1.TITLE

 

The Branch shall be known as The British Sub-Aqua Club Coventry Branch 58

 

2.AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

 

The aims and objectives of the Branch shall be to provide for its members facilities, opportunities and training for diving in accordance with the standards of the British Sub Aqua Club, together with related social activities.

 

The Club should treat all members fairly, equitable and without prejudice. The members of the British Sub Aqua Club should not discriminate on the grounds of Gender, Marital Status, Race, Colour, Disability, Sexuality, Age, Occupation, Religion or Political Opinion.

 

3.HEADQUARTERS

 

The headquarters of the Branch shall be at Livingstone Road Baths, Coventry or at such place as the Branch Committee shall decide at any time.

 

4.CLUBHOUSE & OTHER PREMISES, EQUIPMENT

 

The Branch may maintain a clubhouse at a site selected by the Committee; such clubhouse would operate under the control vested in the Management Committee responsible to the Branch Committee. The Branch may maintain boats, vehicles, compressors and any other equipment deemed necessary by the Committee in pursuance of the Branch’s aims, and also garages and workshops for the use, maintenance and storage of its equipment at sites selected by the Committee.

 

5.PRESIDENT

 

The Annual General Meeting may appoint a President for the ensuing year or longer and he/she shall be ex-officio, a non-voting member of the Committee.

 

6.MEMBERSHIP

 

There shall be 8 classes of member

 

1. Full Diving/Snorkeling Membership, for which any person 14 years of age or over shall be eligible but without prejudice to the right of individual Branches to set a higher limit

 

2. Associate Membership, for which any person shall be eligible but which shall not entitle such a member to take part in snorkeling or any other activity involving the use of a breathing set.

 

3. Junior Membership, for which any person under the age of 19 years shall be eligible but which shall not entitle such a member to take part in any activity involving the use of breathing set or in spearfishing.

 

4. Snorkeling Membership, for which any person 18 years and over shall be eligible but which shall not entitle such a member to take part in any activity involving the use of a breathing set.

 

5. Student Membership, for which any person of the age 18 or over shall be eligible providing that they are in full time education.

 

 

 

6. Junior Diving membership for which any person between the age of 12 – 17 shall be eligible but without prejudice to the right of individual branches to set a higher limit.

 

7. Junior Snorkeling membership for which any person between the age of 6 – 17 years shall be eligible but which shall not entitle such a member to take part in any activity involving the use of a breathingset.

 

8. Honorary Membership which shall be conferred solely by the Branch Committee and which any person shall be eligible.

 

An application for membership of the Branch shall apply to the Committee and upon acceptance of his/her application and payment of the appropriate Branch and National HQ subscriptions shall be a member of the class for which he/she has applied and is eligible. The committee may delegate to such members of the Branch as it sees fit responsibility for accepting applications for membership.

 

A member shall retain his /her membership until he/she has resigned or is deemed to have resigned in accordance with this paragraph. If payment of his/her National Headquarters subscriptions if any in respect of any period is 30 days or more overdue, a member shall be deemed to have resigned from the BSAC and the Coventry Branch.

 

Where Branch subscriptions are 3 months in arrears then that member will be deemed to have resigned from the Branch.

             

7.MANAGEMENT

 

(i) The management of the Branch shall be vested in the Committee, which shall hold and administer for the general benefit of the Branch all funds, property and equipment in the general ownership of the Branch.

 

(ii) The Committee shall consist of four officers; i.e. the Chairperson, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Diving Officer and 6 elected members.

 

(iii) No officer may be elected to his/her office for more than three consecutive years.

 

(iv)The Committee shall, at its first meeting appoint one of its members Vice Chairperson. The Committee shall also appoint a Training Officer, Equipment Officer and Social Secretary to serve on the Committee at its first meeting.

 

8.THE CHAIRPERSON

 

The Chairperson shall be the Chief Executive of the Branch. He/she shall take the chair at all meetings of the Branch and the Committee at which he/she is present, and subject to the provision of the rules, his/her decision on matters of procedure shall be final.

 

9.THE DIVING OFFICER

 

Any person standing for the post of Diving Officer should be of Advanced Diver Grade where possible or a suitable candidate as elected at the AGM or at an appropriate time as and when the post becomes vacant.

 

The Branch Diving Officer derives his/her authority in training and diving matters from the National Diving Officer of the BSAC. He /she shall have responsibility for the training and diving activities of the Branch and for the safe conduct thereof, and he/she shall ensure that the said activities are carried on in accordance with such practices and procedures as may be recommended from time to time by the National Diving Officer or pursuant to his/her authorization.

 

The Diving Officer may delegate training duties to a Training Officer, who shall be responsible to him/her for the performance thereof. The Diving Officer’s decision in respect of his/her responsibilities shall be final in the Branch, subject only to such consistency with this constitution, as may be established from time to time by the Committee guidelines.

 

10.HONORARY SECRETARY

 

The Honorary Secretary shall maintain the Branch records and shall record the meetings of the Committee, General Meetings of the Branch and such meetings as the Chairperson may request.

 

He/she shall be primarily responsible for the Branches communications with third parties, and shall keep the Officers, Committee and /or the Branch, as may be appropriate, informed of matters coming to his/her attention which pertain to Branch activities.

 

11.HONORARY TREASURER

 

The Honorary Treasurer shall keep proper books of account of all monies received or paid on behalf of the Branch, and shall effect in the name of the Branch and keep records of all investments by the Committee. He/she shall arrange for all such monies and securities to be deposited at such branch of a bank as the Committee shall approve to the credit of an account in the name of the Branch, on which cheques and other orders shall be signed by both the Honorary Treasurer and the Chairperson.

 

He/she shall be responsible for calling in and collecting of all debts and subscriptions and for the due discharge of all liabilities of the Branch out of Branch funds as the Committee shall direct. He/she shall prepare a statement of income and expenditure and a balance sheet to the 30th November of each year, which shall be the end of the Branch year, and he/she shall cause it to be audited by the Branch auditors and presented to the Committee for submission to the Annual General Meeting. He/she may be assisted in his work by such person or persons as the Committee may approve.

 

12.ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

 

Notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Branch, which shall be held in December each year, shall be sent by post or otherwise delivered to all paid-up members six weeks before the meeting.

 

All nominations shall be delivered to the Honorary Secretary 14 days before the meeting, proposed and seconded and signed by the nominee that he/she is willing to accept the position if elected.

 

The officers and members of the Committee shall be directly elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Branch by ballot. If a nominee stands unopposed he/she shall be deemed to have been elected.

 

The notification of the meeting shall also include any motions proposed by the Committee and a reminder that any member may propose an amendment to these motions and that he/she may make further motions for consideration at the meeting which must be delivered to the Honorary Secretary not less than 14 days before the meeting, proposed and seconded.

 

Upon motion made by the Committee, the meeting may vote to appoint a President for the ensuing year. If a President is appointed, he/she shall be ex officio, a non-voting member of the committee.

A quorum at all General Meetings shall be 10% of the membership. Members of all classes entitled to vote.

 

The right to vote at the meetings shall be restricted to subscription paying members whose current subscriptions are fully paid to the Branch and the BSAC.

 

13.SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING

 

(i) Any General Meeting other than the Annual General Meeting shall be known as a Special General Meeting and must, on the receipt of a request to do so signed by not less than 12 paid-up members and giving the reason therefore, within two months thereof be convened by the Committee who shall give all paid-up members not less than 14 days notice together with a statement of the reason for the meeting.

 

(ii) The Committee shall have the power to call a Special General Meeting.

 

(iii)The business of a Special General Meeting shall be that for which it was called and no other.

 

14.VOTING

 

(i) Except as hereinafter provided, voting at General Meetings shall be by a show of hands or by ballot of members present and except as hereinafter provided a motion shall be passed by a simple majority.

 

(ii) Any motion which the Committee considers may affect the Aims and Objectives or Rules of the Branch shall be passed only as a 2-1 majority of votes cast by not less than 10% of the members of the Branch in a ballot of all members.

 

(iii) Voting papers in any ballot being conducted by post shall be sent to all members not less than 14 days before the date on which the votes are to be counted.

 

(iv) The Chairperson of any meeting shall not vote except when it is necessary to exercise his/her casting vote.

 

15.COMMITTEE

 

(i) The Committee shall take office immediately after the election and shall hold office until after the election at the next Annual General Meeting.

 

(ii)The Committee shall normally meet once every six weeks approximately.

 

(iii) A quorum of the Committee shall be four members, one of whom must be the Chairperson, Honorary Secretary or the Vice-Chairperson.

 

(iv) The Chairperson, Vice Chairperson or the Honorary Secretary shall have the power to call a Special Committee Meeting of all members available, whether a quorum or not, any decision of which must be ratified by the quorum Committee at the next regular meeting.

 

(v) The Committee shall have the right to co-opt up to six non-voting members and the Committee shall have the right to fill any vacancy among the officers of the Branch or among its members, which occurs during its time of office.

 

(vi)The Committee shall determine any questions as to the interpretation of these rules and any regulations made thereunder and may rule for any occurrence not otherwise specified in these rules, provided that an appropriate amendment thereto is moved at the next Annual General Meeting.

 

(vi)No resolution may be adopted by the committee unless:

 

(a)It has the affirmative votes of a simple majority of those members present and entitled to vote and………

 

(b) The number of such votes is at least equal to a simple majority of the number of members required to open the meeting at which the resolution is proposed.

 

(c ) No member shall be entitled to vote on a matter in which his/her interest differs from that of the Branch as a whole, and he/she shall withdraw from the meeting during the period of discussion of such interest.

 

Any officer and the Vice-Chairperson shall each have the power to require the  Honorary Secretary to call a meeting of the Committee at any time.

             

16.BRANCH ACTIVITIES

 

(i) At the discretion of the Diving Officer, Branch diving and open water training activities shall be open to members of other BSAC Branches and to guests.

 

(ii) Any Branch member may use the training pool at the discretion of the Diving Officer or Baths Marshal for training, testing equipment, swimming with basic equipment and free swimming. Other guests, members of other Branches may be permitted if given permission both by the Diving Officer and the Baths Marshal.

 

(iii) At the discretion of the Diving Officer or Training Officer, instruction may be given between Branch members other than by accredited instructors.

 

           (iv)If a member damages or loses Branch equipment the Committee may charge that member

     the cost of repairing or replacing the article. Private equipment used by the Branch on a          dive shall be treated in the same way as Branch equipment in respect of this rule.

 

17.DISCIPLINE

 

17.1 The Committee may suspend or expel any member of the Branch who offends against the rules of the Branch or whose conduct, in the opinion of the Committee renders them unfit for membership of the Branch in order to ensure the safety and good name of the Branch and its members.

17.2   In all cases the Chairperson, Diving Officer and Secretary (unless the complaint is about one of them in which case another Voting Committee Member will replace them) will investigate all complaints.  All complaints are required to be put to the Committee in writing and shall contain information of any witnesses.  If following investigation further action is required the subject of any complaint will be informed of the nature of the complaint made against them and the procedures in clause 17.4 followed.

17.3     Temporary Suspension from Participation

In order to ensure the immediate safety and good name of the Branch and its members, any person in charge of a Branch activity may suspend, at their discretion and for the duration of the activity, any member who misconducts them self.  Any such suspension shall be reported as soon as possible to the Chairperson, Diving Officer or Secretary in writing and shall be investigated in accordance with clause 17.2.

17.4     Suspension and loss of membership

  17.4.1  The complaint will be referred to the Committee which shall first discuss the incident without the presence of the member or the complainant in question and shall then invite the member to join the discussion and express their views of the matter.

17.4.2    The Committee shall have the power by a two thirds majority of all serving voting members in attendance to suspend the membership of any member of the Branch.  A decision to suspend so taken shall be immediately communicated to the member concerned in writing and his/her membership shall thereupon be suspended. 

17.4.3  A suspended member shall be entitled to a hearing at the next appropriate regular meeting of the Committee during which the reasons for their suspension shall be made fully known and they shall be given a further opportunity to answer fully the charges against them.

17.4.4  Suspension or loss of membership of any member of the Branch shall then only be voted upon at a meeting the agenda of which:

i. has been posted or distributed to all Committee Members and the suspended member at least seven days prior to the meeting and

ii.expressly  refers to the motion of suspension/expulsion.

If the suspended member attends the meeting they will be entitled to hear and respond to the charges levied against them.  When the Chairperson of the meeting is satisfied that the matter has been adequately and fairly discussed, the person charged shall leave the meeting and a vote taken.

17.4.5  Upon conclusion of the hearing the Committee shall vote again on the suspension/termination of membership.  If two thirds of all serving voting members do not carry the motion the suspension shall thereupon be lifted and the member shall be informed accordingly.  If the motion is carried by the said majority the member shall be so informed and

they shall thereupon be deemed to have resigned their membership in the Branch.

17.5     Appeal

Any members affected by the decision of the Committee shall have the right to appeal the decision of the Committee to the next General Meeting of the Branch

18.CHARGES

 

(i) Persons joining or rejoining the Branch shall pay such entrance fee as may be determined from time to time by the Committee.

 

(ii)Subscriptions shall be renewable annually on the anniversary of the first day of April and shall be at such rate as may be determined by the Committee.

 Any new member joining the Branch will pay at a pro-rata basis until the next annual renewal date.

 

(iii) Any person who renews his/her membership up to one year late shall be deemed to have renewed on the date on which his/her subscription fell due. A person who renews over one year late will rejoin as in paragraph (i).

 

19. DISSOLUTION

 

The Branch may not be dissolved except pursuant to a vote taken at a General Meeting, provided however that the dissolution may be put to a vote at the AGM only if it appears on the agenda, see section 12, paragraph 1.

 

A proposal to dissolve the Branch shall be subject to ballot and in order for it to be carried out it must receive the affirmative votes of two thirds of the voting members of the branch who are present at the meeting.

 

If dissolution of the Branch is voted in accordance with the proceeding provisions in this constitution the committee shall proceed without delay to realize the property of the Branch and to discharge the Branch’s outstanding liabilities. Any net assets thereafter remaining shall be distributed to such recipient or recipients and in such a fashion, as the meeting shall have decided.

If the Branch has assets acquired in part or in full with grants from agencies such as the lottery Sports fund or Foundation for Sports and Arts, those agencies should be informed of the proposed dissolution, for they have the right to recover a proportion of the current value of the assets and /or to advise on their disposal, perhaps to another worthy user.

 

20. AMENDMENTS

 

This constitution may only be amended in General Meeting in accordance with the affirmative votes of a majority of two thirds of the voting members of the Branch who are present at the meeting.

 

Not withstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Constitution, no amendments may be made to this Constitution or to sections 2, 8, 19 or 20 unless prior to the meeting at which such amendment is proposed an officer or the Chief Executive of the British Sub Aqua Club shall have notified the Branch in writing of the British Sub Aqua Club’s approval of the subject and the text thereof.

 

21. BRITISH SUB AQUA CLUB RULES

 

This Constitution is made in compliance with Rule 3 of the British Sub Aqua Club, shall be subject to the provision and requirements of that rule and shall only be valid to the extent that they are not in conflict with the said provisions and requirements or with those of the Articles of Association of the British Sub Aqua Club.