Bye-Law 6: Athletic Union

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ATHLETIC UNION

Athletic Union Council

1. There shall be an Athletic Union Council (also known as “AU Council”), which shall be the governing body of the Athletic Union.

2. The Athletic Union Council shall be accountable to Union Council.

3. The Athletic Union Council shall comprise of:

3.1. Vice President Achievement and Belonging (non-voting)

3.2. Activities Coordinator (competitive sport)

3.3. The Chair of each club or, in the case of the Chair being unable to attend, another member of that club’s committee (ideally the Secretary)

4. The Athletic Union Council shall:

4.1. be responsible for the administration and coordination of all affiliated student sports clubs at Buckinghamshire New University

4.2. provide an opportunity for sports clubs to collaborate on projects with societies as well as each other.

4.3. approve the affiliations of new Athletic Union clubs into Bucks Students’ Union

4.4. elect a student chair in the first or second meeting of a new academic year

4.5. vote on matters concerning the sports clubs/teams, when voting each club will have one vote.

5. The Athletic Union Council will meet a minimum of five times during University Term time.

6. The quorum shall be 50% plus one of the clubs affiliated to the Athletic Union at that time.

7. Failure to send a representative of a club will result in a host of possible actions, ranging from being fined £10, to a reduction in transport support to training. Failure to attend three consecutive meetings without any reason given will result in your club being suspended.

Affiliation

8. Any sports club may be considered for affiliation by the Athletic Union Council provided that the club presents a constitution including:

8.1. Completed a risk assessment

8.2. A full committee

8.3. Minisite form

8.4. Welcome presentation

9. Any sports club seeking affiliation must also have: 9.1. it is a BUCS Championship sport and/or allows its members to represent the University.

10. Any club failing to meet criterion [9] may still seek affiliation by submitting a written request to the Vice President Achievement and Belonging detailing:

10.1. Why the club should be allowed to form without the required competitive element.

10.2. What actions are to be put in place to increase membership.

10.3. How they would ensure the club’s longevity This request will then be submitted to the Finance and Planning committee who will put their recommendations forward to the Athletic Union Council.

11. If the sports club does not fulfil both criteria [9] and [10] then they should consider affiliation as a society.

Affiliated Athletic Union Teams

12. Membership shall be open to all members as defined in Clause 12 of Bucks Students’ Union Constitution:

12.1. each and every student who has not opted out by notifying Buckinghamshire New University of their wish not to be a Member of the Union; and

12.2. the Eabbatical Officers of the Union.

13. All playing club members must register their membership on the Bucks Students’ Union website and BUCS play for their chosen sport, no later than their first training session after trials, otherwise they will not be allowed to compete.

14. All social team members must register their membership on the Bucks Students’ Union website for their chosen social sports team.

15. All club and social members will adhere to the policies as laid out in the Athletic Union Handbook, available online from the Students’ Union website.

16. Sports club elections will be held in accordance with Bye-Law 4: Elections.

17. Teams must give due consideration to the health and safety implications of their activities. Where activities present significant level of risk to participants or others, they must produce a separate risk assessment.

18. A club’s Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Captain and Welfare Liaison must attend compulsory committee training and complete all compulsory documents.

Team Accounts

19. All club accounts are to be held with the Students’ Union. No other accounts (e.g. bank) shall be held by a club member.

20. All income received on behalf of the club shall be paid into its account with the Students’ Union. No team shall obtain a loan from any source other than the Students’ Union.

21. All expenditures on behalf of the club shall be paid out of its account with the Students’ Union. All expenditures shall be agreed with the relevant member of Students’ Union staff and spent to further the aims of that team.

22. All the equipment purchased by the club remains the property of the Students’ Union.

23. Details of any sponsorship deals being negotiated by a club should be notified to the Student Activities Manager before any contract is entered into. The Athletic Union does not permit sponsorship from pubs, taxi firms, nightclubs or daytime eateries.

24. At year end each team should have a minimum of £150 in their account which is either fundraising or sponsorship for use at the start of the next academic year. Any unspent grant money will be returned to the Students’ Union.

25. Operational details for club’s accounts will be updated regularly in the Athletics Union Handbook, available online from the Students’ Union website.

Removal of a Committee Member

26. The removal of a committee member can happen in several ways.

26.1. It can be decided by a two thirds majority at a general meeting of the club. The process for this can be found in the Athletic Union Handbook.

26.2. A committee member can also be removed as a consequence of a disciplinary procedure.

26.3. If for any reason an officer is unable to fulfil their duties, they may step down by sending an email to the Activities Coordinator (Competitive sport) or be subject to being removed by the outlined above. A by-election will then be held to fill the vacant position.

Rules to call an AGM and a General Meeting

27. Members of the club/society may call a general meeting at any time.

28. An AGM and a general meeting shall be called by at least 14 working days’ written notice.

29. Notice of general meetings shall be given to every member of the club/society 29.1. A general meeting notice will only be deemed valid if it is signed by the proposer and 4 co-signatories.

29.2. Signatures must be submitted to the Student Activities Office who will validate the signatures and approve the meeting.

30. The Students’ Union will be responsible for promoting the General Meeting, liaising with the club/society to agree practicalities.

31. Every notice calling an AGM and a general meeting shall specify the place, day and time of the meeting and the general nature of the business to be discussed. All papers must be circulated to members at least 5 working days in advance of the General Meeting.

32. AGMs and general meetings may be carried out at one single venue or simultaneously at separate venues with a video real-time link between all the venues. If attending virtually the camera must be on and there should only be valid members of that club or society in the room. At the start of such meetings, each venue must indicate by majority vote that they are satisfied with the meeting set-up and technology.

33. Only students who hold an online membership (irrespective of whether they have participated) at the point the request to hold a general meeting was submitted will be eligible to vote.

34. Members must bring their Student ID cards to the general meeting to vote. For those attending virtually, these will need to be shown to the camera on request.

35. No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum is present.

36. Quorum shall be 50% of a club/society’s members and must be reached within 30 minutes of the scheduled start of the general meeting.

37. Where the general meeting fails to achieve quorum a second general meeting must be called.

38. In the event that the second general meeting fails to achieve quorum standard business can be referred to the committee. However, decisions to remove a committee member may only be taken by a general meeting.

39. A member of staff will be attendance at AGMS and general meetings to oversee any debate and subsequent vote, acting as deputy returning officer.

40. The Union’s CEO or Deputy CEO will serve as returning officer

41. The returning office and deputy returning officer reserve the right to make rulings on eligibility where they deem members have been enlisted to influence the outcome of a vote.

42. Decisions pertaining to removal of committee members require a two thirds majority

43. Other decisions require a simple majority

Suspension

44. A club/team will be classed as “suspended” if:

44.1. their committee has not completed all the compulsory paperwork by the deadline given (before their first fixture)

44.2. the club has failed to send a representative to three consecutive meetings of Athletic Union Council, without a reason being given

44.3. the club has failed to hold an Annual General Meeting in the past 12 months

44.4. its members of the club are found to have departed from the Member Code of Conduct or contravened the Union Constitution or any Bye-Laws.

44.5. the club is deemed to have awarded too many walkovers and incurred financial penalties

45. Suspension for either reason prohibits any club from running events or activities in the Students’ Union name.

46. When a club is suspended, the Students’ Union accepts no responsibility for any events that this club holds.

47. Suspension of a club/team will impose the following penalties:

47.1. The accounts of the club in question will be blocked. This means that no withdrawals can be made from their account

47.2. Union services will be stopped for this club, including the hiring of buses, the use of equipment, and the booking of rooms

47.3. Any promotion usually undertaken by the Students’ Union will be stopped for that club

47.4. The club in question cannot use the Students’ Union name on any publicity.

48. Suspension under the terms of [27] may also lead to any or all of the following disciplinary actions:

48.1. Fines to individuals or the club to cover costs

48.2. Expulsion from the Athletic Union of an individual and/or team

48.3. Suspension or expulsion from your team

48.4. Withdrawing individuals or the team from BUCS/relevant league

48.5. Banned from competing

48.6. Banned from the venue and other Union activities/facilities

48.7. Cancellation of fixtures leading to walkovers and points penalties

48.8. Withdrawal from competitions

48.9. Withdrawal of privileges e.g. ‘Takeovers’, ‘Tour’ etc.

49. If evidence is supplied in relation to point [27] to the Sabbatical Officers, Chief Executive Officer or a Senior Manager the following procedure shall be followed:

49.1. The Senior manager shall notify the committee of the club concerned.

49.2. The Senior manager shall invite the committee of the club to speak at a panel consisting of a member of the Senior Management Team, one Student Trustee, the Vice President Education and Welfare, Vice President Education and Welfare Uxbridge and Aylesbury, one External Trustee and the HR Manager where the matter is to be discussed.

49.3. The panel as laid out in [32.2] shall make the decision and impose any or all the actions in [35].

49.4. The panel as laid out in [32.2] shall report their findings and any disciplinary actions to Athletic Union Council.

49.5. In the instance that the club do not agree with the action, they should follow the complaints and appeals procedures.

49.6. The Trustee Board, excluding the Trustees who were part of the original decision, will have the final decision.

50. The Student Activities Manager will notify all relevant parties (students and staff) of the status of suspensions on a regular basis.

51. A club’s full status will be re-instated when all training and paperwork is completed or the disciplinary action has run its course.

Disaffiliation of Clubs

52. A club will automatically be deemed disaffiliated after having been suspended for one academic year unless the provisions laid out by the panel [32.2] are longer, in which case they will be deemed disaffiliated at the end of the provision.

53. If the club have not complied with the findings of the panel [32.2] the Vice President Achievement and Belonging may recommend a club for disaffiliation.

54. Athletic Union Council will vote on this recommendation.

55. In the instance that the club do not agree with the action proposed, Trustee Board, excluding the Trustees who were part of the original decision, will have the final decision.

56. If a club has been disaffiliated, restarting it will be treated as affiliation of a new club.

Dissolution

57. If the club fails to function as a club over the course of three years, the money that is sitting in their fundraising account will be put forward to Finance and Staffing who will determine where this money goes.

End

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