Member TOS Page – Aberdour Boat Club

Rules & Constitution

1. The Club shall be called “Aberdour Boat Club” and shall be composed of Full Members, Honorary Members, Associate Members and Cadet Members.

2.1 Full Members shall be over 18 years of age. They may be either Sailing, Non-sailing or Junior Members. All Club Members who are boat owners whose boats are moored in Aberdour Harbour or Bay or kept on the Pier or on the Club’s premises, and all Members who regularly sail from Aberdour must be sailing Members. The Committee shall have discretion to require Non-Sailing Members to become Sailing Members on the latter grounds.

2.2 Honorary Members may be elected at any Annual General Meeting of the Club for service to the Club. They shall not be liable for any Entrance Fee or Annual subscription.

2.3 The wife or husband and children under 16 years of age of full members shall enjoy all facilities of the Club.

2.4 Associate Membership shall be available to Clubs or Associations under the auspices of the Armed forces or Educational Bodies, etc.

2.5 Junior Members shall be between 18 and 23 years of age. Cadet Members shall be under 18 years of age.

2.6 The Committee shall have the power to elect Temporary Members for the maximum period of one month at any time.

2.7 Persons attending Club events or Club premises as a guest of a Club Member, or with the authority of a Club Official, shall be deemed Temporary Members of the Club for the duration of the event. Temporary Membership will also extend to the Skippers and Crew of visiting yachts who have paid their Harbour Dues and have signed the Visitors Book for the duration of their visit.

2.8 Temporary Members have no rights or obligations under the Club’s rules, except Rule 27.

2.9 Only Full Members shall be able to vote and be eligible to hold office.

3. The object of the Club shall be the encouragement of Boating in all its branches.

4. The Headquarters of the Club shall be at Aberdour.

5. The Club burgee shall be Red, bearing a white fouled Anchor and Letters BC between the Flukes and the letter “A” above the Stock.

6. All Regattas, Races or Matches shall be held under the Rules of the Royal Yachting Association, the International Yacht Racing Union or such other Rules as may be decided by the Committee from time to time.

7. Applications for admission shall be in writing and each application shall be signed by the Applicant and two Members and shall be accompanied by the appropriate entrance fee and subscription. The Secretary shall post the name of such applicant on the Notice Board n the Club House for a period of at least seven days before submitting the application to the Committee. The Committee shall then have power, at the first meeting held thereafter, to decide whether the applicant shall be elected. Election shall be by a majority of the Committee present at the meeting.

8. Entry Money and the Annual Subscriptions shall be such sums as shall be fixed by the Members at the Annual General Meeting from time to time. Members admitted after 1 August in any year shall not be liable for the Annual Subscription for that year and the subscription tendered with the application shall be set against the Annual Subscription for the following year. Where a past Member applies to re-join the Club, the Committee may consider the circumstances thereof and may, at its discretion, waive payment of further entry fee.

9. Any Member wishing to resign his Membership may do so on giving a fortnight’s notice to the Secretary in writing, but he shall he liable for all arrears of Subscriptions and other claims which shall have become due up to the date on which he wishes to resign and until these claims are met such resignation shall not be entertained; and said Member shall be held to have renounced all further claims on the funds, property and privileges of the Club. Any Member resigning before 15 December shall not be liable for the subscription for that year. Honorary Members may resign in like manner.

10.1 The Annual Subscription Fee together with fixed charges shall become payable with effect from the Annual General Meeting or, in the case of members joining the Club after that date, on the date of the application together with the appropriate Entrance Fee.

10.2 Members who fail to pay their Annual Subscription Fee by 29th December shall be deemed to have resigned from the Club subject to the Committee’s discretionary power in the case of extenuating personal circumstances. Following any such deemed resignation; such members shall be debarred from the use of the Club property or facilities, shall not take part in any proceedings of the Club and must return Club keys and any other Club property in their possession. Reinstatement of Club membership shall be subject to re-application and payment of the Annual Subscription Fee, subject to the Committee’s discretionary powers as defined in Rule 8.

11. The Club shall have power to expel any Member by ballot, at an Annual General or Special General Meeting only, the motion of expulsion, which shall he moved by the Chairman, shall not require to be seconded. A Member expelled shall ipso facto forfeit all rights and claims upon the Club, its Property and Funds.

12. The Annual General Meeting shall he held in the period from mid October to mid November. Seven days’ notice shall he given by circular. Twenty Full Members shall form a quorum.

13. A Special General Meeting may be called by the Committee or on the requisition in writing of at least ten Full Members, the object of such Meeting being specified, and at least forty-eight hours notice being given (except in the case of an alteration of Rules which is dealt with in Rule 26). Twenty Full Members shall form a quorum.

14. The affairs of the Club shall be managed by a Committee consisting of the Commodore, Vice-Commodore, Rear Commodore (hereinafter referred to as the Flag Officers), Secretary, Treasurer and six Members, all to be elected at the Annual General Meeting. At least six Members of the Committee shall he resident in the parish of Aberdour. Two of the six ordinary Committee Members shall retire annually. Committee members who retire shall be ineligible for re-election for a period of one year. The quorum at Committee meetings shall be five. An honorary Auditor shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting.

15. The Committee shall undertake the general business of the Club and shall have control over the income and expenditure and over the property of the Club and shall have authority to purchase, hire and repair boats arid to make arrangements for holding Regattas and Matches. In the event of a vacancy occurring on the Committee the remaining Members shall have power to appoint a Member to fill such vacancy until the next Annual General Meeting the Committee shall have the power to co-opt additional Members who shall have no voting power.

16. The Senior Officer present shall take the Chair at all meetings of the Club and Committee, and should no Officer be present, the Meeting shall elect a Chairman, who shall have a deliverative as well as a casting vote and he shall countersign Minutes of all Meetings.

17. The Secretary shall convene all Meetings of the club and Committee, minute proceedings, conduct correspondence, preserve all Club Books and Papers and generally conduct the business of the Club in accordance with the direction of the Committee. He shall keep a Roll of members of the Club and a Club Register of Yachts belonging to Members and those Books must be produced at all General Meetings.

18. At least seven days prior to the Annual General Meeting, the Secretary shall circulate the Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting to the membership.

19. The Treasurer shall pay all Accounts due by the Club, arising from activities which have been approved by the Committee. He shall also receive all monies of the Club and forthwith lodge same in the bank in name of the Club. He shall produce the bank Book at all General Meetings and have the Balance at Bank minuted. He shall prepare an Annual Balance Sheet closed on the last day of September each year, which, after having been checked and passed by the Auditor, must he brought up at the Annual General Meeting. At least seven days’ notice must be given to the Auditor that the Books are ready for him. A copy of the balance Sheet, after it has been passed at the Annual General Meeting, must be inserted in the Secretary’s Minute Book.

20. No Sub—Committee or person other than the Treasurer shall be allowed expend or retain monies of the Club’s account without approval of the Committee, except in an emergency when a Flag Officer may grant permission.

21. If the conduct of a Member, either in or out of the Club House shall, in the opinion of the committee, be injurious to the character or interests of the Club, the Committee shall have the power to censure, suspend or otherwise deal with such a Member.

22. Should a boat or any other Property belonging to the Club he damaged by any Member or crew of any Member’s boat, and should such damage occur through his or her fault or negligence, the expense of repairs and the amount of such damage shall be borne by such Member.

23. The Flag Officers, Secretary and Treasurer shall be the Trustees of the Club. The said Trustees shall have power to sign Leases, Moorings Agreements and any other Minutes of Agreement on behalf of the Club, as they may be authorised by the Club, and to borrow money to finance specific projects approved by the Club.

24. The Committee shall have power to make and enforce Bye-laws.

25. The Club shall be a non-profit making organisation. All income shall be used to further the objects of the Club, and to maintain or improve its facilities. Neither any surplus nor any of the assets of the Club shall he distributable to its Members. If the Club should ever be dissolved or wound up, and assets remaining after paying its debts shall be assigned by the Members to a local organisation having similar aims to those of the Club as presently constituted or, alternatively, a local charity.

26. The Committee shall have authority to recommend alterations, amendments or deletions any of the foregoing Rules. The same rights shall extend to Full Members. Notice must be given in writing to the Secretary specifying the alterations proposed in order that it may be included in the Agenda of a General Meeting. Twenty-one days’ notice must be given in each case and two-thirds of the Full Members present at such Meeting must agree to such alteration.

27. Members of the Club, their guests and visitors may use the Club premises and any other facilities of the Club, entirely at their own risk and implicitly accept that:

(i) The Club will not accept any liability for any damage to or loss of property belonging to Members, their guests or visitors to the Club;

(ii) The Club will not accept any liability for personal injury arising out of the use of the Club premises, and any other facilities of the Club, or out of participation in any race organised by the Club, whether sustained by Members, their guests or visitors or caused by the said Members, guests or visitors, whether or not such damage or Injury could have been attributed to or was occasioned by the neglect, default or negligence of any of the Officers, Committee or servants of the Club;

(iii) Before inviting any guests or visitors onto the premises, or to participate in events organized by the Club, Members will draw their attention to this rule.