Our club constitution is the document that defines our purpose, structure and governance.
It can only be updated by a proposal at the clubs Annual General Meeting (AGM) or at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).
Last update: 23 March 2020
1. Title
a) The name of the club shall be Folkestone Running Club
2. Headquarters
a) The club headquarters will be, Three Hills Sports Park, Cheriton Road, Folkestone CT19 5JU.
3. Club aims
a) We exist primarily to encourage running at any standard, either with a view to competing in races or simply for exercise and fun.
4. Safeguarding policy
a) The club will make its Safeguarding policy available to all existing and prospective club members.
b) The welfare of children and vulnerable adults aged under 17 is the responsibility of all club members, at all times
c) The Club shall appoint a Welfare Officer.
d) Any and all reports of abuse of children and vulnerable adults will be dealt with in accordance with the club’s Safeguarding policy.
e) The club will make its Health and Safety Policy and its Guidance to Runners documents available to all existing and prospective Club members.
f) All Club Members must be aware of, and act on, the club’s Safeguarding policy.
5. Club colours
a) The club colours shall be a royal blue vest with a red and a white vertical stripe on the front, from the left shoulder. The name of the club will be in white text on the rear of the vest.
6. Management
a) Management of the club shall be vested in a committee consisting of the Executive Officers and Ordinary Officers, subject always to this constitution & any club by-laws.
b) The Executive Officers shall be the Chairman, the Secretary and the Treasurer.
c) The Ordinary Officers shall be the Captain and Vice-Captain for both Men’s & Women’s teams, the Head Coaches, the Membership Secretary , the Welfare officers, and the Social Secretary.
d) The Executive Officers may co-opt additional members with specialist expertise or experience as may be required from time to time.
e) All Executive Officers shall be elected annually by a simple majority vote at an Annual General meeting (AGM).
f) All Ordinary Officers shall be elected annually by a simple majority vote at the AGM if more than one candidate is forthcoming. Otherwise Ordinary Officers may be appointed by the Executive Officers.
g) Ordinary club meetings shall be scheduled for the first Tuesday of each month.
h) Club meetings shall be open to all members of the club.
i) The agenda for Ordinary Meetings shall be distributed at the start of the meeting, but all members may ask for business to be included in Any Other Business (AOB).
j) The club constitution may be amended only at an AGM or Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), by majority vote.
k) The club by-laws may be amended at any club meeting, by majority vote.
7. Membership
a) Membership of the club is confined to amateurs as defined by UK Athletics, and consists of:
- Full Members
- Junior Members
- Social Members
- Honorary Members.
b) Any candidate for membership must apply using the prescribed application form.
Applicants under 18 years of age should get a parent or guardian to sign this.
c) Any subscription fees must be paid at the time of application to join.
d) The minimum age for club Full, Social and Honorary membership is 16.
e) The minimum age for Junior membership is 13.
f) The membership year shall commence on the 1st of March and end on the last day of February the following year.
g) Honorary members may be nominated by the Executive and are not required to pay the annual subscription.
h) Honorary Members shall have no voting rights at club meetings and shall not be eligible for club allocated London Marathon places, nor shall they be eligible for subsidised races entries.
i) The committee will have authority to cancel membership, subject to 1 months written notice, of any member falling 12 months in arrears. Notice to cancel will be sent to the member’s address as listed in the current membership records.
j) The Youth Coach, together with the committee and Chairman reserve the right by majority vote to withdraw Junior membership, without notice to any individual Junior member or members.
8. Junior members
a) Juniors shall be permitted to become members of the club at the discretion of the Youth Coach.
b) Junior members are not permitted to train with the club unless the Youth Coach or their nominated replacement is present
c) Junior members shall not be permitted to compete in club colours without the permission of the Youth Coach.
d) Race distances for Juniors shall be comply with UK Athletic limits.
e) Junior Members will not be permitted access to the club social media groups until they become Full members.
9. Subscriptions
a) Subscriptions will be payable on application, and thereafter annually on the 1 March each year.
b) The annual subscription shall be set at a level recommended by the committee and ratified at the AGM.
c) New members joining after 1 September shall pay 50% of the current annual subscription, excluding England Athletics affiliation, for that current year.
d) New members joining after 1st January may chose to pay the half year fee if they wish to benefit from any race subsidy from the club, or may pay the full year fee for the next year if they wish only to run as an affiliated runner.
e) The membership fees for each category of membership are decided at the club’s annual general meeting and are subsequently displayed in the prescribed application form.
10. Resignations
a) A member choosing to resign shall be required to give notice in writing to the Membership Secretary and membership will be deemed to have terminated on the date of receipt of the resignation letter.
11. Misconduct
a) The club reserves the right to discipline any member, or expel from the club any member, whose conduct is not conducive to the aims or interests of the club or its members, or whose behaviour is likely to bring the club into disrepute. These rights shall be exercised by the duly elected Executive Officers on behalf of the club.
b) Reports or allegations of misconduct will be investigated at a meeting of the Executive Officers, who will invite the member to address the meeting.
c) The appropriate penalty will be set by the Executive Officers.
d) The member will be informed of the decision as soon as possible.
e) The member disciplined or expelled may appeal against the Executive decision in writing within 7 days of being notified of the decision.
f) The appeal will be dealt with by the full committee, Executive and Ordinary Officers.
12. Welfare of members
a) The club shall not tolerate physical or mental abuse, harassment, discrimination or defamation of any of its members before, during or subsequent to club events.
b) Reported incidents of such abuse shall be investigated by the Club Executive, and if substantiated may be dealt with under the misconduct rules.
13. Financial accounts
a) The club financial year shall commence on 1 March and end on the last day of February the following year.
b) The club Treasurer will prepare annual accounts and submit said accounts to the AGM each year.
14. Annual General Meeting
a) A general meeting will be held in March each year. The business of the meeting will be to:
- receive Executive Officers reports and financial accounting
- elect officers for the ensuing year
- deal with such other matters that are specified on the meeting agenda.
b) The Club Secretary shall post notice of the AGM at least 14 days prior to the scheduled date.
c) Members wishing to have business included on the agenda should notify the Executive in writing at least 7 days before the meeting.
15. Extraordinary General Meeting
a) An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may be called on the order of either 10 paid up members or a majority of the Executive Officers. The Club Secretary, on receipt of such an order, shall within 21 days convene an EGM dealing only with that business detailed in the order.
b) The Club Secretary will post notice of an EGM at least 14 days prior to the scheduled date.