Constitution of Stoolball England

The current version of the Stoolball England constitution was adopted on 30 November 2018.

Name:
The governing body for stoolball in England shall be called Stoolball England and shall be deemed a not for profit organisation.
Aims:
1. To act as the governing body for stoolball in England
2. To promote and expand stoolball in England and, where possible, co-operate and build relationships with other governing bodies of stoolball worldwide to further the development of the game
3. To continue to link together existing leagues and associations and to encourage the formation of other leagues and associations in England
4. To formulate and interpret the rules of stoolball and to undertake a review every three years
5. All money raised on behalf of Stoolball England will be applied towards its aims and objectives and for no other purpose
Terms of Membership:
The classes of membership of Stoolball England are set out below:
1. Affiliated membership: Only a properly constituted stoolball association or league in England can become an affiliated member.
2. Associate membership: Individual stoolball clubs and non-affiliated organisations involved in the playing, coaching or organisation of the game in England can become associate members. Associate members can attend an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting but cannot vote.
3. Vice-President: This title is given in recognition of outstanding services to stoolball over a number of years and must first be approved at an Annual General Meeting. Nominations must be sent to the Secretary at least 21 days prior to a scheduled Annual General Meeting for inclusion in the agenda. The nomination must then be proposed and seconded before being put to the meeting for approval
4. Life member: This title shall be bestowed by the Executive Committee on an individual who in their opinion has provided extended and exemplary service above and beyond that usually expected; both to the committee and to the sport of stoolball in general over an extended period of time
5. Members of the Stoolball England Executive Committee.
Annual Subscriptions:
Each affiliated member or associate member shall pay an annual fee, appropriate to their class of membership, the amount to be decided annually at the Annual General Meeting. These fees are due on 1 April of each year payable to Stoolball England’s Treasurer.
Officers of Stoolball England:
The officers of Stoolball England will collectively form the Stoolball England Executive Committee. The term of office for all officers expires at the next Annual General Meeting but they can stand for re-election.
1. President
2. Chairman
3. Vice-Chairman
4. Secretary
5. Treasurer
6. A minimum of five additional officers to carry out specific roles within the organisation.
Executive Committee:
1. The affairs of Stoolball England shall be managed by the officers who will operate as an Executive Committee. At committee meetings a quorum of five officers must be present and, in the event of a tied vote, the Chairman has a casting vote.
2. The Executive Committee has power to co-opt additional officers to carry out specific roles within Stoolball England. Such additional officers shall serve in this capacity until the next Annual General Meeting at which time they can stand for election alongside the other officers.
3. The Executive Committee shall record:
  1. all appointments of officers
  2. the names of the officers and elected representatives from each affiliated member
  3. all resolutions and proceedings at all meetings of Stoolball England
4. The Executive Committee can adopt, change or remove bye-laws for the regulation of Stoolball England at any time. Any change to bye-laws requires at least 75% majority of all voting members to agree. Bye-laws are binding upon all members. Being unaware of a bye-law is not an acceptable reason not to comply with it.
5. The Executive Committee shall have the power to produce and/or endorse codes of practice and guidelines within its scope; to promote coaching and training of any aspects of the administration of the governing body; the accreditation of standards and to assist any other organisations who are involved in the promotion of the aims and objectives of Stoolball England.
6. The Executive Committee can act even if some officer roles are vacant; provided always that, if the Committee shall at any time be reduced in number to less than the minimum prescribed within this Constitution, they must first act to fill the vacancies to bring the membership back to the prescribed minimum before taking any further actions.
7. The Executive Committee shall have the power to appoint and dissolve sub-committees in order to further the aims and objectives of Stoolball England.
8. An Executive Committee member shall not vote at an Executive Committee meeting of Stoolball England or at a sub-committee meeting on any resolution concerning a matter in which he or she has directly or indirectly an interest or duty which may conflict with the interests of Stoolball England.
9. All meetings of the Executive Committee and sub-committees shall be confidential unless otherwise agreed.
10. The office of an Executive Committee member shall be terminated or vacated if such a member:
  1. behaves in a manner which is damaging to the character or interest of Stoolball England (see Item 14)
  2. by notice in writing to the Secretary resigns their office
  3. is directly or indirectly interested in any contract with Stoolball England and fails to declare the nature of their interest.
11. No Executive Committee member shall receive remuneration in respect of their duties save for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as an Executive Committee member where a valid receipt has been produced and accepted by the Treasurer.
Accounts:
1. All funds shall be banked with any bank or building society agreed by the Executive Committee
2. The financial year ends on 30 September and a balance sheet shall then be prepared by the Treasurer and the accounts examined independently
3. All cheques, drafts etc. drawn on the bank or building society account(s) shall be signed by any two from four members of the Executive Committee.
4. Inspection of all financial documents may be open to any officer of the Executive Committee, affiliated or associate member upon written request to the Secretary.
5. Online banking to be available for the Treasurer to pay authorised invoices.
Annual General Meeting:
The Annual General Meeting must be held before 1 December of each year. Not more than thirteen months shall elapse without an Annual General Meeting being held. The purpose of the Annual General Meeting shall be for:
1. The election of the officers of Stoolball England and new vice-presidents
2. The presentation of the independently examined accounts
3. A report on the year’s work of the Executive Committee
4. To agree the amount of the annual affiliation and associate membership fees for the forthcoming year
5. To elect the Independent Examiner who must be a chartered Accountant
  The agenda for the Annual General Meeting shall be sent to each affiliated/associate member and vice-president 14 days before the date set for the meeting.
Voting at General Meetings:
The representative of each affiliated member shall have one vote. Associate members cannot vote. The officers of the Executive Committee, Life Members and vice-presidents shall have one vote each. In the event of a tied vote, the Chairman has the casting vote. In order for an item to be discussed, the proposer and seconder must be present at the meeting.

In the event that an affiliated member’s representative is unable to attend an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting, a person appointed by the affiliated body may attend and vote in their place, or alternatively their proxy vote may be forwarded to the Chairman of Stoolball England appointing a person to act as proxy.

The letter of notification appointing a proxy shall be forwarded to the Chairman not less than 48 hours before the start of the meeting or adjourned meeting, at which the person named in the letter of notification proposes to vote. A letter of notification which does not arrive at least 48 hours before the start of the meeting shall be invalid. However, the Chairman may allow proxy voters to be nominated closer to the time of the meeting if he or she is satisfied that the nomination accurately reflects the wishes of the member organisation.
Quorum for Annual General Meeting:
The quorum for an Annual General Meeting shall be nine voting members. No motion shall be put to a meeting attended by less than that number.
Extraordinary General Meeting:
The officers of Stoolball England or the appointed representatives of three affiliated members shall have power to call an Extraordinary General Meeting. Fourteen days’ notice of the business to be discussed at the meeting shall be sent to all members of the Executive Committee and each affiliated and associate member. Such meeting must deal only with the business specified in the above-mentioned notice.
Amendments to the Constitution:
The Executive Committee will review the Constitution every three years. Amendments to the Constitution shall be approved by a simple majority at an Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for that purpose.
Dissolution:
A motion for the winding up of Stoolball England may be put at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for the purpose, on appropriate notice in writing to all members. Such a resolution should be passed by not less than 75% of the members in attendance at the meeting and entitled to vote.

Any assets of Stoolball England, after payment of all debts and liabilities, will not be paid or distributed amongst the officers of the Executive Committee but shall be given or transferred to a not for profit institution or institutions with similar objectives to Stoolball England for the benefit of stoolball or sport as a whole in England and shall be decided upon at this meeting on the agreement of a simple majority. No profits shall ever be paid out to individual members or officers of the Executive Committee at any time including on the dissolution of Stoolball England.
Conduct of members:
If the conduct of any member shall, in the opinion of the Executive Committee, be damaging to the character or interest of Stoolball England, the Executive Committee shall immediately consider the matter; invoke the relevant procedure and the offending member will forfeit all rights immediately.
Anti-Doping Statement:
Stoolball England recognises UK Anti-Doping as the UK’s National Anti-Doping Organisation (as that term is defined in the World Anti-Doping Code) and shall fully support UK Anti-Doping’s efforts in the fight against doping in sport, including respecting and promoting the principles of the UK National Anti-Doping Policy.
Equity Statement:
The equity aims of Stoolball England are to:
1. ensure that everyone has a genuine and equal opportunity to participate in stoolball at all levels and in all roles, whether playing or non-playing
2. ensure that all members of Stoolball England receive fair treatment
3. develop disciplinary procedures to ensure that all members of Stoolball England comply with this statement
4. continue to research equity issues to identify areas of concern and set goals or targets to enable the stated aims to be achieved.
Child Protection:
Stoolball England has a code of conduct for the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults.

In order to ensure that the code of conduct is adhered to, Stoolball England has a Welfare Officer who is responsible for overseeing the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults.

The Welfare Officer will ensure that:
1. the code of conduct is available to send to all members
2. in the event of a member of an affiliated body, associate member or Executive Committee member being accused of abuse, that person may be suspended from being connected with stoolball pending an internal or external investigation, as appropriate
3. criminal record checks shall be carried out on all adults who work, largely unsupervised, with children and/or vulnerable adults
Complaints:
All complaints shall be dealt with in accordance with Stoolball England’s published complaints procedure.