1. Name

1.1The name of the Club shall be Dunstable Swimming Club.

1.2 The club colours shall be blue and white.

1.3 The headquarters shall be Dunstable Leisure Centre.

2. Objects

2.1 The objects of the Club shall be the objects of the Amateur Swimming Association and in particular the promotion of and instruction in the techniques of swimming and also lifesaving in accordance with Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) rules. In the furtherance of these objects:

2.1.1 The Club is committed to treat everyone equally within the context of their activity, regardless of sex, ethnic origin, religion, disability or political persuasion.

2.1.2 The Club believes that the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility and that all children and young people have a right to have fun, be safe and be protected from harm.

2.2 The Club shall be affiliated to East Region Amateur Swimming Association, The Beds Amateur Swimming Association and RLSS (and shall adopt and conform to the rules of such association) and such other bodies as the Club may determine from time to time.

2.3 The business and affairs of the Club shall at all times be conducted in accordance with the Laws and Technical Rules of the Amateur Swimming Association (“ASA Laws”) and in particular:

2.3.1 all competing members shall be eligible competitors as defined in ASA Laws; and

2.3.2 the Club shall in accordance with ASA Laws adopt the ASA Child Protection Procedures; and

2.3.3 members of the Club shall in accordance with ASA Laws comply with the ASA Child Protection Procedures.

2.4 By virtue of the affiliation of the Club to the East Region the Club and all members of the Club acknowledge that they are subject to the laws and rules of:

2.4.1 East Region and Bedfordshire ASA and

2.4.2 the Amateur Swimming Association;(to include the ASA/ISTC Code of Ethics); and

2.4.3 the Amateur Swimming Federation of Great Britain (to include in particular the ASFGB Doping Control Rules and Protocols and ASFGB Disciplinary Code); and

2.4.4 FINA, the world governing body for the sport of swimming in all its disciplines (together “the Governing Body Rules”)

2.5 In the event that there shall be any conflict between any rule or by-law of the Club and any of the Governing Body Rules then the relevant Governing Body Rule shall prevail

3. Membership

3.1 The total membership of the Club shall not normally be limited.  If however the Committee considers that there is a good reason to impose any limit from time to time then the Committee shall put forward appropriate proposals for consideration at a General Meeting of the Club.  The members shall have the right to impose (and remove) from time to time any limits on total membership (or any category of membership) of the Club.

All persons who assist in any way with the club’s activities shall become members of the club and hence of the ASA and the relevant ASA membership fee shall be paid. Assisting with the club’s activities shall include, but not be restricted to Committee members, Honorary members, Life members, officers, Life presidents, technical officials, Life Vice presidents.

3.2 Any person who wishes to become a member of the Club must submit a signed application to the Membership Secretary (and in the case of a junior swimmer the application must be signed by the swimmer’s parent or guardian).  Election to membership shall be in the discretion of the Committee or other person(s) authorised by the Committee. The Committee or such authorised person(s) shall not be required to give reasons for the refusal of any application for membership.

4. Subscription and Other Fees

4.1 The annual members subscription shall be determined from time to time by the Committee and the Committee shall in so doing make special provision for different classes of membership as [it] OR [the Annual General Meeting] shall determine.

4.2 The annual subscription and entrance fee (if any) shall be due on joining the Club and thereafter on the 1st day of January each year.

4.3 Any member whose subscription is unpaid by the date falling 30 days after [the due date for payment] may be suspended by the Committee from some or all Club activities from a date to be determined by the Committee and until such payment is made. 

The only exception to this will be in special circumstances, which must be submitted to an officer of the club in writing.  Such matters, as these will be dealt with ‘In Confidence’.

4.4 The Committee shall, from time to time, have the power to determine the annual membership subscription and other fees. This shall include the power to make such increase in the subscription as shall, where the Club pays the individual ASA Membership Fees to the ASA on behalf of members, be consequential upon an increase in individual ASA membership fees.  Any increase in subscriptions shall be advised to the members in writing with the reasons for any increase to be reported to the members at the next Annual General Meeting.

5. Resignation

5.1 A member wishing to resign membership of the Club must give to the Membership Secretary written notice of his/her resignation.  A member’s resignation shall only take effect when this (Rule 5.1) has been complied with.

5.2 Notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 5.1 above a member whose subscription is more than [two] months in arrear shall be deemed to have resigned.  Where the membership of a member shall be terminated in this way he shall be informed in writing that he is no longer a member by notice handed to him/her or sent by post to his/her last known address.

6.1 The Committee shall have power to expel a member when, in its opinion, it would not be in the interests of the Club for him/her to remain a member.

6.2 The Club shall adopt and comply with the ASA Guidelines for handling Internal Club Disputes (“the Guidelines”) as the same may be revised from time to time.  The Guidelines are set out as an Appendix to the ASA Judicial Laws and appear in the ASA Handbook.  A copy of the current Guidelines may be obtained from the ASA Legal Affairs Department.

6.3 A member may not be expelled or (subject to Rule 6.4 below) be made  the subject of any other penalty unless the panel hearing the complaint shall [unanimously] OR [by a two-thirds majority] vote in favour of the expulsion of (or other penalty imposed upon) the member.

6.4 The Officers of the Club (or any person to whom the Committee shall delegate this power) may temporarily suspend or exclude a member from particular training sessions and/or wider club activities, when in their opinion, such action is in the interests of the Club.  Where such action is taken the complaint will thereafter be dealt with in accordance with the Guidelines.

7.1 The Committee shall consist of the Life President, Life Vice President, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Championship Secretary, Competitions Secretary, Fixtures Secretary, Parent Liaison Officer, Fund Raising Officer, Welfare Officer, Coaches Representative, No More Than 3 Parent Members, and Senior Club Captains (1 girl/1 boy). The officers of the club will be the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, these four posts to be held by 4 different people. All committee members must be members of the Club.  All Committee members must be not less than 18 years of age though the Committee may allow younger member(s) to attend their meetings as observers without power to vote.

7.2 The Committee members shall be proposed, seconded and elected by ballot at the Annual General Meeting each year and shall remain in office until their successors are elected at the next Annual General Meeting.  The Com­mittee may fill any vacancy occurring by resignation or otherwise. 

7.3 Committee meetings shall be held not less than quarterly and the quorum of that meeting shall be two officers and four other voting committee members. The Chairman and the Secretary shall have discretion to call further meetings of the Committee if they consider it to be in the interests of the Club.  The Secretary shall give all the members of the Committee not less than two days oral or written notice of a meeting.  Decisions of the Committee shall be made by a simple majority and in the event of equality of votes the Chairman (or the acting Chairman of that meeting) shall have a casting or additional vote. The Secretary, or in his/her absence a member of the Committee, shall take minutes.

7.4 In the event that a quorum is not present within thirty minutes of the published start time, a meeting shall stand adjourned to the time and date falling seven days after the date of the meeting, or such other date and time as may be determined by the Chairman.  If a quorum is not present at the adjourned meeting then those Committee members attending may act for the purpose of calling a Special General Meeting of the members, to which the provisions as to minimum notice contained in Rule 11.1 shall not apply

7.5 In addition to the members so elected the Committee may co-opt further members of the Club who shall serve until the next Annual General Meeting.  Co-opted members shall be entitled to vote at the meetings of the Committee.

7.6 The Committee may from time to time appoint from among their number such sub-committees as they may consider necessary (and to remove (in whole or in part) or vary the terms of reference of such sub-committees) and may delegate to them such of the powers and duties of the Committee as the Committee may determine.  All sub-committees shall periodically report their proceedings to the Committee and shall conduct their business in accordance with the directions of the Committee.

7.7 The Committee shall be responsible for the management of the Club and shall have the sole right of appointing and determining the terms and conditions of service of employees of the Club.  The Committee shall have power to enter into contracts for the purposes of the Club on behalf of all the members of the Club.  The Committee shall be responsible for ensuring that the Accounts of the Club for each financial year be examined by an independent examiner to be appointed by the members in General Meeting.

7.8 The members of the Committee shall be indemnified by the members of the Club against all liabilities properly incurred by them in the management of the affairs of the Club.

7.9 The minutes of committee meetings will be made available to members/parents on request to the secretary or club desk and will be supplied on paper or by e-mail within 7 days of such a request

8. Officers [and Honorary Members]

8.1 The Officers and Committee of the Club shall be proposed, seconded and elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting when they shall retire.  The Committee may fill any vacancy occurring by resignation or otherwise.  Retiring officers shall be eligible for re-election.

8.2 The Annual General Meeting of the Club, if it thinks fit, may elect a Life President and Life Vice-Presidents.  A Life President or Life Vice-President need not be a member of the association and on election shall, ex officio, be an honorary member of the Club and must be included in the Club’s Annual Return of Members to the ASA.

8.3 The Committee may elect any person as an honorary member of the Club for such period as they think fit and they shall be entitled to all the privileges of membership except that they shall not be entitled to serve as officers or on the Committee unless any such person shall have retained in addition his/her ordinary membership of the Club. Such honorary members must be included in the Club’s annual return as to membership. Honorary membership shall be renewed each year by attendance at the AGM or by letter of apology, otherwise such membership lapses. The maximum number of honorary members allowed at any one time is 20.

9. Annual General Meeting

9.1 The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held each year on a date falling within the period 1st November and 15th December.  The Committee shall fix the date for the Annual General Meeting

9.2 The purpose of the Annual General Meeting is to transact the following business:

9.2.1 To receive the Chairman’s and other committee members’ reports of the activities of the Club during the previous year;

9.2.2 To receive and consider the accounts of the Club for the previous year and the report on the accounts of the independent examiner and the Treasurer's report as to the financial position of the Club;

9.2.3 To remove and elect the independent examiner (who must not be a member of the Committee or a member of the family of a member of the Committee) or confirm that he remain in office;

9.2.4 To elect the Officers and other members of the Committee;

9.2.5 To decide on any resolution, which may be duly submitted in accordance with Rule 9.3.

9.3 Nominations for election of members to any office or for membership of the Committee shall be made in writing by the proposer and seconder to the Secretary not later than 14 days before the Annual General Meeting. The nominee shall be required to indicate in writing on the nomination form his/her willingness to stand for election. Notice of any resolution proposed to be moved at the Annual General Meeting shall be given in writing to the Secretary by 30th September.

10. Special General Meeting

10.1 A Special General Meeting may be called at any time by the Committee. A Special General Meeting shall be called by the Secretary within 28 days of receipt by him/her of a requisition in writing signed by not less 20 members entitled to attend and vote at a General Meeting stating the purposes for which the meeting is required and the resolutions proposed. 

11. Procedure at the Annual and Special General Meetings

11.1 The Secretary shall personally be responsible for the handing out or sending to each adult member, lifesaving member or parent/guardian of junior member at his/her last known address written notice of the date, time and place of the General Meeting together with the resolutions to be proposed there at least 14 days before the meeting. The minutes from the previous years General Meeting and a committee nomination form will also be sent with the notice. In the case of the Annual General Meeting a list of the nominees for the Committee posts shall be posted on the clubs noticeboard 10 days before the Annual General Meeting. A copy of the examined accounts will be available at the Annual General Meeting.  The Notice of Meeting shall in addition wherever possible be displayed on the Club Notice Board where one exists.

11.2 The quorum for the Annual and Special General Meetings shall be 20 members who are entitled to attend and vote at the Meeting.

11.3 The Chairman, or in his/her absence a member selected by the Committee, shall take the chair.  Each member present shall have one vote and resolu­tions shall be passed by a simple majority. Proxy Votes are not allowed. For the procedures for submitting resolutions to be considered at a General Meeting members are referred to Rule 9.3.  In the event of an equality of votes the Chairman shall have a casting or additional vote. Paid up members (those who joined on or before 31st July of that year) who have reached their 18th birthday shall be entitled to be heard and to vote on all matters.  [Members who have not reached their 18th birthday shall be entitled to be heard and vote only on those matters determined by the Chairman as matters concerning juniors.]

11.4 The Secretary, or in his/her absence a member of the Committee, shall take minutes at the Annual and Special General Meetings.

11.5 The Chairman shall at all General Meetings have unlimited authority upon every question of order and shall be, for the purpose of such meeting, the sole interpreter of the Rules of the Club.

12. Alterations of the Rules and other Resolutions

12.1 The rules may be altered by resolution at an Annual or Special General Meeting provided that the resolution is carried by a majority of members present and entitled to vote at the General Meeting.  No amendment to the rules shall become effective until such amendment shall have been submitted to and validated by East Region.

12.2 Any member shall be entitled to put any proposal for consideration at any General Meeting provided the proposal in writing shall have been handed to or posted to the Secretary of the Club so as to be received by him/her not later than 30 September in the case of the Annual General Meeting or (in the case of a Special General Meeting) 28 days before the date of the meeting and thereafter the Secretary shall supply a copy of the proposal or resolution to the members in the manner provided in Rule 11.1

13. By-Laws

13.1 The Committee shall have power to make, repeal and amend such by-laws, within the constitution and ASA laws as they may from time to time consider necessary for the well being of the Club which by-laws, repeals and amendments shall have effect until set aside by the Committee or at a General Meeting.

14. Finance

14.1 All moneys payable to the Club shall be received by the Treasurer and deposited in a bank account in the name of the Club.  Any moneys not required for immediate use may be invested as the Committee in its discretion think fit.

14.2 The income and property of the Club shall be applied only in furtherance of the objects of the Club and no part thereof shall be paid by way of bonus, dividend or profit to any members of the Club, [save as set out in Rule 17.3.]

14.3 The Committee shall have power to authorise the payment of remuneration and expenses to any officer, member or employee of the Club and to any other person or persons for services rendered to the Club.

14.4 The financial transactions of the Club shall be recorded by the Treasurer in such manner as the Committee think fit.

14.5 The financial year of the Club shall be the period commencing on 1st October and ending on 30th September.  Any change to the financial year shall require the approval of the members in a General Meeting.

14.6  An external Audit of the books shall be carried out yearly by an Auditor as voted at the previous Annual General Meeting. The Treasurer will keep all financial documents for 7 years.

15.  Borrowing

15.1 The Committee may borrow money on behalf of the Club for the purposes of the Club from time to time at their own discretion [up to such limits on borrowing as may be laid down from time to time by the General Meeting] for the general upkeep of the Club or with the [prior] approval of a General Meeting for any other expenditure, additions or improvements.

15.2 When so borrowing the Committee shall have power to raise in any way any sum or sums of money and to raise and secure the repayment of any sums or sums of money in such manner or on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit, and in particular by mortgage of or charge upon or by the issues of debentures charged upon all or any part of the property of the Club.

15.3 The Committee shall have no power to pledge the personal liability of any member of the Club for the repayment of any sums so borrowed. 

16. Property

16.1 The property of the Club, other than cash at the bank, shall be vested in not more than four Custodians, these being the four officers of the committee.  They shall deal with the property as directed by resolution of the Committee and entry in the minute book shall be conclusive evidence of such a resolution.

16.3 The Custodians shall be entitled to an indemnity out of the property of the Club for all expenses and other liabilities properly incurred by them in the discharge of their duties.

17. Dissolution

17.1 A resolution to dissolve the Club shall only be proposed at a General Meeting and shall be carried by a majority of at least [three - quarters] of the members present and entitled to vote.

17.2 The dissolution shall take effect from the date of the resolution and the members of the Committee shall be responsible for the winding-up of the assets and liabilities of the Club.

17.3 Any property remaining after the discharge of the debts and liabilities of the Club shall be given to a charity or charities (or other non-profit making organisation having objects similar to those of the Club for the furtherance of such objects) nominated by the last Committee.

18. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

18.1 The Members acknowledge that these Rules constitute a legally binding contract to regulate the relationship of the members with each other and the Club.

The following statement should appear on Club membership forms and should be signed by the member and must also be countersigned by parent or guardian of members under 18 years of age:

I acknowledge receipt of the rules of Dunstable Swimming Club and confirm my understanding and acceptance that such rules (as amended from time to time) shall govern my membership of the Club. I further acknowledge and accept the responsibilities of membership upon members as set out in these rules.

BYLAWS
 

The names and functions of the elected committee members and co-opted members will be published in the club handbook together with a copy of the club rules (Constitution) and Bylaws. 

Club training nights shall be Tuesday and Wednesday and all club swimmers are expected to attend these sessions and must ensure their attendance is recorded in the register.  Other training sessions shall be available for selected swimmers – for details see training schedule or club coach

Subscription charges.  All swimmers shall be required to pay a subscription charge in accordance with current scale of charges.  This will be in the form of a Standing Order/Direct Debit unless agreed otherwise with the committee.  Anyone over 18 on 31st December of that year will be able to pay on the nights they swim (Tuesdays and Wednesdays only) in accordance with the current scale of charges.  No such charges will be levied for Gala’s, Splash Nights and Championships other than the fee for events swum.  Officials and helpers necessary to run Gala’s and Splash Nights will not be required to pay an entrance fee.  A charge will be made for spectators