Cambridge University Yachting

Main Constitution Regulations Damages Policy Equal Opps. Questions?

Constitution

A. Name, Objects, Membership

The Club shall be called "The Cambridge University Cruising Club" (with the acronym of CUCrC).
The Objects of the Club shall be:
1. To provide education in and encourage the sports of sailing (yachting, windsurfing and dinghy sailing) in both a competitive and non-competitive manner.
2. To provide opportunities for instruction in the sports of sailing (yachting, windsurfing, and dinghy sailing).
3. To promote discussion of the sports of sailing (yachting, windsurfing, and dinghy sailing).
There shall be three classes of membership. Junior Ordinary, Senior Ordinary, and Affiliate.
Ordinary Membership of the club shall be confined to members of the University of Cambridge. Those who are in residence in the University in statu pupillari or in full-time education at an associated educational institution shall be Junior Ordinary Members. All other Ordinary Members shall be Senior Ordinary Members.
Affiliate Membership shall be confined to such categories of persons as the General Committee shall from time to time decide, and publish in the Club Regulations.
Benefit of the sailing equipment, property, and memberships of external organisations of the club shall be restricted to Junior Ordinary Members. The sole exception to this shall be to allow Senior Ordinary and Affiliate Members access to those facilities required for the teaching, supervision or safety cover of Junior Ordinary Members whilst executing their duties in these areas.
1. This section does not prevent the participation of Senior Ordinary, Senior Affiliate, and Junior Affiliate Members in activities that do not make use of the Club's own equipment or memberships of external organisations. These activities may include all sports of sailing (yachting, windsurfing, dinghy sailing).
At the discretion of the General Committee, Day Membership may be granted for a fee, for the purpose of sampling or viewing the facilities and sailing waters the Club has to offer. This shall not however contravene Sections A4-7. The details for day membership shall be decide by the General Committee and published in the Club Regulations. Day Members may not race in Club events or vote at meetings.
Honorary Life Membership may be granted by a General Meeting of the Club to persons whom the club specially desires to honour, where not less than two thirds of the Members present vote to pass the resolution.
Honorary Membership may be granted for a limited period by the General Committee to those to whom it is desired to show hospitality and officers of other yacht clubs as a mark of appreciation of their interest and assistance.
Honorary Members shall pay no membership fee, but will in all other respects be given the rights of the membership set out in Sections A4-7 that their educational status dictates. A list of Honorary Members and Honorary Life Members shall appear in the Club Regulations.
Memberships shall be administered by an Officer or Officers of the General Committee as set out in the Club Regulations. Any cases of uncertain eligibility shall be referred to the General Committee for decision.
No application by a person eligible for membership shall be rejected except by resolution of the General Committee.
All members other than Honorary Members shall pay such entrance fees and subscriptions as shall be decided by the General Committee from time to time and published in the Club Regulations.

B. Conduct of Members

Prior to participating in Club activities, every Member will explicitly undertake to comply with the Club Regulations by signing an acceptance form of the rules and regulations. Any refusal to do so, or any conduct which, in the opinion of the General Committee is either unworthy of a Member or otherwise injurious to the interests of the Club, shall render a member liable to expulsion by the General Committee.
Expulsion from the Club shall occur only after the Member has been given the opportunity, accompanied by a third party, of defending himself or resigning his membership.
The vote on a resolution for expulsion shall be by ballot, and the resolution shall only be carried if not less than two-thirds of the General Committee present vote in favour of the resolution.
A person so expelled shall not be eligible for future membership except by resolution of the General Committee.
Persons associated with the club but without membership implicitly undertake to behave in a respectable manner if participating in Club events, such as social occasions, and not to bring the Club into disrepute.
No member shall use his association with the Club as a means to private profit without the prior consent of the General Committee.
No member of the General Committee shall acquire any interest in property belonging to the Club (other than as a trustee for the Club) or receive remuneration or be interested (other than as a member of the General Committee) other than by agreement entered into by the General Committees.
Any Notice required to be served on any Member of the Club shall be in writing and shall be served by the Junior Secretary on any member either personally or by sending it through the post in a letter addressed to such member at his or her last known address in the United Kingdom, and any letter so sent shall be deemed to have been received within 10 days of posting.

C. Officers, Committees, and Trustees

The Club shall be divided into the following Sections:
1. Casual Dinghy Section
2. Team Dinghy Section
3. Yachting Section
4. Windsurfing Section
There shall be the following Committees of the Club:
1. General Committee
2. Casual Dinghy Committee
3. Team Dinghy Committee
4. Yachting Committee
5. Windsurfing Committee
The General Committee shall comprise Senior Members and Junior Members. The Officers of the General Committee shall be:
1. President (Senior Member)
2. Commodore (Junior Member)
3. Senior Treasurer (Senior Member)
4. Senior Secretary (Senior Member)
5. Junior Secretary (Junior Member)
6. Two other Senior Members, with responsibilities to be decided by the General Committee and published in the Club Regulations (Senior Members)
7. Social Secretary (Junior Member)
8. One member from each Section, to be decided by each Section Committee
Each member of the General Committee shall have one vote, with exceptions of the Social Secretary who shall not vote, and the nominated members from each section who shall each have two votes.
The positions within the Section Committees shall be published in the Club Regulations. Each Section shall contain as a minimum a Head of Section, responsible for all the activities of the Section.
Full job descriptions of the Officers of the Committees of the Club outlined in C2 shall be published in the Club Regulations. In addition, the minimum duties and responsibilities of the Officers of the General Committee are as follows:
1. The President shall be head of the Club and shall have overall responsibility for all activities of the Club.
2. The Commodore shall be responsible for the operational organisation of the Club, ensuring its efficient day-to-day running, and co-ordination between the Sections.
3. The Senior Treasurer shall be resident in Cambridge, and shall act in accordance with the regulations of the Junior Proctor for club and societies.
4. The Senior Secretary shall maintain the minutes and records of General Committee Meetings.
5. The Junior Secretary shall maintain membership records collated from the Sections.
6. The Heads of Sections shall be responsible for the proper running of their respective Sections and must authorise all Club activities within their sport of sailing.
The title to all land held by or in trust for the Club and the title to all investments held by or on behalf of the Club (the 'real property') shall be vested by the General Committee as follows:
1. The real property of the Club shall be vested in three or four trustees, who shall be elected by the General Committee, and each of whom shall hold office until death, resignation or revocation of his appointment by the General Committee. The trustees shall deal with property in accordance with the lawful directions of the General Committee. Provided they act only in accordance with the lawful directions of the General Committee, the holding trustees shall not be liable for the acts and defaults of its members
2. If holding trustees as described above have not been appointed, then the General Committee may permit the real property of the club to held in the name of a clearing bank, trust corporation or any stock-broking company which is a member of the International Stock Exchange (or any subsidiary of any such stock-broking company) as nominee for the General Committee, and may pay such a nominee reasonable and proper remuneration for acting as such.
The proceedings of the Committees shall not be invalidated by any vacancy among their number or by any failure to appoint or any defect in the appointment or qualification of any Officer.
An Officer of a Committee shall cease to hold office if he or she:
1. Becomes incapable by reason of mental disorder, illness or injury of managing and administering his or her affairs.
2. Is absent without the permission of the Committee from all their meetings held within a period of six months and the Committee resolve that his or her office be vacated.
3. Notifies to the Committee a wish to resign. (In the case of the General Committee, at least three Officers of the General Committee must remain in office when the notice of resignation is to take effect).

D. Meetings and Elections

Each academic year there shall be a meeting of the Club in Cambridge to be called the Annual General Meeting. This shall be open to all and notice of the meeting shall be given to all Members at least twenty-one days in advance.
The General Committee shall present to each Annual General Meeting the report and accounts for the charity for the preceding year. A copy of the audited accounts for the previous year shall be supplied to any Member who requests it, and the notice for the Annual General Meeting shall contain a reminder to this effect, including the name and address of the Officer to whom the request should be made.
The General Committee can at any time convene a Special General Meeting, and must do so if called upon by at least ten Ordinary Members in writing, of which not less than 21 days' Notice (stating the terms of the resolution to be proposed) shall be given.
Every Ordinary member shall have one vote at General Meetings. Affiliate and Honorary members shall not vote.
The quorum at a General Meeting of the Club shall be one-tenth of the number of all current members with voting rights. In addition, for all resolutions, the majority of the quorum must be by Junior Members.
The Senior Secretary, or other person specially appointed, shall keep a full record of proceedings at every General Meeting of the Club.
If the General Committee decides that it is necessary or advisable to dissolve the Club it shall call a Special General Meeting, In addition to Rules and Regulations applying to General Meetings, for this resolution, the quorum shall be two-thirds of all current members of the club. If this resolution is passed, the General Committee shall have power to realise any assets held by or on behalf of the Club. Any assets remaining after the satisfaction of any proper debts and liabilities shall be given or transferred to the University.
There shall be at least one meeting per term of the General Committee. A General Committee Meeting may be called at any time by the Commodore, or any two members of the General Committee upon not less than 7 days' notice being given.
At General Committee Meetings the President, or an Officer appointed by him, shall take the chair. Every matter shall be determined by a majority of votes. The Chairman has a vote, and in the case of equality of votes shall use a second or casting vote in the direction of least change.
The quorum at a meeting of the General Committee shall be eight, with a majority of those present being Junior Members.
Sections shall hold meetings as needed, and published in the Club Regulations.
In each meeting of the General Committee, a person shall be appointed to keep minutes. Following the meeting, they shall be made available to the Junior Secretary, who will ensure that they are properly displayed and available to all members of the Club, excepting any items considered reserved for personal or confidential reasons. Regulations concerning minutes of Section Committee Meetings shall be published in the Club Regulations.
The Senior Members of the General Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Club by the Ordinary Membership, by a simple majority.
The Commodore, Junior Secretary, and Social Secretary shall be elected at an Annual Junior Membersâ€™ Meeting by the Ordinary Membership, by simple majority. At this meeting the details of the Officers of the Section Committees shall also be announced.
The Officers of the Section Committees shall be elected in a fair manner by a majority vote at a Section Meeting by the Ordinary Membership.
Nominations for all elections shall be made in writing to the appointed returning officer, and a list of nominations posted not less than five days before the elections. In the case of the General Committee the returning officer shall be the outgoing Commodore.

E. Constitution and Club Regulations

The Constitution may be altered only by a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the Officers of the General Committee.
A General Meeting of the Club must ratify any changes to the Constitution within three months of the change. Ratification shall require a two thirds majority of the Members present and eligible to vote. If the changes are not ratified, the Constitution will revert to the most recent ratified version, for the remaining duration of the academic year. Ratification - The notice of the General Meeting of the Club must include notice of the resolution, setting out the terms of the alteration for which ratification is sought.
Any Member may propose, in writing, a constitutional change, which is seconded by at least 10 other Members of the Club, for the consideration of the General Committee. The proposal and response shall be published in an accessible form for all members of the club to view.
In addition to this Constitution there shall be a set of Club Regulations, which shall be divided into five parts: General, Yachting, Windsurfing, Team Dinghy and Casual Dinghy.
The Club Regulations shall be decided by, and may be changed from time to time by the General Committee or Section Committee pertaining to the part of the Club Regulations. They shall include such matters as are specifically referred to in the Constitution, reiterating important elements of the Constitution where appropriate, and may include other matters that are not in conflict with the Constitution. No regulation may be made which is inconsistent with this Constitution.
The General Committee shall decide any question of doubt with the interpretation or validity of any Club Regulation.
The Constitution and Club Regulations shall be published in an accessible means.