Constitution 2026/2027

Stokesley Hockey Club - Constitution 2026/2027

 

1.    Name

1.1    The club shall be called Stokesley Hockey Club (hereinafter called 'The Club'). The club sections shall be affiliated, where affiliation is required, to England Hockey and/or its areas and regions.

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2.    Open to the Whole Community

2.1    Membership of the club shall be open to anyone interested in the sport on application, regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs, except as a necessary consequence of the requirements of Hockey. The club committee may refuse membership, or remove it, only for good cause such as conduct or character likely to bring the club or sport into disrepute. Appeal against refusal or removal may be made to the members.

 

3.    Team Colours

3.1    The Club colours shall be decided by the General Committee of the Hockey Club.

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4.    Objectives

4.1    The main purposes of the club are to provide facilities for and to promote participation in the amateur sport of Hockey in Stokesley, surrounding area and the area surrounding Macmillan College. 
4.2    The Club will also seek to provide social & recreational pursuits as may be deemed desirable by the general committee, for the furtherance of the game of hockey in its promotion and playing.
4.3    The general committee will develop and work towards implementing a strategic plan that will be evaluated annually.

 

5.    Committee

5.1    There shall be General Committee. All positions are voluntary, and no committee member shall be funded by the club. The committee members will comprise:
•    Hon Chairperson
•    Hon Vice Chairperson
•    Hon Secretary
•    Hon Treasurer
•    Fixtures Secretary
•    Team Captain and Vice-Captain (or Co-Captains) for each team
•    Junior Development Officer
•    Child Welfare Officer
•    Umpire Development Officer
•    Disciplinary Officer
5.2    The general committee shall be elected each year at the Annual General meeting of the Hockey Club and at its first or subsequent meetings, may co-opt any member of the hockey club onto the committee, should the majority of the general committee members so desire, to assist with specific or general tasks. 
5.3    The Hockey Club shall be controlled by the general committee shall meet regularly on a date agreed at a previous meeting and the proceedings shall be recorded in written minutes format, circulated within 2 weeks of the meeting.
5.4    All committee members have one vote, when voting is required. If there is a split vote, then the chairperson's vote will count double.
5.5    No one person may hold 50% or more of the voting positions on the committee to prevent a single person having overall control of the club.
5.6    The quorum for any committee meeting shall be more than 50% of the general committee.
5.7    Committee members unable to attend shall be able to pass comments to the secretary to be read out at the meeting. As part of this, those members may also ask another committee member attending the meeting to vote on their behalf, provided they notify the secretary before the meeting of the proxy who will be voting for them.

 

6.    Powers of the Committee

6.1    The property and assets of the Hockey Club shall be vested in the general committee, who shall have the power to appoint sub-committees as may from time to time be deemed necessary and shall receive reports of such meetings.
6.2    Team selection shall be made by the team captains and vice captains by agreement. Any selection disputes will be mediated by the Chairperson.

 

7.    Annual General Meeting

7.1    The Hon secretary shall call an AGM of the hockey club giving a minimum of 14 days’ notice. All nominations should be with the Hon secretary at least 7 clear days before the AGM. The AGM must be held after the final adult league match of the Hockey season and before the end of June in each year.
7.2    The AGM shall be called for the following purposes:
•    To receive & adopt reports from the Hon secretary & statement of Accounts from Hon Treasurer.
•    To receive the end of season report(s) from the Chairperson and the captain(s)
•    To elect officers of the general committee
•    To set the proposed subs, match fees and credits (for example for umpiring or shared travel) for the next season.
•    To discuss any other related matters, which a member of the Hockey club may raise under any other business. This must be given in writing to the Hon secretary at least 7 clear days before the AGM.
7.3    Members not able to attend can nominate a proxy to vote on their behalf, provided they notify the secretary before the meeting of the proxy who will be voting for them.

 

8.    Voting Qualification

8.1    The elections will be carried out by a vote taking place for each office. Any senior member (i.e. anyone of 16 years or older having fully paid their subs for the preceding season) of Stokesley Hockey Club shall be entitled to vote. In the event of a tie, the Chairperson shall have a casting vote.

 

9.    Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)

9.1    An EGM may be called at any time by a majority of the General Committee or by written request to the Hon secretary from 40% of the membership of the Hockey Club, who shall state the purpose for which the meeting is required at that time. Voting rights at any EGM shall be the same as that of an AGM.

 

10.    Membership

10.1    Membership of the Hockey Club shall comprise of the following:
•    Junior Training (under 13)
•    Junior (under 16)
•    Student/Part-time worker: any member in full time education or working part-time
•    Adult: any other playing members who are employed full-time
•    Senior non-playing: includes ex-players and umpires
•    Life members, as approved by the general committee of AGM
•    Social member (parent of active club player, who supports the constitutional objectives of Stokesley MHC)
10.2    Members who do not play but regularly act as umpires for the club shall be offered free membership.
10.3    The club will keep subscriptions (subs) and fees (for matches, training and friendly games) at levels that will not pose a significant obstacle to people participating. Provision shall be made for players to delay payment should their financial situation require this. This shall remain confidential between the player and the appropriate captain, vice-captain and treasurer. All monies will normally be due by the end of each season. However, the Chairperson may allow these to be carried over to the following season.
10.4    Players will be allocated to one of the club’s teams being the one they are most likely to play for. This does not preclude them playing for a different team and may be changed as necessary. They will be informed of their debt (being the sum of subs and fees) on a regular basis – normally monthly – by their allocated team’s captain.
10.5    Any player who has a debt of £100 or more will not be selected to play for a team until the debt is reduced below this level.
10.6    If players join the club part-way through a season, or are unavailable for large parts of a season, the Chairperson may amend the level of subs on a case by case basis, generally on a pro rata basis.
10.7    At the end of the season, any player who has played fewer than 6 games in the season (roughly 1/3 of the games in a season) will be asked to pay a pro-rata on club subs based on the number of games played divided by 6.
10.8    At the end of the season, players will have their outstanding debt (or credit) carried forward to the following season. Players who are in credit can request that the credit is paid to them by bank payment.
10.9    All payments should be made to the club electronically except under exceptional circumstances.

 

11.    Finance

11.1    The general committee shall cause to be kept a proper record of account which shall be verified by a person or persons independent of the general committee on an annual basis.
11.2    All debts to the club to be cleared by the AGM or suitable contingencies will be put in place, so that the club accounts presented at the AGM are an accurate reflection of the financial position of the club. In extenuating circumstances, the general committee can overrule this as long as there is a majority consensus.
11.3    All spending of club funds to be approved and noted in the minutes at a general committee meeting, if items are needed to be purchased immediately, three members of the committee must approve it & explain to the next meeting why it was spent.
11.4    To satisfy issues of probity when financial decisions are made, committee members must declare a "conflict of interest" if appropriate (as defined in section 14.1. In this circumstance, the chair will require the member concerned to abstain from voting on that particular issue.
11.5    Informing players of how much players owe the club in subs and fees shall be the responsibility of the team captains.
11.6    At all times there must be three (3) signatories on each bank account, two of which are required for cheques to be authorised for issuing as payment.
11.7    All surplus income or profits are to be reinvested in the club. No surpluses or assets will be distributed to members or third parties.
11.8    In the event of the hockey authorities announcing a shortened season (comprising less than half the usual number of games), the committee will determine an appropriate refund on subs based the percentage of games played versus a full season.

 

12.    Change of Rules

12.1    No new constitutional club rule shall be made or existing club rules altered or amended unless at the AGM or EGM the majority of the membership agrees.
12.2    Where significant changes to the club are proposed:
•    Merging with other clubs
•    Addition/Reduction in Number of Teams
•    Reduction of the number of Committee roles elected
•    Folding of the Club
Then a two thirds majority of the adult membership needs to agree to the change at the relevant AGM/EGM

 

13.    Disciplinary Policy 

13.1    All members will adhere to clubs disciplinary procedure. A disciplinary committee comprising the Club Chairperson, Secretary, and Captain (of the appropriate team) will hear the disciplinary matter and any mitigation within 7 days. The committee can approve, on behalf of the Club, appropriate actions on the club member following a Disciplinary hearing.
13.2    Following disciplinary proceedings, a player may appeal the decision. An appeals committee comprising the Club Vice Chairperson, a Captain (of another team) and an Ordinary Member will hear the disciplinary matter and any further evidence within 7 days. This committee may decide either to:
•    let the original sanction remain; 
•    downgrade the sanction;
•    remove the sanction.
13.3    Committee members that have a "conflict of interest" (as defined in section 14.1 with the member being disciplined will be advised by the Club Chairperson (or Vice Chairperson should the Chairperson be involved) that they may not take part in disciplinary proceedings. 

 

14.    Club Dissolution

14.1    Upon dissolution of the club any remaining assets shall be given or transferred to another registered CASC, a registered charity or the sport’s governing body for use by them in related community sports.

 

15.    Conflict of Interest (COI)

15.1    A Conflict of Interest (COI) is defined as a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgements and actions regarding a primary interest are unduly influenced by a secondary interest.

 

16.    Omissions

16.1    All matters not covered by the foregoing rules shall be dealt with by the general committee, whose decision shall be final and binding.