BALLINA AMATEUR BOXING CLUB CONSTITUTION

1. NAME

The club shall be known as Ballina Amateur Boxing Club. All references hereinafter in this document to The Club shall mean Ballina Amateur Boxing Club.

2. LOCATION

The Club shall be located at premises at Pawn Office Lane, Ballina, Co. Mayo, or at any venue that shall be agreed upon by the club committee.

3. AFFILIATION

The Club shall be affiliated to the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, which is the governing body for Amateur boxing within Ireland and shall adhere to and be governed by the Rules, Regulations, Laws and Constitution of the said association.

4. AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The club shall endeavour through the sport of Amateur boxing;

4.1. to provide facilities for training, coaching and competition in boxing in a sporting, friendly and fair manner for the benefit of its members,

4.2. to promote fitness, discipline, friendship, fair play, respect, self esteem and self confidence,

4.3. to increase quality of life by providing a constructive alternative to anti social behaviour such as drugs & alcohol abuse, for the local youth particularly those living in disadvantaged areas,

4.4. to provide positive role models and social inclusion from interaction with our coaching staff and other young boxers irrespective of socio-economic status in an environment of mutual respect and understanding.

5. MEMBERSHIP

5.1. Membership shall be open to all persons aged nine years and upwards, both male and female, and without discrimination;

5.2. All applicants shall complete and sign an application for membership form and by appending their signature to this form shall signify their acceptance of, and commitment to, the constitution, rules and regulations of the club;

5.3. A parent or guardian shall also sign each application form together with any applicant aged under sixteen years, thereby signifying acceptance of, and commitment to, the constitution, rules and regulations of the club;

5.4. Incorrect information provided on an application form shall render the member liable to expulsion from the club. Any member expelled from the club is not entitled to a refund;

5.5. Any member may resign from the club by notifying a club coach or any officer.

5.6. Any coach can issue a warning to any member for conduct that is deemed to be behaving in a manner that is disruptive, disrespectful or brings the name of the club into disrepute. Warnings can be issued for behaviour during training or at any other event that the member is representing the club or while travelling to/from any said event;

5.7. Any coach can suspend a member from the club provided the member has been given a warning within the one year period preceding the suspension. Suspensions can be for any duration up to a maximum of one month;

5.8. The club committee shall have the right to expel any member under any circumstances provided the said member has been granted the opportunity to defend himself/herself before the committee. The decision of the meeting shall be notified to the member within 7 days after the meeting. A member shall only be expelled by a committee meeting provided there is at least a two-third majority in favour of the motion to expel.

5.9. Once the member has been notified of disciplinary action then that member is automatically suspended and not allowed to attend club training/events or club competition.

5.10. Membership fee and training dues shall be set by the club committee. Training dues are paid each night the member is in attendance whereas membership fees (if any) shall be payable annually in advance on the first day of January. Members joining during the year shall be liable for the full annual fee. Any person who has not paid his/her membership fee by 31st January annually may be expelled from the club, but may reapply for membership at any time;

6. OFFICERS / COMMITTEE

6.1. To be a member of the committee, a person must be either a:

6.1.1. member of the club aged sixteen years or older;

6.1.2. parent of a member of the club, if the member is younger than sixteen years.

6.2. The committee shall consist of a maximum of 15 members and a minimum of 5 members;

6.3. The size and composition of the committee and the election of officers shall be decided by a majority vote at the clubs Annual General Meeting;

6.4. The committee shall meet at such time and place as the committee members decide;

6.5. The officer members of the club shall be Chairperson, Secretary, Club Registrar, Treasurer, Public Relations Officer, Child Officer and any other positions as shall be agreed at any Annual General Meeting;

6.6. If the Chairperson is absent, the members present shall elect a chairperson for the particular meeting;

6.7. All officers and committee members shall serve for one year but may offer themselves for re-election.

6.8. Fifty percent of the committee officer members shall constitute a quorum. If at fifteen minutes after the stated time of commencement of the meeting a quorum cannot be constituted, the meeting shall be adjourned for seven days. If a quorum cannot be constituted at fifteen minutes after the stated time of commencement of the reconvened meeting, those members present shall constitute a quorum;

6.9. The club committee shall be responsible for all the administrative and financial activities of the club and have control of all the clubs assets;

6.10. Any committee member who is absent from three consecutive committee meetings without a reason which is deemed to be acceptable by the committee shall be replaced by co-opting a club member to fill the vacancy. This co-opting procedure shall also be used to fill vacancies caused by resignations or death. Members co-opted on to the committee shall serve only for the unexpired time of the year in question;

6.11. All decisions taken by the club committee shall be by majority vote with the chairperson having the casting vote;

6.12. All payments, withdrawals and cheques on the club’s accounts with financial institutions shall be signed by the Chairperson and Treasurer.

6.13. The Chairperson shall be responsible for the smooth running of the Club overseeing the functions of the other Committee members, and shall be responsible for performing or appropriately delegating tasks for which no particular Committee member is responsible The Chairperson shall be primarily responsible for liaison with external groups.

6.14. The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping the minutes of the Club meetings and to respond to routine administrative tasks. He/she shall ensure that the minutes of the Club are available to all members. The Secretary of the Club shall keep the Constitution up to date and shall preserve historical copies of it.

6.15. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the Club’s funds, servicing its bank accounts, and preparing the accounts of the Club as needed, and will ensure the any monies received are deposited into the club bank account within 30 days. The treasurer may maintain a petty cash float of ?300.

6.16. The Club Registrar shall maintain a register of all members detailing name, address and date of birth.

6.17. The Child Protection Officer shall keep a record of all concerns/disclosures and report directly and without delay to the appropriate authority.

6.18. The club will not be affiliated to any political organization and will remain strictly non party political.

7. ANNUAL/EMERGENCY GENERAL MEETINGS

An Annual General Meeting shall be held each October at which the following business shall be transacted:

7.1. Adoption of Annual Report of the Club Committee;

7.2. Adoption of the Club Annual Financial Statement;

7.3. Election of Officers and Committee members;

7.4. Chairperson's Statement of Intent for the coming year;

7.5. Discussion and vote on all motions submitted by members.

7.6. Motions shall be passed or defeated on a simple majority vote by those present with the chairperson having a casting vote.

7.7. Voting shall be by way of a show of hands;

7.8. All motions shall be submitted by a club member in writing to the Club Secretary at least seven days prior to date of the Annual General Meeting;

7.9. An Emergency General Meeting shall be called if deemed appropriate or necessary by the Club Committee or on receipt of a written request by the Club Secretary signed by a minimum of twenty percent of club members. The said written request shall clearly detail the purpose for which the meeting is called;

7.10. The Club Secretary shall give Fourteen days notice of all General Meetings in writing or verbally to all members. An announcement at training is acceptable as a verbal notification. This notice shall detail time, date and place of the meeting and all business to transacted at the meeting;

7.11. At any Emergency General Meeting eighty percent of the club officer members shall constitute a quorum. If at fifteen minutes after the stated time of the meeting, a quorum cannot be constituted, the meeting shall be adjourned for seven days. If at fifteen minutes after the time of the reconvened meeting a quorum cannot be constituted, the members present shall constitute a quorum;

7.12. Deletions, additions or alterations to the club’s rules and regulations and constitution shall only be made at an Annual General Meeting or an Emergency General Meeting.

8.TRAINING, COACHING AND COMPETITION.

8.1. Training clothing and training footwear shall be worn at all training and coaching sessions;

8.2. Club tracksuits should be worn to/from tournaments by competitors and coaches;

8.3. Club tracksuits should be worn by all club officials when representing the club in tournaments;

8.4. All applicable safety equipment must be worn when competing or sparring i.e. gumshields, headguards, groin guards, chestguards, handwraps.

8.5. Boxing is a contact sport and as such the club accepts no responsibility for injuries sustained during sparring/boxing between Club members.

8.6. Sparring may only take place under the supervision of the Club Coach.

8.7. Training fees as determined by the committee shall be paid prior to each training session;

8.8. Members aged under sixteen years shall not leave the designated training area without the permission of a supervisor or coach;

8.9. Reasonable effort shall be made to ensure that at all training and coaching sessions and competitions where club members aged under sixteen years are present there shall be a minimum of two adults present in a coaching or supervisory role.

8.10. Reports of concern about the behaviour of any officer or member to be made immediately to the Child Protection Officer.

This constitution with the Rules and Regulations was formally adopted at the Annual General Meeting on;

10th Day of October 2009

Signed:

Chairperson: Dave Fleming

Secretary: Vincent McMahon