The association shall be known as the Ferryhill Wheelers Cycling Club, and it’s colours shall be royal blue and white. The purposes of the association shall be the promotion and encouragement of the participation in cycle racing and other aspects of cycle sport and all other purposes reasonably incidental thereto
Membership
Applications for membership shall be submitted to the Secretary on the prescribed form, signed by the applicant, or by the club Web-site in the approved manner. In the case of applicants under the age of eighteen years, the form must be signed, or the E-mail application approved, by the applicants parent or guardian. Applications for membership will be reported by the Secretary at the next Ordinary General Meeting of the Association, and subject to a resolution to the contrary, applicants will then be admitted to membership on payment of the prescribed fee. Thereafter, membership will be renewed automatically each year until determined by resignation or otherwise in accordance with the Club Rules. Members who have completed twenty five years uninterrupted membership will be eligible for “Life Membership”, and upon payment of the appropriate fee, shall cease to be liable for further payment of annual subscriptions
The Officers of the Association.
There shall be a President of the Association. Once appointed the President shall hold the office for life unless previously resigning the office or ceasing to be a member of the Association. In the event of a vacancy occurring, no appointment shall be made except at an Annual General Meeting of the Association. The Association may, at any Annual General Meeting, appoint any number of persons to be Honorary Vice Presidents of the Association in recognition of services to the Association. There shall be a Chairman elected at the Annual general meeting of the Association. When present the Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Association and of those Committees of which he is a member.
There shall be a Deputy Chairman elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Association. In the absence of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Association. In the absence of both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman, the members present at any meeting of the Association, or any of its committees may elect on of their number to preside over that meeting. There shall be a Secretary and a Treasurer elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Association. The Secretary and Treasurer shall be responsible for dealing with applications for membership, general correspondence, affiliations, and the accounts of the Association. The Secretary will also take and preserve the minutes of the Annual General Meeting and of any other meetings, or resolutions thereof, if directed to do so by the Chairman or person presiding. The Treasurer will present the audited accounts of the Association when making his report to the Annual General Meeting.
The Club Committee.
The management of the Association shall be the responsibility of the Club Committee, consisting of the President, the Chairman, the Secretary, the Treasurer and five additional members elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Association. The Club Committee shall meet as often as is necessary for the effective discharge of its functions, and whenever a meeting is called by an ex-officio member, or three other members of the Committee. The Club Committee will be quorate, provided that at least six members, including at least one ex-officio member, are present save that no decision of the Committee concerning finance shall be taken in the absence of the Secretary and Treasurer unless the circumstances are such as to justify the appointment of a Deputy Secretary and Treasurer and such an appointment is made prior to the decision in question. In the event of an ex-officio member of the Committee resigning or becoming incapable of exercising office, the members of the Committee may appoint a deputy, or deputised from amongst their own number to hold office until the next Annual General Meeting of the Association.
Powers of the Club Committee.
If it is deemed expedient for the better management of the Association the Club Committee may recommend the appointment of members to act as Racing Secretary, Press Secretary, or in any other capacity, either generally or in respect of a particular occasion. In normal circumstances any such recommendation should be made to an Ordinary General Meeting of the Association, and where appropriate an election held.
In cases of urgency the appointment may be made by the Club Committee and will be effective provided that it is ratified at the next Ordinary General Meeting of the Association. Members appointed to such posts on a general basis will continue to serve until the next Annual General Meeting of the Association unless previously resigning the post or ceasing to be a member of the Association. Members appointed will not thereby become ex-officio members of any Committee of the Association, but the Committee may invite such persons, or any other persons to attend its meetings in a non-voting capacity.
Meetings of the Association.
The Annual General Meeting shall be held in December each year. A resolution of the Annual General Meeting passed by a simple majority shall be effective in all matters including a change in the Constitution. An Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be quorate irrespective of the numbers present, and provided that the date of such a meeting was not changed to a month other than the month of December. If for any reason the Annual General Meeting is to be held on any month other than December then members shall be individually notified by letter post, or where available by E-mail, or at the General Meeting held prior to the Annual General Meeting and via a notice published on the club Web-site. There shall be an Ordinary General Meeting of the Association in each other calendar month of the year. A resolution of the Ordinary General Meeting passed by a simple majority shall be effective in all matters except in relation to changes in the Constitution or in respect of any issue subsequently referred to an Extraordinary General Meeting under the special procedure described below. An ordinary General Meeting of the Association shall be quorate irrespective of the number of members present, provided that the date of such a meeting was not changed subsequent to the preceding Ordinary General Meeting
If within seven days of an Ordinary General Meeting, a majority of members of the Club Committee consider that a resolution of the meeting would not in their opinion, command the support of the majority of members of the Association, the resolution shall not have effect but shall stand referred to an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association. In reaching such a conclusion the members of the Club Committee shall have regard to the number of members present at the meeting in question, to the representations made by any member of the Association whether present at the meeting or not, or to any other consideration relevant to the well being of the Association. If it is practicable to do so, the Club Committee should arrange an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association unless circumstances suggest that this will not permit the meeting to ascertain the views of the majority of the membership of the Association. In any case unless an Extraordinary General Meeting is held within three months of the passing of the resolution in question, the special procedure will cease to apply and the resolution will become fully effective unless it has since been rescinded by vote at a subsequent Ordinary General Meeting. An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association is any meeting in respect of which an agenda has been sent by post or E-mail to all members at least fourteen days before the date fixed for the meeting. A resolution of an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be effective in all matters in relation to changes to the Constitution. An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be quorate irrespective of the number of members present.
Club Rules.
The Club Committee shall have the power to make such rules as it deems expedient in the interests of the Association and its members, and may prescribe sanctions for the breach of such rules including suspension of, or exclusion from, membership, provided that no such rule shall have effect unless and until it is approved by a resolution of a General Meeting of the Association. The Club Committee shall have power to order the suspension of membership if it is satisfied that such suspension is necessary to conform to the regulations prescribed by any body to which the Association is affiliated. In any other case, save in the respect of non-payment of subscription, no suspension or expulsion shall take effect unless, and until, it approved by a resolution of a General Meeting of the Association.
Eligibility for Election
Any member elected to the office of Chairman Chairman,Deputy Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer or to ordinary membership of the Club Committee shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting following the election unless previously resigning office or ceasing to be a member of the Association. No person shall be eligible for election to the office of Chairman, Deputy Chairman or to membership of the Club Committee until twelve calendar months have elapsed since their becoming members of the Association or in the case of the Secretary and Treasurer until twenty four calendar months have elapsed. Any member being elected an officer or an elected member of any committee shall be eligible for election without limit to the number of occasions. Any such member will be deemed to be standing for re-election at any Annual General Meeting but may indicate to the contrary at the meeting. Any member nor being an elected official or an elected member of the Committee who wishes to stand for election to any such post must notify the Secretary in writing at least 28 days before the meeting at which the relevant election is to be held. This limitation shall not apply to elections at Ordinary General Meetings of the Association to fill casual vacancies in the membership of committees unless the Secretary announces at the previous meeting that the limitation is to apply. Any notice of intention to stand for election should include the signature of the member prepared to second the candidate.
Agenda and Order of Business.
The Agenda for the Annual General Meeting of the Association shall include the following :- The minutes of the last Annual General Meeting, the reports of the Officers and the receipt of the accounts, the election of Officers and any other business.
The order of business at an Annual General Meeting or any meeting of the Association or its Committees, shall be at the absolute discretion of the person presiding at the meeting. Voting at any meeting of the Association or its Committees shall be by a show of hands and shall be decided by a simple majority. In the event of an equal number of votes being cast for and against a proposition, the person presiding at the meeting shall have the casting vote.
Affiliation and Sponsorship.
The Association may affiliate with any local, regional or national body or organisation concerned in the control or promotion of cycle sport or in the advancement of cycling and while such affiliation is in force, will abide by the rules and regulations of any such organisations. No new affiliations will be entered into and no existing affiliations will be terminated save by a resolution of an Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting. The Association may negotiate and accept any sponsorship beneficial to the Association and/or its members, provided that any such sponsorship is in conformity with any rules for the time being in force of any body or organisation with which the Association is affiliated. No new sponsorship shall be accepted and no existing sponsorship terminated save by the resolution of an Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting.
CLUB RULES.
1) Subscriptions due for the current year must be paid in full before the last day in September. Any member not having renewed their subscriptions by that date shall cease to be a member of the club and shall, at the discretion of the Committee, be required to reapply for membership and may be required to pay all arrears of subscription, together with a fee of fifty percent of the current subscription.
2) Each member shall on being asked by a member of the Committee to do so, shall make themselves available to attend one event being run by another club member, during a calendar year from January to January in whatever capacity requested by the organiser, subject to him/her being qualified to do so. A member may elect to choose an event at which he/she will assist and shall give his/her preparedness to do so to the event organiser not less than two calendar months before the date of the event, and this will be taken as fulfilment of the members obligation under this rule. The event organiser will be responsible for instructing the member fully in the duty to be performed. Any member who refuses to undertake such duties shall be suspended from taking part in any event organised by the club for the remainder of that calendar year and shall be subject to any such further discipline as the Committee deems fir and proper and that such decision shall be ratified at the next General Meeting by the members present on a show of hands. Any member who undertakes to organise an open or club event shall be exempt from this rule and will be considered to have fulfilled the obligation to the club under this rule.
3) Members will conduct themselves at all times in accordance with the law of the land governing road users and will not behave or conduct themselves in a manner likely to prejudice the reputation or standing of the Ferryhill Wheelers Cycling Club. Any member reported for conduct in breach of this rule may, where considered necessary, be called to appear before the Committee to answer such charges as have been made and may as a consequence be disciplined by the Committee in a manner thought appropriate by them. Any such discipline shall be subject to ratification by the members at the next General Meeting following the date of the hearing and shall be endorsed by a show of hands.
4) Any member of the club having not less than two years continuous membership shall be eligible for nomination as an official of the club at an Annual General Meeting. Any member who seeks election shall submit their nomination in writing, bearing the signature of a club member similarly qualified in membership, to the Secretary not less than twenty eight days before the Annual General Meeting. Any member elected to the Club Committee shall undertake to attend a minimum of six General Meetings in a calendar year and not less that one half of any committee meetings called during the year. Any elected member who does not fulfil their obligation shall be deemed to have disqualified themselves from office and shall not be eligible for re-election at the next Annual General Meeting.
Members wishing to be considered for club trophies must submit their names, with full details of their qualifying performances to the Racing Secretary in time for the October meeting for the relevant year. Claims are acceptable delivered by post, by hand, or by E-mail. Second Claim members are not normally eligible for club trophies, but where circumstances are thought to warrant, such claims may be referred to the Committee, and where a simple majority of the Committee so decide, an award can be made.
6) The membership fee of ten pounds shall remain unchanged unless a motion to change it is passed at an Annual General Meeting, and all such monies shall be due for payment at the end of the Associations Financial Year, which ends on the 30th of September. It is required that all ”Riding” members shall avail themselves of CTC Affiliate third party insurance or private membership of the Cycle Touring Club, the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists, or of British Cycling Gold or Silver membership. It is the responsibility of riding members to ensure that they have suitable third party insurance.
7) Members who elect to join as “Non Riding” members shall pay a subscription without any insurance element, as they are not to participate in riding, either socially or competitively with any other club member. Any change in their status to “Riding” membership will require payment of the CTC insurance premium, or proven membership of the LVRC, or private membership of the CTC or BC, and they must inform the Secretary of their change in membership status.
