Constitution of the Awapuni Tennis Club
-
Name
The name of the club shall be the “Awapuni Tennis Club”, hereinafter referred to as the ‘club’.
2. Objects
The aims and objectives of the club are to:
2.1 Encourage and foster the sport of tennis at all levels;
2.2 Promote the club within the local community;
2.3 Ensure a duty of care to all members of the club.
3. Membership
Membership shall be open to anyone who wishes to further the interests of the club.
3.1 A member, upon registration, shall be informed of the existence and availability of the constitution
of the club, and shall agree to be bound by the constitution and decisions of the committee.
3.2 A member resigning from the club shall forfeit all rights to and claims upon the club.
3.3 Membership categories are as follows:
3.3.1 Senior Member – is a member of the club aged 18 years or more at the beginning of the subscription year.
3.3.2 Junior Member – is a member of the club aged under 18 years at the beginning of the subscription year.
3.3.3 Life Member – is a member who has given outstanding service to the club, and is elected by a
75% majority of the committee members present at a committee meeting.
-
A life member can be a committee member, will have the right to vote as a senior member and will not be required to pay an annual subscription.
-
Any two members may nominate another member for consideration for life membership.
-
A committee member who has been nominated for life membership has no vote on that decision and is not part of the committee for that decision.
4. Termination or Refusal of Membership
4.1 The committee shall have the power to suspend or expel any member of the club on the following
grounds:
4.1.1 a member’s current annual subscription remains unpaid;
4.1.2 false or inaccurate statements made in an application for membership of the club;
4.1.3 wilful breaches of the constitution and/or decisions of the committee;
4.1.4 conduct which in the opinion of the committee renders that member or applicant unfit for
membership of the club.
4.2 No member shall be suspended or expelled without first being given the opportunity to appear
before a meeting of the committee, for which he/she shall receive at least ten (10) days notice in
writing, to explain his/her conduct.
4.3 The committee shall have the power to decline membership of the club with good reasons given.
5. Subscriptions
The annual subscription shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting of the club.
6. Management of the Club
The affairs of the club will be managed by a committee of up to eight (8) members, up to four (4) of whom will be office bearers, all to be elected at the Annual General Meeting.
6.1 The following office bearers will be elected at the Annual General Meeting:
President (who is expected to chair all meetings)
Secretary
Treasurer
Club Captain
6.2 An auditor who is not an office bearer or committee member may be elected by the committee.
6.3 All committee members must be financial members of the club.
7. Duties of the Committee
7.1 The committee may appoint up to two (2) club members to the “Awapuni Park Community and
Recreation Centre Management Committee”.
7.2 The committee will meet at regular intervals at a time and place decided by the committee.
7.3 Any member of the committee who is:
7.3.1 absent from three (3) consecutive meetings without providing a satisfactory explanation, or
7.3.2 found not to be a financial member
shall be deemed to have vacated the position held.
7.4 The committee members will assume office at the close of the Annual General Meeting at which they were elected and will remain in office until the close of the next Annual General Meeting.
7.5 Should a vacancy occur on the committee during the season, the committee may appoint a
successor until the next Annual General Meeting.
8. Powers of the Committee
The committee shall have the power to:
8.1 co-opt further members to the committee;
8.2 administer the finances, appoint bankers, and direct the opening of bank accounts for specific
purposes, to transfer funds from one account to another, and to close any such account;
8.3 fix the manner in which bank accounts are operated upon, provided the committee approves all
payments;
8.4 fix fees payable by all members and enforce payment thereof;
8.5 record minutes of committee meetings and general meetings of members;
8.6 form and appoint sub-committees for specific purposes;
8.7 accept donations and gifts in accordance with the objects of the club;
8.8 provide information by any media including newsletters, newspapers, leaflets or electronic means
of communication, for the promotion of the club;
8.9 provide gifts and prizes in accordance with the objects of the club;
8.10 organise social events for club members and the promotion of the club;
8.11 take all other actions necessary and desirable to promote the objects of the club.
Quorum: The quorum for a committee meeting shall be four (4) members, at least one of whom must be an office bearer.
9. Financial Accounts
9.1 A bank account is to be held in an approved bank to which all monies received are to be paid and all payments made by cheque from that account.
9.2 The club treasurer will be responsible for the finances of the club.
9.3 The financial year of the club will be from 1 September to 31 August each year.
9.4 Signatories to the club’s bank account will be any two (2) of three (3) committee members appointed by the committee.
9.5 The financial accounts may be audited each year or more frequently if requested by the committee.
10. Annual General Meetings and Special General Meetings
10.1 The Annual General Meeting is to be held not later than the 1st day of October each year.
10.2 Notice of Annual General Meeting and all Special General Meetings is to be given to all members
not less than 21 clear days before the date of the meeting. An advertisement in a local newspaper
shall be deemed to be notice to members.
10.3 At the Annual General Meeting and all Special General Meetings, only financial members may vote and for the purposes of voting:
Senior member = 1 vote,
Life member = 1 vote,
Junior member = no vote.
Voting to be by one of the following at the discretion of the chairman:
(i) voice; (ii) show of hands; (iii) secret ballot.
10.4 Casting vote of chairman: In the event of there being a tied vote on any motion the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.
10.5 Quorum: The minimum number of persons entitled to vote that must be present for a quorum shall be ten (10). If after thirty (30) minutes from the beginning of the Annual General Meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting shall be adjourned to a date decided by the committee. If a
quorum is not present within 30 minutes from the beginning of the rescheduled meeting the
members present are a quorum.
10.6 Business of the Annual General Meeting
10.6.1 The minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting shall be read and confirmed.
10.6.2 The chairman shall present the annual report of the club for the year ended 31 August.
10.6.3 The treasurer shall present a statement of the financial affairs of the club for the year ended 31 August.
10.6.4 Election of the office bearers and committee for the ensuing year.
10.6.5 General Business.
10.7 Special General Meetings
A special general meeting may be called at any time at the request of the committee or at a written request of not less than two-thirds (2/3) of the financial members.
11. Dissolution
11.1 A motion calling for the dissolution of the club is to be made in writing. The voting on the motion is to be by secret ballot and to be carried must be supported by at least 75% of those present who are entitled to vote at that Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting.
11.2 Upon the dissolution of the club if the assets are more than sufficient to repay all debts the surplus funds are to be promptly distributed to the Awapuni Park Community and Recreation Centre.
12. Amendments to the Constitution
12.1 No motion shall be made to amend the constitution except at an Annual General Meeting or a
Special General Meeting called for that purpose, and any notices of motion to amend the
constitution shall be given to members fourteen (14) days prior to the Annual General Meeting or
Special General Meeting called for such purpose.
12.2 Any motions to amend the constitution shall be of no effect unless passed by 75% of those present who are entitled to vote at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting.
13. Interpretation
In the event of any issue arising that is not provided for in this constitution the decision of the committee will be final.
14. Declaration
Awapuni Tennis Club hereby adopts and accepts this constitution as a current operating guide
regulating the actions of its members.
This constitution is current and applies from 3 October 2009
Health and Safety Policy
Awapuni Tennis Club has a comprehensive health and safety policy to ensure the safety of everyone using the courts and the adjoining community centre. Occasional injuries are unavoidable, but the club does have a first aid kit and a defibrillator on the premises.
Health and Safety Policy Statement
This memorandum records the health and safety responsibilities of the Awapuni Tennis Club (“the club”) to its members and visitors under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
1. The club maintains a hazard register which keeps records of hazards identified at the tennis
courts, and how those hazards may be eliminated, isolated or minimized.
2. The club maintains an incident register which records any incident or injury sustained by any player at
the courts during its normal hours of play, including the name of the person(s) involved, date, time and
location of the incident, the nature of the incident and the action taken by the club to address it.
3. The club maintains a hall safety plan of the Awapuni Community Hall (“the hall”) showing the following:
a. Location of toilets;
b. Location of all exits;
c. Location of defibrillator, fire extinguisher, first aid box and telephone;
d. Location of emergency procedures displayed in the hall to cover the following events:
i. Fire
ii. Fire Alarm / All Clear
iii. Hazardous Material Alert
iv. Essential Utility Failure
v. Bomb Threat
vi. Armed Robbery
vii. Confrontation
viii. Natural Disasters;
e. The location of evacuation assembly areas outside the hall.
Members and visitors are advised of the location of the emergency procedures when using the hall.
4. At its first committee meeting each year, a committee member will be appointed the club’s health and
safety coordinator for the year ahead. The person appointed will be responsible to maintain the club’s
health and safety policy by:
a. Manage hazards and eliminate/minimise/isolate hazards using the Hazard Identification Checklist
held on the health and safety manual;
b. Report any incidents in the club’s incident register;
c. Ensure all club members/management and other involved parties are aware of the club’s health
and safety policy and how to adhere to the health and safety/emergency procedures;
d. Bring to the attention of the president any major health and safety issues on a regular basis;
e. Any checks made, changes or updates to the club’s health and safety policy or this statement are
to be noted in the minutes of any committee, annual general or special meetings of the club.
5. The minutes of all meetings of the club, including committee meetings will include a health and safety
briefing, including where toilets, emergency exits and other safety facilities are located, indicating that
members have understood the briefing.
6. New and intending members and guests will be made aware of the club’s health and safety policy and
will be shown this statement and hall safety plan by way of a hard copy or electronically by email or
referral to a website.
7. The club holds contact details of all members including addresses, telephone numbers, mobile phone
numbers and email addresses wherever possible. Any information held will be handled in accordance
with the club's privacy statement.
8. The health and safety policy of the club will be reviewed annually at the first committee meeting of the
year which will note whether any changes are required and the nature of those changes.
9. Reference to the club’s health and safety policy is included in the club’s constitution.
This health and safety statement was tabled and passed by the Awapuni Tennis Club committee on
3 December 2022.
Privacy Statement
We collect personal information from you, including information about your:
-
name
-
contact information
-
location
-
interactions with us.
We collect your personal information in order to manage our subscriptions and to contact you with news and forthcoming events.
We keep your information safe by limiting its access to committee members.
We do not make the information available to third parties without your consent.
You have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of your information, or to have it corrected, please contact the club secretary or a committee member.
The club holds personal information for as long as it is required for club activities.
Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Policy
The aim of this policy is to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and with respect, and to ensure that members, non-members and visiting teams are not denied access to our tennis venue because of a discriminatory reason.
Our commitment is to promote fair play values within all tennis activities.