Crawley, Horsham and District Table Tennis League
Constitution
Name
1. The name shall be CRAWLEY, HORSHAM AND DISTRICT TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE.
Objectives
2. The objectives shall be:
· To organise an annual league competition, divisional handicap competition and the closed championship.
· To develop and promote the league and to encourage participation in league events.
· To communicate, inform and consult with the league membership, providing accurate and timely information.
Membership
3. Membership shall be an annual affiliation of clubs, within a reasonable distance of Crawley or Horsham, and any invited club (Premier Division) only; such invitation shall be subject to approval by the Management Committee. All clubs accepted for membership will automatically be affiliated to the E.T.T.A (English Table Tennis Association) and the S.C.T.T.A (Sussex County Table Tennis Association).
4. Application for affiliation must be made each year by the stipulated date on the official form provided for this purpose. The Management Committee reserves the right to refuse an application from a club from which any money due to the league is outstanding at 31st July.
5. An affiliation fee, the amount of which will be decided by the Management Committee each year, will become payable upon acceptance of the club’s application and will entitle the club to membership for one year from the 1st August.
Management
6. The administration shall be in the hands of a Management Committee, which shall consist of the following:
· Chairman
. Vice Chairman
· General Secretary
· Treasurer
· Fixtures and Results Secretaries
· Registration Secretary
· Closed Championships Organiser
· Divisional Handicap Competitions organiser
. Public Relations Officer
· E.T.T.A. and S.C.T.T.A. Representative
· Junior Development Officer
· Webmaster
· Representative from each club falling within the Crawley and Horsham area
and such other members as a general meeting may decide. No one individual shall hold more than one of the offices of Chairman, General Secretary, and Treasurer, who shall jointly be responsible to the Management Committee for decisions which cannot await the next committee meeting.
7. The Management Committee shall meet as and when it shall decide, and four members, one of whom shall be the Chairman, General Secretary, or Treasurer, shall form a quorum. The minutes of each committee meeting shall be sent to the Secretary of every affiliated club for information.
8. Each member of the Management Committee shall have one vote, except the Chairman of a meeting, who shall have only a casting vote, which he may use, if he so chooses, in the event of an otherwise equal division of votes.
9. The Management Committee shall have the power, inter alia, to:
· Fill any vacancies until the next Annual General Meeting
· Co-opt a maximum of two additional members
· Appoint a sub-committee
10. At its first meeting after each Annual General Meeting the Management Committee shall appoint, inter alia, the following:
· Disputes. This sub-committee shall be empowered to deal with all disputes and complaints involving any of the Leagues events for which provision has not been specifically, made elsewhere and to warn, fine, suspend or expel any player or club, or its representatives, guilty of a breach of the League’s constitution or rules, or of objectionable behaviour.
· Selection. This sub-committee shall deal with (1) Team selection for representative matches; (2) Where required to do so, handicapping or seeding events organised by the league.
· Divisions. This sub-committee shall deal with the allocation of teams to the various divisions for the League Competitions.
· Divisional Handicap. This sub-committee shall be responsible for the
organisation and running of the Divisional Handicap competitions.
· Closed Championships. This sub-committee, which shall include the Treasurer, shall be responsible for the organisation and running of the Closed Championships.
Not more than one member of any club shall serve on any of the disputes, Selection and Divisions Sub-Committee.
Annual General Meetings
11. An Annual General Meeting (hereafter called AGM.) shall be held in June or July each year and shall include:
. Apologies for absence.
. Approval of the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting.
. Matters Arising
. Report by the Chairperson.
. Report and presentation of Accounts by the Treasurer.
. Report by the General Secretary
. Election of Officers of the Club and Members of the Committee.
. Amendment to rules & constitution
. Presentation of Trophies
. A.O.B.
The election of officials designated in clause 6 of this constitution, and of the examiner. A president and any number of vice-presidents as thought necessary shall be elected at the A.G.M. with all officers and examiner. They shall hold office until the next A.G.M. when they will automatically retire but will be eligible for re-election.
Any Registered member has the right to propose a candidate for any office. It is required that requests for nominations (together with an acceptance by the nominee) be submitted to the League Secretary not later than 14 days before the AGM. If more than one candidate for a post is nominated there will be a vote invited from all members in attendance at the AGM. If only one nomination is received for a post this will be put to the vote of members present. If no nomination is received prior to the AGM , then nominations will be accepted at the AGM and put to the vote of clubs present.
The submission for consideration of a duly examined Income and Expenditure Account and Balance sheet.
Any other business as the meeting shall decide.
12. An Extraordinary General Meeting (hereafter called EGM.) shall be convened by the Management Committee within twenty-eight days of the receipt, by the General Secretary, of a request signed by the representatives of at least four currently affiliated clubs, The management committee also have the authority to call an EGM. Such a request shall state the purpose for which the EGM is to be called and only such business shall be transacted at that meeting.
13. Notice of any AGM (or EGM) together with requests for nominations for the Management Committee must be sent to the Secretary of every affiliated club at least twenty-one days prior to meeting.
14. A quorum for all AGM’s (and EGM’s) shall consist of at least one representative from two thirds of affiliated clubs and at least two members of the Management Committee.
15. The only persons entitled to vote at an AGM (or EGM) shall be one representative of each currently affiliated club. Such representatives shall have one vote for each team which his club entered in the current year’s competition, and for voting purposes shall be issued with a card denoting that number of votes. In addition the Chairman of any AGM (or EGM) shall have a casting vote, which he may use, if he so chooses, in the event of an otherwise equal division of votes.
16. Any affiliated club not represented at an AGM (or EGM) shall be liable to a fine of £20, unless the Management Committee shall decide otherwise.
Finance
17. The Treasurer shall be responsible, inter alia, for:
· The maintenance of all financial records.
· The presentation of such statements of account as he shall be instructed by the Management Committee.
· The collection of monies due to the League and the payment of all expenses, for which, unless made by cheque, receipts will be obtained.
The Management Committee shall be empowered to:
· Conduct the handling of the Leagues finances in such a manner and as it shall deem desirable.
· Borrow or raise funds in such a manner and upon such terms as it shall think fit.
· Instruct the Treasurer to submit to the Annual General Meeting each year for approval a duly examined Income and Expenditure Account and Balance Sheet, in respect of the year ending the previous 31st May.
An honorarium, the amount of which shall be decided by the members of the Management Committee, other than the recipients, shall be paid each year to the General Secretary, Treasurer, Fixtures and Results Secretary and Divisional Secretaries.
In the event of the League being wound up, any assets remaining after the settlement of all debts and liabilities shall be transferred to an organisation having similar objectives, the choice of which shall be made by the Management Committee. In the event of this not being possible, the E.T.T.A. shall be asked to dispose of the assets.
Construction
18. In this Constitution, unless otherwise stated, and where the context permits, masculine includes feminine and singular includes plural and vice versa.
Alterations
19. No alterations to this Constitution shall be made except at an AGM (or EGM) General Meeting. Details of proposed alterations shall be sent to the Secretary of each currently affiliated club at least seven days prior to the meeting. Alterations may be proposed by the Management Committee, or by an affiliated club. In the latter case details must be notified to the General Secretary in writing at least fourteen days prior to the meeting. Minor amendments to proposed alterations may, at the discretion of the Chairman of the meeting, be accepted from the floor.
Trophies
20. All trophies are to be returned to the Committee Member nominated for trophies by the 31st March, any club, or individual failing to do so will be liable for a fine of £20 per trophy.