Constitution London Region Fencing ratified by 2021 AGM
1 Title
- The Region shall be known as London Region Fencing (“the Region”).
2 Laws
2.1 All laws, bye-laws, regulations and policies of the Region shall be subject to the laws, bye-laws, regulations and policies of both England Fencing Ltd (“England Fencing”) and the British Fencing Association (“British Fencing”) from time to time in force to the extent they apply to the region.
3 Geographical Purview
3.1 The geographical purview is defined and reviewed by England Fencing. At present it consists of the City of London and the 32 Boroughs of Greater London.
4 Objectives The objectives of the Region shall include, as appropriate, the following:
4.1 publicise, support and promote fencing within the Region
4.2 Arrange Regional Championships (including the British Youth Championships)
4.3 Provide opportunities for fencers to represent the Region
4.4 encourage Clubs to work together towards shared aims
4.5 represent British Fencing and England Fencing as appropriate
4.6 promote the safeguarding of children and support England Fencing in its aim to ensure fencing is a safe and enjoyable activity for all
4.7 ensure representation at sport partnership bodies as may reasonably be required by British Fencing and England Fencing
5 Development Plan To further the objectives of the Region, the Committee shall prepare and as appropriate revise a regional development plan. Such a plan should consider (but not be limited to) such of the following topics as the Committee thinks appropriate:
5.1 the provision of competitive opportunities in the Region, in particular opportunities for new fencers
5.2 the provision of coach, referee and armourer training
5.3 the promotion of best practice in Club management and the provision of support to Clubs to meet relevant quality standards
5.4 the promotion of safeguarding of children and ensuring that fencing is a safe and enjoyable activity for all
5.5 the creation of partnerships with local organisations to promote fencing in the area, providing representation of British fencing and England fencing to the local area
5.6 the provision of regional training for fencers
5.7 the provision of support to the Clubs in funding applications
5.8 provision of a conduit for information between British Fencing, England Fencing and affiliated Clubs
6 General Principles
6.1 The Region will be committed to ensuring that sports equity is incorporated across all aspects of its development plan. In doing so, the Region will adopt the following definition of sports equity: “Sports equity is about fairness in sport, equality of access, recognising inequalities and taking steps to address them. It is about changing the culture and structure of sport to ensure it becomes equally accessible to everyone in society.”
6.2 The Region will adopt the British Fencing Child Protection Policy and Procedures. The Elected Officers and Committee Members will be required to read and assent to the British Fencing Code of Conduct and to recognise and adhere to the principles and responsibilities embodied in that code. 6.3 As a general principle, the Elected Officers and the Committee Members should always have the best interests of the Region in mind when involved in the business of the Region or in carrying out their duties and responsibilities.
7 Individual Affiliation
7.1 Any individual member of British Fencing may affiliate to the Region in accordance with the rules of British Fencing.
7.2 A person who has affiliated to the Region may not change his affiliation other than in accordance with the rules of British Fencing or England Fencing.
7.3 For competitions requiring qualification through a region, a person must be affiliated in accordance with the rules of the relevant competition, and must qualify through the Region, and also compete for the Region in the competition for the rest of the season even if they have ceased to be affiliated to the Region. The ‘season’ shall be defined as the period 1st September in any year to 31st August in the following year.
8 Club Affiliation
8.1 All Clubs that meet or train in a physical location within the geographical purview of the Region and which are registered members of British Fencing shall have the right to register with the Region. Clubs which are so registered with the Region are referred to as “Clubs” in the Constitution.
8.2 The Committee will be solely responsible for establishing the procedure for registration and maintaining the register of Clubs, which it will make publicly available.
8.3 Clubs registered with the Region will: i be entitled to receive copies of all mailings made by the Region to the Clubs registered with it; ii be entitled to receive the support offered by the Region to those Clubs; iii provide the Region with such information concerning the Club and its membership as the Region may from time to time reasonably request; and iv be bound by this Constitution to the extent it is applicable to them.
8.4 All registered Clubs will be expected to promote the activities of the Region to their membership.
8.5 The Region (by resolution of the Committee) may accept the registration of a Club which meets or trains in a physical location which is outside the geographical purview of the Region but is not required to do so.
9 Committee
9.1 The Elected Officers of the Region shall be Chairperson, the Treasurer and the Secretary. No individual shall hold more than one such position.
9.2 The Region’s Committee shall consist of the elected officers, a welfare officer and up to seven individuals elected to serve onto the Committee.
9.3 To be able to be elected onto the Committee, the individual must hold a current British Fencing Membership of any level and be affiliated to the region. While a person is a member of the Committee he shall maintain his British Fencing membership and if his membership lapses he must either renew his membership within a reasonable time or resign from the committee.
9.4 All committee positions other than the welfare officer shall be elected via a General Meeting for a set period of time. This period shall be up-to three years, however they are allowed to re-stand for the Committee a unlimited number of times. Unless otherwise authorised at an AGM, a person shall not be Chair for more than 6 consecutive years.
9.5 The welfare officer may be appointed by the Committee after an open recruitment process. The Committee can choose to co-opt individuals onto the committee on either a temporary or permanent basis. A permanent position may be referred to as an honorary role on the Committee. The welfare officer and any person co-opted onto the committee holds no voting rights.
9.6 The Committee may, from time to time, also invite such other persons as it thinks necessary or appropriate for the conduct of its business to attend meetings of the Committee or part thereof and to speak (but not to vote) at the meeting.
9.7 The Elected Officers will determine in their sole discretion the manner in which nominations for the position of Committee Member may be made and conducted but they shall take reasonable measures to ensure that it is an open and fair process.
9.8 At or prior to being nominated for election as a Committee Member, a candidate shall specify to which Club (if any) they are affiliated to. A Committee Member may only be affiliated to one Club for these purposes which must be the Club with which they have the most significant connection. A person shall not be taken as affiliated to a Club solely by reason of the membership of, or participation at, such Club by a relative of theirs.
9.9 A candidate shall promptly upon request provide the Chairperson with such information relevant to his or her affiliation as the Chairperson may reasonably request.
9.10 If (before or after the declaration of the result of an election) the Chairperson reasonably believes that the election has or is likely to result in more than two members of the Committee being affiliated to the same Club or otherwise closely connected with each other, the Chairperson, having consulted the other Elected Officers, shall be entitled to require that the vote on those elections shall be by either: i a poll or secret ballot of those Members present in person or by proxy in accordance with paragraph 13.5. ii by ballot of all Members which shall be conducted as soon as practicable after the meeting in accordance with such rules and procedures as the Elected Officers shall decide.
9.11 All Committee Members shall declare any conflicts of interest in line with the British Fencing’s Conflict of Interest Policy.
10 Meetings of the Committee
10.1 Meetings of the Committee will generally be held by the members being physically present. However, meetings of the Committee may be held by telephone or online provided all members who wish to do so are able to participate in the conference call.
10.2 Matters may also be validly decided upon by the Committee without a physical meeting if an email or other written communication detailing a proposal is sent to members of the Committee by an Elected Officer and a simple majority of the members of the Committee indicate their support for that proposal (whether by email or otherwise in writing), and the Chairperson (having satisfied himself that the foregoing conditions have been met) declares the decision to be resolved upon without a physical meeting.
10.3 The quorum for a meeting of the Committee shall be four members of the Committee, two of which (at least) must be Elected Officers, present in person or by telephone provided all those other members present are able to participate in the conference call.
10.4 Each member of the Committee present at a meeting (including those present by telephone or online) shall be entitled to one vote. The Chairperson shall have a second casting vote in the event that the voting on any particular matter is tied.
10.5 Subject to the other provisions of this Constitution, the Committee shall regulate its own affairs including deciding when and where meetings of the Committee shall be held. The Chairperson may, however, convene a meeting of the committee at any time by giving at least 48 hours notice to all members of the Committee and the secretary will convene a meeting of the Committee on such notice if at least four members of the Committee request the secretary in writing to do so.
11 Annual General Meetings
11.1 The Region shall convene an AGM of the Region once in each calendar year which will normally be held in or around November of each year.
11.2 The Committee shall be entitled to decide upon the date of the AGM as circumstances may from time to time dictate provided that no more than 15 months shall elapse between one AGM and the next AGM.
11.3 An AGM is usually held in person, however the Committee can decide to hold an online AGM. In this case they must ensure that there are appropriate platforms to handle online voting of members including open and secret ballots.
11.4 The Secretary shall give Members twenty-one days notice of an AGM in accordance with this Constitution.
11.5 The quorum for an AGM shall be eight individual Members present in person or by proxy and eligible to vote of which at least two shall be Elected Officers present in person or in attendance during a online AGM.
11.6 In the event that, at a properly convened AGM, a quorum is not present, the Chairperson shall cause a new meeting to be convened within 90 days, with the same notice requirements as the original meeting. If a second such meeting is not quorate, the Chairperson (or in their absence any other Elected Officer) shall notify British Fencing, who shall have the authority to make such provision for the administration of the Region as they deem necessary, until such time as the British Fencing is satisfied that proper Regional governance is restored.
11.7 Any person attending an AGM, either in person or online, shall provide such evidence of their eligibility to attend and vote at the Meeting as the Secretary may reasonably require including, without limitation, evidence of their affiliation to the Region.
11.8 The conduct of Any Other Business is at the discretion of the Chairman of the meeting.
12 Extraordinary General Meetings
12.1 A quorate meeting of the Committee, or any 20 Members, shall be entitled to require the Secretary to call an EGM to discuss and vote on any matter by giving written notice to the Secretary. Such a notice shall include a written summary of the business to be discussed at the meeting.
12.2 Upon receipt of any such notice, the Secretary shall, within a month of receipt of a valid notice requiring him to convene the EGM, take reasonable steps to convene an EGM within a reasonable time and issue a notice to all Members convening an EGM by giving 21 days notice.
12.3 The Committee can decide to hold a EGM online, providing that there are appropriate platforms to handle online voting of members.
12.4 No business other than that specified in the notice convening the EGM may be conducted at an EGM.
12.5 The quorum for the EGM shall be the same as for an AGM and the provisions of paragraphs 11.6 and 11.7 above shall apply equally to EGMs.
13 Voting by Members
13.1 At a General Meeting, all individual members of British Fencing affiliated to the Region and who have reached their 18th birthday on or before the date of that General Meeting and who became a member of British Fencing on a date which is at least three months prior to the General Meeting shall be entitled to have one vote on any resolution proposed at that meeting. Each member so entitled to vote is referred to in this Constitution as a “Member”.
13.2 Members may appoint the Chairperson of a General Meeting, or such other person who may be specified in the notice convening the Meeting (but no other person), as his proxy for the Meeting in accordance with this Constitution. Proxies may be validly appointed by a notice in writing in a form approved for the purpose by the Committee, in accordance with the instructions contained in the notice of General Meeting to which the proxy relates.
13.3 Proxy notices may specify how the proxy is to vote (or that the proxy is to abstain from voting) on one or more resolutions.
13.4 Unless a proxy notice indicates otherwise, it is to be treated as: i allowing the person appointed by it discretion as to how to vote on any resolution put before the meeting; and ii appointing that person as a proxy in relation to any adjournment of the General Meeting to which it relates.
13.5 Normally, all matters at General Meetings will be decided by a show of hands of those Members present in person and eligible to vote, except that, at the request of at least two Members present and eligible to vote made prior to the show of hands or on the declaration of the result of such show of hands or in accordance with paragraph 9.10, the vote will be taken by a poll or secret ballot of those Members present in person or represented by proxy using such methods and procedures as the Chairperson, in consultation with the other Elected Officers present, may decide. Further, in the circumstances described in paragraph 9.10, a ballot of all Members may be conducted in accordance with, and pursuant to, that paragraph.
13.6 An ordinary resolution will be passed if a simple majority of votes cast are in favour of the resolution which, on a show of hands, shall be all the votes cast by those Members present in person and eligible to vote and on a poll or ballot, shall be the votes cast by those Members present in person and eligible to vote and all those votes cast by proxy (except on a ballot of all Members pursuant to paragraph 9.10 when the relevant votes shall be all those votes cast in that ballot). A Special Resolution will be passed if two-thirds or more of such votes cast are in favour of the resolution in question.
13.7 Any resolution to amend or vary this Constitution can only be passed as a Special Resolution. All other resolutions will be ordinary resolutions.
14 Finance
14.1 The Committee shall ensure the proper administration and use of the funds of the Region and the preparation of accounts annually and the presentation of those accounts to the AGM and thereafter to England Fencing.
14.2 The budgetary control held by the Committee shall be the responsibility of the Treasurer.
14.3 The financial year shall end on 30 June and accounts for the financial period up to and including this date shall be prepared by the Treasurer and submitted to the Committee for approval in time for the next following AGM.
14.4 At each AGM, the Treasurer shall deliver written accounts summarising the principal financial transactions of the Region for the last ended financial year, and the Agenda shall contain an item inviting the Members to comment on, and to approve or refuse to approve, those accounts. In the event that the Members refuse to approve the accounts, the Committee shall have the accounts independently examined and reported upon and shall take such other action as it considers necessary in order to produce accounts which it considers are accurate and correct. Once approved by the Committee, a copy of the accounts of the Region shall be submitted to British Fencing. This must be done no later than six weeks after the General Meeting at which they are approved or, if later, the date on which they are approved by the Committee.
14.5 The Committee and British Fencing may require the accounts to be independently examined and reported upon. If the Members refuse to approve the accounts presented to the AGM, the Committee shall have the accounts independently examined and reported upon.
14.6 The funds of the Region shall be held in a suitable bank or building society account and will be allocated in accordance with the authorisation of the Committee.
14.7 The Treasurer shall maintain a bank account on behalf of the Region, which (subject to paragraph 14.8) requires a minimum of two of the Elected Officers to administer the account.
14.8 Any cheques issued over £250, or such amount as authorised by the committee, must be signed by both of the authorised signatories. Only one signatory is required under this amount.
14.9 Unless the Committee decides otherwise, expenditure must be authorised in advance. The Committee may give in principle authorisation for expenditure and, unless the Committee decides otherwise, the Chair will be required to agree expenditure before it is incurred.
14.10 All claims for reimbursement must (unless the Committee decides otherwise) be supported by receipts.
14.11 No sub-committee will operate any bank account in respect of its operations and any funds raised or to be dispersed in connection with the activities of any sub-committee will be administered by, or under the oversight of, the Treasurer.
14.12 The income and property of the Region shall be applied solely towards the promotion of its objectives.
15 Dissolution
15.1 If, at any General Meeting, a resolution for the dissolution of the Region is passed by two thirds majority of Members present in person or by proxy,the actions set out below must occur.
15.2 The Committee must immediately (or at such future date as specified in the resolution) proceed to realise the assets of the Region.
15.3 After the discharge of all liabilities, any remaining assets at the time of dissolution will become the property of British Fencing or its successor body (“the Trustee”). The Trustee will hold such assets on trust to apply the same for the purposes of the Region as described above if possible by transferring them to any reconstituted Region or otherwise (should that not be possible within a reasonable time) by distributing such assets to suitable organisations within the Region to further the sport of fencing.
16 Interpretation and amendments to the Constitution
16.1 The Committee shall have the power to determine any matters which are not expressly dealt with by this Constitution to the extent that the matter in question falls within the objectives of the Region, alterations to this Constitution may be made at an AGM, or at an EGM expressly convened for the purpose, by Special Resolution.
16.2 References in this Constitution to a given number of days notice shall be to calendar days and shall include the day on which the notice is given or deemed given and the day of the relevant meeting; reference to singular include the plural; references to one gender include all other genders.
16.3 References in this Constitution to members of British Fencing shall be to those persons who hold any level of British Fencing membership.
Ratified by the 2021 AGM