Crewe Chess Club – Constitution
1. Name
The club shall be known as ‘Crewe Chess Club
2. Object
The purpose of the club is to facilitate all aspects of chess for the people of Crewe and its surrounding areas, particularly participation in competitive chess.
3. Committee
The club’s committee shall be responsible for running and managing club business. This will consist of a Chairman, a Secretary, a Treasurer and no more than three other members. Where possible these three other members shall be the Webmaster, Events Organiser and Steward. The committee can nominate any other member where a vacancy exists. Each member of the committee shall have one vote at any meeting, even if they hold more than one post.
4. Meetings
4.1 The club should hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) at least once a year between 1st May and 31st August. The club secretary will be responsible for arranging the date and venue of the AGM, compiling an agenda and informing all the other members of this not less than 10 days of the forthcoming AGM.
4.2 Any member may propose an item for inclusion on the agenda to the Secretary. Where this follows the agenda’s initial publication, inclusion shall be at the Secretary’s discretion.
4.3 Business to be conducted at the AGM should include, the election of each of the club officers (including committee members), the hearing of officer reports, approval of and effective date for subscriptions, presentation of trophies and any other business the membership feel necessary for the efficient running of the club.
4.4 Any vote will be decided by the majority which will be a simple majority of those voting. The chairman, at their discretion, may accept voting in advance at an AGM by email or text from members with a genuine reason for being unable to attend the meeting. If any vote is split the chairman will have the deciding vote. A quorum at a committee meeting is five.
4.5 The chairman may call an Emergency General Meeting (EGM) at any time of the year where they feel it necessary to administer urgent business. The secretary must inform the other members of the EGM not less than 7 days before the date of the EGM.
4.6 This constitution may only be amended following a resolution at an AGM or EGM.
5. Membership
5.1 Membership of the club is open to all and shall run annually from 1st of September. The committee may bar, suspend or expel anyone who they deem unsuitable to be a member of the club or defaults on the payment of their subscription, after a reasonable time, determined by the committee.
5.2 A member shall be deemed such when his/ her application for membership has been approved by the committee and he/she has paid the appropriate rate of subscription. A member will be deemed to have accepted the constitution on joining.
5.3 On the receipt of a complaint from one member against another the committee will decide on the course of action to be taken. This may include a formal warning or where in the view of the committee the conduct in question is considered wholly inappropriate that person may be expelled from the club. The decision of the committee is final.
5.4 A non-member (unless barred by the Committee) will be allowed to attend the Club as a visitor. The first two visits will be free and thereafter will pay a fee decided by the Committee.
5.5 Only club members who have English Chess Federation (ECF) membership will be eligible to participate in the top section of the Club Championship. Members without ECF membership, or visitors paying the appropriate fee for admittance to the chess club, will be able to participate in the club’s open competitions.
5.6 Any club member may take part in matches against other clubs when selected. However if that member is not a member of the ECF they must pay a game fee (determined by the league). That member will then be unable to play a fourth match for the club, within any one season, unless they become members of the ECF.
6. Activities
6.1 The main club night shall be a Tuesday commencing at 7:30pm, but can be earlier in order to facilitate juniors. The club shall enter team(s) in such leagues and hold such club competitions as determined at the AGM.
6.2 Chess equipment is provided by the Club for use at the club premises and must be returned to the cupboard at the end of each session. League trophies belong to the club at all times, though may be in temporary possession of members. They must be returned to the club on demand of the secretary, but in any case before the next AGM.
6.3 Disputes regarding club competitions should be referred to the club Events Organiser, if no resolution is found it will be referred to the committee, their decision will be final.
6.4 Juniors and their parents are welcome to attend the chess club. However anyone under the age of 16 years will not be allowed to remain unless either their parent or other guardian who is able to take care of them is also present, or unless it has been authorised by a member of the committee.
7. Finances
7.1 The Treasurer shall keep proper records of the Club’s financial affairs and shall diligently safeguard the financial assets of the Club. The Treasurer shall prepare a balance sheet and statement of income and expenditure, to be presented at the AGM.
7.2 Funds shall be held in a Bank or Building Society account in the name of the Club, withdrawals shall be made against two from three signatories, the Chairman, Secretary and the Treasurer. No member shall incur any expense which has not been specifically authorised by the committee.
7.3 Annual Subscriptions shall be determined at the AGM. Fee 2023/24 of £30 adult and £20 junior. This excludes ECF membership. Reduced rates may be charged for other special groups as determined at an AGM.
7.4 Members joining during a season shall be charged pro rata for the remainder of the season at the discretion of the treasurer. New members who have paid any visitors fees in that season will have that amount deducted from their subscription. The treasurer has discretion to accept annual subscriptions in parts.
7.5 Responsibility for joining the English Chess Federation will rest with each individual member .
8. DISSOLUTION
(a) In the event of the Committee approving a proposal that the club, be no longer a viable organisation; then an
Extraordinary General Meeting of the club shall be called, which all
members of all clubs shall be entitled to attend.
(b) The only item on the agenda of such an Extraordinary General Meeting shall
be the dissolution of the club. (c) On dissolution, the remaining assets of the club shall be evenly distributed to all current paid up members. Any assets not distributed may be passed on to a local chess club, school, a museum, library or charity that expresses an interest in them.
9. Other Matters
Any matters not covered by these Rules, or by a currently effective decision of a general meeting, may be determined by the Committee.
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