CASTLEBAR TENNIS CLUB As approved by the AGM on 22 nd November 2013 CONSTITUTION AND RULES 1. The Club shall be known as Castlebar Tennis Club and shall consist of as many members as are duly elected. 2. The objects of the Club shall be the promotion of Tennis and other sporting and social activities for the benefit of members. The club is fully committed to safeguarding the well being of its members. Every individual in the club should at all time show respect & understanding for their rights, safety & welfare, and conduct themselves in a way that reflects the principles of the club & the guidelines contained in the Code of Ethics & Good Practice for Children s sport in Ireland. (See Appendix 1). 3. Trustees: A General Meeting shall have power to elect Trustees of the Club (not exceeding ten) in whom the Club assets or portion thereof, may be vested by the Committee. A proposed Trustee may only be nominated for election by the Committee and the names of such nominee shall be circulated to the members at least seven days before the proposed General Meeting. The election of a Trustee at a General Meeting must be by a two-thirds majority of the members present. A Trustee so elected shall hold the office of Trustee until his/her death or resignation. He/she can only be otherwise removed from office on the proposal of the Committee, duly approved by a two-thirds majority at a General Meeting. A Trustee shall be entitled to all rights of membership while he/she so acts. The Trustees shall be deemed to be Trustees within the meaning of the Trustee Acts. A copy of these Rules shall be exhibited on the Club s Notice Board. 1
4. Club Assets: Save as hereinafter appears, the assets of the Club shall be vested in the Trustees of the Club duly elected in accordance with Rule 3, and such assets shall be held by the Trustees, in trust, for the members of the Club. If it is apparent at any meeting of the Committee that the assets under their control exceed in value 1,500, such assets in excess of 1,500, shall be transferred into the names of the Trustees. Non-moveable assets, fixtures, fittings, equipment and machinery shall not for the purpose of this provision be deemed to be assets. Insofar as the assets of the Club may be deficient, the Trustees and the Committee shall be indemnified against any liability or expense legitimately incurred by them by reason of their position by the members of the Club. Provided always that in the event of the cash assets becoming deficient to the extent of 2,500 the Committee shall call a Special General Meeting of the Club to consider the financial position. All Club assets vested in the names of the Trustees shall be held by them, in trust for the members of the Club. Such assets may only be sold, or otherwise disposed of, with the sanction of the committee. In the event of the Trustees refusing to sell or otherwise dispose of trust property vested in them at the request of the Committee, the Committee may call a General Meeting where the matter may be decided by a two-thirds majority of those present. 5. Approved Sports Body: Income & Property The income and property of the Club shall be applied solely towards the promotion of its main object as set forth in this constitution. No portion of the club s income and property shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend, bonus, or otherwise howsoever by way of profit, to the members of the club. No officer shall be appointed to any office of the club paid by salary or fees, or receive any remuneration or other benefit in money or money s worth from the Club. 2
However, nothing shall prevent any payment in good faith by the club of: a) reasonable and proper remuneration to any member of the club (not being an Officer) for any services rendered to the club; b) interest at a rate not exceeding 5% per annum on money lent by Officers or other members of the club to the club; c) reasonable and proper rent for premises demised and let by any member of the club (including any Officer) to the Club; d) reasonable and proper out-of-pocket expenses incurred by any Officer in connection with their attendance to any matter affecting the club; e) fees, remuneration or other benefit in money or money s worth to any Company of which an Officer may be a member holding not more than one hundredth part of the issued capital of such Company. Winding Up If upon the winding up or dissolution of the club there remains, after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities, any property whatsoever, it shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the club. Instead, such property shall be given or transferred to some other charitable institution or institutions having main objects similar to the main objects of the Club. The institution or institutions to which the property is to be given or transferred shall prohibit the distribution of its or their income and property among its or their members to an extent at least as great as is imposed on the club under or by virtue of the Income & Property clause hereof. Members of the club shall select the relevant institution or institutions at or before the time of dissolution, and if and so far as effect cannot be given to such provisions, then the property shall be given to some charitable object. Additions, alterations or amendments No addition, alteration or amendment shall be made to or in the provisions of this Constitution for the time being in force unless the same shall have been previously approved in writing by the Revenue Commissioners. 3
Keeping of Accounts Annual audited accounts shall be kept and made available to the Revenue Commissioners on request. 6. Membership: Membership of the Club shall consist of Playing Members, Pavilion Members and Junior Members. All members will receive a copy of the relevant Code of Conduct, a copy of the club s Child Protection Statement & a copy of the Constitution. Each member/parent (if member is a junior member) will be obliged to sign & return an acknowledgement that they have read & agree to abide by the Code of Conduct, the Constitution & the Child Protection Policy. All Junior club members will be required to sign the Junior Club Code of Conduct & Fair Play Policy. Every candidate for admission to membership of the Club must be proposed and seconded by two members. Either the proposer or the seconder must be a member of the Committee. The election in each case shall be by ballot of the Committee, voting by proxy permitted. One adverse vote in five shall exclude. The Club shall have a President, Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, (all 5 of whom shall be deemed Officers), and 6 other Committee Members, plus a Men s Captain and a Ladies Captain. No paid up member of the club shall accrue any personal financial or other material gain by virtue of their involvement in the club. 7. Election, Powers and Duties of Committee: Election of all Committee Members shall take place at the Annual General Meeting, and only paid up members shall be elected. No member shall serve in the same officer position for longer than 3 years in succession and no member shall service on Committee for longer than 4 years in succession. 4
However in the interest of experience & continuity, such members may offer themselves for re election & if so elected shall serve for a further period. Power & Duties The management and control of the Property, Funds, Affairs and all undertakings and arrangement of the Club, of every nature whatsoever shall be vested in the Committee. Without prejudice to any of these Rules, the Committee shall in particular have the following additional powers and duties:- (a) To make and rescind by-laws not inconsistent with the Rules of the Club for the time being. The said by-laws shall be exhibited in the Pavilion. (b) To fill any casual or temporary vacancy occurring among the Officers or on the Committee. Such co-opted person shall automatically retire at the next Annual General Meeting. (c) To appoint, if they so see fit, one of their members to act as Assistant Hon. Secretary or Assistant Hon Treasurer. (d) At the first Committee Meeting held after the Annual General Meeting, the Committee shall appoint the following sub-committees, which will each comprise no more than 7 members, the majority of whom must be Ordinary members. (i) Finance and Development. (ii) Fixtures & Competitions (iii) Disciplinary. (iv) Pavilion and Grounds. (v) Social (vi) Junior The Club Committee shall appoint one of it s own as Chairperson of each subcommittee. The duties and responsibilities of each sub-committee to be determined by the Club Committee on a yearly basis, taking into account the various needs of the Club and its members. (e) No Manager or Servant employed in the Committee shall have any personal interest in the sale of excisable liquors therein or in the profits arising from such sale. 5
(f) The personnel of named Committees shall be determined by the Committee, who shall desire those named Committees to act within reasonable limits on their own initiative in discharging their duties. They shall, however, be subject to the authority of the Committee and make to the latter such periodic reports as may be decided upon. (g) For the purpose of conducting a Club Committee Meeting, a quorum shall consist of 7 Committee members, two of whom must be Officers. For the purpose of conducting a sub-committee meeting, a quorum shall consist of 4 members one of whom must be the Chairperson. (i) To remove from the Committee any member who, by his or her continued absence from meetings, or by otherwise displaying a lack of interest in the affairs of the Club, shall in their opinion cease to be of service to the Club, provided that the motion for expulsion be supported by at least eight members of the Committee. (j) The Committee shall meet every month to six weeks during the year or more often if necessary. At each alternate meeting, a statement of the financial position shall be furnished by the Hon. Treasurer or his/her deputy. At the Annual General Meeting the Hon. Secretary shall produce a record of attendance at Committee Meetings during the year. (k) The Committee should appoint a club representative to represent the Club at the Connaught Council. 8. Annual Subscription & Visitors: The annual subscription for members shall be fixed by simple majority at the Annual General Meeting. The annual subscription shall become due on the 1 st January in each year. No member whose subscription is unpaid shall be eligible to represent the Club in the Inter-Club Leagues or compete in Club competitions or avail of any of the Club facilities and act as a member of the committee. 6
Visitors to the Club shall be by invitation of members only and they shall not be supplied with excisable liquor in the Club premises unless on the invitation and in the company of a member, and the member shall upon the admission of such visitor to the Club premises, or immediately upon his/her being supplied with such liquor, enter his/her own name and the name and address of the visitor in a book which shall be kept for the purpose and which shall show the date of each visit. 9. Treasurer: The Hon. Treasurer shall keep proper records of all receipts and disbursements in connection with the Club and shall discharge all liabilities of the Club, under the direction of the Committee. Vouchers for each item of expenditure over 100 shall be submitted to the Committee and when approved, initialled by the Chairperson and recorded in the Minutes. For items of expenditure less than 100, vouchers must be presented to & approved by the Treasurer. Prior to the Annual General Meeting, the Hon. Treasurer shall prepare a statement of the Income and Expenditure of the Club up to the 31 st of October. This statement shall be audited by the two Auditors appointed and circulated to the members with the notice of the Annual General Meeting. Cheques will be signed by the Treasurer and 1 other of 3 Committee members as will be agreed. Borrowing Powers The Committee shall have power to borrow money, subject to the sanction of a General Meeting and within the meaning of Rule 4. 10. General Meetings The Annual General Meeting shall be held between the 1 st November and the 30 th of November in any year, for the consideration of the Audited Accounts for the period ending 31 st of October, the Officers Reports, the election of Officers and the Committee for the ensuing year, the alteration or making of Rules and the transaction of general business. 7
Notice of proposed alterations or additions to the Rules, or of any matters affecting the constitution of the Club, must be given in writing to the Hon. Secretary before the 1 st November each year. All alterations to the Constitution of the Club shall require the approval of 2/3 s of the members attending the AGM or any EGM called for the purpose of altering or amending same. A Special General Meeting may be called at any time by direction of the Committee, or on a requisition being presented to the Hon. Secretary, signed by at least 10 members of the Club, and stating the business to be brought forward. No business shall be transacted at such meeting except that specified in the requisition or printed in the Agenda. Seven days notice shall be given to members of both Annual and Special General Meetings and the Hon. Secretary shall send such notice, accompanied by a copy of the Agenda to each member or published in the Connaught Telegraph at least seven days preceding such meetings. The quorum for any General Meeting shall be 10 members entitled to vote, and voting by proxy shall not be allowed. On any motion before the meeting, the Chairperson shall have a second or casting vote in addition to his/her vote as a member. The Chairperson may, with the consent of the meeting, adjourn any meeting from time to time and from place to place, but no business shall be transacted at the re-convened adjourned meeting, other than that left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place. At the Annual General Meeting, it shall be part of the business of the meeting to elect two Auditors one of whom must be a member or ex-officio member of the Committee. 8
The order of election of Officers at the annual General Meeting shall be as follows:- President, Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, 6 Committee Members, 2 Hon. Auditors. In addition Men s Captain and Ladies Captain may be elected if desired. Minutes of the proceedings of every General Meeting and of every meeting of the Committee shall be recorded in books kept for the purpose. Such minutes signed by the Chairperson shall, in the absence of proof of error, be accepted as conclusive evidence of the facts therein stated. 11. Junior Members: Any persons eligible for Junior membership may join the Club as a Senior member by paying the Senior membership subscription (subject to being admitted to the Club under Rule 5) and such person shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of Senior Member subject to the following proviso:- All persons under the age of 18 years who shall become members of the Club shall not be served, sold or supplied with excisable liquors. No junior member shall be entitled to vote at the Annual General Meeting or at any Special General Meeting. Junior members may not use the Club Pavilion without the express consent of the Committee or some duly authorised member thereof. The club shall if possible appoint each year two members, one male & one female who will have a remit for Child Protection. This will include attending relevant training courses, liaising with relevant agencies when necessary & bringing to the attention of the General Committee any incidents or information deemed appropriate. At least one of these Children s Officers will sit on the general committee. Any Senior member shall be empowered to order any Junior member to comply with any rule affecting Junior members in cases where a breach of such rule is being committed by a Junior member, and in the event of such Junior member refusing or failing to comply with such order the Senior member shall report the matter to the Committee, who will deal with such breach of the rules as they deem appropriate. 9
The Committee shall have power to fix the hours and days during and upon which Junior members may use the courts, shall have power to make regulations governing same from time to time. 12. Complaints, Investigations, Disciplinary & Appeals Procedure: Any member who believes the conduct of another member is contrary to the Constitution of the Club or Governing Body regulations, or whose conduct is likely to bring the Club into disrepute, may inform any member of the General Committee in writing. A meeting of the General Committee shall be held within fourteen days after the complaint has been received. All parties involved will be invited to attend individually to speak to the General Committee. The General Committee shall inform, in writing, both the member who made the complaint and the member who is subject to their decision within seven days of a decision being made. Notification of the complaint will be forwarded to the Governing Body. Disciplinary Procedure Where a complaint is deemed of appropriate severity by the General Committee, the General Committee have the right to invoke the disciplinary procedure. The General Committee will have the following options at its disposal under the disciplinary procedure: (i) Impose a fine where applicable. The member being fined will be informed in writing of the amount and the date which it must be paid. All fines will be paid to the Treasurer. Failure to pay the fine will result in further options being invoked. (ii) Recommend the member undertakes a period retraining or re-education if applicable. (iii) Impose a period of suspension for a defined period. (iv) Terminate the membership of the person as outlined in the Constitution. 10
During the period of suspension, the member is suspended from all activities at, or on behalf of, Castlebar Lawn Tennis Club and therefore shall be ineligible to participate as a member, in the affairs of the Club. The member shall be informed in writing of the reasons for the suspension and the date from which the suspension shall commence. The member may invoke the appeals procedure. The General Committee has the power to reinstate the suspended member if the decision of the appeals procedure finds in favour of the member and the Honorary Secretary shall inform the member in writing of the date from which he/she is reinstated. Notification of the disciplinary action taken and the outcome of any appeal will be forwarded to the Governing Body. Appeals Procedure A member may appeal a decision to the General Committee in respect of a disciplinary matter or a complaint. The appeal must be made in writing to the Honorary Secretary within fourteen days of the member being notified about the outcome of the complaint procedure or disciplinary procedure. The appeal will be heard by the appeals sub-committee in accordance with their procedures. Notification of the outcome of an appeal will be forwarded to the Governing Body. 13. Termination of Membership The General Committee shall have the power to terminate the membership of any individual member where it has been clearly demonstrated that a serious breach of the Club Constitution has taken place. The individual member shall have the right to be heard by the General Committee before the final decision is made. The General Committee shall inform the member in writing of any decision to terminate their membership. 11
There shall be a right of appeal to the Governing Body, subject to their procedures. Notification of the termination of a membership will be forwarded to the Governing Body. 14. No excisable liquors shall be sold or supplied for consumption outside the premises of the Club except to members of the Club between the hours of eight o clock in the morning and ten o clock at night. No excisable liquors shall be sold or supplied for consumption except in accordance with the Liquor Licensing laws as to opening & closing hours fixed by statute from time to time. 15. No persons shall be allowed to become Honorary or Temporary members of the Club or to be relieved of the payment of the regular entrance fee or subscription, except those possessing certain qualifications defined in the Rules and subject to conditions and regulations subscribed therein. Dated this..day of..2013 Rewording of Tennis Club Constitution rule 9 - resolution passed by the AGM on the 22 nd November 2013. Chairperson Secretary 12
Appendix 1: Code of Ethics & Good Practice for Children s Tennis To ensure that best practice is being followed by this club we shall work closely with our Governing Body in order to promote the best practice in children s sport, we shall comply with the guidelines of the Code of Ethics and Good Practice for Children s Sport in Ireland as set out in Section 2.7 which are: Adopt and implement the Code of Ethics and Good Practice for Children s Sport in Ireland as an integral part of its policy on children in the Club. Have its constitution approved and adopted by clubs members at an AGM or EGM. Permit all Senior paid members over 16 years of age to vote, where possible. One parent/guardian should have one vote for all their children under 16 years of age, where relevant. Ensure that the club Management Committee is elected or endorsed by registered club members at such AGM. Adopt and consistently apply a safe and clearly defined method of recruiting and selecting Sports Leaders. Clearly define the role of the committee members, all Sports Leaders and parents/guardians. Appoint at least one children s officer as outlined in this Code. In the event that a Club caters for both boys and girls, one children s officer of each gender would ideally be appointed Designate the Club Chairperson to act as a liaison with the Statutory Authorities in relation to the reporting of allegations or suspicions of child abuse. Any such reports should be made according to the procedures outlined in this Code/Children First/Out duty to Care. Ensure best practice throughout the club by disseminating its code of conduct, including the disciplinary, complaints and appeals procedures in operat6ion within the club to all its members. The club s code of conduct should also be posted in all facilities used by the club. Have in place procedures for dealing with a concern or complaint made to the Statutory Authorities against a Committee Member or Sports Leader or any other members of the club. Regulations should stipulate that a Sports Leader who is the subject of an allegation, which has been reported to the Statutory Authorities, should stand aside while the matter is being examined. She/he should be invited to resume full duties immediately if she/he is vindicated. Ensure that relevant Sports Leaders report to the Club Management Committee on a regular basis. 13
Encourage regular turnover of committee membership while ensuring continuity and experience. Develop effective procedures for responding to and recording accidents. Ensure that any unusual activity (high rate of drop -outs, transfers, etc) is checked out and reported by the Club chairperson to the Governing Body of Sport. Ensure that all club members are given adequate notice of AGMs and other meetings. Ensure that all minutes of all meetings (AGMs/EGMs/Committee) are recorded and safely filed. Appendix 2 : Castlebar Tennis Club Code of Conduct THE TENNIS PLAYER WILL 1. Play by the rules of the game 2. Abide by the rules set down by team managers when travelling to away events. 3. Behave in a manner that avoids bringing the game of tennis into disrepute. 4. Respect officials and accept their decisions. 5. Respect opponents and always shake hands at the end of a match. 6. Use his/her best efforts in competitive matches. 7. Refrain from the use of audible and visual obscenity. 8. Refrain from ball/racquet abuse. 9. Refrain from the use of coaching during competition. 10. Never use unfair or bullying tactics to gain advantage on or off the court. 11. Never use bullying tactics to isolate another player. 12. Never pass on gossip about another player or adult. 13. Never make false allegations against other players or adults. 14. Win with grace and lose with dignity. YOUNG PLAYERS ARE ENTITLED TO: 1. Be treated with dignity and respect. 2. Be safe and to feel safe. 3. Get help against bullies 4. Say NO. 5. Be listened to. 6. Be believed. 7. Protect their own bodies. 8. Refuse inappropriate touches. 14
CODE FOR SPECTATORS: TENNIS SPECTATORS WILL: 1. Be on their best behaviour and lead by example. 2. Applaud good play by visiting players as well as their own. 3. Remember that young players are not miniature adults. 4. Show respect for the opponent of the player that they are supporting. 5. Encourage young players to play by the rules of the game. 15