Club constitution

1. TITLE AND STATUS

The C.C.C. hereinafter called the "Club", is constituted as a non-profit-making association subject to the provisions of Article 60 and following of the Swiss Civil code.

2. OBJECTS

The objects of the Club are to encourage & promote cricket in accordance with the Laws of Cricket and in the best traditions of sportsmanship.

3. DOMICILE

The Club is domiciled in Cossonay. The address of the Club is: Chemin du 900ème, 1304 Cossonay.

4. ORGANISATION

The organs of the Club shall be:

• The Annual General Meeting of members of the Club, being the ruling body of the Club

• The Executive Committee of members of the Club, elected by the Annual General Meeting to represent and to administer the affairs of the Club and which shall include the posts mentioned in Schedule B.

5. MEMBERSHIP

i. Membership of the Club shall be open to all persons who are prepared to contribute actively to the achievement of the Club's objects. Membership shall be renewable annually and be subject to the payment of an Annual Subscription (see Schedule C).

ii. Honorary Membership of the Club may be granted for valuable past services to the Club.Honorary members shall be elected by a General Meeting, on the recommendation of the Committee, with such terms and privileges as it shall decide.

iii. The Committee may suspend from membership or refuse to accept for membership, any person (see Schedule D).

iv. Club Sponsors are exempt from supporter's fees but enjoy supporter's privileges and are afforded advertising space within the Club's capacity.

v. Members may resign at any time. No dues will be refunded.

vi. Only members older than 16 years of age on the date of a vote shall have voting rights

vii. Any parent or legal guardian of a member younger than 16 years of age on the date of a vote shall have voting rights in his/her stead. 

6. ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

i. The assets of the Club shall consist of the subscription paid by member’s donations, and other payments made to the Club, such as via sponsorship, and saleable property acquired by the Club.

ii. The assets of the Club shall be devoted to the running of the Club in the furtherance of its objects. This may include financial contributions towards events of social character, organised by the Club for its members (see Schedule C).

iii. In no case shall the assets of the Club be distributed among the members and no member shall receive payment directly or indirectly for services to the Club.

iv. In the event of dissolution of the Club, the net assets of the Club after payment of its liabilities shall be made to the Cricket Switzerland.

v. No expenses or liabilities shall be incurred in the name of the Club without the prior approval of the Committee.

vi. The assets of the Club shall normally be held at a level sufficient to cover one year's recurrent expenditure.

vii. Members are not personally responsible for the Club's liabilities.

viii. The financial Year of the Club shall be from the First of February until the Thirty-First of January of the following year.

7. THE GENERAL MEETING

i. A General Meeting of Members of the Club shall be convened by the Secretary at the direction of the Committee or within one month of the receipt of a written request by not less than 10 % of the Club addressed to the Secretary.

ii. The General Meeting shall be convened at least once a year as an Annual General Meeting in order to:

Such a meeting shall normally be held during the month of March. The membership eligible to form a quorum and to vote at such a meeting shall be the membership as at the preceding February 28th (see Schedule A).

iii. The notice convening a General Meeting together with an agenda shall be circulated to all members and supporters of the Club not less than fifteen days before the date of such a meeting.

iv. The quorum for a vote at a General Meeting shall be one fourth of the members of the Club. If a quorum is not obtained for any vote at a General Meeting the meeting may be re-convened, with due notice, within one month of that meeting, and at such a reconvened meeting, no quorum shall be required.

v. Voting shall be by simple majority, except for amendments to the Constitution, on a show of hands, except that a secret ballot shall be held if voting is for an election of members of the Committee. The President of the Club shall have a casting vote.

vi. General Meetings shall normally be chaired by the President or his nominee from the Committee or in the absence of both, the Treasurer.

vii. The Rules and Procedures for General Meetings are given in Schedule A of this Constitution.

viii. At General Meetings supporters and sponsors are welcome but without the right of vote. 

8. THE COMMITTEE

i. The Committee shall be elected annually by the Annual General Meeting, and unless otherwise decided by the Annual General Meeting, shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting. Members of the Committee shall have attained the age of Twenty years.

ii. Meetings of Committee shall be convened by the Secretary at the direction of the President or upon the written request of at least two members of the Committee addressed to the Secretary.

iii. Meetings of the Committee shall normally be chaired by the President or his nominee from the committee, or in the absence of both, the Treasurer. The Quorum for meetings of the Committee shall be 50 %. Voting shall be by simple majority.

iv. Any vacancy occurring on the Committee shall be filled by co-option for the remainder of the mandate of the Committee. Such co-option shall be notified to the membership at the earliest convenient opportunity and submitted for ratification at the next General Meeting.

v. The Committee may appoint sub-committees to carry out specific tasks on behalf of the Committee. The mandate for such sub-committees shall not exceed that of the Committee.

vi. The distribution of tasks within the Committee is described in Schedule B of the Constitution. 

9. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

Amendments to the constitution must be voted upon by the membership. Proposed amendments must be submitted to the Committee, in writing. The Committee will then decide whether to call a General Meeting to discuss, and vote upon, proposed amendments, or whether to hold them over until the next Annual General Meeting. The proposed amendments must be circulated to the membership at least 21 days before the proposed meeting together with the convening notice.

The President: Andrew Lovell (2018-2022)

The Secretary: Bharath Narayanan (2018-2022) 

SCHEDULE A : RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR GENERAL MEETINGS

1. The President shall open the meeting, announce apologies for absence, and proceed to the order of business. When the election of the new Committee is held, the President shall vacate the post after the election of the new President. The new President takes office immediately and proceeds with further business.

2. The order of business shall, where applicable, be:

i. Acceptance of the Minutes of the previous General Meeting

ii. Receive and accept reports of the Committee members

iii. Acceptance of the Audited Accounts of the Club

iv. Confirmation of appointment of the Auditor(s)

v. Debate and voting on motions submitted

vi. Election of members of the new Committee

vii. Any other business

viii. Closure of Meeting

3. Minutes shall be kept of the proceedings at all General Meetings which shall be submitted to the following General Meeting for approval and then signed by the President of the Club.

4. Voting by proxy shall be allowed when a member is unable to attend a General Meeting. The form of proxy, obtainable from the Secretary shall be signed by the member and shall specify the member's wishes with regard to voting.

5. Proxy votes given as above shall be included in the quorum for the vote.

6. Motions for discussion at a General meeting shall be submitted to the Secretary in writing not less than fifteen days before the time of the meeting for inclusion in the agenda. Motions which relate to a change in the Constitution or the Schedules to the Constitution shall be submitted at least twenty one days before the date of the meeting for circulation with the convening notice.

7. Motions or amendments received from the floor shall be taken under "any other business".

8. Discussion on motions shall follow normal debating procedures:

i. Discussion shall relate only to the motion presently before the meeting.

ii. Members shall only speak when invited to do so by the President. All remarks shall be addressed through the President.

iii. No amendments shall be taken before motions are put to the vote unless accepted by the proposer, in which case the amended version becomes the substantive motion.

iv. Only "points of order" or "points of information" shall take precedence over the motion before the meeting.

Points of order shall refer only to the conduct of the meeting:

• challenge to a decision of the President

• challenge to the quorum for a vote

• request that a motion not be put to the vote

Points of information shall be solely to correct, or add information to that given by the speaker, with the latter's consent, in reference to the motion before the meeting.

9. Nominations for election to the Committee shall be made in writing to the Secretary not less thaneighteen days before the time of the meeting. The Secretary shall ascertain, before the meeting, the willingness of the nominee to stand for election. Nomination shall state the post(s) for which the nomination is made and the name of the proposer.

10. The order of election shall follow the list of Committee posts given in Schedule B of this Constitution. Before each election, the nominations received shall be announced and the nominees may be asked to identify themselves. Candidates who are not elected for the post for which they have been nominated, may be nominated from the floor for any of the posts for which voting has not yet taken place.

11. The President may appoint tellers to assist in the counting of the votes. 

SCHEDULE B : COMMITTEE ORGANISATION

1. The outline of responsibilities within the Committee is :

i. PRESIDENT
Head of Club; represents the Club and ensures its interests particularly with regard to relations with the local authority.

ii. SECRETARY
Convenes and maintains written records of General Meetings. Undertakes the official correspondence of the Club.

iii. TREASURER
Responsible for the financial affairs of the Club and the maintenance of its accounts in accordance with the Financial Provisions in Schedule C.

iv. FIXTURES SECRETARY
Responsible for arranging fixtures of both friendly and competitive nature, with other clubs in Switzerland. Should liaise closely with the members of the Committee.

v. PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
Responsible for contact with local authorities, members of other sports clubs sharing facilities used by the Club and any sponsors.

vi. EQUIPMENT MANAGER
Responsible for keeping an up-to-date inventory of playing equipment, determining the need for, and acquiring, any new items required after approval by the Committee.

vii. MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY
Responsible for maintaining an up-to-date membership list.

viii. YOUTH DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Responsible to promote the development of Youth Cricket within the C.C.C. by organising coaching, training and fixtures.

ix. WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Responsible to lead and manage the recruitment, development and participation of women players within Cossonay CC.

x. CRICKET DIRECTOR
This is a role that combines all the ad-hoc roles being fulfilled by various members of the committee. This person is in charge of the overall cricketing development of the club, with the view of sustaining top-quality men's, women's and junior teams, while providing solid pathways for the juniors into senior cricket.

xi. Additional members as needed including Newsletter Editor.

2. The President and Executive Committee (Public Relations Officer, Treasurer & Secretary) must have been members of the Cossonay Cricket Club for at least three years at the date of election and be able to communicate in French as well as in English by both word of mouth and in writing.

3. The Committee shall meet on a regular basis throughout the season and intermittently during the close-season.

4. Minutes shall be kept of the proceedings at all Committee meetings which shall be submitted to the following meeting for approval and be signed by the President of the Club and shall be available at the request of any member. 

SCHEDULE C : FINANCIAL PROVISIONS


i. Members of the Club shall pay an Annual Subscription, the amount of which shall be determined at the Annual General Meeting. The subscription falls due on the 1st of April of each year.

ii. A reduced Annual Subscription may apply to:

a) students in full-time education/juniors/unemployed

b) retired people

c) supporters

d) families

iii. The committee may waive the Annual Subscription for individual members, subject to a thorough review and a unanimous decision. The following restrictions apply:

a) This arrangement exists only to allow the club to make a social contribution and formally include members currently in difficult circumstances, financially or otherwise.

b) The number of members benefitting from this arrangement shall be limited to 2 playing members at any one time.

c) The maximum duration that any individual may benefit from this arrangement shall be 2 years. A partially played season counts as a full year, except if judged as insignificant by the committee.

d) Members benefitting from this arrangement must commit to tasks and responsibilities decided by the committee.

e) Members benefitting from this arrangement shall have no voting rights.

f) Members benefitting from this arrangement must sign a statement of intent to pay the Annual Subscription as soon as this becomes possible.

i. The Treasurer shall ensure that proper accounts be kept in such a manner that the financial situation of the Club may be readily determined.

ii. The Treasurer shall immediately notify the Committee of any serious deterioration in the Club's financial situation or of any irregularities in the billing or settling of expenses.

i. Signatory powers on any of the Club's accounts shall be vested in the Treasurer and the President or Secretary.

ii. The joint signature of two of the above persons shall be required for any withdrawal or transfer of funds of which one signature shall normally be that of the Treasurer.

i. The Treasurer shall submit in writing to Members of the Club the financial report for the previous financial year together with an audited balance sheet. These shall be placed before the Annual General Meeting.

ii. The accounts, books and records of the Club shall be open to inspection by the Auditor(s) appointed by the General Meeting. The written report of the Auditor(s) shall be sent to the President and the Secretary of the Club and shall be published at the Annual General Meeting.

The Club does not have accident insurance cover for its members and other persons assisting the Club in a match. All persons so involved should ensure that they have adequate personal cover for accidents and civil liability. The Club has third party coverage for injury and material damage up to 2 million Swiss francs. 

SCHEDULE D : DISCIPLINARY DECISIONS

Any decision to suspend from membership or refusal to accept for membership shall be taken by the Committee at a properly convened Committee Meeting. The Secretary shall notify the person(s) concerned in writing, stating their right to appeal.

2. APPEAL

Any person so suspended or refused membership may, within fifteen days, appeal in writing to the Secretary against such a decision, and at such time request a hearing before the Committee. If the appeal is rejected by the Committee, the appeal may, at the request of the person concerned be referred to the next General Meeting of the Club, whose decision shall be final.

3. EFFECT ON MEMBERSHIP STATUS

Suspension of membership rights shall take effect after fifteen days from the date of notification sent by the Secretary, or in the case of an appeal, immediately after the rejection of the appeal in Committee. If the appeal is referred to a General Meeting, the person(s) concerned shall have the right to address the meeting on this matter. Suspension of membership shall in no event remove any financial obligation which the ex-member may have towards the Club.