Club Constitution
1 Definitions
1.1 “Club” – References to the Club shall henceforth mean: The organisation known as Juggling & Unicycling, Stockton-on-Tees.
1.2 “Committee” – References to the Committee shall henceforth mean: those elected and non elected persons regularly attending the Club meetings to discuss Club matters.
1.3 “Appointed Person” – References to the Appointed Person shall henceforth mean: the person appointed to act as the lead or person of responsibility for a given task.
2 Scope and Purpose
2.1 The Club’s Constitution generally sets out the structure, rules and running of the AGM and Committee meetings, referring to other ancillary policy and procedural documents as required. The purpose of the Constitution and its supporting documents is to ensure that proceedings at both Committee meetings and Club activities should at all times be fair and democratic and so that general members and Committee members are clear as to their roles, responsibilities and limitations and which rules and procedures to follow as and when required.
3 Mission Statement
3.1 To inspire, teach and promote unicycling, juggling and circus skills at all ages and levels of ability, providing opportunities for fun and creativity.
3.2 To enable the building of self-confidence, improved fitness and artistic potential.
3.3 To provide opportunities for volunteering and training in the development of a wider range of life skills.
3.4 To provide opportunities for the wider community to participate in unicycling, juggling and circus skills.
4 Club Identity
4.1 Juggling & Unicycling, Stockton-on-Tees (JUST) is a volunteer-led organisation operating as a Club that is open to all, presently based at Northfield School and Sports Centre (Campus Site), Marsh House Avenue, Billingham, TS23 2HB.
4.2 Outside contact may be made with the Club through the details provided in the Committee members’ section below and through www.justonline.org.uk or stocktonuni.juggle@gmail.com.
5 Membership
5.1 Adult membership of the Club is attained upon satisfactory completion of a registration form and the payment of the weekly subscription. Junior membership (under 18’s) of the Club is attained upon satisfactory completion of a registration form by a responsible adult and the payment of the weekly subscription.
5.2 Parents / responsible adults of junior members who do not themselves participate, may accrue the full rights of membership subject to satisfactory completion of a registration form.
5.3 All members agree to abide by the Club Rules.
5.4 Membership is open to all, subject to the availability of vacant places related to the current accommodation.
5.5 Membership of the Club Committee is as laid out in the arrangements for the AGM and subject to both adherence to the Club Rules and the Code of Conduct.
5.6 Membership ceases at the time where weekly subscriptions have not been paid or Club Rules / the Code of Conduct broken, where such misdemeanour is subsequently agreed by the Committee as effective. Membership is considered as suspended for the duration of any disciplinary procedure or the period of any other relevant considerations by the Committee. Individuals failing to pay weekly subscriptions amounting to more than one month or not attending the Club for a period of 6 consecutive months will be considered to have lapsed their membership unless otherwise agreed by the Committee.
5.7 Members of greater than one month duration may cast votes at the AGM.
6 Equal Opportunities and Inclusivity Policy
6.1 The Club shall strive to promote equal opportunities in all of its activities and practices and shall ensure that it does not discriminate on grounds of race, religious belief or non-belief, age, gender, nationality, political party, disability, appearance, social background, sexuality or other status thereby ensuring inclusivity for all.
7 The Committee and Rules for the Business of the Committee
7.1 Members of greater than one month duration may attend Committee meetings in a non-elected role capacity and may be invited by the elected Committee to vote on decisions to be made that are relevant to that member’s areas of expertise and interest. Non-adult members may also be invited to vote as above, at the discretion of the elected Committee.
7.2 Members may also put themselves forward for Committee posts after 1 year (unless nominated by the current Committee whereupon this may be sooner), subject to the conditions as laid out in paragraph 9.7. A maximum of 3 posts may be applied for at the AGM.
7.3 The Club Committee members shall each have equal status and voting rights, save the Appointed Person who shall hold a casting vote to be used at his / her discretion when consensus cannot otherwise be reached.
7.4 The Club Committee shall comprise the following posts:
o Membership Secretary
o Volunteer Co-ordinator
o Committee Secretary
o Workshop Co-ordinator
o Treasurer
o Health & Safety Co-ordinator
7.5 A quorum of at least five shall be required for decisions to be made at Committee meetings. Where meetings are not quorate, the Appointed Person shall elicit the votes of all other promptly available Committee members, as soon as is reasonably practicable, following the close of the meeting.
7.6 Posts are held for one year and are automatically resigned at the AGM in keeping with the rules of the AGM as provided. All posts carry an outline job description to ensure that roles, responsibilities and potential workloads are understood before applications are made and that the limits of jurisdiction of each post are clear.
8 Procedure for the resolution of complaints, disputes, misconduct and disciplinary matters
8.1 For issues concerning child protection refer to the JUST Child Protection Policy.
8.2 A number of issues may occur, for example:
o A formal complaint is made to a Committee member.
o A dispute between two or more people.
o An individual’s behaviour goes against the Club Rules or Code of Conduct.
o An individual’s actions outside the Club may compromise the reputation of the Club or their authority or effectiveness within the Club.
8.3 Where a simple concern comes to the attention of a Committee member this procedure shall not be followed until a time when a formal complaint has been raised.
8.4 A sub-Committee shall be appointed (as found in the Code of Conduct) to deal with a dispute, a disciplinary matter or conduct not in keeping with Club Rules or The Code of Conduct and other sensitive matters as agreed.
8.5 All involved parties are to be made aware of the details of the matter as soon as possible and accounts / witness statements shall be gathered.
8.6 Each party shall have the opportunity to state their case to the sub-Committee in a neutral and un-pressured location / environment by mutual agreement.
8.7 In the case of a dispute, the sub-Committee shall make decisions about how to resolve the dispute and communicate these to all parties, reporting back to the full Committee in due course.
8.8 In the case of misconduct, such person shall be given a verbal warning and asked to read the Code of Conduct or Club Rules again and to agree that they will abide by the guidance within. Subsequently, non-improvement shall incur a written warning and a final opportunity to recommit to the Code of Conduct or Club Rules. Finally, they shall be asked to step down from their Committee position if a Committee member, or to leave the Club if an ordinary member or both.
8.9 At all stages of procedure, persons shall be allowed a single right of appeal to have their case heard again or by another sub-Committee.
9 System for voting on decisions at or associated with, Committee meetings
9.1 Decisions should only be taken on significant matters if they have been previously advertised in the meeting agenda. In the event that the Committee decides a decision should be made that may have a significant impact on the Club and / or its members (financial, functional, personal, structural or constitutional etc) a vote should be sought by the Appointed Person.
9.2 The Appointed Person must state clearly, to all Committee members present, the particulars of the item being voted upon so that no-one is in any doubt.
9.3 Where a simple “for” and “against” vote does not apply the Appointed Person must state clearly the available options.
9.4 A vote is then taken by the showing of hands in the following order:
o Those for
o Those against
o Those abstaining
9.5 Each Committee member is allowed one vote only per matter.
9.6 The Appointed Person should withhold his / her vote and in the case of a tie the Appointed Person shall have the deciding vote.
10 Structure of and arrangements for the AGM
10.1 The AGM is to be held at a time and place that is deemed accessible to the majority of members.
10.2 The AGM should be held at the same time each year within 1 month.
10.3 The date and time of the AGM and all ‘elected’ Committee positions (complete with title and descriptions) are to be advertised no later than 28 days prior to the AGM and shall be open to all members having more than one year’s membership (unless nominated by agreement of the Committee).
10.4 Accounts are to be audited prior to the AGM.
10.5 Persons wishing to stand for an ‘elected’ Committee position must confirm this in writing* to the current Committee no later than 14 days prior to the AGM. (An ‘elected’ position is one that carries a title and responsibilities as outlined in the JUST Committee Roles).
10.6 * Emails are acceptable as written confirmation.
10.7 Applicants must also agree to a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check (which will be at the expense of the Club and completed after the AGM) and the result of this must be acceptable to the Committee (refer to section 7.7 of the JUST Child Protection Policy).
10.8 Election of Committee positions shall be by a show of hands.
10.9 Each attending member has one vote per Committee position only.
10.10 Members may not vote for themselves.
10.11 Where only one person is standing for a position, members will have the option to:
o Vote in favour
o Abstain from voting
10.12 Where multiple persons are standing for a position, members will have the option to:
o Vote in favour of person A
o Vote in favour of person B (or C etc)
o Abstain from voting
10.13 In the event of a tie the Appointed Person shall have the deciding vote.
10.14 While it is preferred that Committee members have single distinct roles, up to two Committee positions may be held (where for example volunteer numbers are insufficient to fill all posts). However the Committee, meeting for the first time following the AGM, shall have the power of veto where one of its membership holds more than one post and any conflict of interest or unsafe position or excessive workload is envisaged and brought to attention. Where adjustments may be required, the Committee may negotiate with incumbents and vote upon these without the need to refer to the full Club membership again, however no Committee member may apply for or hold more than one of the following posts: Committee Secretary or Treasurer.
10.15 The AGM should be conducted as per the following structure:
o An opening statement by the Appointed Person.
o Introduction of and thanks to the outgoing Committee members and other contributors.
o The acceptance (or otherwise) of the minutes from the previous AGM.
o A review of the accounts by the current Treasurer.
o Voting upon the new elected Committee members.
o Questions and matters arising (to be added to the agenda of the opening new Committee meeting as required).
o A closing statement by the Appointed Person.
10.16 Minutes shall be taken.
11 Authority for expenditure and expense claiming
11.1 Elected Committee members have authority for expenditure up to and including £25 per month, in keeping with the areas included in the job description for that post, without referral to the Committee.
11.2 Where urgent expenditure up to £250 is required, the Treasurer, Committee Secretary and one other Committee member may jointly agree such expenditure between themselves subject to reporting the details to the next Committee meeting.
11.3 Where urgent expenditure over the value of £250 is required a sub-Committee shall be formed as per guidelines in section 3 of the JUST Club Rules and Code of Conduct.
11.4 Non urgent expenditure exceeding £250 requires full Committee approval.
11.5 Elected Committee members may only claim expenses (or grant expenses to their volunteer assistants) on the production of official receipts and / or signed equivalents where printed receipts are not available.
12 Changes to the Constitution
12.1 The Committee will consider applications for changes to the constitution at any time however, such changes must receive approval by over 50% of the full Committee membership and must be circulated to the entire Committee membership at least 14 days prior to the meeting in which they are to be discussed.
13 Dissolution
13.1 If, at a general Committee meeting, a resolution is made by any Committee member for the dissolution of the Club, then an extraordinary general meeting shall be called within the following 28 days to vote on such a resolution. This resolution must be decided by at least 75% of the full Committee membership.
13.2 If the Club is to be dissolved, a statement of all assets, debts and liabilities will be provided within the following 28 days for settlement as soon as possible. Any remaining assets are to be distributed to a charity as decided by the Committee.
14 Supporting Policies and Procedures
14.1 JUST Club Rules and Code of Conduct.
14.2 JUST Child Protection Policy.
14.3 JUST Health and Safety Policy and Procedures.
14.4 JUST Committee Roles
15 Declaration
This document is signed and dated as a true representation of the JUST Club Constitution as agreed by the members of the Club Committee and as such has been signed and witnessed by:
Committee Secretary ………………………………………………………………………………….…………………… (Print name & sign)
Treasurer……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………… (Print name & sign)
Additional post-holder …………………………………………………………………….……………………… (Print name, title & sign)
Date ………………..…