1. Title and Object
a. The club shall be called “OLD ST. MARY’S FOOTBALL CLUB”, hereafter called “the club”.
b. The object of the club shall be to provide competitive and friendly Association Football for the club members.
c. A club member is defined as a person who has fully paid up membership subscription for the current season. The committee constituted under Rule 3a shall determine the classes of membership. (membership is at the discretion of the committee.)
d. The Club consists of its members.
e. The club colours shall be tangerine and green.
2. Affiliation
a. The club shall be affiliated to and be subject to the rules of i) The Amateur Football Alliance, ii) The Amateur Football Combination, iii) The London Old Boy’s Cup, and their affiliations.
3. Constitution
a. The club shall elect, each year, at the Annual General Meeting, a committee of officers to manage the club.
b. The committee shall consist of all officers of the club, who shall be: Hon. Chairman Hon. Secretary Hon. Treasurer Hon. Match Secretary Hon. Social Secretary Captain and Vice Captain of each XI
c. The committee shall exercise the powers given by these rules and also administer the club and its property.
d. All decisions of the committee shall be determined by a simple majority vote. Where a vote by the club officer’s committee or by the annual general meeting is tied, the chairman or acting chairman will have a casting vote (i.e. he/she will vote a second time).
e. Any club member may be proposed by himself or any other member, with a seconder, for any office, providing said proposal is received by the Hon. Secretary by the date specified in the notice of meeting. In the event that no proposal is received prior to the meeting a proposal and a seconder may be accepted from the floor of the meeting, at the discretion of the meeting.
f. In the event of an officer resigning, being removed or becoming unfit or incapable of acting, or should there be no nominations at the A.G.M., the committee may co-opt a member to fill the vacancy. Any member so chosen shall retire but be eligible for election at the next A.G.M.
4. General Meetings
a. An A.G.M. requires the presence of no less than 20% of the membership to be deemed a quorum.
b. An E.G.M. may be called by no less than 12 members in writing to the Hon. Secretary, stating precisely the purpose for which the meeting is to be called and signed by the 12 members. On receipt all members shall be circulated with a notice of meeting by the Secretary as soon thereafter as is practicable.
c. An E.G.M. requires the presence of no less than 25% of the membership to be deemed a quorum.
d. At an A.G.M. or an E.G.M., a simple majority of those members present is required to carry each or any proposal.
e. A “Notice of Meeting” shall be circulated to all members fourteen days prior to the date of the meeting.
f. The “Notice of Meeting” shall carry details of the agenda. Only items on the agenda may be voted upon at the meeting. Any other issues raised shall be for discussion only.
g. A proposal may be included as an agenda item, provided it is received by the Hon. Secretary, in writing, in time for inclusion in the Notice of Meeting. All proposals must be signed by i) the proposer and ii) a seconder.
h. AGMs will normally be in person but may be virtual where required.
5. Powers of Committee
a. The committee shall settle and adjudicate upon any dispute arising in the club. They shall make, amend and repeal such rules and practices as they may from time to time consider necessary for the well being of the club. Any amendments to the rules will be immediately notified, in writing, to the members, and such rules and practices shall have effect until ratified or set aside by the committee or by a General Meeting.
b. The committee shall consider and rule on all suggestions made in writing by the members.
c. Sub-committees may be selected from the officers and from other members of the club for any purpose the committee may consider advisable.
d. The committee shall hold not less than 3 meetings a year (not including general meetings).
e. A committee meeting requires the presence of no less than 4 club officers to be deemed a quorum.
f. Committee meetings will normally be in person but may be virtual where required.
6. Register of Members
a. The Hon. Secretary shall maintain a register of members in which shall be recorded their names, addresses, telephone numbers and membership status. The register shall be open for inspection by members at all reasonable times.
b. Members shall notify the Hon. Secretary of any change of address and all notices sent to them at their address so registered shall be considered to be duly delivered on the day following the date of posting.
7. Discipline
a. When considering all discipline matters, the Chair shall convene a meeting of at least three Club Officers who will form a disciplinary committee to adjudicate.
b. In addition to the A.F.C or A.F.A. rules, the committee reserves the right to impose any fine and/or suspensions that it deems appropriate.
c. In all cases, a member who has been cautioned and/or dismissed shall receive a letter from the Hon. Secretary and, if deemed necessary, stating the punishment that the committee deems appropriate.
d. Any player fined by either the i) the A.F.A. or ii) the club, shall be personally responsible for payment. Payment must be made immediately, unless an appeal is lodged with the appropriate body.
e. The committee reserves the right to refuse or rescind the membership of any individual.
f. A member may lodge an appeal with the committee in respect of any disciplinary measure that may be imposed by the committee. Any such appeal must be made, in writing, to the Hon. Secretary within fourteen days of receipt of the disciplinary letter.
g. Members are entitled to request a personal hearing.
h. Any appeal shall be subject to no further appeals.
8. Selection
a. Selection will be made by the Captain and Vice Captain of each team.
b. Each team will be selected from the strongest playing members available, although individual commitment to the club will be taken into account.
c. Attendance at club training sessions will be viewed as one of the factors indicative of commitment.
d. The 1st team for the next Saturday must be confirmed to the 2nd team captain by 18.00 on the previous Sunday evening. The 2nd team must be confirmed to the 3rd team captain by 20.30 on Monday. There should be no alterations to the first two teams after 22.00 on Wednesday.
e. If a player who has been selected drops out of a team, it is the responsibility of the captain for that team to make sure that all lower teams affected play with a full complement of players.
f. Players will not be “dropped” by more than one team on successive weeks, unless agreed by both captains. If no agreement can be reached, the captain of the lower team shall concede.
g. As and when the need arises non-members may be selected from time to time. Any non-member so selected shall not take precedence over a club member and shall only be selected for the most junior team.
h. If a player has not paid his match subs for three consecutive weeks, or owes a total of three weeks non-consecutive, he will not be available for selection the following week until the monies owed are paid.
Subscriptions
a. An annual subscription shall be set for the various classes of membership at the AGM. Individuals shall not be eligible to play unless the appropriate (non-refundable) subscription has been received by the Hon. Treasurer by the required date. The required date for receipt of subscriptions shall be announced before the start of each season and may be amended depending on the requirements of the club, the Amateur Football Alliance, Amateur Football Combination or other governing bodies. Individuals are also not eligible to play until all monies owed are paid in full.
b. The committee shall determine the period to be covered by the annual subscription for the season.
c. School students will receive free membership but will pay a match fee. A school student is defined as anyone aged 17 or under on 31 August of the incoming season.
10. Club Finances
a. A bank account shall be opened and maintained in the name of the club (the “club account”). Designated account signatories shall be the club chairperson, the club secretary and the treasurer. All monies payable to the club shall be received by the treasurer and deposited in the club account.
b. The club committee shall have the power to authorise payment of remuneration and expenses to any member of the club (although the club shall not remunerate a member for playing) and to any other person or persons for services rendered to the club.
c. The club shall prepare an annual profit and loss account. The profit and loss account shall be verified by an independent appropriately qualified accountant and shall be approved by members at General Meeting.
11. Complaints
a. All complaints, disputes, protests or claims should be notified to the Hon. Secretary, in writing, within seven days of the circumstances arising. The committee shall consider the same at the next committee meeting or, a special committee meeting if appropriate and take such action, if any, it deems appropriate.
12. Liability Disclaimer
a. The club has very limited basic group personal accident insurance and no cover for personal property. Members are strongly urged to make their own arrangements for adequate insurance cover.
13. Codes of Conduct
a. The club has adopted the FA Respect Codes of Conduct for i) Players ii) Coaches/Managers iii) Team Officials iv) Spectators
By Order of the Committee 2018