CHERTSEY BOWLING CLUB
CONSTITUTION
1. NAME
Chertsey Bowling Club shall be referred to as “The Club”.
2. AFFILIATIONS
The Club shall be affiliated to Bowls England, Bowls Surrey
and any other recognised body deemed to be in the best interest of the club.
3. OBJECTIVES
a) To provide facilities for, and to promote
participation in the sport of outdoor flat green bowls.
b) To hold the lease on the parcel of land known
as The Pavilion, Chertsey Recreation Ground, Guildford Road, Chertsey, Surrey
and pay the rental for the bowling green annually.
c) The Club shall adopt and conform to Bowls
England and Bowls Surrey Rules and Regulations and the current laws of the
sport of bowls.
4. COMPLIANCE WITH BOWLS ENGLAND REGULATIONS
a)
The
Club shall ensure that its constitution and/or rules are not in contradiction
of the Bowls England Rules and Regulations or Articles of Association
b)
The
Club shall be bound by and shall comply with the Rules & Regulations and
Policies of Bowls England, as amended from time to time.
c)
The
Club shall adopt and follow:
i. All policies and guidelines
approved by Bowls England, including but not limited to, safeguarding policies,
inclusion policies and anti-doping policies.
ii. All procedures set out in Bowls
England Regulation 9, 9A and 9B when dealing with any disciplinary/misconduct
issues.
iii. All members shall be deemed to
have made themselves familiar with, and agreed to be bound by the UK
Anti-Doping Rules and to submit to the authority of UK Anti-Doping in the
application and enforcement of the Anti-Doping Rules. The UK Anti-Doping Rules
apply to all members participating in the sport of Lawn Bowls for a minimum of
12 months from the commencement of membership, in accordance with Bowls
England’s Rules & Regulations whether or not the member is a citizen of, or
resident in, the UK.
iv. All sanctions, recommendations
and/or decisions from the Safeguarding Case Management Panel or National
Disciplinary Panel.
https://www.bowlsengland.com/safeguarding/
https://www.bowlsengland.com/diversity-inclusion/
https://www.bowlsengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Regulation-9.pdf
2. MEMBERSHIP
a) Membership of the club shall be open to
anyone interested in the sport of bowls on application.
b) The club may have different classes of
membership and subscription on a non-discriminatory and fair basis.
c) The club committee may refuse membership, or
remove it, only for good cause such as conduct or character likely to bring the
club or sport into disrepute.
d) The bowling club shall be open to persons in
the following categories:
i.
Full Members: over 18 years of age on the 1st
April
ii.
Junior members: under 18 years of age on the 1st
April
iii.
Social members: over 18 years of age on the 1st
April
iv.
Life members
e) The rights and privileges of a member shall
not be transferable.
f) A member shall cease to be a member if:
i.
They resign in writing to the club committee.
ii.
Their membership is terminated by the committee. In this
event no money will be returned.
iii.
Their annual subscription remains unpaid at the
expiration of one calendar month from due date.
5. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE OFFICERS
a) The control of the club shall be by an
annually elected committee of twelve bowling members consisting of:
President, Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Club
Captain, Men’s vice-captain, Ladies captain, Fixture Secretary, Competition
Secretary, plus three other members.
b)
Officials holding non-committee posts:
Bar Manager, Health and Welfare Officer, Club Coach,
Development Officer.
6. ADMINISTRATION
a) The affairs of the club shall be managed by
the Committee.
b) All Officers shall be elected annually at the
Annual General Meeting.
c) The Committee shall have the power to fill
any vacancy that may arise and also co-opt the services of any member for
special matters.
d) A quorum for the committee shall not be less
than 50%.
e) Decisions of the committee shall be by a
simple majority, each committee member except the Chairperson having only one
vote irrespective of whether they hold more than one office. The Chairperson of
the meeting shall have a casting vote when necessary.
f) In the absence of the Chairperson the
committee shall appoint one of their members to act as chairperson for the
meeting.
g) The committee shall have the power to make
bye-laws/rules/guidelines should the occasion arise, providing they are not
inconsistent with this constitution.
h) The committee shall only meet as and when
necessary.
7. FINANCE
a) The financial year of the club shall be 1st
September to 31st August.
b) Members shall pay an annual subscription as
fixed annually by the committee.
c) Annual subscriptions shall be due on the 1st
April each year. See membership for full information.
d) Any monetary winnings from outside
competitions for which the club has paid the entry fee, must be returned to the
club funds via the Treasurer.
e) The Treasurer shall submit to the AGM a
financial statement for the year just ended. Such statement shall have been
examined by the appointed accounts examiner.
f) The funds of the club shall be operated
through an account at a UK bank. The signatories shall be the treasurer plus
one other member appointed by the committee.
8. GENERAL MEETING
a) Annual General Meetings shall be held before
the Bowls Surrey County AGM in November, the date, time and venue to be decided
by the committee and shall be accompanied by an Agenda and any motions that
have been received by the Secretary.
b) The purpose of the AGM will be:
I. To receive
a report from the management committee
II. To receive
a statement of accounts for the 12 months ending 31st August
III. To
elect the management committee
IV. To
hear Notices of Motion
c) A minimum of 21 days’ written notice shall be
given of any general meeting to all members and shall be accompanied by a
provisional Agenda.
d) All members may attend the general meeting
and participate in the business but only fully paid up playing bowling members
may vote, submit Notices of Motion, support an application for a special
general meeting, or propose any amendment to any motion. No proxy voting is
permitted.
e) Notice of motions for an AGM must be signed
by the member proposing and be submitted to the Secretary 14 days prior to the
date of the AGM. The agenda will be updated and made available to members at or
before the AGM.
f) Except for the Election of Officers no motion
may be proposed from the floor at an AGM.
g) All officers elected shall be added to the
county system or forwarded to the county administrator.
h) Special General Meetings shall be called:
I. Whenever the committee deem it necessary.
II. The Committee must call such a meeting if it is requested
to do so in writing by at least 20% of playing members, all of whom must sign
the request. The reason or purpose of such a meeting must be clearly stated and
only this may be discussed and voted upon
III. The quorum for any General Meeting (AGM/EGM/SGM) shall be
25% of the full playing membership who have paid their current subscriptions.
9. EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES
Should exceptional circumstances arise, which in the
opinion of the committee, prevent an Annual or Special General Meeting being
held, the committee shall determine what alternative arrangements should be
made. Any decisions made in accordance with these arrangements shall be
effective immediately. They will continue to apply until any subsequent general
meeting. If any other matters arise as a result of exceptional circumstances which
are not provided for in this constitution, the committee shall deal with such
matters as it deems necessary.
10. CHANGES MADE TO CONSTITUTION
No alterations or additions may be made to this
constitution except by a notice of motion, at an Annual General Meeting (AGM)
or at a Special General Meeting (SGM).
CHERTSEY
BOWLING CLUB RULES
1. MEMBERS
a) All members shall be members of Chertsey
Bowling Club.
b) Application for membership shall be made to
club secretary on the official application form.
c) Approval and acceptance of new members shall
be at the discretion of the committee; each new member is required to serve a
season’s probation.
d) All members must use club stickers when
representing the club.
e) All members shall be responsible for returning
club equipment to its correct stowage after use.
f) Smoking and vaping is only allowed in the
designated smoking area.
2. CLUB COMPETITIONS
a. Members entering club competitions must
ensure that they are available to play on finals day/weekend. Members who find
their situation has changed since entering must withdraw from competitions
immediately.
b. All rounds of club competitions must be
played on or before the closing dates of each round.
c. All competitions shall be played under the
laws of the sport of bowls.
d. Any disputes must be brought to the attention
of the Competition Secretary immediately and their decision shall be final.
3. EXTERNAL COMPETITIONS
Team Selection for Club representative games shall be
entrusted to an elected Selection Committee, as approved by the Club’s main
committee.
4. CONDUCT OF MEMBERS
Members are expected to conduct themselves in a proper
manner within the precincts of the club and when representing the club at any
visited club or venue. If the committee considers that any member’s
conduct is contrary to the interest of the club and/or injurious to its
reputation or the club receive a written complaint from either another club or
person the committee will consider disciplinary action in accordance with
regulation 9 of Bowls England Regulations.
See link for further information: https://www.bowlsengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Regulation-9.pdf
5. DRESS CODE
a) Club coloured shirts to be worn in all club
matches whether these are friendly or competitive, together with suitable white
or grey bowling attire below the waist.
b) Dress code can be relaxed for roll ups when
suitable casual clothing may be worn.
c) White tops are allowed to be worn by the
ladies in their friendlies.
d) Regulation (or suitable flat smooth soled)
shoes must be worn at all times whilst on the green. Sandals are banned whilst
bowling at Chertsey Bowling Club.
e) Jeans are not permitted on the green at any
time.
6. CLUB & BAR OPENING TIMES
a) The Club will be open during the year, the
times of which will be subject to the discretion of the committee.
b) The permitted opening hours during which
intoxicating liquors may be supplied to members and guests for consumption on
or off the premises shall be in accordance with the licensing laws prevailing
at the time and in accordance with our current licence held under the licencing
act.
7. INTERPRETATION OF THE CONSTITUTION, BYE-LAWS AND
RULES
a) The Committee shall be the sole authority for
the interpretation of the constitution, bye-laws and any club rules.
b) Any matter not addressed by these shall be
placed before the committee for determination on. Any decision made thereafter
by the committee shall be final and binding until set aside or determined at
the club’s next AGM.
c) The above rules do not form part of the
constitution and therefore can change without the requirement of an AGM or EGM.