ABOUT US

RULES

  1. The Club shall be called the Rudgwick Lawn Tennis Club, and shall be a members’ Club.

Object

  1. The objectives of the Club are to provide facilities to play tennis in Rudgwick and to promote and encourage the playing of tennis in Rudgwick. The game shall be governed by the Rules of the Lawn Tennis Association.

Officers, Committee, and Trustees

  1. The officers of the Club shall consist of a Chairman, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer. The management of the Club shall be vested in the General Committee, comprising Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and a number of other members. The officers and other members of the Club’s General Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). At least two committee members or officers should stand down each year, but may be re-elected if it is the wish of the AGM that they continue in office.
  2. The Chairman shall not hold office for more than two years consecutively unless it is the wish of the AGM that he or she should continue in that office. The Chairman shall stand down each year and shall put himself or herself forward for re-election at the AGM.
  3. The General Committee shall appoint a minimum of two, and a maximum of four Trustees, to hold office until death or resignation unless removed from office by a resolution of the Management Committee, or by a resolution duly passed at a Club general meeting. The Chairman from time to time is nominated as the person to appoint new Trustees within the meaning of Section 36 of the Trustee Act 1925. A new Trustee or new Trustees shall be nominated by resolution of the General Committee and the Chairman shall duly appoint the person or persons so nominated as the new Trustee or Trustees of the Club and the provisions of the Trustee Act 1925 shall apply to any such appointment.
  4. The members of the Management Committee shall be entitled to an indemnity out of the assets of the Club for all expenses and other liabilities properly incurred by them in the management of the affairs of the Club.

Management

  1. The entire control of the Club shall be vested in the Club’s General Committee. At the committee meetings, three shall form a quorum. The committee shall have the power to co-opt and to decide on all matters not provided for in these Rules. In order to assist the Club’s General Committee in the efficient and harmonious conduct of the Club’s affairs, the Club or Club’s General Committee shall have the power to elect or appoint other committees as they see fit.

Accounts and Financial Year

  1. The Committee shall make arrangements for the Club’s accounts to be prepared annually and they shall be presented at the AGM.
  2. The Club’s financial year shall end on 31st December, and the accounts will be presented to the AGM as soon as possible after the year-end.
  3. The Club shall be non-profit making and any surplus income or gains shall be reinvested in the Club and its facilities. None of the Club assets may be distributed to members or third parties other than for full payment. The Club may make donations to registered charities or other clubs that are registered as community amateur sports clubs.

Annual General Meeting

  1. At the AGM of the Club, for which not less than fourteen days’ notice shall be given, the Chairman’s decision as to the result of voting on any question shall be final, and an entry in the Minute book by the Chairman of the meeting shall be conclusive of the terms of any resolution and of its having been passed.

Special General Meeting

  1. A Special General Meeting of the Club shall be called within twenty-one days upon requisition in writing of any ten members, stating the purpose for which the meeting is required, or by resolution of the Club’s General Committee.

Voting

  1. At all General Meetings of the Club, every member shall be entitled to attend, but Honorary, Non-playing and Junior members shall not be entitled to vote. The Chairman shall be entitled to vote.

Alteration of Rules

  1. No existing Rule shall be altered or a new Rule added without the consent of members present at a General Meeting.

Bye-laws

  1. The Committee shall have the power to make such byelaws as shall be consistent with these Rules. Byelaws shall not require the sanction of a General Meeting.

Eligibility for Membership

  1. Membership of the Club shall be open to anyone interested in tennis on application, regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs. In the event of there being a waiting list for membership, priority shall be given to residents of the parish of Rudgwick

Subscriptions

  1. Subscriptions, due on the 1st April, shall be determined by the Club’s General Committee and will be maintained at levels that will not pose a significant obstacle to participation. Categories of membership and the conditions attaching to such categories shall be determined by the Club’s General Committee. The General Committee may, at their discretion and in exceptional circumstances, arrange for short-term membership.

Suspension

  1. Should any member not have paid his or her subscription within two months after 1st April, the Club’s General Committee shall have the power to suspend that member.

Conduct of Members

  1. The Club’s General Committee (at a meeting at which no fewer than three are present) may refuse membership, or remove it, only for good cause such as conduct or character likely to bring the Club or sport into disrepute. Individuals who are refused membership or whose membership is removed shall have the right of appeal to the Club’s membership at the AGM or at a Special General Meeting, but shall not have any claim or remedy whatever against the Club or the Club’s General Committee.

Dress

  1. All members are asked to wear accepted tennis clothing when playing. Shoes must be standard tennis shoes with light-coloured soft soles and no heels.

Property of Members

  1. Members leaving their rackets, shoes or other property on the Club premises do so at their own risk and the Club will not be responsible for any loss sustained through their doing so.

Playing Season

  1. The courts shall be available for playing tennis throughout the year subject to weather conditions, on which the Club’s General Committee’s decision shall be final. Courts may be closed for play by a member of the Club’s General Committee and a “no play” notice shall not be superseded except by decision of two members of the General Committee.

Dissolution

  1. In the event that the Club is dissolved, any surplus of assets, having cleared any remaining obligations and liabilities, shall be given or transferred to the Lawn Tennis Association for use in community-related sport, to another community amateur sports club or to a registered charity.

Adopted at the 2009 AGM of Rudgwick Tennis Club, updating and replacing the Rules adopted at the 1994 AGM, and amended as necessary at subsequent AGMs.