CONSTITUTION (1)
1998

Contents
1. Title
2. Objectives
3. Membership
4. Management
5. A.G.M.
6. Subscriptions
7. Non-payment of Subscriptions
8. Resignations
9. Team Competitions
10. Race Entry Awards
11. Discipline
12. E.G.M.
13. Constitution Amendments


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1. Title The Club shall be known as the Lytham St. Awes Road Runners Club

2. Objectives The objectives of the Club shall be
(i) To encourage the practice, development and enjoyment of amateur athletics
(ii) To provide encouragement, support & coaching for members wishing to improve their performance
(iii) To organize competitions.
(iv) To organize teams to represent the Club in Championships, and other appropriate competitions. as decided by the Management Committee.
In support of these aims the Club shall be an Affiliate Member of the North of England Athletic Association, and shall join appropriate leagues and bodies associated with athletics and pay the due fees to those bodies
Further in continuance of the support of these aims Members shall be encouraged to participate in the wider athletic pursuits to include Road Running, Cross Country, Fell Running and Track and Field as suits individual members. To this end Members shall be registered automatically for these activities with the North of England A A.

3. Membership
Membership shall be open to persons who are amateurs as defined by U.K. Athletics and the Amateur Athletic Association Each applicant for membership must complete the official application form, and must be proposed, seconded and elected or otherwise at a properly convened meeting of the Committee.


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4. Management The management of the Club shall be vested in a Management Committee which shall consist of the Officers : Chairman, Honorary Secretary, and Honorary Treasurer together with a Committee of up to a maximum of 7 Members which shall include the captains of both the male and female Sections.
All the foregoing shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and remain in Office until the conclusion of the A.6.M. the following year. The Committee shall have the power to fill vacancies as and when they arise. In addition the Committee shall also have the power to co-opt members for particular projects or tasks but such members will not have a Committee vote.

5. Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting shall be held within two months of the end of the Club's financial year for the purpose of:
(a) Receiving the Annual Report of the Committee
(b) Receiving the audited Statement of Accounts & Balance Sheet
(c) Electing the Officers and Committee for the ensuing year
(d) Electing the Honorary Auditors
(e) Considering any amendments to the Constitution Rule by a Member of which due notice has been given to all the membership by displaying on the Club's Section of the YMCA Notice Board or by any other means at the Hon.Sec's discretion at least two weeks prior to the meeting. Any such proposed changes by a member must be received in writing by the Chairman or Hon. Sec. at least 21 days prior to the date of the A. G. M. in order to give all members sufficient notice of the proposal.
(f) At least 14 days notice shall be given to members of the date, time, venue and agenda items for the A.6.M. Each fully paid Member shall have one vote.


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6. Subscriptions Members shall pay an annual subscription fee at the commencement of each year (1st. May). The level of fees may be adjusted at the A.6.M. A graduated scale of fees will operate to account for age and in some cases the personal circumstances of members. The annual subscription fee must accompany any application for membership.

7. Non- payment of Subscriptions A member shall be deemed to be in arrears after 1st August if payment of subscriptions has not been received (i.e. 3 months after subscriptions are due) While in arrears a member may not represent the Club in either open or closed events. On payment of arrears in full,membership
rights shall be restored. Non-payment of subscriptions in any financial year shall be considered as automatic resignation and the N.of E.A.A. notified of the fact. Their unique registration number will be kept on file by the N of E A A for one further year and then deleted.
8. Resignations Any member wishing to resign is required to do so in writing addressed to the Chairman or Hon. Secretary. The request shall be considered at the next meeting of the Committee and will be considered effective as of the date of tendering.
NOTE: Resignations will not be accepted if the member is in any way financially indebted to the club, e.g. subscriptions for the current year have not been paid. Acceptance will be withheld until the debt has been discharged.
9. Team Competitions.
(i) In principle the Club shall be responsible for the entry fees for those national, area and county competitions, designated as specifically for teams only, and for which individual entries do not apply.

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(ii) At the discretion of the Committee this can be extended to open competitions where the method of entry meets the same criteria as in (i).

10. Race Entry Awards
1. In the event of the Club being awarded an entry or entries to races with limited numbers of participants, then the selection of the member(s) to receive the place(s) shall be a draw system to be devised by and at a time set by the Secretary.
2. To participate in the draw the Member shall let the Secretary know of their interest in the race before the designated draw, and demonstrate that their candidature meets the following criteria:
2.1 They have applied for the race independently and been rejected.
2.2 They intend to wear the Club vest in the race to indicate they are representing the Club.
3. To be eligible for the draw the participant must have been a first claim member of the Club for at least one year before the race date and should not have received a similar Club entry for the same fixture for the previous two races.
4. If there is insufficient interest in the entries from eligible Club Members then the criteria barring entry to the draw can be waived at the Secretary's discretion.

11. Discipline
The Club shall expect certain standards of behaviour from members of the Club, and the Committee have the power to reprimand, suspend or expel any member who infringes any Rule or whose conduct is considered to be prejudicial to the interests of the club. The following examples of unsatisfactory
conduct are given below, although the list should not be considered as the only reasons for action;
(a) Deliberate cheating by a member to gain advantage in competition.


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(b) The taking of banned substances to improve performance.
(c) Abusive language against and /or assault on Club members or opponent.
In the event of such an occurrence, the Committee shall investigate the occurrence, and in so doing shall allow the member the right to put his or her case to the Full Committee. If the Member is found to be in breach of discipline, the Member may be reprimanded , suspended from membership for a stipulated
time, or expelled permanently from the Club. In either the case the Committee's findings shall be made known to the Member in writing. Not withstanding the foregoing provisions the Committee shall not be obliged to show cause why the member has been suspended, or expelled in respect of an offence of which they have
already been convicted in a court of law.

12. Extraordinary General Meeting An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called by the Hon. Sec. or Chairman within one month of the receipt of a requisition signed by at least six members, or by two Officers of the Committee stating the purpose of the meeting. At least 14 days notice shall be given to fully paid up members by either writing to them individually or by displaying a notice on a recognized Club notice board, giving date, time, venue and purpose of the meeting. No other business shall be conducted at such a meeting.

13. Constitution Amendments No Constitutional Rule may be altered, added to, or deleted except at an Annual General Meeting, or at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for that purpose,
and then only by a two-third majority of those present and voting.

1998