Constitution & Rules

1. Name and Colours

The Club shall be known as the Guildford Rowing Club (hereinafter the Club) and shall use green and gold colours on clothing and equipment for competition.

2. Objective 

The objective of the Club is to provide the facilities and support to enable as many people as possible from Guildford and its surrounding area to learn and practice the sport of rowing at both recreational and competitive levels regardless of age, gender or ethnic origin.

3. Membership

1. In line with the above objective and the Equal Opportunities Policy, membership is open to all. However, limitation of membership according to available facilities is allowable on a non-discriminatory basis.

1. Classes of Full Membership

1. Election

Candidates for election to membership (except for Life Members) shall make written application to the Membership Secretary of the Club on the form provided. The power of election shall rest with the Committee, who may refuse to elect to membership any applicant without assigning a reason for doing so. A majority of the Committee must approve the election of a Member.

1. Restriction

A person who has been expelled from or refused membership of, the British Rowing shall not be eligible for membership

1. Acceptance

If it is considered by the Club committee that the granting or renewal of membership would be detrimental to the aims and objectives of the Club, by virtue of conduct or character likely to bring the Club or the sport of rowing into disrepute or for some other similar good cause, the Club committee shall be entitled to refuse or withdraw such membership. In doing so the committee shall provide full reasons for their decision and grant a right of Appeal to the members.

1. Affiliated Clubs

Members of affiliated clubs have access to the Club premises at times agreed for their clubs’ authorised activities, but do not have access to the Rowing Club’s

boats and associated equipment or training equipment. Neither the clubs nor their members have any voting rights on Guildford Rowing Club matters (ref. Section 15).

1. Mandatory Procedures and River Etiquette

All members are required to comply with the Club’s Mandatory Procedures and River Etiquette.

4. Equal Opportunities Policy

The Club will ensure that the talents and resources of all members are utilised to the full and that no member receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age,  gender, disability, race, ethnic origin, nationality, colour, parental or marital status, pregnancy, religious belief, social status, sexual orientation or political belief or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be relevant to performance.

5. Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection Procedures

The Club accepts the policy and procedures relating to Child and Vulnerable Adult at Risk, as set out by British Rowing, and requires all members to accept them as a condition of membership.

6. Subscription

The rates of subscription shall be determined by the members in General Meeting and shall be due on election to membership and, thereafter, on or before 1 April in each year.

7. Cessation of Membership

1. Any member may resign giving one month’s clear notice in writing to the Membership Secretary.

1. Any member violating any of the rules or regulations of the Club or being adjudged to have exhibited unsatisfactory conduct on or off the river may, by resolution of the Committee, be suspended or expelled.

1. For the purpose of this clause, the behaviour of a Junior Member’s parent or guardian can be attributed to such Junior Member if the Committee is considering suspension or expulsion from the Club.

1. Any member so suspended or expelled may appeal to an independent Hearings Panel if such an appeal is approved by a majority of the Committee. The panel may be drawn from the membership of the Club or from other clubs in the region. The panel will hear and receive evidence, reach a conclusion, and confirm or reject the sanctions imposed as appropriate.

1. Any hearings panel must give a fair and independent hearing to the appellant within an appropriate timescale. Hearings must not contravene the Human Rights Act 1998 or any other policies of the Club and British Rowing.

1. A member shall be deemed to have resigned from the Club if in any year, after due notice in writing or email, they have not paid by 31 May the annual subscription which became due on 1 April of that year. They may, however, re-join at any time during that year subject to the provision of 3c or 3d above.

8. Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures

An individual or member with a complaint about treatment by the Club should set out their grievance, in the first instance to the Chairman. The Club will seek to deal with complaints in a fair and timely manner, with reference to British Rowing’s Guidelines on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures in Rowing.

9. Eligibility for Holding Office

1. Only members entitled to vote are eligible to hold office.

1. Any member who is under the age of 16 years shall not be eligible for election to the Committee of the Club.

10. Committee

1. The Committee shall conduct the affairs of the Club as a whole and shall consist of a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Captain and other Officers as deemed necessary. The Committee shall have the power to co-opt further members but co-opted members shall have no right to vote at Committee meetings

1. Nominations for the position of Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Captain and other Officers shall be put forward in the form of a motion under the terms of Rule 13d

1. The term of office shall be for one year, and members shall be eligible for re-election.

11. Duties of the Committee

1. Chairman. The Chairman will preside at all General meetings of the Club and at all meetings of the Committee, and shall be responsible for guiding the activities of the Club in accordance with its general policy as expressed by the majority of its members. The Chairman shall represent or arrange for representation of the Club at British Rowing regional level and at meetings of other organisations. The Chairman shall ex officio be a member of any other committee of the Club.

1. Captain The Captain will be responsible for training, coaching and representation of the Club in competitions.

1. Secretary The Secretary will be responsible for the organisation of meetings of the Committee and of the Club, and the recording of minutes relating to such meetings and all correspondence relating to the general business of the Club.

1. Treasurer The Treasurer will be responsible for the collection and disbursement of all monies belonging to the Club and will keep proper accounting records of all such transactions. He or she will present to the members at the AGM a balance sheet and income and expenditure account showing the Club’s financial position and the results of its transactions for the year. The transactions of the Club will be conducted through a bank account and will require the signatures of 2 members of the Committee who have been designated for the purpose or electronic authorisation by authorised officers of the Club.

12. Club Committee

1. The Committee is responsible for the general conduct of the Club’s business and activities.

1. The Committee will use reasonable endeavours to have policies in place to supplement and support the Constitution in the running of the Club.

1. The Committee shall meet at regular intervals during the year, as required by the business to be transacted.

1. Special meetings of the Committee shall be called by the Secretary on instructions from the Chairman, or from not less than three Committee members.

1. A quorum shall consist of not less than two thirds of the Committee members. 

1. All and only Officers of the Committee will hold one vote at meetings of the Committee, with the Chairman holding the casting vote. When a motion is voted on by the Committee, a simple majority will pass the motion.

1. In the case of a casual vacancy among the Committee, the said Committee shall be entitled to appoint another eligible person to act until the next AGM, but that person will not be entitled to vote at Committee meetings until formally elected by an AGM.

1. The Committee should act according to high ethical standards and ensure that conflicts of interest are properly dealt with.

1. Committee meetings may be conducted over video conferencing facilities, by telephone, in person or any combination of such if it is not possible for individual Committee members to attend in person. Any Committee member attending remotely is taken to be present at the meeting and, if that Committee member votes during the meeting, is taken to have voted in person.

13. General Meetings

1. An Annual General Meeting shall be held in the Spring of each year. There shall be laid before the meeting a statement of accounts made up to the last day of the month of December of the previous year.

1. An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called on the instructions of a simple majority of the Committee, or on a request signed by not less than 50% of the members of the Club entitled to vote.

1. Not less than 21 days clear notice shall be given, specifying to all members the time and business of any General Meeting.

1. Motions for discussion at Annual General Meetings not of origin from within the Committee shall be lodged with the Secretary at least 14 days preceding the AGM.

1. At any General Meeting, a resolution put to the vote of the Meeting shall be decided on a simple majority basis by a show of hands of those entitled to vote, except when more than one nomination has been received for a position on the Committee, in which case voting will be by secret ballot.

1. At all General Meetings the Chairman will preside or, in his/her absence, a Chairman for the meeting will be elected by the voting members present.

1. At all General Meetings not less than 20% of members of the Club entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum.

1. Absence of Quorum: If after half an hour from the time appointed for the start of the meeting a quorum is not present, the Meeting, if called at the request of the members, shall be dissolved. In any other case, the Meeting shall be adjourned until a time and place to be fixed by the Committee. If a quorum is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the start of an Adjourned Meeting, the members present shall be a quorum.

1. Accidental Omission: Accidental omission to give the required notice of a meeting, or the non-receipt of notice of a meeting by any member(s), shall not invalidate the proceedings of a meeting.

14. Liability

The Committee shall manage the affairs of the Club. Financial or legal liability incurred in the rightful exercise of their office shall not, however, be the personal liability of the Committee, but shall be the responsibility of the Club as a whole. The Committee should see that adequate and appropriate public or preferably civil liability insurance is in place to cover all the activities of the club, its committee and members.

15. Voting

Only the following members as identified in section 3b of this Constitution are entitled to vote at general meetings:

1. Adult members (over the age of eighteen) from membership classes 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8; and 

1. Junior members in classes 4 and 5 who are either (i) aged 16 years or older or (ii) will turn 16 years old on or by the 31 August following the date of the General Meeting. 

16. Virtual Meetings

1. Members shall be permitted to attend General Meetings by video-conferencing facilities or by telephone, if it is not possible to attend in person. References to being present shall include those attending electronically over video-conferencing or by telephone.

1. A member participating in a General Meeting as permitted under clause 16a is taken to be present at the meeting and, if the member votes at the meeting, is taken to have voted in person.

17. Alteration of Constitution

1. This constitution shall not be altered, amended or rescinded except by a General Meeting of the Club.

1. A resolution to give effect to a change must be passed by at least 75% of the members with voting entitlement and voting on this resolution who are present at the General Meeting.

18. Auditor

Every Annual General Meeting shall appoint an Auditor who shall at the conclusion of the next financial year examine the accounting records of the Club, and report to the members on the income and expenditure accounts and balance sheet that are to be presented to the next Annual General Meeting.

19. Distribution of Profits

In no circumstances can any profit be distributed to members, but any profits earned shall be used in furthering the objects of the Club.

20. Termination

The Club shall not terminate its existence except by a resolution of a Special General Meeting convened for the purpose, and in such an event, any surplus assets shall be handed over to British Rowing as the Sport’s Governing Body, or such other body or bodies with similar objects or to a charity or charities agreed by the meeting which formally terminates the Club.

21. Power of Decision

Any matter not provided for in this constitution, or any question over the interpretation of it, shall be dealt with by the Committee whose decision shall be final.

22. Safety

The Officers and Committee have primary responsibility for safe practice within the Club and for observing guidance of water safety, and the Committee shall appoint a member to act as Safety Adviser whose duty it will be to understand the requirements of the water safety issued by British Rowing and through RowSafe and advise the Club on their prominent display, their application to the Club, and their implementation at all times.

22. Declaration

Each prospective member shall complete the Club’s ‘Application for Membership’ form. In addition to the necessary personal details, this form will require applicants to confirm that they understand that rowing will be undertaken at their own risk, that they do not suffer from any disability or medical condition that may render them unfit for strenuous exercise, and that they are able to swim a minimum of 100 metres (ROSPA recommended standard). The existence of a medical condition will not necessarily preclude the applicant from membership, but it must be declared; the applicant is advised to seek advice from their family doctor if in any doubt. A parent or guardian will be required to countersign the ‘Application for Membership’ form if the applicant is under 18 years of age.

This Constitution was approved by the membership of Guildford Rowing Club at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club held on Wednesday 12th May, 2021.

Chairman at 12 May 2021 Rachel Morris                                   Signed

Secretary at 12 May 2021 Alex Summerfield   Signed