National
Clubs Association
CONSTITUTION
1. NAME
The name of the Association shall
be the Rugby Football Union
2. OBJECTS
The objects of the Association are the
promotion, encouragement and extension of Rugby Union Football and (without
limiting the generality of the foregoing) the non-exclusive representation of
the interests of the Clubs in Membership of the Association on all matters of
mutual interest to them. The Members of
the Association shall undertake to comply with RFU and International Rugby
Board (the IRB) Rules, Bye-Laws and Regulations so far as they relate to
3. MEMBERSHIP
The
Members of the Association shall be those Clubs qualified to participate
in National Division 2 and National Divisions 3 North and 3 South of the
English Clubs Rugby Union Championship (or any subsequent title of that
competition) on 31st May in each year for the season following that year's
Annual General Meeting (the AGM) of the Association (the Members).
4. SUBSCRIPTIONS
The Members shall pay to the
Association such subscription as shall be decided annually at the AGM.
5. OFFICERS
The Officers of the Association
shall be the Chairman, the Secretary and the Treasurer, all of whom shall be
nominated by the Executive Committee. The Chairman and Treasurer shall be
subject to election at the AGM. The Secretary’s appointment will be made by the
Executive Committee and shall in the first instance be for a period of three
years. An Officer, except for the
Secretary, need not be an Association Club representative but must either be a
member of an Association Club or have been a member of an Association Club
which had been in membership of the Association within the preceding 12 months.
Other nominations for Officers may
be submitted to the Secretary at least twenty-one (21) days before the AGM
provided such nominations are supported by signatures from six (6) members of
the Association.
6. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee shall
comprise:-
a) The Officers
b) One (1) representative from
Division 2 and one (1) representative from Division 3 from each of the four
geographic Divisions of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) elected from within
their membership by those Members within each of the respective Divisions.
c) All members of the Executive
Committee shall hold office from the end of one AGM until the end of the succeeding
AGM and shall be eligible for re-election from year to year.
d) A Representative of the RFU who
shall be co-opted by the Executive Committee. This Representative shall be
appointed by the RFU
N.B. The Executive Committee shall have
the power to co-opt any person or persons as from time to time are deemed
appropriate. Such persons will have no voting rights.
7. MANAGEMENT
The affairs of the Association
shall be administered by the Executive Committee, which shall meet as often as
the Chairman shall decide, and in any event 4 times per year, or on the
requisition of at least four members thereof and shall without limiting the
generality thereof have the following powers and obligations:-
a) The power and authority to
represent the interests of Members and to commit the said Members in all
matters appertaining to the well-being of the Membership.
b) The power to call meetings of
Members at any time that it considers necessary and to appoint the time and
place of the AGM which shall be held at any time during the year but not later
than 30 days after the RFU official end of the season.
c) The power to carry out such
tasks as are delegated to the Association by the RFU
d) The obligation to properly
record and account for moneys received and paid by the Association in such form
as may be properly audited.
8. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE QUORUM
A quorum at any meeting of the
Executive Committee shall be a minimum of 60% of its members which shall
include at least 1 representative from National Division 2 and 1 representative
from either National Division 3 North or South.
9. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
VOTING
a) Each representative at any
meeting of the Executive Committee shall have one vote (except in the case of
co-opted representatives) and in the case of equality the Chairman (or acting
Chairman) shall have a casting vote.
b) The Officers shall not be
entitled to vote at Executive Committee Meetings except in the case of the
Chairman as provided in Rule 9(a) and in the case of any Officer where he is a
duly elected representative under Rule 6(b).
10. CHAIRMAN
In the absence of the Chairman for
any reason at General Meetings or Executive Committee meetings, members of the
Executive Committee may appoint the Chairman of the meeting.
11. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
11.1 The AGM will be chaired by the
Chairman of the Association and the business will be:
a) to
receive, approve and adopt the Audited (if necessary or appropriate) Accounts of
the Association for the year ended on the preceding 31st March;
b) to
receive the Annual Reports from its Officers;
c) to
elect the Officers for the ensuing year;
d) to
elect the Auditors for the ensuing year, if necessary or appropriate;
e) to approve
the Membership subscriptions for the ensuing year;
f) to
agree the policy of the Association on matters identified by the Executive
Committee as relevant from time to time;
g) to consider and, if necessary,
pass resolutions in respect of any other business which has been notified in
writing to the Secretary at least
twenty-one (21) days prior to the Meeting and is considered by the
Executive Committee to be relevant to the proceedings.
11.2 Each Member Club shall be
entitled to send no more than two (2) Representatives to any General Meeting,
of whom one only shall be entitled to vote in accordance with Rule 14(1).
Twenty-eight (28) voting
Representatives from the Members shall constitute a quorum, and in case of
voting equality the Chairman (not representing his own Club) shall have the
casting vote.
12. GENERAL MEETING
A General Meeting shall be held at
the discretion of the Executive Committee at a time and place to be decided by
the Executive Committee. In the event a meeting is inquorate
it shall be adjourned to a date (not less than 2 weeks and not more than 4
weeks) fixed by the Chairman and notified to the Members. At any such adjourned
meeting the quorum shall be fourteen (14).
13. EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL
MEETING
The Secretary, on receipt of a
requisition signed on behalf of not less than fourteen (14) Members, shall
within fourteen (14) days call an Extraordinary General Meeting, of which not
less than twenty-one (21) days notice shall be given to each Member. It should
state the date, time and place of such a meeting and the object for which it is
to be called. Any such requisition, as aforesaid, must specify the object for
which the meeting is required and the resolution that is to be proposed
thereat.
14. VOTING RIGHTS
At any General Meeting referred to
in Clauses 11, 12 or 13 Members shall have 1 vote per League Club.
15. DIVISIONAL
REPRESENTATIVES
The Members of each Division shall
form a Divisional Committee to discuss matters of mutual interest relevant to the
Association and to that Division. Each Division shall have its own Constitution
which shall be approved by and lodged with the Executive Committee.
16. NOMINATIONS TO THE RFU
COMMITTEE AND SUB-COMMITTEES
a) The Executive Committee shall
nominate to the RFU Council a Representative in accordance with RFU Rule
14.1.7. An Officer, except for the
Secretary, need not be an Association Club representative but must either be a
member of an Association Club or have been a member of an Association Club
which had been in membership of the Association within the preceding 12 months.
b) The Executive Committee shall
nominate Representatives to serve for the succeeding year on such RFU
Committees as the RFU shall from time to time require.
An Officer, except for the
Secretary, need not be an Association Club representative but must either be a
member of an Association Club or have been a member of an Association Club
which had been in membership of the Association within the preceding 12 months.
c) The nomination of the
Representative to serve on the RFU Council shall be made by and submitted to
the RFU by the 1st April.
d) Nominations to the Committees of
the
17. RFU
Neither the Association nor the
Executive Committee shall have power to implement any course of action that
could affect any club in membership with the RFU which is not a member of the
Association without the permission of the RFU nor may the Association or the
Executive Committee on its behalf negotiate or enter into any contract or
agreement other than through the RFU
18. AMENDMENTS TO RULES
These rules may be changed only by
majority vote of over 60% (sixty percent) of the Members present and voting at
a General Meeting provided that at least twenty-one (21) days prior written
notice of the proposed change has been given to the Secretary of every Member.
All changes made under the provision of this Rule to be effective require the
approval of the RFU under Rule 12.15.
19. GENERAL
All matters for which no provision
is made and the interpretation of these Rules shall be subject to the
provisions of the RFU Rule 12.15