Belgrave Harriers club rules
Last updated after EGM voted to amend rules on 20th September 2023
These rules are also available as a PDF
1. Title
The name of the Club shall be BELGRAVE HARRIERS (“The Club”).
2. Status
The Club is a non-profit making members’ club and is registered with HM Revenue and Customs as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC). Any surplus income is to be reinvested in the Club. No distributions of the Club's assets are permitted either in cash or in kind to the membership or to other parties.
3. Colours
Claret vest with gold hoop surmounted at the front by the name “BELGRAVE” also in gold.
4. Badge
The badge shall be Cross Keys and Portcullis with the motto Semper Paratus (Always Ready).
5. Aims and objectives
The aims and objectives of The Club are:
a) To promote athletics in all its forms for everyone.
b) To enable and assist members of The Club to participate in all forms of athletics.
c) To promote athletic meetings, events, and competitions in all forms of athletics.
d) To use appropriate methods to fund-raise in pursuit of The Club's aims and objectives.
e) To provide for its members appropriate facilities, whether sporting, social, or financial, as determined by The Club’s Committee.
6. Officers and management
a) The Club’s Committee is responsible for the management of the Club, its policies, finances and discipline.
b) The Committee must ensure that its officers are carrying out their duties for the benefit of the Club and in accordance with its rules, and that they comply with the requirements of being a registered CASC and all relevant legislation including but not limited to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Committee will take appropriate action where necessary.
c) The Club’s Committee shall consist of the Club’s Officers, namely, The President, a Chairperson (who may also be President), a General Secretary, a Treasurer, a Membership Secretary, all of The Club’s Team Managers, a Secretary for each of the following areas of The Club: Clothing, Coaching, Marketing and Publicity, Officials, Planning and Sponsorship, Social, Welfare Officers, and four Club Members.
d) All of the Committee shall be elected by Club members prior to the AGM. All paid-up members shall be notified by the General Secretary requesting nominations for the various Committee positions except for the President – see Rule 16. Club members under the age of 18 may only nominate or be nominated for the position of ‘General Member’ on the club’s committee. All other committee roles are only open for club members over the age of 18. Once nominations have been received by the specified date, a voting slip, which will include the names of all nominees, shall be sent to all members and completed voting slips will be returned to the General Secretary by the specified closing date. After the voting slips have been assessed and verified, and put before the Club’s Committee, the successful candidates will be notified to members at the AGM. In the event of a tie, the final decision will be made by the Club’s Committee. If any post on The Club’s Committee shall not be filled by this process, nominations may be made at the AGM and voted on by the members present in person or virtually. If any post on the Club’s Committee shall not be filled at the AGM, or becomes vacant during the following Club year, then the Club’s Committee shall have the power to fill such post or posts until the next AGM. All communications with members will be made electronically or by post, as set out in Rule 9b). To aid continuity in key administrative roles, the General Secretary and Treasurer may serve for two years before standing for re-election.
e) The Club’s Committee shall meet monthly, except in the month of the AGM, but in exceptional circumstances, where it is not possible to delay business until the scheduled monthly Committee meeting, additional meetings may be convened.
f) No business shall be conducted at a Committee meeting without a quorum being present. A Committee quorum, all to be present at the commencement and throughout the whole proceedings, shall be five Committee members, consisting of at least three of the President, Chairperson, General Secretary, Treasurer and Membership Secretary; plus two other Committee Members.
g) The Chairperson shall be non-voting unless a casting vote is required.
h) All the Past Presidents of The Club shall be able to sit on The Club’s Committee meetings but shall have no vote unless they additionally have a role as a Club Officer.
i) No Officer of The Club shall individually have the authority to commit The Club in any way in any matter whatsoever without the authority of The Club’s Committee.
j) The Club’s Committee does not have the power to borrow or to use the assets of the Club as security for any loan.
k) The Club’s Committee will be responsible for arranging and maintaining, upon terms usually and economically available in the UK insurance market:
i) appropriate insurance for all the insurable assets of The Club (including without limitation any insurable property vested in The Trustees from time to time) for their full replacement value, and
ii) appropriate Club, Officer and Trustee insurance against all liabilities arising out of the activities of The Club and the exercise of their functions by The Club’s Committee and The Trustees.
7. The trustees
a) Any property of The Club which cannot legally be held in the name of The Club shall be held by The Trustees, preferably four in number, but not less than two and not more than four (who must all be members of The Club) appointed by a simple majority of The Club’s Committee. This includes (without limitation) the freehold property known as Belgrave Hall, Denmark Road, London SW19, and any building society account(s).
b) Any vacancy in The Trustees that shall occur from time to time shall be filled by The Club’s Committee as soon as possible after the occurrence of the vacancy. On a change of Trustees, The Club’s General Secretary shall be responsible for instructing lawyers to ensure the appropriate Deed of Appointment and transfer of any property into the names of the new trustees is drawn up and executed, with any legal costs being borne by the Club.
c) A Trustee may resign from office by giving notice in writing to the General Secretary of his or her wish to do so. A Trustee may be removed from office by a majority vote of the members present and entitled to vote at a General Meeting. Unless so removed, every Trustee shall hold office until he or she resigns, dies, or ceases to be a member of The Club.
d) The Trustees shall hold any property registered in their names under Rule 7a) above, upon trust for The Club. They shall act promptly in relation to such property as The Club’s Committee shall from time to time direct by resolution, of which an entry in the Club’s Minutes shall be conclusive evidence.
e) The Trustees shall be fully indemnified by The Club out of The Club’s assets against all risks and expenses arising from their appointment and performance of their duties as Trustees.
f) The Trustees shall be entitled to attend meetings of The Club’s Committee and to express an opinion on any matter related to any property held by The Trustees, but this is without prejudice to Rule 7d) that the Trustees must act promptly as directed by The Club’s Committee.
8. General meetings
a) The Club’s financial year shall end on 31 March in each year.
b) For all General Meetings – that is an Annual General Meeting (AGM) or an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) – not less than 14 days’ notice must be given to all members.
c) General Meetings may be held either in person or by video/audio link (virtually), or a combination of both. Those members attending virtually must be present within 10 minutes from the commencement of the meeting and must be present when any vote is taken in which they are participating.
d) No person shall be entitled to attend and vote at a General Meeting unless he or she has paid all The Club’s subscriptions up to and including those due for The Club’s current financial year, unless that person is exempt from paying subscriptions.
e) The Club shall hold an AGM in September of each year.
f) The business to be conducted at every AGM shall include a report on the preceding year by the Chairperson or the General Secretary, the presentation of the Balance Sheet and Income and Expenditure Account (copies of which may be obtained on request from the Treasurer), the introduction of the new President, the introduction and also election where appropriate of The Club’s Officers, the election of Life Members, and any other business that shall be allowed to be carried out under these Rules.
g) No business shall be conducted at an AGM other than that specifically referred to in Rule 8 f) unless written notice of such business shall have been given to the General Secretary not later than 28 days before the AGM.
h) The quorum for an AGM shall be 20 members present or attending virtually at the commencement and throughout the proceedings of the AGM. If a quorum is not present within 20 minutes after the time fixed for the commencement of the meeting, the meeting shall stand adjourned until the same time and place on the same day in the following week, when the members present at the time fixed for the commencement of the meeting shall constitute a quorum and such AGM shall be validly held, notwithstanding that such an adjourned meeting may not take place in September as provided for in Rule 8 e).
i) The Chairperson of The Club’s Committee shall be Chairperson of the AGM and should that person not be present within 15 minutes after the time fixed for the commencement of the meeting, Committee Members present shall choose one of their number to be Chairperson of the meeting.
j) The Club’s Committee may convene an EGM at any time it may deem necessary but see rule 8 b) regarding notice.
k) The Club’s Committee shall convene an EGM upon receipt by the General Secretary of a requisition in writing for a meeting signed by not less than 25 members (whose subscriptions shall not be in arrears) stating the business to be considered at such EGM, and such EGM to be held within 28 days of the receipt of the request for a meeting but see rule 8 b) regarding notice.
l) The provisions as to the Chairperson of an EGM shall be as set out in Rule 8 i) for an AGM. If a quorum of 20 members is not present within 20 minutes of the time fixed for the commencement of such EGM, the meeting shall be dissolved.
m) No business shall be conducted at an EGM other than that specifically referred to in the notice of the EGM.
9. Membership and subscriptions
a) A person wishing to become a member of The Club shall apply to the Membership Secretary via the appropriate online form and pay the full amount due as the first subscription or put in place the means of paying the subscription by an agreed method, and no such person shall be a member of The Club or entitled to use any of its facilities unless and until that person has been elected to membership by The Club’s Committee. Applicants shall not be granted any of the privileges of membership whilst their application is pending.
b) The preferred method of communication between The Club and its members is by electronic means. However, where a member has not notified The Club of their email address, or they do not have the technological means to communicate this way, then notifications of all meetings, voting forms, subscription reminders, and any other messages directed to such members, must be made using ordinary mail or hand delivery.
c) Membership subscriptions are due on 1 April in each year.
d) Membership subscriptions shall be fixed by members at an AGM or if required by The Club’s Committee, at an EGM.
e) A notice of resignation from The Club must be made in writing and shall be acknowledged by The Club within one calendar month of receipt. Membership shall be deemed to have ceased on the actual date of the posting of the notice of resignation if the member does not intend to join another Club. Members wishing to join another Club following a resignation must comply with the England Athletics rules governing the change of clubs.
f) No member whose subscription is more than 3 calendar months in arrears, shall, subject to the absolute discretion of The Club’s Committee, be entitled to be described as a member of The Club, or use The Club’s premises or other facilities.
g) Any member ceasing to be a member during The Club’s year for any reason whatsoever shall not be entitled to any refund of the whole or any part of that member’s subscription; and such person shall immediately upon the membership ceasing return to The Club, at their own expense, all property of whatever nature that belongs to The Club and which may be in such former member’s possession.
10. Complaints procedure
Any complaints should be reported as outlined in the Club’s Welfare Policy (See Rule 11).
11. Welfare policy
a) The Club will maintain a Welfare Policy, and anyone working for or on behalf of The Club will be required to adhere to its principles and guidance, along with all principles and guidance in the National Governing Body’s policy. The Welfare Policy will be reviewed annually by The Club’s Committee.
b) All new members must acknowledge the existence of The Club’s Welfare Policy, which may be accessed from the Club’s Website.
12. Rules binding on members
The Rules of The Club shall be binding on all members of The Club.
13. Alteration of rules
No alteration to the Rules of The Club may be made unless such alteration is made at a General Meeting of The Club for which notice of the proposed alterations has been given and is carried by not less than a two-thirds majority of the members voting at the meeting, or who have returned completed voting forms sent out with the notice of the meeting.
14. Accounts
a) The Treasurer is responsible for preparing accounts (Balance Sheet and Income & Expenditure Account for the preceding financial year) and for submitting these for approval, firstly to The Club’s Committee and then to the members at the AGM.
b) The Club shall elect an Honorary Examiner at the AGM (or failing that, the Honorary Examiner will be appointed by the Committee). Any person elected or appointed as Honorary Examiner, need not be a member of The Club. The Honorary Examiner shall review the accounts and report accordingly to members at the AGM. In the absence of the Honorary Examiner’s Report, the AGM, after completing all other agenda items, shall be adjourned for a period of up to 6 months, during which time, the Committee shall make arrangements to have the Club’s accounts duly examined, using a professional firm if necessary. The Committee shall then arrange for the accounts, containing the Examiner’s report, to be submitted for approval at the reconvened AGM.
15. Life members
At the AGM, The Club’s committee may nominate for life membership up to four members who have given sustained service of special merit to The Club. Life membership is confirmed by a vote of not less than a two-thirds majority of the members voting at the meeting, or who have returned completed voting forms sent out with the notice of the meeting.
16. The President
In July each year, the current President, the Past Presidents (who for this election are permitted to vote even if they do not hold a Committee position) and the Committee will prepare a shortlist consisting of at least one but no more than five nominees for the role of Club President for the twelve months commencing from the AGM. Each nominee must fulfil at least one of the following criteria:
be a Life Member,
have been a Club Member for ten years or more,
have served on the Committee for three years or more,
have significantly contributed to the Club in ways not described by the above, at the discretion of the Committee and Past Presidents.
The names of the candidates will be submitted to the Membership with voting slips sent out with the notice of AGM. The successful candidate will be announced at the AGM.
17. The club’s championships
The Club’s Championships shall be open to first-claim members only. All The Club’s Championships trophies are perpetual trophies and shall be competed for annually or as decided by The Club’s Committee. Winners of trophies shall be required to sign the following guarantees if they take the trophy:
“I, the undersigned, acknowledge receipt of the above trophy and undertake to keep it in good condition and safe custody and to return it to The Club in time for the next competition, or before that time if so directed by The Club’s Committee”.
18. Dissolution of the Club
If the membership of The Club falls to such a low level that The Club is unable to fulfil its aims and objectives and The Club has made all efforts to correct the situation without success then, at a General Meeting, any proposal to dissolve The Club must be carried by not less than two-thirds of the members of The Club, either by voting at the meeting or by returning completed voting forms sent out with the notice of the meeting.
In the event of The Club being dissolved:
a) No individual, whether a member or otherwise, may benefit financially from the dissolution of The Club.
b) Any assets remaining after debts have been paid will, as determined by members of The Club at the meeting as above, be given or transferred to:
i) a registered Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC), or
ii) a registered charity, or
iii) a sport’s governing body for use in related community sports.
19. Sub-committees
The Club may from time to time appoint sub-committees, to whom these rules apply, whose members may not necessarily be elected Committee members.
20. Interpretation
In the event of any doubt or dispute as to the meaning or interpretation of these rules such dispute or doubt shall be determined by The Club’s Committee.