Rules & Constitution


WINTERBORNE VALLEY CROQUET CLUB CONSTITUTION

Name

  1. The name of the Club shall be Winterborne Valley Croquet Club. The Club is affiliated to and a member club of the Croquet Association.


Object of the Club

  1. The objective of the Club is to promote the sport of croquet in and around Dorset.


Membership

  1. Membership of the Club shall be open to any person completing a membership form and paying the relevant joining fee and annual subscription.
  2. Each Member shall pay an annual subscription before 31 March. The amount of the annual subscription shall be determined at the Annual General Meeting. If a Member’s subscription has not been paid by 31 March then the membership is deemed to be terminated.
  3. A Member who is found by vote carried at an Extraordinary General Meeting, called in accordance with clause 6.i, to have behaved in a manner likely to bring the Club into disrepute or cause substantial prejudice to it may be expelled from the Club. Provided that:
  4. The resolution must be carried by 4/5ths of those attending and voting.
  5. This is the only business at the meeting.
  6. Before putting the motion to the vote the Member shall have a full opportunity to address the meeting.
  7. The Member expelled may appeal by notice in writing sent to the Secretary of the Croquet Association, within 14 clear days, who shall within 14 days thereafter convene a meeting of the Chairperson (or in their absence the Vice-chairperson) of the Council and two members who shall decide the appeal and shall not be required to give reasons.
  8. Following expulsion any subscription for the whole of that year that has been paid by that Member shall be returned.
  9. The Committee may suspend a Member, or refuse membership, voting in favour of such suspension or refusal being not less than the number of Committee Members (including co-opted Members) minus one.


Officers

  1. The Officers of the Club shall be Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. All Officers shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Club, from and by the Members of the Club. Officers of the Club shall be elected to serve for one year. Officers may be re-elected to the same office or another office and may be re-elected to the same or another office in the following or subsequent years. In the absence of nominations prior to the meeting, or following a failure to fill such a position after a vote, nominations may be taken from the floor. All nominations must have the consent of the nominee. Should any Officer cease to act as such, for any reason, during their term of office, the Committee shall be entitled to

fill the vacancy with any Member, including one of their number, and such an appointment shall last until the subsequent AGM.

  1. Those willing to serve as Officers shall be proposed and seconded by two other Members of the Club who shall forward such nominations to the Secretary in writing no later than eight days before the Annual General Meeting. This procedure will not apply to those Officers who are willing to stand for re-election.


Committee

  1. The management of the Club is vested in a Committee consisting of three Officers and between four and seven ordinary Members.
  2. A quorum at a Committee meeting shall be four Members.
  3. Members of the Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and subject to the provisions of this rule shall serve for a period of three years. A retiring Member shall be eligible for re-election. At the first Committee meeting held after an Annual General Meeting the new Members will draw lots to determine their years of service such that as far as may be the numbers of Committee Members retiring in one, two or three years shall be maintained equal.
  4. The Committee may co-opt a Club Member onto the Committee. The Club Member so co-opted shall serve until the next Annual General Meeting and shall be entitled to vote on the Committee.
  5. Decisions of the Committee shall be made by a majority, when necessary without meeting and the Secretary’s record of such a majority decision shall be conclusive, unless challenged within 14 days of notification of such a decision to all Committee Members. In the case of an equality of votes the Chair shall be entitled to an additional casting vote.


General Meetings

  1. The Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) will take place in February or March of each year.
  2. The Secretary shall give not less than 21 clear days’ notice, in writing, to every Club Member of the time, date and venue of a General Meeting. Such notice shall refer to the provisions of Rule 5c and the proxy provisions of Rule 7 and shall in the case of an EGM include an agenda.
  3. The notice convening the Annual General Meeting shall list the Members of the Committee, it shall specify the names of the retiring Committee Members and indicate those willing to stand again.
  4. Those willing to serve on the Committee shall be proposed and seconded by two other Members of the Club who shall forward such nominations to the Secretary in writing no later than eight days before the Annual General Meeting. This procedure will not apply to those Committee Members who are willing to stand for re-election.
  5. Voting in contested elections shall be by secret ballot.
  6. Motions for the agenda at an AGM must be forwarded to the Secretary, in writing, at least 14 days before the date fixed for the AGM (“the AGM Date”) and the Secretary shall include the same in the agenda for the AGM. The AGM agenda is to be sent, in writing, to all Club Members at least 7 days before the AGM Date.
  7. A quorum at an AGM shall be twelve Club Members including at least two Officers.
  8. A member under the age of 18 years at the time of a General Meeting shall not be entitled to vote at that meeting and shall not form part of the quorum.
  9. An Extraordinary General Meeting (“EGM”) shall be held whenever the Committee thinks that it is expedient, or whenever ten Members (excluding Members under 18) so request to the Secretary in writing, stating the purpose of the meeting. The meeting shall be held not less than 21 days, or more than 36 days after such a request has been received. A quorum at an EGM shall be twelve Club Members including at least two Officers.
  10. At a General Meeting a resolution put to the vote shall be decided by a show of hands. A declaration by the Chair of the meeting that the resolution has been carried, or lost, shall be conclusive, unless a secret ballot is requested by at least ten Club Members, either before or after the declaration by the Chair. The Chair’s decision on all points concerned with the conduct of the meeting shall be conclusive and binding.
  11. The Chair at any General Meeting shall be entitled to one vote and a casting vote. Should the elected Chair not be present at a General Meeting, then a Committee Member chosen by the Committee Members present shall take the Chair.
  12. If the Committee decide that it is not possible, for any reason, to hold a General Meeting with Members present, and that General Meeting may not for good reason be postponed (in the opinion of the Committee), the Committee may decide to hold that General Meeting virtually. The Committee may make such arrangements for the calling and conduct of that meeting as it thinks fit including decisions as to quorum, voting and proxies.


Proxies

  1. A Member is entitled to appoint a proxy to exercise all or any of their rights to attend, speak and to vote at any General Meeting instead of the Member. A proxy can only be appointed by completing a proxy form available from the Secretary on request.
  2. A proxy must be a Member of the Club and must attend the General Meeting in person.
  3. Completion and return of a form of proxy will not preclude a Member from attending and voting at the meeting or any adjournment thereof in person. If a proxy is appointed and the Member attends the meeting in person the proxy appointment will automatically be terminated.
  4. To be valid the prescribed form of proxy must be completed and lodged with the Secretary not less than 48 hours before the time fixed for the meeting or for any adjournment
  5. In order to revoke a proxy instruction, a Member will need to send a signed hard copy notice clearly stating their intention to revoke a proxy appointment to the Secretary.


Accounts

  1. The financial year of the Club shall be the twelve months ending on 31 December.
  2. The Treasurer shall keep all accounts, shall have charge of all monies belonging to the Club and at the Annual General Meeting present the independently examined accounts for the previous financial year.
  3. The independent examiner shall be appointed annually at the Annual General Meeting. The independent examiner may be a Club Member.
  4. The Club shall maintain a bank current account. Club cheques are to be signed by any two

of three Committee Members, appointed by the Committee to sign cheques.


Visitors

  1. Playing Visitors to the Club shall pay a lawn fee set at the AGM unless visiting an event approved by the Committee and any fee charged approved by the Committee
  2. No playing visitor may visit the Club more than five times in any year (save that a visit to an event approved by the Committee under paragraph 8a shall not be included in the count)


Child Protection and Vulnerable Adults

  1. The Club will adopt a Safeguarding Policy as prescribed by the Croquet Association and will appoint a Member as Safeguarding Officer.


Alterations to the Constitution

  1. The Constitution of the Club may only be amended by resolution at a General Meeting. The resolution must be passed by two thirds of the Club Members present.


Dissolution

  1. If at any General Meeting of the Club, a resolution be passed calling for the dissolution of the Club, the Secretary shall immediately convene an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club to be held not less than one month thereafter to discuss and vote on the resolution.
  2. If at that Extraordinary General Meeting, the resolution is carried by at least two thirds of the Full Members present at the meeting and voting, the Committee shall thereupon, or at such date as shall have been specified in the resolution, proceed to realise the assets of the Club and discharge all debts and liabilities of the Club. Abstentions shall be recorded but shall not count as a vote.
  3. After discharging all debts and liabilities of the Club, the remaining assets shall not be paid or distributed amongst the Members of the Club, but shall be divided equally between the local Federation (if the Club is a member of it) and the Croquet Association. If the Club is not a member of the local Federation all assets on dissolution shall vest in the Croquet Association. Without in any way fettering the absolute discretion of the Croquet Association in the disposal thereof, first consideration may be given to support of other clubs in the vicinity of the dissolved club.


Writing

  1. The terms “in writing” or “written” shall include by e-mail, when the Member has provided the Secretary, Treasurer, or any Membership Secretary, with their email address.


Questions Unresolved

  1. Any matter not resolved by these rules shall be decided by the Committee. The Members shall consider at the next subsequent AGM whether such matter should give rise to a change in the Constitution.