Constitution

1. Name:
   1. The Club shall be known as the Clevedon and District Freshwater Angling Club (“the club”).
2. Object:
   1. The object of the club is to provide facilities for and promote participation of the whole community in the sport of angling.
   2. To ensure both moral and legal duty of care to all members of the club.
   3. Provide all its services in a way that is fair to everyone.
3. Membership:
   1. Membership of the Club shall be open to all persons who complete a permit application and pay the current annual subscription, irrespective of ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or beliefs; or of age, sex or disability except as a necessary consequence of the requirements of angling as a particular sport. Completion of the permit application constitutes an agreement to abide by the Constitution, Codes of Practice and Rules that the Club has adopted.
      1. A Junior Member is recognised as being under the age of 17 years on application.
      2. A Young Person is recognised as being under the age of 18 years (Children”s Act 1989, or as amended from time to time).
      3. The Annual General Meeting may agree by majority vote to elect a Life Member in appreciation of services to the Club beyond normal expectation and shall issue said member with a complimentary membership card/fishing permit each year for life.
      4. The Annual General Meeting may agree by majority vote to elect an Honorary Member for a period specified at the Annual General Meeting in appreciation for service to the Club and shall issue said member with a complimentary membership card/ fishing permit for the period of his honorary membership.
   2. The Club may refuse membership or expel from membership only for good and sufficient cause, such as conduct or character likely to bring the Club or sport into disrepute. Appeal against such a decision may be made to the Club”s members in writing to the Honorary Secretary and decided by a majority vote.
   3. The Management Committee of the Club may refuse membership or expel from membership only for good and sufficient cause, such as conduct or character likely to bring the Club or sport into disrepute. Appeal against such a decision may be made to the Club”s members in writing to the Honorary Secretary and decided by a majority vote.
   4. All complaints concerning members must be in writing and signed by the complainant(s) and submitted to the Honorary Secretary for submission to the Management Committee.
   5. Any member of the Club shall have the right to represent him or her self or be represented at a Management Committee meeting provided that at least one weeks advance notice of the wish to make such representations is given to the Honorary Secretary. The Chair retains the right to exclude any such member from the meeting or any part thereof in order to discuss confidential matters not pertaining to the member, or to discuss in private a decision of the Management Committee affecting the member. He/ Her may be present to hear any decision of the Management Committee and such decision should be confirmed in writing.
   6. The voting rights of members shall be dependent upon their having paid the annual subscription, which shall be set annually and agreed by the Management Committee.
   7. Any incident or accident occurring on Club waters or during any Club event must be immediately reported to the Secretary giving a full account of the incident or accident.
4. Management:
   1. The Club shall be managed by a Management Committee elected by its members in Annual General Meeting. All members of the Management Committee shall be elected for a period of twelve months but shall be eligible for re-election at the following Annual General Meeting.
   2. The Management Committee shall have the power to co-opt members to fill vacancies arising during any period between Annual General Meeting and any members so co-opted shall serve until the next Annual General Meeting when they shall be eligible for election.
   3. The Management Committee shall consist of a maximum of sixteen members who following election shall elect from amongst themselves the following officers:
      1. Chair Person
      2. Vice Chair Person
      3. Honorary Secretary / Publicity Officer
      4. Honorary Treasurer
      5. Match Secretary
      6. Head Water Keeper
   4. Membership of the Management Committee shall be limited to members of two years consecutive standing. Owners and representatives of Angling Tackle and Bait Suppliers, Private Fisheries and Officials of other Angling Clubs or Associations or Match Groups will not be eligible to serve on the Management Committee of the Club not withstanding two years consecutive membership.
5. Powers and Duties of the Management Committee:
   1. The Management Committee shall have the power to take all actions necessary for the efficient running of the Club to achieve the aims of the Club. The Committee shall have the power to appoint sub-committees of it self and where necessary the right to co-opt onto these committees additional members, and that such additional members shall not be entitled to vote on any sub-committee decision.
   2. The Management Committee shall meet monthly or on such dates, as it shall agree. The Chair may arrange an Extraordinary Meeting as deemed necessary. All Management Committee meetings shall be open to fully paid up members of the Club, although there may at the discretion of the Chair be closed business as the last items of the agenda.
   3. Five members of the Management Committee excluding the Chair shall be deemed to form a quorum.
   4. Each member of the Management Committee shall have a single vote with the exception of the Chair or person acting as Chair, who, in the event of a tie, shall cast a vote to maintain the status quo.
   5. The Management Committee shall have the power to make bye-laws for regulating the conduct and affairs of the Club provided the same are not inconsistent with the Constitution. Such bye-laws when made shall be brought to the attention of members in whatever way the Management Committee deems to be most effective in the circumstances.
   6. The Management Committee shall have the power to alter this constitution but no such alteration shall take effect until the same has been confirmed at the Annual General Meeting or at any Special General Meeting convened for the purpose.
6. Assets:
   1. There shall be no less than two or more than three Trustees who shall be chosen by the Management Committee and ratified at the next Annual General Meeting.
      1. The Trustee shall hold office until death or resignation or until removed from office by a resolution of the Management Committee which shall be ratified at the next Annual General Meeting.
   2. The Assets of the Club including real or leasehold property shall be held on trust by the Trustees of the Club for the benefit of the membership of the time being of the Club and not for their own individual benefit and be controlled by them as the Management Committee from time to time shall direct.
   3. The Trustees shall be indemnified out of the assets of the Club against any risk in expense incurred by the pursuance of the office and shall be so insured.
   4. Upon dissolution of the Club the assets shall be applied in discharge of the expenses of the dissolution and of all debts due by the Club to its creditors. To the extent that the assets are insufficient to meet those debts creditors who would in the case of the winding up of a company registered under the Companies Act 1985 (as amended from time to time) be preferential creditors shall be paid first followed by ordinary creditors and loans by members. In the event of an insufficiency of assets to pay any class of creditor in full such creditors shall be paid rateably in the proportion which their debt bears to the totality of the debts of the same class.
   5. Any surplus of assets remaining after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall not be paid to or distributed amongst the members of the Club, but shall be given or transferred to The Children”s Hospice South West – Registered Charity 1003314.
7. Powers and Duties of Officers:
   1. The Chair shall preside over all meetings whether of the Management Committee or of the Club. In the absence of the Chair the Vice Chair shall preside. If neither are present a Chair shall be elected by the meeting for that meeting and he/she shall have a casting or additional vote in the event of an equality of votes.
   2. The Vice Chair shall be available and able to carry out the position of the Chair in his or her absence.
   3. Honorary Treasurer:
      1. The Honorary Treasurer shall keep accurate financial records and prepare the annual financial statement for each Annual General Meeting. At every Management Committee Meeting he/she shall be in a position to advise the Management Committee of the current financial situation.
      2. The Treasurer shall ensure that the funds of the Club are invested as approved by the Committee and no financial liability shall be incurred. The income and property of the Club shall be applied solely towards promoting the Club”s objects as set forth in this constitution and no portion thereof shall be paid or transferred, directly or indirectly, to Members of the Club. He/She shall maintain the Clubs Asset Register.
      3. No payments should be made except under special or general authorisation of the committee except between Management Committee meetings when the Honorary Treasurer shall with the permission of the Chair have authority to spend without prior approval of the Committee such sum as shall have been decided at the previous Annual General Meeting. The spending is to be ratified at the Management Committee meeting immediately following its expenditure.
      4. Cheques written on behalf of the Club shall have two signatories from the Chair or Honorary Treasurer.
      5. On retiring from office he/she shall hand to the successor or President all books being audited, papers and monies belonging to the club.
   4. Honorary Secretary:
      1. He/She shall conduct all correspondence and keep all minutes of meetings books and other documents as directed by the Management Committee. Minutes of meetings are to be distributed to individual members of the Management Committee at least one week prior to the next meeting.
      2. He/She may receive subscriptions to pass on to the Honorary Treasurer.
      3. On retirement from office he/she shall hand over to his successor or to the President all books and papers appertaining to his office.
   5. Match Secretary:
      1. The Match Secretary shall be responsible for presenting to the Management Committee a proposed Match Calendar. He/She shall be responsible to the Management Committee for the efficient organisation and running of all fixtures and events as agreed by the Management Committee. In addition he/she shall be responsible for the safe keeping of all monies accrued during the course of his or her duties and maintain accurate accounts of income and expenditure for presentation to the Honorary Treasurer.
   6. Head Water Keeper:
      1. The Head Water Keeper shall be responsible for the policing of waters owned, leased or managed by the Club and report to the Management Committee any breaches of regulations and rules pertaining to those waters for a disciplinary decision.
8. Financial Year:
   1. The Financial Year of the Club shall be from 1st April to the 31st March in each year the Club membership year shall be deemed to be from the 1st April in one year to 31st of March in the next year.
9. Meetings:
   1. An Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held not later than 1st May in each year to transact the following business:
      1. To receive and, if approved, to adopt a statement of the Club”s accounts to the end of the preceding financial year.
      2. To consider and, if approved, sanction any duly made alteration of the Constitution.
      3. To appoint the Officers and other members of the Management Committee as referred to in clause 4.3.
      4. To ratify the Trustees as referred to in clause 6.1.
      5. To set the maximum sum referred to in clause 7.3.3.
      6. To appoint an Auditor or Auditors.
      7. To deal with any special matter which the Committee desires to bring before the members and to receive suggestions from the members for consideration by the Committee.
   2. The Honorary President shall chair the Annual General Meeting until the new Management Committee has been elected and Chairman approved. The Honorary President shall be elected by the Management Committee and remain in post until such time he/she resigns or is replaced by the Management Committee.
   3. Notice convening the Annual General Meeting shall be sent to the members not less than 14 days before the date of the meeting and shall specify the matters to be dealt with.
   4. Any items for the Agenda for the Annual General Meeting must be submitted in writing to the Honorary Secretary at least one month prior to the date of the meeting.
   5. With the exception of a proposal to amend the Constitution where a majority of two thirds of the votes cast must be in favour of the proposal, a simple majority shall be sufficient to pass any proposal. In the event of an equality of votes the Chair shall cast a vote to maintain the status quo.
   6. A Special General Meeting may be convened at any time by the Management Committee and shall be convened within 6 weeks from the receipt of a requisition in writing signed by not less than 12 members (or if the number of members for the time being is less than twelve, one third of the membership at the time of the requisition) specifying the object of the meeting for any of the following reasons:
      1. To consider and, if approved, sanction any duly made alteration to the Constitution.
      2. To deal with any special matter which the Committee may desire to place before the members including the expulsion of a member.
      3. To receive the resignation of the Committee or to remove any member or members thereof from office and to fill any vacancy or vacancies caused thereby.
      4. To deal with any special matter which the members requiring the meeting may desire to place before the Club in general meeting.
      5. Notice convening a Special General Meeting shall be sent to the members not less than 14 days before the meeting and shall specify the matters to be dealt with.

Amendment 5, approved 24th March 2022.