1. Title
The Club shall be known as ‘Chichester Community Fencing Club’.
2. Objectives
• To provide affordable fencing for the Chichester community.
• To promote attitudes of true sportsmanship.
• To provide coaching assistance and encouragement to all members.
• To promote the enjoyment of taking part.
• To ‘home grow’ coaches from within the club and support these coaches.
• To provide facilities to meet members interests in fencing.
• To be run as a not-for-profit organisation.
• To support England Fencing. For this purpose the Club shall be affiliated to England Fencing and shall encourage its members to become individual members of England Fencing.
3. Membership
The club operates an open membership policy; membership of the Club is open to all persons.
The Club committee reserve the right of refusing or cancelling membership; for any refusal or cancellation of membership a valid reason will be provided in all circumstances.
Anyone who has been refused membership or had their membership cancelled automatically has the right to appeal directly to the Club committee.
Members agree to pay an annual fee of £25 for adults and £15 for juniors; new members may have a trial period of two weeks before paying the annual fee.
Members shall be required to have insurance cover from the British Fencing Association; if they do not have their own BFA insurance £10 shall be added on to their annual membership fee to cover BFA social membership insurance.
Members shall have the benefits of a discounted fee per session, access to pro coaching, access to the Club’s equipment discount from the supplier, the ability to attend committee meetings and vote at an AGM or GM and receive regular newsletters and the club membership pack.
The Club shall aim to offer a discount for families paying for multiple annual membership fees.
The Club shall offer an ‘Associate Membership’ for those who wish to become involved with the Club (i.e. hold a committee position) but who do not wish to fence. Associate membership will be charged at £10 annually and associate members will not be required to have BFA insurance. Associate members shall have the same rights and privileges as ordinary members; should an associate member wish to become a full member they must pay the outstanding balance.
Associate membership shall not be offered as an alternative to full membership but is designed to help non-fencing volunteers.
Members are required to have read and understood the Club constitution and the Club’s Child Protection Policy (or a parent/guardian if under 18) upon application for membership.
4. Constitution
The affairs of the Club shall be administered by a Committee consisting of the Club Officers: President, Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and Welfare; as well as any other elected Club member.
If any alteration is made to this Constitution copies are to be sent to all members.
No addition or alteration to the rules can be made except at an AGM or GM.
5. Committee
Committee members must accept the values of the Club and the rules of this constitution. Members of the Committee must also be members of the Club.
The Committee shall have the power to co-opt anyone to its meetings, but he/she shall not have the power to vote.
The committee shall have the power to fill casual vacancies, for example an officer or other elected Committee member resigning before he/she has served a full year.
The Chairman shall have a casting vote at a committee meeting.
Four members shall form a quorum at a Committee meeting.
The officers and Committee members shall stand for one year before standing for re-election at the AGM. Committee members can be removed at a GM by a two thirds majority (see rule 7) or by a vote of ‘no confidence’ at a committee meeting. Where a vote of no confidence takes place a two thirds majority is needed to remove a committee member, the Chairman does not have a casting vote and the vote of the committee member concerned is not counted.
The Committee shall meet formally at regular intervals as well as briefly after each session of the club.
Committee meetings shall be open to all Club members. Members shall be encouraged to contribute to meetings during the ‘any other business’ section of the meeting subject to the approval of the Chairman.
6. Elections
The officers and committee members shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) by a simple majority of those present.
Nominations must accompanied by a written consent of the person nominated to serve if elected.
Nominations must be submitted to the Club Secretary no less than a week before the AGM.
7. Annual General Meeting
The AGM shall be called by the Club Secretary giving not less than four weeks notice. The notice will include details of any proposed changes in the Club rules.
At the AGM Club Officers and other committee members will be elected for the coming year.
Accounts will be presented at the AGM.
The Club Secretary will present a report on the Club year at the AGM.
The Chairman shall have a casting vote at an AGM.
Ten members (or one third of the Club’s membership – whichever is greater) shall form a quorum at an AGM.
A General Meeting can be called at any time either by the Club Committee or at the request of five members. At a General Meeting the Clubs rules can be changed in the same way as at an AGM, with the Chairman having a casting vote.
At either an AGM or GM the rules of the Club can be changed only by a majority of two thirds. This ensures that any changes are well supported. If any alteration is made to this Constitution copies are to be sent to all members.
8. Rules
The Committee has the right to interpret these rules and to settle any question not provided for by these rules, but no addition or alteration to the rules can be made except at an AGM or GM.
Changes and alterations to the rules shall be reported to the Secretary of England Fencing.
9. Officers Duties
(a) President
The President of the Club is responsible for representing the interest of the Clubs members at committee meetings, as well as representing the Club in the wider community.
(b) Chairman
Whoever acts as chairman of the Club is responsible to the members for the members for the overall running of the Club: this includes ensuring that the Club meets its objectives, financial affairs, the conduct of meetings, and ensuring that the other Officers and Committee members carry out the duties delegated to them.
(c) Treasurer
The Treasurer is responsible for: collecting subscriptions, paying and receiving money, running the Club account, keeping proper records of payments and receipts and for presenting accounts at the AGM (see rule 7). The Treasurer must be consulted about all items of expenditure.
If appropriate an Assistant Treasurer can be added by the Committee as a Club office to assist the Treasurer, but he/she will not sit on the Committee unless elected to do so at an AGM/GM.
(d) Secretary
The Secretary is responsible for day-to-day administration, drafting and circulating agendas and minutes (both should be subject to the Chairman’s approval), dealing with correspondence, and the arrangements for matches and team selection.
If appropriate an Assistant Secretary can be added by the Committee as a Club Office to assist the Hon. Secretary, but he/she will not sit on the Committee unless elected to do so at an AGM/GM.
(e) Welfare Officer
The Welfare Officer is responsible for child protection policy within the Club. This includes keeping up to date on and informing the Committee of current British Fencing guidelines as well as ensuring these guidelines are put into practice. The Club Welfare Officer is the first point of contact for staff, volunteers, parents, children, young people and vulnerable adults where concerns about children’s welfare, poor practice or child abuse are identified. The Welfare Officer is also the first point of contact with the BFA’s lead Child Protection Officer.
(f) Other Officers
An Equipment Officer can be added as a Club officer by the committee. The Equipment Officer is responsible for checking the club’s equipment for damage, missing stock, potentially dangerous items, items in need of cleaning and notifying the Committee of any problems. The Equipment Officer should be aware of BFA safety guidelines, standards and procedures concerning fencing equipment. He/she will not sit on the Committee unless elected to do so at an AGM/GM.
A Coaching Organiser can be added as a Club officer by the committee, responsible for organising training for Club members from external professional coaches. This includes training for prospective ‘home grown’ coaches. He/she will not sit on the Committee unless elected to do so at an AGM/GM.
A Schools Liaison Officer can be added as a Club officer by the committee responsible for communicating with educational institutions relevant to any of the Club’s projects. The Schools Liaison Officer will build and maintain relationships with key officials or members of staff at educational institutions and other relevant organisations. He/she will not sit on the Committee unless elected to do so at an AGM/GM.
A Team Captain can also be added as a Club officer by the Committee, and be directly responsible to the Club Chairman or President for match arrangements and team selection, rather than the Secretary. He/she will not sit on the Committee unless elected to do so at an AGM/GM.
10. ‘Home Grown’ Coaches Bursary
As outlined in the Club objectives members are to be encouraged to take part in coach training schemes enabling the Club to grow its own coaches. The Club will, so far as it is able, financially support the training of those members who wish to become coaches. Any member who requests financial support from the club regarding coach training must make a written application to the Committee and be prepared to give one years coaching service to the Club in return. The Club Committee reserves the right to make decisions regarding the level of support given to any applicant and the decision of the Committee is final.
11. Current Club Officers
The following club officers and committee members are elected to serve from the 9th August 2007 until the next AGM (see rule 7) and sign this Constitution:
President: Stephen Crossley
Chairman: Francois Pelet
Treasurer: Vivienne Trump
Secretary: Morys Ireland
Welfare Officer: Joe Bulis
Committee member: Debbie Bell
Committee member: Andrew Trump
Committee member and Coaching Organiser: Lee Banting
