1. Name

The name of the club shall be Mirfield Petanque Club, and shall be affiliated to Mirfield Cricket Club. Changes to the name of the club and/or changes to the constitution can only be made at a properly convened AGM or SGM and have the support of two-thirds of the paid up members attending.

2. Aims and Objectives

The aims of Mirfield Petanque Club will be:

• To offer social and competitive opportunities in Petanque.
• To promote recreational and sporting activities, among our local community and within Kirklees and develop interest in petanque.
• To establish links with outside organisations such as other petanque clubs. It is an aim of this club to offer 'experience in petanque' sessions to Schools, elderly & disabled groups after obtaining the required checks and qualifications for nominated club members.
• To manage and develop the Petanque facilities at Mirfield Memorial Park.

3. Membership

Membership is open to anyone who:

• is aged 16 and above; and
• lives in Mirfield or surrounding area of Kirklees but occasionally outside Kirklees; and
• pays the annual membership fee at the due time; and
• accepts, and is subject to the constitution, rules, regulations and codes of conduct that the club has adopted or may introduce.

Membership will begin as soon as the member's communication details are known and the first annual subscription has been received, payable in advance. Part of the annual subscription will be used to cover social membership of Mirfield Cricket Club. This allows us to use the club room and facilities. The remainder will be the fee to join Mirfield Petanque Club.

The amount of the annual membership fee will be agreed at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and will be payable by all members prior to 31st May each year.

A list of all members will be kept by the secretary. The Mirfield Cricket Club will also have a list of members of Mirfield Petanque Club for their club records.

Future membership applications may be suspended if the member numbers reach a point where the facilities provided become overcrowded.

Ceasing to be a member:

Members may resign at any time in writing to the secretary. No fees will be refunded.

Any member who has not paid their membership fee by 1st August will be contacted by the committee, who will then decide whether that member is deemed to have resigned.

Any offensive behaviour, including racist, sexist or inflammatory remarks, will not be permitted. Anyone behaving in an offensive way or breaking the equity policy may be asked not to attend further meetings or to resign from the club if an apology is not given or the behaviour is repeated. The individual concerned shall have the right to be heard by the management committee, accompanied by a friend, before a final decision is made.

4. Equal Opportunities

Mirfield Petanque Club will not discriminate on the grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, sexuality, disability, religious or political belief, marital status or age. We have an Equal Opportunities Policy covering this.

Exemptions:

• The Mirfield Petanque Club reserves the right to limit participation in competitions to persons of a specific age or gender specifically where this is necessary to ensure equitable and equal competition, or to conform with legal requirements.
• Children under the age of 16 may attend, by invitation, (but not become members) subject to being accompanied by a parent or responsible carer, teacher or the like. Specific Club Members who hold the necessary qualifications and recognised checks will also attend.

5. Officers and committee

The business of the club will be carried out by a Committee elected at the Annual General Meeting. The Committee will meet as necessary and not less than four times a year.

• The Committee will consist of 9 members, and be composedof 3 management officers and 6 committee members. Additional members may be co-opted onto the committee at the discretion of the committee.
• The management officers' roles are as follows:
  • Chair, who shall chair both general, special and committee meetings.
  • Secretary, who shall be responsible for the taking of minutes and the distribution of all papers.
  • Treasurer who shall be responsible for maintaining accounts.

Other committee members will be:

• Publicity/ Web Manager, Clothing and Equipment Officer, Fund Raising Officer, Terrain Manager, Catering Manager and Competitions Organiser.

In the event of an officer standing down during the year a replacement will be elected by the next General Meeting of members.

Any committee member not attending a meeting without apology for three months will be contacted by the committee and asked if they wish to resign.

The Committee meetings will be open to any member of Mirfield Petanque Club wishing to attend, who may speak, but not vote.

6. Meetings

6.1. Annual General Meetings

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held in April.

All members will be notified at least 2 weeks before the date of the meeting, giving the venue, date and time.

Nominations for the committee may be made in writing to the Secretary before the meeting, or at the meeting.

The quorum for the AGM will be 20% of the membership. All paid up members have the right to vote.

At the AGM:

• The Committee will present a report of Mirfield Petanque Club over the previous year.
• The Committee will present the accounts of Mirfield Petanque Club for the previous year.
• The officers and Committee for the next year will be elected.
• Any proposals given to the Secretary at least 7 days in advance of the meeting will be discussed.

6.2 Special General Meetings

The Secretary will call a Special General Meeting at the request of the majority of the committee or at least eight other members giving a written request to the Chair or Secretary stating the reason for their request.

The meeting will take place within twenty-one days of the request.

All members will be given two week's notice of such a meeting, giving the venue, date, time and agenda, and notice may be by telephone, email and notice board poster.

The quorum for the Special General Meeting will be 20% of the membership.

6.3 General Meetings

General Meetings are open to all members and will be held at least once every 3 months or more often if necessary.

All members will be given two weeks notice of such a meeting, giving the venue, date, time and agenda, and notice may be by telephone, e-mail and notice board poster.

The quorum for a General Meetings shall be 5 committee members, including Management Committee members.

7. Rules of Procedure for meetings

Meetings will be held and will follow the items on the agenda, plus any other business.

All questions that arise at any meeting will be discussed openly and the meeting will seek to find general agreement that everyone present can agree.

If a consensus cannot be reached a vote will be taken and a decision will be made by a simple majority of members present. If the number of votes cast on each side are equal, the chair of the meeting shall have an additional casting vote.

8. Finances

An account will be maintained on behalf of the Club at a bank agreed by the committee. Three cheque/withdrawal signatories will be the Chairman, the Secretary and the Treasurer. Any two of these must sign any request for withdrawal. The signatories must not be related nor members of the same household.

Records of income and expenditure will be maintained by the Treasurer and a financial statement given to each meeting. The financial year end will be 31st March.

An audited statement of accounts will be presented by the Treasurer at the AGM.

All money raised by or on behalf of Mirfield Petanque Club is only to be used to further the aims of the group, as specified in item 2 of this constitution.

The finances of the Club will be the responsibility of the Committee.

Public Liability Insurance

Mirfield Petanque Club will hold Public Liability Insurance (to an indemnity value sufficient to cover any reasonable claim), through their membership with Mirfield Cricket Club or directly with other insurers.

A copy of the insurance certificate and policy details will be held by the club secretary.

9. Amendments to the Constitution

Amendments to the constitution may only be made at the Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting.

Any proposal to amend the constitution must be given to the Secretary in writing. The proposal must then be circulated with the notice of meeting.

Any proposal to amend the constitution will require a two thirds majority of those present and entitled to vote.

The Constitution and any amendments will be notified to all members and posted on our website for future reference.

10. Powers

The specific functions related to the Club, give authority to the committee to raise funds by providing activities to further the Club's aims and objectives. This Powers clause outlines the Club's authority to:

Raise funds; the club will raise funds by several means:

• By requesting funding through Kirklees and from other outside charitable funding organisations
• By annual membership subscription
• By competition entry fees (after deducting prize money)
• By private donation.
• By profits from raffles and other member involved schemes.
• Take out insurance to indemnify against accident and third party claims relating to participation in petanque.
• Liaise and join with other Petanque Clubs, Northern Petanque, the English Petanque Association to further the competitive opportunities for members.
• To maintain affiliation with Mirfield Cricket Club as social members.
• To provide petanque coaching opportunities to members.
• To obtain / purchase equipment and other items required for the benefit of the club members.

The committee do not have any authority to purchase equipment or do anything which puts the financial status of the club in jeopardy. Nothing should be spent without the authority of the committee, who should ensure that sufficient funds are available.

11. Dissolution

If a meeting, by simple majority, decides that it is necessary to close down the club it may call a Special General Meeting to do so. The sole business of this meeting will be to dissolve the club.

If it is agreed to dissolve the club, all remaining money and other assets, once outstanding debts have been paid, will be donated to a local charitable organisation. The organisation to be agreed at the meeting which agrees the dissolution.