Club Constitution

ST NEOTS RIVERSIDE RUNNERS CLUB CONSTITUTION

TITLE

The Club shall be called "St Neots Riverside Runners", hereafter to be referred to as the Club  and shall be affiliated to the appropriate local, area and national athletics associations as required.

OBJECTIVES

To foster and promote the sport of running at all levels, providing opportunities for recreation and competition.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership of the Club shall be open to any person completing a membership application form, receiving approval from the Committee, and paying the relevant subscription/joining fee as approved by the Annual General Meeting of the Club members. The subscription year is January 1st to December 31st.

There shall be 2 classes of membership available.

These are:

Senior Membership - open to all persons aged 18 years and over

Junior Membership - open to all between the ages of 8 years and under 18 years

New members are required to pay a joining fee and a subscription fee, the joining fee to be  proposed by the committee and approved at the AGM each year for the following subscription period. New members joining in November and December will only pay the joining fee.

Subscription renewals for existing members (including those members that joined in the previous November and December) will run from 01st January to 28^th/29^th February each subscription year. Existing members who fail to renew their subscriptions within that period will be deemed to have left the club but may rejoin at any time by paying both the joining fee and the subscription fee.

OFFICERS

The officers of the Club shall be as follows:

Chairperson (Executive Officer)

Vice Chairperson (Executive Officer)

Secretary (Executive Officer)

Treasurer (Executive Officer)

Captain (Non-Executive Officer)

Volunteer Coordinator (Non-Executive Officer)

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

All officers shall be elected at the Annual General meeting of the Club, from and by the senior  members of the Club.

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.

GENERAL COMMITTEE

The affairs of the Club shall be controlled by a General Committee comprising of the Executive Officers of the club, and at least 3 but no more than 5 other members elected from, and by, the senior members of the club. The General Committee shall meet at agreed intervals and not less than four times per year.

The duties of the General Committee shall be:

• To control the affairs of the Club on behalf of the members. To approve membership of the Club.
• To keep accurate accounts of the finances 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’s financial year shall run from January 1st to December 31st. The Club shall maintain a bank account and any two Executive Officers shall be authorised to sign club cheques.
• To co-opt additional members to the Committee as the Committee feels is necessary. Co-opted members shall not be entitled to a vote on the Committee.
• To fill any vacancy which may occur in the Executive Officers or General
• To make decisions on the basis of a simple majority vote. In the case of equal votes, the Chairperson shall be entitled to an additional casting vote. A quorum shall be 5 of which 2 must be Executive Officers.
• To appoint sub-committees for the purpose of organising races, social events or other The financial responsibility for such sub committees will be maintained by the full committee.

GENERAL MEETINGS

The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held during the month of April each year. 30  days’ notice (which may be written and posted or may be by the club’s website news page) shall be given to members of the Annual General Meeting. Senior members must advise the Secretary  in writing of any business to be moved at the Annual General Meeting at least 14 days before the  date of the meeting.

The Secretary shall circulate or give notice of the agenda for the meeting to senior members (which may be written and posted or may be by the Club’s website news page)  not less than 7 days before the meeting.

Nomination of candidates for election of Executive Officers and General Committee shall be  made in writing to the Secretary at least 14 days in advance of the date of the meeting. Nominations can only be made by senior members and must be seconded by another senior member.

The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be to:

• Confirm the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and any General Meetings held since the last Annual General Meeting.
• Receive audited accounts for the year from the Treasurer. Receive the annual report of the Committee from the Elect an auditor
• Elect the Executive Officers of the Club and other General Committee Members. Review Club subscription rates and approve them for the forthcoming

Transact such other business received in writing by the Secretary from senior members  14 days prior to the meeting and included on the agenda. Extraordinary General Meetings may be convened by the General Committee or on receipt by the Secretary of a request in writing from not less than 10% of the senior members of the Club. At least 21 days’ notice of the meeting shall be given.

At all General Meetings, the Chair will be taken by the Chairperson or, in their absence, by a deputy appointed by the Committee and approved by the senior members attending the meeting.

A quorum for a General Meeting shall be 1/5 of all senior members and must include 2  Executive Officers of the club.

Decisions made at a General Meeting shall be by a simple majority of votes from those senior members attending the meeting and, in addition, proxy votes from senior members with genuine reasons for not attending the meeting.

Approval for proxy votes will be given by the Executive Officers of the club no later than 48 hours before the meeting and will be submitted at the meeting by the Chairperson. In the event of equal votes, the Chairperson shall be entitled to an additional casting vote.

Each senior member of the Club shall be entitled to one vote at General Meetings.

ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION

Any proposed alterations to the Club constitution may only be considered at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting, convened with the required written notice of the proposal.

Any  alteration or amendment must be proposed by a senior member of the Club and seconded by another senior member. Such alterations shall be passed if supported by a simple majority of those senior members present at the meeting, assuming that a quorum has been achieved.

DISSOLUTION

If at any General Meeting of the Club, a resolution is passed calling for the dissolution of the Club, the Secretary shall immediately convene an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club to  be held not less than one month thereafter to discuss and vote on the resolution. If at that Extraordinary General Meeting, the resolution is carried by at least two thirds of the senior members present at the meeting, the General Committee shall there upon, 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. Any surplus shall not be distributed to the members, but shall be devoted to the furtherance of running.

SURPLUS INCOME OR PROFITS

All surplus income or profits shall be re-invested in the Club.

No surpluses or assets will be distributed to members or third parties with the exception of donations by the club to registered charities or local community projects.

Next Review:

April 2025