1 Name and Location

1. The name of the Club shall be “Sandbach Hockey Club (SHC)”.

2. Referred to as the “The Club”.

3. The Club shall be situated in the County of Cheshire.

4. The Club will be affiliated with England Hockey.

5. The Club is a non-profit making organisation. All profits and surpluses will be used to carry out the objectives of the Club.

2. Club Objectives

1. The recruitment and development of children and young people into the sport of hockey as players, leaders/coaches, umpires and administrators.

2. The provision of playing, leading/coaching, umpiring and administrative opportunities at a participation, development and performance level.

3. To provide equity of opportunity across all areas of the club, to encourage inclusion by minority groups.

4. To provide a safe, effective and child friendly environment in which to play and learn hockey.

5. The Club shall be a members club open to all.

3 Membership

1. Membership of the Club shall be open to anyone interested in participating in the game of Hockey regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs, who agrees to conform to the regulations of this Constitution, the codes of practice that the Club may adopt, and to the decisions of the Management Committee.

2. The Club may have different classes of membership and subscription on a non discriminatory and fair basis. The Club will keep subscriptions at a level that will not pose a significant obstacle to people participating.

3. Membership is subject to the completion of a membership form, parental consent (when under 16) and the payment of appropriate fees.

4. No person shall be eligible for selection for any club team unless the appropriate subscription has been paid by the specified date or membership has been agreed by the Committee.

5. The Club Committee may refuse membership, or remove it, if conduct or character bring the Club or Hockey into disrepute or there has been a breach of the rules or codes of conduct recognised by the club. Appeal against refusal or removal may be made to the Committee who shall appoint an Appeals Committee to hear the appeal.

6. All members will be subject to the regulations of the Constitution and by joining the Club will be deemed to accept these regulations and any Codes of Conduct that the Club has adopted.

7. Membership fees will be charged as agreed at the Clubs Annual General Meeting.

8. Club Members are treated as members from the completion of 3.3 until the following 1st September.

9. A Quorum of members is defined as 15% of Club Members aged 18 or above, as defined at the start of any proceedings by the Membership Secretary

4 Officers of the Club

1. The Officers of the club shall be as follows:

Executive Officers – Management Committee (voted positions)

- Chair - Vice Chair - Secretary - Treasurer - Club Welfare Officer (Up to 2 officers. 1 male 1 female)

Other Officers (appointed by Management Committee) as appropriate – examples can include, but are not exclusive to the following:

- Men’s 1st Team Captain - Ladies 1st Team Captain - Membership Secretary - Junior Coordinator - Fundraising Officer - Youth Representative - Club Development Officer - Communications/IT Officer

5 Election of Officers

1. A quorum must be met to enable the election of officers

2. The Executive Officers shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Club by Club Members.

3. - a. Executive Officers must be Club Members aged 18 or above. Unless nominated under clause 5.3b

- b. Executive Officers may be selected from a list of suitable candidates, proposed by the outgoing committee. Candidates should ideally have a relationship with the club i.e. a player parent, and have personal skills that would contribute to the execution of the proposed role. - c. Any suitable candidate subsequently elected as a club officer will be made an honorary member of the club (as per #6.9) until they stand down from the committee

4. Other Officer roles may be suitable non playing members.

5. All Officers shall be eligible for re-election to the same office or to another office for a following term.

6. Only Club Members aged 18 or above will be able to cast a vote for the Executive Officer roles.

7. In the case of two or more candidates receiving an equal number of votes so that the addition of one vote would result in the election of one of them, the election shall be determined by the Chair.

8. If an Executive Officer post is unfilled, the Chair assumes responsibility for that role

6 Management Committee

1. The affairs of the Club shall be managed by the Management Committee comprising of the elected Executive Officers and the other Officers of the Club, except for matters reserved for the club in Annual General Meeting. Only these members of the Committee shall be entitled to vote at Committee meetings.

2. The quorum required for business to be agreed at Committee meetings shall be five, including at least 2 executive committee members.

3. The Committee will be convened by the Secretary and shall meet at agreed intervals and not less than six times per year.

4. The Committee may appoint one or more additional officers of The Committee for such purposes as it may deem appropriate.

5. The elected Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary of the Club shall be the signatories for all payments made by the Association, of which two of the named must counter sign each and every payment.

6. The Treasurer in consultation with the Committee shall be responsible for recording all financial income and expenditure of the Club and for presenting audited accounts at each Annual General Meeting of the Club.

7. The Committee shall have powers to appoint sub-committees as necessary and to co-opt advisers who may be non-club members invited to advise on specialist subjects.

8. The Committee shall have powers to elect Honorary Members, persons not otherwise eligible for membership, who have, or will have a significant role in the management and running of the Club and/or its facilities.

9. An elected Committee member ceases to be such if he or she ceases to be a member of the club, resigns by written notice, or is removed by the Committee for good cause after the member concerned has been given the chance of putting their case to the Committee. Appeal against removal may be made to the Appeals Committee. The Committee shall fairly decide time limits and formalities for these steps.

7 Payments or Benefits

1. SHC Committee may appoint paid part-time staff for specific coach development projects. Such projects are at the complete discretion of SHC Committee, however they must be SHC projects. Example appointments: coaching staff for development programmes, Leader qualification course tutors etc.

2. The appointment of any and every paid member of staff must be reviewed and confirmed at each meeting of SHC.

8 Annual General Meeting

1. An Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held every year, not less than 9 or more than 15 months after the previous meeting.

2. Date and time shall of the meeting shall be decided by the Executive Committee. Their choice will attempt to maximise the number of members present at the meeting.

3. Notice of the time of the Annual General Meeting shall be posted for a period of at least 21 days before the date of such a meeting. This should be sent to all member via email by the Clubs Secretary.

4. Every Club Member aged 18 or over shall be entitled to be present and to vote at any General Meeting of the Club and should there be equality on any voting issue the Chair of the meeting shall have the casting vote.

5. Club officers shall stand down at the AGM and eligible for re-election or reappointment, excepting;

6. Club Chair, Vice-chair, Secretary and Treasurer roles shall have terms of 2 years.

7. Club Chair and Treasurer shall stand down and be available for re-election at AGMs held in odd numbered years.

8. Vice-chair and Secretary shall stand down and be available for re-election at AGMs held in even numbered years.

9. Any posts vacated during previous year will be voted on for term of 1 year

10. Those wishing to stand for election at the AGM should notify the secretary 14 days in advance of the meeting and submit a statement of no more than 400 words to endorse their candidacy

11. Club Secretary to circulate list of candidate names and statements to club membership 7 days in advance of AGM

12. Standing officers of the committee who wish to stand for re-election should notify the secretary no less than 21 days in advance of the meeting, members should be made aware of the standing officers intentions.

13. Any resolutions or motions for decision at a general meeting shall be submitted to the Secretary not less than 14 days before the date of the meeting.

14. Secretary must circulate proposed alterations to the club membership 7 days in advance of the meeting

15. At the AGM, the standing Executive committee will present members with reports from the previous year. This shall include;

    • Balance Sheet.

    • Statement of accounts for the previous year.

    • Forecast of spending for the coming year.

16. If applicable, the committee’s list of ‘suitable candidates’ for election of non-members to office will be published no less than 21 days in advance of the AGM

9 Extraordinary General Meetings

1. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called at any time by the Committee or by needs to be more members making a written request to the Committee for such a meeting, stating the reason it is being requested.

2. A date and time for the meeting shall be set by the executive committee within a month of the request being made. Their choice will attempt to maximise the number of members present at the meeting.

3. Details of the meeting, including the agenda, will be circulated to members 7 days before the meeting.

4. There will be no other business other than that on the agenda.

10 Finance

1. All club monies shall be banked in an account in the name of the club.

2. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the finances of the club and for providing a report on the financial position as required by the Committee.

3. The Chair shall ensure that the club maintains adequate and appropriate insurance to cover the activities of the club.

4. The financial year will end on March 31st.

5. The Treasurer will present an audited statement of annual accounts at the Annual General Meeting.

6. Any cheques drawn against club funds should hold the signatures of any 2other the following committee members; the Treasurer, the Chair, the Vice-Chair or Secretary.

7. The Membership Secretary will be allowed access to view online bank statements.

11 Subscriptions

1. Subscription charges and schedule for the Club shall be agreed at the Annual General Meeting.

12 Conduct of Members

1. SHC Committee must adopt and comply with the England Hockey polices and procedure and ensure all members of the club do also

2. SHC Committee may suspend the membership of any member whose conduct has been, in the opinion of SHC Committee and in line with England Hockey policy, contrary to the interests of the Club.

3. Appeal of this decision may be made to club members and decided by majority vote at a general meeting with a quorum of 33% of members.

4. Member conduct shall be specifed in the club code of conduct.

13 Complaints

1. Complaints should be made in writing to the club secretary or chairs.

2. The committee must consider and provide a response to all complaints at their next meeting.

14 Resignation of a Committee Member

1. To resign, an officer should notify the Club Secretary in writing, advising them of their decision. The Club Secretary should ensure members are notified within 30 days.

2. Should an Officer of the Club Committee resign or be removed, the Committee has the responsibility to co-opt someone from amongst their number to act in that position until the next Annual General Meeting.

15 Dissolution of the Club

1. If the Club shall pass in General Meeting, by a majority of the members present and entitled to vote, a resolution of intention to dissolve the Club, SHC Committee shall move to dissolve the club as follows.

2. An extraordinary meeting shall be called one month after the resolution is passed to confirm the decision to dissolve the club. A resolution shall be raised by the executive committee setting the timescale and details of the dissolution.

3. If the resolution is passed by a majority of two-thirds of members present, and entitled to vote, the executive committee will take steps to convert all of the assets of the Club into money, according to the timescale in the resolution. The quorum for this meeting will be half of the club membership.

4. The proceeds of the conversion shall be used by SHC Committee firstly to discharge all the debts and liabilities of the Club. Any balance shall be passed on to either a registered charitable organisation supporting local sports provision, or the sports national governing body for use in related community sports.

16 Alterations to the Constitution

1. Any proposed alterations to the club Constitution shall be submitted to the Secretary not less than 14 days before the date of the meeting, and may only be considered at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting. Any alteration or amendment must be proposed by a Club Member and seconded by another Club Member. Such alterations shall be passed if supported by not less than two-thirds of those Members present at the meeting, assuming that a quorum has been achieved.

2. Secretary must circulate proposed alterations to the club membership 7 days in advance of the meeting

17 Discipline and Appeals

1. All complaints regarding the behaviour of members should be lodged in writing with the Secretary.

2. The Committee shall appoint a Disciplinary sub-committee who will meet to hear complaints within 21 days of a complaint being lodged. Any member requested to attend a Disciplinary sub-committee shall be entitled to be accompanied by a friend or other representative and to call witnesses. The Committee (or its sub-committee) has the power to take appropriate disciplinary action, including the termination of membership.

3. The outcome of the disciplinary hearing shall be put in writing to the person who lodged the complaint and the member against whom the complaint was made within 14 days following the hearing.

4. There shall be a right of appeal to the Committee against either the finding or the sanction imposed or both following disciplinary action being taken. The Committee shall appoint an Appeals Committee (a maximum of three) which shall not include members involved with the initial disciplinary hearing but may include non-members of the club. The Appeals Committee shall consider the appeal within 21 days of the Secretary receiving the appeal. The individual submitting the appeal shall be entitled to be accompanied by a friend or other representative and to call witnesses. The decision of the Appeals Committee shall be final and binding on all parties.

18 Declaration

1. Sandbach Hockey Club hereby adopts and accepts this Constitution as a current operating guide regulating the actions of all members.