BOLAND CHESS UNION

 

CONSTITUTION

 

1. TITLE

   The name of the association shall be Boland Chess Union (hereinafter called BCU)

     

2. MISSION STATEMENT AND OBJECTIVES

   The mission statement of Boland is to organise, administer and promote chess in              

   Boland.

     

3.   OBJECTIVES

     

3.1   to represent and protect the interests of Chess in Boland

 

3.2   to represent and protect the collective and individual interest of affiliated     chess clubs and other

      chess organisations in Boland and efficiently administer chess

 

3.3   to provide a communication and information link between clubs in Boland, with     other regions and with national bodies

 

3.4  to foster unity and co-operation in the Chess community

 

3.5  to develop the skills of existing players at all levels

 

3.6  to introduce the game to new players in all communities and assist in the       establishment of new clubs

 

3.7  to promote chess events in the media

 

3.8  to raise funds for the development of chess

 

3.9  to organise a Boland league and provincial tournaments

 

3.10  to ensure that chess is played in a harmonious manner

 

3.11  to affiliate to CHESSA and

 

3.12  to be a non-discriminatory, democratic body in all aspects of organisation and administration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.MEMBERSHIP

 

      Membership shall consist of all Chess Club, Honorary Life Members as well as            Associated Chess Bodies in Boland who are or hereinafter become members of Boland.

 

4.1 Club Membership

 

4.1.1.Application for membership shall be made in writing to the General Secretary,     which application must include the names and addresses of the office bearers.

      

4.1.2  The club shall submit its Constitution to the General Secretary not less          than one week prior to the General Meeting of  Boland whereat the                  application is to be considered.

 

4.1.3  Such application shall be placed before the next general meeting of Boland        for acceptance or rejection by the majority of those present and entitled to     vote.

 

4.1.4  Any club, which is in arrears with monies due to Boland, shall forfeit all        voting rights.

     

4.1.5  Should a club fail to honour its constitutional obligations, financial and        disciplinary to Boland, such club may either be suspended or expelled by a         two-thirds majority vote at a General Meeting.

 

4.1.6  Notice of the intention to move for suspension or expulsion shall be given        by certified post to all members in writing at least fourteen days before             the meeting.

 

4.2  ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

 

4.2.1  Application for membership shall be made in writing to the General                Secretary, which application must include the names and addresses of the           office bearers.

 

4.2.2  The Associate Member shall submit its Constitution to the General Secretary       not less than one week prior to the General Meeting of Boland whereat the        application is to be considered.

 

4.2.3  Each Associate Member shall have a maximum of 1 vote.

 

4.2.4  Such application shall be placed before the next general meeting of Boland        for acceptance or rejection by the majority of those present and entitled to     vote.

    

4.2.5  Any Associate Member, which is in arrears with monies due to Boland shall        forfeit all voting rights.

   

4.2.6  Should a club fail to honour its constitutional obligations, financial and        disciplinary to Boland, such club be suspended by a two-thirds majority vote       at a General Meeting.

 

4.2.7  Notice of the intention to move for suspension or expulsion shall be                    given by certified post to all members in writing at least fourteen days          before the meeting.

   

 

 

4.3  HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP

 

4.3.1  All past presidents of Boland shall be automatically accorded Honorary Life       Membership.

    

4.3.2  Honorary Life Members of Boland shall enjoy all the privileges of Club            Members, including the right of notification of meetings. Honorary Life            Members shall be excluded from exercising any vote in their capacity as         Honorary Life Members.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.OFFICIALS

 

  ELECTED OFFICIALS

 

5.1  THE PRESIDENT

     

5.1.1 The President shall preside at all meetings of Boland.

 

5.1.2 The President's report to submit to the Annual General Meeting.

 

 

5.2 THE GENERAL SECRETARY

 

5.2.1  The General Secretary shall perform all the secretarial work or Boland,           keep proper records and minutes and assist the President in the preparation       of the annual Report.

 

5.2.2  All minutes shall be circulated 7 days before the next meeting, Executive or      General as the case may be, and shall after acceptance be signed by the            chairman of the meeting.

 

5.2.3  The General Secretary shall be responsible for timeously sending out of           written notices of all general meetings.

 

5.3  The Treasurer

 

5.3.1  The Treasurer shall administer the financial affairs of Boland.

 

5.3.2  She will keep a set of up to date records of receipts and payments supported     by vouchers, bank statements, and a list of outstanding liabilities, which            shall be submitted to the Boland Trustee for auditing purposes within one             month of the end of the financial year which shall run from the 1st of             February to the 31st of January.

 

5.3.3  At the AGM, she will present the financial statements for the financial year      and a budget for the ensuing financial year for approval by the meeting.

 

5.3.4  There will be accounts in the name of Boland at banks and other financial         institutions, as the Executive may resolve.

 

5.3.5  The signature of the Financial Secretary, the President and one other             Executive member shall operate these accounts. Any two of these signatures         being sufficient. The Trustee may not be signatory.

 

5.3.6  At each General meeting, the Financial Secretary will present an interim          report stating the financial position of Boland as well a giving details of  any significant income received or expenditure incurred since the last            report presented by him.

 

5.4  The Development Officer

 

5.4.1  The development officer will be responsible for all the development within        Boland and shall be responsible sponsorship.

 

5.4.2  He will concentrate on under-privileged areas.

 

5.4.3  A comprehensive report must be tabled at the Annual General Meeting.

 

5.5 The Ratings and Registration Officer

 

5.5.1  The Ratings and Registration Officer will be responsible for arranging for        the rating of Boland events through the Rating bureau.

 

5.5.2  He will be responsible for the maintenance of a comprehensive database of         all Boland players.

 

5.5.3  A comprehensive report must be tabled at the Annual General Meeting.

 

5.6  The Match and League Secretary

 

5.6.1  He will also be responsible for ensuring that each event has a tournament         director and a suitable appeals committee.

 

5.6.2  A comprehensive report must be tabled at the Annual General Meeting.

 

5.6.3  A comprehensive report on the League must be tabled at the appropriate            General Meeting.

 

APPOINTMENT BY THE EXECUTIVE

 

5.7  The Vice President

 

5.7.1  The Vice President will perform the functions of the President when the           President is unavailable.

 

5.7.2  This portfolio must be carried by one of the Executive members mentioned          above and will not be elected.

 

5.7.3  The Executive shall appoint one of its members to fulfill the function.

 

5.8  The Trustee

 

5.8.1  He will be responsible for the assets of Boland.

 

5.8.2  This portfolio must be carried by one of the Executive members mentioned          above and will not be elected.

 

5.8.4  The treasurer may not carry this portfolio.

 

6.  ELECTION OF OFFICE BEARERS

 

6.1  Office bearers will be elected at the Annual General Meeting.

 

6.2  Each portfolio will be elected every year for the ensuing year.

 

6.3  The meeting will appoint a neutral person who will conduct the election in the       capacity of Returning Officer.

 

6.4  After the election of a new executive, the new executive will meet as soon as       possible but no later than 21 days after the election.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.  VOTING RIGHTS

 

7.1  Each elected portfolio have one vote. In the event of a tie, the President         will have a casting vote.

 

7.2  GENERAL MEETINGS, INCLUDING THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

 

7.2.1  Club members have a vote for each team that played in the previous league to      a maximum of three votes per club.

 

7.2.2  Any Club Member that did not participate in the league will have one vote.

 

7.2.3  Each Associate Member will have one vote.

 

7.2.4  If a Voting Member cannot be present, they may authorise, in writing, a           person to vote on their behalf.

 

7.2.5  In the event of a tie, there will be a re-vote with each Voting Member            having the same number of votes as teams played in the league with no        maximum limit and a minimum of 1. Associate Members have one vote.

 

7.2.6  If a Voting Member has not paid its affiliation and league fees in full for       the previous year, they shall not have any votes at all until such payment             is made.

 

7.2.7  The General Secretary will circulate to all clubs at the beginning of each        calendar year how many votes each club has and how many votes constitutes a  quorum at a General Meeting.

 

8.  MEETINGS

 

8.1 EXECUTIVE MEETINGS

 

8.1.1  Will be open to Executive Members only. The Executive may invite other            persons to attend. A minimum of five meetings must be held in each year.

 

8.1.2  The quorum for an Executive meeting will be 50% plus 1.

 

8.1.3  The notice period for a Executive Meeting will be 7 days unless otherwise         agreed by all Executive Members.

 

8.2  THERE WILL BE THREE TYPES OF MEETINGS OF BOLAND

 

8.2.1  ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

 

8.2.1.1  Will be open to all members and their representatives. A minimum of four          meetings must be held in each year.

 

8.2.1.2  The quorum for a General Meeting will be more than one third of the                                            available votes. If not quorum is obtained, the meeting will be adjourned         and re-convened within 14 days. At such postponed meeting no quorum is               required. This meeting will have the same authority as the original             meeting would have enjoyed.

 

8.2.1.3  The notice period for a General Meeting shall be 14 days.

 

 

 

 

8.2.2  SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING

 

8.2.2.1  May be called either by the Executive or by Voting Members representing           one third of the available voting rights. At this meeting only the purpose    for which the meeting was called may be discussed.

 

8.2.2.2  The quorum for a Special General meeting shall be more than one third of          the available votes. If no quorum is obtained, the meeting shall be            adjourned and re-convened within 14 days. At such postponed meeting, no           quorum is required. This meeting shall have the same authority as the            original meeting would have enjoyed.

 

8.2.2.3  The notice period for a Special General Meeting will be 14 days.

 

8.2.3  ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

 

8.2.3.1  Will be held in February of each year. At this meeting, the Executive             members will be elected.

 

8.2.3.2  The subscription fees for the following year must be set.

 

8.2.3.3  The quorum for an annual General Meeting will be more than one third of          the available votes. If no quorum is obtained, the meeting will be                    adjourned for 7 days. At such postponed meeting, no quorum is required.              This meeting will have the same authority as the original meeting would             have enjoyed.

 

8.2.3.4  The notice period for an Annual General Meeting shall be 28 days.

 

9.  SUB-COMMITTEES AND CO-OPTED MEMBERS

 

9.1  SELECTION SUB-COMMITTEE

 

9.1.1  At the Annual General Meeting, a Senior Selection Sub-Committee must be           formed.

 

9.1.2  The Sub-Committee will consist of two Executive Members appointed by the          Executive together with three persons elected by the meeting.

 

9.1.3  This committee will be responsible for the selection of all Senior Boland        representatives' teams as well as determine the manner of selection for the  Boland Closed tournament.

 

9.2  DISCIPLINARY SUB-COMMITTEE

 

9.2.1  At the first General Meeting after the Annual General meetings, a                 Disciplinary Sub-committee must be formed.

 

9.2.2  This committee will consist of the Executive member appointed by the              Executive and two persons elected by the meeting.

 

9.2.3  Any disputes with decisions taken by this body must be addressed in writing     

       to the Executive whose decision will be final.

 

 

 

 

 

9.3  CO-OPTED MEMBERS

 

9.3.1  Each Executive member may co-opt such persons as required to carry out their      portfolios.

     

9.3.2  These co-opted persons have no voting rights.

 

9.3.3  The names of such co-opted persons must be circulated for ratification at        the next general meeting.

 

10.  FINANCE

 

10.1  At the Annual General Meeting, the affiliation fee for the ensuing year will      be set.

 

10.2  The Executive will set other fees for tournaments and the league. The financial year will run from February to January of each year.

 

10.3  The fees payable by a club will be:

 

10.3.1  Affiliation Fees

 

        This will be levied on all members and is payable to the Financial                Secretary not later than the 31st of March each year.

 

10.3.2  League Fees

 

        The amount and due date of league fees will be set at the Annual General         Meeting. The fee only applies to those clubs, which participate in the              league.

 

11.  CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

 

11.1  Any amendment to this constitution may only be enacted at the Annual General       Meeting or a Special General Meeting called for the sole purpose of amending      the Constitution. One third of the Voting Members must be present in order to   amend the constitution.

 

11.2  Any proposed amendments must be forwarded to the General Secretary one month       before such meeting.  Such proposed amendments to be circulated, by the     General Secretary, to all voting members.

 

11.3  At such meeting, only the clauses notified may be amended.

 

12.  DISSOLUTION

 

12.1  A decision to dissolve Boland will require two thirds of the Voting Members at a special meeting called for this purpose.

12.2  Assets are to be distributed to an accredited chess body.

 

13.  GENDER

      All references to gender in the above Constitution are equally used for both      Male and Female representation.

 

Signed by :

 

 

_________________________ (President)    _______________________ (Treasurer)