NEWPORT CROQUET CLUB CONSTITUTION
1 TITLE
The Club shall be called Newport Croquet Club, hereafter to be referred to as ‘the Club’. It shall be affiliated to the East Anglian Croquet Federation and be a Member Club of the Croquet Association.
2 OBJECTS
2.1 To foster and support the sport of croquet in all disciplines and at all levels, providing opportunities for recreation and competition and promoting community participation in healthy recreation in the sport.
2.2 To provide croquet lawns and a Club House on the Recreation Ground, Frambury Lane, Newport, Essex, and to supply all things incidental to the playing of croquet.
3 MEMBERSHIP
3.1 Membership of the Club shall be open to any person completing a membership application form and paying the relevant subscription as determined at the Annual General Meeting.
3.2 There shall be the following categories of membership:
Full (any person aged 18 or over)
Joint (any person whose spouse/partner is also a Member of the Club)
Second Club (one whose principal membership is to another croquet club)
Evening and Weekend (subject also to a green fee outside these times)
Student (in full time education)
Honorary (who may be elected at any General Meeting in recognition of services to the Club and on the recommendation of the Committee)
3.3 All Members shall be entitled to use and enjoy all the facilities and activities of the Club.
3.4 No person shall be excluded from membership of the Club on the grounds of sex, race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, disability or political affiliation.
4 RULES OF MEMBERSHIP
4.1 Every Member shall be bound by and submit to the terms of membership of the Club.
4.2 No Member shall take away from the Club any property unless authorised by a Committee Member, nor shall they harm or destroy any property of the Club.
4.3 No Member shall receive any profit from the funds or transactions of the Club without the express and prior permission of the Committee.
5 OFFICERS
The Officers of the Club shall be:
President
Chair
Vice-Chair
Secretary
Treasurer
6 ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS
6.1 All Officers and Committee Members shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting to take office on 1st January following.
6.2 Nomination of candidates for election as Officers shall be made in writing to the Secretary at least 14 days in advance of the Annual General Meeting. Nomination can only be made by Members and must be seconded by another Member. In the absence of nominations prior to the meeting nominations may be taken from the floor. All nominations shall have the consent of the nominee.
6.3 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.
6.4 In the event of a casual vacancy among the Officers the Committee shall have power to appoint any Member to fill such vacancy until the next Annual General Meeting.
6.5 Committee Members shall retire at the AGM, but shall be eligible for re-election. Nominations should reach the Secretary at least 14 clear days before the meeting, but nominations may be taken from the floor for any additional vacancies.
7 COMMITTEE
7.1 The affairs of the Club shall be managed by a Committee comprising the Officers and up to seven other Members elected at the AGM. The Committee shall meet at agreed intervals and not less than four times per year. A quorum shall be one third of the Officers and Committee Members. It may appoint sub-committees.
7.2 The duties of the Committee shall be:
To manage the affairs of the Club on behalf of Members.
To keep accurate accounts of the finances of the Club through the Treasurer. These should be available for reasonable inspection and should be independently examined before each Annual General Meeting. The Club shall maintain a bank account and the following shall be authorised to make payments on behalf of the Club: two from Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, President and Members nominated by the Committee.
To co-opt additional members of the Committee. They shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting.
To make decisions on the basis of a simple majority vote. In the case of equal votes the Chair shall be entitled to an additional casting vote.
8 GENERAL MEETINGS
8.1 The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held not later than the end of December each year. Twenty one clear days’ written notice shall be given to Members by circulating a copy of the notice to every Member by post or email and by posting the notice on the Club notice board.
8.2 Should it prove impossible for any reason to hold the Annual General Meeting on the appointed date, it will be possible to postpone the meeting even if that involves holding it after the end of December provided that fourteen days’ notice of the new date is given.
8.3 Members shall advise the Secretary in writing of any business to be moved at the Annual General Meeting. The Secretary shall circulate the Agenda for Members not less than seven days before the meeting.
8.4 The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be to:
Confirm the Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and any other General Meetings.
Receive the independently examined accounts made up to 31st October in each year.
Receive the annual report of the Chair.
Elect an Independent Examiner.
Elect the Officers of the Club and other Committee members.
Fix Club subscription rates. A Member who has not paid the subscription by such default date as the Committee prescribes may at the discretion of the Committee be deemed to have resigned.
Transact business referred to the Secretary and included on the Agenda.
8.5 Consider such other business as the Chair in their discretion admits except business for which a Special Meeting is required.
8.6 Special General Meetings may be convened by the Committee. The business to be considered shall be specified in the notice convening the meeting to be circulated twenty one clear days in advance.
8.7 At all General Meetings the chair will be taken by the Chair or, in their absence, by the Vice-Chair or by any other Member attending.
8.8 Decisions made at a General Meeting shall be by a simple majority of votes. In the event of equal votes the Chair shall be entitled to an additional casting vote.
8.9 A quorum for an Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting shall be 10 members or one quarter of the Members, including two Officers of the Club, whichever is fewer
8.10 Each Member shall be entitled to one vote on each issue.
8.11 A Member who is found by a vote carried at a Special General Meeting, called in accordance with clause 8.6, to have behaved in a manner likely to bring the Club into disrepute or to cause substantial prejudice to it may be expelled from the Club, provided that
The resolution must be carried by 4/5ths of those attending and voting.
This is the only business at the meeting.
Before the motion is put to the vote the Member shall have a full opportunity to address the meeting.
8.12 The Member expelled may appeal to the Croquet Association by following the procedure set out in Appendix 1 of the Croquet Association Constitution.
9 ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION
Any proposed alterations to the Club’s 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 Member of the Club and seconded by another Member. Such alterations shall be passed if supported by not less than two thirds of those Members present at the meeting and voting. Any abstentions shall be recorded.
10 DISSOLUTION
10.1 If at any General Meeting of the Club a Resolution for the dissolution of the Club shall be passed by a majority of the Members present and voting, the Secretary shall immediately convene a Special General Meeting to be held not less than one month thereafter (at which not less than one half of the Members shall be present) to discuss and vote on the Resolution.
10.2 If at that Special General Meeting the Resolution is carried by at least two thirds of the Members present at the meeting and voting, the 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 its debts and liabilities. Abstentions shall be recorded.
10.3 After discharging all debts and liabilities, the remaining assets shall not be paid or distributed among the Members, but any balance shall be remitted to any approved sporting or charitable body. Preference should be given in the first instance to approved sports activities in the Newport area and otherwise to the sport of croquet generally.
December 2022
