Changes to the Constitution proposed by Council to the 2009 AGM

[<<] [>>] by Ian Vincent
10th August 2009 (CqE Official News)

Note that you may vote on-line or a copy of the ballot paper published in the August Gazette is available for download.

A. Changes to Remove the Requirement for Council to Elect Individual Associates and Member Clubs

At its October 2008 meeting, Council decided to propose that it should no longer elect Individual Associates, but that they should instead be admitted on application, subject to a right of refusal for good cause. As well as abolishing what has long been a formality, it was felt desirable to make this change to clarify that the Association is an organisation with open membership, rather than a private club, in line with the requirement for clubs which wish to qualify as Community Amateur Sports Clubs. The Constitution also requires Member Clubs to be elected, though it is not clear that this has been done in practice for some years, and Council also proposes that this requirement should be dropped.

Council therefore proposes:

1. that clause 2(a) of the Constitution, which currently reads:

"(a) Membership of the Association shall comprise Full Members and Affiliate Members.

(i) Full Members

Any individual interested in Croquet shall be eligible for admission as an Individual Associate.

Any club providing facilities for the playing of Croquet shall be eligible for admission as a Member Club.

(ii) Affiliate Members

Individuals, groups of persons, clubs, other Croquet associations and councils not fulfilling the requirements of Full Members may be eligible for admission as Affiliate Members."

be replaced by:

"(a) Membership of the Association shall comprise Full Members and Affiliate Members.

(i) Full Members

Any individual shall be eligible for admission as an Individual Associate, regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs.

Any club providing facilities for the playing of Croquet shall be eligible for admission as a Member Club.

(ii) Affiliate Members

Individuals, groups of persons, clubs, other Croquet associations and councils may be eligible for admission as Affiliate Members on such terms and conditions as Council may from time to time determine."

2. that clause 3 of the Constitution, which currently reads:

"3. INDIVIDUAL ASSOCIATES: ELECTION

(a) The Council shall elect Individual Associates.

(b) Applications for election as an Individual Associate, giving the name, address and other contact details of the candidate, may be made via the Association's web site or sent to the Office. Pending the decision of the Council, a candidate may play in Calendar Fixtures as an Individual Associate upon depositing his subscription with the Office.

(c) The Council may elect as Life and Honorary Individual Associates persons who have rendered special services to the Association."

be replaced by:

"3. INDIVIDUAL ASSOCIATES: ADMISSION

(a) Applications for admission as an Individual Associate, including the name, address and other contact details of the applicant and payment of, or authorisation to collect, the appropriate subscription, may be made via the Association's web site or sent to the Office.

(b) The Council, on the recommendation of its Executive Committee, may refuse an application only for good cause, including but not limited to conduct likely to bring the Association into disrepute or hinder its operation.

(c) Applicants may exercise the privileges of membership immediately, though shall cease to do so if informed by the Hon. Secretary that the Council has been recommended to refuse their application under (b) above.

(d) The Association, on the proposal of Council, may elect as Honorary Individual Associates persons who have rendered special services to the Association."

3. that clause 6 of the Constitution, which currently reads:

"6. MEMBER CLUBS: ELECTION

The Council shall elect Member Clubs on such terms and conditions as it may from time to time determine."

be replaced by:

"6. MEMBER CLUBS: ADMISSION

Member Clubs shall be admitted on such terms and conditions as Council may from time to time determine."

B. Renaming of Regional to Federation Representatives

In March, 2008, Council resolved that Regional Representatives should be known as Federation Representatives, to accord with common usage and reflect the fact that in practice their relationship is with their region's Federation.

Council therefore proposes:

1.that clause 12(a)(3), which currently reads:

'(iii) a maximum of nine Council members ("Regional Representatives") elected via the Federations to represent Member Clubs situated within the Domain; Regional Representatives shall be elected on the basis of one Council member for each Regional grouping.''

should be replaced by:

'(iii) a maximum of nine Council members ("Federation Representatives") elected via the Federations to represent Member Clubs situated within the Domain; Federation Representatives shall be elected on the basis of one Council member for each Federation.'

2. that throughout clauses 18(b) and 24(b):

"Regional"

should be replaced by:

"Federation".