Contact: Membership Secretary

BIGFOOT MOUNTAIN BIKE CLUB CONSTITUTION

Version 1.0 | Original Document | Author: Membership Secretary | Date: 21/12/2022

 

1. This is the Constitution of Bigfoot Mountain Bike Club agreed on 02 Nov 2022 at the monthly Club Meeting at the Royal William Pub in Cranham.

2. Alterations to the Constitution that do not affect the duties or privileges of the members can be made by the Committee following which, all club members shall be informed of the changes. Unless urgent, such changes will be held in abeyance until the next Annual General Meeting (AGM).

3. All other alterations/amendments can only be made/agreed at an AGM or Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). Proposals for such changes must be submitted to the Club Chair 4 weeks before the AGM/EGM at which the proposed changes will be discussed/agreed.

4. All alterations/amendments to the Constitution shall be made by the Club Chair.

5. Should there be a discrepancy between the Constitution and forums that are used by the Club, the Constitution shall take precedence.

6. Anything not covered by the Constitution shall be dealt with by the Committee whose decision shall be binding.

7. The Club Constitution will be reviewed and agreed annually at the Club’s AGM whether there are any proposed changes or not.

 

NAME OF CLUB

8. The name of the Club shall be “Bigfoot Mountain Bike Club” and be referred to in the rest of this document as “the Club”.

 

PURPOSES

9. The purposes of the Club are to:

a. Promote the sport of Mountain Biking within Gloucestershire

b. Provide a forum for Club members to participate in rides suitable for their ability

 

COMMITTEE & ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES

10. The Club will be administered by a committee consisting of:

 

a. Chair. The Chair shall be responsible for:

  1. Chair all meetings
  2. Create and implement the strategy, solely tailored to benefit club members as a whole
  3. Manage slack channels and member engagement
  4. Develop and grow the Trash Free Trails initiative
  5. Lead, organise and delegate tasks to Committee
  6. Authoring of the Club Constitution.
  7. GDPR including authoring the Club’s Privacy Policy.
  8. Maintenance and oversight of list of members training qualifications
  9. Attend monthly taster rides where possible.

 

b. Vice Chair. The Vice Chair shall be responsible for:

  1. Standing in for the Club Chair in their absence.
  2. Production and distribution of monthly newsletter
  3. Maintenance and oversight of the Club tools
  4. Assisting the Chair with any new club initiatives
  5. Manage existing sponsorship collaborations, and find new opportunities.
  6. Attend monthly taster rides where possible.

 

c. Membership Secretary. The membership secretary shall be responsible for:

  1. Liaising with and informing potential new members about the Club.
  2. Inducting new members into the club including ensuring their access to the club website and messaging app, and liaising with the Treasurer to ensure membership fees are paid.
  3. Managing membership renewals including liaising with the Treasurer to ensure membership fees are paid.
  4. Ensuring the removal from the Club website and messaging App, club members who fail or choose not to renew their membership.
  5. Ensuring the removal from the Club website and messaging App, club members who have their membership terminated.
  6. Maintaining the list of Lifetime Members.
  7. Managing the Club Strava account.
  8. Attend monthly taster rides where possible.

 

d. Club Secretary. The Club Secretary shall be responsible for:

  1. Taking, producing, and posting minutes of all meetings.
  2. Organising Monthly, Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings.
  3. Posting attendance polls on Slack for the regular club rides, i.e., Tuesday Club Rides.
  4. Managing the Cycling UK membership.
  5. Attend monthly taster rides where possible.

 

e. Social Secretary. The Social Secretary shall be responsible for:

  1. Manage the monthly photo and video competitions
  2. Posting monthly photo and video comp winners
  3. Posting weekly (more if we have engaging content) social media posts to promote club
  4. Posting monthly taster ride date reminders on social media
  5. Attend monthly taster rides where possible.

 

f. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be responsible for:

  1. End-of-week update of new membership payments to membership secretary.
  2. Monthly report at meeting of ins/outs, balance, and liabilities
  3. Yearly forecast
  4. Source and manage club kit supplier.
  5. Attend monthly taster rides where possible.

 

g. Events Secretary. The Events Secretary shall be responsible for:

  1. Manage regular club events assisted by the committee. i.e., Summer BBQ and Christmas party etc.
  2. Manage one off events assisted by the committee and/or club members. i.e. Bike Maintenance evenings / First Aid courses etc.
  3. Promote mountain bike events via messaging app.
  4. Assist the chair with the Trash Free Trails initiative
  5. Attend monthly taster rides where possible.

 

h. Co-opted Members. The Club Committee may co-opt club members as and when to meet specific requirements of the Club. Co-opted members will only be in post for the period the said requirement is in existence and will have no voting rights. The purpose of their role and the tasks they are to carry out shall be captured in the minutes of the meeting at which it was agreed to coopt them. Likewise, when their tenure finishes it shall be captured in the minutes of the meeting following the end of their tenure.

 

MEETINGS

11. Monthly Meetings. Organised by the Club Secretary, the Committee shall hold monthly meetings to discuss the Club’s business. They shall be run by the Chair or Vice Chair (in the Chair’s absence) and all members are welcome to attend.

12. Annual General Meeting (AGM). Organised by the Club Secretary, the Club shall hold an AGM in January of each year to which all members are invited. Items for inclusion on the AGM agenda shall be forwarded to the Club Secretary one month before the AGM, along with the context in which the item is to be discussed. An agenda shall be posted on Slack3 by the Club Secretary two weeks before the AGM which shall be run by the Club Chair. Items shall be voted on by those members4 present, there shall be no postal or proxy voting. Should there be the same number of members voting for and against a proposal, the Chair shall have the deciding vote.

13. Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). An EGM can be held at the request of the Committee or at the request of a minimum of 10% of members, which can include members who serve on the Committee6. The request for an EGM should be sent to the Club Chair. The EGM will be organised by the Club Secretary and run by the Club Chair. The group of people requesting the EGM shall provide the proposed agenda to the Club Secretary along with any required documentation and context for the issues to be discussed at the time of requesting the EGM. The date of the EGM will be agreed between the Club Secretary and those requesting the EGM however, it cannot be held sooner than one month after the request for an EGM has been received by the Club Chair. The date should be published by the Club Secretary on Slack7 as soon as it is agreed, and members should be given one month’s notice of the EGM. An Agenda must be published on Slack8 by the Club Secretary two weeks before the date of the EGM. Items shall be voted on by those members9 present, there shall be no postal or proxy voting. Should there be the same number of members voting for and against a proposal, the Chair shall have the deciding vote.

For the meeting to be run, there must be a quorum of 6% of the Club membership10, which includes the Committee. Should this figure not be reached, the meeting must be adjourned and if still required, held on another date but not sooner than one month after the original date. 11

14. Minutes for all Meetings. Minutes shall be taken by the Club Secretary for all types of meetings and published within two weeks of the meeting.

 

MEMBERSHIP

15. Membership of the Club is limited to those aged 18 years old and above. This age restriction apart, membership is open to all who are experienced at and happy to ride at Blue Ride Grade12 for up to 10 miles and/or for two hours. Once they have joined, individuals can ride the grade they wish at their own risk however, if they choose to ride at a grade beyond their ability they may be asked to drop to a lower grade.

16. Individuals are only members when they have fully paid their membership fees for the year in question.

17. Membership Fees. Membership fees shall be determined annually by the committee and agreed by the members attending the next club AGM. The fee shall cover membership from 1 April to 31 March with a 40% reduction from 1 October.13

Should individuals resign their membership, or have it terminated, there shall be no refund of their membership fee. Individuals are not classed as members until the Treasurer confirms to the Membership Secretary that fees have been received. All members, excepting lifetime members who shall be exempt membership fees, shall pay the full membership fees.

18. Non-Payment of Membership Fees. On renewal, members shall be a given a grace period of one month to pay their fees, i.e., until 30 Apr. Should they fail to pay within this period, the Membership and Social Secretary shall remove them from Club forums and websites.

19. Membership Form. On joining, all members shall complete the Club’s membership form. Should personal details change, Club members should inform the membership secretary immediately. Verification of personal data shall be completed in line with the Club’s Privacy Policy.

20. Agreeing to the Club’s Constitution and Privacy Policy. On joining, all members shall read and agree to the Club’s Constitution and Privacy Policy. Should either change, all members shall read and agree to the new version for their membership to continue. Should they not agree, their membership shall be terminated.

21. In Case of Emergency (ICE) Contact. Ideally, all club members should provide an ICE contact in the event they are involved in an accident while cycling with the Club. Should the details of the ICE contact change, members shall inform the Membership Secretary immediately and a new membership card reflecting the change in ICE details will be issued.

22. Lifetime Members. Lifetime membership is awarded to a member to acknowledge the substantial and outstanding contributions they have made to the club. They can be nominated to the committee by any club member who has paid their membership fees for the year they propose the lifetime member. The committee will consider the nomination and, should they agree on the proposal, it will be taken to the next AGM and voted on by the members and committee present. The Membership Secretary shall keep the list of Lifetime Members.

23. Compliance with Codes. While cycling with the Club, members shall comply with the Highway and Countryside Code.

24. Dress. While cycling with the Club, members shall always wear a helmet. Other items of clothing such as gloves, eyewear and pads are advised to be worn however, it remains the member’s choice as to whether they wear them.

25. Equipment. It is the member’s responsibility to ensure their bike is sufficiently maintained to partake in the Club’s activities. If a member participates in a ride that is planned to finish at dusk or later, they must take lights of sufficient power and robustness to use in woods and at night.

26. Bringing the Club into Disrepute. We use social media and messaging platforms to help all members enjoy organising and participating in rides. All members are asked to be kind and courteous at all times when communicating on such platforms. Every member must be mindful of causing hurt and undue stress to other members by writing inappropriate comments or the use of inappropriate language. Every member simply needs to show empathy and respect at all times and remember to always be kind.

If club members are perceived to have brought the Club into disrepute, their case shall be considered by the Committee with the ultimate sanction being termination of their membership. Members accused of bringing the Club into disrepute will be entitled to present their case to the Committee.

 

FINANCE

27. All monies and funds received on behalf of the Club shall remain the property of the Club and there will be no distribution of such funds amongst the members other than by any reimbursements authorised by the Committee.

28. The Club shall maintain bank accounts in the Club’s name.

29. All expenditure must be agreed by the Committee (at a meeting or by email) in advance. The Treasurer is responsible for keeping a record of such agreements.

30. All expenditure must be supported by receipts.

31. The Club’s financial year shall be from 1st April to 31st March.

32. The Treasurer shall ensure proper and sufficient books of account are kept in such manner as to give a good and fair view of the state of the Club’s affairs.

33. At every meeting, including AGMs and EGMs, the Treasurer shall provide an up to date statement of accounts and list of all expenditure since the previous meeting.

 

INSURANCE

34. The Club shall take out annual insurance. The insurance shall, at a minimum, cover club officials, ride leaders and event organisers (provided they are fully paid up members of the Club) against any claims made against them as a result of their negligence. For example, to lead rides and be covered by the Club insurance, ride leaders must have paid their membership fees in full.

35. All members shall be encouraged to take out personal third party liability insurance.

 

DISSOLUTION OF THE CLUB

36. If upon dissolution of the Club, and after all bills and debts have been settled, there are funds left, they shall be given to a Charity whose focus is upon cycling. The choice of charity shall be that of the Committee.

 

1 As at Apr 22, this is “Slack”.

2 Or the Club Messaging app in use at the time

3 Or the Club Messaging app in use at the time

4 This includes the Committee

5 The 6% figure should be rounded down, e.g., if there are 103 members then a minimum of 6 are needed for the meeting to be run.

6 The 10% figure should be rounded down, e.g., if there are 103 members then a minimum of 10 are needed to request an EGM.

7 Or the Club Messaging app in use at the time

8 Or the Club Messaging app in use at the time

9 This includes the Committee

10 The 6% figure should be rounded down, e.g., if there are 103 members then a minimum of 6 are needed for the meeting to be run.

11 Note, should the EGM be requested due to an immediate threat to the viability of the Club, all timelines in this paragraph may be compressed through a majority decision of the Committee.

12 See Club website for a description of Ride Grades.

13 Rounded up to the nearest whole pound if required.