Jersey Golf Constitution

Jersey Golf Constitution  TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS BYe-laws  CLUB REPRESENTATIVE BYE – LAWS 

JERSEY GOLF CONSTITUTION– Final (7th December 2022)

RULES OF JERSEY GOLF

NAME

The Association shall be called Jersey Golf ("Jersey Golf" or "the Association").

OBJECTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The objects of the Association are:

2.1  to promote and provide for the benefit of Affiliated Clubs and Golfers amenities for the pursuit of golf and the accessibility of golf in the Island to all;

2.2  to deliver an equitable and co-operative structure for Affiliated Clubs, Golfers and golf in the Island;

2.3  to foster links with, and to support and co-operate with other persons or organisations with similar objects as set out in this Rule;

2.4  to organise such golf events as may be provided in the Competition Bye Laws approved from time to time;

2.5  to do all things necessary for or incidental to or conducive to the attainment of the above- mentioned objects.

3. DEFINITIONS

3.1  Association means Jersey Golf being the association established by this set of Rules;

3.2  Affiliated Club means a golf club established in Jersey and accepted and admitted as a club affiliated to the Association by the Committee in accordance with Rule 7. At the date of the adoption of these rules a full list of the Affiliated Clubs of Jersey Golf are set out in the Schedule hereto;

3.3  Bye Laws means bye-laws adopted by the Committee and published from time to time pursuant to Rule 15.2;

3.4  Club Representative means the person or persons appointed by an Affiliated Club in accordance with Rule 18;

3.5  Committee means the management committee appointed from time to time pursuant to these Rules;

3.6  Disciplinary Sub Committee shall have the meaning set out in Rule 13;

3.7  General Meeting means a meeting of the Affiliated Clubs in accordance with these rules and Annual General Meeting, Extraordinary General Meeting and Special General Meeting shall be construed accordingly as more fully set out in these Rules;

3.8  Golfer means any duly elected playing member of an Affiliated Club;

3.9  Honorary Life President means an individual who is elected by the Committee in recognition of their services to Jersey Golf, They shall be unlimited in number and shall be non - voting;

3.10  Island means the Bailiwick of Jersey;

3.11 Members means Affiliated Clubs;

3.12  Officer means the President, Vice President(s) and any other officer appointed to the Committee pursuant to these Rules;

3.13  President means the person appointed to be a president of the Association as set out in Rule 14;

3.14  Vice President means the person(s) appointed to be a vice president of the Association as set out in Rule 14;

3.15  "In writing" shall be construed as including written, printed, electronically transmitted (including e-mail) or any other method of representing or reproducing words in a visible form;

3.16  Words importing "persons" shall be construed as including companies or associations or bodies of persons whether incorporated or unincorporated; and words incorporating the singular number shall include the plural number and vice versa and words importing one gender only shall be construed as including any other gender;

3.17  The headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction of these rules.

SPORTING RULES

The rules of golf carried on by the Association shall be those rules adopted from time to time by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews or any entity to which it transfers responsibility and authority to make, interpret and give decisions on the rules of golf.

PROPERTY

5.1  All property and assets of the Association (if any) shall be vested in the Committee who shall hold the same as trustees for and on behalf of the Affiliated Clubs;

5.2  Any two persons being (a) the President (b) another Officer or (c) a Member of the Committee may act as representatives of the Association for the purpose of any material transaction in respect of the property and assets of the Association and may also represent the Association as mandatories (mandataires) in respect of any transaction before the Royal Court of Jersey;

5.3  The Committee shall not authorise expenditure on any one project in excess of ten thousand pounds sterling (or such sum as may be determined by the Association in General Meeting from time to time) without the prior approval of the Association in General Meeting;

MEMBERSHIP

Membership of the Association shall be open to any golf club established within the Island (an Affiliated Club).

ELECTION AND ADMISSION OF AFFILIATED CLUBS

7.1  The election and admission of Affiliated Clubs shall be vested in the Committee. At the date of adoption of these Rules the Affiliated Clubs are set out in the Schedule hereto.

7.2  Any application for membership must be made on an application form provided by the Secretary.

7.3  Upon election or admission the Affiliated Club will be notified accordingly and will be provided with a copy of these rules, together with a copy of the bye-laws. The Affiliated Club shall be bound by all rules and bye-laws which may be made from time to time.

8. COMMUNICATION WITH THE ASSOCIATION

Every Affiliated Club shall be under a continuing duty to notify the Secretary of their up-to- date postal address, telephone number and e-mail address and the same details for their Club Representatives. All notices in writing required to be given by the Association to the Affiliated Clubs under these rules may be sent by post and/or by electronic means, which shall include notices posted on the Association's website. All notices sent to the Affiliated Club or their notified address, whichever means of communication are used, shall be deemed to have arrived two days after despatch by the Association unless the contrary is shown. Neither the non-arrival nor the late arrival of any notice sent by the Association nor the accidental omission to give due notice of the meeting to one or more members shall invalidate any meeting convened by the Association. Any member who wishes to be contacted by the Association via the postal service and not by other means must expressly notify the Secretary of this fact in writing. The club will not use the member's e-mail address for confidential or sensitive matters.

MEMBERSHIP LIST

For the purposes of carrying on the activities of the Association, a list of Affiliated Clubs and Club Representatives shall be maintained by the Secretary with suitable contact details and shall be available for inspection. The list shall indicate who are officers of the Association and who are members of the Committee. The Committee may prevent access to or copying of the membership list if it believes inspection of the list would be a breach of the law or breach any relevant duty of confidentiality or the best interests of the Association and the Committee may require an undertaking in writing by the person requesting inspection of the reason for such request with any breach of such undertaking being a matter for disciplinary proceedings.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

10.1  Subscriptions (if any) payable by Affiliated Clubs shall be such sum as the Committee shall recommend as approved at the Annual General Meeting.

10.2  All subscriptions shall become due and payable on 30th September in each year.

RESIGNATION

An Affiliated Club may resign from the Association by notifying the Secretary in writing of this fact. If a resignation is received after 1st March in any year, the Affiliated Club shall remain liable to pay their subscription (if any) for the following year.

SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION

12.1  The Committee shall have the power to suspend for a period not exceeding 12 months or to expel any Affiliated Club or any Golfer of that Affiliated Club whose conduct, (whether through the conduct of a Golfer in the Affiliated Club or otherwise), is in the opinion of the Committee injurious to the good name of the Association or renders that Affiliated Club unfit for membership of the Association.

12.2  No Affiliated Club or Golfer shall be suspended or expelled without first being summoned before the Committee and full opportunity given to that Affiliated Club or Golfer to advance an explanation or defence.

12.3  An Affiliated Club or Golfer suspended under the above Rule shall cease to have any of the benefits of membership, and in the case of an Affiliated Club that is suspended none of its members can be nominated for or hold office whilst suspended, but it shall remain liable for its subscription.

12.4  An Affiliated Club or Golfer that is suspended shall have the right of appeal to the Committee. The appeal shall be made in writing to the Secretary within 7 days of the suspension. The appeal shall take place within 14 days of the request. The composition of  the appellant tribunal shall, if possible, comprise different members of the Committee from those who imposed the suspension.

12.5  An Affiliated Club that is expelled shall have the right of appeal to the Members of the Association at a General Meeting if so requested in writing to the Secretary within 7 days of expulsion. The meeting shall be convened by the Secretary within 21 days of the expulsion. If at least two-thirds of the Members of the Association present and entitled to vote at the meeting are in favour of allowing the appeal, the appellant Affiliated Club shall be automatically reinstated.

12.6  If an Affiliated Club so requests, they may attend any hearing before the Committee or a General Meeting with a legal or other representative.

13. DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS

13.1  The Committee shall have the power to operate a system of disciplinary proceedings for dealing with complaints made in respect of any act or omission which in the opinion of the Committee is discreditable or prejudicial to the interests of the Association.

13.2  The conduct of the disciplinary proceedings shall be vested in the Committee who shall have power to delegate any investigation or hearing to a Disciplinary Sub-Committee ('DSC').

13.3  No Affiliated Club or any Golfer shall be disciplined without first being summoned before the DSC and a proper opportunity given to that Affiliated Club or Golfer to advance an explanation or defence.

13.4  If the complaint is upheld, the DSC acting on behalf of the Committee shall have power to impose one or more of the following sanctions:

(a)  to warn the Affiliated Club or Golfer about its future conduct;

(b)  to censure such Affiliated Club or Golfer;

(c)  to disqualify it for a specified period not exceeding six months in respect of any of the Golfers in the Affiliated Club from taking part in any match, game or competition organised under the auspices of the Association;

(d)  to deprive it for a specified period not exceeding six months of some or all of the benefits of membership of the Association.

13.5  The DSC must report forthwith to the Committee any decision made under this Rule.

13.6  An Affiliated Club that is disciplined shall have the same right of appeal as is described in Rule 12.

13.7  If the DSC is of the opinion that, the conduct of the Affiliated Club and/or any Golfer in the Affiliated Club merits the attention of the full Committee, it may refer the matter to the Committee to be dealt with under Rule 12, save that the Committee in this instance shall have the power to impose any of the sanctions set out in Rule 13.4 in addition to or in lieu of its powers in Rule 12.

14. OFFICERS

14.1  The officers of the Association shall consist of a President; up to three Vice-Presidents; a Secretary; and a Treasurer.

14.2  The nominations for the office of President shall be presented by the Committee to the Members at the Annual General Meeting, and upon election by the members the President shall serve for a term of three years, but shall be eligible for re-election at the end of each term.

14.3  There shall from time to time be Vice-Presidents not exceeding three in number. Unless it proves impossible to fill the position owing to the gender of the nominees, not less than one Vice President shall be female and not less than one one Vice President shall be male. The nominations for the office of Vice-President shall be presented by the Committee to the Members at the Annual General Meeting, and upon election by the Members the Vice- Presidents shall serve for a term of three years, renewable once only. After six years in office a Vice-President must stand down for a year before being eligible to be nominated as a Vice-President for a further term.

14.4  The Secretary and the Treasurer shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting. Nominations must be received in writing by the Secretary.

14.5  The Secretary shall 14 days prior to the Annual General Meeting post the nominations for election of all Officers and the list of Club Representatives on the Association's website.

14.6  In the event of there being more than one nomination for any particular office the election shall be decided by secret ballot, with the outcome of the vote being decided on a 'first- past-the-post' basis. In the event of a tie, the election shall be decided by lot.

14.7  The duties of the Secretary shall include: keeping an up-to-date list of the names and addresses of the Affiliated Clubs and Club Representatives and their other contact details; dealing with correspondence of the Association; organising and attending General Meetings of the Association and preparing minutes thereof; liaising between the Committee and the sub-committees; and preparing a report on the activities of Jersey Golf since the last Annual General Meeting and circulating the same amongst the membership.

14.8  The duties of the Treasurer shall include: keeping the accounts of the Association in good order; banking without delay in the name of the Association all monies received from the Secretary or any other person; collecting subscriptions; preparing a statement of account (including a balance sheet and a profit and loss account) for the Members at the Annual General Meeting and circulating the same amongst the membership; ensuring, in relation to the accounts, a ” four eyes’” review thereof; and being answerable to the Committee as to the state of the Association's finances during the year leading up the Annual General Meeting.

14.9  The office of Vice-President may be combined with another office.

15. MANAGEMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION

15.1  The management and control of all the affairs of the Association shall be vested in an elected committee (referred to in these rules as 'the Committee').

15.2  The Committee shall have power to make, alter or revoke such bye-laws as it considers necessary for the good governance and well-being of the Association. All such bye-laws shall be published annually and a copy displayed on the website.

16. THE COMMITTEE

16.1  The Committee shall consist of the Officers set out in Rule 14.1 together with the Club Representatives.

16.2  The Club Representatives notified at the Annual General Meeting shall form part of the Committee subject to the provision of these Rules or any bye-laws made hereunder.

16.3  The Secretary shall 14 days prior to the Annual General Meeting post the nominations for Officers for election and the list of Club Representatives on the Association's website.

16.4  The Committee shall be chaired by the President or, if the President is unavailable, a Vice President who will undertake the duties of the Chairperson in his or her absence.

16.5  The Committee shall meet on a regular basis and in any event not less than four times a year and sufficiently often to carry out its duties efficiently. Any committee member who  is absent without an accepted apology from three consecutive meetings shall be deemed to have vacated office.

16.6  The quorum for a meeting of the Committee shall be four persons of whom at least two will be officers and at least two will be Club Representatives. The chairman of the Committee, whether it be the formally chosen person or an ad hoc choice, shall have an additional casting vote at any meeting. All resolutions or decisions taken by the Committee shall require a simple majority of those present at the meeting, save that any amendment of the bye-laws shall require a two-thirds majority of the Committee.

16.7  The Committee shall have the power to co-opt onto the Committee any person fulfilling a specific role on behalf of the Committee or any sub-committee. Such person shall be entitled to speak but will have no vote nor be counted in the quorum. A person may be co-opted on a temporary or permanent basis and/or be invited to attend the whole or part of a particular Committee meeting.

16.8  The Committee shall have power to appoint a person to fill any casual vacancy that may arise on the Committee and that person shall remain in office until the next Annual General Meeting. Committee members appointed under this Rule shall have the right to vote.

17. SUB-COMMITTEES

17.1  The Committee may from time to time appoint such sub-committees as it shall deem necessary or expedient to assist it in managing the affairs of the Association.

17.2  The composition of any sub-committee may include persons who are not members of the Committee. All sub-committees shall conduct their business in accordance with directions from the Committee and shall periodically report their proceedings to the Committee for approval or ratification.

17.3  The President and Vice-Presidents shall be entitled to attend any meeting of any sub - committees provided that they shall have no voting rights.

17.4  All members of sub-committees shall automatically retire on the date on which the Annual General Meeting is held but shall be eligible for re-appointment by the incoming Committee immediately following the Annual General Meeting.

17.5  A sub-committee at its first meeting after the Annual General Meeting shall choose a chairman from one of its own number and shall decide on the quorum for any meeting of the sub-committee, and notify the Secretary accordingly. The chairman of a sub- committee, whether it be the formally chosen person or an ad hoc choice, shall have an additional casting vote at any meeting. All resolutions or decisions taken by a sub- committee shall require a simple majority of those present at the meeting.

17.6  If for any reason a vacancy occurs during its period of appointment, the sub-committee shall so notify the Committee, who shall have power to appoint another member to fill that vacancy for the remainder of the period.

18. CLUB REPRESENTATIVES

18.1  Each Affiliated Club has a duty and obligation to nominate a person as Club Representative. Failure to nominate a suitably appropriate Club Representative will limit that Affiliated Club's participation in the affairs of the Association;

18.2  Each Club Representative shall be nominated by his or her Affiliated Club not less than 28 days before each Annual General Meeting and such nomination shall be notified in writing to the Secretary;

18.3  The persons nominated as Club Representatives shall be approved by the Committee prior to the relevant Annual General Meeting. The discretion to approve (or not) a person as  Club Representative vested in the Committee shall be absolute provided always that the Committee must exercise its discretion fairly and reasonably;

18.4  The Secretary pursuant to Rule 14.5 shall post the list of Club Representatives on the Club's website and shall also present that list at the Annual General Meeting for noting pursuant to Rule 21.2 (d);

18.5  The desired criteria for Club Representatives and the voting rights of each Club Representative shall be set out in Bye Laws approved and published by the Committee from time to time;

18.6  A Club Representative shall be eligible to serve as Club Representative of an Affiliated Club for an indefinite period subject always to the approval process set out in 18.3 above;

18.7  In the event that during the year a Club Representative shall cease to be able to continue in that role the Affiliated Club, pursuant to its obligations under 18.1 above, shall nominate an alternative person.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

A member must disclose to the chairman of the Committee or any sub-committee on which he or she sits any interest which may conflict with the proper consideration of a matter under discussion. If the disclosing member is the chairman of the Committee or of the sub-committee, he or she shall disclose his or her interest to the next most senior person. A member disclosing an interest shall not be entitled to vote on the matter under discussion and the other members at the meeting shall decide whether the disclosing member may participate in the discussion.

CLUB INDEMNITY

The members of the Committee, the Officers of the Association, and any other officials of the Jersey Golf shall be indemnified by the Association out of its funds against any legal or monetary claim made against them by third parties in connection with the proper discharge of their duties.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

21.1  There shall be an Annual General Meeting of the Association held on a date fixed by the Committee not later than 28 February in each year, provided that not more than 15 months shall elapse between each meeting.

21.2  The purposes for which the meeting is convened shall be:

(a)  to receive a report from the Secretary or President in respect of the activities of Jersey Golf since the previous Annual General Meeting;

(b)  to receive from the Treasurer and, if thought fit, to approve the Association's accounts in respect of the preceding financial year;

(c)  to elect the President, the Vice-Presidents, the Secretary and the Treasurer;

(d)  to note the Club Representatives for the ensuing year;

(e)  to discuss or decide any other matter of general business of the Association duly submitted to the meeting.

21.3  Any person appointed as an Honorary Life President shall be entitled to attend and speak at an Annual General Meeting but shall have no right to vote nor be counted in the quorum for such meeting.

21.4  All Members shall receive 28 days' notice in writing of the meeting, together with the agenda of the meeting. No Member, save with the consent of the chairman of the  meeting, shall bring any matter before the meeting unless he has given notice of motion in writing to the Secretary not less than 14 days before the meeting (although points for discussion only may be received up to 48 hours before the meeting). A notice of agenda shall be posted on the Jersey Golf website for at least 14 days prior to the meeting.

22. SPECIAL MEETINGS

22.1  A Special General Meeting shall be convened by the Secretary within 28 days of receipt of a direction of the Committee or of a requisition signed on behalf of not less than four Affiliated Clubs entitled to attend and vote at a General Meeting. All Members will receive not less than 14 days' notice in writing of the meeting. The notice shall specify the purpose of the meeting and no other business may be brought before the meeting.

22.2  If the Secretary fails to convene a duly requisitioned meeting within the 28 day period, the requisitionists themselves may convene such meeting to be held not later than 56 days after the deposit of the requisition with the Secretary. The reasonable costs of the requisionists in convening this meeting shall be borne by the Association.

23. PROCEDURE AT GENERAL MEETINGS

23.1  A General Meeting may proceed to business if three Members are present within half an hour after the time fixed for the meeting. If no quorum is then present and the meeting was convened by requisition of the Members, it shall be dissolved; and if convened by direction of the Committee it shall stand adjourned to the week following on the same day and at the same time and place. If at the adjourned meeting there is still no quorum those members present shall form the quorum.

23.2  If a General Meeting is adjourned for want of time, the Members present at the meeting will be notified there and then of the adjourned date, if this is practicable. If not, and the meeting is adjourned for more than 14 days, all the members shall receive notice in writing of the adjourned hearing; otherwise only those who attended the original meeting will be notified of the adjourned date.

23.3  Any Affiliated Club who has failed to nominate a Club Representative shall not be entitled to vote at a General Meeting.

23.4  Unless otherwise stipulated in these Rules, any motion to be carried shall require the votes of a simple majority of the Members present and voting at the meeting.

23.5  Where a motion relates to an item of special business, the following shall apply:

(a)  the vote shall be decided on a show of hands unless a poll is demanded under (b) or (c) below;

(b)  a poll may be demanded in advance of the meeting;

(c)  a poll may be demanded at the meeting either before the show of hands or immediately after the result of a show of hands;

(d)  a poll may be demanded by the chairman of the meeting or by at least three Members;

(e)  the poll must take place at the meeting;

(f)  all business shall be deemed special save those items appearing regularly on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting.

23.6  The chairman of any meeting shall be entitled to a casting vote in addition to his ordinary vote.

24. FINANCIAL POWERS

24.1  The Committee shall have power to open one or more bank accounts with a reputable bank or banks in the name of the Association and to arrange such facilities as may be necessary to carry on the activities of the Association including the arrangement of a loan or overdraft, whether on a secured or unsecured basis, provided that such loan or overdraft shall not exceed the sum of £5,000 without the prior approval of the Members obtained at a General Meeting;

24.2  The Committee shall have power to invest the Association's funds in any prudent manner which in the reasonable opinion of the Committee will benefit the Association.

24.3  The Committee shall have power to spend the Association's funds in furtherance of the objects set out in Rule 2 above, as well as in compliance with its duties of management under these Rules and any Bye Laws made hereunder.

24.4  Jersey Golf shall have power to defray out of the Association's funds expenses wholly and necessarily incurred by members of the Committee or any sub-committee, or incurred by any Member acting on the authority of the Committee, which relates to or is connected with carrying out their duties or responsibilities on behalf of the Association. For the avoidance of doubt, the Committee may arrange appropriate insurance cover in respect of the conduct of the officers and members of the Committee.

24.5  All cheques, bank transfers or other instructions for over £150 shall be signed or authorised as the case may be by two officers of the Committee one of whom, where possible, should be the Treasurer.

INTERPRETATION OF THE RULES

The reference in these Rules to the masculine gender shall in all cases apply equally to the feminine gender. If any question or dispute arises as to the meaning or interpretation of these Rules or of the Bye-Laws made thereunder, the matter must be referred to the Committee for a ruling thereon.

AMENDMENT OF THE RULES

26.1  These rules may be added to, altered or revoked by the members at an Extraordinary General Meeting or at the Annual General Meeting. Any amendment to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting must be sent out as part of the agenda referred to in Rule 21.3.

26.2  To be carried, any motion to amend the rules shall require the votes of two-thirds of the votes cast (including proxies if applicable) by Members present at the meeting and entitled to vote.

26.3  In the discussion of a motion to amend the rules, any proposed amendment to the motion may be carried by a simple majority of the votes cast.

27. DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION

27.1  Any motion to dissolve the Association must be the subject matter of a Special Meeting.

27.2  To be carried, any motion to dissolve the Association shall require the votes of two-thirds of the votes cast by Members present and entitled to vote at the Meeting.

In the event that the Members pass a resolution to dissolve the Association, any property or assets belonging to the Association shall be distributed to the Affiliated Clubs in equal shares.

Date of Rules: 7th December 2022

a) La Moye Golf Club
b) Les Mielles (comprising Les Mielles Golf Club and Les Mielles Ladies Golf Club)
c) Les Ormes (comprising Les Ormes Golf Club and Les Ormes Ladies Golf Club)
d) Royal Jersey Golf Club
e) St Clements (comprising St Clements Golf Club and St Clements Ladies Golf Club) f) Wheatlands Golf Club