the greatest homogeneity and objectivity in the scores awarded.

Where two candidacies compete for the same award other than that of Capital, at least 50% of the members of the Evaluation Committee shall participate in both visits.

The members of the Evaluation Committee must have proven experience in the field of sport, whether in the public sphere or in private enterprise. Such experience may be evidenced by professional experience in public office in city councils or other national or international public or private bodies, membership of associations linked to the world of sport, professional involvement in sport-related companies, or the professional practice of a sporting discipline, at present or in the past.

The selection of the members of the Evaluation Committee shall be carried out by the Board of Directors of ACES America on the basis of the criteria it deems most appropriate, seeking diversity of profiles and preventing conflicts of interest from arising. In this way, the objectivity of the evaluation process is strengthened.

1. In order to exercise their right to vote, each member of the Evaluation Committee must be free from any conflict of interest among those included in Article 12 and other articles of these Regulations.

2. Exercising the right to vote requires full knowledge of what is being evaluated. Therefore, in order for a Committee member to exercise their right to vote, they must be present at all the events held during the visits to cities bidding for American Capital of Sport. The content of the visits to candidate cities is specified in Appendix I of these Regulations.

1. The members of the Evaluation Committee shall act loyally in the performance of their duties, guided solely by the purpose and objectives entailed in being a Committee member, which is none other than to select the municipality presenting sufficient merits to be granted the award of American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport, endeavouring at all times to avoid situations that could entail a conflict of interest.

2. The members of the Evaluation Committee shall at all times be prohibited from using their position to obtain personal benefits beyond their duties as members of the Evaluation Committee.

3. A conflict of interest may exist where a member of the Evaluation Committee, at the time of exercising their right to vote as such — that is, by assigning a score to the candidate municipality — may have some kind of relationship, whether personal or financial in nature, that could in any way influence their objectivity.

4. The giving of presents, gifts, services or any other benefits from any person or institution directly or indirectly related to the municipality submitting its candidacy, which could compromise the objectivity of any of the members of the Evaluation Committee, constitutes a situation liable to generate a conflict of interest. The members of the Evaluation Committee may not accept gifts from the candidate city other than tokens of mere institutional courtesy.

5. Other situations that may give rise to a conflict of interest are the following:

• a) Sharing the same locality or region as the city being evaluated.
• b) Belonging to an ACES America delegation in which the city being evaluated is enrolled, regardless of the nationality of the candidate city.
• c) Having any economic or personal interest beyond the relationship that may exist through ACES America.

Specific requirements for Communities/Cities/Towns/Regions concerning Article 12.5: In the case of Evaluation Committees for Community-Islands/Cities/Towns/Regions, sharing the same nationality as the municipality being evaluated shall not be regarded as a conflict of interest.

In the event of a conflict of interest*, the affected member of the Evaluation Committee has the duty to report that circumstance to the Board of Directors of ACES America and to refrain at all times from intervening or participating, directly or indirectly, in the agreements or decisions adopted by it, particularly with regard to the voting process for the candidate municipality.

* A personal conflict of interest is a situation in which a person's private interests, such as outside professional relationships or personal financial assets, interfere — or may be perceived to interfere — with the performance of their duties as a member of the Evaluation Committee.

1. The members of the Evaluation Committee must at all times maintain standards of prudence consistent with their role as regards the duty of secrecy and discretion. They shall therefore be required at all times to keep secret the deliberations or opinions, their own or those of others, that take place during the evaluation process of the candidate city.

2. The duty of secrecy and discretion must be maintained even after the evaluation process of the candidate cities has concluded and the award has been granted. The duty of secrecy and discretion must also be maintained even if a Committee member ends their relationship with ACES America.

The submission of a candidacy for American Capital of Sport shall follow these steps:

1. Sending of the letter from the Mayor of the municipality, with their written submission of the candidacy for American Capital of Sport. The period for sending this letter begins on the day after the awards ceremony in Brussels, in November of the second year prior to the year for which the application is submitted, and ends on 30 March of the preceding candidacy year. There may be a maximum of five candidates, whose admission shall be determined by the order of receipt of the Mayor's letter.

2. From 1 April to 30 June, candidate cities must prepare the candidacy file (see Appendix VI, guidance for the preparation of the bid file). It must be delivered to ACES before 30 June.

3. Based on the perceived quality of the candidacy bid file, ACES, through an independent third party, will decide which two candidates compete for the award. This communication shall take place before 31 July.

4. Visits to candidate cities shall preferably take place during the month of October.

5. The winners shall be officially announced at the annual gala in Brussels, in November or December.

Specific requirements for Communities/Cities/Towns/Regions concerning Article 15: In the case of Community-Islands/Cities/Towns/Regions, the dates — not the steps — are indicative, except for the awards ceremony, which is common to all cases. In case of doubt, consult the ACES secretariat regarding the specific deadlines.

1. A municipality may be a candidate for American Capital of Sport provided it meets one of the following requirements: having a registered population of 500,000 or more inhabitants, or being the capital of a country.

2. Two municipalities from the same country may not compete for the American Capital of Sport award.

3. A municipality may be a candidate for American City of Sport if it has a registered population of between 25,000 and 499,999 inhabitants.

4. A municipality may be a candidate for American Town of Sport if it has between 1 and 24,999 registered inhabitants.

5. To bid for the American Community of Sport award, at least three municipalities must join together which, owing to their social, cultural, economic, geographical or historical characteristics, have that possibility.

6. Those political structures united for cultural, geographical, economic, historical or social reasons may bid for the American Region of Sport award.

1. At least one official representative of the municipality bidding for the American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport award must confirm explicit and formal knowledge of these Regulations by adhering to them.

2. Adherence to these Regulations shall entail compliance with all the sections included herein, and knowledge thereof shall be recorded by signing the form included in Appendix IV of this document.

1. Visits to municipalities bidding to be awarded American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport shall have a standardised visit protocol, including mandatory and recommended aspects, developed so that the members of the Evaluation Committee can gain knowledge of all the sporting spheres of the municipalities being visited. This protocol is set out in Appendix I of these Regulations.

2. Visits to facilities shall be decided jointly between ACES America and the bid organisation. Accordingly, ACES America shall decide, after consulting the members of the Evaluation Committee, on three facilities to visit, with the remaining visits being decided by the organisation. Such communication shall be made at least one month before the scheduled date of the visit.

Cities bidding for American Capital of Sport and for the other awards must, as an indispensable part of their candidacy, deliver to ACES America a bid file or dossier answering the questions established in the guiding criteria for the preparation of the bid file (see Appendix VI).

In order to avoid possible conflicts of interest among the members of the Evaluation Committee (see Article 12 of these Regulations), the organisation of the candidate cities' visits shall refrain from giving gifts that could compromise their objectivity and independence. Accordingly, these Regulations establish that the organising municipality may not give gifts to members of the Evaluation Committee, except for tokens regarded as institutional courtesy, which must not exceed 100 USD in value.

The hotel and meals of the Evaluation Committee shall be covered by the candidate cities. A maximum of 5 air tickets for members of the Board shall likewise be covered by the candidate capital. In the case of candidate Cities/Towns/Regions, a maximum of 3 air tickets shall be covered.

1. Cities bidding for American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport that are not awarded may apply again for that same award from the year following the submission of their first candidacy.

2. Municipalities which, owing to their demographic characteristics, may qualify for more than one award, may submit their candidacy whenever they wish, bearing in mind that candidacies may not coincide in time — that is, they must be submitted in different years.

3. Municipalities granted the award of American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport may not submit a new candidacy to receive this distinction again within a minimum period of 10 years.

1. Cities wishing to bid for the American Capital of Sport award must pay a fee of 12,000 EUROS, or its equivalent in USD, to ACES America. This fee must be paid in order to formalise the candidacy before the visits begin. Said amount may be paid by the Mayor's Office or the corresponding delegation, or through sponsors or partners, who shall be entitled to the benefits set out in Article 26 of these Regulations. Candidates for American City of Sport must pay 2,500 EUR or the equivalent in USD, and candidates for American Town of Sport 1,000 EUR or the equivalent in USD. Communities shall pay 1,000 EUR, or the equivalent in USD, per municipality; those with more than 500,000 inhabitants shall pay 5,000 EUR, or the equivalent in USD. Regions shall pay as a fee 12,000 EUR, or the equivalent in USD, if they group together more than 100 municipalities, and 6,000 EUR, or the equivalent in USD, if they group together fewer than 100 municipalities.

2. Once the candidacy submission process has begun, following the sending of the Mayor's letter to ACES America, the cities undertake to complete the process entailed in submitting the candidacy, which concludes with the visit of the Committee members and the presentation, where applicable, of the awards.

1. The award of American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport shall be granted after tallying the scores assigned by the members of the Evaluation Committee to each of the eligibility criteria following the voting process carried out during the visit. Article 5 of these Regulations refers to the voting procedure, available in Appendix II.

2. Should a difference equal to or lower than two and a half points, 2.5 (out of 100), be recorded during the evaluation of the candidacy after the vote carried out by the Committee members, and provided the remaining conditions are met, the city with the lower score may directly obtain the American Capital of Sport award for the following year, provided there is unanimity among the Committee members, with the subsequent approval of the Board and acceptance by the city concerned.

1. The official appointment of the American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport shall take place at the annual gala held each year at the institutional venue designated annually by ACES.

2. For organisational purposes, the cities bidding for the American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport award must be duly informed by ACES America, at least two weeks before the date of the official awards gala at the UNESCO headquarters / European Parliament or designated venue, of the outcome of the evaluation process by the respective Evaluation Committees.

Candidate cities that do not receive the American Capital of Sport award shall be duly informed of the reasons why they have not been awarded. ACES America shall provide the municipalities that are not awarded with a document informing them OF THE STRENGTHS IDENTIFIED AND THE POINTS FOR REFLECTION FOR IMPROVING SPORT MANAGEMENT. The document shall be sent at the time they are notified that they have not received the award — that is, at least two weeks before the official awards gala.

1. Cities distinguished as American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport must assume the responsibility entailed by the recognition. The awarded municipalities undertake to fulfil the programme presented during the defence of the candidacy through the implementation of the actions and activities set out, including, as a minimum, the commitment to hold an international congress or competition and to promote sport among all levels of society, in order to give effective expression to the various dimensions of sports policy, as an element of well-being and as a tool for social transformation through public policies, highlighting aspects such as integration, equity, equality and social cohesion, as well as private-sector collaboration, working so that sport also becomes a driver of economic development and job creation in cities.

2. Obtaining the American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport award also entails the obligation to prepare an activity report at the end of the award year. Said report must contain the activities, sporting events, the legacy left as a result of the award, and the main changes that have taken place in the municipality after its year as American Capital of Sport.

3. Awarded municipalities shall have the option — not the obligation — of proposing a candidate municipality for the American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport awards for the next available year. The proposed municipality must be from a different country and meet the minimum requirements.

4. Candidate municipalities, once declared winners of the title, undertake, should they receive the award, to sign a sponsorship agreement with ACES for the image rights of the award. Through said agreement, an amount payable to ACES shall be determined according to the size of the municipality, such amount coming exclusively from sponsors and partners and never from the municipal treasury. These sponsors/partners shall place their logo beneath the CAPITAL / CITY / TOWN / REGION brand in all communications. Each municipality shall decide what benefits and/or considerations it offers to the various sponsors, such as advertising spaces in sports centres, advertising media in the city, digital media, communications of various kinds, etc. All advertising campaigns must be linked to, or make reference to, the award granted. The amounts indicated must be paid before 31 December of the year prior to the development of the candidacy.

Sponsor amounts (image rights):

Likewise, ACES America shall proceed, if the awarded city or municipality deems it appropriate, to communicate the award through partners/sponsors in advertising spaces provided by the municipality, which shall be determined in the contract also on the basis of the category of the award obtained, without prejudice to the promotional actions that ACES will carry out across the entire ACES network of cities, its Internet portal, social media, international meetings, etc.

Through this agreement, the promotion of local sponsors is guaranteed, their internationalisation is fostered, and viability is given to the Activity Plan of ACES Europe and ACES America on the basis of the Good Governance project developed during 2014 at the request of the European Union under agreement number EAC-2013-0379.

For the development of the exploitation, the awarded entities may provide appropriate spaces for advertising the events at different venues, which can contribute to the exploitation of the brand image as American Capital of Sport or other awards.

However, should the entity receiving the title opt to pay with its own resources, it may do so without the need to sign the sponsorship agreement, with the model for paying said image rights being left to its own discretion, whether through public funds or through private contributions.

1. Establishment of an ACES America delegation. The American Capital of Sport may establish an ACES America delegation in its city. It shall consist of the appointment of a delegate, whose mission shall be to promote candidacies for the ACES America awards over the following four years, automatically renewable, as well as to form part of the Evaluation Committees whenever circumstances allow. And the Mayor of the Capital shall automatically become Honorary President of ACES America for one year, should they deem it appropriate.

2. The awarded municipalities, in accordance with the commitments made with each of their individual sponsors, also undertake to acknowledge the sponsors of ACES America, giving them visibility on their communication channels and inserting their logos and graphic designs in all materials developed in connection with the candidacy and the award.

1. In the event of detecting non-compliance with the rules included in these Regulations by a city distinguished with the American Capital/Region/City/Town of Sport award, the award shall be withdrawn, together with any mention of it in the official documentation and information of ACES America.

2. The awarded entity in breach shall pay a penalty of €40,000 in the case of Capital; €20,000 in the case of Community-Island and City; and €10,000 in the case of Town and Region (State/Province), amounts tax free, in accordance with the table in Appendix VIII.

3. Cities unable to attend the Awards Ceremony must submit a justified cause in writing and will require the approval of the Arbitration Committee. Otherwise, absence from the Ceremony shall be tantamount to renouncing the award, with the corresponding financial penalty.

In order to have a more active network with former awarded cities, as an option, there is the possibility of staying connected and forming part of the network with the new members through:

1.- Receiving the latest updates: congresses, activities, competitions, calls for grant proposals.

2.- The right to continue using the label for the following years.

Annual fee:

• Towns: €500
• Cities and Communities/Islands/Regions: €1,000
• Capitals: €2,000

*These Regulations are a translation, with terminological adaptations, of the official regulations available at https://aceseurope.eu