CLUB CONSTITUTION With effect from May 2014 1 Name i) The name of the Club shall be the Royal Wootton Bassett Amateur Swimming and Lifesaving Club, known as Royal Wootton Bassett Otters. The Club colours shall be orange and black. ii) The Club headquarters shall be deemed to be the Wootton Bassett Lime Kiln Centre swimming pool. iii) The Club shall be affiliated to the ASA South West Region, and shall adopt and conform to the rules of this Association, and to such other bodies as the Club may determine from time to time. 2 Objects i) The objects of the Club shall be to promote, encourage and teach the practice of swimming as defined by the Amateur Swimming Association to its members. These objects shall include such other activities as the Club may determine from time to time. In the furtherance of these objects: a) The Club is committed to treat everyone equally within the context of their activity. This shall be, for example, regardless of sex, ethnic origin, religion, disability or political persuasion, on any grounds. b) The Club believes that the welfare of children is everyone s responsibility and that all children and young people have a right to have fun, be safe and be protected from harm ii) The business and affairs of the Club shall at all times be conducted in accordance with the Laws and Technical Rules of the Amateur Swimming Association ( ASA Laws ) and in particular: a) All competing members shall be eligible competitors as defined in ASA Laws; and b) The Club shall in accordance with ASA Laws adopt the ASA Child Protection Procedures; and c) Members of the Club shall in accordance with ASA Laws comply with the ASA Child Protection Procedures iii) By virtue of the affiliation of the Club to ASA South West Region, the Club and all members of the Club acknowledge that they are subject to the laws, rules and constitutions of:
a) ASA South West Region; and b) the Amateur Swimming Association (to include the ASA/IOS Code of Ethics); and c) British Swimming (in particular its Doping Control Rules and Protocols and Disciplinary Code); and d) FINA, the world governing body for the sport of swimming in all its disciplines (together the Governing Body Rules ) iv) In the event that there shall be any conflict between any rule or by-law of the Club and any of the Governing Body Rules then the relevant Governing Body Rule shall prevail 3 Membership i) The total membership of the Club shall not normally be limited. The Club shall have the right to impose (and remove) from time to time any limits on total membership of the Club. ii) All persons who assist in any way with the Club s activities shall become members of the Club and hence of the ASA and the relevant ASA membership fee shall be paid. iii) Any person who wishes to become a member of the Club must submit a signed application to the Membership Secretary (and in the case of a junior swimmer the application must be signed by the swimmer s parent or guardian). Applicants of 5 years of age and above will be offered a place subject to availability. If no spaces are available or the applicant is under 5 years of age, the applicant shall be placed on the waiting list. Election to membership shall be at the discretion of the Committee or other person(s) authorised by the Committee. The Club shall have the right to refuse admission, but shall be required to give reasons for the refusal of any application. The Club shall not refuse an application for membership on discriminatory grounds, whether in relation to ethnic origin, age, sex, religion, disability, political persuasion or sexual orientation. Fees shall become due on election to membership. iv) All members shall be amateurs as defined in ASA Laws. v) Any person aged 16 or over having paid a subscription shall be deemed a Full Member. Any person aged under 16 having paid a subscription shall be deemed a Junior Member. The parent or guardian of Junior Members shall be deemed an Associate. Members who are away during term time and participate in Club training sessions during holiday shall be deemed Student Members. Committee members,
appointees, instructors and coaches, where not covered by other categories of membership, together with individuals awarded lifetime membership at the discretion of the Committee, shall be deemed Honorary Members. All the member categories above will be registered as required by the ASA. vi) The Club shall consist primarily of members whose longest unbroken membership of a swimming club is of the Club. Members of other clubs will be accepted only if vacancies arise and at the discretion of the Committee or other person(s) authorised by the Committee. Only members whose longest unbroken membership is of the Club will be entitled to compete. 4 Subscription and Other Fees i) The monthly member subscription and training fees shall be determined by the Annual General Meeting. ii) Fees are due monthly payable on the 1st of each month. No refunds or reductions will be given for members joining or leaving during a calendar month. iii) The monthly subscription fee shall be due on joining the Club and thereafter on the first day of each month. iv) Any member whose subscription is unpaid by the date falling 30 days after the due date may be suspended by the Committee from some or all activities and until such payment is made. Any member whose subscription is unpaid by the date falling 60 days after the due date will be deemed no longer a member and must reapply for membership. v) The Club shall have the right to require a written explanation from a member for 6 weeks consecutive absence. Failing receipt of such explanation after 90 days absence (including the aforementioned 6 weeks), the member shall be deemed to have resigned. vi) The Committee shall from time to time have the power to make such increase in the monthly membership subscription as shall, where the Club pays the individual ASA Membership Fees to the ASA on behalf of members, be consequential upon an increase in individual ASA Membership Fees. Any increase in subscriptions shall be advised to members in writing. vii) A member wishing to resign membership of the Club must give to the Membership Secretary written notice of resignation. Members will be required to give one full calendar months notice.
viii) The club reserves the right to waive fees of any member during a period of hardship. Such hardship to be determined at the discretion of the Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary acting together. No discrimination will be made on the grounds of sex, creed, colour, race, sexual preference, age, disability etc. However length of membership and extent of activity within the club may be taken into consideration. The basis for any decisions to be documented and retained by the Treasurer. 5 Expulsion and Other Disciplinary Action i) The Committee shall have the power to expel a member when, in its opinion, it would not be in the interests of the other members of the Club for the individual to remain a member. ii) The Club shall adopt and comply with the ASA Guidelines for handling internal Club disputes. iii) Any member wilfully infringing Club rules or making him/herself generally objectionable shall be brought before a disciplinary panel to consist of 3 members of the Committee as appointed for that purpose by the Chairperson, with the proviso that there should be at least one member on the panel of the same gender as the defaulter. The panel may recommend formal warning, suspension or expulsion to the Committee for the final decision. The member may not be expelled or be made the subject of any other penalty unless the panel hearing the complaint shall unanimously vote in favour of the penalty. iv) A member has the right of appeal. This shall be in writing to the Secretary within 14 days of the Committee decision. v) Should any Club member have a grievance they, or the parent or guardian of a junior member, may put their grievance in writing to the Secretary for consideration by the Committee. The Committee shall reply in writing. 6 Committee i) The Committee shall consist of the Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary (together the Officers of the Club ) and up to a further 12 elected members (including the Head Coach and the Co-ordinators of the Learn-to-Swim, Masters and Lifesaving sections). The club shall have a Welfare Officer. All Committee members must be not less than 18 years of age though the Committee may allow younger members to attend their meetings without power to vote.
ii) The Committee members shall be elected by ballot at the Annual General Meeting each year and shall remain in office until their successors are elected at the next Annual General Meeting. Any vacancy occurring by resignation or otherwise may be filled by the Committee. Retiring members of the Committee shall be eligible for re-election. iii) Committee meetings shall be held not less than quarterly (save where the Committee itself shall by a simple majority resolve not to meet), and the quorum of that meeting shall be six members (to include not less than two Officers). Decisions of the Committee shall be made by a simple majority and in the event of equality of votes the Chairperson (or the acting Chairperson of that meeting) shall have a casting vote. The Secretary (or the acting Secretary of that meeting) shall take minutes. Minutes shall be approved at the subsequent meeting, signed by the Chairperson and held on file. iv) In the event that a quorum is not present within 30 minutes of the published start time, a meeting shall stand adjourned to such time and date as may be determined by the Chairperson. v) In addition to the members so elected the Committee may co-opt further members of the Club. Coopted members shall not be entitled to vote at the meetings of the Committee and shall not be counted in establishing a quorum, unless specifically nominated to represent an absent voting member. Such nominations to be provided in writing to the Secretary vi) The Committee may from time to time appoint from among their number such sub-committees as they may consider necessary and may delegate to them such of the powers and duties of the Committee as the Committee may determine. All sub-committees shall conduct their business in accordance with the directions of the Committee. vii) The Committee shall be responsible for the management of the Club and shall have the sole right of appointing and determining the terms and conditions of service of employees of the Club. The Committee shall have the power to enter into contracts for the purposes of the Club on behalf of the members of the Club. The Committee shall be responsible for ensuring that the Accounts of the Club for each financial year be examined by an independent examiner to be appointed by the members in General Meeting. viii) The members of the Committee shall be entitled to an indemnity out of the assets of the Club for all expenses and other liabilities properly incurred by them in the management of the affairs of the Club.
7 Annual and Special General Meetings i) The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held each year on a date within 90 days following the end of the financial year to be fixed by the Committee. ii) The purpose of the Annual General Meeting is to transact the following business: a) To receive the Chairperson s report of the activities of the Club during the previous year; and b) To receive and consider the Accounts of the Club for the previous year and the report on the Accounts of the independent examiner and the Treasurer s report as to the financial position of the Club; and c) to remove and elect the independent examiner (who must not be a member of the Committee or a member of the family of a member of the Committee) or confirm that he remain in office; and d) To elect the Officers and other members of the Committee; and e) To approve monthly member subscription and training fees; and f) To decide on any resolution which may be duly submitted in accordance with rule 7 iii). iii) The Secretary shall issue written notice of the date, time and place of the General Meeting together with the resolutions to be proposed thereat at least 28 days before the meeting. Notice of any resolution proposed to be moved at a General Meeting shall be given in writing to the Secretary not less than 21 days before the date of the meeting. iv) The quorum for the Annual (and any Special) General Meetings shall be 12 members entitled to attend and vote at the meeting. Each member present shall have one vote and resolutions shall be passed by a simple majority. Members who have not reached their 16th birthday shall be entitled to be heard and vote only on those matters determined by the Chairman as matters concerning juniors. v) The Chairperson, or member selected by the Committee in the Chairperson s absence, shall take the chair and will have unlimited authority upon every question of order. In the event of an equality of votes, the Chairperson shall have a casting vote. vi) The Secretary, or member selected by the Committee in the Secretary s absence shall take minutes.
vii) A Special General Meeting may be called at any time by the Committee. A Special General Meeting shall be called by the Secretary within 28 days of receipt of a requisition in writing signed by not less than 10 members entitled to attend and vote at a General Meeting. Such a meeting shall deal only with the matter of which notice is given in the request and the resolutions proposed. viii) The rules may be altered by resolution at an Annual or Special General Meeting provided that the resolution is carried by a majority of at least two-thirds of members present and entitled to vote at the General Meeting. No amendment to the Rules shall become effective until validated by Wilts County ASA. 8 Finance i) All moneys payable to the Club shall be received by the Treasurer and deposited in a bank account in the name of the Club by the Treasurer or Cashier. All receipts shall be recorded. ii) The income and property of the Club shall be applied only in furtherance of the objects of the Club and no part thereof shall be paid by way of bonus, dividend or profit to any members of the Club. iii) The financial transactions of the Club shall be recorded by the Treasurer in such manner as the Committee think fit. iv) The Treasurer is authorised to re-imburse creditors. All cheque payments shall be signed by the Treasurer and counter signed by one of the authorised signatories (which shall include the Chairperson and at least one other committee member). v) The Treasurer shall maintain a petty cash float and shall re-imburse members for sundry Club expenses on production of a receipt. vi) The Membership Secretary shall ensure that adequate insurance is maintained for the Club through ASA membership and RLSS Group Membership. Any additional insurance determined as required from time to time shall be procured by the Treasurer. vii) The financial year of the Club shall be the period commencing on 1 May and ending on 30 April.
9 Dissolution i) A resolution to dissolve the Club shall only be proposed at a General Meeting and shall be carried by a majority of at least three quarters of the members present and entitled to vote. ii) The dissolution shall take effect from the date of the resolution and the members of the Committee shall be responsible for the winding-up of the assets and liabilities of the Club, to be devoted to objects in keeping with those of the Club. 10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i) The members acknowledge that these Rules constitute a legally binding contract to regulate the relationship of the members with each other and the Club. March 2014