The activities and affairs of the Illawarra Fly Fishers Club Inc. shall be governed by the rules as set out in this constitution.
1) The
objectives of
I.F.F. are:
To enhance the member’s enjoyment of the sport of fly-fishing by
providing
opportunities for members to increase their knowledge and skills; and,
to assist
with maintaining the environment associated with fly-fishing.
2) Membership
Qualification
A person is qualified to be a member of IFF no matter what sex, race or
creed
provided that:.
a) The person is a natural person. (Explanation: “Natural
person” is
defined at law so as to exclude entities such as companies,
partnerships,
organizations, government departments etc.)
b) The person agrees to abide by the rules of the IFF as set out in
this
constitution and as resolved at the AGM’s of IFF from time to time.
3) Obligations
of
members
a) To maintain the good reputation of the I.F.F..
b) To generally abide by reasonable standards of probity, environmental
conservation and decent behaviour.
c) To be sportsperson like in their behaviour.
4) The cost of
membership
a) On admission to membership a person shall pay $2, or such other
amount as is
resolved at AGM form time to time, by way of an establishment fee.
b) In addition to the establishment fee members shall pay an annual
subscription
as set out below:
i) $10 per annum for pensioners, holders
of disability cards, children
under 16
years of age, full time students and non resident members when a
no-resident
member is a person residing more than 50 kilometres from Wollongong.
ii) For all other members the cost of
membership shall be $25 per annum.
iii) Membership year shall run from
midnight on the first Tuesday in
August
until midnight of the first Tuesday in August the following year.
iv) Half fees may be charged if members
join after the first Tuesday in
February.
v) If a membership is refused, the
applicant has a right to appear
before the
committee to put his or her case. (No reason for refusal has to be
given)
5) Members’
Liabilities
The liability of a member of the IFF to contribute toward the payment
of debts
of the IFF is to be limited to the amount of:
a) Any unpaid fees with respect to that member.
b) Any unpaid amounts in relations to purchases by the member from the
IFF.
c) Any unpaid amounts in relation to the cost of outings that the
member has
committed his or her self to.
6) Resolution of
internal
disputes
Disputes between members in their capacity as members of the IFF are to
be
resolved in the following manner:
a) Directly between the members.
b) If that is not possible the executive of the Committee of the IFF
shall
arbitrate the dispute.
c) If the outcome from that process is not acceptable by both parties
to the
dispute then the dispute shall be referred to a community justice
centre for
mediation in accordance with the Community Justice Centre Act 1983. All
costs of
this process shall be born equally by the disputees.
7) Cessation of
membership
Membership entitlements are not transferable and a person ceases to be
a member
of IFF if the person:
a) Dies; or
b) Resigns membership.
c) Becomes un-financial for a period of more than 3 months.
d) Is expelled from the IFF.
The member/members must be notified that their membership is to be
reviewed and
must be given the opportunity to appear before any decision is made.
8) Election of
the
Committee
A committee shall be elected by the members and shall consist of at
least 8 members:
a) The committee shall be elected at the
AGM and shall assume their
respective
duties as follows:
b) The committee shall be
elected in the following manner.
i) Nominations shall be accepted to fill positions
in the
following order:
(1) Executive Positions:
(a) President
(b) Vice President
(c) Secretary
(d) Treasurer
(2) Non Executive Positions:
(a) Public Officer (must be over the age
of 18 years)
(b) Newsletter editor
(c) Freshwater fishing outing coordinator
(d) Saltwater fishing outing coordinator
(e) Guest speaker and meeting program
coordinator
(f) Fly tying coordinator
(g) Fly tying school coordinator
(h) Fly casting coordinator
(i) Fly tying competition and fly raffle
coordinator
(j) Liaison officer
(k) Publicity officer
(l) Web site manager
(m) Video librarian
(n) Magazine and books librarian
o) Refreshment coordinator (beer, tea
& coffee)
(p) Social function coordinator
(q) Name badge officer
ii) Members may be elected to fill more than one position provided that
they do
not hold more than one executive position.
iii) There shall be no restriction on the time a person may
hold a
position.
iv) Where non-executive positions are not filled at an AGM they may be
filled
from the floor from time to time at Club Meetings and the person
filling that
position shall automatically become a member of the committee until the
next
AGM.
9) Powers of the
Committee
The committee shall be subject to these rules and to any motion passed
by the
members at a club meeting or AGM. Its role shall be to consider and
recommend to
club meetings action in relation to the affairs of the club.
10) Club Patrons
A patron (or patrons) for the club may be elected from time to time for
a
maximum period of 5 years:
a) Nominations must be in the form of a
special motion and must be
accompanied
by an explanatory statement signed by the proposer.
b) For the duration of the time that a
person is a Patron he or she
shall
automatically become a member of the IFF and a member of the IFF
committee.
c) At the end of a Patron’s term they
can be re-nominated.
11) Club
Meetings,
Meeting
procedure
and activities
a) Unless otherwise resolved at an AGM
the IFF shall hold Club Meetings
on the
first Tuesday of each month, except for January, at 7:30 pm at a venue
generally
advised to all members.
b) Standard Meeting procedures will
apply.
i)
Attendance
ii)
Apologies
iii)
Previous Meeting Minutes
iv)
Matters Arising out of Minutes
v)
Treasures Report
vi)
Correspondence
vii)
Agenda items
viii)
General Business
ix)
Fishing Reports
c) The club shall hold other activities
as are resolved at Club
Meetings and
AGM’s.
12) Club
Newsletter
a) The Committee shall cause a club
newsletter to be sent to each
financial
member, and other persons and organizations as resolved by members at
Club
Meetings from time to time, so that the magazine will be received prior
to the
Club Meeting or AGM that any special motion that is included in the
Club
Newsletter is to be considered.
b) The editor of the newsletter can
include in the newsletter such
other
information that he or she considers appropriate from time to time.
13) Meetings and
Quorum
A quorum shall consist of not less than 4 committee members for a
committee
meeting and not less than 15 members for a club meeting.
14) Chairperson
Committee meetings, club meetings and AGM’s shall be chaired by the
President
or in his absence the Vice President. In the absence of both the
President and
Vice president a club member shall be elected from the floor to chair
the
meeting.
15) Motions
A motion is a proposal by a member that the IFF will do or cease to do
a
particular thing or activity and, a motion may be proposed by any
financial
members as set out below:
a) A motion that does not relate to changing the rules of the IFF, as
set out in
this constitution or as resolved at AGM’s from time to time, shall be
regarded
as an ordinary motion. Ordinary motions:
i) Can be verbal or in writing;
ii) Must be seconded by a financial
member;
iii) May only be proposed at a time
convenient to the Chairperson,
provided
always that an ordinary motion must be considered at the Club Meeting
at which
the proposer seeks to have the motion considered or, if the Chairperson
deems it
desirable the next Club Meeting.
b) A motion that relates to changing the rules of the IFF, as set out in this constitution and as resolved at AGM’s from time to time, shall be regarded as a special motion. Special motions:
i) Must be proposed
in writing;
ii) Must be seconded by a financial
member in writing;
iii) Proposed & seconded special
motions must be submitted to a
Club meeting
not less than two months before the AGM at which it is to be considered;
iv) Special motions (and in the case of
a nomination of a Patron the
explanatory
statement) must be circulated in each Club Newsletter sent out to
members
between the time the motion is received and the AGM, and any notice of
AGM that
is sent out to members.
c) If a motion is not seconded then it shall be considered lost.
16) Voting
a) Voting on ordinary motions and special motions can be in person or
in proxy.
b) Ordinary motions shall be voted on by a show of hands and:
i) Shall be carried if more than 50% of
the financial members voting
raise their
hand in favour of the ordinary motion.
ii) Otherwise shall be lost.
c) Special motions shall be voted on by a show of hands unless either
the
President or the proposer deems that not appropriate in which case
private
ballot shall be held and:
i) Shall be carried if more than 50% of
the financial members voting
raise their
hand or in the case of a private ballot submit their vote, in favour of
the
special motion.
ii) Otherwise shall be lost.
iii) Where a private ballot is held all
members of the executive shall
act as
scrutineers but shall still be entitled to cast their personal vote.
17) Annual
General
Meetings
(AGM’s)
a) Except when there are clashes of dates relating to availability of
guest
speakers etc the AGM shall be held in August each year.
b) When there is a clash of dates relating to the availability of guest
speakers
etc the date upon which the AGM will be held can only be changed by
ordinary
motion of the financial members attending a club meeting.
c) That ordinary motion shall be passed no later than June and provide
for the
AGM to be held in either July or September of the same year.
d) At the AGM, prior to the election of the Committee, the following
reports
shall be tendered:
i) President’s report.
ii) Treasurer’s Annual Report,
recommended for endorsement by the
Committee.
Copies of the treasurers Annual report shall be made available (at the
AGM) for
members to peruse before full endorsement.
iii) Fishing Outing Report including
announcement of the winners of any
fishing
competitions held during the year.
iv) Fly Tying report covering all fly
tying activities conducted by the
club
during the year and including the announcement of the winners of any
fly tying
competitions held during the year.
v) Fly-casting report covering all fly
casting workshop and clinic
activities
conducted by the club during the year and including the announcement of
the
winners of any fly casting competitions held during the year.
vi) Such other reports as may be
requested by the outgoing president.
18) Insurance
The club shall maintain a Sports Insurance Policy, or such other
insurance as
resolved by members from time to time, covering all financial members
attending
official club meetings, workshops, clinics and outings.
19) Records
All records, books and documents of the Club can be inspected by any
financial
member of the Club at any reasonable hour upon request.
20)
Winding Up
In the case that
the club has to be wound up all assets owned by the club, after
payment of all liabilities and winding up costs, will be donated to the
Institute of Freshwater Anglers.