1. NAME
The Club’s name shall be “ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY CLUB” (in short “ALLIANCE”) hereinafter in these statutes referred to as ‘The Club’.
2. OFFICIAL SEAT
The official Seat of The Club shall be as determined from time to time by the Executive Committee.
3. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
The Official language shall be English, whether spoken or written, and all official correspondence shall be in English.
4. OBJECTIVES
The Objectives of The Club shall be:
- to provide Members of The Club, who are not less than 35 years old (Masters), opportunities to enjoy and play hockey throughout the world, particularly entering teams in International Tournaments.
- To promote Masters hockey, wherever possible, throughout the world, and to encourage the participation of players from countries which might not in the past have been involved in Masters hockey.
5. MEMBERSHIP
5.1 The Club may invite to become members anyone, irrespective of nationality, residence, or gender, who wishes to play or umpire Masters hockey or who wishes to be a friend and supporter of The Club.
5.2 There will be two categories of Member:
Ordinary member (player, umpire, friend)
Life Member
In addition, from time to time The Club may honour a member, who has provided exceptional service to The Club, and acknowledge him/her as a Member of Honour.
The rules and fees applying to the various categories of membership shall be reviewed from time to time by the Executive Committee. Thereafter they will be confirmed at a General Meeting of The Club, and posted on The Club’s website.
5.3 The Executive Committee shall have the power to cancel the membership of someone where it considers this to be in the best interests of The Club. The Member concerned shall have the right to make representations to The Club in advance of the decision.
6. FINANCE
6.1 The Club is to be run as a non-profit organisation, and any surplus funds that are generated shall be used to further the objectives of The Club as expressed in Section 4.
6.2 The Club shall be financed inter alia by, membership dues, tournament participation fees, donations, and sponsorship, and it may raise funds for the benefit of The Club in any way that the Executive Committee thinks fit.
6.2 Members shall pay such membership dues and tournament participation fees as from time to time shall be determined by the Executive Committee and shall be confirmed by a majority vote of the members at an Annual General Meeting (see Article 7 below) of The Club. 6.3 The assets and funds of The Club shall be administered by its Honorary Treasurer, under the control of the Executive Committee.
6.4 Each financial period shall cover a calendar year. The Honorary Treasurer shall draw up accounts for each year, and these shall be audited by one or two Honorary Auditors appointed at the Annual General Meeting (see Article 9 below). The accounts shall be made available to members as early as possible prior to the Annual General Meeting at which they are to be considered.
6.5 All costs of travel and accommodation etc. shall be the responsibility of individual members, who shall also be responsible for their personal insurance. The Club shall not be responsible, financially or otherwise, for any acts of members, whether performed on behalf of The Club or for the benefit of any member.
7. GENERAL MEETINGS
7.1 An Annual General Meeting shall normally take place in a format, and at a time and place to be determined by the Executive Committee. If suitable, this shall be during a tournament when The Club is participating with at least one women’s and one men’s team.
If it is impractical to hold an Annual General Meeting, for whatever reason, the Executive Committee may arrange to postpone such a meeting and/or hold an electronic meeting in lieu of a physical meeting, using Zoom, Skype or any other suitable remote platform.
In order for the Annual General Meeting to complete its business, a quorum of 5% of membership is required to be in attendance either in person or by proxy.
7.2 Notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be sent to all members by the Honorary Secretary, via email, at least one month before the appointed date.
7.3 The business of each Annual General Meeting shall be set out in an agenda sent to members by the Honorary Secretary, and shall include inter alia the President’s (or appointed delegate) report on the previous year’s activities, the Honorary Treasurer’s report, the audited accounts for the previous calendar year, together with the Honorary Auditor(s) report thereon, the election of Officers and Members of the Executive Committee as well as the Honorary Auditor(s) for the current financial year (see Article 9 below), proposals for alterations to these Statutes and any other items for which proper notice has been given.
7.4 Members may request that propositions and other matters be discussed and voted on as appropriate at Annual General Meetings. Such propositions must be received by the Honorary Secretary at least two weeks before the meeting, and they shall be communicated to The Club’s members as soon as is practicable. Nevertheless, where a member present at the meeting wishes to make a proposition or raise a matter which has not been so
communicated, such items may be accepted by the Chairperson of the meeting. In such case, the item(s) shall be discussed at the end of the meeting under ‘Any Other Business’. Should a minimum of two thirds (66%) of those present and eligible to vote agree, such a proposition may be put to a vote.
7.5 The Annual General Meeting shall be chaired by the President or such other person as the Executive Committee shall decide upon. That person need not necessarily be a member of the Executive Committee.
7.6 Nominations for Officers and Members of the Executive Committee shall be sent to the Honorary Secretary by e-mail so as to reach him or her a minimum of two weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting. Such nominations should be in writing and signed by a proposer, who should be a fully paid-up member of The Club. However, where there are not sufficient nominations for vacant positions, candidates may then be proposed and voted on at the meeting provided that a majority of those present (and eligible to vote) are in agreement. Details of those standing for re-election as well as new nominations shall be communicated to the members as soon as practicable, but at least 14 days before the meeting. A nomination form is available on The Club’s website.
7.7 Whilst all members are entitled to attend Annual General Meetings, only fully paid-up members who are present shall have the right to vote. Each of those Members shall have one vote. Unless otherwise stated in these statutes, voting shall be by simple majority of the valid votes cast and, in the case of an equal number of votes being cast pro/con the motion, the Chairperson of the meeting shall have a casting (second) vote.
7.8 All fully paid up members shall have the right to vote in person or by proxy. Any member wishing to vote by proxy shall obtain a proxy form from the Hon. Secretary. Such a form should be signed by the member and returned to the Hon. Secretary either in person or email attachment not less than 48 hours before the meeting. Any proxy is only valid for the duration of that meeting. A Proxy Vote form is available on The Club’s website.
7.9 Elections for the President, Vice-Presidents (female and male), Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and the other members of the Executive Committee (see Article 8 below) shall be taken in this order and shall be by ballot. After a first ballot, should a vacancy or vacancies still exist with one or more candidates not having secured a simple majority of the valid votes cast, there shall then be a second ballot between such candidates (only), when the vacancy shall be filled by the person or persons receiving the most votes cast notwithstanding that a simple majority may not have been obtained.
7.10 An Extraordinary General Meeting shall take place whenever the Executive Committee shall decide or when requested by at least 10% of The Club’s members.
In the case of an Extraordinary General Meeting, the Honorary Secretary shall send out, via email, convening notices including the business to be transacted thereat within one month of receiving the request, and it shall be held within two months of the date of despatch of the notices.
7.11 Minutes of Annual General Meetings shall be made by the Honorary Secretary or by such other person as the Executive Committee shall decide. Such minutes shall be circulated to members of the Executive Committee and any Sub-Committees, and shall be available on The Club’s website for all members to read. A proposition to approve them shall be included in the agenda of the following Annual General Meeting. Such approved minutes shall form part of The Club’s official records.
7.12 Should the Honorary Secretary not be available, the President may appoint another member of the Executive Committee to fulfil his or her obligations.
8. OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
8.1 The Club shall have an Executive Committee. Its members shall be elected by the members at the Annual General Meeting (see Article 7.9 above), and it shall be responsible for the current administrative activities of The Club. The Officers of the Club, as prescribed by Dutch law, shall be appointed from within the Excom.
8.2 The Executive Committee shall consist of up to 12 members, and will normally include the President, two Vice Presidents (one male and one female), Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and holders of other offices as shall be deemed appropriate from time to time.
8.3 The Officers of The Club and the other members of the Executive Committee who are elected at a General Assembly shall hold office for three years (ending with the Ordinary General Meeting held in the third year following election) and, on expiry of their terms, may be eligible for re-election. Notwithstanding, if the Vice-Presidents and/or the Honorary Secretary are elected at the same General Meeting as that at which the President is elected, then they (the Vice-Presidents and the Honorary Secretary) shall then hold office for two years (until the Ordinary General Meeting to be held in the second year following election), when they may be eligible for re-election. An Officer or an ordinary member of the Executive Committee shall cease to hold his or her office on ceasing to be a member of The Club or in the case of death or incapacity. He or she may also resign such office at any time. In such circumstances, the Executive Committee shall have the power to appoint a replacement, but such nomination shall need to be confirmed at the next Ordinary General Meeting, in which case the normal three-year (or two-year) rule shall apply afresh.
8.4 The Executive Committee shall have the power to create any sub-committees or commissions that it shall deem necessary, and may appoint members thereto as well as formulating the appropriate rules. It may similarly dissolve such sub-committees or commissions and may remove members. These bodies shall be responsible to the Executive Committee.
8.5 The Executive Committee shall meet on such occasions as the President and/or the Honorary Secretary may consider necessary. The latter shall maintain minutes of such meetings. The President, when present, shall preside at all meetings. In his or her absence, the Committee shall elect the Chairperson of the meeting in question.
9. HONORARY AUDITORS
At each Annual General Meeting, The Club’s members shall appoint from their number one or two persons to be responsible for the audit of the accounts of the current financial year, and he/she/they shall make a Report thereon to the following Ordinary General Assembly. These persons may be reappointed in the following year or years.
10. MODIFICATION OF STATUTES
The Statutes may be amended, added to, or rescinded by a resolution of an Annual General Meeting passed by a special majority (66%) of those present and entitled to vote, following a proposal brought by the Executive Committee. No such resolution shall be submitted to a General Assembly unless the prior notice prescribed by Articles 7.2 and 7.10 has been given to members of The Club.
Voting by show of hands shall not be permitted unless it be agreed to on the spot by all who are present and entitled to vote.
11. DISSOLUTION OF THE CLUB
The Club shall not be dissolved except at an Extraordinary General Meeting convened for the purpose and by a resolution supported by a special majority (66%) of those present and entitled to vote. This Extraordinary General Meeting shall determine how the remaining assets of The Club shall be distributed.