|
BRAILLE CHESS ASSOCIATION
CONSTITUTION
REGISTERED CHARITY NO: 263049
(As adopted by the
General Meeting of the Association 9 October 1982 and amended by the Annual
General Meetings held:-
23 March 1985, 22 March
1986, 14 March 1992, 15 March 1997, 13 March 1999, 17 March 2001, 2 March
2002, 20 March 2004, 3 March 2007, 7 March 2009 and 5 March 2011).
1.
NAME:-
The name of the
Association shall be: "Braille Chess Association" (hereinafter
referred to as "the Association").
The registered
address of the Association shall be the address of its Secretary.
The Association shall
be affiliated to:-
The English Chess
Federation.
The British Postal
Chess Federation.
The International
Braille Chess Association.
Chess Scotland.
The Association may
affiliate to any other body whose Objects are compatible with those of the
Association, such an affiliation to be determined by a simple majority of
those present and voting at a properly convened General Meeting of the Association.
The Association shall
be guided in all its activities by the principles of equality and
non-discrimination on racial, religious or political grounds.
The Association's
financial year shall run from 1st October to 30th September.
2.
OBJECTS:-
The Objects of the
Association shall be the furtherance of education amongst the blind in
relation to the game of chess by:-
(A) The promotion of
chess tournaments and chess competitions amongst the blind by
over-the-board play, correspondence and cassette;
(B) The publication
and distribution of magazines, books, reports and other chess literature
for its members;
(C) The provision of
a tape service by the distribution on magnetic tape of any material which
is or might be published and distributed under Paragraph (B) of this
Clause;
(D) The encouragement
of the participation of blind chess players in tournaments and events not
limited to the blind;
(E) The maintenance
and development of a library of Braille books and magnetic tapes for the
distribution of chess material;
(F) The carrying on
of any other activity connected with the promotion of chess among the
blind.
3. MEMBERSHIP:-
Membership of the
Association shall be open to any visually impaired person on application to
the Secretary and, subject to Clauses 5, 5B and 6 below, on payment of the
first annual subscription, or appropriate proportion thereof, to the
Treasurer.
The Committee is
empowered to refuse an application for membership.
4.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP:-
Any person who is not
visually impaired may apply, or be nominated, to be an associate member of
the Association.
Subject to the
provisions of this Constitution, and to any resolution passed by a General
Meeting of the Association, an associate member shall enjoy all the rights
and be subject to all the obligations of an ordinary member of the
Association.
5. LIFE MEMBERSHIP:-
Any member or
associate member shall, on payment to the Treasurer of the life membership
subscription, become a life member of the Association.
The life membership
subscription shall be an amount equivalent to ten times the annual
subscription for the year of application, or such other amount as may be
determined by resolution of a General Meeting of the Association.
In the event of a life
member resigning from the Association no part of the life membership
subscription shall be repayable.
5B.
"JUNIOR BCA":-
"Junior
BCA" will be a Section within the overall structure of the
Association.
Membership of
"Junior BCA" will be open to any visually impaired U.K. resident
under the age of 25, and to associate U.K. juniors under 18, subject to
Clause 3 above. Members of "Junior BCA" will be entitled to all
the benefits and subject to all the obligations of other members of the
Association.
When "Junior
BCA" reaches ten or more members it will be entitled to elect one of
its members to serve on the Committee of the Association.
5C. AFFILIATED CLUBS:-
Any Club, whose main
aim is for the benefit of UK visually impaired chess players, may seek
affiliation to the Association.
Subject to Clause 9
of this Constitution, the annual subscriptn shall be set, from time to
time, by the Association's Annual General Meeting."
Members of Affiliated
Clubs shall be entitled to attend BCA General Meetings and Affiliated Clubs
shall be entitled to cast one vote for their UK visually impaired
members. The person casting the vote for the Affiliated Club must be
a member of the Affiliated Club; they must also provide written
accreditation and be identified to the Chairman at the commencement of the
Meeting.
Affiliated Clubs and
their members shall receive such benefits as, from time to time, are
approved by the BCA Committee.
6. HONORARY MEMBERSHIP:-
A General Meeting may
elect one or more honorary members of the Association.
An honorary member
shall not be obliged to pay a subscription, but in all other respects shall
be entitled to the same rights and subject to the same obligations as an
ordinary member or, if he or she is not visually impaired, an associate
member.
7.
OFFICERS:-
The Officers of the
Association shall Be:-
(A) Chairman;
(B) Secretary;
(C) Treasurer;
(D) Publicity
Officer;
(E) Correspondence
Chess Director;
(F) Gazette Editor;
(G) Audio Librarian;
(H) Membership
Secretary;
(I) "Junior
BCA" Representative;
(J) Website
Co-ordinator.
They shall be elected
by the Annual General Meeting, and shall hold office until the following
Annual General Meeting.
A retiring Officer
shall be entitled to seek re-election, and any two offices, other than
those of Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer, may be held by one person.
Any Officer may have
an Assistant appointed for the purpose by the Committee.
Save as is permitted
by the Charities Act 2006 or any re-enactment thereof, Officers and their
Assistants shall not be entitled to any remuneration, but shall be
reimbursed out of Association funds for their out-of-pocket expenses.
8.
COMMITTEE:-
The Officers together
shall constitute the Committee, which shall meet from time to time for the purpose
of discussing the affairs of the Association, and carrying out its policy
in accordance with the Objects set out in Clause 2 above, and any
resolution passed by a General Meeting.
The Committee shall
have the power to co-opt, and to appoint Sub-committees for the purpose of
discharging any of its functions.
It may, for any
specific purpose, request any member of the Association to attend any of
its Meetings.
The Committee shall
take decisions by a simple majority of those members present and voting at
a Meeting, and in the event of there being an equality of votes, the
Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.
In the interval
between Meetings of the Committee, the Secretary may, where a decision is
urgently required on any matter, seek the views of all members of the
Committee, and may act in accordance with the views expressed by the
majority. The action of the Secretary in any such case shall be endorsed
by, and be recorded in the Minutes of, the next Meeting of the Committee.
All those attending a
Meeting of the Committee shall be reimbursed in respect of expenses
reasonably incurred by them in travelling to and returning from the place
at which the Meeting is held.
A quorum of the
Committee shall be four.
9.
SUBSCRIPTIONS:-
The annual subscription
shall be fixed by a simple majority of those present and voting at an
Annual General Meeting. The subscription rates so fixed shall become
payable on
1st October in each year.
If a member or an
associate member, other than a life member, life associate member, junior
member, or an honorary member, has not paid the appropriate annual
subscription within a period of two months after the date on which it
became due the Committee may terminate his/her membership after giving that
member 28 days' notice in writing of its intention to do so.
A person applying for
membership or associate membership after 31st March in any year shall pay
half of the current annual subscription to cover his/her membership until
30th September in that year.
10.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:-
Beginning with the
year 1st October, 1983, to 30th September, 1984, there shall be an Annual
General Meeting of the Association.
The Annual General
Meeting shall be held at such place, and on such date not being later than
30th April in any year, as the Committee may determine, and it shall be the
duty of the Secretary to notify all members, associate members, junior
members and honorary members of the Association of the date, time and place
of such Meeting.
Notice in the
Association's Gazette shall constitute notice for the purpose of this
Clause.
The Annual General
Meeting shall, in addition to electing the Officers in Clause 7 above, lay
down the general policy of the Association and the manner in which it is to
be carried out. It shall have power to over-rule any decision of the
Committee.
11.
EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING:-
Upon receipt of a
request by twelve or more members, other than associate members, the
Secretary shall convene an Extraordinary General Meeting to take place not
more than eight weeks after the receipt of the request; The Secretary shall
inform all members of the date and venue of such a Meeting not less than 21
days before such a Meeting is to take place.
12.
PROPERTY OF THE ASSOCIATION:-
Subject to Clause 14
below, the ownership of all the Association's property shall be vested in
the Officers for the time being, who shall hold it as trustees for the
Association.
13.
SECRETARY:-
The Secretary shall
be responsible for the general running of the affairs of the Association.
14.
TREASURER:-
The Treasurer shall
hold all the Association's monies.
He/she shall keep
them in an account or accounts at a bank or banks to be nominated by the
Committee, and in any other securities or investments as the Committee may
from time to time determine.
Any such bank account
or accounts shall be opened in the name of the Association, and shall be
separate from the Treasurer's personal bank account.
Monies shall only be
withdrawn from the Association's account or accounts on the signature of
the Treasurer and another Officer nominated by the Committee.
15.
ACCOUNTS:-
For the financial
year commencing 1st October, 1997, and all subsequent financial years, the
Association's accounts shall be independently examined in compliance with the
requirements set by the Charity Commissioners or prepared in such manner as
may from time to time be required by statute.
The Association's
accounts shall be published as soon as they have been approved by an Annual
General Meeting.
16.
AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION:-
This Constitution may
be amended by a resolution passed by a vote of those members, other than
associate members, present at a General Meeting.
The vote must be at
least two-thirds of those present and voting in favour of the resolution
before it can be presented to the Charity Commissioners for ratification.
17.
DISSOLUTION:-
The Association may
be dissolved by a resolution passed by a majority of at least
three-quarters of members, other than associate members, of the Association
present and voting at a General Meeting.
Upon dissolution, the
assets of the Association shall be distributed to any other charity for the
blind or charities for the blind which may be approved by the Charity
Commissioners.
|