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Overton Black Arrows

An independent archery club originating in 1962, affiliated with:

• National Small-bore Rifle Association (NSRA)

• Archery GB (AGB)

• Southern Counties Archery Society (SCAS)

• Hampshire Archery Association (HAA)

Constitution

General Provisions

1. Name - The club shall be known as Overton Black Arrows, - "the Club"

1.1 The Club incorporates:

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1.1.1  Sections for Overton Black Arrows; Junior, Disabled and Senior archers

 

1.2.   The Club constitution shall apply to all incorporated entities unless specifically stated otherwise.

 

2.   Address - The postal address of the club shall be that of the Secretary for the time being.

 

3.   Purpose - The purpose of the club shall be the practice and promotion of archery in all its forms excluding the use of crossbows.

 

4.   Dissolution - In the event that the Club is dissolved, all assets remaining after all debts and financial obligations are satisfied, shall be disposed of as directed by the General Meeting approving the dissolution.  Assets will not be distributed amongst the remaining membership of the Club but shall be passed to such body’s as the Committee at the time shall deem suitable.

 

5.   Amendment of the Constitution - The Constitution of the Club shall not be altered except at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Club.

 

6.   Availability of the Constitution - The constitution shall be available on the Club’s website; a paper copy shall be available from the Committee on request.

 

7.   Uniform - The Club uniform shall be a white top with appropriate plain trousers or skirt, in adherence to AGB rules.

 

Management

8.   The Committee:

 

8.1   The management of the Club affairs shall be entrusted to the Club committee which shall also be the management committee of all incorporated entities unless the committee shall deem otherwise.

8.2   The committee shall consist of an Honorary Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and such others as the club shall decide at an AGM or EGM.

8.3   The Officers of the Club shall be elected at the AGM or at an EGM.  Members may hold more than one office.

8.4   All adult members of the Club are eligible for election to the committee irrespective of their class of membership, except when the member is a committee member or official of another archery club. If a committee member of this Club becomes a committee member or official of another archery club, he/she will immediately be deemed to have resigned from the committee of the Club.

8.5   The Committee may at its discretion co-opt other club members during the club year for whatever purposes it may deem necessary, including to any committee position.

8.6   Each committee member shall have one vote (including co-opted members unless the committee have decided otherwise at the time of co-option) and a simple majority shall decide.  In the event of a tied vote, the Chairman shall have a second casting vote.

8.7   A quorum of the committee shall be 50% of the voting members of the committee at that time.

8.8   In the absence of the Chairman at a committee meeting, the committee shall elect a Chairman from amongst those attending.

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9.   Club Year:  The club year shall be from 1 January to 31 December and an AGM shall be called at least 2 weeks before the end of the year.

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10.   Membership:

10.1   There shall be the following classes of membership:

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10.1.1   Senior Members

10.1.2   Junior Members (under the age of 18)

10.1.3.   Student Members (in full time further education under the age of 21)

10.1.4.   Honorary Members

10.1.5.   Affiliated Members

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10.2   Honorary Membership include any persons who the Club may wish to honour for distinguished service to the Club or to the sport of archery may be elected at an AGM as an Honorary Member, for life or for a specific period of time.  Honorary Members shall be exempt from all annual subscriptions payable to the Club.

10.3   Affiliated Members include non-shooting members of the Club who shall pay an annual fee not exceeding that of a visiting archer.

10.4   The Club shall be open to new members until it reaches a size that the committee shall decide to be a practical limit. 

10.5   Unless approved by the committee new junior members will not be accepted into the Club if this would lead to the total junior members exceeding 50% of the current members excluding both Honorary and Affiliate membership.

10.6   As far as is reasonably possible the Club will welcome archers with a disability.

10.7   New members: The committee, or a person or persons appointed by the committee for the purpose shall assess any applicant to join the Club for competence and suitability. This will include access to equipment and unsupervised access to all of the Club’s venues. 

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11.   Child and vulnerable adult protection:

11.1   As far as is reasonably possible the Club will act to protect children and vulnerable adults while shooting at events organised by the Club.

11.2   The Committee shall appoint a Safeguarding Officer.  Unless fulfilling another relevant position, the Safeguarding Officer will not sit on the Committee.

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12.   Discipline:

 

12.1   It is the responsibility of all members to inform the Management Committee of any conduct on the Club premises by any person, whether or not they are a member of the Club, that is illegal, unsafe, dishonest, discreditable, or contrary to the Clubs range shooting rules.

 

12.2   Such reports must be made to the Secretary, or if he/she is not available, to the Chairman or Treasurer, at the earliest opportunity.

 

12.3   The Secretary (Chairman or Treasurer) shall convene a meeting of three members of the Management Committee, to sit as a Sub-Committee to consider the matter not later than 14 days after notification of the incident.

 

12.4   The Secretary (Chairman or Treasurer) shall in the intervening period obtain statements in writing from both the accused and the accuser, and if necessary from any witness(es), and will lay those statements before the Sub-Committee when it meets.

 

12.5   The Sub-Committee, having examined the evidence, may decide:

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12.5.1   That there is no case to answer in which case the accuser and accused will be informed by the Secretary that the matter is closed, or

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12.5.2   That there is a case to answer in which case the matter shall be the subject of a disciplinary hearing.

 

12.6   If there is a case to answer a Disciplinary Committee comprising five members of the Management Committee shall con-duct the disciplinary hearing within 28 days of the meeting held under 12.3 above.

 

12.7   At the disciplinary hearing all parties to the incident may attend in person, and the accused may have with him a friend or advisor. If the accused does not attend he shall be given a copy of the record of the hearing within 7 days of it taking place.

 

12.8   The Disciplinary Committee will consider all written evidence as well as oral submissions when reaching their decision.

 

12.9   The Disciplinary Committee shall first decide whether the allegation has been proved or not.

 

12.10   If it decides that the allegation has not been proved it shall declare formally that the matter is closed.  The accused shall be entitled to ask for notice to that effect to be given to members, and if he does so such notice must be given within 7 days of the decision being made.

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12.11   If it decides that the allegation has been proved, the Disciplinary Committee may impose one or more of the following penalties:

 

12.11.1   A verbal warning.

 

12.11.2   A written reprimand.

 

12.11.3   Suspension of the right to use the Club’s ranges for a fixed period of time.

 

12.11.4   Suspension of the right to use any of the Club’s facilities for a fixed period of time.

 

12.11.5   Suspension of all membership rights for a fixed period of time.

 

12.11.6   Immediate termination of membership of the Club, or in the case of a non-member of the right to make use of any of the Club’s facilities.

 

12.12   If it finds that the allegation has been proved the Disciplinary Committee must decide whether the circumstances are such that the matter should be reported to the NSRA or other Archery GB, which may consider whether further disciplinary action should be taken.  If the Disciplinary Committee decides that the matter should be so reported the Secretary shall make the report within 7 days of the Disciplinary Committee’s decision.

 

12.13   All proceedings of the Sub-Committee, and of the Disciplinary Committee, shall be fully minuted, and copies of the minutes shall accompany any report to the NSRA or Archery GB.

 

12.14   Any person who disputes any decision, whether as to liability or penalty, by the Disciplinary Committee may appeal against that decision by serving upon the Secretary within 7 days a notice of appeal.

 

12.15   Upon receipt of such a notice of appeal the Secretary will invoke the procedure set out in the constitution and/or byelaws for the purposes of calling an extraordinary general meeting of the members of the Club to hear the appeal.

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12.16   The appeal shall take the form of a re-hearing, so the meeting shall not be entitled to enquire into the manner in which the Disciplinary Committee reached its decision.

 

12.17   On the hearing of the appeal by the extraordinary general meeting the provisions of clauses 8.8 to 8.14 inclusive shall apply.

 

12.18   All decisions on disciplinary matters by the initial Sub-Committee, the Disciplinary Committee and the members in extraordinary general meeting shall be reached by means of a vote by those attending and eligible to vote.  A simple majority will decide the issue and if necessary the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

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12.19   The person who is the subject of the disciplinary action shall not be entitled to vote on any aspect of the disciplinary action against him.

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12.20   When any penalty is imposed on a member by a Disciplinary Committee, or at an extraordinary general meeting, or by the NSRA or Archery GB, the Secretary shall post on the Club noticeboard a notice setting out the precise nature and terms of the penalty.

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12.21   The Management Committee shall report to each annual general meeting any penalty imposed on any person as a result of disciplinary action by the Club or by the NSRA or Archery GB since the last annual general meeting.

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Finance

13   Subscriptions:

 

13.1   All members, other than Honorary Members for whom payment is optional, shall pay an annual subscription to the Club as agreed at an AGM or varied at an EGM.

 

13.2   Annual subscriptions are due on the 1st January each year. Any variations agreed by EGM shall fall due on the 1st day of the following month.

 

13.3   Members who have not paid their subscriptions or any other payment, after one month of the due date shall be notified in writing at that time and subsequently after two months.

 

13.4   If subscriptions are not paid within 3 months of their falling due, the member shall be deemed to have resigned from the Club

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14.   Management of monies

 

14.1   All monies received on behalf of the Club shall remain the property of the Club and there shall be no distribution of such funds among the members.

 

14.2.   The accounts of the Club shall be submitted at the AGM.

 

14.3   A bank account or accounts shall be maintained in the name of the club.  All cheques and other withdrawals from the

account shall be signed by at least two nominated persons.

 

14.4   Any expenditure in excess of £500 shall be previously approved by the full Committee and minuted.

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General Meetings

15.   Annual General Meeting

 

15.1   An Annual General Meeting shall be held at a time and place determined by the Committee.

 

15.2   Notice of the meeting and an Agenda shall be published and notified to Club members at least twenty-one days in advance of the meeting.

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16.   Extraordinary General Meetings

 

16.1   The Club committee, or at least one third of club members by notifying the Secretary in writing stating the purpose of such meeting, may call an Extraordinary General Meeting. The notice requirements shall be the same as for an AGM

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17.   Conduct of meetings

 

17.1   At all General Meetings

 

17.2   One quarter of all fully paid up senior members shall constitute a Quorum including Affiliate and Honorary Members

 

17.3   Each senior club member shall be entitled to a vote; should a member not be able to attend a meeting, they may appoint a member of the committee or club president to vote on their behalf

 

17.4   Junior members may ask to speak at any time during a meeting and may be allowed to vote. The Chairman of the meeting shall decide whether juniors may vote on a particular issue.

 

17.5   If an AGM is not quorate then those present at the meeting will be deemed quorate.

 

17.6   If an EGM is called and the meeting is not quorate then those present at the meeting will be deemed quorate.
 

17.7   Members who are more than one month in arrears with their fees shall not be entitled to vote or speak at a General Meeting.

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Shooting Rules

18.   Shooting within any Club venue, or its activities at any other venue, will be carried out in a safe manner, independent of any outside organisations and under such insurance as the Club shall decide.

 

19.   When shooting at events organised by other bodies, their rules shall apply.

 

20.   Club members are required at all times to act responsibly and safely. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action.

 

21.   Members are encouraged to participate in archery outside the Club and to join outside governing bodies appropriate to archery in all its forms.

 

22.   All juniors attending the Club must be accompanied by a responsible adult. The committee has a duty to ensure that a responsible adult who is not a parent or guardian has the consent of the child’s parents or guardian to act in that role. The adult shall be informed that he/she is responsible for the child’s actions.

 

23.   The Club may promote archery through beginners’ courses, ‘try the sport’ activities, corporate entertainment, or any other activities deemed suitable.

 

24.   Perpetual trophies awarded by the Club shall remain the property of the Club.  Holders are responsible for their safety and for returning the trophies on request to the Club on request.

 

25.   The Club may hire out equipment to members or other clubs and may charge such a fee as the committee deems suitable

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