Constitution
Codes of Practice:
1. Membership
2. General Conduct
3. Meeting Rules
4. Website & Social Media
5. Leisure rides
6. Racing
Constitution
A5 Rangers Cycling Club (hereafter referred to as The Club) – Constitution
1) Aims and Objectives
a) The Club exists to encourage and support amateur cycling in all its forms in Northamptonshire and surrounding areas.
2) Membership
a) Club membership is open to all:
i) Membership of The Club is open to anyone interested in promoting, coaching, volunteering or participating in cycling, regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs.
ii) The Club may have different classes of membership and membership fees on a non-discriminatory and fair basis. The Club will keep membership fees at levels that will not pose a significant obstacle to people participating.
iii) Any member seeking to join The Club shall submit a Membership Application and fee to the Membership Secretary, who admits the Member on behalf of The Club Committee. The Club Committee may refuse membership or remove it, only for good cause such as conduct or character likely to bring The Club or sport into disrepute. Appeal against refusal or removal may be made by calling an EGM to review the Committee’s decision. See disciplinary process set out in Clause 7
(Discipline and Appeals) below.
iv) All members will be subject to the regulations of the constitution and by joining The Club will be deemed to accept these regulations and codes of practice that The Club has adopted.
v) The Club’s membership year will run 1st January to 31st December.
All membership fees must be paid two weeks before the AGM in order to qualify for voting and to confirm eligibility before commencement of the meeting.
Any member who has not paid their membership renewal subscription by the end of January will be deemed to have resigned from The Club.
New members joining after 31st October will be deemed to be members until December 31st of the following year (ie a period of about 15 months).
vi) Individuals shall not be eligible to take part in the business of The Club, vote at general meetings or be eligible for selection of any club team unless the applicable subscription has been paid by the due date and/or membership has been agreed by The Club Committee.
vii) All members joining The Club shall be deemed to be registered as Ride Leaders within the terms of The Club’s Organisers Liability insurance.
3) Committee
a) The affairs of The Club shall be conducted by a Committee which:
i) shall exercise all such functions as may be exercised by The Club other than those functions that are required by these rules to be exercised by The Club in a General Meeting.
ii) has the power to perform all such acts and do all such things as appear to the Committee to be necessary or desirable for the proper management of the affairs of The Club.
iii) shall have the power to create and wind up sub-committees as required.
iv) will have powers to appoint any advisers to the Committee as necessary to fulfil its business.
v) shall have the power if so necessary, to agree a resolution in writing, approved by every Committee member, without a meeting.
b) The Committee shall consist of the Officers of The Club being:
○ Chair
○ Treasurer
○ General Secretary
○ Membership Secretary
○ Race Secretary
○ Club Rides Secretary
O One non-officer Committee member
c) Members of the Committee will be elected at the AGM and will serve until the conclusion of the AGM following their appointment. Committee members shall be eligible for re-election. Committee members should stand down after 4 years and only re-stand if there are no other candidates.
d) All Committee members must be members of The Club.
e) If the post of Chair falls vacant after such an election an EGM will be called by the General Secretary within 7 days in accordance with Section 6 below; this will be for the
members to elect another Chair.
f) If the post of any other Officer (other than the Chair) should fall vacant after such an election, the Committee shall have the power to fill the vacancy until the succeeding
Annual General Meeting.
g) The Committee will be responsible for disciplinary hearings of members who infringe the club rules/regulations/constitution. The Committee will be responsible for taking any action of suspension or discipline following such hearings.
h) The Committee meetings may be called by any two Committee members and will in any case be convened by the General Secretary and be held no less than 3 times per year.
i) The quorum required for business to be agreed at Committee meetings will be [51%] of the Committee members.
j) All Club members will be entitled to attend Committee meetings as observers and may speak at the discretion of the Chair.
k) Any Club member may submit a fully formed and considered suggestion/motion to the committee.
l) Only Committee Members will have the right to vote at Committee meetings. Issues arising at meetings of the Committee and which require a vote, shall be determined by a simple majority of the votes of the Committee members present at the meeting (or voting by email). If a vote is carried by less than 66% of committee members the Chair may elect to put an issue to a general Club remote vote.
4) Other posts
a) The AGM may elect members to other posts to facilitate the running of The Club but these posts will not need to attend Committee meetings unless invited by the Committee for specific business and will not be eligible to vote at Committee meetings.
Other posts may include (for example – Clubroom co-ordinator, Social co-ordinator, Club Kit co-ordinator, Webmaster). In all cases members undertaking these tasks will in the first instance, report to the committee member responsible for their area of
operation (who will be identified on appointment).
b) With the exception of the Webmaster (if established) individuals appointed to other posts must be members of The Club.
c) For the avoidance of doubt, Committee members may also be elected to other posts. d) A president shall be elected every 5 years as from 2021. (The duties of the president shall be to represent The Club at various functions).
5) Finances
The club Treasurer will be responsible for the finances of The Club.
a) The financial year of The Club will run from 1st January and end on 31st December.
b) All club monies will be banked in an account held in the name of The Club.
c) A statement of annual accounts will be presented by the Treasurer at the AGM, having previously been reviewed by another suitably qualified member of The Club (or an independent examiner) who shall be approved in advance by the Committee.
d) Any cheques drawn against club funds should hold the signatures of the Treasurer plus at least one other Officer. Any amount in excess of £250 must be approved in advance by the Committee.
e) The Club is prohibited from borrowing or lending money other than in the ordinary course of supplier credit.
f) The Committee must seek approval of the members by EGM or AGM for any expenditure in excess of £750. Additionally
i) Up to £250.00 pa, a Committee member plus pre-agreement by the Treasurer.
ii) £250 to £750 pa, by majority agreement at a Committee meeting.
iii) In excess of £500 pa, by approval of the membership.
iv) For known expenditure exceeding £750 pa, pre-approval can be sought at each AGM.
g) A statement of the club finances, including balances, income and expenditure should be prepared for each Committee meeting and thereafter be available to members upon request to the Treasurer.
h) The Club shall indemnify the Committee and members acting properly in the course of the running of The Club against any liability incurred in the proper running of The Club (but only to the extent of its assets).
i) The Club will procure and maintain such insurances as are considered appropriate by the Committee including but not limited to public liability, property, Officers liability.
6) Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings
a) General Meetings are the means whereby the members of The Club exercise their democratic rights in conducting The Club’s affairs.
b) The Club will hold the Annual General Meeting (AGM) not more than 15 months after the previous AGM to:
i) Approve the minutes of the previous year’s AGM
ii) Receive reports from the Chair and General Secretary
iii) Receive a report from the Treasurer and approve the Annual Accounts
iv) Receive a report from those responsible for certifying The Club’s accounts
v) Elect the Officers on the Committee
vi) Agree the membership fees for the following year
vii) Consider any proposed changes to the Constitution
viii) Deal with other relevant business
c) Notice of the AGM will be given by the General Secretary with at least 21 days’ notice to all members by email via the club website and by notice in the club room.
d) Nominations for Officers and Elected Members of the Committee will be sent to the General Secretary at least 14 days prior to the AGM. Nominations must have a proposer and a seconder and be confirmation by the Nominee of willingness to stand.
e) Motions submitted by members for consideration at the AGM (including proposed changes to the Constitution) shall be sent to the General Secretary at least 14 days prior to the AGM. Motions must have a proposer and a seconder.
f) The agenda, including nominations and any proposed motions submitted by members, will be circulated by the General Secretary at least 10 days before an AGM.
g) All members aged 16 and over have the right to vote at the AGM.
h) Issues arising at General Meetings and which require a vote, shall be determined by a simple majority of the votes of members present at the meeting (or voting by proxy/email) and entitled to vote, unless stated otherwise in this Constitution.
i) The quorum for AGMs will be [25%] of the membership [(a quorum will include any votes submitted by email)]
j) The Chair of The Club shall hold a deliberative vote at General and Committee Meetings, however they will not hold a casting vote.
k) An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) shall be called by an application in writing to the General Secretary supported by the lower of 10% or 10 members of The Club.
The Committee shall also have the power to call an EGM by decision of a simple majority of the Committee Members.
l) All procedures shall follow those outlined above for AGMs.
7) 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 Club’s child protection policy and procedures. The General Secretary is the lead contact for all members in the event of any child protection concerns.
b) All complaints regarding the behaviour of members should be presented and submitted in writing to the General Secretary.
c) The Committee will consider complaints within 21 days of a complaint being lodged. The Committee has the power to take appropriate disciplinary action including the termination of membership.
d) The outcome of a disciplinary hearing should be notified in writing to the person who lodged the complaint and the member against whom the complaint was made, within 7 days of a decision being made.
e) The member will have the right of appeal to an EGM following disciplinary action being announced. The member will be responsible for initiating the EGM process in accordance with the normal rules should they wish to make an appeal. The EGM should consider the appeal within 28 days of the General Secretary receiving the application with relevant signatures.
f) If a member who is disciplined in accordance with Clause 7 (Discipline and Appeals) is a Committee member he/she will not be entitled to participate in Committee Meetings (including voting) during the period of their sanction.
8) Name of The Club
The club will be called A5 Rangers Cycling Club.
9) Club Colours
Club colours will be Royal blue, white and red.
10) Affiliation
The Club will be affiliated to such cycling bodies as the Committee consider appropriate in light of the activities of The Club.
11) Structure
The Club is registered with HMRC as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC). All surplus income or profits are to be reinvested in The Club. No surpluses or assets will be distributed to members or third parties other than in accordance with Clause 14 (Dissolution).
12) Disposal / Acquisition of property
The disposal or acquisition of property (other than in the event of dissolution) will be subject to agreement by two thirds of members present or voting by email/post at a General Meeting (AGM or EGM), provided that written notice of the proposal has been given to all members at least 21 days before the meeting.
13) Amendments to the constitution
The constitution will only be changed through agreement by majority vote (in person or by email) at an AGM or EGM.
14) Dissolution
a) A resolution to dissolve The Club can only be passed through agreement by majority vote (in person or by email/post) at an AGM or EGM.
b) Upon dissolution of The Club, any remaining assets will be given or transferred to another registered CASC, a charity or the sport’s national governing body for use by them in related community sports.
c) The destination of any remaining assets in accordance with Clause 14(b) will be determined by resolution of the Committee.
15) Codes of Practice
a) Describes the normal working practice of The Club which all members are expected to
abide by
b) Are listed below and adopted in the first instance with this Constitution
c) May be altered at any time by the Committee
Code of Practice – Membership
1) Categories
a) Categories of membership shall be:
i) Junior (9-17 years)
ii) Adult (18 years and over)
iii) Life (Awarded by simple majority vote of the membership – will not be subject to membership fees but will be subject to the annual participation threshold)
2) Participation Threshold
a) The following participation thresholds must be achieved in relation to membership:
i) New members – no minimum participation
ii) Renewing members – having achieved a minimum of 4 participating activities (or pro-rata for members with less than 12 months membership in the preceding year) (per HMRC CASC participation rules – see below)
b) Exceptions – a renewing member who has not achieved the participation threshold may be admitted to membership at the discretion of the Committee (e g if the non-participation is due to a temporary reason e g illness)
3) Honorary Rangers
a) The Club may appoint “Honorary Rangers” who are recognised for their significant and long-standing contribution to The Club. Honorary Rangers will be appointed by a simple majority vote of the members in AGM or EGM.
b) Honorary Rangers will not be members of The Club and will hold no voting rights.
Code of Practice: Conduct
1) General conduct
Members are expected to behave in a calm, courteous and respectful manner to one another
and the public at all times. The use of abusive or offensive language or behaviour is not
acceptable.
2) Discipline:
Members are expected to abide by the relevant Codes of Practice when attending any Club event (ride, race, meeting etc), representing The Club and appearing on social media in relation to The Club. If advised by a relevant official, that they are not abiding by the relevant Code and if they continue in breach of it, they will be asked to leave the activity or meeting involved. Any Member(s) so treated shall have right of appeal as set out in the Constitution
Clause 7 (Discipline and Appeals). For the purpose of these Codes of Practice a Leisure
Ride Leader or Race Official is a Club Official.
Code of Practice – Meeting Rules
The following points set out the rules governing the conduct of meetings.
1) All meeting business is to be conducted in a calm, ordered and respectful manner. Members are to address the Chair, who will summarize each point made. A member will not be expected to speak twice on the same subject unless extra considerations arise. Should a member ignore any reasonable request from the Chair they will be considered in contravention of club rules and may be asked to leave the meeting. Failure to do so or repeated indifference to the Chair will result in the member being banned from future meetings at the discretion of the Chair.
2) The Chair has the power to close a meeting at any point, in which case all business conducted at that meeting shall be deemed not to have been conducted.
3) Any member can request verbally, in writing or by email for a particular item to be put on a meeting agenda.
4) All meeting agendas to be put on The Club’s website (Members’ area) and notice board.
5) The agenda for a particular meeting will close as follows:
AGM / EGM
Committee
General business
10 days
7 days
6) Only urgent business as deemed by the Chair may be added to the agenda after the
deadline has passed.
7) All members can speak and vote at Club General Meetings. All Committee members can speak and vote at Committee meetings. Any vote which is tied will be referred to an EGM for resolution by the members.
8) The meeting must be quorate, otherwise that meetings’ agenda items are postponed until the next meeting.
9) Minutes of all meetings will be taken. These will record actions to be taken, their
completion and key rationale for decisions.
10) Minutes of all meetings will be available to all Club members (with the exception of disciplinary meetings which will only be published with the approval of the member who is the subject of the hearing).
11) Any item placed on the meeting agenda may be voted on by either:
a) voting in person at the meeting or
b) voting in advance of the meeting electronically, to an address supplied on the meeting
agenda, stating a simple yes or no against each item and quoting the member’s full
name
12) Any vote cast by email must be received 48 hours in advance of the meeting.
13) At the discretion of the Chair, votes can be submitted using the electronic form provided up to 3 hours before a meeting.
14) The potential to vote by email may be disallowed in advance, by agreement of the Committee if the agenda item is considered to be of such significant importance that a decision cannot be made without public debate. If a vote by email is disallowed the decision and reason must be published with the meeting agenda.
15) If the wording of an agenda item is varied during a meeting the Chair must postpone the vote on that item to the next meeting if the Chair considers it likely Club Members who voted by email may want to change their vote as a result.
Code of Practice – Website & Social Media
1) No member may transfer or make available their Club website log-in password to another party or individual, nor divulge any other Member’s password should they have such knowledge.
2) No member may divulge any other Member’s contact details to any person who is not a member of The Club.
3) Club members should only post in the relevant forum.
4) Club members should post in the Forum in a way that is objective, avoids personal criticism and is respectful of other users. Inflammatory, insulting, frivolous or abusive posts will not be tolerated, will be deleted and may result in revocation of Membership from The Club.
5) Club members should remember that the Forum is aimed at a general audience which includes juniors and persons of all backgrounds. Posting generally offensive text or images, spam, links, etc. and comments that may bring The Club into disrepute will not be tolerated and will lead to a warning or immediate banning without notice from all messaging services on the website and Club social media accounts.
6) Club members should post in the Forum in a way which is consistent with “normal riting”.
That is users should not post excessive numbers of emoticons, large, small or coloured text, etc. Similarly, users should not SHOUT or use excessive punctuation (e.g. !!!! and ???) in topic titles or posts.
7) The Committee reserves the right to edit or remove any post at any time. The determination of what is construed as unacceptable, indecent, vulgar, spam, etc. as noted
in these points is up to the Committee and not users.
8) All posts made in The Club forums will be considered in the Public Domain once posted.
Code of Practice – Leisure rides
1) Riders
a) when riding on the road, must wear a helmet at all times that conforms to EN1078 or EN1080 standards unless they have good reason for exemption and must comply with the Highway Code
b) are expected to maintain the average speed of the group they have chosen to ride with, however the pace of the ride shall be the pace of the slowest rider in the group
c) should at all times uphold the spirit of cycling fellowship that was integral to the establishment of The Club
d) must stop together if one member has a problem until the Ride Leader decides on a course of action
e) taking part in Club or other events and/or wearing Club kit in public are expected to be considerate ambassadors for The Club and the sport
f) must ensure that their cycles are roadworthy
g) are expected to carry tube, basic tools and pump for puncture repairs
h) are encouraged to use mud-guards when group riding in wet weather conditions or remain at the rear of the group for the comfort of all other participants
i) are encouraged to use bike lights during autumn/winter riding and other poor visibility conditions
j) are not permitted for safety reasons to use tri-bars on Club rides
2) Children
a) under the age of nine years may not ride solo cycles on club runs
b) aged from nine to twelve years must be accompanied by a parent/guardian or a responsible adult acting in loco parentis. In the latter case a signed Club Rides parental consent form is required
c) aged from thirteen to seventeen years may participate unaccompanied provided that they have guardian permission and a Club Rides parental consent form has been signed
3) Points shall be awarded for attendance on Club Rides as follows
a) one point for each Club Ride
b) a points table shall be regularly published on the Club website and the Club notice board
Code of Practice – Racing
These need to be reviewed in line with the relevant Club TT arrangements
Racing regulations can only be changed in the period between 1 November and 28 February
Racing Rules
1) All club time trial events shall be promoted strictly in accordance with the rules and regulations of the national controlling body having jurisdiction over the type of competition concerned. The said rules and regulations shall have precedence over any club racing rules and regulations.
2) No performance shall count for championship or record purposes unless the event in which it was achieved was run in strict accordance with the rules and regulations of the appropriate national controlling body.
3) Any member accused of contravening any rule or regulation of the appropriate national controlling body in a club event shall be subject to a disciplinary review in accordance with The Club Constitution
4) The Racing Secretary shall ensure that the appropriate written consent on an official CTT
Parental Consent form has been received before a person under the age of 18 years is allowed to take part in a club time trial event.
5) Before taking part in a club time trial competitors must sign the appropriate CTT declaration form and pay the correct entry fee to the timekeeper.
6) Prospective riders arriving at an event after the event has started will not be allowed to
start.
7) The timekeeper of a club event shall have the power to refuse a rider entry to the event.
8) Records:
a) Only First Claim members riding in open, association and A5 Rangers Cycling Club club events shall be eligible for Club records.
b) Claims for club records shall be submitted to the Racing Secretary with the appropriate
result sheet before 31st October of the year in which the ride took place.
c) Club records shall be approved by the Committee.
d) On approval of a club record an appropriate certificate shall be awarded at the annual prize presentation.
9) Trophies
a) All Club trophies shall be perpetual and cannot be won outright.
b) When a club member wins a trophy he/she may receive a suitably engraved award at the annual prize presentation.
c) Runners-up in such events shall be entitled to a lesser award.
d) One trophy or award only shall be awarded to any one person in any single event, with the exception of the Trophy 25 mile event and the Trophy 10 mile event.
Racing regulations
1) Entry fees for all club events shall be reviewed annually by the Committee.
2) Prospective riders shall have signed on no less than 15 minutes before the advertised start of any event. Riders arriving less than 15 minutes before said race may be permitted to start at the timekeeper’s discretion.
3) No member shall be eligible for any club time trial trophy or award unless he/she has competed in at least four club racing events in the season excluding trophy events.
4) Senior or Veteran riders must have officiated at a minimum of three Club time trial events in order to qualify for any club time trial trophy or award.
5) The Senior Best All Rounder (BAR) championship shall be decided on the British BAR system at distances of 25, 50 and 100 miles.
6) The Junior Best All Rounder (BAR) championship shall be decided on the British BAR system at distances of 10 and 25 miles, the two best rides at each distance to count.
7) The Juvenile BAR championship shall be decided on the BAR system at distances of 5 and 10 miles, the two best rides at each distance to count.
8) Any rider wishing to participate in the Senior/Junior/Juvenile competitions must submit his/her qualifying times, with supporting written evidence, i.e. event result sheet, to the Racing Secretary no later than 31st October of that particular racing season.
9) The number of qualifying events to be run at each distance in the Series Competitions shall be agreed at the annual date fixing meeting.
10) Points shall be awarded according to position on handicap in Series Competition events as follows: 1st 5 points, 2nd 4 points, 3rd 3 points, 4th 2 points . All other finishers shall receive 1 point.
11) Riders shall be handicapped, from their best times in club events only as of 12th January of the preceding year. Riders without a current performance at any distance shall be handicapped from their time in the distance closest to the one concerned.
12) A points table shall be regularly published on the Club website and on the Club notice board.
13) In both the combination 5/10/25 mile series and the 5/10 mile series, each rider’s best four placings at each distance shall count towards their final placing.
14) When members take part in organised racing events, where financial support has been provided to the rider/s by The Club in respect of that event, those members shall be required to wear The Club racing kit, as registered at the time of the event with British Cycling.