Crimson Knights London Basketball Club
Constitution
1.0 DEFINITION
1.1 The name of the club shall be the Crimson Knights London Basketball Club, herein referred to as the ‘Club’.
2.0 AIMS
2.1 The aims of the Club are to:
2.1.1 Encourage, promote, develop and provide an environment of fair play and enjoyment.
2.1.2 To promote the playing of the game from Club to International level.
2.1.3 Develop Players, Coaches, Team Managers, Table Officials and Referees.
2.1.4 Committed to highest standards of sporting behaviour for Players, Coaches, Team Managers, Parents and Supporters.
2.1.5 To administer the funds of the Club and to ensure that Annual Income is sufficient to meet Annual Operating Costs.
2.1.6 To maintain the rules and regulations of the Club. These rules should be in accordance with Crimson Knights London Basketball Board and Basketball England (BE) and in line with FIBA regulations.
2.1.7 Ensure all our members implement the Crimson Knights Codes of Ethics and implement good practice for Children’s Sport.
It is very important that RESPECT is maintained at all times, between the Management Committee, Coaches, Team Managers, Players and Parents.
3. MEMBERSHIP
3.1 Membership of the Club shall be open to persons who wish to join in the activities of the Club subject to ratification of the Management Committee of the Club.
3.2 Membership is obtained by completing an application form and paying the annual membership fee as levied by the Management Committee of the Club.
3.3 In accepting membership a Member, where applicable their Parent/ Guardian(s), agree to support the activities of the Club through volunteerism, abide by the Constitution of the Club and the ruling of the Management Committee of the Club.
3.4 Membership shall be refused to persons who previously had membership revoked or members currently under suspension as set down in Section 3.8 of this constitution.
3.5 Members are defined as below:
- Junior Playing Member (17 years and under). Entrance fee and annual subscription is included in Club fees. A Junior Playing Member has no voting rights.
- Senior Playing Member (18 years and over). Entrance fee and annual subscription is included in Club fees. A Senior Playing Member has voting rights.
- Life Member. A Life Member is exempt from paying the entrance fee but pays annual subscription and has voting rights.
- Non Playing Member which consists of Coaches and Assistant Coaches, and Parent/s and/or Guardian/s of Junior Players, Committee and Coordinators. A Non Playing Member is exempt from paying an entrance fee and annual subscription. They only have voting rights if they have attained the age of 18 years and they are Parent/s and/or Guardian/s of financial Junior Playing Members.
- Patron Members. A person may apply for a Patron Membership if they do not fit any other category. A Patron Member has voting rights if he or she has paid the entrance fee and annual subscription and has attained the age of 18 years.
3.6 Membership Fees
3.6.1 A fee to be decided by the Management Committee by 31st December will be paid by all junior Players (under 18yrs) to become a Member of the Club.
3.6.2 A fee to be decided by the Management Committee by 31st December will be paid by all Senior Players (over 18yrs) to become a Member of the Club.
3.6.3 The deadline for payment of Membership fees or half fees is the 31st October for that Playing Season. Any payment made after this date will be brought forward for the next Playing Season and the Player will not be permitted to become a full member (Playing or Non Playing) of the Club until the next Playing Season. (Refer to Club Rules and Regulation)
3.7 Voting Rights
3.7.1 All Senior Players (over 18yrs) who have paid their membership fees and are registered to play on a Club team will have a vote at an EGM or AGM.
3.7.2 All those who have a structural role (Coaches, Team Managers, Non Playing/Non Paying Members) within the Club will have a vote at the AGM.
3.7.3 Parents/ Guardians of children under the age of 18 will have a right to vote at the AGM or EGM. One vote will be bestowed on the first child. A maximum of two votes per Family will be permitted at an AGM or EGM. This does not include players over the age of 18 who are recognized as separate to their family in terms of voting rights.
3.7.4 All Members, where applicable, must have paid their membership before 31st October in order to execute their voting rights.
3.8 Termination of Membership
3.8.1 If one or more of the conditions below are met, membership will be terminated:
(a) The Member concerned gives written notice of resignation to the Management Committee;
(b) The Member is two months in arrears in paying the relevant Membership fee (but in such cases the member may be reinstated on payment of the due amount) and the Management Committee shall determine to terminate the membership of the Club.
(c) The Member concerned is removed from the membership by a resolution of the Management Committee. The Management Committee are not bound to give any reason (but only after notifying the member in writing and considering the matter in the light of any representation written or otherwise which the member concerned puts forward after receiving notice, and which representation shall be made within 14 days of receipt of such notice).
3.9 Dismissal of a Member
3.9.1 Any Member found to be placing the Club in disrepute or disregarding the Constitution will be asked to appear before an EGM of the Club.
3.9.2 If the accusations are proven then the Management Committee, following a vote at the EGM, has the right to revoke the membership of the person involved. 3.9.3 At the said EGM the Management Committee can decided to hand out a fine of up to €1,000 or suspension of any length.
3.9.4 In the event of any Member being reported to the Club for an alleged breach of the Rules and/or Constitution, or misconduct which is alleged to have brought the game into disrepute, the Management Committee shall select three persons from the Management Committee as a Disciplinary Sub Committee, not including any person who has had a prior involvement in the matter, to investigate and adjudicate.
3.9.5 If after fully investigating the alleged breach the allegation is proven, the Disciplinary Sub Committee shall have the authority to expel or suspend the offending member, or to deal with the matter in a manner that is deemed fit.
3.9.6 Any Member found guilty by the Disciplinary Sub Committee shall have the right to appeal.
3.10 Appeals
3.10.1 Any Member wishing to appeal shall do so in writing to the Secretary. The Secretary must receive the appeal within seven days of the notice of the original decision shall then convene an Appeals Committee.
3.10.2 The Appeals Committee shall consist of three persons, none of whom can have a prior involvement in the matter being appealed. They must meet within fourteen days of the date of the receipt of the notice of the appeal.
3.10.3 The letter of appeal shall state the reason for the appeal and shall be supported by an appeal fee of €100. The Member appealing shall have the right to be accompanied at the appeal hearing by a person or persons of their choice but all names and details of such person must be included in the letter of appeal. If the appeal is unsuccessful the €100 shall be forfeited to the funds of the Club.
3.10.4 All relevant parties shall be notified of the decision of the Appeals Committee in writing by the Secretary within seven days of the hearing. The Member appealing shall have the right to appeal to BE on any decision made by Appeals Committee but must be lodged in writing accompanied with BE fee and must notify the Club Secretary within seven days of the notification of the appeals decision. The decision of BE shall be final.
4.0 MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
4.1 The administration of the Club shall be the Responsibility of the Management Committee.
4.2 The voting Members of the Management Committee shall consist of not less than 4 Members (Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations Officer) and not more than 6 Members (Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations Officer, Child Protection Officer and Resource Development Officer).
4.3 From time to time the Management Committee may appoint Non-voting Members to the Management Committee to help in the running of the Club.
4.4 An Management Committee will be elected each year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
4.5 In the event Management Committee roles remain unfilled after the AGM, the outgoing Management Committee reserve the right, without recourse to the Members, to co-opt Members to fill these roles based on a simple majority vote with the Chairperson having the casting vote.
4.6 The Management Committee shall meet at least once every four weeks during the Playing Season (September- April) and once every six weeks in the Off Season (May-December). A Meeting Schedule for the forthcoming year will be agreed at the first Management Committee meeting after the AGM.
4.7 Any Member of the Management Committee absent from three consecutive meetings without an apology formally recorded in the Minutes or a confirmation of leave of absence will forfeit their position on the Management Committee.
4.8 Any Management Committee member who wishes to resign their position shall do so in writing by letter addressed to the Secretary.
4.9 All Management Committee reports (including Financial and Sub Committee Reports) should be sent to the Management Committee one week in advance of the scheduled Meeting. 4.10 A quorum is defined as three voting Management Committee Members.
4.11 If a quorum is not present within half an hour of the convened meeting time, the meeting will be deferred for one calendar week.
4.12 Minutes (hard or soft copy) of all resolutions and proceedings shall be circulated one (1) week after the Management Committee meeting. A soft copy of all Minutes will be kept by the Secretary.
5.0 POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
5.1 The function of the Management Committee shall include, but shall not be limited to:
5.1.1 Defining policy and development and ensuring they are carried out.
5.1.2 Making decisions on issues that arise guided by the rules and regulations of the Club.
5.1.3 Appointing members to and removing members from Sub Committees as provided for in the Constitution or proposed from time to time.
5.1.4 Keeping the financial position of the Club under constant review, approving and monitoring budgets.
5.1.5 Appointing or nominating Members to represent the Club at DLBB meetings. Appointing such Disciplinary and Appeals Committees as required. Appointment of Sub Committees as deemed necessary.
5.2 Roles & Responsibilities
5.2.1 Chairperson
The Chairperson will represent the Club in the public domain. All correspondence on the Clubs behalf must be done with the approval of the Chairperson and a quorum of the Management Committee. The Chairperson is responsible for the management of the workings of the Management Committee between meetings.
The Chairperson will chair meetings of the Management Committee; lead on the Strategic Development of the Club; where appropriate, be involved in co-ordinating Club activities and present in conjunction with the Secretary and Treasurer the Annual Report & Accounts at the AGM.
5.2.2 Secretary
The Secretary will be the first point of contact for the Club and will conduct all correspondence for and on behalf of the Club with DLBB, BE and any other bodies governing basketball. The Secretary will complete Club registrations, co-ordinating the attendance at the annual fixtures meeting and ensure fixture fulfilment updating Members.
The Secretary is responsible for the organisation and efficient running of the basketball activities with the assistance of the Management Committee. The Secretary will obtain agreement on, prepare and distribute agendas for all Management Committee meetings, AGM and/or EGM in addition to taking the minutes at said meetings. The Secretary may from time to time use the Secretary from a Sub Committee to assist in performing their duties; this will be done with the agreement of the Management Committee.
5.2.3 Treasurer
The Treasurer will maintain a record of all income and expenditure of the Club, prepare grant applications and ensure all expenditure is in accordance with Club objectives. The Management Committee are responsible for the preparation of the Annual Budget during the Off Season. The Treasurer is required to validate said Budget prior to Management Committee approval.
The Treasurer will provide a monthly financial summary report to the Management Committee one (1) week ahead of each Management Committee meeting and prepare end of year accounts to be presented to the AGM to include:
(a) Income and Expenditure account
(b) Copy of end of year Bank Statement (reconciled)
(c) Bank/Cash Reconciliation Statement if necessary.
All monies spent which relate to the Club, need to have prior approval of the Treasurer who will have to refer the matter to the Chairperson/Secretary should an Management Committee meeting not be taking place. If this approval is not granted any Member who has spent money without prior authorisation will have to bear the loss themselves.
5.2.4 Public Relations Officer The Public Relations Officer (PRO) will be responsible for development and implementation of the Clubs Communications Strategy and for all publicity relating to the Club through the various different communication mediums to promote the benefits of the Club and the achievements of its Members at Club, School/ College, County and International levels. The PRO is responsible for liaising with the media, controlling the content presented through Social Media, maintaining the Clubs website content to ensure it is current and relevant. In addition the PRO is responsible for the promotion of all Club events/ activities.
5.2.5 Child Protection Officer The Child Protection Officer is responsible being familiar with current Child Protection Legislation; ensuring that the Club is implementing BE’s Child Welfare and Protection in Sport Strategy; ensuring that ALL Members are aware of and understand the Clubs Child
Protection Procedures; ensure that Code of Ethics for Players, Coaches, Volunteers and Parents are complied with; establish and maintain the Clubs complaints procedures.
5.2.6 Resource Development Officer
The Resource Development Officer will develop and implement a fund raising strategy for the Club and will set goals to deliver on the fundraising targets. They will seek to maintain and strengthen the links with existing sponsors and funding partners and will prepare targeted fund raising proposals for perspective fund raising opportunities to seek to attract funding to the Club, including applications for grants.
The Resource Development Officer will ensure an alignment in Fundraising Capability across the various Teams in the Juvenile and Senior Sections. In addition, the Resource Development Officer will oversee events and campaigns that strengthen the Clubs brand exposure.
6.0 SUB COMMITTEES.
6.1 The Management Committee have the sole right to establish Sub Committees as they see fit, defining their duties however retaining control of all matters they consider to be of importance to the interests of the Club. A Management Committee member will be appointed Chair to each of the Sub Committees in order to ensure strong leadership and a Club focus.
6.2 The Management Committee will decide what Sub Committees will be required for the upcoming Season at the AGM. Sub Committee roles will be filled at the AGM. All Sub Committee members shall take up office the day after the AGM.
6.3 Sub Committees vacancies will be filled by co-opting Members where the need arises. This will be done at the discretion of the Management Committee.
6.4 All Sub Committees will be chaired by a member of the Management Committee and will consist of a least three (3) but not exceeding eight (8) Members, excluding the Chair. This will ensure strong leadership and a Club focus.
7.0 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
7.1 The AGM will be held after the end of the season and not later than the 31st May.
7.2 No person is entitled to vote in more than one capacity.
7.3 The quorum for an AGM shall be a minimum of 12 Members and a minimum of 3 sitting Management Committee members.
7.4 The following business shall be conducted at the AGM:
- Apologises
- Approve the minutes of the previous year’s AGM
- Reports from the Chairperson and Secretary
- Report from the Treasurer and approve the Annual accounts
- Receive any sub-committee reports as applicable Proposals for amendments to the Constitution of the Board Motions and Recommendations from the Members. (‘Motions’ are items that make amendments to the Clubs Constitution and ‘Recommendations’ are items that will affect the day-to-day operation of the Club.)
- Election of Management Committee, Sub Committees and Coaches for coming Season.
7.5 The Chairperson, or in their absence the Secretary, shall Chair the AGM. Each Member in attendance shall have one vote and all resolutions are only passed if there is a 2/3 majority of those present and are entitled to vote. In the event of a tied vote, the Chair shall have the casting vote.
7.6 The Secretary shall take the minutes of the General Meeting.
7.7 Twenty one days’ notice shall be given to all Members in advance of the AGM confirming the date, time and venue.
7.8 All nominations for the election of members to the Management Committee shall be made in writing by a Proposer (Member) to the Secretary fourteen (14) days before the AGM.
7.9 Notice of any resolution to be proposed at the AGM shall be given in writing to the Secretary not less than fourteen days before the General Meeting and must be from a voting member of the Club.
7.10 The Secretary shall send to each member, a copy of the resolutions to be proposed at least seven days before the meeting. The agenda outlining proposals, amendments and nominations to be posted on the Club website.
7.11 In the event of an election for any position on the Management Committee, the vote shall be taken by way of a secret ballot. Should there be more than two nominees the candidate with the lowest number of votes shall be eliminated until the successful candidate received more than 50% of the vote cast. Only voting Members shall have the right to propose or second motions or have a right to vote or to be eligible for election to the Management Committee.
7.12 All changes in the Constitution of the Board and all resolutions passed at an AGM or EGM shall come into force immediately unless the meeting shall decide otherwise.
7.13 The new Management Committee shall be elected The outgoing Management Committee must oversee the work of the incoming Management Committee for a transition period of 6 weeks. Sub Committees will be defined and Members appointed at the AGM.
8.0 EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
8.1 In the event an EGM is deemed necessary by either the Management Committee or through a written request from the Club Membership to the Management Committee, 14 – 21 days’ notice of this meeting will be given to the Members along with an Agenda.
8.2 If an EGM is requested by the Club Members, a majority of 10% of the Club Members will be required to attend. No business shall be transacted at an EGM other than that which is specified in the notice calling for the meeting circulated in advance. Voting shall be as per AGM.
9. FINANCE
9.1 All cheques drawn against Club funds must be signed by at least two signatories (Chairperson, Secretary or Public Relations Officer), one of whom must be the Treasurer.
9.2 All matters of finance shall be left to the discretion of the Management Committee.
9.3 The Management Committee, for the time being, shall for all intents and purposes be the legal owners of all trophies, monies and property of the Club.
9.4 All Club monies will be banked in an account held in the name of the Club, in which all
monies received shall be lodged within ten working days of receiving same and from which all payments shall be made by cheque or electronic payment when convenient.
9.5 The Club Treasurer is required to retain all financial records for up to three years after the completion of all transactions to which they relate.
9.6 The financial year to begin on the 1st June and to end on the 31st May of the following year. Any monies owed/due to the club to be shown in the accounts and uncashed cheques to be shown. Any monies received/paid after 1 month of the end of year accounts shall be deemed to be included in the following years accounts unless prior notification given.
9.7 All fundraising and sponsorship undertaken on behalf of the Club needs to be approved prior to seeking it by the Management Committee. Such opportunities should be presented through the Funding Officer.
10. AMENDMENTS TO THIS CONSTITUTION
10.1 Any article in this Constitution can be amended or deleted by a simple majority at the AGM. These amendments shall be proposed to the Secretary at least two weeks before the AGM.
11. GENERAL ARTICLES
11.1 In case of any matter which may arise and is not covered by the existing Constitution, the Management Committee shall have the power to decide on the matter and deal with it as they see fit.