Oxford University Gymnastics Club Constitution 2004-2005
Name & Objects
1.0
The
club is called the Oxford University Gymnastics Club. This is a federal name
which incorporates a men’s team and a women’s team. The Club’s objects are the support, development, improvement and
promotion of gymnastics in the University of Oxford; and the income and the
property shall be applied solely to those objects.
Compliance
2.a
The
Club shall be administered in accordance with the regulations for University
clubs which are published from time to time in the Proctors’ and Assessor’s
Memorandum ("the Proctors’ Memorandum"). At the time of the adoption of this Constitution the Club is
designated by the Proctors as a recognized sport.
2.b
If
there is a National Governing Body for the sport which the Club is eligible to
register, the Club shall effect and maintain such registration: purchase any
insurance cover which the national body makes available (unless the Insurance
Section of the University’s Central Administration ("the Insurance
Section") agrees to or prescribes other arrangements); and make every
effort to comply with all the safety procedures which the National body
prescribes or recommends as good practice.
2.c
The
Club shall ensure that all paid Club administrative and coaching appointments
are ratified by the University’s Sports Strategy Committee; that all coaches
are registered with any relevant national governing body; and that all paid
coaches are accredited by such body.
2.d
The
Club shall observe the Code of Conduct on Safety matters which is set out in
the Schedule to this Constitution, ensure compliance with the Code by the
members of the Club, and follow a procedure for risk assessment which is
acceptable to the Proctors (through the Director of Sport).
Membership
3.0
The members of the Club shall
be those who are eligible and apply for membership of the Club, who are
admitted to and maintained in membership by the Committee, and who have paid
the relevant Club Subscription.
4.0
All resident junior members
of the University shall be eligible to become members of the Club. A junior
member is a matriculated member of a College or Hall who is reading and
registered for a recognized degree, diploma or certificate. A member is
resident if during term the member satisfies the requirement for residence laid
down by the University. All members shall continue to be eligible until he or
she is given permission to supplicate for his or her degree, diploma or
certificate, regardless of whether or not he or she continues to be liable to pay
fees to the University.
5.0
The Committee may also, at
its discretion, admit to membership: -
a)
Junior members of the
University’s Permanent Private Halls who are not matriculated into the
University;
b)
Junior members of Ruskin
College; Plater College; Ripon College, Cuddesdon; St Stephen’s House; The
Oxford Institute of Legal Practice and The Westminster Institute of Oxford
Brookes University; and
c)
Other persons not being
resident junior members of the University, or of one of the institutions listed
in (b) above, provided that non-university members shall not constitution more
than one-fifth of the total membership.
6.0
The
Committee may remove a person from membership for good cause. The person
concerned may appeal against such removal to the Senior Member.
7.0
There shall be an Annual
General Meeting for all members of the Club in Michaelmas Full Term, convened
by the secretary on not less than fourteen days’ notice.
8.0
The Annual General Meeting
will :
a)
receive the annual reports of
the Committee for the previous year and the annual accounts of the Club for the
previous year, the report of the accounts having been approved by the
Committee;
b)
receive a report from the
Committee on the Club’s compliance with paragraph 2 above;
c)
elect Members of the
Committee in accordance with paragraph 18 below: the Committee’s nominations
for the Officers and the Senior Member shall be contained in the notice of the
Meeting: any alternative nominations must be seconded and have the consent of
the nominee, and must be received in writing by the Secretary not less than
seven days before the date of the Meeting: nominations for other Committee
Members may be taken from the floor of the meeting;
d)
consider any motions of which
due notice has been given, and any other relevant business.
9.0
An Extraordinary General
Meeting may be called in any Full Term; by the President, the Secretary or the
Treasurer on not less than seven days’ notice; or on a written requisition by
five or more members, stating the reason for which the meeting is to be called,
and delivered to the Secretary not less than fourteen days before the date of
the Meeting.
10.0 Prior to all General Meetings notice of the agenda shall be
sent out with notice of the Meeting.
11.0 The quorum for a General Meeting shall be six members
present in person or by proxy, of whom three must be members of the Committee.
When any financial business is to be transacted, there must be present the
Treasurer, or a member of the Committees deputed by the Treasurer to represent
his her views to the Meeting (provided that where it is a case of a deputy, the
only financial business transacted shall be that which was set out in the
agenda accompanying the notice of the Meeting).
12.0
The affairs of the Club shall be administrated by a
Committee consisting of not more than eight persons, which shall determine the
subscriptions payable by the members of the club, and have ultimate
responsibility for the activities of the club. Members of the University shall
at all times make up the majority of the members of the Committee. The
Committee shall have control of the funds and property of the Club, and of its
administration.
13.0
The quorum for a Committee meeting shall be three members
present in person. When any financial business of the Club is to be transacted
there must be present the Treasurer, or a member of the Committees deputed by
the Treasurer to represent his her views to the Meeting.
14.0
The Committee shall be made up of the President, the
Secretary, the Treasurer (together, the "Office Holders"; and their
offices are referred to as "the Offices"), the Senior Member and 2
other persons. The President, the Secretary and the Treasurer shall each be
either a member of the Club whose eligibility stems from paragraphs 4, 5(a) or
5(b) above, or (with approval from the Proctors) a member of Congregation. If
his or her eligibility stems from 5(a) or 5(b) above, on election to office he
or she must sign an undertaking to abide by the Proctors Memorandum and to
accept the authority of the Proctors on Club matters.
15.0
The President shall have the right to preside at all
meetings of the members of the Club and at all meetings of the Committee.
Should the President be absent, or decline to take the chair, the Committee
shall elect another member of the Committee to chair the meeting.
16.0
The Secretary shall:
a)
maintain a register of the
members of the Club, which shall be available for inspection by the Proctors on
request;
b)
give notice of meetings of
the members and the Committee;
c)
draw up minutes of those
meetings;
d)
notify the Proctors (through
the Director of Sport) promptly following the appointment and resignation or
removal of Office Holders and other members of the Committee;
e)
advise the Proctors (through
the Director of Sport) promptly of any changes in the Constitution;
f)
notify the Proctors (through
the Director of Sport) not later than second week of every Full Term of the
programme of fixtures which has been arranged for that term (e.g. by providing
them a copy of the fixture);
g)
provide the Insurance Section
with full details of any insurance cover purchased from or through a national
governing body pursuant to paragraph 2(b) above;
h)
inform the Proctors if the
Club ceases to operate, or is to be dissolved, and in doing so present a final
statement of accounts.
17.0
The Treasurer shall:
a)
keep proper records of the
Club’s financial transactions in accordance with current accepted accounting
rules and practices;
b)
develop and implement control
procedures to minimize the risk of financial exposure, such as procedures to be
reviewed regularly with the University’s Internal Audit Section ("Internal
Audit");
c)
ensure that bills are paid
and cash is banked in accordance with the procedures developed under (b);
d)
prepare an annual budget for
the Club and regularly inform the Committee of progress against that budget;
e)
ensure that all statutory
returns are made including VAT, income tax and corporation tax if appropriate;
f)
seek advice as necessary on
tax matters from the University’s Financial Division;
g)
develop and maintain a manual
for all written procedures for aspects of the Treasurer’s responsibility;
h)
make all records, procedures
and accounts available on request to the Senior Member, the Proctor and
Internal Audit;
i)
unless the Club is designated
by the Proctors as a ‘recognised sport’, forward to the Proctors (through the
Director of Sport) by the end of Second week of each Full Term in the Club’s
first year of operation(1 August to 31 July) a copy of the accounts for the
proceeding term signed by the Senior Member, for retention on the Proctors’
files; and after the first year of operation forward a copy of the signed
annual accounts to 31st July as soon as possible after the year end
(and in any event no later than the 1 October following the year end); and
j)
if the Club has a turnover in
excess of £30,000 in the preceding year, or if owing to a change in the nature
of scale of its activities, it may confidently be expected to have such a
turnover in the current year, subject its accounts of audit by the University’s
auditors (or other auditors approved in advance by the Proctors). Accounts are
to be ready for audit within 4 months after the year-end and the costs of the
audit shall be borne by the Club.
18.0 The members of the Committee shall be elected by the
members of the Club annually, and shall be eligible for re-election. The
members of the Club shall not appoint several individuals to jointly hold any
of the Offices, nor allow any individual to hold more than one Office at a time.
If the Club is designated by the Proctors as a ‘recognised sport’, the Director
of Sport shall be the Senior Member. If the Club is not so designated, the
members of the Club shall appoint a Member of Congregation as the Senior Member
when electing other members of the Committee each year. The Senior Member shall
be a member of the Committee ex officio.
19.0 If during the period between the annual elections to
Offices and vacancies occur amongst the members of the Committee, the Committee
shall have the power of filling the vacancy or vacancies up to the next Annual
General Meeting by co-optation.
20.0 Each Office Holder must, on relinquishing his or her
appointment, promptly hand to his or her successor in Office (or to another
member of the Club nominated by the Committee) all official documents and
records belonging to the Club, together with (on request from the Committee)
any other property of the Club which may be in his or her possession; and must
complete any requirements to transfer authority relating to control of the
Clubs bank accounts, building society accounts, or other financial affairs.
21.0 Without derogating from its primary responsibility, the
Committee may delegate its functions to finance and general purposes to
subcommittees; which are made up exclusively of members of the Committee.
22.0 The Committee shall have the power to make regulations and
by-laws, in accordance with this Constitution, and to settle any disputed
points not otherwise provided for in this Constitution. Any alteration to this
Constitution shall require the approving vote of two-thirds of those present in
person or by proxy at a General Meeting.
23.0 No member of the Committee shall be removed from office
except by the approving votes of two-thirds of those present in person or by
proxy at a General Meeting.
24.0 So far as may be permitted by law, every member of the
Committee and every officer of the Club shall be entitled to be indemnified by
the Club against all costs, charges, losses, expenses and liabilities incurred
by him of her in the execution or discharge of his or her duties or the
exercise of his or her powers, or otherwise properly in relation to or in
connection with his or her duties. This indemnity extends to any liability
incurred by him or her in defending any proceedings, civil or criminal, which
relate to anything done or omitted or alleged to have been done or omitted by
him or her as a member of the Committee or officer of the Club and in which
judgment is given in his or her favor (or otherwise disposed of without any
finding or admission of any material breach of duty on his or her part), or in
which he or she is acquitted, or in connection with any application under any
statute for relief from liability in respect of any such act or omission in
which relief is granted to him or her by the Court.
25.0 So far as may be permitted by law, the Club may purchase
and maintain for any member of the Committee or Officer of the Club insurance
cover against liability which by virtue or any rule of law may attach to him or
her in respect of any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust of
which he or she may be guilty in relation to the Club and against all costs
charges, losses and expenses and liabilities incurred by him or her and for
which or she is entitled to be indemnified by the Club by virtue of paragraph
24.
26.0 The Club may be dissolved at any time by the approving
votes of the two-thirds of those present in person or by proxy at a General
Meeting. The Club may also be dissolved (without need for any resolution of the
members) by means of not less than thirty days notice from the Proctors to the
Secretary of the Club if at any time the Club ceases to be registered with the
Proctors.
27.0 In the event of the Club being dissolved, its assets shall
not be distributed amongst the members, but shall be paid to, or at the
direction of the University.
28.0
Any question about the interpretation of this Constitution
shall be settled by the Proctors.