Article 1 - Name
The club shall be called Stonehaven Chess Club (referred to in the following articles as “the Club”)
Article 2 - Purpose
2.1 To provide residents of Stonehaven and surrounding areas opportunities to learn and play chess.
2.2 To promote chess within the community; to teach the rules and protocols, strategy and tactics of the game of chess and encourage the development of chess players; to provide a forum for players to meet and to play and exchange information and knowledge about chess.
2.3 To collaborate with other clubs locally, regionally and nationally in establishing competitive chess for individuals and teams and to organise club teams to participate in those. The Club will affiliate to Chess Scotland.
Article 3 - Membership
3.1 Any person irrespective of personal or immutable characteristics or ability to play may apply to become a member of the Club by completing a membership form and by paying the membership fee. Members will be Adult members if aged 16 years or over, otherwise they will be Junior members. Only the Adult members will be voting members.
3.2 The Management Committee shall have the power to admit, suspend, refuse or revoke membership. Anyone refused membership shall have the right to appeal to the committee in writing.
3.3 Members’ Rights
Members have the following rights:
3.3.1 To participate in all Club activities except those limited by age for Junior members.
3.3.2 To be eligible to play for a club team in any of the local, regional or national competitions in which the club participates subject to the rules of those competitions.
3.3.3 To stand for election to the Management Committee (see Article 4). Note that the Treasurer must be at least 18 years of age.
3.3.4 To vote at all General and Extraordinary Meetings.
3.4 Members’ Responsibilities
Members have the following responsibilities:
3.4.1 To uphold and abide by the constitution of the Club.
3.4.2 To abide by the laws of chess. The reference for this will be the Chess Scotland Rule Book (https://www.chessscotland.com/info/rules/) which incorporates the FIDE Laws of Chess (https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012023).
3.4.3 To treat other members respectfully and cordially. Discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated.
3.4.4 To pay the annual membership fee by the due date.
The membership fee is due at the beginning of each season which runs from the beginning of September to the end of May. Players joining between 1st January and the end of the season will pay 50% of the full annual membership fee. Junior members will pay 50% of the Adult membership fee.
3.5 Visitors are welcome to attend regular meetings of the club but will not be eligible to take part in any club tournaments or play for any club teams.
3.6 If any Club Member or Visitor wishes to raise a complaint about behaviour,
they can do so by contacting any member of the committee by email.
3.7 A member found to be in violation of the constitution or in breach of his/her responsibilities may be subject to the following penalties as determined by the Management Committee (see Article 4) according to the nature and circumstances of the violation or breach and taking account of the member's record.
a) A warning that the behaviour is unacceptable and should not be repeated. The member concerned will apologise to any and all others who may have been adversely affected by his or her behaviour.
b) Suspension of membership from the Club for a period of one to five weeks.
c) Termination of membership and expulsion from the Club.
Any member who has the penalty described at c) imposed upon him/her by the Management Committee has the right to appeal to the full membership of the Club at an Extraordinary Meeting. The Management Committee will call such a meeting on receiving a written request to do so from the member. The member and the Management Committee will explain their positions to the membership; the voting members will then vote in a secret ballot to uphold, reduce or overturn the penalty. The member concerned and the Management Committee members have the right to vote in any such ballot.
A member whose membership has been terminated under this Article will have no right to any refund of membership fees.
Article 4 - The Management Committee
4.1 The members of the Management Committee shall be members of the Club and shall be elected by the voting members of the Club, normally at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Members may nominate themselves for specific committee roles. They can do so by contacting a member of the committee prior to the AGM. Otherwise, candidates for election may be nominated at the AGM. Any candidate, including those self-nominated before the AGM must be seconded at the AGM. If two candidates are nominated and seconded for a given position there will be a ballot of members by show of hands and the candidate securing the majority of votes will be elected. If more than two candidates are nominated and seconded for a given position, unless one candidate secures an absolute majority of the available votes in the first ballot, the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes will go forward to a final ballot.
4.2 The Management Committee will normally consist of up to five members with the following roles: Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Competition Manager and Communications Manager. One individual cannot hold more than one of the roles of Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer. However, members may, at their discretion, elect as Competition Manager or Communications Manager one of the members who has been elected as Chairperson, Secretary or Treasurer.
4.3 Responsibilities and Duties of the Management Committee
The Management Committee is responsible for all matters relating to the running of the Club
The duties of each of the individual Committee members are as follows:
4.3.1 Chairperson
a) propose meeting agendas for the AGM and Extraordinary meetings and chair the meetings
b) Arrange committee meetings as required in order to manage the club throughout the year.
c) Make arrangements to replace any other committee member if they have resigned or otherwise cannot continue in their role.
d) Present a year-end report
e) Actively promote the Club and its activities
4.3.2 Secretary
a) Issue notices including agendas of AGMs and Extraordinary meetings
b) receive and send all club correspondence from and to all external parties.
c) forward relevant correspondence to the other Executive Committee members for action or for information.
d) Record and distribute minutes of all meetings
e) Take over responsibilities of the Chairperson if the Chairperson is unavailable.
4.3.3 Treasurer
a) Manage the financial affairs of the Club
b) Maintain appropriate accounting records
c) Compile an Annual Statement of Accounts for acceptance at the AGM.
d) Compile other financial reports as requested by the Management Committee
e) Propose the membership fees for Adult and Junior members
f) Manage the Club’s budget including collecting membership fees and making payments as required
4.3.4 Competition Manager
a) Represent the Club at local, regional and national League meetings
b) Arrange teams to play in League and other matches and captain the team or appoint another member as team captain as appropriate. If there are two or more teams playing in the same competition, each team will have a different member as captain.
c) Organizing and directing club tournaments such as the annual Club Championship.
d) Report results to the appropriate authority
The Competitions Manager may delegate any of the above duties subject to the agreement of the Management Committee.
4.3.5 Communications Manager
a) Managing the Club’s website and social media.
b) Promoting the club through communications with local press and radio and other media.
Article 5 - Meetings And Meeting Procedures
5.1 Annual General Meeting:
5.1.1 The AGM shall be held at a location, time and date in May of each year as determined by the Management Committee or as soon as possible thereafter for the purposes of
a) Approving the Minutes of the previous AGM.
b) Receiving and approving the Chairperson’s Year-End Report, the Annual Statement of Accounts, and any other relevant reports,
c) Electing the Management Committee,
d) Agreeing a schedule of meetings for the year including the Club Championship,
e) Agreeing participation in local, regional and national competitions for which the club is eligible,
f) Agreeing the annual membership fees for Adult and Junior members, and
g) Any other relevant business notified to the secretary at least one week before the AGM.
5.1.2 All members will be notified of the AGM’s time and location by email with at least 2 weeks’ notice. All current Members are invited to and are eligible to vote at the AGM. Any Member may stand for election to the committee.
The quorum at the AGM shall comprise 25% or 4 of the voting members of the Club whichever is greater. A resolution will be considered adopted if proposed and seconded by members of the Club and voted for by a majority of those voting members present at the meeting.
5.1.3 Members who cannot attend the AGM are still eligible to stand for the committee by providing a written statement explaining their suitability for the role; however, they cannot vote.
5.2 Extraordinary Meetings:
Extraordinary Meetings may be held
a. to consider an appeal on a disciplinary matter as described in Article 3.7 above
a. to consider a resolution which the Management Committee have deemed to be not competent as described in Article 5.3.2 below.
a. to consider a proposal to amend the constitution as described in Article 6 below.
5.3 Regular Meetings:
5.3.1 The Club shall have a regular meeting, normally once a week, between September and May at a time and place determined by the Management Committee with the agreement of the members for the purposes of playing and teaching chess and for discussing and agreeing any other business raised by the Management Committee.
5.3.2 Any member of the club may submit a resolution to the Secretary for consideration by the Club. If the Management Committee deem the resolution to be competent, the members of the club will be sent a copy of the resolution at least one week in advance of the meeting at which it is to be considered. If the Management Committee deem the resolution to be not competent, the Secretary will inform the member who raised the matter of the reason for their decision in writing. The member may appeal that decision by calling for an Extraordinary Meeting which must be supported by at least 25% or 4 of the voting members of the Club whichever is greater. The quorum for the Extraordinary Meeting will be 25% or 4 of the voting members of the Club whichever is greater.
5.3.3 The quorum for the purpose of decision making at a regular meeting shall comprise one half of the voting members of the Club. A resolution will be considered adopted if voted for by a majority of those voting members present at the meeting.
Article 6 - Amendments To The Constitution
The constitution shall become effective upon adoption and shall not be amended except as follows:
6.1 Amendments to the constitution may be proposed by any member of the Club and must be seconded. Such proposals shall be presented at the Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary Meeting convened for the purpose. Any request to hold an Extraordinary Meeting for the purpose of amending the constitution must be made in writing to the Management Committee and have the support of at least 25% or 4 of the voting members of the Club whichever is greater.
6.2 Proposed amendments to the constitution shall be circulated to all members at least two weeks before the AGM or Extraordinary Meeting.
6.3 Any proposal to amend the constitution of the Club must be approved by a majority of the voting members of the Club. Amendments to the constitution approved by the majority of voting members shall become effective immediately unless otherwise stipulated in the proposal.
Article 7 - Dissolution
In the event of the dissolution of the Club any monetary assets shall be donated to one or more charitable causes chosen by the Management Committee. Any chess playing equipment, books or stationery will be donated to another local chess club as decided by the Management Committee. Other non-monetary assets shall be disposed of as deemed appropriate by the Management Committee.