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SYDNEY NORTHERN BEACHES WATER POLO CLUB INCORPORATED.
CLUB RULES & CONSTITUTION
Including amendments adopted 23 SEPTEMBER 2010
RULES AND CONSTITUTION
Table of Contents
- NAME
- DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION
- OBJECTIVES
- MEMBERSHIP
- MEMBER'S LIABILITIES
- CESSATION OF MEMBERSHIP
- DISCIPLINING MEMBERS
- RIGHT OF APPEAL OF DISCIPLINED MEMBER
- CODES OF CONDUCT
- SUBSCRIPTIONS, FEES AND LEVIES
- OFFICE BEARERS
- COMMITTEE
- EXECUTIVE
- GENERAL MEETINGS
- FINANCE
- AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES AND OBJECTIVES
- CUSTODY OF BOOKS
- INSPECTION OF BOOKS
- COMMON SEAL
- DISSOLUTION OF THE CLUB
1. NAME
The name of the club shall be the "SYDNEY NORTHERN BEACHES WATER POLO CLUB INCORPORATED," hereafter called 'the Club.'
2. DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION
In this Constitution the following words and expressions shall have the following meanings, except where or to the extent that a contrary indication appears:
(a) "The Club" shall mean the "Sydney Northern Beaches Water Polo Club Inc." as constituted under this Constitution.
(b) "Executive" shall mean the Executive Committee of the Club constituted under this Constitution.
(c) "Committee" shall mean the Office Bearers of the Club constituted under the Constitution.
(d) "Manly", "Warringah" and "Pittwater" shall mean the Local Council areas of Manly, Warringah and Pittwater.
(e) "Simple Majority" means a majority on an issue of not less than one-half plus one, of the number of votes in attendance and eligible to be cast.
(f) "Special Majority" means a majority on an issue of not less than special majority of two-thirds of the number of votes in attendance and eligible to be cast.
(g) "NSWWPI" means New South Wales Water Polo Incorporated.
(h) "AWPI" means Australia Water Polo Incorporated.
(i) The giving of any notice or notification required by the Constitution will be satisfied by display on the Club website and dispatch by mail or electronic mail, including by facsimile, email or such other means of electronic transmission of data approved from time to time by the Club, to such address as a member may have notified to the Club.
3. OBJECTIVES
(a) The Club shall encourage, promote, develop and extend the sport of water polo in Manly, Warringah and Pittwater.
(b) The Club shall encourage, promote, develop and extend the sport of water polo in the wider community and can affiliate with bodies that have similar objectives.
(c) The Club will provide players with the opportunity to play in competitions and games organised by the Club, NSWWPI, AWPI and other organisations involved in the sport of water polo.
(d) The Club will promote and develop the sport for members of the Club who are players, referees, coaches or officials, at all levels from juniors to elite levels.
(e) The Club will provide competent coaching for all members who are players and will encourage all members who are players to reach their full potential.
(f) The Club will provide education and development opportunities for members who referee or officiate at Club, NSWWPI, AWPI or other water polo games
(“the Objectives”).
4. MEMBERSHIP
(a) Full Membership:
i. A Full Member is a person who has paid the necessary subscriptions, fees and levies for Full Membership as set by the Committee and;
ii Plays, coaches, referees or officiates in competitions conducted by the Club, NSWWPI, AWPI and other organisations involved in the sport of water polo;
iii Full Members of the Club are entitled to vote at Annual General Meetings, General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings of the Club.
(b) Junior Membership:
i. A Junior Member is a person who has paid the necessary subscriptions, fees and levies for
Junior Membership as set by the Committee and;
ii Is 17 years of age or younger;
iii Junior Members are usually players;
iv Junior Members are not entitled to vote at Annual General Meetings, General Meetings and
Extraordinary General Meetings of the Club, or to be Office Bearers.
(c) Associate Membership:
i. Associate Membership of the Club is available to non-players who have paid the necessary subscriptions, fees and levies as set by the Committee;
ii. Associate Members of the Club are not entitled to vote at Annual General Meetings, General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings of the Club unless elected to the Committee or another official position within the Club.
(d) Honorary Membership:
i. The Committee, on the recommendation of the Executive may grant honorary membership to individuals.
ii. Honorary Members of the Club are not entitled to vote at Annual General Meetings, General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings of the Club.
(e) Life Membership:
i. The Club may at any Annual General Meeting elect Life Members from amongst members who have rendered distinguished or special service to the Club provided that;
ii. Nominations must be in writing, duly proposed and seconded, and approved by a special majority of two-thirds majority vote of the Committee, and the nominee may then be admitted to Life Membership on a special majority of two-thirds majority vote, of the members present and entitled to vote at the succeeding Annual General Meeting. Voting shall be by secret ballot.
iii. Should a nomination for Life Membership be unsuccessful in gaining the required approval of either the Committee or the members present and entitled to vote at the succeeding Annual General Meeting, it shall then lapse for that year.
iv. Not more than two Life Members may be elected in any three-year period.
v. Life Membership entitles a person to all the rights and privileges of Full Membership.
(f) Register of Members:
i. The Secretary must establish and maintain a register of current members of the Club.
ii. The register of members shall include the name, address, other contact details, date of birth and category of membership for each person who is a member of the Club.
iii. The register of members must be open for inspection, free of charge, by any member of the Club at any reasonable hour.
iv. A member of the Club may obtain a copy of any part of the register on payment of a fee of $1 for each page copied or, if the Committee determines some other amount, that other amount.
5. MEMBER'S LIABILITIES
The liability of a member of the Club to contribute towards the payment of the debts and liabilities of the Club or the costs, charges and expenses of the winding up of the Club is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid by the member in respect of membership of the Club.
6. CESSATION OF MEMBERSHIP
(a) Membership of the Club shall cease upon receipt by the Secretary of written resignation.
(b) Membership of the Club shall cease if the necessary subscriptions, fees and levies, for the relevant category of membership, are not received within a reasonable period, as determined by the Committee.
(c) Membership of the Club shall cease, in the case of a transfer from the Club to any other water polo club, upon any transfer documents being signed by an authorised member of the Executive of the Club.
Transfer documents may not be signed if the member has any subscription, levy or other fees outstanding.
(d) Membership rights in all categories shall cease upon expulsion under the provisions of this
Constitution or the By-Laws of the Club.
(e) No refund of subscriptions or other fees shall be due to anyone who ceases to be a member.
7. DISCIPLINING MEMBERS
i. (a) The Committee has the power to reprimand, suspend, expel or otherwise deal with a member of the Club which, in it’s opinion, has been guilty of conduct warranting such action.
(b) Without limiting the generality of sub clause (a) the Committee has the power to impose and enforce penalties on any member of the Club for committing any breach of this Constitution or who has carried out, counseled or sanctioned conduct, which in the opinion of the Committee has brought the Club into disrepute, including unfair practice relating to water polo or action which denigrates the sport of water polo.
(c) A complaint may be made to the Committee or to such person as may be nominated by any complaint handling procedure adopted by the Club at an AGM, GM or EGM from time to time.
ii. On receiving such a complaint the Committee (or in the case of urgency the Executive):
(a) Must cause notice of the complaint to be served on the member concerned, and
(b) Must give the member at least 14 days from the time the notice is served within which to
make submissions to the Committee in connection with the
complaint and
(c) Must take into consideration any submissions made by the member in connection with the complaint.
iii The Committee may, by simple resolution, reprimand, suspend, expel or otherwise deal with the member of the Club, if after considering the complaint and any submissions made in connection with the complaint, it is satisfied that the facts alleged in the complaint have been proved.
iv. On evidence presented by the Treasurer to the Committee (or, in the case of urgency the Executive) may suspend any member whose financial obligations have not been met by the due dates. The suspension may remain in force until the entire amount owing is paid. During such suspension the suspended member shall not be entitled to any rights or privileges attaching to membership.
v. If the Committee (or, in the case of urgency the Executive) suspends or expels a member from the Club the Secretary must, within 7 days after the action is taken, cause written notice to be given to the member of the action taken, of the reasons given by the Committee (or, in the case of urgency the Executive) for having taken that action and of the member's right of appeal.
vi. The suspension, expulsion or other sanction does not take effect:
(a) until the expiration of the period within which the member is entitled to appeal against the resolution concerned, or
(b) if within that period the member exercises the right of appeal, unless and until the Club confirms the resolution.
8. RIGHT OF APPEAL OF DISCIPLINED MEMBER
i A member may appeal to the Club in a General Meeting against a resolution of the Committee within 7 days after notice of the resolution is served on the member, by lodging with the Secretary a notice to that effect.
ii. The notice may, but need not, be accompanied by a statement of the grounds on which the member intends to rely for the purposes of the appeal.
iii. On receipt of a notice from a member under sub rule i, the Secretary must notify the Committee which is to convene a General Meeting of the Club to be held within 28 days after the date on which the Secretary received the notice.
iv. At a General Meeting of the Club convened under sub rule iii:
(a) no business other than the question of the appeal is to be transacted, and
(b) the Committee and the member must be given the opportunity to state their respective cases orally or in writing, or both, and
(c) the members present are to vote by secret ballot on the question of whether the resolution should be confirmed or revoked.
v. If at the General Meeting the Club passes a simple majority in favour of the confirmation of the resolution, the resolution is confirmed.
9. CODES OF CONDUCT
The Code of Conduct set out by NSWWPI and AWPI and any Code of Conduct adopted by an
AGM, GM or EGM shall be binding on all members.
10. SUBSCRIPTIONS, FEES AND LEVIES
(a) Any person eligible for membership of the Club in any category of membership shall pay the appropriate subscription and any other fees as they become due.
(a) Subscription fees may be waived in the case of Honorary Members or Life Members.
(b) The Committee before the start of each new water polo year shall determine the subscription for the various categories of membership.
(c) Other fees and levies shall be determined, from time to time, by the Committee.
(d) Due dates for payment of subscriptions and other fees shall be included on application forms and information sheets distributed by the Club and will be displayed on the Club website.
11. OFFICE BEARERS
(a) All Office Bearers shall be members of the Club. Any person elected or appointed under this rule may, subject to the Constitution, hold office until a successor has been elected.
(b) The Office Bearers of the Club shall be nominated and, if necessary, elected at every Annual General Meeting of the Club.
(c) The Office Bearers shall include:
i. A President;
ii. A Secretary;
iii. A Treasurer;
iv. A Delegate to NSWWPI;
v. A Coaching Coordinator;
vi. A Refereeing Coordinator.
(d) The Office Bearers may also include:
i. Up to 6 Non-Portfolio Committee Members.
ii. Other positions as the membership at a General Meeting sees fit to elect, or that the Committee deems necessary in the course of the year.
(e) Office Bearers may resign by presenting written notice to the Secretary.
(f) An Extraordinary General Meeting may, by a resolution of two-thirds of the members present and entitled to vote, remove any Office Bearers from office before an Annual General Meeting.
(g) Office Bearers may be re-elected.
12. COMMITTEE
(a) Membership - The control and management of the Club shall be vested in a Committee consisting of those Office Bearers listed in the preceding clause.
(b) Voting - Every matter submitted to the Committee shall be decided by a simple majority of the votes of the Committee members present. Every member of the Committee shall be entitled to 1 vote except in the case of an equality of votes when the chair shall have a casting vote in addition to the vote which the chair is entitled to as a member of the Committee. All voting shall be by show of hands unless the meeting decides otherwise.
(c) Quorum - A quorum of the Committee shall be 4. If a quorum has not been achieved 30 minutes after the notified time of the meeting, the meeting shall be postponed to a date to be fixed by the Executive. The Committee, notwithstanding any vacancy thereon, may proceed to the dispatch of business at any properly constituted meeting.
(d) Notice - The Secretary shall ensure that all members of the Committee are notified at least 3 days in advance of each Committee meeting.
(e) Absence - The Committee may declare vacant the place of any member who has been absent for more than 2 consecutive meetings of the Committee without the leave of the Committee.
(f) Replacement - The Committee may appoint a replacement as it sees fit, to fill a vacancy on the Committee.
(g) Frequency - The Committee shall meet as often as required to manage the business of the Club and where practicable shall meet once every month.
(h) Additional Meetings - The Secretary, upon written request of 2 members of the Committee, shall convene a meeting of the Committee as soon as practicable so long as the appropriate notice is given to all Committee members.
(i) Openness - Committee meetings shall be open to all members of the Club. Observers may be permitted at the discretion of the Committee.
(j) Minutes - The Secretary shall circulate the proposed minutes of every meeting of the Committee before the succeeding meeting. Minutes shall be signed by the chair at the next succeeding meeting, subject to their being adopted by the meeting as a true record of the proceedings of the meeting. The Committee shall retain minutes of Committee meetings for at least 5 years.
(k) Delegates - The Committee may appoint such delegate or delegates to represent the Club as may be required, with such powers as it may think fit. Each delegate of the Club shall submit to the following meeting of the Committee, a written report of the meetings they attend as the delegate of the Club.
(l) Sub-committees - The Committee may establish sub-committees for any purpose which, the Committee deems desirable, and may delegate to such sub-committees such powers as it sees fit.
(m) By-Laws - The Committee shall have power to make Club By-Laws consistent with, or alter and repeal Club By-Laws inconsistent with this Constitution. Proposals to make, alter or repeal any such Club By-Law shall be given to the Secretary of the Club not less than 7 clear days before the meeting of the Committee at which it is intended to present such proposal.
13. EXECUTIVE
(a) Membership - The Executive shall consist of the President, the Secretary and the Treasurer.
(b) Office Bearer - The Committee may nominate an elected Office Bearer of the Club to join the Executive when one of the President, the Secretary or the Treasurer is unavailable or unable to be contacted.
(c) Powers - Between Committee meetings, the Executive may make such decisions as are necessary for the day to day running of the Club and are consistent with the Objectives of the Club and this Constitution. Any such decision shall be subject to ratification by the Committee at the next meeting of the Committee.
(d) Conflict of Interest - A member of the Executive cannot be the beneficiary of financial gain as a result of a Club decision except repayment of out-of-pocket expenses and interest at a rate not exceeding the rate for the time being charged by bankers in Sydney for money lent to the Club. A member of the Executive cannot hold a dual role as a paid employee of the Club without being approved by a Special Majority of two-thirds majority vote of the Committee endorsed by a special majority of two thirds majority vote, of the members present and entitled to vote, at an Annual General Meeting, General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting.
14. GENERAL MEETINGS
(a) Annual General Meeting (AGM) - The Club shall hold an Annual General Meeting of all members of the Club once in every calendar year. The AGM is to be held within 6 months after the expiration of each financial year of the Club. The Secretary shall ensure that all members of the Club are notified at least 21 days in advance of the AGM.
(b) General Meeting (GM) - The Committee may call a General Meeting of all members of the Club at any time. The Secretary shall ensure that all members of the Club are notified at least 14 days in advance of the GM.
(c) Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) - An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club may be called by any 15 members of the Club who are entitled to vote by writing to the Secretary requesting such a meeting. The EGM will be held within 14 days of the Secretary receiving the appropriate request for an EGM. The Secretary shall ensure that all members of the Club are notified at least 7 days in advance of the EGM.
(d) Quorum - At least 10 members of the Club entitled to vote must be present for there to be a quorum at an AGM, GM or EGM. If a quorum has not been achieved 30 minutes after the notified time of the meeting, the meeting shall be postponed for at least 7 days and not more than 21 days. In such a situation, provided that 7 days notice is given, the postponed meeting shall then be held, and irrespective of the number of members present, the meeting shall be empowered to legally transact the business for which the meeting was called.
(e) Resolutions - Members must submit resolutions in writing to the Secretary at least 7 clear days before the Annual General Meeting to have them considered at the meeting.
(f) Voting - Every matter submitted to an AGM, GM or EGM shall be decided by a simple majority of the votes of the members of the Club present and entitled to vote, unless a special majority is specified in the Constitution. Each vote shall be given personally and members are not entitled to vote by proxy. No resolution may be voted on by means of postal ballot.
(g) Chair - The President shall chair all AGM's, GM's and EGM's of the Club. If the President is absent, unable, unfit or unwilling to chair the meeting or any part of it, the members present entitled to vote shall choose a chair from among their number.
15. FINANCE
(a) The financial year of the Club shall be from the 1st September to the 31st August in the following year.
(b) The funds of the Club are to be derived from the subscriptions, fees and levies of members,
donations, sponsorships and any other sources as the Committee determines.
(c) All money received by the Club must be deposited as soon as practicable and without deduction to the credit of the Club's bank account.
(d) The Club must, as soon as practicable after receiving any money, issue an appropriate receipt.
(e) The assets and income of the Club shall be applied exclusively to the promotion of the Objectives of the Club and no portion shall be paid or distributed directly or indirectly to members of the Club except as bona fide remuneration for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the Club.
(f) No member of the Club shall incur any expenditure, or enter any contracts on the Club's behalf without the approval of at least 2 members of the Executive.
(g) All Executive members shall be signatories of the Club's bank account(s). All withdrawals and cheques must be endorsed by at least 2 members of the Executive.
(h) The Committee shall be authorised to use all assets and property of the Club as necessary, subject to the Objectives of the Club and this Constitution.
16. AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES AND OBJECTIVES
(a) Procedure - Motions to amend this Constitution shall be given to the Secretary in writing at least 14 clear days prior to the AGM, GM or EGM at which the proposed motions are to be put.
(b) Voting - Amendments to this Constitution shall only be made by a vote of at least a special majority of two thirds of the members present and entitled to vote at a duly convened AGM, GM or EGM.
17. CUSTODY OF BOOKS
Except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, the Secretary must keep in his or her custody or under his or her control all records, books and other documents relating to the Club.
18. INSPECTION OF BOOKS
The records, books and other documents of the Club must be open to inspection, free of charge, by a member of the Club at any reasonable hour.
19. COMMON SEAL
(a) The common seal of the Club must be kept in the custody of the Secretary.
(b) The common seal must not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of the Committee and the affixing of the common seal must be attested by the signatures either of 2 members of the Committee or of 1 member of the Committee and of the Secretary.
20. DISSOLUTION OF THE CLUB
(a) Notice to dissolve the Club shall be given by at least one-quarter of the members of the Club entitled to vote at an Extraordinary General Meeting.
(b) Notice shall be given not less than 21 clear days prior to an Extraordinary General Meeting which shall be convened with the item "Dissolution of the Club" the only item on the agenda.
(c) A quorum for such a meeting will be three-quarters of the voting members of the Club.
(d) If the motion is agreed to by at least a special majority of two-thirds of those present and entitled to vote, the Club shall be dissolved and the Executive shall be placed in charge of winding-up the Club.
(e) In the event of the Club being dissolved, the amount which remains after such dissolution and the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities, including pro-rata return of subscriptions and fees paid to members, shall be paid to such registered or exempted charity, or charities, as a simple majority of the members at the Extraordinary General Meeting shall decide.
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