Club Constitution

 

AYR COUNTRY CURLING CLUB

CONSTITUTION

1. The name of the Club shall be AYR COUNTRY CURLING CLUB. The Club was established in 1983 and affiliated to the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in 2015.
2. The objects of the Club are to:
   1. promote and foster curling,
   2. organise and carry through competitions and matches
   3. organise such social events as required
   4. make arrangements with Ayrshire Curlers Ltd on such terms and conditions as may be agreed on for the use of their ice rink and other premises at Limekiln Road, Ayr.
3. Any cash surplus in the annual accounts may be carried forward into the next year. Under no circumstances should a surplus be distributed amongst Members of the Club.

 

4. No Member shall be under any liability whatever beyond his or her Annual Subscription or become liable for or responsible for any expenses or debts on behalf of the Club.

 

5. The Club shall consist of:
   1. Playing Members
   2. Reserve Members
   3. Non-playing Members.

 

6. All Members shall be entitled to participate in the Club’s social activities and that in all matters where a vote is taken, each Member, whether Playing, Reserve or Non-playing shall have one vote.

 

7. The Committee shall consist of a minimum of 7 people, including:
   1. a Chairman
   2. a Vice-Chairman
   3. a Secretary
   4. a Treasurer.

 

8. The Chairman shall serve a term of no more than 3 years. The Secretary and Treasurer can serve for as long as they are re-elected annually at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), or until either of them intimates to the Chairman their wish to resign. All Members of the Committee shall be elected or re-elected annually at the AGM.  Each Committee Member shall serve for 3 years. All Committee Members are eligible to re-join the Committee after 1 year off the Committee.

 

9. The policies and finances of the Club shall be administered by the Committee, which will meet periodically. This Committee shall be elected at the AGM and shall consist of the Office Bearers together with a minimum of 3 other Members of the Club. Nominations for election to the Committee must be in the hands of the Secretary 24 hours prior to the AGM. If there are insufficient written nominations to fill vacancies occurring on the Committee, then nominations will be accepted from the floor at the AGM. In addition, the Committee will have the power to co-opt a Member onto the Committee, but the co-opted Member will require to stand for election at the next AGM. The quorum for meetings of the Committee will be 4.

 

10. The Committee will have the power to appoint such sub-committees as shall be deemed essential to conduct the affairs of the Club.

 

11. The Club Secretary is responsible for:
    1. all correspondence
    2. all ice bookings
    3. producing the annual Fixture and Members card
    4. giving notice of all meetings
    5. keeping a record of minutes and a register of Members
    6. collecting and circulating all competition results.
12. The Club Treasurer is responsible for:
    1. receiving monies and paying bills as necessary
    2. maintaining a balance sheet at all times
    3. ensuring that there are sufficient authorised signatories with the Club’s nominated bank to sign cheques (2 signatures) when required
    4. producing a set of annual accounts, which are to be independently reviewed before submission to the AGM.

 

13. The website should be maintained by either a Committee Member or any other person appointed by the Committee.

 

14. An AGM of the Members, of which 2 weeks’ notice shall be given, shall be held annually each year prior to the end of August. A minimum of 15 Members will form a quorum for the AGM. The business shall consist of:
    1. receiving the Chairman’s Report and any other reports as requested by the Chairman
    2. consideration and adoption of the Annual Accounts
    3. election of Office Bearers and other Members of the Committee
    4. election of Chairman and/or Vice-Chairman as required to fill any vacancies
    5. appointment of an Independent Reviewer of the annual accounts, who will hold no other office in the Club
    6. fixing subscriptions for the coming season
    7. considering any other report submitted by any Member at least 14 days prior to the AGM
    8. any other competent business.

 

15. A Special Meeting may be called at any time by the Committee and must be called within 21 days of receipt, by the Chairman or Secretary, of a written requisition signed by no fewer than 20 Members of the Club. The notice calling the meeting shall inform of the business to be put before the meeting and the business at such a meeting shall be confined to matters raised in the requisition.

 

16. The acting Chairman at any meeting shall have the casting vote, in the event of a split decision.

 

17. Membership is open to all and no application for Membership will be refused on other than reasonable grounds. There will be no discrimination on grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, political or other opinion. There will be a right of appeal to the Committee, following refusal of any application for Membership, provided the appeal is made in writing to the Committee within 21 days of intimation to the applicant of refusal. The Committee shall consider the appeal within 21 days of receiving the appeal.

 

18. On admission of a Member, the Secretary shall notify him/her of election, supplying a copy of the Constitution of the Club and a copy of the annual Fixture and Members Card, intimating that until the subscription has been paid, he/she cannot enjoy the privileges and advantages of the Club. Non-payment within 1 month from the date of joining shall render Membership null and void, unless satisfactory reasons are given to the Committee. The Treasurer is also to be informed (by the Secretary) so that any subscriptions that are due can be collected. The Secretary is to add the new Member’s name to either the Playing, Reserves or Non-playing Members’ lists.

 

19. The subscriptions shall be fixed at the AGM and shall be payable by 1 September each year. Payment of subscriptions shall entitle the Member to use the Ayrshire Curling Club at such times as they are open. If a Member’s subscription remains unpaid after 30 days, the Membership shall automatically cease. An individual’s annual Membership (for Playing and Reserve Members only) includes Membership of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, other than when a member has a different “mother club”. Subscriptions also include Membership of Ayrshire Curling Club, other than when a member has registered with another curling club.

 

20. If a Member infringes any of the provisions either of either the Club’s Constitution or the Rules and Byelaws of the Ayrshire Curling Club, or his/her conduct is, in the opinion of the Committee, injurious to the interests of the sport; the Committee, after affording the Member the opportunity of explaining his/her conduct shall be entitled to call on the Member to resign, or if that is refused, to cancel his/her Membership. Upon resignation or expulsion, a Member shall forfeit all claims upon the Club, its property and funds.

 

21. In addition to this Constitution, the Committee may publish a set of Club Rules pertaining to all matters on the ice. If so, then the Rules must be included on the annual Fixtures and Members Card for all to see.

 

22. The Committee shall have the power to deal with any matter arising, which is not specifically provided for in the Constitution.

 

23. The Constitution shall come into effect on the day on which it is adopted by Members at an AGM. It shall not be altered or added to except at an AGM or Special Meeting of the Club and then only if two-thirds majority of those present and voting approve such an amendment. Notice of any motion for alteration of or addition to the Constitution to be moved at an AGM or Special Meeting must be lodged with the Secretary in writing, 14 days before the date of such a meeting.

 

24. The Club may be dissolved by resolution passed by two-thirds of the Members present and voting at an AGM or Special Meeting of the Club. 21 days notice of such a motion must be given to Members. No surplus will be distributed other than on dissolution. Any surplus funds or property of the Club, after the Club’s liabilities and debts have been met, shall be made over to Ayr Curling Club.

 

 

Adopted on 9 March 2017