Constitution

CONSTITUTION OF LARNE SWIMMING CLUB

1. TITLE

The Club shall be called “LARNE SWIMMING CLUB” (hereafter called The Club).

2. OBJECTIVES

a) To teach swimming to children from the age of six upwards in a safe, supportive and friendly environment.

b) To promote competitive swimming in order to encourage children to fulfil their potential and to develop their ability to take part in and contribute to a team in a sporting manner.

c) To ensure that the abilities of every swimmer from learners to elite competitors are catered for in an appropriate way within the Club.

3. AFFILIATION

The Club shall be affiliated to Swim Ireland. The Club accepts all Swim Ireland rules, including all F.I.N.A. rules.

The Club shall notify Swim Ireland of all updates or changes to the Club Constitution or Club Rules Book within one month of the change.

4. REPRESENTATION AT SWIM IRELAND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS

Two delegates shall be elected annually at The Club Annual General Meeting to represent The Club at the Swim Ireland Annual General Meeting. They shall be mandated to vote on The Club’s behalf according to the instructions agreed at the Club Committee Meeting immediately prior to the Swim Ireland Annual General Meeting.

5. CHILD PROTECTION

The Club accepts and supports:

a) The Child Protection Guidelines adopted by Swim Ireland

b) “The Code of Ethics and Good Practice in Children’s Sport in Ireland”.

The Club Committee will appoint two Children's Officers, one male and one female, who shall not be Officials of the Club, Coaches or Committee Members. It is not required that the Children's Officers be Members of the Club or Swim Ireland. In the event of a Children's Officer resigning their position the Committee shall have the power to appoint a replacement.

One of the Children's Officers will be appointed as Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, which will consist of the two Children's Officers, the Club Chairperson and Honorary Secretary.

The Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee will maintain a Child Welfare Complaints Book containing records of all Child Welfare complaints.

The role of the two Children's Officers is to receive any complaint from a swimmer or parent which relates to child abuse and to gather information relating to the complaint and forward it to the Swim Ireland Child Welfare Officer and/or Statutory Authorities. They are not permitted to investigate any complaint and must suspend judgement. A Child Welfare Complaint Form is available for this purpose.

The Children's Officers will carry out their role in accordance with the “Child Protection Complaints Law” of Swim Ireland.

In the event of an allegation of child abuse against a Club Coach, Official or Committee Member being made to a Children's Officer, that person will immediately step down from their position pending an investigation to be carried out in accordance with Swim Ireland procedures.

The Club Child Protection Measures will be reviewed annually by the Child Welfare Committee at least one month before the AGM, so that any recommended changes can be incorporated into the Club Constitution at the AGM.

6. OFFICERS

All Officers of the Club must be members of the Club (see 9 MEMBERSHIP), members of Swim Ireland, and have completed the Officials’ Code of Ethics and Officials’ Registration forms.

The Officers of the Club shall be: President

Vice-president(s)

Chairperson

Vice-chairperson

Immediate Past Chairperson

Honorary Secretary

Honorary Treasurer

Minutes Secretary

The Officers shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting to hold Office until the next AGM. The retiring Officers shall be eligible for re-election.

Boys’ and girls’ Club Captains shall be elected annually in September from the PTL “D” (senior) Age Group. Those eligible to vote shall be swimmers from the PTL “C” and “D” Age groups, Committee members and Coaches. Club Captains have a number of responsibilities outlined in the “Captain’s Responsibilities” document.

7. COACHING STAFF

All Club coaching staff must be members of the Club (see 9 MEMBERSHIP), members of Swim Ireland, and have completed the Officials’ Code of Ethics and Officials’ Registration forms.

Any paid coaching staff will be appointed by the Committee and be subject to a written “Terms of Employment” agreed by the Committee.

Voluntary unpaid coaching staff will operate within written “Roles and Responsibilities”, according to their qualifications.

Details of Coaching Staff will be contained in the Club Information Handbook.

8. MANAGEMENT

The business of the club shall be conducted by a Committee comprising the officers (excluding the President and Vice Presidents) and not more than eleven additional members. The additional members of the Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting to hold their post until the next AGM. Only parents/guardians of paid-up Club swimmers from either the main pool or Minnows shall be eligible to stand for election to the Committee. All Committee members must, upon being elected to the Committee, if they have not already done so, complete a Swim Ireland Registration form and an Officials Code of Ethics form.

The Committee shall have the power to co-opt up to four extra members, as necessary.

The Committee shall have the power to make appointments to additional positions, but if the persons appointed come from outside the Committee, they shall not have the power to vote.

If a vacancy occurs on the Committee, the Committee shall have the power to fill the post until the next AGM.

The election of Committee members, other than Officers, may be to specific positions, at the discretion of the Committee.

A quorum shall be seven Committee Members.

The Chairperson shall have the right to exercise a casting vote, if necessary.

The Committee shall have the power to delegate authority to sub-committees to act on its behalf, when necessary.

The Committee shall meet and act as required for the efficient running of the Club, at least six times per year.

The Honorary Secretary shall:

1) Keep a register of Club Members’ names and addresses, plus copies of Swim Ireland Membership forms, Official Registration forms and Officials’ Code of Ethics forms.

2) Conduct the correspondence of the Club.

3) Ensure the safe custody of all Club documents.

4) Ensure that full minutes of the meetings of the Club and the Committee are kept and that these are signed by the Chairperson at the next meeting of the Club or Committee, upon agreement of the Club or Committee.

5) See to the maintenance of such insurance policy or policies as may be needed to fully protect the interests of the Club and its members.

6) Be responsible for passing on all Club documentation to the incoming Honorary Secretary following the AGM.

7) One or more of these responsibilities may be delegated to other Committee members as agreed by the Committee.

The Honorary Treasurer shall keep a full record showing the financial affairs, receipts and expenses of the Club. Additionally, he/she shall prepare or have prepared an Annual Statement of accounts for examination by the Club Auditor and presentation to the Annual General Meeting.

9. MEMBERSHIP

A member of the Club shall be any person whose application is accepted by the Committee and whose fees, if applicable, are paid by the date determined by the Committee.

All Club members shall be required to be Members of Swim Ireland, to complete a Swim Ireland Membership form, and to be bound by Swim Ireland Rules.

All Members shall be issued with a copy of the Club Information Booklet, which contains copies of the following documents:

The Club Constitution

Club Officials, Coaches and Committee Members and their roles and responsibilities

Details of the Club Child Liaison Officers

Swim Ireland Child Protection Guidelines

Child Liaison Complaints Form and procedures

General Complaints Form and procedures

Club training times and procedures in the event of non-opening or no coaching staff.

Criteria for membership of training squads

Swimmer’s Code of Conduct

Procedure for exclusion from a training squad

. Club Captains’ Responsibilities.

The membership fees shall be determined by the Committee and will be due on September 1^st of each year.

Membership shall cease if fees are not paid on or before October 1^st in the year due.

Where a new member joins after December 31^st, the annual subscription – excluding the joining/registration fee – shall be reduced on a pro- rata basis.

The number of members may be restricted at the discretion of the Committee.

Only full members in the following categories shall be eligible to vote at Club AGM or EGM:

1) Members 16 years old and over.

2) Parents or guardians of members under 16 years old.

Postal or proxy voting shall not be permitted.

Honorary membership, which shall not confer voting rights, may be awarded at the discretion of the Committee. Such a decision shall require a two-thirds majority vote in favour.

10. MEETINGS

Annual General Meeting

The Club shall hold an Annual General Meeting during the month of November. At least fourteen days’ notice of the AGM will be given to voting members. Amendments to the Constitution and proposals for inclusion in the Agenda of the AGM must be received by the Honorary Secretary at least twenty-one days before the Meeting. They shall be in writing and signed by at least two members entitled to vote. A two-thirds majority of members present and entitled to vote shall be sufficient to change or amend The Constitution. Any other proposals require a simple majority only.

Extraordinary General Meeting

An Extraordinary General Meeting can be called at any time by the following

a) A request of the majority of The Committee.

b) A written request to the Honorary Secretary by a number of members or members’ parents greater than the number of the Committee.

The provisions of an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be the same as those for the AGM.

11. DISCIPLINE

a) Poolside Discipline

The Head Coach, or any other qualified Teacher or Assistant Teacher, shall have the power to temporarily remove any swimmer whom he or she considers to have been guilty of misconduct or a breach of Club rules, from part or all of a training session or other Club activity. The removed swimmer must remain on poolside and/or under supervision during the remainder of their set activity time. The coach or teacher should note down the incident and reason for any removal in a dedicated Club Discipline Logbook, and have the entry immediately countersigned by a second adult. A copy of this entry will be made available to the parents/guardians of the swimmer upon request. Any such removal should be reported to the next Coaches’ Committee Meeting, but does not need to be reported to the full Committee unless further action is recommended or an appeal is lodged.

b) General Discipline

Any two Officers of the Club (as defined in Paragraph 6) shall have the power to suspend from Club Activities any Member whom they consider to have been guilty of misconduct or a breach of Club rules. Any such suspension and the reasons for it shall be noted down in the dedicated Club Discipline Logbook and signed by both Officers.

12. APPEALS AGAINST SUSPENSION OR EXPULSION

A Member who is dissatisfied with a suspension or expulsion decision by Officers of the Club may appeal to the Committee. Their appeal will be heard by the Disciplinary Sub-Committee. The Disciplinary Sub-Committee shall be convened as required by the Committee and shall consist of three Committee members; at least one of which shall be male and one female. The Officers who made the suspension shall not be members of the Disciplinary Sub-Committee. A Junior Member (under 16) may be represented or accompanied at the appeal hearing by his or her parent/guardian. The Disciplinary Sub-Committee can recommend to the full Club Committee a change to the original decision. However, the full Committee must endorse any such change. A Member who is dissatisfied with a final decision of the Committee may appeal to a General Meeting of the Club.

13. GENERAL COMPLAINTS

A Member or parent/guardian of a Member who wishes to make a complaint about another Member, Coach or Official of the Club, or any other aspect of the Club, may do so, using a “General Complaints Form”. Copies of these are available from the Reception Desk at Larne Leisure Centre or from the Honorary Secretary.

All General Complaints should be sent to the Club Honorary Secretary who will inform the Chairperson and raise the complaint at the next Committee Meeting.

All complaints will be investigated and dealt with by the Committee as quickly as possible.

The Honorary Secretary will advise the member submitting the complaint of the status of the complaint and the final outcome and decision of the Committee.

The Honorary Secretary will maintain a General Complaints Book recording all General Complaints and their outcomes.

14. FINANCE

The financial year shall run from August 1^st to July 31^st.

The accounts shall be closed on July 31^st each year. They shall be balanced and presented, after an independent audit, for acceptance at the AGM.

The Auditor/s shall be appointed at the AGM.

Any bank account shall be held in the name of the Club.

All cheques written against the Club shall be signed by two of the following:

The Chairperson

The Honorary Treasurer

Any other nominated Committee Member.

A statement of accounts for all individual events, functions, or projects involving monies shall be presented within one month to the Committee for approval.

The Committee may, from time to time, set aside funds for a specific purpose.

No expenditure that will ultimately become the Club’s liability may be incurred without the prior sanction of the Committee.

15 RULES

The Committee shall be empowered to publish, enforce and amend such rules, supplementary to the Constitution, as it feels will be beneficial to the affairs of the Club, provided that they are not contrary to the Constitution and Rules of SWIM IRELAND.