Club

1.           The Club (founded in 1878) shall be named the South Hants Lawn Tennis Club.
The object of the Club is to provide facilities for and promote participation of the whole community in the sport of tennis.  The Club is an incorporated private company limited by shares with Community Amateur Sports (CAS) status.
2.          The Club is constituted by these Rules as a non-profit making Members' Club.
The Income and Property of the Club shall be applied solely towards promoting the Club’s objects as set forth in this constitution and no portion thereof shall be paid or transferred, directly or indirectly, to the Members of the Club.  In the event of the dissolution of the Club, any assets remaining after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the Club, but shall be given or transferred to one or more of the following approved sporting or charitable bodies:
        a) A registered charitable organisation(s).
        b) The sport’s national governing body for use by them for related community sports.
3.           The Club shall be affiliated to the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) through the Hampshire organisations in so far as they can apply.
4.           The affairs of the Club shall be managed by a Management Committee consisting of the Chairperson, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Match Secretary and not more than six members. The Management Committee shall be elected at each Annual General Meeting and shall have power to co-opt not more than two persons.  The Management Committee shall have power to appoint Sub-Committees, and to appoint Acting Officers to fill the vacancies which may arise between Annual General Meetings.  Each member of the Management Committee will be required, as a condition of election or appointment, to agree to be bound by and subject to the LTA Rules and its Disciplinary Code, such agreement to contain an express acknowledgement that the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 applies and that the LTA and South Hants LTC can enforce any breach at its option and in its sole discretion.
5.           The Management Committee shall have the power to make Rules and Regulations for the better operation of the Club and courts, which shall be binding on all members.

Membership and subscriptions

6.           Membership of the Club shall be open to all persons irrespective of ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or beliefs; or of age, sex or disability.[1] 
6.1            Each member agrees as a condition of membership:
      a)  to be bound by and subject to the Club’s Rules, Regulations and Policies (as in force from time to time).
      b)  to be bound by and subject to the LTA’s Rules and the Disciplinary Code.

Rule 6.1 confers a benefit on the LTA and, subject to the remaining provisions of this rule, is intended to be enforceable by the LTA by virtue of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.  For the avoidance of doubt, the members do not intend that any term of these rules, apart from rule 6.1, should be enforceable, by virtue of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999, by any person who is not a party to this agreement.
6.2 The Management Committee may terminate the membership of any person or impose any other sanction they determine to be appropriate, in connection with the breach of any condition of membership set out in this rule.

There shall be the following classes of Membership at the rates of subscription as published:

    (i) Playing members over the age of 18 on the previous 31st December (Adult)
   (ii) Adult Playing members who can play only in the “Off-Peak” periods, which are Monday to Friday 10.00am to 5.30pm (Off-Peak).
   (iii) Playing members between the ages of 11 & 18 on the previous 31st December (Junior).
    (iv) Playing members of 10 years & under on the previous 31st December (Mini).
     (v) Playing members in Full-Time Education on the previous 31st December (Student).
    (vi) Family membership: 2 Adults & 2 Adults & "Children-18 years or less at same address (Family).
    (vii) Country Adult: Members living outside 10 miles radius of club (Country Adult).
   (viii) Country Family: 2 Adults & 2 Children-18 years or less at same address, which is outside 10 miles radius of club (Country Family).
     (ix) Non-Playing members (Non-Playing).
       (x) Life Playing members (Life)

Subscription rates shall be agreed by the Management Committee and presented to the AGM preceding the playing season; this amount to include any contributions paid to the Hampshire & IoW LTA.
         a) The subscriptions shall run from the 1st April each year to the following 31st March.
         b)To encourage early payment, a £10 surcharge will be made on all subscriptions that are not paid by June 1st by previous year’s Members.
         c) The subscription of a new member will be due on application. 
         d) For a new member applying to join after the 30th of June the Committee may at their discretion accept a proportionately reduced subscription for the remainder of the year;
         e) Members should apply for a key to the gate.  The Administration charge for a key will be to cover the cost of the key - refundable on the return of the key. Key holders are required to ensure that the gate is locked when they leave the club. A key must at all times remain in the possession of the Member to whom it has been issued.

Visitors

7.         Visitors may be introduced by any member.  The member introducing a visitor must make an appropriate entry in the Visitors' Book, ask the visitor to complete the visitor’s form and arrange for the visitor to pay the appropriate fee either in cash or online to the Treasurer.

Management Committee

8.           The Management Committee shall have power to suspend or terminate the membership of any member or to exclude any member or visitor whom it considered guilty of a breach of these Rules and the Regulations made thereunder, or of misconduct or offensive behaviour of any member or visitor, including defamatory comments posted on social media, whether on the Club premises or in situations where any member or visitor is representing the Club.
9.           The Committee shall have power to limit the number of members in the respective classes if they consider it necessary. Honorary membership, including Honorary Life Membership, shall be strictly limited, and at the discretion of the Committee, by way of special services to the Club.
The Management Committee may refuse membership only for good and sufficient cause, such as conduct or character likely to bring the Club or sport into disrepute.  Members should refer to the Club’s documents and website for information on the procedures for an appeal against the decision of the Management Committee, and for possible LTA involvement.
10.       The Management Committee shall from time to time make and revise Regulations and shall have power to decide any matter not provided for by these Rules and Regulations. The quorum at a Committee meeting shall be four, and in the event of an equality of voting the Chairperson shall have a second or casting vote.
The Management Committee shall seek to attract a diversity of members in terms of ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or beliefs, age, sex or disability, to join the Committee taking into account its membership base.
The Management Committee shall deal with all the business of the club at its regular meetings which are usually held once a month during the playing season, and less frequently – for example, once every two months – during the period October to March.
However, should a matter or item of business, financial or otherwise, arise which requires urgent consideration outside the cycle of meetings, a minimum of three of the following officers (the Chairperson, the Honorary Secretary, the Honorary Treasurer, and the Honorary Match Secretary) will discuss the matter, reach a decision and take appropriate action, if necessary.  In the event that the item falls within the special interest of one of the other committee members that individual will be consulted and included in the minimum number of three officers required.  The officers’ decision and any action taken will be reported by the Chair to the next scheduled meeting of the Committee.

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[1] The Equality Act 2010 lists the following characteristics which are protected in law from discrimination:
age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation. 
Please refer to the Club’s website - https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/SouthHantsLawnTennisClub - to find out about sessions that could possibly be arranged directly with the coaching team, taking into account the Club’s facilities.  The Tennis Foundation’s website - https://www.lta.org.uk/tennisfoundation - gives information about tennis sessions that cater for people with a disability.  Specialist wheelchair users should refer to the Club’s website and the Tennis Foundation’s website to check whether their equipment complies with the regulations for use on grass courts.)