Affiliated to G.N.A.S., Southern Counties Regional Archery Society, Cambridgeshire Archery Association,
and Ely Outdoor Sports Association.
Club Constitution

The following Constitution was approved following the 2008 AGM:

1. Name: The name of the club is Ely Archers (hereinafter called "the Club").

 2. Address: The postal address of the Club is that of the current Secretary or of the current Chairman if the post of Secretary is vacant.

 3. Objective: The objective for which the club is established is:

                          "To promote and encourage the sport of archery".

 In furtherance of the above objective, the Club shall have the following powers:

 3.1.     To encourage and promote participation in the activities of the Club by individuals, clubs and other organisations concerned with the sport of archery.

 3.2.     To affiliate to the Cambridgeshire Archery Association and be represented on the Committee thereof.

 3.3.     To invest the monies of the Club not immediately required for its purposes in such investments, securities or property as may be thought   fit.

 3.4.     To do all other lawful things necessary to carry out the objective of the Club providing always that:

 3.4.1. In raising funds for its objective, the Club shall not undertake any permanent trading activities.

 3.4.2. The income and property of the Club shall be used only to promote the objective of the Club as described in this Constitution.

 4. Dissolution: If upon the winding up of the Club there remains after the payment of all debts and liabilities any funds or properties whatsoever, they shall be liquidated and distributed equally among the current paid-up members of the Club (pro-rata’d for concessions).

 5. Amendments: The Club Constitution may only be amended at a General Meeting of the Club.

Rules
 
1. Membership

1.1 Membership of the Club shall be open to all persons interested in advancing the objective of the Club and who are willing to abide by these Rules, subject only to practical size and safety limits dictated by the available facilities.

1.2 The Club shall provide for the following categories of membership:

1.2.1 Senior Member: any person of 18 years or older who has been accepted as a member of the Club and has paid to the Club the prescribed Club, County, Regional and National affiliation fees for the year.

1.2.2 Junior Member: any person of less than 18 years who has been accepted as a junior member of the Club and has paid to the Club the prescribed Club, County, Regional and National affiliation fees for the year.

1.2.3 Honorary Member: any person upon whom the Club has conferred this title in recognition of services to the club or to archery in general.
 
2. Duties and privileges of members

2.1 Every member shall be bound to further the objective of the Club, and shall observe these Rules and those of Cambridgeshire Archery Association, the Southern Counties Regional Society and GNAS.

2.2 All members shall be entitled to ready access to the general communications of the Club, to be present or represented at functions and events arranged by the Club and to receive such support and assistance as the Club is able to offer.

2.3 All members, including those who have paid affiliation fees at junior rates, shall be entitled to vote at Club General Meetings.

2.4 Membership of the Club will terminate if:

 2.4.1 a properly authorised form of resignation is received or

 2.4.2 membership fees remain unpaid 30 days after the due date or

 2.4.3 the individual ceases to qualify under these rules or

 2.4.4 membership is terminated under Rule 3

 2.5 No member whose affiliation fees are in arrears shall:

 2.5.1 be allowed to shoot or participate in any of the activities of the Club.

 2.5.2 vote at a meeting of the Club

 2.5.3 hold office in the Club

 2.5.4 requisition a Special General Meeting

2.6 When shooting, either indoors or out, all members will follow strictly, for safety and other reasons, the Rules of Shooting laid down from time to time by GNAS and the Club’s Health and Safety Rules. Members will also follow carefully any additional guidance given on the Club website, and arising out of any agreements for the use of our shooting facilities.

2.7 All members will use their best efforts to ensure the safety and security of the property and equipment of the Club and will play an appropriate part in the maintenance of the property and equipment.

2.8 Each junior member of the club who is below the age of 18 years must be accompanied by a parent or a properly appointed responsible guardian when shooting.

2.9 Junior members of the Club may shoot only when at least two adults are present, one of whom must be a competent senior archer, affiliated to GNAS.
 
3. Discipline

3.1 The Club Committee may at any meeting, by a two thirds vote of those present and entitled to vote, reprimand, suspend or expel any member who has violated these Rules or whose conduct is deemed detrimental to the best interests of the Club.

3.2 Before any such disciplinary action, the member shall be given at least 14 days notice in writing and shall be granted the opportunity to be heard by the Committee.

3.3 The decision of the Committee shall be communicated to the member in writing and the Committee shall not be required to explain its actions to any but those concerned. The Committee is however free, if it so decides, to publish its decision in any medium, including the journals of national or international archery bodies.

3.4 The member shall be allowed 28 days from the date of communication of the decision of the Committee in which to lodge an appeal against the decision, in writing, with the Secretary of the Club. The Committee shall not communicate its decision, other than to the member, until that period has expired or an appeal has been lodged, whichever is the sooner.

3.5 In the event of an appeal against the decision of the Committee, the Chairman of the County Committee shall be requested to appoint an Appeal Panel of three independent individuals. No member of the Club Committee may sit on this panel.

3.6 The Panel may hear such witnesses and consider such evidence as it shall think fit and its decision shall be binding both upon the appellant and the Club.
 
4. Applications for membership

An application for membership shall be made to the Secretary of the Club on the specified form and shall be accompanied by the necessary fees. The application form shall contain all the data needed to complete GNAS affiliation and membership record forms.
 
5. Dues

5.1 All Club dues shall be as determined by the Club Committee from time to time and approved by the members in General Meeting.

5.2 All subscriptions and affiliation payments shall become due annually on 1st April for the following year.

5.3 The Club Committee may, in its absolute discretion, waive, cancel or reduce payment of Club dues or other indebtedness of a member of the Club for any period.
 
6. The Club Committee

6.1 The affairs of the Club shall be supervised by the Club Committee which shall have such powers, duties and responsibilities as are laid down in these Rules and are not otherwise directed to be carried out by the members at a General Meeting.

6.2 The Club Committee shall consist of the following persons whose services shall be purely honorary:

6.2.1   Chairman
6.2.2   Secretary
6.2.3   Treasurer
6.2.4   Events Officer
6.2.5   Records Officer
6.2.6   Equipment Officer
6.2.7   Adult Archers representative
6.2.8   Junior Archers representative
6.2.9   Membership Secretary
6.2.10 Social Secretary

6.3 The Club Committee may decide from time to time to co-opt other persons to the Committee for particular purposes, but these persons shall not be entitled to vote at Committee meetings, nor shall their co-option persist beyond the next General Meeting without the approval of the members.
 
7. Committee Meetings

7.1 No business shall be transacted unless a quorum is present when the Committee Meeting proceeds to business. Except where otherwise provided in these Rules, a quorum shall be three members.

7.2 If the Club Chairman is not present within 15 minutes of the time set for the start of the Committee Meeting then those present shall appoint one of their number to chair the Meeting.

7.3 The Committee members shall meet together for the conduct of business, as they shall decide. Questions arising at any Committee Meeting shall be decided by a simple majority of votes. In the case of equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

7.4 The Committee members may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their body, but if the numbers are reduced at any time to less than four, it will be lawful for them to act only for the purpose of filling the vacancies in the Committee or of convening a General Meeting of the Club.

7.5 The Committee will cause proper minutes to be made of all its proceedings and of the proceedings of General Meetings of the Club and of any subcommittees set up for whatever purpose.

7.6 The minutes of any meeting, if approved at the next succeeding meeting, shall be conclusive proof without further evidence of the business conducted and the decisions made.

7.7 The Committee may at any time set up or dissolve standing or ad hoc subcommittees and delegate to such subcommittees such powers and responsibilities as it thinks fit. All acts and proceedings of such subcommittees must be minuted and reported to the Club Committee as soon as possible.
 
8. Elections

8.1 All elections are subject to Rule 2.5

8.2 All members of the Club Committee shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting of the Club. The retiring Committee members shall be eligible for re-election.

8.4 The period of office of Committee members shall commence at the termination of the General Meeting at which they are elected.

8.5 All members of the Club are entitled to make nominations for candidates to fill positions on the Committee. Nominations must be lodged with the Secretary of the Club not less than 14 days before the date of the General Meeting at which the election will take place. Nominations must show the name of the proposer(s) and must confirm that the candidate named is willing to fill the vacancy. Nominations will be taken from the floor of a General Meeting only in an emergency.

8.6 Any casual vacancy in the Committee may be filled by the Committee from among those eligible, but any person so appointed shall retire at the end of the next General Meeting.

8.7 A member of the Committee shall cease to hold office before the end of the elected term if:

8.7.1 By notice in writing, he or she resigns.

8.7.2 He or she ceases to meet the conditions of eligibility for membership of the Committee.

8.7.3 He or she is removed from office by a resolution of the Club members in General Meeting
 
9. General Meetings

9.1 The General Meeting of the Club shall be held once in every calendar year, within the month of October, as the Annual General Meeting.

9.2 All those entitled to receive the notices of the Club (Rule 13) will be given at least 21 days notice of any General Meeting, specifying the day, the hour and the place of the meeting and in the case of Special General Meetings, the specific nature of the business to be transacted. Proof of timely posting or emailing of such a notice shall be sufficient proof of notice and the accidental omission to give such notice or the non-receipt of such notice by an individual shall not invalidate the proceedings of any General Meeting.

9.3 All General Meetings of the Club other than the Annual General Meeting shall be called Special General Meetings.

9.4 Special General Meetings of the Club may be called by the Committee or by one or more written calls filed by the Secretary and endorsed by the Committee or by at least one quarter of the members of the Club. All requisitions for a Special General Meeting shall specify the purpose(s) for which the meeting is being called and only that business may be conducted at the Special General Meeting.
 
10. Proceedings at General Meetings

10.1 The ordinary business of the Annual General Meeting shall be:
10.1.1 To present the Notice of the Meeting
10.1.2 To receive the report of the Chairman and Treasurer.
10.1.3 To approve the Annual Accounts and Balance Sheets
10.1.4 To approve the Annual Report of the Committee
10.1.5 To appoint the Auditor for the following year
10.1.6 To fix club subscription levels for the following year
10.1.7 To elect the new Committee members.
10.2 Any other business to be conducted at the Annual General Meeting shall be called Special Business and will be the subject of specific detail in the agenda.

No other business will be conducted at the Annual General Meeting.

10.3 No business shall be transacted at a General Meeting unless a quorum is present when the General Meeting proceeds to business. Except as provided elsewhere, a quorum shall be 10 members or one quarter of the membership of the Club, whichever is less.

10.4 If at half an hour past the time set for the start of the General Meeting a quorum is not present, the General Meeting, if convened on a call from the members, shall be dissolved. In any other case it shall stand adjourned to such other time and place as the Chairman shall appoint and if at the adjourned General Meeting a quorum is not present at half an hour past the time set for the General Meeting, then those members present shall be a quorum.

10.5 The Chairman will take the chair at every General Meeting. If the Chairman is not present within 15 minutes after the appointed time then the members present will appoint one of their number to take the chair.

10.6 A resolution put to the vote shall be decided by the votes of those personally present and entitled to vote. In case of an equality of votes, the Chairman shall poll a second or casting vote.

10.7 All acts done in good faith at a General Meeting shall be valid, even if it is discovered after the General Meeting that there was some defect in the arrangement, which would, had it been discovered before the conclusion of the General Meeting, have modified the outcome.

11. Accounts

11.1 The Committee shall ensure that proper and sufficient books of account are kept in such a manner as to give a good and fair view of the state of the Club's affairs with regard to:

11.1.1 The assets and liabilities of the Club.

11.1.2 Income and expenditure and the matters giving rise to such income and expenditure.

11.1.3 All sales and purchases of goods and services by the Club.

11.2 The books of account shall be kept at the home of the current Treasurer or, if that position is unfilled, at the home of the current Secretary and shall be made available for examination at every meeting of the Club Committee.

11.3 Once at least in every year, the Club Committee shall present to members in a General Meeting, income and expenditure accounts for the period since the last preceding account together with a balance sheet made up at the same date.

11.4 The financial year of the Club shall be from April 1st to March 31st.
 
12. Audit

12.1 At the request of the majority of members the accounts of the Club shall be examined and the correctness of the income and expenditure accounts and the balance sheets ascertained by one or more auditors.

12.2 The auditor(s) shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting of the Club and shall not be a Committee member nor an immediate past Committee member.
 
13. Notices

13.1 Each member shall from time to time notify the Secretary of an address to be recorded as the postal address of the member and a valid email address for the purposes of contacting the member where possible.

13.2 A notice may be served by the Club on any member, either personally, or by mail in a prepaid letter addressed to the recorded address of that member or by email.
 
14. Tournaments

14.1 The Club shall hold annual outdoor and indoor tournaments and any other archery events that it requires. These meetings may be open or closed, or both simultaneously, but in the case of closed tournaments they shall be available only to members of the club who are entitled to shoot under the GNAS Rules of Shooting.
 
15. Teams

15.1 The Club may enter representational teams in any suitable events.

15.2 Club teams will be chosen in accordance with the procedures agreed by the Committee from time to time using mechanisms that are clearly visible to all members.

15.3 Club teams will be chosen only from Club members who are entitled to shoot for the Club under the GNAS Laws and Rules of Shooting.
 
16. Records

16.1 The Club shall maintain and publish records of the highest score shot in each branch of the sport of archery as defined in the GNAS Rules of Shooting, by any person, while that person was a member of the Club.

16.2 Scores achieved by members shall be forwarded to the Cambridgeshire Archery Association from time to time as necessary in accordance with the requirements of that body.
 
17. Alterations to the Rules

17.1 Additional Rules may be promulgated by the Club Committee from time to time in the interests of safety and security subject only to the requirement that these Rule changes shall be ratified by the members in General Meeting in due course.

17.2 The Rules of the Club may otherwise only be altered, amended, repealed or added to by a special resolution of the members in General Meeting.

17.3 No alterations shall be made to these Rules that would have the effect of putting them in conflict with the constitution of GNAS or of the Regional and County bodies to which the Club is affiliated.