Stamford Tennis Club

Overview

Governance is how the people in an organisation come together, aligning systems, processes and policies in order to be fit for purpose. Strong governance ensures that our club is professionally managed, safe and compliant with our legal obligations. Good governance can help us to:

• Focus on our priorities
• Engage a strong team of volunteers
• Manage risk and protect members, volunteers and visitors
• Meet a range of specific compliance standards

We are committed to ensuring full transparency in how our club is run, and in this section you will find a clear description of our core governance standards, details of our policies, and all key governance documents.

• Constitution and Legal Structure
• Purpose and Plans
• Management Committee
• Financial Controls
• Risk Management

We also have specific policies in the following key areas, which are detailed below:

• Inclusion
• Safety
• Safeguarding
• Data Protection
• Complaints

Constitution and Legal Structure

It is important that we set out the key tenets of how we are constituted, organised and managed. This is detailed in two key documents - our Rules and Regulations.   The Rules set out how we are constituted and managed, and can only be modified at an AGM or EGM.  The Regulations set out more practical aspects of how we operate the club, and can be changed by the Management Committee, although we would always let members know of any material changes.  You can find these two documents here:

• Club Rules
• Club Regulations

We are currently constituted as an unincorporated members club, and we will review this position annually to consider whether we should retain this status, or transition to an incorporated organisation. This is a complex decision with a number of options and implications for the club and its members. Any proposed change would be debated and agreed at an AGM / EGM before making any changes.

We are registered as a Community Amateur Sport Club (CASC) with HMRC, which means that we do not have any exposure to Corporation Tax, given our modest scale.

Management Committee

The Management Committee runs the club on a day-to-day basis, under the powers given it in the Rules and Regulations. All of our committee members are unpaid volunteers. It is important to us that the committee is focused and well-organised; skilled and diligent; enthusiastic and well-networked; fair and inclusive.

In order to achieve this, we have a number of measures in place:

• We have a large committee of 12-15 individuals to ensure sufficient resources and diversity of input
• Each committee member has a specific role, with a clear and documented role description
• We advertise any committee roles that become available, and any adult member can apply
• We leverage peoples skills in the outside world - for example in finance, media, events or management
• We seek committee members who are enthusiastic, collaborative and with high integrity 
• We try and ensure that our committee represents diverse sections of our tennis community
• We have not set a target for gender balance, but currently enjoy a split of 10 women and 4 men 
• We have decided not to apply a limit to individual tenure, as we experience regular changes
• We do not currently have a succession plan for key roles

The Management Committee is active throughout the year, with the following mechanisms in place to ensure that we are connected, aligned and have time to debate all key decisions:

• Email summaries of latest updates and activities
• 3-5 committee meetings a year
• An annual calendar of activities and review items
• We do not have any formal sub-committees, although committee members often collaborate on projects

You can find out more about the management committee in the following documents:

• Role descriptions for each member of the committee
• Volunteering policy

A list of the current committee members is set out in the "Contacts" section.

Planning

We have a number of plans where we set out our goals and how we will achieve them, including:

• Mission and Values
• 3 year plan
• 1 year plan
• 1 year budget
• Individual project plans, often written into grant applications

You can see the latest plans in the "Documents" section.

Financial Compliance and Controls

We are required to comply with rules on VAT, Corporation Tax and Business Rates.

• We are not VAT registered, as we do not meet the minimum threshold
• Our registration as a CASC means that we do not have to pay any Corporation Tax
• Our CASC status also entitles us to a statutory discount of 80% on our business rates.

We have established processes and controls around our finances, including:

• Our Treasurer is a qualified accountant
• We use online banking only, with no cheques or cash
• Our cash balances are held at a major bank, within FSCS limits
• We do not hold any "risk" investments other than cash deposits
• We produce a simple budget at the start of the year, which we use to help us set membership rates
• We produce management accounts each quarter which are reviewed by the Management Committee
• We produce formal annual accounts, and these are reviewed by another member who is a qualified accountant

We do not currently have a formal reserves policy, but will develop this during 2022.

You can read more detail around our finance controls here:

• Financial compliance and controls (currently being drafted)

Risk Management 

It is important that we understand, track and manage the potential risks that the club faces, both at an entity level, down to a detailed review of safey risks and specific hazards. To support this, we have 3 registers which we maintain and review on a frequent basis:

• Club Risk Register - setting out the high level risks that we are exposed to, the mitigating controls we have in place, and potential actions
• Safety Risk Register - setting out risks related to safety in more detail, including our controls and actions.
• Hazard Log - a list of all specific hazards that have been identified, with their closure actions.

You can the latest versions of each of these documents in our "Documents" section.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

The aim of this policy is to ensure that:

• Tennis is diverse and inclusive
• Equality, civersity and inclusion are embedded in our club’s culture and in our behaviours
• We create a culture where inclusive leadership thrives
• We take a proactive approach to ensure that all communities and individuals are valued

To achieve these aims we believe that everyone involved in Tennis has a role to play in, and we ask everyone to proactively promote Safe and Inclusive tennis and to take action against all forms of discrimination. Together we can make a positive difference to people from different backgrounds to participate in Tennis at our club.

• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy

Safety

Stamford Tennis Club is committed to ensuring the Health & Safety of our members and guests. The following policy includes guidance on staying Sun Safe for junior players.

• Health & Safety Policy

Privacy & Data Protection

We hold a limited amount of members personal data in order to run our club effectively.  The data is held securely, and is only accessed by a controlled number of committee members for the sole purposes of managing membership and contacting you about club matters. You can read our policy here:

• Privacy & Data Protection Policy

Complaints

Our process for handling any complaints is set out in the "Contacts" section