Constitution of the Newton Abbot Fishing Association
1 Name of Association
The club will be called NEWTON ABBOT FISHING ASSOCIATION (Hereinafter will be referred to as The Association), and may also be known as NAFA.
2 Aims and Objectives
The aims and objectives of the Association will be:
. To provide good quality and varied coarse fishing to all of its members
. To offer coaching and competitive opportunities in coarse fishing
. To promote the Association within the local community and coarse fishing
. To manage the waters leased or owned by the Association
. To ensure a duty of care to all members of the Association
. To provide all its services in a way that is fair to everyone
3 Membership
(a) Membership of the Association is open to anyone interested in promoting, coaching, volunteering, or participating in coarse fishing, regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, or other beliefs.
(b) The membership shall consist of the following categories:
. Life members.
. Full Senior members (including registered disabled and senior citizens).
. Young Full Members aged between 16 and 18 years and Junior Full members aged between 12 and 16 years.
(c) Members in each category will pay membership fees, as determined at the Annual General Meeting.
(d) Life Members, Full Senior Members and Young Full Members who reside within 20 miles of Newton Abbot shall be eligible to take part in the business of the Association, vote at general meetings, or be eligible for selection to any Association team unless the applicable subscription has not been paid by the due date and/or membership has not been agreed by the Association Committee.
(e) Life Members shall be those persons elected at the Annual General Meetings whose past services to local coarse angling have been of outstanding merit.
4 Sports Equity
(a) This Association is committed to ensuring that equity is incorporated across all aspects of its development. ln doing so it acknowledges and adopts the following
Sport England definition of sports equity:
Sports equity is about fairness in sport, equality of access, recognising inequalities, and taking steps to address them. lt is about changing the culture and structure of sport to ensure it becomes equally accessible to everyone in society.
(b) The Association respects the rights, dignity, and worth of every person and will treat everyone equally within the context of their sport, regardless of age, ability, gender, race, ethnicity, religious belief, sexuality, or social/economic status.
(c) The Association is committed to everyone having the right to enjoy their sport in an environment free from threat of intimidation, harassment, and abuse.
(d) All Association members have a responsibility to oppose discriminatory behavior and promote equality of opportunity.
(e) The Association will deal with any incidence of discriminatory behavior seriously, according to Association disciplinary procedures.
5 Committee
(a) The affairs of the Association shall be conducted by a Committee, which shall consist of the Chair, Treasurer and Secretary plus any other posts deemed necessary to ensure the efficient and effective running of the Association, all of whom shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting.
(b) All Committee members must be Full Members of the Association (none of whom shall at the same time be a serving Committee member of any other coarse angling association).
(c) lf required, the Committee shall elect a Vice Chair from among its number.
(d) The term of office shall be for one year, and members shall be eligible for re-election at the Annual General Meeting.
(e) lf the post of any Officer or ordinary Committee member should fall vacant after such an election, the Committee shall have the power to fill the vacancy until the
succeeding Annual General Meeting.
(f) The Committee will be responsible for adopting new policy, codes of practice and rules that affect the organisation of the Association.
(g) The Committee will have powers to appoint any advisers to the Committee or to
establish sub-committees as necessary to fulfill its business. ln any event, the decision of the Committee will be final.
(h) The Committee will be responsible for disciplinary hearings of members who are alleged to have infringed the Association rules/regulations/constitution. The
Committee will be responsible for taking any action of suspension or discipline
following such hearings.
(i) The Committee meetings will be convened by the Secretary of the Association and will be held no less than six times per year.
(j) All elected Committee members plus Association Bailiffs present at any Committee meeting are entitled to vote at that meeting.
(k) The quorum required for business to be agreed at Committee meetings will be eight.
(l) The Secretary will be responsible for accurately recording the minutes of all
Committee meetings, which will be available for inspection by any member of the
Association upon written application to the Secretary.
(m) All agreements on behalf of the Association approved by the Committee shall be entered into by any two of the following officers:
. Chair
. Hon. Secretary
. Hon. Treasurer
(n) Officers and Committee members may be repaid for
all out of pocket expenditure reasonably incurred whilst on or about the business of the Association, upon presentation of receipts or proof of purchase for all such
claims.
(o) Committee Members and Bailiffs of the Association shall be granted an honorarium equal to one year’s subscription in their respective category at the rate applicable in that year of service.
(p) The Committee may, at its own discretion, and upon recommendation from a
Committee Member or Bailiff award members who carry out exceptional work for or on behalf of the Association, a complimentary one year membership by way of
thanks.
6 Finances
(a) The Association Treasurer will be responsible for the finances of the Association.
(b) The financial year of the Association will begin on 1st. January and end on 31st December each year.
(c) All Association monies will be banked in an account held in the name of the
Association. At the discretion of the Committee, the Association may have a current account and a deposit account. The Committee will authorise the transfer of funds from one account to the other.
(d) An independently prepared statement of annual accounts will be presented by the Treasurer at the Annual General Meeting.
(e) Any cheques drawn against Association funds should hold the signatures of the
Treasurer plus that of either:
Chair
Hon. Secretary
(f) Any expenditure in excess of £250 will require the approval of the Committee.
(g) All members of the Association shall be jointly and severally responsible for the financial liabilities of the Association.
(h) The Association may appoint Trustees who will be three in number, all of whom shall be life members of the Association.
(i) The Trustees will be appointed by the Committee.
7 Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings
(a) General Meetings are the means whereby the members of the Association exercise their democratic rights in conducting the Association’s affairs.
(b) The Association shall hold the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the month
of October to:
. Approve the minutes of the previous year’s AGM.
. Receive reports from the Chairman and Secretary.
‘ Receive a report from the Treasurer and approve the Annual Accounts.
. Elect the officers on the Committee.
. Agree the membership fees for the following year.
. Consider any proposed changes to the Constitution and / or Rules.
. Deal with other relevant business.
(c) Notice of the AGM will be given by the Association Secretary with at least 28 days’ notice to be given to all members.
(d) Nominations for officers of the Committee will be received by the Secretary at least 14 days prior to the AGM.
(e) Proposed changes to the Constitution and / or Rules shall be received by the
Secretary at least 14 days prior to the AGM, who shall circulate them at least 7 days before the AGM.
(f) All Life, Senior Full Members and Young Full Members residing within 20 miles of Newton Abbot have the right to vote at the AGM.
(g) The Quorums for AGMs will be a number equal to 10% of Life Members, Senior Full Members and Young Full Members residing within 20 miles of Newton Abbot or a minimum of 40 AGM attendees. In the unlikely event of less than 40 AGM attendees being present the Association Chair can decide to put to the AGM attendees that the AGM should still proceed with the numbers at whatever level that is present.
(h) The Chairman of the Association shall hold a deliberative as well as a casting vote at general and Committee meetings.
(i) An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) shall be called by an application in writing to the Secretary supported by at least 15 full members of the Association. The Committee shall also have the power to call an EGM by decision of a simple majority
of the Committee members. ln either case the applications are to include the reasons why an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) is to be called.
(j) The Secretary will call the meeting within 30 days of the receipt of the application.
(k) Such business to be transacted at a Extraordinary General Meeting shall be set out in the notice calling the meeting, and no other business will be dealt with at that
meeting.
(l) All procedures shall follow those for AGMs.
8 Amendments to the Constitution
The constitution will only be changed through agreement by majority vote at an
AGM or EGM.
9 Discipline and appeals
(a) All concerns, allegations or reports of poor practice/abuse relating to the welfare of children and young people will be recorded and responded to swiftly and appropriately in accordance with the Association’s policy and procedures.
(b) All complaints regarding the behaviour of members should be presented and
submitted in writing to the Secretary.
(c) The Committee will meet to hear complaints at the first convenient opportunity
after a complaint is lodged. The Committee has the power to take appropriate
disciplinary action including the termination of membership.
(d) The outcome of a disciplinary hearing will be notified in writing to the person who lodged the complaint and the member against whom the complaint was made
within seven days of the hearing.
(e) There will be no right of appeal to the Committee following the announcement of its decision having heard a disciplinary matter.
10 Dissolution
(a) A resolution to dissolve the Association can only be passed at an AGM or EGM through a two-thirds majority vote of the membership.
(b) ln the event of dissolution, all debts should be cleared with any Association funds. Any assets of the Association that remain following this will become the property of another Association or Trust with similar objectives.
Declaration
Newton Abbot Fishing Association hereby adopts and accepts this constitution as a current operating guide regulating the actions of members.
