Tewkesbury Rugby Club

Constitution

TEWKESBURY RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

CONSTITUTION

 NAME

The name of the Club shall be Tewkesbury Rugby Football Club

AFFILIATION

The Club shall be affiliated to the:

  • Rugby Football Union
  • Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union
  • Women’s Rugby Football Union

OBJECTS

The objects of the Club shall be to:

  • Promote and encourage the playing of Rugby Football in the name of Tewkesbury Rugby Football Club and create conditions for continuous improvement in the standard of play.
  • Establish, maintain and conduct a Club in suitable premises, with proper services, privileges and advantages for the accommodation of the Members of the Club and their Guests.
  • Create and maintain a good reputation for the Club, not only in the Local Community, but also in the Rugby Football Community, and, in particular, with the Rugby Football Union and the Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union.

MANAGEMENT

The Officers of the Club shall consist of a:

  • Chairperson
  • Honorary Secretary
  • Honorary Treasurer
  • Any other nominated Director

The control and affairs of the Club shall be vested in, and carried out by a Management Committee.

In addition to the Management Committee, there will be a Board of Directors of Tewkesbury Rugby Football Club Limited, a Company Limited by Guarantee, and subject to its own Memorandum and Articles of Association, and which will be the legal entity with ownership of property purchased and/or built for the use of the Club, as well as having specific fund raising powers.

There will also be a Players Committee with its own Constitution and Rules, which will be responsible for the effective organisation of the playing activities of the Club.

There will also be a Juniors Committee with its own Constitution and Rules, which will be responsible for the effective organisation of the playing activities of the Junior Section of the Club.

The Management Committee will co-ordinate the activities of both these entities as well as give overall direction to the Club.

The Management Committee will consist of a:

  • Chairperson
  • Honorary Secretary
  • Honorary Treasurer
  • Players Sub-committee Chairperson
  • Juniors Sub-committee Chairperson
  • Ladies Sub-committee Chairperson

and a minimum of 5 other members with specific remits for activities essential to the Clubs’ existence and performance. These remits may change as Club priorities change.

The Company and the Players will nominate the members of the Management Committee on the rotational basis identified within the Articles of Association, with at least 3 nominations coming from the Players Committee.

These nominations will take place following the Annual General Meeting of the Players, and will be confirmed at the Annual General Meeting of the Club / Company.

Exception to this process will be the Honorary Treasurer, who will be appointed by the Company on at least a three-year basis, and the Chairman, who will be elected annually by and in addition to the other members of the Management Committee.

The Management Committee shall have control of the finances of the Club, and shall have such administrative powers as may be necessary for carrying out the objects of the Club in accordance with this Constitution including, through Tewkesbury Rugby Football Club Limited and its Board of Directors, the dealing with Club property, the raising of money by overdraft or other means, and the investment or disposal of its funds and property.

The Management Committee shall also have the power to fill any vacancy that may occur on the Management Committee until the next Annual General Meeting of the Club.

The office of the Member of the Management Committee shall be vacated, if:

  • If the Member resigns in writing.
  • If the Member ceases to be a Member of the Club.
  • If the Member fails to attend four regular meetings of the Committee, without adequate cause.

At any meeting of the Management Committee, two officers and three members shall form a quorum.

The Management Committee shall meet at such times and places as the Chairman shall arrange, and the Honorary Secretary shall, if requested by not less than three members of the committee, call a special meeting of the Management Committee, seven days notice being given, in such case, to every Member of the Management Committee.

MEMBERSHIP

Full Membership of the Club shall be restricted to the following:

  • Playing Members – who join the Club for a full year as members playing Rugby Football. A Playing Member shall pay the rate of subscription current for Player Membership, shall be subject to re-election each year by the Management Committee, and shall be entitled to all the privileges and benefits of membership.
  • Club 40 members / Vice Presidents – being persons interested in Rugby Football and the promotion of the game in Tewkesbury and give financial support, and are duly nominated and elected at the Club’s Annual General Meeting, and shall be entitled to all the privileges and benefits of membership.
  • Full members – who shall be limited to persons interested in the game of Rugby Football and Tewkesbury Rugby Football. A Full Member shall pay the rate of subscription current for Player Membership and shall be subject to re-election each year by the Management Committee, and shall be entitled to all the privileges and benefits of membership.
  • Life Members – who shall be limited to persons elected by the Club at the Annual General Meeting in recognition of their services to Rugby Football in general, and to the Club in particular. Honorary Life Members shall not be required to pay either for entrance or subscription, (except if the Clubhouse and facilities are being used for events – see “Other Visitors” in this Constitution) and shall be entitled to all the privileges and benefits of membership.
  • Junior Members – who join the Club for a full year as members playing Junior Rugby Football, shall meet the required junior membership level and shall be entitled to all the privileges and benefits of membership, except the ability to sign in guests, and shall have no right to vote at any meeting of the Club.
  • Associates – who shall be limited to persons proposed for election by a current member of the Club and approved by the Management Committee. An Associate shall pay the rate of subscription current for Associates and shall be subject to re-election each year by the Management Committee, and shall have no right to vote at any meeting of the Club. 
REGISTER OF MEMBERS

The Management Committee shall appoint a Membership Secretary, and he shall keep a register of the names and addresses of all Members of the Club, together with a record of latest payments of their subscriptions. He shall also be responsible for the issue of annual Membership Cards to Members on notification, from the Treasurer that the relevant subscription has been paid.

ELECTION OF MEMBERS & Associates

Every candidate for the first time to join the club shall be proposed by a current member of the Club. An Application will be fully completed and this will be passed to the Membership Secretary, who shall present the particulars to the Management Committee at the next Management Committee Meeting following the receipt of the Application Form, for their approval. Until the candidate is elected as a member he/she shall not be entitled to any of the privileges of the Club.

The Management Committee at its sole discretion shall confirm candidates for membership.

The Management Committee shall be empowered to elect Temporary Members of the Club, on such Terms and at such subscriptions as they shall decide, but no such member shall be elected or re-elected for a period that shall in all exceed one month and the requirements contained in the first paragraph hereof shall be observed. The number of Temporary Members shall at no time exceed one tenth of the elected members, and no person shall be elected to temporary membership unless he/she is precluded by distance or other circumstances from making full use of the privileges of the membership.

Membership period shall run for each class of Membership from 1st September to 31stAugust of the following year

EXPULSION OF MEMBERS

The Management Committee shall have the power to expel any member whose conduct shall in the opinion of the Management Committee render him/her unfit for membership of the Club.

In the case of a Senior Playing Member, where the matter is one concerned with playing behaviour, the Players’ Committee will deal with it in co-operation with the appropriate outside disciplinary authorities and the result reported to the Management Committee.

In the case of a Junior Playing Member, where the matter is one concerned with playing behaviour, the Junior Committee will deal with it in co-operation with the appropriate outside disciplinary authorities and the result reported to the Management Committee.

In the case of all other matters concerning members’ behaviour, which impinges upon the good reputation of the Club, the Honorary Secretary will carry out an investigation before passing the matter to the Management Committee for resolution. The Honorary Secretary shall, if necessary because of the severity of the complaint, call an emergency meeting of the Management Committee, which will form a Discipline Committee. All members of the Management Committee shall have the opportunity to attend the Discipline Committee Meetings.

At any meeting of the Discipline Committee, two officers and three members shall form a quorum.

If appropriate, the Discipline Committee can request the member to attend a meeting to answer the complaint.

The Discipline Committee shall require a majority of two thirds of those present at the relevant meeting to expel a member.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Every member, except as detailed above, shall pay an annual subscription at the rate as shall be determined by the Annual General Meeting of the Club. Such subscriptions shall be deemed as a debt to the Honorary Treasurer of the Club for the time being from the first day of September in each year.

New Members joining after the first day of September in each year will pay subscriptions, on a pro-rata basis.

GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held not later than 31st day of August in each year to transact the following business:

  • To receive the reports of the Chairman and the Honorary Treasurer
  • To confirm the officers of the Club and Members of the Management Committee as nominated by Tewkesbury Rugby Football Club Limited and the Players’ Committee.
  • To deal with any matters concerning the Club specified on the Agenda of the General Meeting.

An Extraordinary General Meeting of the club may be called at any time by the Management Committee, and shall be called within twenty-one days after receipt, in writing of not less than ten Full Members and/or Honorary Life Members of the Club, stating fully the object for calling such meeting. Except by leave of the Chairman, no subject other than that for which the Extraordinary Meeting has been called, may be discussed at such meeting.

At least fourteen days written notice of the Annual General Meeting, and at least seven days written notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting (other than a Meeting called upon the request of Members provided above, in which case fourteen days written notice shall be given) shall be published to all members entitled to vote at such Meeting.

The necessary quorum for any Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting shall be a total of fifteen members.

Any General Meeting or adjournment thereof at which the requisite quorum is not present, within thirty minutes after the time fixed for the commencement thereof shall stand adjourned to such time and place as the Members of the Management Committee shall fix.

ALTERATION TO THE CONSTITUTION

No alteration or addition to this Constitution shall be made except by a resolution carried by a majority of at least two thirds of the Members present at a General Meeting, the notice of which shall have contained particulars of the proposed alterations or additions. The Honorary Secretary shall as soon as possible, and in any case within twenty-eight days of the making of any such alteration or addition to these rules give written notice of such alteration to the Chief Officer of Police and to the Clerk to the Local Authority of the District in which the Club is situated.

DISSOLUTION

If at any General Meeting of the Club, a Resolution for the Dissolution of the Club shall be passed by a majority of the members present, and such resolution shall at a Special General Meeting held not less than one month nor more than two months thereafter, be confirmed by a resolution by a majority of two-thirds of the members present and entitled to vote, the Management Committee thereupon or at such future date as shall be specified in such resolution, shall realise the property of the Club, the proceeds of which after the discharge of all liabilities shall be devoted to such charity or charities as may be selected by the surviving Member or Members of the Management Committee.

ACCOUNTS

The financial year shall be from 1st April until 31st March in the following year. Management Accounts of the financial affairs of the Club shall be available prior to the Annual General Meeting. Full Accounts of the affairs of the Club, duly audited by the appointed Auditors, shall be available soon after the Annual General Meeting.

APPLICATION OF CLUB ASSETS

No money or property of the Club or any gain arising from the carrying on of the Club’s activities shall be applied otherwise than for the benefit of the Club as a whole or for some charitable benevolent purpose or purposes chosen by resolution of a General Meeting.

PROVISION OF WINES, BEERS AND SPIRITS

No person shall at any time be entitled to receive at the expense of the Club (or any Member thereof) any commission percentage or similar payment on or with reference to purchases of intoxicating liquor by the Club, nor shall any person directly or indirectly derive any pecuniary benefit from the supply of intoxicating liquor by or on behalf of the Club as a whole and apart also from any benefit which a person derives indirectly by reason of the supply giving rise to or contributing to a general gain from carrying on of the Club.

The purchase for the Club and the supply by the Club of intoxicating liquor shall be in the absolute discretion of the Clubhouse Manager and the Honorary Treasurer.

GUESTS

Members who are eighteen years old (or older) shall be entitled to introduce prospective members to the Club, provided that no persons whose application for membership has been declined or who has been expelled from the Club shall be introduced as a guest. The member introducing the guest shall enter the name and address of the guest together with his own name in a Signing In Book, which shall be kept in the Clubhouse. The member shall also pay a guest fee (to be fixed from time to time by the Management Committee), and will be responsible for the good behaviour of his guest whilst on the Clubs’ property. No person shall be introduced as a guest more than five times in any one calendar year.

Members who have not yet reached the age of eighteen are not permitted to sign in guests.

OTHER VISITORS

There may be admitted to the Club’s Registered Premises persons other than members or their guests, and intoxicating liquor may be sold to such persons by or on behalf of the Club for consumption on the premises and not elsewhere, provided such sales are restricted to members of bona fide Athletic Associations having fixtures with the Tewkesbury Rugby Football Club approved by the Players Committee.

From time to time the Clubhouse may be open to the General Public as part of Special Community Events. These events may form part of the Clubs Fundraising Activities, or be part of Local Community/Borough Charity Events. On these occasions intoxicating liquor may be sold to such persons by or on behalf of the Club for consumption only on the premises.

From time to time the Clubhouse may be hired for private or closed parties. These events may form part of the Clubs Fundraising Activities, or be part of Local Community/Borough Charity Events. On these occasions intoxicating liquor may be sold to such persons by or on behalf of the Club for consumption only on the premises. On these occasions the Club will be closed to all Members unless they choose to take part in the event and pay such entrance fee as may be in force. On these occasions, a notice advising all members of the closure of the Clubhouse will be posted on the Notice Board not less than fourteen days prior to the event-taking place.

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