Boxmoor Cricket Club - Club Constitution

Boxmoor Cricket Club

Constitution

1.             Name

The name of the Club is Boxmoor Cricket Club, hereafter to be referred to as "the club". The club shall be affiliated to the England and Wales Cricket Board through the Hertfordshire Cricket Board.

 

2.            Aims and Objectives

  1. To foster, provide facilities for and promote the sport of cricket at all levels within the community and generate participation in the sport, providing opportunities for recreation, coaching and competition.
  2. To manage “The Oval” in an appropriate way.
  3. To ensure that all members, playing and non-playing, abide by the ECB Code of Conduct which incorporates the Spirit of Cricket and by the Laws of Cricket.
  4. To ensure a duty of care to all members of the club by adopting and implementing the ECB ‘Safe Hands – Cricket’s Policy for Safeguarding Children’ and any future versions of the Policy. All officials working with children must be ECB qualified and comply with the specified Club Safety requirements.
  5. To ensure a duty of care to all members of the club by adopting and implementing the ECB Cricket Equity Policy and any future versions of the Policy.
  6. To encourage all members to participate fully in the activities of the club.

 

3.         Membership
Membership of the club shall be open to anyone interested in the sport of cricket on application regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs.  However, limitation of membership according to available facilities is allowable on a non-discriminatory basis.

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

Application for membership of the club shall be by completion of a membership application form and by payment of the relevant subscription/joining fees as determined by the Annual General Meeting of the club.

No person shall be eligible to take part in the business of the club or 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. See Appendix for details.

The club Committee may refuse membership, or remove it, only for good cause such as conduct or character likely to bring the club or cricket into disrepute.  Appeal against refusal or removal may be made to the Committee who shall appoint an Appeals Committee to hear the appeal.

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.  The Constitution shall identify those members eligible to vote at any General Meetings.

  1. Classes of Membership

There shall be five classes of membership (i.e. qualifying members) available. These are:

  1. Full member: Defined as a fully paid up adult (As per Appendix) who has completed and signed the Senior Membership Form.
  2. Junior Member: defined as under 18 years of age on 1st September.
  3. Parent Member: defined as the parent or guardian of a fully paid up Junior Member who has completed the Junior Membership Form.
  4. Social Member: member of the 100 club, paid up Casual Member, or spouse/partner of a qualifying member.
  5. Honorary Membership: defined as President, Past Presidents, Vice Presidents, Life Members and Committee Members

A list of members in each category shall be maintained by the Secretary, Treasurer and Bar Manager.

Voting rights are as follows:

  1. Full and Honorary Members are entitled to vote at the Club’s Annual General Meeting on ALL roles and proposals within the Club that are available for election.
  2. Junior Members aged over 15 years of age on 1st September will have full voting rights at any subsequent general meetings on ALL roles and proposals within the Club that are available for election.
  3. Parent Members are entitled to one vote** at the Annual General Meeting on ALL roles and proposals within the Club (with the exception of senior playing roles) that are available for election. Parent members voting entitlement will cease once their children, defined as “Junior Member”, reaches the age of 15 years old on the 1st September, where the voting rights defined in “Junior Member” above will take precedent.
  4. Social Members are entitled to vote at the Club’s Annual General Meeting on ALL roles and proposals (with the exception of senior playing roles) within the Club that are available for election.

** where a Junior Member has 2 parents or guardians, this will be defined as a one vote entitlement only (both parents will not be entitled to a vote each).     

Full, Social, Honorary Members and Parent Members are entitled to hire the pavilion for private functions and purchase alcohol in the pavilion.

5.         Officers

The Officers of the club shall be as follows:

 

Executive Officers:                          Non- executive officers:                

Chair                                             Sponsorship Manager

Secretary                                      Media Manager

Treasurer                                      Sponsorship Manager

Pavilion Manager                          100 Club Manager                 

Parent Member Rep                     Media Manager                  

Bar Manager                                 Team Secretary

Social Secretary                           Fixture Secretary                                                       

Head of Cricket                             Junior Membership Secretary

Head of Junior Cricket                  Senior Team Captains

Club Safeguarding Officer

Clubmark Officer

      Ground Manager

                              

And any other support role as decided by the management committee.                           

Honorary Officers:

President

Past President

Vice-Presidents

Life Members

 

Officers of the Club (inclusive of playing roles) cannot be filled by members under the age of 18 years on the 1st September.

 

6.         Election of Officers

All Officers shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the club from, and by, the members of the club. All Officers shall be elected for a period of one year, but shall be eligible for re-election to the same office or to another office the following year.

7.         Management Committee

The affairs of the club shall be conducted by a Management Committee (the Committee) comprising the Executive Officers of the club and, or Honorary Officers. Only these members of the Committee shall be entitled to vote at Committee meetings.

Any Qualifying Member (Section 4) is entitled to attend Committee meetings, but will not be allowed to vote.

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

The quorum required for business to be agreed at Committee meetings shall be five.

The duties of the Committee shall be:

  1. To control the affairs of the club on behalf of the members.
  2. To keep accurate accounts of the finances of the club through the Treasurer.  These should be available for reasonable inspection by members and should be audited before every Annual General Meeting.
  3. To co-opt additional members of the Committee as the Committee feel is necessary.  Co-opted members shall not be entitled to a vote on the Committee and shall serve until the end of the next Annual General Meeting.
  4. To make decisions on the basis of a simple majority vote. In the case of equal votes, the Chair shall be entitled to an additional casting vote.

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.

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.


The Committee has the power to:

  1. Acquire and provide grounds, equipment, coaching, training and playing facilities, clubhouse, transport, medical and related facilities
  2. Provide coaching, training, medical treatment and related social and other facilities
  3. Take out any insurance for club employees, contractors, players, guests and other third parties.
  4. Raise funds by appeals, subscriptions, loans and other charges.
  5. Borrow money and give security for same and open bank accounts.
  6. Buy, lease or license property and sell, let or otherwise dispose of the same.
  7. Make grants and loans and give guarantees and provide other benefits.
  8. Set aside funds for special purposes or as reserves.
  9. Invest funds in any lawful manner
  10. Engage staff and others and provide services.
  11. Co-operate with or affiliate firstly to any bodies regulating or organizing the sport of cricket and secondly and club or body involved with cricket and thirdly with government and related agencies.
  12. Do all other things reasonably necessary to advance the aims and objectives of the club.

None of the above powers may be used other than to advance the aims and objectives in a manner consistent with the Rules and the general law.

 

8.         General Meetings

The Annual General Meeting of the club shall be held not later than the end of December each year. 21 clear days notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be given to members.  Qualifying Members must advise the Secretary in writing of any other business to be moved at the Annual General Meeting at least 14 days before a meeting.  The Secretary shall circulate or give notice of the agenda for the meeting to members not less than 7 days before the meeting.

The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be to:

  1. Confirm the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and any General Meetings held since the last Annual General Meeting
  2. Receive the audited accounts for the year from the Treasurer
  3. Receive the annual report of the Committee from the Secretary
  4. Elect an auditor
  5. Elect the Officers of the Club
  6. Review club subscription rates and agree them for the forthcoming year
  7. Transact such other business received in writing by the Secretary from members prior to the meeting and included in the Agenda.

Nominations of candidates for election of Offices shall be made in writing to the Secretary at least 14 days in advance of the Annual General Meeting date.  Nominations can only be made by Qualifying Members (Section 4) and must be seconded by another Qualifying Member.

Nominations can also be made from the floor for vacant positions, providing the nominee is in the room and is proposed and seconded by another Qualifying Member. If more than 1 member is proposed for any role, each candidate will provide a short speech on why they should be elected. Election to the role will then be made by secret ballot.

For honorary Positions, existing members will be elected en-bloc. New nominations may be made from the floor and these will be considered at the first available Committee Meeting.

 

Extraordinary General Meetings may be convened by the Committee or on receipt by the Secretary of a request in writing from not less than 7 Qualifying Members of the club.  At least 7 days notice of the meeting shall be given.

At all General Meetings, the Chair will be taken by the Chair or, in their absence, by a deputy appointed by Qualifying Members attending the meeting.  Decisions made at a General Meeting shall be by a simple majority vote from those Members with voting rights attending the meeting.  In the event of equal votes, the Chair of the meeting shall be entitled to an additional casting vote.

A quorum for a General Meeting shall be 12 Qualifying Members (categories of membership entitled to vote as outlined in Section 4) and Officers of the Club including at least two from the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

Each Qualifying Member of the Club shall be entitled to one vote at General Meetings as per Section 4.

9.         Alterations to the Constitution

Any proposed alterations to the club Constitution may only be considered at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting, convened with the required notice of the proposal.  Any alteration or amendment must be proposed by a Qualifying Member of the club and seconded by another Qualifying Member.  Such alterations shall be passed if supported by not less than two-thirds of those Full Voting Members present at the meeting, assuming that a quorum has been achieved.

10.          Finance

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

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.

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

The financial year will end on September 30th.

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

No monies of a non-operational nature should be spent without due authorisation by the Committee.

  1. Pavilion and Bar

Any Pavilion maintenance, refurbishment, improvements should be approved by Committee prior to any expenditure or liability being incurred.

The operations of the bar will be delegated by the Committee to the Bar Manager.

The bar will only open in accordance with the hours outlined in the Appendix.

No access to the bar will be permitted without approval of the Bar Manager, or, where not available, an elected Committee member.

Monies will be counted at the end of each session and the appropriate entry made in a receipts book, which will be available behind the bar for inspection.  

                            

12.       Property and Funds

The property and funds of the club cannot be used for the direct or indirect private benefit of members other than as reasonably allowed by the Rules and all surplus income or profits shall be reinvested in the club.

The club may also in connection with the sports purposes of the club:

  1. Sell and supply food, drink and related sports clothing and equipment.
  2. Pay for reasonable hospitality for visiting teams and guests.
  3. Indemnify the Committee and members acting properly in the course of the running of the club against any liability incurred in the proper running of the club (but only to the extent of its assets).

13        Discipline and Appeals

The Club operates a code of conduct for junior members, parents, coaches, adult members and guests. These will be displayed in the pavilion and circulated to membership. All complaints regarding behaviour in breach of these codes should be lodged in writing with the Secretary. 

All cricket issues will be dealt with under the rules and regulations of the Saracen's Hertfordshire Cricket League. Details of the Saracen's disciplinary Procedures can be found at: 

   https://www.hertsleague.co.uk/ documents/handbook/ disciplinaryregulations.pdf

Where the incident took place in a League game, Boxmoor's responsibility is limited to collecting evidence to submit to the League's Disciplinary Committee and then implementing the outcome. If the opposition doesn't report a Boxmoor player for breach of these guidelines, a report can still be made for the club to deal with internally. But the League process and rules will still apply. For incidents that occur in all other games, the Cricket sub-committee will take responsibility for investigating and deciding the appropriate outcome. The Cricket sub-committee will appoint a Disciplinary Group from within it’s members to hear the complaint within seven days of the complaint being lodged.

The Disciplinary Group must not contain the person raising the complaint, the subject of the complaint, or the immediate family members of those parties. The Cricket Subcommittee can appoint members of the Disciplinary Group from outside of the Cricket Subcommittee if needed to fulfil this requirement. The same membership requirements apply to the Appeals Committee.

Any member requested to attend this disciplinary Group shall be entitled to be accompanied by a friend or other representative and to call witnesses. 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 three days following the hearing. The Disciplinary Group will operate using the same rules, regulations and punishments as defined in the Saracen's Hertfordshire Cricket League. 

There shall be a right of appeal to the decision of this group against either the findings or sanction imposed or both following disciplinary actions being taken. The appeal must be lodged within fourteen days of the original decision. The main Committee will appoint an Appeals Committee within seven days of the Secretary receiving the appeal. The Appeals Committee of 3, shall not include members involved in the original decision but may include non-club members. 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.

For non-cricket breaches, the same procedure will apply, except that the Disciplinary Committee will be created from members of the Executive Committee.


 

14.          Dissolution

 

  1. If at any General Meeting of the club, a resolution be passed calling for the dissolution of the club, the Secretary shall immediately convene an Extraordinary General Meeting of the club to be held not less than one month thereafter to discuss and vote on the resolution.
  2. If at that Extraordinary Meeting, the resolution is carried by at least two-thirds of the Full Voting Membership present at the meeting, the Committee shall thereupon, or at such date as shall have been specified in the resolution, proceed to realise the assets of the club and discharge all debts and liabilities of the club.
  3. The Committee will then be responsible for the orderly winding up of the club’s affairs.
  4. After settling all liabilities of the club, the Committee shall dispose of the net assets remaining to one or more of the following:
  1. To another club with similar sports purposes which is a registered charity and/or
  2. To another club with similar sports purposes which is a registered Community Amateur Sports Club and/or
  3. To the sport’s governing body for use by them for related community sports.

 

 

15.          Declaration

Boxmoor Cricket Club hereby adopts and accepts this Constitution as a current operating guide regulating the actions of all members.


AGM dated 12th November 2021.

SIGNED (CLUB CHAIRMAN)

NAME  Matt Larkins                                                                          DATE 12/11/2021

SIGNED (CLUB SECRETARY)

NAME  Robert Booth                                                                        DATE 12/11/2021

 

 

Appendix

 

 

Licensing Hours

The pavilion’s licensed bar shall be open for the sale of intoxicating liquor from noon to  midnight as laid out in the licence.

Rules and Rates for Pavilion and Ground Hire.

All requests for hire have to be agreed by the Committee through the Bar Manager. The venue can only be hired by Members as defined in the Constitution, Section 4.

The Bar Manager, in conjunction with the Committee, will decide if there are any special conditions with hire e.g. deposits, timings, etc. If relevant, the organiser has to advise the Ground and Fixture Secretary to ensure the pitch is available.

Hire rates are available on request.