DUFFA Ultrastar Animated Spinning Disc

The Constitution of Didsbury Ultimate Frisbee for Amateurs

1 NAME
The Club shall be called "Didsbury Ultimate Frisbee For Amateurs", or "DUFFA" (hereinafter referred to as the Club) and it shall seek affiliation to and be bound by the rules of the World Flying Disc Federation and the traditional spirit of the game.

2. OBJECTS
2.1 The objects of the Club shall be to promote health, wellness, happiness, and community development through the learning and enjoyment of disc sports, particularly Ultimate Frisbee, in Greater Manchester, the United Kingdom and the World. This shall be done by means of games, training sessions, tournaments, social events and other activities such as the club shall determine will promote these objects.

2.2 The Club is committed to encouraging the highest ethical standards. All individuals involved in the Club should conduct themselves with integrity, transparency, accountability and in a fair and equitable manner, in keeping with the spirit of the game that traditionally has guided players in the sport of Ultimate.

3 MEMBERSHIP
3.1 The membership shall consist of the following categories:
  • Ordinary Members, who have attended at least two DUFFA events in twelve preceding months and have applied for and been accepted to the membership roll.
  • Affiliate Members, who have registered their interest in and support for the club, but are unable to participate.

3.2 Members in each category shall pay membership fees as fixed at each
Annual General Meeting. The Club during the General Meeting may also require Members to contribute to the funds of the Club by way of a special levy.

3.3 All members joining the Club shall be deemed to accept the terms of this Constitution and any Bye-laws from time to time adopted by the
Club, in particular without prejudice to the foregoing generality, the requirement to conduct themselves in accordance with the Club's ethical framework and the bye-laws as to discipline set out therein.

3.4 Members shall be admitted by the Executive Committee. Any person seeking to join the Club shall inform a member of the Executive Committee of his or her desire to join, and shall be admitted according to the rules set forth by the Executive Committee. Membership is open to all and no application for membership will be refused on other than reasonable grounds. There will be no discrimination on grounds of race, occupation, sex or religious, political or other opinion.

4 MANAGEMENT
4.1 The Club is a non-profit making organisation. All profits and surpluses will be used to maintain, improve or develop the Club's facilities or equipment, or to carry out the objectives of Club.

4.2 The affairs of the Club shall be conducted by an Executive Committee which shall consist of the Officers of the Club plus up to five, but no fewer than one ordinary member(s), all of whom shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting, taking office on the conclusion of the meeting.

4.3 The Officers of the Club shall be the Chairman, Treasurer, Club Secretary and Social Secretary. If the post of any officer or ordinary committee member should fall vacant after such an election, the Executive Committee shall have the power to fill the vacancy until the succeeding Annual General Meeting.

4.4 All Executive Committee members must be members of the Club.

4.5 The said Executive Committee members shall also be the trustees ex officiis of the Club who shall hold any property belonging to the Club in their name and shall further be entitled to sue and be sued on behalf of the Club as trustees ex officiis. They shall all be entitled to personal indemnity out of the funds of the Club where they are acting bona fide in their capacity as Officers of the Club.

4.6 The Executive Committee shall have full power to deal with all matters relating to the Club not reserved to a General Meeting in terms of this Constitution, including power to make public and enforce such bye-laws as the Committee feel necessary to govern the activities of the Club (including bye-laws relating to discipline).

4.7 The duties of the Chairman shall be:
  • to convene and chair general meetings and extraordinary general meetings
  • to convene and chair meetings of the executive committee and such other committees as shall be created to further the purposed of the Club, or to assign such duties to another
  • to act in a representative capacity on behalf of the Club when such capacity is vested in a single person
  • to lead the club in planning for the future, including establishing new programmes, events, and activities as appropriate
  • to act as executive on behalf of the Club in all matters not in the direct purview of the other Executive Officers, including assigning tasks to volunteer club members
  • to report to the Club at each General Meeting on the state of the Club and the activities of the Club since the last general meeting, and on the general outlook.

4.8 The duties of the Treasurer shall be:
  • to maintain the accounts of the Club accurately and in good order
  • to report to the Club on the financial state of the Club at General Meetings and to present the Annual Account on such occasions
  • to act as signer of cheques for all club expenditures.

4.9 The duties of the Club Secretary shall be:
  • to act as official record keeper and recorder for the Club
  • to maintain the communication tools of the Club, including, but not limited to, the Club's Facebook page and the Club's website
  • to contact Club members on behalf of the Club to announce meetings, events, or other communication as needed
  • to report to the Club at General Meetings regarding the duties of the Secretary.

4.10 The duties of the Social Secretary shall be:
  • to lead on arranging and promotion of social events relating to the Club
  • to assist in the attraction and retention of new members of the Club
  • report to the Club at General Meetings regarding the duties of the Social Secretary.
     

5 GENERAL MEETINGS
5.1 Annual General Meeting
The Club shall hold an Annual General Meeting in the months of May or June to:
  • approve the minutes of the previous year's AGM
  • receive reports from the Chairman, Club Secretary and Social Secretary
  • receive a report from the Treasurer and approve the Annual Accounts
  • receive a report from those responsible for certifying the Club's accounts for the following year
  • elect the Executive Committee
  • appoint someone responsible for certifying the Club's accounts
  • fix the membership subscription fee for the ensuing year
  • consider changes to the Constitution
  • review and consider any Bye-laws
  • deal with other relevant business.

5.2 Extraordinary General Meeting
An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called by an application in writing to the Club Secretary supported by at least 10% of the members of the Club. The
Executive Committee shall also have the power to call an Extraordinary General Meeting by decision of a simple majority of its members.

5.3 Notices
At least fourteen days notice and the Agenda shall be given to all voting members of any General Meeting. No business shall be conducted unless fair notice
thereof is contained in the Agenda.

5.4 Voting
  • with the exception of changes to the Constitution, decisions put to a vote shall be resolved by simple majority at General Meetings
  • the Executive Chair of the Club shall hold a deliberative as well as a casting vote at general and committee meetings, in each case at the time the meeting commences its business
  • only fair voting processes may be used. The chair may conduct votes by voice vote, show of hands, or by a simple request for objections, or may require a secret ballot or other more rigorous method at his or her discretion. No votes by proxy are allowed.

5.5 Quora
The quorum at General Meetings shall be 20% of the members and the quorum for Committee Meetings shall be 40% of the members. By decision of the Executive Committee, meeting participation may include remote participation via message board or other media, with votes, business, and information delivery structured to facilitate remote participation.


5.6 Changes to the Constitution
  • any change to the Constitution shall require a two thirds majority of those present, eligible to vote and voting at a General Meeting
  • a proposal to change the Constitution must be submitted in writing to the Secretary who shall circulate the proposal to all members and allow seven days for submission of any amendments before calling a meeting in accordance with rule 5.3 above
  • all proposals for changes to the Constitution shall be signed by two members eligible to vote at a General Meeting.

6 FINANCE AND ACCOUNTS

6.1 The financial year shall run from to September 1st to August 31st each year.

6.2 The Treasurer shall be responsible for the preparation of Annual Accounts of the Club.

6.3 The Accounts shall be certified by an appropriate independent person elected annually at the Annual General Meeting.

6.4 All cheques drawn against the Club's funds shall be signed by at least one Executive Committee member(s), normally the Treasurer. In all cases, at least one of the signing members must be an officer of the Club.

6.5 Access to the Club’s bank account (to facilitate electronic funds transfers) will be limited to the Treasurer and those additional Executive Committee members listed as signatories including a member given the role as “Shadow Treasurer”.  

6.6 All members of the Club shall be jointly and severally responsible for the financial liabilities of the Club.

7 DISSOLUTION

7.1 No profit or surplus will be distributed other than to another non-profit making body on a winding-up or dissolution of the Club.

7.2 If, upon the winding up or dissolution of the Club, there remains after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities any property whatsoever, the same shall be transferred to some other organisation or organisations having objects similar to the objects of the Club, such organisation or organisations to be determined by the executive committee if possible, or by the officer responsible for carrying out the dissolution.

DUFFA Constitution v2 - June 2014