R&A rules - www.randa.org
ENGLISH DEAF GOLF ASSOCIATION
CONSTITUTION
1 TITLE
1.1 The name of the society shall be the ENGLISH DEAF GOLF ASSOCIATION hereafter mentioned as “the Association”
2 AIMS
2.1 The aims of the Association are to promote and safeguard the interests of and provide advice and information to members.
3 OBJECTIVES
3.1 The objectives of the Association are:
a) To organise tournaments for deaf players
b) To organise international matches between deaf players
c) To organise coaching for deaf players
d) To organise golfing holidays for members
4 MEMBERSHIP
4.1 Membership shall be limited to any deaf person
a) born in England
b) living in England
c) a member of a golf club or deaf club in England
4.2 Application for membership
a) Any person meeting the criteria of 4.1 a-c may apply for free membership
b) The committee shall have the power to refuse membership to any person.
4.3 Resignations
a) Any member may resign from the Association by informing the Secretary in writing
5 SUBSCRIPTIONS
5.1 The annual subscription shall be decided at the AGM and shall run from 1st January to 31 December each year.
5.2 The current membership for 2008 is Free to all members
5.3 In addition the Association agrees to pay:
a) The English Golf Union annually on 1st November all registration and membership fees as decided by the Executive Committee of the English Golf Union
b) The World Deaf Golf Federation annually all registration and membership fees as decided by the Executive Committee of the WDGF.
6 ACCOUNTS
6.1 The Association shall operate a bank account
6.2 The account shall be operated by the signatures of two (2) from a) the Chair b) the Treasurer and c) a nominated committee member
6.3 Funds may be transferred to a Building Society or other suitable investment as deemed appropriate by the Treasurer and with the approval of the committee.
6.4 Accounts shall be drawn up annually to 30th September and presented to members at the AGM
7 DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION
7.1 The Association can be dissolved at an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting with the consent of no less than two thirds of members present.
7.2 Upon dissolution, the assets of the Association (after all proper debts and liabilities have been met) shall be passed on to British Deaf Sports Council who shall hold such assets on behalf of the Association for a period of five (5) years.
7.3 Should the Association be reconstituted within five (5) years, the assets shall be returned.
7.4 Upon expiry of the five (5) year period and the Association not having been reconstituted. British Deaf Sports Council shall use the assets as they think fit.
8 ROYAL AND ANCIENT GOLF CLUB/ ENGLISH GOLF UNION
8.1 The Association agrees to abide by the Rules of Golf as laid down by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews
8.2 The Association agrees to abide by the Rules of Amateur Status as laid down by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews
8.3 The Association recognises that the English Golf Union is the Governing Body for men’s amateur golf within England and as such recognises its authority to govern the game.
9 OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE
9.1 The Association shall be managed by a committee consisting of a Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and three (3) committee Members who shall be elected annually at the AGM
9.2 If the Secretary and Treasurer posts are combined, a fourth committee member shall be appointed.
9.3 The committee shall have the power to co-opt any number of people it may require.
9.4 The committee shall have the power to fill any vacancy arsing within its membership during its term in office
9.5 The English Golf Union shall be advised immediately of any changes in officers
9.6 If the Chair cannot attend or does not turn up for any meeting, the Committee shall appoint one of its members as Acting Chair. This person shall not be the Secretary or the Treasurer.
9.7 A Quorum at any meeting shall be four (4) of the full committee members.
9.8 If a quorum is not present, the committee can discuss business but any decisions must be ratified by the other members of the committee who are not present at the meeting. Such decisions can be conveyed to these members by letter or email if deemed necessary.
9.9 In the event of an equal number of votes being cast on a proposal, the Chair shall have a casting vote.
9.9 The Committee shall meet when necessary as decided by the Chair and Secretary. Any member of the committee may request a meeting.
10 COMPETITION AND HANDICAPPING COMMITTEE
10.1 The committee which consists of the members appointed by the method stated in paragraphs 9.1-9.4 shall also act as the Competition and Handicapping Committee to organise competitions for the Association members and control handicapping therein under the authority as delegated by the English Golf Union.
10.2 This Committee should determine the conditions under which appertain to each competition and supply all members and the English Golf Union with details of these conditions.
10.3 The committee agrees to adopt the Handicapping Scheme for Registered Societies as determined by the English Golf Union and no other method of handicapping for those members not in possession of a Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU) handicap shall be introduced.
10.4 The committee shall keep full records of competitions and handicaps of members as determined by the English Golf Union and these records are available upon request.
11 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
11.1 An Annual General Meeting of the Association shall take place every year. Such meetings shall be held at a central venue and in November if possible.
11.2 A notice convening the AGM and the Minutes of the previous AGM shall be sent to each member of the Association at least six (6) weeks beforehand.
11.3 Motions for changes to the constitution shall be sent to the Secretary at least two (2) weeks before the date of the AGM and be included on the Agenda.
11.4 Motions (other than changes to the Constitution) shall be accepted from the floor.
11.5 Alterations to the constitution must receive the consent of not less than two thirds of the members present.
11.6 If the Chair is unable to be present within thirty (30) minutes of the scheduled start of the meeting, the Committee shall appoint one of the members as Acting Chair. This person should not be the Secretary or the Treasurer.
11.7 Voting shall be by a show of hands- unless members agree that a paper vote would be more appropriate.
11.8 In the event of an equal number of votes, the Chair shall have the casting vote.
12 EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
12.1 An Extraordinary General Meeting can be called at any time by at least ten (10) members signing a letter stating why they want such a meeting and send copies of the letter to both the Chair and the Secretary of the Association. The letter may be sent to a Committee member if it is considered where appropriate and the Committee member shall then take any action.
12.2 A meeting shall be convened as soon as possible after the receipt of a latter requesting the EGM – but within 30 days.
12.3 Notice of the EGM must be sent to all members of the Association at least fourteen days prior to the date of the meeting and shall include a statement of the reasons for convening the meeting.
13 DISCIPLINE/SANCTION PROCEDURES
13.1 The Committee shall have the power to suspend/expel a member for behaviour that has or may be likely to bring the Association into disrepute.
13.2 The Committee shall appoint a Discipline Committee from within its own membership.
13.4 The member who is subject of paragraph 11.1 shall be notified of the Discipline Meeting. The period of notice shall be four weeks and the member will have the opportunity to put his/her case before the committee either:
a) In writing no later than 4 working days before the meeting
b) Or in person at the meeting
13.5 At the Discipline Meeting, the Committee will hear all arguments before meeting in confidence to make a decision.
13.6 The member in question will be notified of the Discipline Committee’s decision within seven (7) days of such decision.
Signed:
Dated:
