Constitution

MEDWAY BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION

This Constitution supersedes and rescinds all previous Constitutions of the Association.

ABOUT THE MEDWAY BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

1.The Medway Basketball Association is a non-profit making organisation, funded by fees paid by its members to participate in its Competitions, together with a proportion of England Basketball Membership fees paid by Clubs and Individuals registering in its Area, which is required to be used for local development purposes only.

DEFINITIONS

2.“The Association”                         The Medway Basketball Association

“The Regulations”                            The Medway Basketball Association Regulation from time to time

“Management Committee”        The Management Committee elected by Member Clubs to manage the affairs of the Association.

“EB”                                                       England Basketball

OBJECTS

3.Medway Basketball Association Aims and objectives:

  • Organising competitive programmes of Basketball
  • Establishing rules for the conduct of the sport in its Competitions
  • Encouraging and supporting the development of Basketball in its membership area.

MEMBERSHIP

4.The number of Members of The Association is unlimited.

5.The Members of the Association are all those Clubs Registered with EB through the Association, together with any National League Clubs based within the Association’s Area (as agreed with EB).

6.Each Member Club shall nominate a Club Secretary as representative to act on its behalf and to consent on its behalf.

FEES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

7.The fees and the annual subscription payable by Member Clubs for participation in the Association’s Competitions shall be set by the Association at the Annual General Meeting.

8.Every member club shall pay all subscriptions and fees due before they become entitled to the privileges of membership and/or entry into any of the Association’s Competitions.

GENERAL MEETINGS

9.The Association shall hold a General Meeting in every calendar year as its Annual General Meeting.

10.All General Meetings, other than Annual General Meetings, shall be called Extraordinary General Meetings.

11.The Management Committee may whenever it thinks fit convene an Extraordinary General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meetings shall also be convened on the requisition of at least 3 member clubs.

12.The General Secretary shall cause preliminary notice of the anticipated date of the Annual General Meeting to be given to all members at least three months prior to the date of such Annual General Meeting to allow for the submission of nominations and resolutions by member clubs.

13.Any Resolution or Motion which a member club wishes to bring before a General Meeting must be notified to the General Secretary in writing not less than forty-two days before the date of the Meeting and no Resolution or motion or other business other than the business brought forward by the Management Committee shall come before the Meeting unless notice thereof has been so given.

14.All Member Clubs must send at least 1 representative to all general meetings.

15.At least twenty-one days’ notice in writing of every Annual General Meeting and 14 days’ notice in writing of every Extraordinary General Meeting shall be given by the Secretary, but with the consent of 75% of the members a meeting may be convened by such notice as those members may think fit.

16.The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to, or the non-receipt of such notice by, any member club shall not invalidate any resolution passed at any meeting.

PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS

17.No business may be transacted unless it is included in the agenda, except procedural motions.

18.Any alteration in or addition to the Constitution may be made by a Resolution passed by a majority of at least 75% of the member clubs present and voting at the meeting at which such alteration or addition is proposed.  Alterations or additions to the Regulations or the Competition Rules and all other motions and resolutions shall be passed by a simple majority of those Member Clubs present and voting.

19.No business shall be transacted at any General Meeting unless a quorum is present.  Four member clubs present shall be a quorum.

20.If a quorum is not present within half an hour of the start time, the meeting if convened on the requisition of members, shall be dissolved. In any other case, it shall be adjourned until such other time and place as the Management Committee may determine and if at such adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within half-an-hour of the start time the members present shall be a quorum.

21.The Chairman of the Association shall preside as Chairman at every general meeting but if the Chairman is not present or is unwilling to preside then the Vice Chairman shall preside or failing either of them then the member clubs shall choose some other member of the Management Committee or if all members of the Management Committee decline to take the chair then they shall choose some other person present to preside.

22.The Chairman may, with the consent of a quorate meeting (and shall if so directed by the meeting), adjourn the meeting, but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting which was not on the original agenda.

23.All resolutions and motions shall be decided on a show of hands, unless a poll is demanded by the chairman or by at least three members present, and unless a poll is demanded a declaration by the chairman that a Resolution or motion has been carried or lost and an entry to that effect in the minute book of The Association shall be conclusive evidence of that fact.  The Chairman shall determine how a poll will be taken.

24.In the case of a tied vote, the chairman of the meeting shall be entitled to a casting vote.

25.All changes to this Constitution, The Regulations or Competition Rules that are approved in a General Meeting become effective immediately, unless otherwise agreed.

26.At all meetings of Members of The Association the chairman shall be responsible for the observance of the established rules of debate and conduct of Meetings.

27.If, in the opinion of the Chairman, a person is persistently and deliberately preventing the course of business, he may instruct the person to remain silent until the business is completed. If the person disregards this ruling, the Chairman may instruct him to leave the meeting.

28.A person who is not eligible to exercise a vote at a General Meeting or who is not a member of the Management Committee may not attend a meeting, nor make representation at such a meeting, except with the express authority of the Chairman of the meeting.

VOTES OF MEMBERS

29.Subject as herein provided, every member club which is represented at a General Meeting shall have one vote on a show of hands and one vote on a poll.

30.No person is permitted to make representation or exercise a vote at a General Meeting in more than one capacity.

31.Delegation of Authority

32.The Association shall have power to delegate its authority as it sees fit.

33.Regulations

34.The Association may make such Regulations for the conduct of its business as it sees fit (the “Regulations”).

Competitions

35.The Association may make such rules for the conduct of its competitions as it sees fit (the “Competition Rules”).

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

36.The affairs of The Association shall be managed by the Management Committee who may exercise all such powers of The Association as may be required to give effect to the objects of the Association and which are not by the Constitution required expressly or impliedly to be done or exercised by The Association in General Meeting.

37.The Management Committee shall consist of the following:

The Chairman, the Secretary and at least four other members responsible for Finance, Development, Competitions, Officiating and Disciplinary Matters

38.The Management Committee members shall be appointed by the Member Clubs in General Meeting and such appointment shall last until the end of the next Annual General Meeting.

39.The Management Committee shall have power at any time to appoint any person to fill a vacancy in its membership.  Any person so appointed shall hold office until the end of the next Annual General Meeting.

40.The Management Committee Members shall have the right of attendance at Management Committee Meetings. Observers may attend meetings at the discretion of the Management Committee but they must not participate in the debate, except at the invitation of the Chairman and shall not be entitled to vote. They must leave the meeting at any time on the instruction of the Chairman.

41.The Management Committee shall have the power to co-opt any person onto the Management Committee to undertake a specific role for the Association.

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

42.The management and control of The Association and of its funds shall be vested in the Management Committee which in addition to the powers and authorities expressly conferred on it by this constitution may exercise all such powers and do all such acts and things as may be exercised or done by The Association in General Meeting, but subject to any regulation made by The Association in General Meeting provided that no regulation shall invalidate any prior act of the Management Committee which would have been valid if such regulation had not been made. The funds of the Association shall be lodged at a Bank or Building Society, or such other suitable place as the Management Committee may from time to time decide.  Payments drawn on these accounts shall be signed by such officers that the Management Committee may from time to time decide.

43.The Management Committee shall act upon the present Regulations and Competition Rules of the Association so far as they are not inconsistent with this Constitution.

44.The Management Committee may delegate any of their powers to committees or commissions either of their own body or otherwise and such committees or commissions shall consist of such persons as the Management Committee shall appoint. Such committees or commissions shall be subject to this Constitution and the Regulations

45.The quorum for the Management Committee shall be three.

46.The Chairman shall act as chairman at the Meetings of the Management Committee but if at any meeting the Chairman is not present then the Vice Chairman shall take the Chair, failing which the members of the Management Committee present shall choose one of their members to be Chairman. The Chairman shall have a casting vote in cases of equality of voting.

47.(a) All members of the Management Committee shall be entitled to vote on any question except where they have a personal interest, in which case they must abstain from the debate and may not vote on the matter.  Such abstention shall be recorded in the minutes.

(b) Normally minutes of meetings will not show the actual votes recorded for or against a motion, but at any time a member can request that the voting be recorded in the minutes. In this case, the meeting will decide on the course of action to be adopted.

48.The Management Committee shall keep proper minutes of their proceedings and all acts done in pursuance of anything appearing by such minutes to be resolved upon or authorised by the Management Committee shall be deemed to be acts of the Management Committee.

49.The Management Committee may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their body.

50.The Management Committee shall defray out of the funds of The Association all expenses in respect of the business of The Association.

51.In addition to the powers conferred elsewhere in this Constitution, the Management Committee shall have power to:

a)Make such additions, deletions or changes to the Regulations and Competition Rules as it deems appropriate or necessary and such changes will be effective within 7 days after distribution of such changes to all Member Clubs and shall remain in force until after the next AGM when any such changes must be submitted, if required, for approval for adoption for the following season.

b)Deal with all matters not specifically covered by the Constitution, the Regulations or the Competition Rules which it considers fall with the scope of its responsibilities.

c)Maintain discipline and ensure that the correct spirit of the game is upheld.

d)Penalise or disqualify any Club, Team or Individual whose conduct is considered unsuitable.

52.Any committee or commission shall conform to any mode of proceedings and regulations which the Management Committee may make and subject thereto may determine and regulate their own proceedings in the same manner as the Management Committee.

DISQUALIFICATION OF OFFICERS

53.A Management Committee Member shall vacate their office:-

If by notice in writing to The Association they resign their office.

If they are removed from office by a Resolution of the member Clubs or the Management Committee.

ACCOUNTS

54.The Management Committee shall cause accounting records to be kept.

55.The accounting records shall be kept by the Treasurer and shall always be open to the inspection of the members of the Management Committee.

56.At the Annual General Meeting in every year the Management Committee shall lay before The Association a proper income and expenditure account for the period since the last preceding account made up to and including the 31st May of each year together with a proper Balance Sheet made up as at the same date.

57.Once at least in every year the accounts of The Association shall be examined and the correctness of the income and expenditure account and balance sheet ascertained by an appropriate person.

NOTICES

58.All notices may be served by The Association upon any member club, either personally or by leaving the same or sending the same through the post in a prepaid letter or by e-mail addressed to such member sent to the care of its Secretary or other officer of the member Club of which they are the representative.

59.Any notices sent shall be deemed to have been served at the time the letter or e-mail containing the same would be delivered in the ordinary course of events and in proving such service it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter containing the notice was properly addressed, based upon the latest information provided to the Association by the relevant Club.

DISSOLUTION

60.The Association may be dissolved by a resolution passed by 75% of the Member Clubs in general meeting.  In the event of dissolution any property or monies remaining after the debts and liabilities of the Association have been settled will be distributed equally among the member Clubs as at the date of the dissolution.

INDEMNITY

61.Every member of the Management Committee for the time being of The Association, shall be indemnified out of the assets of The Association against all costs, losses, damages or expenses properly incurred in discharge of their duties or in and about carrying into effect any object or purpose of The Association and in respect of any action suit proceeding or other matter whatsoever connected with The Association or the affairs thereof.

62.The power of interpretation of the Constitution, Regulations and Competition Rules of the Association shall be vested in the Management Committee, except during a General Meeting when the Chairman alone may interpret.