As a club, we’re governed by a constitution that was introduced last year. This important document sets out the rules for how the club is organised and run.

It’s been key to becoming a Badminton England Premier Club, and will also be important as we become a Community Amateur Sport Club (CASC). 

The current constitution has been great for getting the club off the ground. However, there’s always change in a club like ours, and so we need to update the Constitution each year to reflect this.

Our proposed changes

At the upcoming Members’ AGM, the club committee will be presenting a refreshed version of the constitution for members to vote on. 

There’s a lot to take in, mostly minor wording changes and simplifications of job titles, descriptions and processes. We also need to make some changes to be eligible for becoming a government-recognised Community Amateur Sport Club.

To save everyone from having to read both versions, here’s a summary of the major changes we’re looking to make for the coming 2019/20 season:

Membership

Proposed change	Reason
Removal of section “Membership benefits”	These have been removed to allow the Committee to be able to offer a wider range of benefits to the Membership, which can be adapted year to year based on the opportunities available.
Top limit of Membership fee capped at £31 per week.	This limit is required to be eligible for CASC status, as set by HMRC.
Addition of Committee discretion to waive a Membership fee if a player is competing in a League match.	Under exceptional circumstances some players may only be able to take part in only one SBC league match in the season, making representing the club in matches expensive for that player. This allows the Committee to waive our Membership fee (the match fee would still be payable as usual).
Refusal of Membership to individual person(s) at Committee discretion.	The Committee may revoke or prevent individuals from becoming part of the Membership at their own discretion.
Membership period.	The previous dates were too specific, so have been simplified to start on 1 September and end on 31 August.

Committee Roles, Volunteers and Responsibilities

Proposed change	Reason
Definition of the Committee members’ period has been defined.	Clarity to identify how long a Committee member may stay in post.
Change role titles of “Secretary and Deputy Chair” to just Secretary	The role is the same, just the title has been shortened for ease.
Removal of Development Officer post, and instead creating a shared responsibility for player development across the committee.	The Committee is proposing that the role of Development Officer can be rolled into the responsibilities of the whole committee, with each new committee agreeing a club-wide development plan. This will be supported by the League Officer who will help team captains with team development.
“Associate Roles” renamed and redefined as “Volunteers”.	To help continue to support the evolution of the club, the Committee may need help from the Membership and so the introduction of Volunteer capacity will help expand the offer to players.

Meetings

Proposed change	Reason
Further clarity on the responsibility of Minute distribution by the Secretary.	Some items discussed in meetings may be deemed as off the record due to confidentiality and therefore this section has been reworded to allow the Committee not to share items which are not for, or ready for public release.
Change of notice for AGMs from 21 to 14 days.	The committee have decided to reduce the notice period for the AGM as it was felt that 21 days was too long.
The previous Secretary will acts as the Returning Officer for all votes with exception to the election of the Secretary where the Chair will act as the Returning Officer.	This process replaces the previous “third party” option which would be difficult to appoint.
AGM election voting system change from secret ballot to by a show of hands.	This makes the AGM run much quicker and easier for Members to vote. The clause, “unless requested by secret ballot” remains.

Finance

Proposed change	Reason
More detailed reasoning and summary of club income and expenditure.	To meet the requirements of becoming a Community Amateur Sports Club.

Dissolution clause

Proposed change	Reason
Inclusion of new line about processes in the event of the club dissolving	To meet the requirements of becoming a Community Amateur Sports Club by being explicit with what happened to the funds in the club’s account if the club is to dissolve. The committee proposes that in this instance, any surplus funds are redistributed to organisations supporting local badminton, in line with HMRC requirements.