CONSTITUTION
1. The name
of the Club shall be the East London Motor Cycle and Car Club.
2. The Club shall be a
separate legal entity, entirely distinct from its members, and shall be capable
of suing or being sued; acquiring, holding, disposing or alienating property or
in any other manner contracting in its name.
3. The
headquarters of the Club shall be in
(a) The
colors of the Club shall be chocolate and royal blue.
4. The
membership of the Club shall be open to any person interested in any aspect of
motoring. In determining any question as to eligibility for membership, the
decision of the Committee shall be final.
5. The
objects for which the Club is formed are:
(a) To
promote and organize such events for members as hillclimbs, rallies,
reliability trials, braking and acceleration tests, speed events, motocross,
enduro, observed trials, Formula K and any other events that the Committee may
think fit.
(b) To
encourage road courtesy and good, safe driving.
(c) To hold
talks, lectures, debates and similar ventures of interest to members.
(d) To
co—operate by affiliation or otherwise, with all other bodies, institutions or
clubs concerned directly or indirectly with motoring in any of its phases.
(e) To hold motoring competitions
among its members, and to present prizes, awards, bursaries or certificates
whenever same shall be deemed expedient.
(f) And
generally to do all or any of the foregoing things that may to the Committee
hereinafter referred to, seem fit.
(g) To this
end the Club may be affiliated to the National governing bodies for Motor Sport
and general Competition rules of any such body, with any additional
supplementary regulations that the club Committee may deem fit.
6. There shall
be a Chairman of the Club who shall from time to time be elected at the Annual
General Meeting of the Club by the members presents
7. The
management and control of the Club shall be vested In a Committee, consisting
of not more than twelve and not less that six members, inclusive of the
Chairman of the Club, provided that the office of Secretary and Treasurer may
be combined at the discretion of a majority of members at the Annual General
Meeting.. The Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the
Club, by the members, and shall hold office for a period of one year from the
date of their election, or until the next Annual General Meeting, and shall be
eligible for re—election on retirement. The Committee shall have the power to
co—opt further members to the Committee as they deem
fit for such a period as is necessary.
(a) Should
a member of the Committee resign or no longer continue to act in such a
capacity, the remaining members of the Committee shall be entitled to co—opt a
member of the Club to act in place of such a resigned or retired member for the
remainder of such resigned or retired member’s period of office.
(b) Three
members of the Committee personally present at a Committee Meeting shall
form a quorum.
(c) Should
any Committee member fail to attend three consecutive
monthly
Committee meetings without leave of absence, or four monthly
Committee
Meetings during the year without leave of absence,
he shall cease to hold
office, but shall nevertheless be eligible for re—election at
the Annual
General Meeting.
(d) An Auditor, who shall retire annually
shall be appointed by the Committee, but shall be eligible for re—appointment.
(e) At least
two members of the retiring Committee must be elected to the incoming
Committee provided that they are willing to accept election.
8. There
shall be seven classes of members of the Club, namely Ordinary, Honorary,
Temporary, Lady, Junior, Country and Social members.
(a) Ordinary
members shall be elected at a meeting of the Committee of the Club, provided
that there is a quorum of the Committee members present.
(b) Each
candidate for election as a member of the Club must be proposed by one member
of the Club and seconded by another member of the Club, and his name,
occupation and usual place or residence must be submitted on the application
form provided. Rejected candidates shall not be eligible for election within
six months of rejection. Election shall be by ballot, and the applicant shall
be elected if the majority of the Committee members present agree to his
election. No member shall propose or second a candidate not personally known to
him.
(c) Honorary
members of the Club shall be entitled to all the privileges of membership but
shall not be liable for any entrance fee or annual subscription. They shall be
elected by the majority of the members present at an Annual General Meeting,
provided that the term of such membership shall be annual.
(d) Members
living outside the division of
(e) A
Social member is a paid up member who may not accumulate points in any club
championship and may not hold a competition license.
9. The
Committee shall have the power to limit the number of members of the Club.
10. Any
member wishing to resign or retire from the Club may do so by notifying the
Secretary of his intention in Writing. Nevertheless, he shall
remain liable to the Club for any amount which is due by him to the Club
at the date of receipt by the Club of the notification of resignation or
retirement, nor shall he be entitled to any refund of any unexpired portion of
his subscription.
11. Should
the conduct of any member, in the opinion of the Committee, be improper or unsportsmanlike,
or should he have been guilty of offensive conduct, or should he have committed
a breach of any of the rules or by—laws of the Club, such members may be
Suspended for a time or may be requested in writing through the Chairman to
resign, and if he fails to do so within seven days of such request, the Committee
may expel such a member. The decision of the Committee in this respect shall be
final, and such a member may not at any future date be reelected to the Club.
Any such expelled member shall not be entitled to any refund in respect of his
unexpired subscription, but shall be deemed liable for any money he may be
owing to the Club.
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(a) If, in
the opinion of the Committee, or organizers of an event, any member wishing to
compete in such event is in no fit condition to do so, such Committee or organizer
can, at their discretion, at any time before or during the event, debar him
from participating.
12. Any
person shall, on ceasing to be a member of the Club, forfeit all right to claim
upon the Club and its property and funds, lie shall return the Club Badge
issued to him, if requested to do so.
(a) The
Club may provide badges. These badges shall not become the property of the
member, but are merely hired to him during his period of membership and on his
resignation, lie shall immediately return same to the Secretary. The amount paid is not subject to refund when the
badge is returned. No member shall knowingly allow his badge to fall into
unauthorized hands.
13. The
yearly subscription of each member shall be set at the Annual General Meeting
and shall be paid in advance on the first day of January of each year, or
immediately on his being elected a member of the Club. Any receipt or acquittance signed by the Secretary or Treasurer shall be
sufficient discharge for subscription, or for any other amount due by the
member of the Club.
(a) There
shall be an entry fee to cover the current cost of indemnity.
(b) The
subscription for Country, Junior, Social and Lady members
shall be less than the subscription for Full Membership.
(c) Any
member joining the Club during the calendar year shall pay a pro— rata portion
of the yearly subscription calculated on a quarterly basis.
14. On the
receipt of a subscription from an elected member, Secretary shall notify him of
his election, and shall send him a copy of the Constitution and by—laws of the
Club. Payments of subscription shall be a distinct acknowledgement on the part
of any member that he is bound by the rules and regulations of the Club and all
by—laws that may have been or may thereafter be.
15. Any
member whose subscription has been in arrears for one month after due date
shall be advised of the fact by letter to his registered address. If the
subscription is not paid within one month thereafter, the Committee shall be at
liberty to suspend such member, or expel him from the Club, although such expulsion
shall be waived upon receipt by the Committee of a satisfactory explanation.
(a) Every
member shall be bound to register in writing with the Secretary an address to
which notices may be sent him, and any member failing to register an address
shall be deemed to have waived the right of having such notices as aforesaid
sent to him.
16. A
general meeting of members shall be held yearly as soon as possible after the
first (1st) day of November, but not later than forty (40) thereafter, which
meeting shall be called the Annual General Meeting. Fourteen days notice shall
be given of all such meetings.
17. The
Committee may whenever they think fit, and shah upon requisition made in
writing and signed by not less than one quarter of the members and specifying
the object of the meeting and deposited with the Chairman or Secretary of the
Club, call Special General Meeting of the members of the Club. Such Meeting
shall be called within fourteen days after the
deposit of such requisition, and seven days clear notice of every Meeting shall
be given to every member of the Club, by posting same to his registered
address.
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18. The
business of the Annual General Meeting shall be to consider and receive the
statement of income and expenditure account, the balance sheet, the report of
the Committee, and any business arising therefrom, the election of the new
Committee and Officers for the ensuing year, and the fixing of the subscription
for the year.
(a) The
Chairman shall, at his discretion, accept discussion on any general matters,
after all other business appearing on the Agenda had been dealt with.
(b) Should
any member wish to include any matters on the Agenda for the Annual General
Meeting, he shall notify the Secretary, in writing, at least seven days before
the Meeting.
19. One
third of members present and entitled to vote as hereinafter provided for,
shall form a quorum for each General Meeting. The quorum shall, however, not
include Country Members. If no quorum is present at any Meeting, any business
conducted at such a Meeting shall stand adjourned to the same time and day in
the following week at such place as the Committee may determine, and,
notwithstanding anything contained hereinbefore, the number of persona present
at such adjourned Meeting shall constitute a quorum for such a Meeting.
(a) Any
resolution passed by a majority of members present at any General Meeting shall
be binding on all members of the Club.
20. The
Chairman elected by the members shall be entitled to take the chair at the
General Meetings. If such officer be not appointed or if he be not present
within 10 minutes after the appointed time for the meeting, or if he declines
to take the chair, then one of the members of the Committee elected by the
Meeting shall take the chair.
(a) The
Chairman may, with the consent of the Meeting adjourn the Meeting from time to
time and from place to place, but no business shall be transacted at such
adjourned Meeting other than the business left unfinished at the Meeting from
which the adjournment took place.
21. Every
member, except Junior members of the Club in good
financial standing shall have one vote, except the Chairman who, in the case of
equality of votes, shall be allowed a casting vote.
(a) Nothing
in this clause shall be read to deprive members in good standing whose
subscriptions for the current year had been paid of the right to vote at
General Meetings.
22. The
Chairman of the Club, duly authorized by the Committee, shall have full power
to sue and defend all legal proceedings, instituted by or against the Club, and
for that purpose shall have power to sign all powers and legal authorities and
documents required.
23. THE
CHAIRMAN shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of members and will
represent the Club at all functions where an official representative is
required as well as being responsible for any interviews which may have to be
made in the name of the Club. He shall also be responsible for contacting the
various Chairmen of the sub—committees prior to an event and satisfying himself
that all arrangements are satisfactory.
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24. THE
VICE—CHAIRMAN shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of Members and
will act in the capacity of the Chairman whenever he (the Chairman) may be
absent and will otherwise assist the Chairman in whichever manner the Executive
Committee may deem necessary.
25. THE
TREASURER shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of Members and
shall be responsible for the collection of alt monies due to the Club and the
preparation of financial statements at the end of the year. He shall also note
from the Sub—Committee reports what the financial implications of any event are
and control requirements, including the gate, program sale, etc. He will notify
the Secretary and Public Relations Officer of all subscription payments made to
him.
26. THE
SECRETARY shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of Members and his
duties will include:
(a) The
writing of all letters in the Club name.
(b) The keeping
of Minutes of Meetings of the Executive Committee, General Meetings and Special
Meetings he may call at the request of the Subcommittee Chairman.
(c) Filing
of all correspondence and records.
(d) Ensuring
that the Sub—Committee recommendations are presented to the Executive Committee
at least two months before the event.
(e) Maintaining
the Official List of the names and addresses of members.
(f) Collection
of any subscriptions which members may wish to pay and the notifying of the
Treasurer and Public Relations Officer of these as well as changes of address.
(g) Any
other such duties as may from time to time become
necessary.
27. EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE shall consist of the above four Administrative Officials and the
Chairman of each of the Sub—Committees. Each of these persons shall have one
vote at Meetings, except the Chairman who shall have a casting vote as well as
a deliberative vote. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once a month
and at any additional time as may be necessary. They shall decide all policy
matters relating to finance as well as matters which affect all Club Members.
It will be their duty to consider the recommendations of the Sub—Committees and
to either approve these or make whatever alterations they deem fit.
28. NEWSLETTER
EDITOR AND PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER shall be elected at the Annual General
Meeting of Members and although he will attend Executive Committee Meetings he
will not have voting powers at such Meetings. His duties will include the
preparation and distribution of a Club Newsletter, the maintaining of
competition records, and the issuing of statements to the press. No statement
shall be issued to the press until such time as it has been typed and checked
by this Official, who shall ensure that it is handed to all local press
representatives at the same time. He shall also be responsible for arranging
advertisements in the press which may have been recommended by Sub—Committees
arid approved by the Executive Committee.
29. ENTERTAINMENTS
OFFICER shall be elected by the Members at the Annual General Meeting and will
be responsible for ensuring that suitable arrangements are made for the social
side of Club activities. his duties shall include the organizing of fires, if a
braaivleis is to be held after an event, providing
refreshments for sale at events, apart from public catering which shall be done
by the Sub—Committee, and generally organizing any social events which the
Executive Committee may request him to do. He shall when requested to do so by
the Chairman of a Sub—Committee present himself at their Meeting at a
specified time to discuss the arrangements for a particular event or the
Chairman of that Sub—Committee may conclude arrangements with him privately.
30. CLUBHOUSE
MANAGER shall be elected by the Members at the Annual General Meeting and
shall he solely responsible for the running of the Clubhouse or the
implementation of any directives he may from time to time receive from the
Executive Committee. He shall be responsible for the purchase of all stocks,
cleaning up, etc., and the detailing of members to assist as necessary. Any
stock, which may be removed for sale at Club events by the Entertainments
Officer shall be accounted for by that Official and the profits, if any, paid
in to the Clubhouse funds.
31. THE
SUB—COMMITTEES shall each consist of five members elected by the Members at
the Annual General Meeting and shall as far as possible consist of members who
are interested in that particular aspect of motor sport. There shall be a subcommittee
for each separate branch of motor sport, or as shall be decided upon by the
members. Within seven days after the election of the members of the
Sub—Committee such members shall elect from amongst themselves a Chairman, who
shall then automatically become a member of the Executive Committee, and a
Secretary.
The Sub—Committee Chairman’s duties will include
(a) The
convening of Meetings of his Sub—Committee at least once a month, between the lst and 7th.
(h) The
preparation and submission to the Executive Committee of his Committee’s
recommendations and requirements for the next three months.
(c) The
reporting back to his Committee of the decisions of the Executive Committee.
(d) The
arranging of combined Meeting with other Sub—Committees where this is necessary in the case of
an event which caters for two or more sect tons.
(e) The
overall control of events and the duty of ensuring that all necessary and
adequate arrangements have been attended to in respect of any event.
The duties of the Sub—Committee Secretary will be
as follows:
(a) The
keeping of Minutes of the Sub—Committee Meeting.
(b) The
preparation of draft letters for submission to the Club Secretary.
(c) The
preparation and dispatch of Supplementary Regulations, after these have received
approval of the Executive Committee.
(d) The
receiving of entry forms and fees and the passing of fees to the Treasurer who
shall ensure that the amount received agrees with the number of entries at that
particular event.
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(e) The
compilation of the Official Results and the transmission of these together with
a report to the Public Relations Officer.
(f) As soon
as possible after each event he shall provide the Executive Committee with a
rough financial statement for that event and shall supply a copy thereof to the
Chairman of the Sub—Committee concerned.
At their meetings the
Sub—Committee will formulate their ideas and requirements which will be
submitted to the Executive Chairman by their Chairman and discussed by the
Executive Committee. Thereafter, once details have been decided upon it will be
up to the Sub—Committee concerned to update all the necessary organization,
except in respect of certain items which have already been covered by other
Officials. The quorum for a Sub—Committee Meeting shall be three and in the
event of an even number being present at a Meeting the Chairman shall have a
casting as well as a deliberative vote. Should they so desire, Sub—Committees
may co—opt additional members to their Committees as a temporary measure to
obtain the views of such co—opted members over a special matter.
32. In
addition to the powers hereinbefore or hereinafter conferred upon them, the
Committee shall have the following powers:
(a) To
acquire any movable or immovable property for the Club calculated to benefit
the Club or its members, or to advance its objects.
(b) To
appoint at their discretion or suspend such Attorneys, Agents, Auditors,
Handicappers, Referees, Officers, Stewards, Starters, Clerks and Servants for
permanent, temporary or special services as they may think fit, and to invest
them with such powers and to fix and vary their remuneration (if any) and to
determine their duties as they think fit.
(c) To
institute, conduct, defend, compound or abandon any legal proceedings by or
against the Club or its officers, or otherwise concerning the affairs of the
Club, and also to compound and allow time for payment or satisfaction of any
debts due, and claims by or against the Club.
(d) To make,
amend and repeal by—laws for the regulation of the affairs of the Club, its
officers and servants, or members of the Club.
(e) To open
a banking account in the name of the Club and to operate thereon by drawing cheque’s, bills of exchange promissory notes, depositing
monies therein and otherwise. Such cheque’s, bills of
exchange, promissory notes shall be signed by the Treasurer, Chairman of the
Committee, and any member appointed by the Committee, any two to sign, or
endorsed for payment into the bank by any one of the above three.
(f) To do
all acts and things, which are not expressly by these rules directed to be done
or performed, only on instructions from a Meeting of members.
33. Members
may, should they deem it necessary, alter, repeal, vary or amend the
Constitution of the Club in whatever manner they think fit, by a majority of
two thirds of the members present and voting at any General Meeting of the
Club, of which 14 days notice shall have been given.
34. The
resolutions and business of any General or Committee Meetings shall be recorded
by the Secretary in the Minute Book, which shall be signed by the Chairman as
correct after adoption by the next ensuing Meeting.
35. The
Treasurer shall keep true and correct books of account of the affairs of the
Club, which he shall submit to the Committee for their report before the Annual
General Meeting, or upon demand of any member thereof.
36. The
Committee shall be the sole authority for the interpretation of these rules and
of the by—laws or regulations made or to be made therein under; and the
decision of the Committee on any matter of interpretation or any matter
affecting the Club and not provided for by these rules or the by—laws or
regulations made hereunder, shall be final and binding upon the members.
37. If at
any General Meeting a resolution for the dissolution of the Club shall be
passed by the majority of members present, and such resolution shall at a
Special General Meeting held not less than one month thereafter, at which not
less than one half the members shall be present, be confirmed by a resolution
passed by a majority of two thirds of the members voting thereon; the Committee
shall thereupon, or at any such future date as may be specified in such
resolution, proceed to realize the property of the Club. After discharge of all
liabilities the proceeds shall be given to the National governing body of motor
sport, who shall distribute such money equally among all clubs affiliated to it
in the
38. In these rules, save where inconsistent with the context,
the masculine shall include the feminine the singular shall include the plural;
and the plural shall include the singular.