CLUB CONSTITUTION Version 5, November 2004

1 NAME

The club shall be known as The Green Star Canoe Club, hereinafter known as THE CLUB

2 OBJECTS

The aims of the Club are:

* To get as many people as possible, of all ages and abilities, enjoying the sport and recreation of canoeing,

* To provide an environment and the basic essential equipment to enable members to extend their skills and enhance their individual performance, with due regard to safety,

* To encourage members to teach others and thus pass on their skills and expertise,

* To encourage fair play and consideration for the feelings of others.

3 MEMBERSHIP

3.1 Qualification: Any person who undertakes to behave in the best interest of canoeing shall be eligible for membership.

3.2 Classes of Membership:

a. Full Members … over the age of 16

b. Family Members … The spouse and/or children under 16 of a full member.

c. Junior Members … under the age of 16. Those under 8 will only be admitted if an adult responsible for them is present when they take part in club activities.

3.3 Election: Candidates for election to membership shall make written application to the Secretary of the Club on the form provided. The power of election shall rest with General Committee, who may refuse to elect membership to any applicant without assigning a reason for doing so.

3.4 Restrictions: A person who has been excluded from, or refused membership of, the British Canoe Union, shall not be eligible for membership.

3.5 Acceptance: The General Committee may at its sole discretion decline to accept renewal of membership from any person, without disclosing the reason.

4 SUBSCRIPTION

The rates of subscription shall be determined by the members in General Meeting and shall be due on election and, thereafter, on or before October in each year.

Members joining after April shall pay half the subscription, up to the next October following.

5 CESSATION OF MEMBERSHIP

5.1 Any member may resign giving one monthís clear notice in writing to the Secretary.

5.2 Any member violating any of the rules or regulations of the Club or being judged guilty of unsatisfactory conduct may, by resolution of the General Committee, be suspended or expelled. Any member so suspended or expelled may appeal to a Special General Meeting if their appeal is sponsored by no fewer than five members who are entitled to vote.

5.3 A member shall be deemed to have resigned from the Club if, after due notice in writing, he/she has not paid by one year afterwards the annual subscription which became due on 1st July of the previous year. He/she may, however, rejoin at any time.

7 SECTIONS

7.1 The Club may organise various Sections to cover the various activities of canoeing.

7.2 The affairs of each Section shall be conducted by a sub-committee of up to ten members of whom the Section Leader or his/her deputy shall serve on the General Committee.

8 DISQUALIFICATION FROM HOLDING OFFICE

8.1 Only members who are entitled to vote are eligible to hold office: that is Full members and Family members over the age of 16 years.
Except that the Junior members of the club may elect a Junior Representative (who may be separate from the Junior Section Leader) from among the full, family or junior members of the club to represent their views to the General Committee, but who may not vote on the General Committee.

8.2 Any member who is under the age of 16 years shall not be eligible for election to the General Committee of the Club.

8.3 Any member of the General Committee or a Section Committee who has a financial interest in any subject under discussion by the Committee shall declare his/her interest and abstain from voting on that subject.
9
GENERAL COMMITTEE

9.1 The General Committee shall conduct the affairs of the Club as a whole and shall consist of a Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, and other officers, as deemed necessary. Each Section Leader is ex officio a member of the General Committee. Additionally, the General Committee may co-opt no more than 5 members of the Club to its number.

9.2 Nominations for the positions of Chairperson, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer and other officers shall be put forward to the Secretary at least seven days before the election.

9.3 The General Committee shall elect a Vice Chairperson from amongst its number.

9.4 The terms of office shall be for two years, and members shall be eligible for re-election.

10 DUTIES OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE

10.1 Chairperson: The Chairperson will preside at all General Meetings of the Club and at all meetings of the General Committee. He or she will be responsible for guiding the activities of the club in accordance with its rules and general policy as expressed by the majority of its members. The Chairperson shall represent or arrange for the representation of the Club at BCU regional level and at meetings of other organisations. He/she shall ex officio be a member of any other committee of the Club.

10.2 Hon. Secretary: The Hon. Secretary will be responsible for the organisation of meetings of the General Committee and of the Club and the recording of minutes relating to such meetings and all correspondence relating to the general business of the Club. He/she shall also be responsible for transmitting to the Sections all correspondence relating to the particular activities of the Section concerned at the earliest opportunity. The Hon. Secretary will receive copies of the minutes relating to the meetings of Section Committees.

10.3 Hon. Treasurer: The Hon. Treasurer will be responsible for the collection of all monies including subscriptions and shall keep such books of account as required by the General Meeting. He/she shall have the power to examine, after giving one weekís notice, the books of any Section, and shall report any discrepancies to the General Committee. The Hon. Treasurer shall audit the books of each section annually and shall produce at the AGM balance sheets showing the financial state of each Section and of the General funds, accompanied by the Hon. Auditorís report. Cheques should have at least two signatories. The signatories shall not be related. The Treasurer must make the committee aware of any existing or potential financial or cash flow problems.

10.4 Duties of other Officers: Officers may be elected to be responsible for the following duties.

10.4.1 Section Leaders: Section Leaders shall be elected to oversee the affairs of such Section Committees as may be appointed by the Club.

10.4.2 The Social Secretary, The Social Secretary shall organise a programme of social events.

10.4.3 Newsletter Editor: A Newsletter editor shall be elected who is responsible for producing a regular bulletin.

11 GENERAL COMMITTEE PROCEDURES

11.1 The General Committee is responsible for the general conduct of the Club’s business and activities.

11.2 The General Committee shall meet at regular intervals during the year, as required by the business to be transacted.

11.3 Special meetings of the General Committee shall be called by the Hon. Secretary on instructions from the Chairperson, or on the instructions of not less than three Committee members.

11.4 Meetings of the Section Committees shall be called by the Section Leader concerned, or on the instructions of twenty percent of the members of the Section Committee.

11.5 A quorum shall consist of not less than half the committee members, in the case of the General Committee, and not less than half the members in the case of the Section Committees.

11.6 In the case of casual vacancy amongst the General Committee, the said Committee shall appoint another eligible person to act until the next AGM.

12 SECTION COMMITTEES

12.1 The Section Committee shall each consist of a maximum of 10 members elected by the section concerned, one of whom shall be the Section Leader.

12.2 A Section Committee may nominate other members of the section to serve on the Section Committee.

12.3 The Leader of each Section shall keep minutes of all Section meetings and shall submit a copy of minutes or a report on the Sectionís activities to the Hon. Secretary at a General Committee meeting. He/she shall also be responsible for the collection of all monies relating to the Section and shall submit a balance sheet showing the financial state of the section at the AGM. He/she shall submit a statement of the Sectionís finances to the Hon. Treasurer for presentation at all General Committee meetings.

12.4 Section Committees may draw up rules and regulations necessary for the efficient management of the section, but such rules and regulations shall not become operative until approved by the General Committee.

12.5 Section Committees shall meet at such intervals as are required to satisfactorily conduct the business of the Section, or upon demand, by requisition signed by not less than twenty percent of members of the section committee.

13 GENERAL MEETINGS

13.1 An Annual General Meeting shall be held in the autumn of each year. A statement of accounts, made up to the 30th June immediately preceding the AGM, shall be laid before the meeting.

13.2 An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called on the instructions of a simple majority of the General Committee or on a requisition signed by no less than 10 members of the Club entitled to vote.

13.3 Not less than 21 days clear notice shall be given, specifying to all members the time, place and business of the General Meeting.

13.4 Motions for discussion at the Annual General Meeting, not of origin from within the General Committee, shall be lodged with the Hon. Secretary at least seven days before the AGM, and be signed by 5 members entitled to vote.

13.5 At any General Meeting, a resolution put to the vote of the Meeting shall be decided by a show of hands of those entitled to vote, except when more than one nomination has been received for a position of the General committee, in which case voting will be by secret ballot.

13.6 At all General Meetings the Chairperson will preside or, in his/her absence, the voting members present will elect a Chairperson for the meeting.

13.7 At all General Meetings not less than twenty percent of the members of the Club shall constitute a quorum.

13.8 Absence of Quorum: If after half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting, a quorum is not present, the Meeting, if called at the request of the members, shall be dissolved. In any other case, the Meeting shall be adjourned until a time and place to be fixed by the General Committee. If a quorum is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for an Adjourned Meeting, the members present shall be a quorum.

13.9 Accidental Omission: Accidental Omission to give notice of a meeting to, or the non-receipt of notice of, a meeting by any member shall not invalidate the proceedings of a meeting.

14 LIABILITY

14.1 The General Committee shall manage the affairs of the Club. Financial or legal liability incurred in the rightful exercise of their office shall not, however, be the personal liability of the Committee, but shall be the responsibility of the Club as a whole.

14.2 All members or other persons who attend club tours, meets or other activities do so at their own risk, and neither the Club nor its officers can accept any liability for any loss or injury of any kind sustained during any Club activity.

15 VOTING

Only full members, and family members over the age of 16 years are entitled to vote at all meetings.

16 ALTERING OF CONSTITUTION

16.1 This constitution shall not be altered, amended, or rescinded except by a General Meeting of the Club.

16.2 A resolution to give effect to a change must be passed by at least 75% of the members present at the General Meeting, and voting on this behalf.

17 AUDITOR

Every Annual General Meeting shall appoint an Hon. Auditor who shall at least once in every year examine the Accounts of the Club, and ascertain the correctness of the income and expenditure accounts and of the balance sheet.

18 DISTRIBUTION OF PROFITS

18.1 In no circumstances except those detailed in 18.2 can any profit be distributed to members, but any profits earned shall be contributed to a General Fund for furthering the objects of the Club.

18.2 The Committee may pay an annual hire charge to members who place their personal equipment on loan to the Club for at least a year continuously. The Committee shall determine the amount of the charge.

19 TERMINATION

The Club shall not terminate except by a resolution of a Special General Meeting convened for the purpose and, in such an event, any surplus assets owned by the Club shall be handed over to a body or bodies with similar aims or to a charity or charities agreed by the meeting which formally terminates the Club.

20 POWER OF DECISION

Any matter not provided for in this constitution, or any question over the interpretation of this constitution, shall be dealt with by the General Committee whose decision shall be final.

21 RULES

The General Committee shall be empowered to draw up rules and guidelines for the safe conduct of canoeing activities under the auspices of the Club.

22 DECLARATION

Each member upon joining shall sign the following declaration:

Name: ………………………………………………

Upon acceptance into membership of the Green Star Canoe Club I understand that canoeing is undertaken at my own risk. I confirm that I do not suffer from any disability or mental condition which may render me unfit for strenuous exercise. *

Signed: ………………………………………………

Parent/Guardian (if under 18): ………………………………………………

* If you have a medical condition, this will not necessarily stop you from becoming a member or taking part, but you must declare it.

* If you are in any doubt about your health in relation to canoeing, ask your family doctor for advice.