Potteries Orienteering Club

1. Name

 

The Club shall be known as the "POTTERIES ORIENTEERING CLUB".

2. Object

 

The object of the Club shall be to encourage and promote the sport of Orienteering in North Staffordshire, South Cheshire and surrounding areas.

3. Affiliation

 

The Club shall affiliate to the West Midlands Orienteering Association and to the British Orienteering Federation Limited, and shall pay to them annually such affiliation fees as may be required.

4. Membership

4.1

Membership shall be open to any person interested in the sport of Orienteering on payment of the required fee.

4.2

Types of Membership Unit shall be as follows, ages being those attained by 31^st December of the subscription year:

(a)

Individual Senior, aged 21 or over.

(b)

Individual Junior, aged under 21.

(c)

Family, including any children aged under 21.

(d)

Group - any organised body such as a School, Youth Club, Scout Group, etc.

(e)

Second Club Member - a member of British Orienteering through another Club.

(f)

Social Member - a member who does not actively orienteer.

5. Subscriptions

5.1

Annual subscriptions for each category of membership shall be fixed by the members at the Annual General Meeting or at a Special General Meeting.

5.2

Subscriptions shall be due on 1^st January.

5.3

For new members joining after 31^st August, payment of the annual subscription shall cover membership up to 31^st December of the following year.

6. Club Committee

6.1

The honorary officers of the Club shall be the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary.

6.2

A Club Committee, consisting of the honorary officers and at least three other members shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting.

6.3

No person shall be elected Chairman at more than three consecutive Annual General Meetings.

6.4

The Committee shall have the power to co-opt additional members and to fill casual vacancies pro-tem.

6.5

50 per cent of the current Committee shall constitute a quorum for a Committee Meeting.

6.6

The Committee shall be vested with the authority to act on behalf of the Club and to carry on its affairs until the next Annual General Meeting.

7. Annual General Meeting

7.1

The affairs of the Club shall be governed by the Annual General Meeting of members.

7.2

The Annual General Meeting shall be held not more than six weeks after the end of the Club's financial year.

7.3

The Secretary shall give members at least 2 weeks notice in writing of the date of the Annual General Meeting.

7.4

20 per cent of current paid up voting Membership Units shall constitute a quorum.

7.5

The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be:

(a)

to receive Apologies of Absence.

(b)

to read and confirm the Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting.

(c)

to receive a Report from the Chairman on the activities of the Club over the past year.

(d)

to receive the Statement of Accounts of the Club.

(e)

to elect the honorary Officers of the Club.

(f)

to elect other members of the Club Committee.

(g)

to appoint an independent person to inspect the accounts.

(h)

to transact any other appropriate business.

7.6

Nominations for Officers and other Committee Members, which must be seconded, shall be submitted to the Secretary, the consent of the person nominated having first been obtained.

8. Special General Meeting

8.1

A Special General Meeting of members may be convened by the Committee at its own requirement or at the request in writing of at least one third of the current paid-up Membership Units of the Club.

8.2

The rules pertaining to an Annual General Meeting shall apply, except that members shall receive at least 3 weeks notice in writing of the date, venue and purpose of the Meeting, and that business shall be limited to the Agenda issued at that time.

9. Voting Rights

9.1

Paid-up members present at the Annual General Meeting or at a Special General Meeting shall be entitled to votes as follows:

(a)

Individual members shall each be entitled to one vote.

(b)

Groups shall be entitled to one vote.

(c)

Families shall be entitled to one vote for each member of the family present up to a maximum of three votes.

(d)

Neither Second Club nor Social Members shall be entitled to vote.

9.2

Resolutions put to the vote shall be decided by a simple majority, the Chairman having the privilege of an additional vote in the case of a tie.

10. Finance

10.1

The accounts of the Club shall be balanced at 31^st August each year and shall be independently inspected by a person appointed at the Annual General Meeting.

10.2

All cheques written against the Club shall be signed by any two of the Committee Members authorised to do so.

11. Amendments to the Constitution

11.1

The current Club members shall have the power to alter this Constitution at the Annual General Meeting or at a Special General Meeting.

11.2

A resolution calling for such an amendment shall be submitted to the Secretary at least 6 weeks before the Meeting at which it is to be voted upon.

11.3

The Secretary shall give members at least 2 weeks notice of the proposed amendment.

11.4

The amendment shall be decided by a simple majority of votes cast.

12. Closure

 

In the event of closure of the Club, any and all of the Club's assets remaining after full settlement of all just debts and liabilities incurred by the Club shall be used to further the sport of Orienteering. The assets will not be distributed amongst the members.

REVISION HISTORY

1975

Original Constitution adopted at the inaugural meeting of the Potteries Orienteering Club held on 8^th October 1975. No copy survives.

1981

"The Revised Constitution of the Potteries Orienteering Club" adopted at the AGM held in October 1981.

1995

Rewritten Constitution accepted at the 1995 AGM. Main changes:

1.

Upper age limit for Junior Members increased from 18 to 20.

2.

For those joining after 31^st August, membership to run to end of following year.

3.

Quorum for General Meetings reduced from 25% to 20% of membership units.

4.

Maximum of three votes for families (Previously only one vote per family).

2002

The AGM in October 2002 accepted that references to "auditing" of the Accounts should be amended to indicate instead that they would be "independently inspected".

2003

The AGM in October 2003 accepted changes to resolve inconsistencies in the clauses concerned with voting.

2006

The AGM in October 2006 accepted changes requiring that cheques written against the Club be signed by two authorised committee members.

2007

The AGM in October 2007 accepted changes following the then new membership structure for British Orienteering which resulted in new membership categories for the Potteries Orienteering Club.