KINGSWOOD LAWN TENNIS CLUB – RULES

Effective May 2024

1 Name

The Club, established in 1925, is called “Kingswood Lawn Tennis Club” ("the Club").

2 Definitions

"the Chairman" means the person elected from time to time to be the Chairman of the Club in accordance with Rule 9;

"the CLTA" means the Surrey County Lawn Tennis Association;

"the Honorary Secretary" means the person elected from time to time to be the Honorary Secretary of the Club in accordance with Rule 9;

"the Honorary Treasurer" means the person elected from time to time to be the Honorary Treasurer of the Club in accordance with Rule 9;

“the Men’s Captain means the person elected from time to time to be the Men’s Captain of the Club in accordance with Rule 9;

“the Ladies’ Captain means the person elected to be the Ladies Captain of the Club in accordance with Rule 9;

"the LTA" means The Lawn Tennis Association (the governing body of lawn tennis within Great Britain, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man);

"the Committee" means the Committee appointed under Rule 9 to manage the Club;

"the Members" means the Members of the Club admitted from time to time to membership of the Club in accordance with Rule 5;

"the Directors" means the persons appointed from time to time to be the Directors of The Kingswood Lawn Tennis Club Ltd in accordance with Rule 17.

“general meeting” means an Annual General Meeting (AGM) or an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)

2.1 Words denoting the singular number include the plural number and vice versa.

3 Objects

The objects of the Club are:

(a) principally to provide facilities for lawn tennis and generally to promote, encourage and facilitate the playing of lawn tennis in the area of Kingswood;

(b) to provide and maintain Club premises at Kingswood and club-owned tennis equipment for the use of its Members;

(c) to provide other ordinary benefits of an amateur sports club as set out in Schedule 18 of the Finance Act 2002 including without limitation provision of suitably qualified coaches, coaching courses, insurance, refreshments;

(d) to sell or supply food or drink as a social adjunct to the sporting purposes of the Club;

(e) to affiliate to the CLTA (and by doing so affiliate to the LTA) and to comply with and uphold the Rules and Regulations of the CLTA and the LTA as amended from time to time and the rules and regulations of any body to which the LTA is affiliated;

(f) to operate and turn to account in any way for the members' benefit the tennis court facilities of the Club together with buildings and easements, fixtures and fittings and accessories as shall be thought advisable;

(g) to make rules, regulations, bye-laws and standing orders concerning the operation of the Club including without limitation regulations concerning disciplinary procedures that may be taken against the Members;

(h) to discipline the Members where permitted by its Rules/Regulations and to refer its Members to be disciplined by the LTA or the CLTA (as appropriate) where so required by the Rules and Regulations of the LTA or the CLTA (as the case may be);

(i) to make donations or offer support to lawn tennis clubs where such clubs are charities or Community Amateur Sports Clubs;

(j) to do all such other things as the Committee thinks fit to further the interests of the Club or to be incidental or conducive to the attainment of all or any of the objects stated in this Rule 3.

4 Application of Surplus Funds

4.1 The Club is a non-profit making organisation. All surpluses will be used to maintain or improve the Club's facilities and in furtherance of the Club's objects. No surplus will be distributed other than to another community amateur sports club for lawn tennis, to the LTA for use in community related lawn tennis initiatives, or to a charitable organisation, on winding-up or dissolution of the Club.

4.2 Nothing in Rule 4.1 shall prevent the Club from entering an agreement with a Member for the supply by him to the Club of goods or services or for his employment by the Club, provided that such arrangements are approved by the Committee (without the member being present) and are agreed with the Member on an arm’s length basis.

5 Membership

5.1 Eligibility for membership

5.1.1 Persons of either sex are eligible for full membership provided they are at least 18 years old. No person shall be denied membership of the Club on the grounds of race, ethnic origin, creed, colour, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, occupation, religion, political or other beliefs.

5.1.2 Persons below the age of 18 are eligible to join as Junior Members without the right to hold office or vote at general meetings.

5.1.3 At the discretion of the Committee the number of playing Members may be limited commensurate with available facilities and the number of Social Non-playing Members may be limited if this is considered to be in the best interests of the Club.

5.1.4 Membership shall not be transferable in any circumstances.

5.2 Admission of Members

5.2.1 Adult applications to join the Club must be through the Membership Secretary and on acceptance are subject to a probationary period of six months. All applications must include the applicant’s address. Should new members behave in a way that the Committee believes is inappropriate during that probationary period, then the committee can terminate their membership and refund the appropriate subscription from the period remaining.

5.2.2 Although the Club does not operate a “playing in” policy, the Committee reserves the right to require any Member whose standard of play it considers so justifies to undertake a course of tennis tuition, at the Member’s expense, before playing in any of the Club’s open sessions.

5.2.3 The Committee may grant temporary membership to short-term visitors to the area.

5.2.4 The Committee may at its absolute discretion confer honorary membership of the Club on any Member of the Club whom the Committee considers merits the honour by reason of that Member’s distinguished service to the Club.

5.2.5 The Committee may defer consideration of any potential application for up to 3 months.

5.3 Classes of Members

There shall be the following classes of Membership of the Club:

Classes of Membership Definition

Adult Full Adults entitled to use Club facilities at all times

Adult Weekday Adults entitled to use Club facilities except at weekends

Adult Student Students enrolled at University or College, aged 18 to 25

Junior 10-17 Young people aged 10 to 17 years inclusive

Junior Young people aged under 10

Young people aged under 10 years

Social Non-Playing Member entitled to use all Club facilities except courts

Honorary Any class of Membership if granted by the Committee, to be enjoyed without subscription

5.4 Subscriptions

5.4.1 Subscriptions will be due on the renewal date as identified on the online membership system. For renewing members, subscription payments to the club need to be continuous to qualify for the renewal discount.

5.4.2 The entrance fee and annual subscription for each type of Member shall be determined from time to time by the Committee, provided that the Committee shall use its best endeavours to ensure that the fees set by it do not preclude membership of the Club. The Committee has the discretion to make special arrangements for the payment of entrance fees or subscriptions where this would be beneficial to the Club.

5.4.3 No candidate who has applied for membership shall be entitled to the privileges of membership until the entrance fee (if any) and first annual subscription have been paid. The Committee will determine the subscription due for any new member who joins after 1 April.

5.4.4 Any member whose entrance fee or subscription is not paid on the relevant renewal date shall be deemed to have resigned membership of the Club.

6 Cessation of Membership

6.1 A Member may withdraw from membership of the Club at any time by clear notice to the Honorary

Secretary.

6.2 Membership shall cease immediately on:

6.2.1 Death of a Member;

6.2.2 The failure of the Member to comply with any condition of membership set out in these Rules;

6.2.3 Dissolution of the Club.

7 Expulsion

7.1 The Committee shall have power to expel a Member when, in its opinion, it would not be in the interests of the sport or of the Club for that person to remain a Member.

7.2 A Member shall not be expelled unless given 14 days' written notice of:

7.2.1 The meeting of the Committee at which the expulsion shall be considered; and

7.2.2 Written details of the reasons for considering expulsion.

7.3 The Member shall be given an opportunity to make written representations and/or to appear before the Committee and at any such meeting to be accompanied by a representative or friend, who may answer complaints made against the Member and may cross-examine any witnesses on behalf of the Member.

7.4 The Member must not be expelled unless at least two-thirds of the Committee then present vote in favour of expulsion.

7.5 The Committee may exclude the Member from the Club's premises until the meeting considering the expulsion has been held. For the avoidance of doubt, the Member shall however be entitled to attend the Club’s premises for that meeting.

8 Effect of Resignation or Expulsion

Any person ceasing to be a Member forfeits all right to and claim upon the Club, its property and its funds and has no right to the return of any part of his or her subscription. However, the Committee may refund an appropriate part of a resigning or expelled Member's subscription if it considers it appropriate taking account of all the circumstances.

9 The Committee

9.1 Membership of Committee

9.1.1 The Club shall be managed by a Committee consisting of the following Officers:

(a) the Chair;

(b) the Honorary Secretary;

(c) the Honorary Treasurer;

(d) the Men’s Captain;

(e) the Ladies’ Captain;

and, in the discretion of the Committee, up to nine other Committee Members to fill such roles as the Committee considers necessary or appropriate.

9.1.2 Members of the Committee must be adult Members of the Club. They must have been Members for at least 12 months prior to their nomination and, at some stage, have been playing Members of the Club for a continuous period of at least 12 months.

9.1.3 No person remunerated to perform services for the Club may be a member of the Committee.

9.1.4 No person shall be permitted to stand for election to the Committee, or remain on the Committee, if, in the opinion of the majority of the Members of the Committee, that person would have a conflict of interest in serving in that capacity.

9.2 Election, Appointment, Retirement and Vacation of Office

9.2.1 Candidates for the posts referred to in Rule 9.1 shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

9.2.1 Nominations for election to the Committee may be made either by the Committee or by any Member with a seconder. Any nominations need to be with the Honorary Secretary at least 14 days in advance of the AGM. The Chairman of the AGM has the discretion to accept any nomination received less than 14 days before the AGM.

9.2.2 Prior to the AGM the Committee shall endeavour to ensure that there are at least two nominations from Members who are not currently members of the Committee.

9.2.3 Any candidate for any Committee position must receive a majority of the votes cast in order to be elected. If more than one candidate is validly nominated for any of the posts, there shall be a secret ballot of Voting Members present for that post, with the successful candidate receiving a majority of the votes cast. In addition any two Voting Members may require any vote for a post on the Committee, whether contested or not, to be by secret ballot.

9.2.4 If any position on the Committee is left vacant at an AGM or becomes vacant at any time, the Committee is empowered to appoint a Member to fill the vacancy until the following AGM. The Committee may also appoint one further Member to serve as a member of the Committee until the following AGM where, in the opinion of the Committee, that person’s membership of the Committee would make a useful contribution to the management of the Club.

9.2.5 A member of the Committee shall be deemed to have vacated office if the member:

(a) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his or her creditors generally;

or

(b) is, in the unanimous opinion of the rest of the Committee having taken independent medical advice, suffering from a mental disorder preventing him or her from carrying out the duties of a member of the Committee; or

(c) resigns office by notice to the Club; or

(d) has been absent for more than three consecutive meetings of the Committee without permission of the Committee and without sufficient reason and the rest of the Committee resolves unanimously that his or her office be vacated; or

(e) is suspended from holding office or from taking part in any activity relating to the administration or management of the Club by a decision of the CLTA or the LTA;

10 Proceedings of the Committee

10.1 Committee meetings shall be held as often as the Committee thinks fit provided that there shall not be less than four meetings each year.

10.2 The Chairman and the Honorary Secretary shall each have discretion to call emergency meetings of the Committee if they consider it to be in the interests of the Club. Any four other members of the Committee may also request the Honorary Secretary, in writing, to call an emergency meeting of the Committee. In all such cases the emergency meeting must be held within fourteen days.

10.3 The Honorary Secretary shall give all the members of the Committee not less than ten days' notice of a meeting and shall send an agenda for the meeting to all members of the Committee not less than four days before the meeting.

10.4 The quorum for all Committee meetings shall not be less that 5 but, subject to that minimum limit, shall be half the number of individuals who are Members of the Committee at the date of the meeting. If a quorum is not present, then matters related to Club business may be discussed, but no decisions may be taken.

10.5 The Chairman shall be the chairman of the Committee. Unless unwilling to do so, the Chairman shall preside at every meeting of the Committee. But if there is no person holding that office, or if the Chairman is unwilling to preside or is for any reason unable to attend the meeting, the Members of the Committee present at the meeting shall appoint one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.

10.6 Except as provided for in Rule 7.4, decisions of the Committee shall be made by a simple majority and in the event of an equality of votes the Chairman (or the acting chairman of that meeting) shall have an additional, casting vote.

10.7 The Committee may from time to time appoint from among Members of the Club such sub-committees as it considers necessary and may delegate to them such of the powers and duties of the Committee as the Committee may determine. All sub-committees shall periodically report their proceedings to the Committee and shall conduct their business in accordance with the directions of the Committee.

10.8 The Committee may make Bye-laws to run the Club. Any Bye-laws may be brought into effect immediately, but must be confirmed at a general meeting.

10.9 The Committee may also invite the Club coach or coaches, Members and non-Members to attend one or more meetings of the Committee, or a sub-committee, where the Committee considers the presence of such persons would be beneficial to the deliberations of the Committee or sub-committee.

10.10 The Committee may assign specific responsibilities for the management of the club to Members of the Committee, including but not limited to acting as junior representative, grounds manager, coaching liaison officer, communications officer and social events organiser.

10.11 The Committee shall be responsible for the management of the Club and shall have the sole right of appointing and determining the terms and conditions of service of employees and other persons engaged to perform services for the Club.

10.12 The Committee shall have power to enter into contracts for the purposes of the Club on behalf of all the Members.

10.13 Every member of the Committee, employee or agent of the Club shall be indemnified by the Club and the Committee shall pay all costs, losses and expenses which any such member of the Committee, employee or agent may incur or for which he or she may become liable by reason of any contract entered into or act or thing done by him or her in good faith as such member of the Committee, employee or agent in accordance with the instructions of the Committee or of a general meeting of the Club or otherwise in the discharge of his or her duties. The Committee may give to any member of the Committee, employee or agent of the Club who has incurred or may be about to incur any liability at the request of or for the benefit of the Club such security by way of indemnity as may seem expedient.

10.14 The Committee shall keep the Members informed in a timely fashion of any changes in the membership of the Committee and of major decisions concerning the Club.

10.15 Committee meetings may be held online.

11 Annual general meeting (AGM)

11.1 The AGM of the Club shall be held each year before 31 December. The Honorary Secretary shall give Members at least 28 days notice by post or email of the AGM, together with notice of any posts vacant on the Committee.

11.2 Notice of any resolution proposed to be moved at the AGM shall be given in writing to the Honorary Secretary not less than 14 days before the meeting.

11.3 The agenda, together with any nominations for posts on the Committee and any resolutions proposed, shall be posted on the Club notice boards at least 7 days before the meeting takes place and shall be sent to any members who so request in writing.

11.4 The AGM shall transact the following business:

(a) receive the Chairman's report of the activities of the Club during the previous year;

(b) receive and consider the accounts of the Club for the previous year, the auditor's report on the accounts and the Honorary Treasurer's report as to the financial position of the Club;

(c) appoint the auditor or confirm that he remain in office;

(d) receive and consider the report of other officers of the Committee and the report of the coaching

team;

(e) elect the Officers and other members of the Committee defined in Rule 9.1.1;

(f) decide on any resolution which may be duly submitted in accordance with Rule 11.2 and included on the agenda for the meeting;

(g) deal with any special matters which the Committee desires to bring before the membership and which have been included on the agenda for the meeting;

(h) consider and adopt any amendments to the Rules in accordance with Rule 14 and which have been included on the agenda for the meeting;

(i) confirm the Bye-laws, or any amendments made thereto by the Committee under Rule 10.8 and which have been set out on the agenda for the meeting;.

(j) deal with any other business which is considered by the Chairman to be appropriate.

12 Extraordinary general meeting (EGM)

12.1 An EGM shall be called where:

12.1.1 The Committee requests the Honorary Secretary to call an EGM; or

12.1.2 A written request to call an EGM is addressed to the Honorary Secretary signed by at least 50 or one third of voting members, whichever is the lesser.

12.2 The request shall state the matter or matters to be discussed at the EGM.

12.3 On receipt of a valid request for an EGM, the Honorary Secretary shall call the EGM within 42 days of the receipt of the request.

12.4 The Honorary Secretary will give Members at least 21 days notice by post or email of the date of the EGM and a copy of the agenda. The agenda will only include the specific matter or matters in the request and will not have an "Any Other Business" item.

12.5 If any further valid requests for an EGM are received within 21 days of the initial request, the Honorary Secretary has the discretion to decide whether to arrange for a single EGM or separate EGMs to discuss all of the matters raised by the requests.

13 Procedures at general meetings

13.1 The quorum for a general meeting shall be 20 voting Members present in person or, at the discretion of the Committee, by proxy,

13.2 The Chairman shall preside at every general meeting at which he or she is present. But if there is no person holding that office, or if the Chairman is unwilling to preside or is for any reason unable to attend the meeting, the Members of the Committee present at the meeting shall appoint one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.

13.3 All Members are encouraged to attend and speak at general meetings. However, only playing Members over the age of 18 shall be entitled to vote.

13.4 Subject to the provisions of Rules 9.2.2, 9.2.3, 14 and 16, all decisions at general meetings shall be by simple majority of those present in person or, at the discretion of the Committee, by proxy.

13.5 The minutes of the general meeting shall be posted on the Club notice board no later than four weeks after the meeting and sent to those Members who so request in writing.

13.6 The format of and the requirements for the completion of any proxy voting form distributed to members shall be at the sole discretion of the Committee.

14 Rule change

14.1 Only a general meeting may pass a motion to change the Club’s Rules.

14.2 The Committee or a Member plus a seconder may propose such a motion.

14.3 The Honorary Secretary must receive notification of such a motion at least 14 days before the date of the general meeting and will place the matter on the agenda of the meeting.

14.4 To succeed, a motion to amend the Rules of the Club requires a two-thirds majority of those present and voting in person or, at the discretion of the Committee, by proxy.

15 Finance

15.1 All moneys payable to the Club shall be received by the Honorary Treasurer and shall be deposited in a bank account in the name of the Club.

15.2 No sum shall be drawn from that account except by cheque signed by the Honorary Treasurer and one other member of the Committee who is an authorised signatory of the account.

15.3 No expenditure in excess of £20,000 may be incurred by the Committee unless authorised in advance by a general meeting.

15.4 Subject to Rule 16.3, the income and property of the Club shall be applied only in furtherance of the objects of the Club and no part thereof shall be paid by way of bonus, dividend or profit to any Member.

15.5 The Committee shall have power to authorise the payment of remuneration and expenses to any Member or employee of the Club and to any other person or persons for services rendered to the Club.

15.6 The financial transactions of the Club shall be recorded by the Honorary Treasurer and reported to the Committee in such manner and at such times as the Committee thinks fit.

15.7 Full accounts of the financial affairs of the Club shall be prepared each year. A report on these accounts shall be prepared by an auditor. The accounts must be made available to every Member who attends the AGM or requests a copy in writing.

16 Dissolution

16.1 A resolution to dissolve the Club shall be proposed only at an extraordinary general meeting and shall be passed only if carried by a majority of at least three-quarters of the Members present and voting, provided this represents at least two-thirds of membership of Club eligible to vote.

16.2 The dissolution shall take effect from the date of the resolution and the members of the Committee shall be responsible for the winding-up of the assets and liabilities of the Club.

16.3 Any property remaining after the discharge of the debts and liabilities of the Club shall be paid to or distributed to the LTA for use in community related tennis initiatives, to another community amateur sports club for lawn tennis or to a charity.

17 The Kingswood Lawn Tennis Club Limited

17.1 The Kingswood Lawn Tennis Club Limited (KLTC Ltd), which is legally distinct from the Club, owns the freehold of the land the Club uses. The shareholders of KLTC hold their shares on behalf of the Club and have each signed a Declaration of Trust to that effect.

17.2 At each AGM of the Club the Committee will report the names of current Directors and Company Secretary of KLTC Ltd and will report any issues affecting the Club or members’ interests.

18 Compliance with LTA Disciplinary Code, Policies and Rules

In order to comply with the LTA and KLTC Disciplinary Code, Policies (including the Safeguarding and Welfare Policies, the Diversity and Inclusion Policy, the Data Protection and Privacy Policy, and the Health and Safety Policy) and Rules, each member agrees to be bound by and be subject to the Disciplinary Code, Policies and Rules from time to time in force of the governing body of the game of lawn tennis in Great Britain (“the LTA”) or approved by the Committee, as are from time to time promulgated by the LTA or the Committee. This Rule confers a benefit on and is intended to be enforceable by the LTA by virtue of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.