1. Title
1.1 The Club shall be called Calne Divers hereafter referred to as ‘the Club’ and shall be affiliated to the Sub Aqua Association.
2. Objects
2.1 To foster and promote the sport of scuba diving.
2.2 To provide training for all members at all levels as regulated by the Sub Aqua Association.
3. Membership
3.1 Membership of the Club shall be open to any person, regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation or ability, who completes a membership application form and pays the relevant subscription/joining fee as determined by the Annual General Meeting of the Club Members subject to ratification by the Club General Committee. All members will be subject to the regulations of the constitution and the Byelaws and Regulations of the Club and, by joining the Club, will be deemed to accept these regulations and the Club’s codes of conduct.
3.2 There shall be 4 classes of membership available. These are:
Full – Diving (16+)
Full – Non-Diving (16+)
Junior – Diving
Junior – Non-Diving
4. Management of the Organization.
4.1 The affairs of the Organization shall be controlled by a General Committee consisting of:
President
Chairperson
Secretary
Treasurer
Diving Officer
Training Officer
Social Secretary
And not more than eight general members.
4.2 The Chairman shall not have any voting rights at Committee or General meetings except in such equal vote circumstances as detailed below.
4.3 All Officers and Committee members shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Organisation, from, and by, the Members of the Club.
4.4 All Officers are elected for a period of one year, but may be re-elected to the same office or another office the following year.
4.5 The duties of the General Committee shall be :
4.5.1 To elect, from the general members, a Vice Chairman to deputise for the Chairman in his absence.
4.5.2 To control the affairs of the Club on behalf of the Members
4.5.3 To keep accurate accounts of the finances of of the Club through the Treasurer. These should be available for reasonable inspection by Members and should be audited before every Annual General Meeting. The Club shall maintain a bank current account and the following Officers shall be authorised to sign Club cheques: two from the Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary.
4.5.4 To co-opt additional members of the Committee as the Committee feels this is necessary. Co-opted members shall not be entitled to a vote on the Committee
4.5.5 To make decisions on the basis of a simple majority vote, the Chairman not being entitled to a vote. In the case of equal votes, the Chairperson shall be entitled to the casting vote.
4.5.6 To approve or reject applications for membership;
4.5.7 For good and sufficient reason, and only after fully exhausting the club grievance procedure, to terminate the membership of any member provided that the member concerned shall have the right to be heard by the committee before final decision is made. This ultimate sanction must only be applied after all attempts have been made to resolve the situation using the Club Grievance procedure.
4.6 All committee meetings shall be open and minutes communicated to all members.
5. General Meetings
5.1 The Annual General Meeting shall be held not later than the end of January each year. 21 clear days’ written notice shall be given to Members of the Annual General Meeting by circulating a copy of the notice to every member at their home address, or personal e-mail, and posting the notice on the Club notice board. Members must advise the Secretary, in writing, of any business, including committee proposals, to be moved at the Annual General Meeting at least 14 days before the meeting. The Secretary shall circulate or give notice of the agenda for the meeting to Members not less than 7 days before the meeting.
5.2 The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be to:
5.2.1 Confirm the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and any General Meetings held since the last Annual General Meeting.
5.2.2 Receive the audited accounts for the year from the Treasurer
5.2.3 Receive the annual report of the Committee from the Secretary.
5.2.4 Elect an auditor.
5.2.5 Elect the Officers of the Club i.e. Chairperson; Secretary; Treasurer, Diving Officer, Training Officer, Social/Fund Raising Secretary and the other General Committee Members.
5.2.6 Review subscription rates and agree them for the forthcoming year.
5.2.7 Transact such other business received in writing by the Secretary from Members 14 days prior to the meeting and included on the agenda.
5.2.8 To cater for members who can not attend the meeting duly signed ‘postal’ votes will be allowed.
5.3 Special General Meetings may be convened by the General Committee or on receipt by the Secretary of a request, in writing, from not less than 3 Full Members of the Club. At least 21 days’ notice of the meeting shall be given
5.4 Nomination of candidates for election of Officers shall be made in writing to the Secretary at least 14 days in advance of the Annual General Meeting date. Nominations can only be made by Full Members and must be seconded by another Full Member.
5.5 At all General Meetings, the chair will be taken by the Chairperson, Vice Chairman or, in their absence, by a deputy appointed by the Club or by Full Members attending the meeting.
5.6 Decisions made at a General Meeting shall be by a simple majority of votes from those Full Members attending the meeting. In the event of equal votes, the Chairperson shall be entitled to the casting vote
5.7 A quorum for a General Meeting shall be 60% of Full Members including 3 Officers of the Club.
5.8 Each Full Member of the Club shall be entitled to one vote at General Meetings.
6. Financial Year
6.1 The Financial year of the Club shall be from the 1st of January to 31st of December.
7. Alterations to the Constitution
7.1 Any proposed alterations to the Club Constitution may only be considered at an Annual or Special General Meeting convened with the required written notice of the proposal. Any alteration or amendment must be proposed by a Full Member of the Club and seconded by another Full Member. Such alterations shall be passed if supported by not less than two-thirds of those Full Members present at the meeting, including duly received postal votes, assuming that a quorum has been achieved.
8. Dissolution
8.1 If, at any General Meeting of the Club, a resolution be passed calling for the dissolution of the Club, the Secretary shall immediately convene a Special General Meeting of the Club to be held not less than one month thereafter to discuss and vote on the resolution.
8.2 If, at that Special General Meeting, the resolution is carried by at least two-thirds of the Full Members present at the meeting, the General 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.
8.3 After discharging all debts and liabilities of the Club, the remaining assets shall not be paid or distributed amongst the Full Members of the Club, but shall be given or transferred to some other voluntary Club having objectives similar to those of the Club including the RNLI and DDRC.
9. Child Protection
9.1 The Club recognises its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all Children by protecting them from physical, sexual and emotional harm or neglect. Our child Protection procedure insists that all Junior Members are escorted by a parent/guardian at all times when taking part in any activities organized by the Club.
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