NAME AND PURPOSE
1) a) The Club shall be called the “Twickenham Rugby Football Club”.
b) This Club shall be affiliated to the Rugby Football Union, to the London Society of Rugby Union Referees and the Middlesex County Rugby Football Union
c) The principal purpose of this Club shall be to play and to promote the playing of the amateur sport of Rugby Union Football and community participation in the same, and to make available facilities to support this.
d) The Club shall be a registered Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) and shall adhere to the terms of such registration.
e) The Club shall be managed by The Committee who are empowered to propose the legal form of The Club and The Trustees are empowered to approve taking such proposal to a Special General Meeting of The Club.
PLAYING ORGANISATION
2) a) The Club colours shall be red and black irregular hooped jerseys and socks and black shorts.
b) Playing members shall be responsible for providing themselves with jerseys, shorts and socks in the Club colours and rugby boots and optional protective items of a design approved by the International Rugby ~Board (IRB) .
3) The Club shall field such number of teams of players as the number of available playing members may dictate and as the Committee shall from time to time determine.
4) The Club shall play against such other teams and enter and promote such competitions both at home and away, as the Committee shall from time to time determine.
5) The senior teams shall be selected through a process defined by the Secretary of Senior Rugby and outlined at the start of the season.
6) a) During the course of or at the end of any Season the Committee may at its discretion award Honours Caps to not more than two eligible members. An eligible member shall be a member who:
i) Was a fully paid up Full Playing Member for the whole or part of the previous season;
ii) Is a fully paid up Full Playing Member during the season for which the Cap is awarded, and
iii) Shall have played for the 1st XV of the Club throughout the season for which the Cap is awarded unless prevented from doing so by sickness or injury.
b) At the Annual Dinner the Committee shall award Club colours to all eligible members. An eligible member shall be a member who:
i) Has, since the last Annual Dinner, played his 250th Senior game for the Club;
ii) Was a fully paid up Full Playing Member for the season in which the 250th game was played; and
iii) Club colours will take the form of a suitably engraved commemorative tankard.
7) In accordance with the requirements of the Rugby Football Union and the Middlesex County RFU, the Committee shall appoint a disciplinary sub-committee as appropriate which shall carry out the functions prescribed by the relevant Club policies and Rules promulgated by those bodies. An appeal from any such disciplinary sub-committee shall be to the Full Committee, the decision of which in the issue in question shall be final.
MEMBERSHIP AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
8 ) a) Membership of the Club shall be open to anyone interested in the sport on application, regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs.
b) Membership of the Club shall automatically be re-newed for the ensuing year on the 1st October in each year subject to the due payment of the appropriate subscription by such members (see Rule 11(a)) or subject to formal notice of resignation.
c) The 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 to the Full Members.
9) There shall be the following categories of membership:
a) Full Playing Membership: this Membership shall be for the purpose of playing rugby football and carries entitlement for the member, the member’s partner and their children to the use of all Club facilities, and for the member to attend and vote at General Meetings of the Club
b) Club Membership: this membership covers non playing members and where appropriate, their partners and any children whether they play within the Mini and Junior sections or not. Children will continue to be covered until they become adults, full playing members or students. This membership carries entitlement to the use of all Club facilities, and for one adult to attend and vote at General Meetings of the Club
c) Social Membership: this Membership carries the entitlement to the use of the social facilities of the Club and take part in Social Functions but excludes the use of all playing facilities and excludes the right to vote at any General Meeting of the Club.
d) Affiliated Membership: this Membership shall be limited to members of an established Club in the same or different sport which by agreement between the Committee and the Committee of the club wishing to be affiliated becomes affiliated to the Club upon such terms as may be negotiated.
e) Associated Membership: any Full Member may propose one person closely related to him/her as an Associate Member and such person if so elected shall enjoy the same facilities as a Social Member.
f) Field Membership: this Membership shall be limited to persons wishing to use the ground facilities for a specific occasion or occasions and shall entitle them to the social facilities and such playing facilities and upon such terms as the Committee shall approve but shall entitle them to no other rights or privileges whatsoever.
g) Neighbourhood Membership: this Membership shall be limited to residents in the immediate neighbourhood of the Club grounds and carries the entitlement to the use of the social facilities of the Club and take part in Social Functions but excludes all other rights or privileges of full membership.
10) a) Prior to the Annual General Meeting in each year the Committee shall review the Club subscription and shall make a recommendation to the Membership for the amount of the Full Playing Membership for the ensuing year.
b) At the Annual General Meeting the Chief Finance Officer shall notify members of any increase to the Full Playing Membership subscription.
c) All other subscriptions shall be determined by the Committee and published to the Membership provided that no other subscriptions shall exceed the approved Full Playing Membership subscription.
d) Members joining subsequent to the 1st January in each year may at the discretion of the Committee be admitted at a lower subscription.
11) a) All subscriptions of existing members shall become due on the 1st October of each year.
b) Failure to pay the subscription by the 1st December in each year shall entitle the Committee by ordinary vote to exclude the Member from all rights and privileges of the Club until such time as the subscription shall have been paid.
MEETINGS
12) a) An Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) shall be called by the Committee in every year and not more than fifteen months shall elapse between consecutive AGM’s.
b) The Secretary may at any time at the request of the Committee and shall at the request of one fifth of the total full membership or 30 Members with full voting rights whichever is the less, call a Special General Meeting of Members entitled to attend and vote at General Meetings of the Club.
13) a) Each Notice of motion for General Meetings shall be proposed and seconded by two Full Members of the Club and delivered to the Secretary at least eight clear weeks prior to the Meeting in the case of a motion to be considered at the next Annual General Meeting and at least three clear weeks prior to any other General Meeting at which it is to be considered.
b) The Committee may reject any such motion the publication or discussion of which in their opinion is likely to be detrimental to the interests of the Club.
14) Not less than 14 days prior written notice shall be given of any General Meeting, provided that (for the avoidance of doubt) notice of the Annual General Meeting may be given by including the date in the current Membership/Fixture Card.
15) Resolutions at General Meetings shall be passed by a simple majority of Full Members present and entitled to vote. Not less than 15 Members with full voting rights present in person shall form a quorum for all such meetings.
THE COMMITTEE
16) a) The Club shall be managed by The Committee which shall be elected annually at the AGM
b) The Committee shall consist of:
The Strategic Planning Committee i) The Chairman ii) The Chief Finance Officer iii) The Secretary iv) The Chief Operating Officer
The Management Committee v) The Club Captain vi) The Communication Secretary vii) The Secretary of Senior Rugby viii) The Secretary of Junior Rugby ix) The Secretary of Mini Rugby x) The Facilities Secretary xi) The Income Secretary xii) The Social & Community Secretary
c) Assistant Secretaries may be invited to assist The Committee, as the Committee shall think appropriate.
i) Such Assistant Treasurers for the purpose of fund raising or other financial activities as the Committee shall think fit and recommend to the AGM.
d) The Chief Operating Officer shall be responsible for calling Committee Meetings at such times and places as it shall from time to time determine; not less than five members of the Committee present in person shall form a quorum for all such Meetings.
e) The Chief Operating Officer shall call such a meeting to set annual budgets for the Senior and Junior playing sections of the Club and shall present the budgets to the Strategic Planning Committee for approval.
f) The Committee shall be entitled to appoint sub-committees and delegate to such subcommittees any of the powers of the Committee save those of:
(1) Suspending a member for non-payment of his/her subscription pursuant to Rule 11(b)
(2) Taking any action under any of Rules 17, 18, 19 or 26 below
(3) Hearing any appeal from any Disciplinary Sub-committee
g) The Committee shall be entitled to appoint employees of the club with full terms and conditions of employment relevant to the position of the appointment subject to Rule 17) below.
17) The Committee shall delegate the authority to the Chief Finance Officer and The Honorary Secretary of the Club to enter into Contracts on behalf of the Club. The Chief Finance Officer or The Honorary Secretary shall not enter into any such Contract on behalf of the Club unless he is authorised so to do by a Resolution of the full Committee. The Chief Finance Officer may delegate this authority to another Committee Member for any contract with under a year’s term or available for full annual review.
18)
a) The Committee shall be empowered to recommend the election of Life Members as a mark of honour and esteem for outstanding services to the Club and shall enjoy all benefits of Full Membership but exempt from subscriptions.
b) The Committee shall also be empowered to recommend the election of Vice-Presidents in recognition of services to the Club or for any other good cause.
c) A Life Member or Vice-President shall be elected by Ordinary Vote at an Annual General Meeting.
d) A Life Member or Vice-President shall be entitled to attend and vote at Annual or other General Meetings of the Club and shall be entitled to attend Committee Meetings but shall have no power to vote thereat, unless attending in a different capacity such as a member of The Committee.
19) The Committee shall have power to co-opt additional members of the Committee to undertake any new responsibilities, to fill any vacancies that may arise, or as a substitute for any member who fails to attend Committee Meetings regularly without good cause; in the latter event, the member who has failed to attend regularly shall be advised that he is no longer a member of the Committee.
Draft of Proposed Rules 28th June 2010
S Brereton Hon Secretary