Club Constitution

1. Name

The name of the Club shall be WATFORD CHESS CLUB.

2. Objective

The objective of the Club shall be to provide opportunities for competitive and social chess.

3. Affiliation

The Club shall be affiliated to the Hertfordshire Chess Association.

4. Officers and Committee

4.1 The Officers of the Club shall be Club President, Club Secretary and Club Treasurer.

4.2 The Club shall be managed by a Club Committee in accordance with the Club's Constitution and the decisions of the Club's General Meetings.

4.3 The Committee shall consist of the three Officers, Juniors Secretary, Membership Secretary, and up to four other Members, each of whom shall be elected at a General Meeting.

4.4 The Committee shall meet at its discretion. It shall have the power to co-opt Members to fill any vacancy, combine rôles temporarily, delegate duties to sub-committees, and to co-opt members for special purposes.

4.5 The Committee shall have the power to settle disputed points not provided for in this Constitution.

4.6 A quorum at a Committee meeting shall be 4 (four) Committee members. A quorum must exist at the time of any vote for that vote to be valid.

5. General Meetings

5.1 Annual General Meeting

5.1.1 An Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held in July, August or September every year to transact the following business:

• i. To present and approve the Club's accounts to the end of the previous financial year.
• ii. To receive reports on the past year's activities from the Committee.
• iii. To consider for adoption proposals from the Committee for changes to the annual subscriptions and fees.
• iv. To consider any motions.
• v. To elect Officers and the Committee for the following year.
• vi. To appoint a suitably qualified examiner for the following year to report on the Club's accounts.

5.1.2 Notice of any motion for discussion at the Meeting shall be given in writing to the Club Secretary, proposed and seconded by two Members of the Club who are eligible to vote, not less than 14 days prior to the Meeting.

5.1.3 Nominations for Committee membership shall be restricted to Members of the Club aged over 14, and shall be given to the Club Secretary, proposed and seconded by Members of the Club who are eligible to vote, not less than 14 days prior to the Meeting.

5.1.4 The Chairman of the Meeting shall have absolute discretion to accept or reject motions or nominations of which proper notice has not been given.

5.2 Extraordinary General Meeting

5.2.1 An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by the President or Secretary, or by a quorum of the Committee, or by a quorum of the membership, upon written request to the President or Secretary stating their reason.

5.2.2 Notice of any motion for discussion at the Meeting shall be given in writing to the Club Secretary, proposed and seconded by two Members of the Club who are eligible to vote, not less than 14 days prior to the Meeting. 

5.2.3 No matters shall be considered at an Extraordinary General Meeting other than those included in the notice convening the Meeting.

5.3 General Meeting Procedure

5.3.1 Members shall be notified of the date and time of a General Meeting not less than one month prior to the meeting. They shall be given, sent or directed to an Agenda for the Meeting, not less than 7 days prior to the Meeting.

5.3.2 Motions and nominations shall succeed if they achieve a simple majority of votes, unless expressly stated otherwise in this Constitution. The Chairman of the Meeting shall have a normal vote. If votes are tied, the motion or nomination fails.

5.3.3 Only Members aged 14 or over at the date of the General Meeting shall be entitled to vote at that Meeting.

5.3.4 Non-voting Members may attend General Meetings.

5.3.5 A quorum of the membership for a General Meeting shall be 6 (six) or half the number of Members eligible to vote, whichever is the lower. A quorum must exist at the time of any vote for that vote to be valid.

6. Club Membership and Subscriptions

6.1 Membership shall be open to all who have attained the standard of chess proficiency required by the Club, subject to the discretion of the committee, provided that the appropriate subscription is tendered on demand and that entry to the Club is not temporarily restricted.

6.2 The membership subscription year shall be 1st October to 30th September.

6.3 The annual subscription, and entrance fees or visitors' fees if any, shall be determined at a General Meeting, and charged at the discretion of the Committee.

6.4 Any existing Member whose subscription is unpaid on 1st November shall no longer be entitled to the privileges of Club membership until it is paid.

6.5 In the event of a Member behaving in a disruptive way, any two members of the Committee acting together may temporarily suspend that member. 'Temporarily' here means for the remainder of the club night in question, or the whole of a later club night, or such lesser period as the two committee members may agree.

6.6 In exceptional circumstances the Committee may suspend or expel a Member if the Member persistently behaves in a disruptive way, or breaks the Club's safeguarding policy. Except in cases of gross misconduct, at least 21 days before such action is taken, the Committee will write to the member and explain why. The Member has the right to respond and appeal against the decision.

7. Safeguarding

7.1 The Club shall maintain a safeguarding policy governing children and vulnerable adults. Members are required to comply with this policy.

7.2 Changes to the policy may be made at the Committee's discretion, taking due note of ECF requirements.

8. Finance

8.1 The financial year shall be 1st June to 31st May.

8.2 The financial accounts shall be audited or examined by a person who is independent of the Committee.

8.3 Funds and property of the Club shall not be distributed among members, except as legitimate out-of-pocket expenses incurred in running the Club.

8.4 The Club is a non-profit making organisation.

9. Competition

9.1 The Committee shall arrange such Club and Inter-Club events and competitions as it considers appropriate.

10. Amendments to Constitution

A resolution to amend the Constitution shall be proposed only at a General Meeting and shall be passed only if two thirds of those present at the vote and eligible to vote do so in favour.

11. Dissolution

11.1 A resolution to dissolve the Club shall be proposed only at a General Meeting and shall be passed only if two thirds of those present at the vote and eligible to vote do so in favour.

11.2 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.

11.3 Any funds remaining shall be devoted to objectives similar to those of the Club or to charity.

Current subscription rates

Clause 6.3 leaves the amounts to a General Meeting rather than fixing them here. The rates in force are published on the About & Membership page.

Amendments History: Adopted 10 September 2018, incorporating amendments made on 19 September 2022, 13 February 2023, 11 September 2023 and 16 December 2024.