NAME AND OBJECT

  1. The name of The Association shall be the “Old Rutlishians’ Association”, hereinafter called “The Association”. Its object is to form a bond of union among those who have attended or taught at Rutlish School and their families and friends.

MEMBERSHIP

  1. Membership of The Association shall be open to:

a) Rutlish Members:

i) Present or past scholars of Rutlish School aged 16 years or more.

ii) Staff, who have served at Rutlish School for at least three terms.

b) Ex-Officio Members:

i) Staff at Rutlish School, the Board of Governors of Rutlish School and members of any organisation or committee, which the Executive Committee decides is directly associated with Rutlish School, shall be members ex-officio.

c) Associate Members:

i) Honorary Life Members:  Any person, other than those covered by the preceding clauses, deemed worthy of such recognition.

ii) Any person aged 16 years or more, other than those covered by the preceding clauses.

ELECTION OF MEMBERS

3     a)    Every applicant for membership must be nominated and seconded by current members of The Association in writing.

b) The Executive Committee is empowered, if it so decides, to form a membership sub‑committee to consider applications for membership of The Association.  In such cases the sub‑committee, which shall be chaired by the Secretary, shall be comprised of at least four members, all of whom shall be elected members of the Executive Committee.  The sub-committee may approve the election of a member if it is unanimous in its vote, otherwise the application shall be forwarded to the Executive Committee for consideration at its next meeting.  In such cases, or where no such sub-committee has been formed, a majority of those present, and eligible to vote, will be required for the member to be elected.  The Executive Committee is under no obligation to state the reason for any candidate being refused membership.

c) A candidate for Honorary Membership shall be proposed and seconded by Officers of The Association and the nomination shall be approved by two thirds of those present at the Executive Committee meeting at which the application is presented.  Such nominations shall then be considered at the next General Meeting of The Association and the candidate shall be elected if a majority of those present, and eligible to vote, agree.

d) Candidates may not be admitted to membership, or be admitted as candidates for membership, without an interval of at least two days between their nomination or application for membership and their admission, nor may candidates becoming members without prior nomination or application be admitted to the privileges of membership without an interval of at least two days between their becoming members and their admission.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

  1. The subscription for each class of member shall be fixed by the Executive Committee from time to time and published in standing orders. The Executive Committee may terminate the membership of any person who fails to pay his or her subscription within the time allowed.  Subscriptions are not refundable.

 OFFICERS

  1. a) The officers of The Association, who shall be elected at the annual general meeting of The Association, shall consist of a:

i) President;

ii) Chairman;

iii) Secretary;

iv) Treasurer;

v) House and Ground Manager;

vi) Bar Manager;

vii) Membership Secretary.

b) The term of office for each officer shall be one year and each officer may be available for re‑election.  The President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be ex-officio members of all committees of The Association including those of the sections.

COMMITTEE

  1. a) The affairs of The Association shall be managed by an Executive Committee, which shall consist of the officers of The Association and six Committee Members elected at the annual general meeting.  Two Committee Members shall be elected each year and their term of office shall be for three years and each member may be available for re‑election.  In addition, any vacancy which has arisen by a Committee Member failing to complete his or her three year term shall be filled by election at the next annual general meeting but only until the end of the original three year term.

b) If a casual vacancy occurs on the committee then the committee shall have the power to appoint a person from among The Association membership to fill that vacancy until the next annual general meeting.

c) In addition, any recognised section of The Association shall be represented on the committee by a member of its committee’s choosing, who shall have equal status to other committee members.

d) Only members aged eighteen years or over shall be eligible to sit on the Executive Committee.

e) The Executive shall be empowered to appoint sub-committees or working groups for such additional purposes as it shall determine from time to time.

f) The Executive Committee may, from time to time, make, vary or revoke Standing Orders for the regulation of the internal affairs of The Association.  A copy of such Standing Orders shall be made available for inspection on request to any member.

g) The funds of The Association shall be vested in the Executive Committee for the time being of The Association. The accounts shall be closed on 31st December in each year, and be kept by the Hon. Treasurer of The Association as provided for in Standing Orders.

RUTLISH MEMBERS’ COMMITTEE

  1. The Annual General Meeting shall each year elect a committee with responsibility:

a) to promote the object of the Association “to form a bond of union among those who have attended or taught at Rutlish School and their families and friends”

b) to encourage former students to become Members of the Association; and

c) to foster good relations with Rutlish School.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS

  1. a) There shall be an annual general meeting of The Association held in April of each year or as soon as possible thereafter, providing it is not more than 15 months from the previous general meeting.  All members may attend, and speak at, annual general meetings of The Association but only Rutlish and Associate members may vote.

b) At least one calendar month before the date fixed for the annual general meeting, the Secretary shall send notice to all members of The Association stating the date, time, place of the meeting, the business to be transacted, which shall include the presentation of audited accounts and requesting nominations for vacancies on the Executive Committee.  Nominations must be received by the Secretary at least seven days before the meeting.

c) Members may only be nominated from the floor of an annual general meeting for election to the Executive Committee if no nominations for a particular officer, or no, or insufficient, nominations to cover the election of the Committee Members were made at least seven days before the meeting.  In the case of Committee Members, if some, but insufficient, of such nominations are received, they shall be taken as elected and a vote shall be taken for any nominations made from the floor to fill the remaining vacancy or vacancies.

d) When more than two of the six Committee Members are to be filled those candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall fill the vacancies with the longest remaining service years.

EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETINGS

  1. a) The Executive Committee shall be empowered to call an Extraordinary General Meeting on seven clear days’ notice being given to members together with a statement of the business to be transacted.

b) An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called no later than 28 days after written notice has been given to the Secretary by at least twenty members stating the business of the proposed meeting. The Secretary shall, in such a case, give the members of The Association seven clear days notice of the meeting together with a statement of the business to be transacted.  All members may attend, and speak at, extraordinary general meetings of The Association but only Rutlish and Associate members may vote.

OLD RUTLISHIANS’ SPORTS GROUND LIMITED

  1. a) The Sports Ground and Clubhouse and other property belonging to or acquired by The Association is or shall be vested in a private company limited by shares, called Old Rutlishians’ Sports Ground Limited.

b) The Association, in General Meeting, shall appoint five Life members as their nominees to hold in equal numbers for and on behalf of The Association the shares in Old Rutlishians’ Sports Ground Ltd., such members to execute a Declaration of Trust in favour of the Old Rutlishians’ Association and to continue to act until their resignation, death, or removal by the Association in General Meeting. Any vacancies shall be filled by The Association in General Meeting.

c) The five nominee shareholders shall, on being requested in writing by the General Secretary of the Association, elect the General Secretary of the Association, the Treasurer, the Assistant Secretary, and two other members of the Executive Committee as Directors of Old Rutlishians’ Sports Ground Limited.

SALE OF INTOXICANTS

  1. a) Excisable commodities shall be bought only by The Association and supplied to members only, except where the Executive Committee authorises their sale to non-members hiring the hall but such authority to be given on no more than twelve occasions per year.

b) Members of teams visiting the Clubhouse may be elected temporary members without subscription for the day of their visit providing an interval of 48 hours elapses between nomination and admission.

c) Members may introduce bona fide guests to the Clubhouse. The member introducing the guests must accompany them and shall be responsible for their conduct. The admission of such guests shall be valid only for the day of introduction. The Executive Committee may from time to time determine a limit to the number of guests a member may introduce and to the number of times any particular guest may be introduced in any one year.  Persons who have previously been members of The Association but who have been, for whatever reason, removed from the roll, or who have resigned, or who are suspended for disciplinary reasons shall not be admitted as guests. The Executive Committee reserves the right to charge guests an entrance fee as and when deemed appropriate.

d) Intoxicants shall only be consumed in such parts of the Association premises as the Executive Committee may from time to time determine.

e) The Clubhouse shall be opened and closed at such times as the Executive Committee may from time to time determine, but not earlier than 7 a.m. and not later than 1 a.m.

f) The bar may be opened for the sale of excisable liquor only during such hours as may from time to time be permitted by law, or such shorter hours as the Executive Committee may from time to time determine.

SECTIONS

  1. A Section as referred to in the Rules shall be a group of members of The Association formed to participate in a particular sport or activity or to share a particular interest. No section of The Association shall be formed without the prior approval of the Executive Committee.
  2. All Sections shall have a set of rules, the structure of which, including possible variances of rights and privileges depending upon the category of membership, is at their discretion provided the following is adhered to.

a) No one over the age of 16 years shall be considered to be a member of a section unless they are a member of the Association.

b) Association Vice Presidents shall automatically be members of the Section and have full voting rights on all issues except the election of captains and vice-captains, unless they are themselves playing members of the said Section.

c) The section’s rules shall include the requirement for:

i) an annual general meeting to be held no later than 15 months from the previous meeting with at least 14 days being given to all members of the section.

ii) the opportunity for an extraordinary general meeting to be called no later than 28 days after written notice has been given to the section secretary by at least twenty members stating the business of the proposed meeting. The section secretary shall, in such a case, give the members of the section seven clear days notice of the meeting together with a statement of the business to be transacted.

iii) rules of the section to be amended, repealed, replaced or added to by resolution at a general meeting of the section, provided that any resolution concerning these rules shall receive a majority of at least two-thirds of the members present and entitled to vote.

  1. Each Section shall report on its affairs to the Executive Committee as required by that Committee.

DISCIPLINE

  1. Any member, regarding whose conduct a complaint is made, shall be answerable to the Executive Committee which will judge what action shall be taken.

a) The member may be summoned to appear at a meeting of the Executive Committee, which, if it finds evidence to prove the complaint, may:

i) call upon the member to resign; or

ii) remove the member’s name from the Association roll; or

iii) suspend the member for a stated period of time; or

iv) otherwise deal with the matter as it sees fit.

A member whose name is removed from the roll shall have the right to appeal to a General Meeting of the Association.  Notice of appeal shall be given to the General Secretary within 30 days of the General Secretary’s official notification to the member of the action taken.

b) Where the complaint is thought to be of a serious nature, the Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer of the Executive Committee will have the power to suspend a member immediately if such action is believed conducive to the good running of the club. The Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer will then convene a special Disciplinary Meeting giving a minimum of 48 hours notice to the alleged perpetrator.  The meeting will constitute three members of the Executive Committee, with at least one being the Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer. The meeting, if it finds evidence to prove the complaint, may:

i) suspend the member until the next full meeting of the Executive Committee, which shall then deal with the matter as in (a) above, and/or

ii) make recommendation to the full Executive Committee as to any further action.

ASSOCIATION VICE PRESIDENTS

  1. The Executive Committee shall have the power to appoint members of The Association as Vice-Presidents, who shall be entitled to such privileges as the Executive Committee shall from time to time determine.

ALTERATION OF RULES

  1. The rules of The Association may at any time be amended, repealed, replaced or added to by resolution at a general meeting of The Association, provided that any resolution concerning these rules shall receive a majority of at least two-thirds of the Rutlish members present and entitled to vote and also a majority of at least two-thirds of the Associate members present and entitled to vote. Similarly, any resolution to dissolve the Association at a general meeting shall require a two thirds majority of both the Rutlish and Associate members present and entitled to vote.

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