LLANDEGFEDD SAILING CLUB CONSTITUTION
NAME AND OBJECTS
1 The name of the Club shall be "Llandegfedd Sailing Club", hereinafter referred to in these rules as "The Club"
2 The object of the Club is to promote and facilitate the sport of sailing and also to provide social and other facilities for members, as may be from time to time determined.
MEMBERSHIP
3 In all clauses in this constitution, "his" and "he" shall be taken to include "her" and "she".
Membership of the club shall be open to anyone interested in sailing on application, regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs.
Duties: Every member is expected to contribute to the day to day running of the club by undertaking a reasonable number of duties during his period of membership. Such duties shall include officer of the day, race officer, rescue, training and general working parties. Junior members will be exempt from duties.
There shall be the following classes of membership:-
a) Full Member
Full membership shall include one or two parents and all their children under the age of twenty five or who are in full time education. This class of membership includes all Club activities including entry in Club races.
b) Junior
Being those persons who, on 31st Dec of the year of membership are under the age of sixteen
c) Youth
Being those persons who, on 31st Dec of the year of membership are under the age of nineteen
d) Student
Being those persons who, on 31st Dec of the year of membership are under the age of twenty five in full time education.
e) Honorary
Being those persons who are nominated and elected in accordance with Rule 7.
f) Group
Being such organisations as the General Committee may from time to time admit. Each group shall provide the general committee, at least 7 days in advance, with the names of members of that group who will be sailing at Llandegfedd.
g) Temporary
Being such persons as the General Committee may, from time to time admit.
h) Senior Citizens
Being such person / persons who, at the date of election / membership renewal is / are beyond the National Retirement age.
ELECTION OF MEMBERS
4 This paragraph is not in use
5 An application for membership shall be in such form as the General Committee may prescribe and shall contain the name and address of the candidate and any other particulars as the General Committee may require. The Honorary Membership Secretary shall advise the General Committee of all applications for membership.
6 The Honorary Membership Secretary shall furnish an elected candidate with a copy of the rules and make requests for such payments as are necessary.
7 The Club, on the recommendation of the General Committee, may at the Annual General Meeting elect Honorary Members. The total number of such Honorary Members should not normally exceed five percent of the total number of all members.
8 Every member on joining forms a contract with the Club, the terms of which shall be deemed to be these Rules. Any breach, refusal or neglect of these rules, or any conduct which, in the opinion of the General Committee, is either unworthy of a member, or otherwise injurious to the interests of the Club, or the sport of sailing, shall render a member liable to expulsion by the General Committee. The Committee shall call upon the member for an explanation of their conduct and shall give them an opportunity, either of defending their position or of resigning their membership before expulsion.
Expulsion shall only be carried out if not less than seventy-five percent of the members of the General Committee present vote in favour of such a resolution.
ENTRANCE FEE
9 An entrance fee, of such sum and in respect of such categories of membership as the General Committee may from time to time prescribe, shall be payable upon election to the Club.
SUBSCRIPTION
10 With the exception of membership categories 3 e) 3 f) and 3 g), subscriptions shall be approved at each Annual General Meeting.
The subscription for new members elected after 1 September in any year may be reduced at the General Committee's discretion.
11 Members shall also make the following annual payments;-
Such sum as shall from time to time be levied on the Club by the RYA.
12 All Annual Subscriptions are due on the first day of March.A member who has not paid his dues by the first day of May will have his name removed from the list of members.
13 No member shall in any year be entitled to exercise any rights or privileges of membership until his entrance fees (if any), subscription and any arrears have been paid.
CLUB FLAG
14 The Flag of the Club shall be a green Burgee with the Club's Motif in blue and white; Articles bearing the club logo must be approved by the General Committee.
TRUSTEES
15 The General Committee of the Club may appoint at least three Trustees of the Club from among ordinary or Honorary Members who are willing to be so appointed. A trustee shall hold office during his life-time or until he shall resign by giving notice in writing to the General Committee, or until a resolution removing him from office shall be passed at a meeting of the General Committee by a majority comprising two-thirds of the members present and entitled to vote.
16 All property of the Club, including land and investments, shall be held by the Trustees for the time being, in their own names so far as it is necessary and practicable, on trust for the use and benefit of the Club.
On the death, resignation or removal from office of a Trustee, the General Committee shall appoint a new Trustee in his place, and shall as soon as possible thereafter, take all lawful and practicable steps to procure the vesting of all Club property into the names of the Trustees as constituted after each appointment.
17 The Trustees shall in all respects act, in regard to any property of the Club held by them, in accordance with the direction of the General Committee, and shall have the power to sell, lease, mortgage or pledge any Club Property so held for the purpose of raising or borrowing money for the benefit of the Club in compliance with that Committee's directions, but no purchaser, lessee or mortgagee shall be concerned to enquire whether such directions have been given.
18 The Trustees shall be effectually indemnified by the General Committee out of the assets of the Club from and against any liability, costs, expenses and payments whatsoever, which may be properly incurred or made by them in the exercise of their duties or in relation to any property of the Club vested in them, or in relation to any legal proceedings or which otherwise relate directly to the performance of the functions of a Trustee of the Club.
OFFICERS
19 The Officers of the Club shall consist of President, Commodore, Vice-Commodore, Rear-Commodore, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Membership Secretary, Racing Secretary and Training Officer, to be elected at each Annual General Meeting and to hold office until the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting.
The President, Commodore, Vice-Commodore and Rear-Commodore may not hold their office for more than two years consecutively.
20 No candidate for election to any office shall be proposed unless the name of such candidate and his proposer and seconder shall have been sent to the Honorary Secretary at least seven days before the Annual General Meeting.
GENERAL COMMITTEE
21 The General Committee shall consist of the Officers, plus up to ten members of the Club appointed at the Annual General Meeting, and any other persons co-opted as defined below:-
General Committee members shall be elected for a period of three years.
22 If the number of candidates, duly proposed and seconded, exceeds the number of vacancies to be filled, the election shall be by secret ballot.
23 The Quorum for a General Committee meeting shall be six members of that committee.
24 The General Committee shall manage the affairs of the Club according to the Rules and shall apply the funds of the Club to the object of the Club, and shall make such rules and regulations as they think fit as to the management of the Club and its assets. The General Committee, or the Honorary Secretary, as agent for the Club and its members, shall enter into contracts only as far as they are expressly authorised, or authorised by implication, from these rules.
25 A member of the General Committee, and the Honorary Secretary or Honorary Treasurer, in transacting business for the Club, shall disclose to third parties that he is so acting.
26 In pursuance of the authority invested in the General Committee by members of the Club, members of the Committee are entitled to be indemnified by the members of the Club against any liabilities properly incurred by them or the Honorary Secretary on behalf of the Club wherever the contract is of a duly authorised nature and entered into on behalf of the Club. The limit of members indemnity in this respect shall be a sum equal to one year's subscription at the then current rate unless the General Committee has been otherwise authorised by a General Meeting of Club members.
Neither the General Committee nor the Honorary Secretary shall, without the express authority of the membership, enter contracts or agreements that require expenditure that exceeds the cash assets of the club.
27 It shall be the responsibility of the Honorary Treasurer to keep a complete and accurate account of the Club's finances.
28 The General Committee has the power to request members who do not attend half of the committee meetings in any one year to stand down and they will not be eligible for re-election the following year.
29 The General Committee may appoint such sub-committees as it thinks fit, provided that not less than one of the members of any such committee is a member of the General Committee. The General Committee may resolve that members of such sub-committees shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting.
30 The General Committee shall have the power to co-opt members onto that committee for such periods and to invite such members to meetings as it thinks fit, and can give such persons voting rights as it deems necessary.
AUDITOR
31 At the Annual General Meeting two members, or other persons shall be appointed as auditors whose duty it shall be to review the accounts for the Club for the current Year. In the event that an auditor is unable or unwilling to act, the General Committee shall appoint a substitute to hold office until the next Annual General Meeting.
GENERAL MEETINGS
32 An Annual General meeting shall be held on a day convenient to the membership in the months of November, December or January on a date to be fixed by the Commodore. The Honorary Secretary shall at least fourteen days before the date of the meeting post or deliver to each member notice thereof and of the business to be transacted.
33 No business, except the passing of the Accounts and the election of Officers, Committees, Trustees and Honorary Auditor and any business that the General committee may order to be inserted in the notice convening shall be discussed at the Annual General Meeting unless notice has been given to the Honorary secretary at least seven days before the date of that Annual General Meeting.
34 The General Committee may at any time, upon giving fourteen days notice, call a Special General Meeting of the Club for any special business, the nature of which shall be stated in the summons convening the meeting, and the meeting and the discussions at such meeting shall be confined to the business stated on the notice sent to members.
35 The General Committee shall also call a General Meeting on a written request addressed to the Honorary secretary by at least twenty members. The notice required for such a meeting shall be as given above.
VOTING RIGHTS
36 At a Special or Annual General Meeting of the Club, providing the appropriate subscription and entrance fee (if any) is fully paid, voting is authorised as follows:-
a) Full members shall have one vote per adult member.
b) Senior Citizens and Honorary members shall have one vote
c) Cadet, Temporary and Group members shall not be entitled to vote.
37 Those entitled to vote at a General meeting of the Club shall vote by show of hands, or by secret ballot if the meeting so desires. In the case of equality of votes, the Chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.
The same voting system shall be used at all committee and sub-committee meetings.
NEW RULES, AMENDMENTS AND ALTERATIONS
38 Notice of any intended alterations or additions to the Rules proposed by a member of the Club or by the General Committee shall be given to the Honorary Secretary in writing at least 42 days before they are proposed at the Annual General Meeting, or at least 28 days before any Special General Meeting when they are to be brought forward; full particulars of any such proposed alterations or additions shall be set out in the notice convening the meeting.
USE OF CLUB PREMISES
39 A member of any club recognised by the Royal Yachting Association (a list whereof is published by the RYA) may be authorised to use the premises of the Club by any member of the General Committee of the Club.
40 Any person who is a competitor or crew member in any race sponsored by, at or on behalf of the Club is entitled to use the Club premises as a club member.
41 The Honorary Secretary or any other person(s) who have received the authority of at least two members of the General Committee may expel temporarily or permanently, any person whose right to use the Club premises derives solely from the above two rules.
42 The same person shall not be introduced as a guest more than six times in any year. They should be encouraged to become Club Members.
CLUB FUNDS
43 No money or property of the Club or any gain arising from the carrying on of the Club shall be applied otherwise than for the benefit of the Club or a benevolent or charitable purpose to be nominated by the General Committee. Any club assets remaining at the dissolution of the Club shall be transferred to the sport's governing body for use in another community related sport or for the purposes of a Charity.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
44 The Club shall not be held liable or responsible to any member or visitor for any loss, injury or damage to any persons or property however sustained. The notices of "Limitation of Liability" posted in the Club premises and Club handbooks should be carefully noted.
45 All members shall have an effective comprehensive policy in force in respect of their boats with a minimum third party liability of a level to be determined by the General Committee. This rule shall not in any way place vicarious liability on the Club or the General Committee or effect the previous rule in any way.
