Rules of Frensham Pond Sailing Club

1. Name

The name of the Club shall be Frensham Pond Sailing Club.

2. Aims

  1. The aims of the Club are to encourage amateur boat sailing and racing.
  2. The Club is a non-profit making organisation. All profits and surpluses will be used to maintain or improve the Club’s facilities. No profit or surplus will be distributed.

3. Rules and By-Laws

  1. All members shall accept and abide by the Rules and By-laws of the Club. The Rules may be altered or repealed and new Rules added only by a resolution passed at a General Meeting of the Club, by not less than two-thirds majority of those members entitled to vote, present and voting. The notice of the General Meeting shall specify the proposed alterations and the quorum shall be 21 members entitled to vote. Such alterations shall be subject to approval by the Waverley Borough Council.
  2. The General Committee shall have the power to create, amend and repeal the Club By-laws (not inconsistent with these Rules or the covenants and stipulations contained in the Second Schedule of the Lease and Licence dated 5th June 1964, between the Hambledon Rural District Council and the Club), as amended by the agreement with Waverley District Council and the Club dated January 1978 and subsequent amendments, as they may from time to time think expedient for the management of the Club but such Club By-laws may at any time be set aside by a resolution of a General Meeting of the Club.

4. Election of Members

  1. Every candidate for membership of the Club shall be proposed by a member entitled to vote. Every application must be either proposed or seconded by a Class Captain or member of the General Committee prior to submission of a completed application form to the Honorary Membership Secretary. The name of the candidate shall be posted on the Club Notice Board for at least seven days before consideration by the General Committee.
  2. Candidates (except those for Winter membership and training course attendees) shall be elected by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members in a properly convened General Committee meeting.
  3. Candidates for Winter membership may be accepted by the Honorary Membership Secretary subject to any directions given by the General Committee, and provided that 48 hours have elapsed from the date of posting of notice of election in 4(i) above.
  4. Candidates requiring Restricted Family membership for attendance on Club RYA Training courses may be accepted by the Training Principal, subject to any directions given by the General Committee, and provided that application acceptance is completed at least 48 hours prior to course commencement.
  5. Candidates for Full and Associate membership of Frensham Pond Sailability shall be accepted in accordance with the Rules of Frensham Pond Sailability, subject to the directions given by the General Committee, and provided that application acceptance is completed at least 48 hours prior to the commencement of membership benefits.
  6. Other than Honorary Life Members, no members shall be entitled to any of the benefits or privileges of the Club until their entrance fees and subscriptions have been paid.
  7. Honorary Life Members and Honorary Members must be elected by the General Committee by a two-thirds majority. For Honorary Life Members, the General Committee’s proposals must be ratified by a General Meeting of members.

5. Membership Categories

  1. Full Family Membership provides full sailing and social rights for two named adults, residing at the same address, together with children up to the age of 18, and/or ‘bona fide’ students from 18 up to 23, to whom they are parent or guardian. This category carries voting rights for the two adult members only, entitlement to a berth and the requirement to undertake duties.
  2. Full Membership provides full sailing and social rights for the member and social rights to a named partner and their children. This category carries voting rights for only the full member, entitlement to a berth and the requirement to undertake duties.
  3. Retired Membership provides full sailing and social rights for up to two adults residing at the same address who have reached the State Retirement age. This category carries voting rights (one vote per membership), entitlement to a berth and the requirement for active sailing members to undertake duties.
  4. Student Membership is for ‘bona fide’ students who are in full time education between the age of 18 and 23, whose family are not members. This category provides full sailing and social rights, carries voting rights, entitlement to a berth and the requirement to undertake duties.
  5. Single Crew Membership entitles the member (over 18 years of age) to crew with a member entitled to vote. This category carries social rights, voting rights, helming in races where authorised, no berthing rights but does require duties to be undertaken. It also provides social rights to a named partner and their children.
  6. Restricted Family Membership is open to families with junior sailors under the age of 18 whose parents/guardians do not intend to sail. All such children are entitled to helm during club supervised training and to crew for others outside these periods. This category carries social rights, but no voting or berthing rights and no entitlement to bring a boat to the Club. This category is also used for those under 18 attending Club RYA Training Courses.
  7. Out of Port Membership is available at the General Committee’s discretion for people who are members of the Club, however are unable to attend the club for the year(s) in question (maybe moved away) and still want to remain in touch. They receive all the club mailings and are entitled to Visit the Club up to five times a year. The category carries no voting rights and no entitlement to a berth.
  8. Sailability Membership: Full and Associate members of Frensham Pond Sailability (‘Sailability’) as defined within the Rules of Sailability, are members of the Club. This category carries sailing rights only when using Sailability boats, social rights for the member and his or her immediate family and/or partner and/or carer, no entitlement to vote or obligations to undertake duties.
  9. Group Membership is for groups and schools. They pay either: one Mid-Week fee and one berthing fee per boat for Mid-Week Membership which is for sailing on the Pond from Monday to Friday inclusive, excluding Public holidays; or one Full Family membership fee and one berthing fee per boat making this membership available throughout the year. When schools are using the facilities of the Club, pupils must be under the supervision of a sailing instructor. Both variants of this membership carry no voting rights and no requirement to undertake duties.
  10. Mid-Week Membership provides full sailing rights from Monday to Friday, excluding Public Holidays, for two named adults residing at the same address, together with children up to the age of 18, and/or ‘bona fide’ students from 18 to 23, to whom they are parent or guardian. This membership carries limited berthing rights but no voting rights.
  11. Winter Membership is available for the Winter season, from the end of October to the end of March. It provides full sailing and social rights for helm, crew and children and one berth. Additional berths will be charged at the appropriate berthing fee. There is no joining fee and no voting rights. Duties are at the discretion of the Class Captain.
  12. Associate Membership is available at the General Committee’s discretion for people who have been notably active members of the club for at least 3 years. This category provides social rights, including a named partner, and a requirement to undertake duties, or otherwise contribute to the Cub, so long as they are able to do so. This category carries no entitlement to sailing or berthing rights, and no voting rights.
  13. Honorary Life Membership is for long-standing members of the Club and their partner, who have given outstanding service to the Club. This category carries full sailing and social rights, and single voting rights. However, there is no membership fee and no requirement to undertake duties.
  14. Honorary Membership is for people who have brought honour to the Club, eg won National or World Championships, and for other persons at the discretion of the General Committee. Honorary Membership may be reviewed by the General Committee at any time. This category carries no requirements to undertake duties and no voting rights. Honorary Members who sail at the Club on a regular basis will be required to take out the appropriate membership, which would include the rights and obligations of that membership category.
  15. Model Yacht Membership provides the right to sail radio-controlled model yachts plus social rights for two named adults residing at the same address, together with children up to the age of 18, and/or “bona fide’ students aged from 18 to 23 to whom they are parent or guardian. This category of membership has no joining fee or voting rights.

6. Annual Subscription, Berthing and Entrance Fees

  1. Changes to the annual subscription, entrance fees and berthing fees shall be agreed by the members at a General Meeting. The current subscriptions and fees are as shown in an Appendix to these Rules which is available from the Honorary Membership Secretary.
  2. An Entrance fee may be payable by Full Family, Full, Mid-Week, Single Crew, Retired and Group membership categories. The General Committee may require the appropriate entrance fee to be paid when changing between membership categories.
  3. First subscriptions are payable in full upon application for membership. In the case of election on or after the 1st July in any year the first membership subscription shall be reduced by 50%. The election of any new member failing to pay his first subscription within one month will be considered void.
  4. All annual subscriptions are payable on the 1st November in each year and shall be payable to “Frensham Pond Sailing Club”.
  5. Members may change from one membership category to another, subject to the sanction of the General Committee, who may require such members to pay the balance of the change in membership fees on a pro-rata basis.
  6. Members wishing to change their class of boat or sail additional boat(s) or sailboard(s) at the Club must get the General Committee’s prior agreement.
  7. Reduced subscriptions may be made available for those who are unemployed/not in full time work, on application to, and at the discretion of the General Committee.

7. Non-payment of Renewal Subscriptions

  1. Members whose subscriptions are not paid by the 1st December shall be notified in writing by the Honorary Membership Secretary and their subscription may be subject to a late payment fee. The name of a member whose subscription is in arrears on the 14th December may be posted on the Club notice board and the member ceases to be entitled to use the clubhouse or enjoy any of the privileges of the Club as long as the subscription remains in arrears.
  2. If a membership subscription is not paid by the 31st December in the year it is due, the membership ceases to be valid. The General Committee may waive, vary or suspend this provision at its discretion. It may also reinstate membership if it considers an explanation of circumstances is satisfactory and provided all arrears are duly paid.

8. Retirement from Membership

  1. A member may retire from membership at any time by giving notice in writing to the Honorary Membership Secretary. The notice will be effective at the end of the membership year. Subscriptions already paid will not be refunded.
  2. Any member retiring from membership of the Club without having paid his subscription for the then current year remains liable for that subscription.

9. Expulsion of Members

  1. Any refusal or neglect to comply with these Rules or By-laws, or any conduct unworthy of a member or prejudicial to the interests of the Club, renders a member liable to expulsion by a resolution at a General Committee meeting.
  2. At least one week before such meeting the member concerned must be given written notice of the meeting and of the allegations made against them and of the intended resolution of their expulsion.
  3. At the meeting, before the passing of the resolution, the member must be given an opportunity to explain or defend their position either orally or in writing.
  4. A member expelled under this Rule may appeal to the next General Meeting of the Club, but their rights remain suspended until such meeting.
  5. A member expelled under this Rule forfeits all rights in and claims upon the Club and its property.

10. Guests & Visitors

  1. Members may introduce visitors to the Club as guests, subject to the Club Rules, By-laws and Sailing Instructions.
  2. No more than three adult guests and their partner and children shall be introduced in any one day by one member. The same guest shall not be introduced more than three times in a calendar year.
  3. Members shall enter the names of all guests in the visitors’ book, kept in the clubhouse. The member will be held responsible for liabilities incurred by such guests and shall remain on the Club premises while such guests are present.
  4. Members’ guests intending to make frequent use of the Club facilities must apply for the appropriate membership.
  5. Visitors who are members of R.Y.A. recognised clubs and their supporters, and visiting on the invitation of Frensham Pond Sailing Club, are entitled to the privileges of membership of the Club during the period of the events for which they are invited, provided that such events are connected with the Club as a Sailing Club.
  6. The General Committee may make arrangements with any organisation interested in sailing, for the admission of any number of persons to the facilities of the Club. Such admissions will be subject to such conditions and upon such terms as to categories and subscriptions as the General Committee shall decide.

11. Officers

  1. The Officers of the Club shall consist of: Commodore, Vice Commodore and a Rear Commodore, each of whom is a Flag Officer, an Honorary Treasurer, Honorary General Secretary, Honorary Membership Secretary and Honorary Sailing Secretary. All Officers must be Club members.
  2. The respective duties of the Officers of the Club shall be defined by the General Committee.
  3. The Flag Officers of the Club shall be ex officio members of all committees and sub-committees.

12. General Committee

  1. All the affairs of the Club shall be managed (except as otherwise provided for in these Rules) by the members of the General Committee, which shall consist of the current Officers and six members of the Club entitled to vote, who shall be elected under Rule 15, plus the Club Training Principal, Sailability Chairman and one member of Waverley Borough Council nominated by the Borough Council.
  2. All General Committee Members, (except the Borough Councillor) any President and any Vice-Presidents will be members of Frensham Pond Sailing Club Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the Company) and shall operate it in the best interests of the Club. Waverley Borough Council shall have the right to appoint its representative either to act as a Director of the Club, or to act as an observer at General Committee Meetings.
  3. The General Committee shall have power to fill vacancies occurring in its body, (other than a vacancy arising from the resignation or demise of the Borough Councillor), including any Officers of the Club, during its year of Office, and to co-opt not more than two members of the Club to serve on the General Committee.
  4. General Committee Meetings will be held as required. They shall be convened by the Honorary General Secretary who shall give notice to all the Committee Members. All questions shall be decided by a simple majority of those present and voting. The Senior Flag Officer present shall take the chair and shall have a casting vote in the event of an equal division. Five shall form a quorum.

13. Committees

  1. The General Committee shall appoint a Race Committee, Training Committee, Kitchen Committee, Social Committee, Safety Committee, Sailability Committee and Bar Committee and such other Committees as are required, and may from time to time vary their composition and vary their powers and duties.
  2. The General Committee shall determine the terms of reference of all committees and sub-committees.
  3. Committees shall make their own regulations for meetings and procedures, and these shall be agreed by the General Committee. No such committee shall, (unless otherwise agreed by the Borough Council) have delegated powers in respect of management, interpretation of Club Rules, or power to reject an application for membership.

14. General Meetings of Members

  1. The Annual General Meeting of members shall be held as soon as possible in the three months following the annual accounting date in each year. This is for the purposes of approving the accounts made up to 31st October, electing Officers and members of the General Committee, for the period up to the date of the next Annual General Meeting and for transacting any other necessary business.
  2. Additional General Meetings may be called at any time by the General Committee or at the request often members entitled to vote.
  3. Notice of every General Meeting shall be sent by the Honorary General Secretary to every member of the Club at their recorded address, fourteen days prior to the meeting.
  4. At every General Meeting the Senior Flag Officer present shall take the chair. If no Flag Officer is present a chairman shall be elected from the other members of the General Committee present, and failing an election of a General Committee member, an election from them members themselves. Twenty-one members entitled to vote shall be a quorum for General Meetings.
  5. All decisions (except rule changes, see Rule 3(i)) at General Meetings shall be made by resolutions of a simple majority of the members entitled to vote, who are present and exercise their vote. No other persons shall be entitled to vote. Every member entitled to vote shall have one vote and in the event of an equal division, the Chairman shall have a casting vote.

15. Election of Offices, General Committee & Auditor

  1. The Officers of the Club, Members of the General Committee (other than the Training Principal and Borough Councillor) and the Auditor, must retire and be elected at each Annual General Meeting (this period, typically a year, is defined as the appointment period), but each may be eligible for re-election.
  2. No Flag Officer can serve for more than three consecutive appointment periods, in the same rank, and cannot be re-elected to a lower rank without a break of at least one appointment period.
  3. No General Committee Member can serve for more than three consecutive appointment periods without a break of at least one period.
  4. Flag Officers and General Committee Members can be elected as the President, Honorary Treasurer, the Honorary General Secretary, the Honorary Membership Secretary or the Honorary Sailing Secretary without a break in service.
  5. The Honorary Treasurer, the Honorary General Secretary, the Honorary Membership Secretary, the Sailability Chairman and the Honorary Sailing Secretary can serve as General Committee Members for more than three years.
  6. Any candidate for election or re-election shall only be eligible if their name has been submitted in writing to the Honorary General Secretary by two members of the Club entitled to vote, at least seven days before such Annual General Meeting.

16. President

  1. The Club in General Meeting may at any time elect any officer or ex-officer of the Club to be President or Vice-President for life or for such other period as may be specified. Such appointment shall take effect immediately and shall include with their partner, full membership of the Club.
  2. Any President shall not take part in the management of the Club, nor serve as a member of the General Committee or any Committees unless elected or co-opted to such Committees at an Annual General Meeting in accordance with Rule 15.

17. Club Property and Assets

  1. The property of the Club shall be under the control of the General Committee and shall be vested in such Officers of the Club as the General Committee shall decide.
  2. The General Committee shall have full power on behalf of the Club to acquire (in their names or in the names of any of them) such property and rights and subject to such liabilities, and to enter into such agreements, deeds and arrangements as the General Committee shall think requisite for the purpose of furthering the aims of the Club and of carrying on its activities. The members of the Club for the time being shall indemnify such persons as may duly enter into any contractual obligations in pursuance of this Rule provided that no such obligations shall be entered into without the previous sanction of a resolution passed at a General Meeting of the Club if it appears to the General Committee that the obligations would be likely to involve the members (on the basis of continued membership) in financial liabilities beyond the payment of their due subscriptions.
  3. The Club members shall fully indemnify and keep fully indemnified any person who, with the sanction of the General Committee acting under its powers specified at rule 17(ii) above, enters into any contractual obligation pursuant to rule 17(ii), in respect of any losses or liabilities which any such person may incur as a result of entering into such a contractual obligation.
  4. The Funds of the Club shall be kept by the Honorary Treasurer in such manner as may be determined by the General Committee. The General Committee shall have power to spend the Club’s funds in such manner as they think fit in accordance with these Rules and the aims of the Club.
  5. In the event of the activities of the Club ceasing permanently, pursuant to the provisions of these Rules, the members of the Club entitled to vote at the time of such cessation, shall be fully responsible in equal proportions for all the liabilities of the Club.

18. Bar Administration

  1. The Club, under the control of the General Committee, is licensed to purchase and sell intoxicating liquor, to Club members and guests for bona fide purposes connected with the Club as a Sailing Club.
  2. No person under the age of 18 shall be supplied with or shall be involved in the purchase or supply of intoxicating liquor, for consumption on or off the premises.
  3. The Bar Sub-Committee shall Consist of a member of the General Committee and two elected members of the Club who shall be responsible for the administration, stocking and accounting of the bar.
  4. No member shall take a commission, percentage or other such payment in connection with the purchase of excisable goods for the Club. Any profit deriving from the sale of such goods shall (after deduction of the costs of providing such goods for the benefit of the Club) be applied to the provision of additional amenities for the benefit of the Club.
  5. The permitted hours for the sale of intoxicating liquor are as follows:
    1. Monday to Saturday, except Good Friday and Christmas Day: 10.30am to 11.00pm
    2. Sunday, except Good Friday and Christmas Day: 12 noon to 10.30pm
    3. Good Friday: 12 noon to 10:30pm
    4. Christmas Day: 12 noon to 3.00pm and 7.00pm to l0.30pm
    and the bar will be open at these hours as may be decided by the General Committee subject to any restrictions imposed from time to time by the Licensing Justices. These permitted hours are displayed in the Clubhouse.

19. Sailing Rules

Racing will be conducted in accordance with the Club Racing Sailing Instructions.

20. Enjoyment of Facilities

Nothing in these Rules or the Club By-laws shall authorise or purport to authorise any Committee, Sub-Committee, Officer or member to do any act or cause any other person to do any act or to restrain any person from enjoying any facilities or privileges in contradiction to the Covenants and Stipulations contained in the Second Schedule of the Lease and Licence dated 5th June 1964 between Hambledon Rural District Council and the Company, as amended by the agreement between Waverley District Council and the Company dated January 1978 and subsequent amendments.

21. Dissolution

  1. If at any General Meeting of the Club, a resolution be passed calling for the dissolution of the Club, the Honorary General Secretary shall immediately convene an Additional General Meeting of the Club to be held not less than one month thereafter to discuss and vote on the resolution
  2. If, at the Additional General Meeting, the resolution is carried by at least two thirds of the members present at the Meeting who are entitled to vote, the General Committee shall thereupon, or at such a date as shall have been specified in the resolution, proceed to realise the assets of the Club and discharge all debts and liabilities of the Club.
  3. After settling all liabilities of the Club, the Committee shall dispose of the net assets remaining to one or more of the following:
    1. to another Club with similar sports purposes which is a registered charity and/or
    2. to another Club with similar sports purposes which is a registered CASC and/or
    3. to the Clubs governing body for use by them for related community sports.