The City of Leeds Diving Club Constitution
(download here)
1 Name
1.1 The name of the club shall be “City of Leeds Diving Club”, and its colours shall be blue and gold. The
headquarters of the club shall be “Leeds Aquatic Centre, John Charles Centre for Sports, Middleton
Grove. LS11 5DJ”.
2 Objectives
2.1 The object of the club shall be the promotion of, and instruction in the art of diving and related
activities. In the furtherance of these objects:
2.1.1 The Club is committed to treating everyone equally within the context of its activity and with
due respect to the differences of individuals. It shall not apply nor endorse unlawful or
unjustified discrimination and shall act in compliance with the protections afforded by the
Equality Act 2010.
2.1.2 The Club shall implement the Swim England Equality Policy (as may be amended from time to
time).
2.2 The Club shall be affiliated to Swim England North East Region, Yorkshire Swimming Association and
shall adopt and conform to the rules of that Region, and to such other bodies as the Club may
determine from time to time.
2.3 The business and affairs of the Club shall at all times be conducted in accordance with the Articles,
Regulations and Technical Rules of Swim England (“Swim England Regulations”) and in particular:
2.3.1 all competing members shall be eligible competitors as defined in Swim England Regulations;
and
2.3.2 the Club shall in accordance with Swim England Regulations adopt Swim England’s Child
Safeguarding Policy and Procedures (“Wavepower”); and shall recognise that the welfare of
children is everyone’s responsibility and that all children and young people have a right to have
fun, be safe and be protected from harm.
2.3.3 Members of the Club shall in accordance with Swim England Regulations comply with
Wavepower.
2.4 By virtue of the affiliation of the Club to Swim England North East Region and Yorkshire Swimming
Association, the Club and all members of the Club acknowledge that they are subject to the
regulations, rules and constitutions of
2.4.1 Swim England North East Region and Yorkshire Swimming Association; and
2.4.2 Swim England (to include the Code of Ethics); and
2.4.3 British Swimming (in particular its Anti-Doping Rules and Judicial Code); and
2.4.4 FINA, the world governing body for the sport of swimming in all its disciplines (together "the
Governing Body Rules").
2.5 In the event that there shall be any conflict between any rule or by-law of the club and any of the
governing body rules then the relevant governing body rule shall prevail.
3 Membership
3.1 The total membership of the Club shall not normally be limited, if however, the committee considers
that there is a good reason to impose any limit from time to time then the committee shall put forward
appropriate proposals for consideration at a General Meeting. The members shall have the right to
impose (and remove) from time to time any limits on total membership (or any category of
membership) of the club.
3.2 All persons who assist in any way with the Club’s activities shall become members of the Club and
hence of Swim England and the relevant Swim England membership fee shall be paid. Assisting with
the Club’s activities shall include, but not be restricted to, administrators, associate members,
voluntary instructors, teachers and coaches, Committee members, helpers, Honorary members, life
members, Officers, patrons, Presidents, technical and non-technical officials, temporary members,
Vice Presidents and verifiers or tutors of Swim England’s educational certificates.
3.3 Paid instructors, teachers and coaches who are not members of the Club must be members of a body
which accepts that its members are bound by Swim England’s Code of Ethics, Swim England
Regulations relating to Wavepower, those parts of the Judicial Regulations and procedures necessary
for their implementation and whilst engaged in activities under the jurisdiction of Swim England shall
be subject to all the constraints and privileges of the Judicial Regulations.
3.4 Any person who wishes to become a member of the Club must submit a signed application to the
Secretary (and in the case of a junior swimmer the application must be signed by the swimmer’s
parent or guardian). Election to membership shall be determined by the Committee but other
person(s) authorised by the Committee may make recommendation as to the applicant’s acceptability.
The Committee shall be required to give reasons for the refusal of any application for membership.
Any person refused membership may seek a review of this decision before a Review Panel appointed
by the Committee (“Review Panel”) comprised of not less than three members (who may or may not
be members of the Committee). The Review Panel shall, wherever practicable, include one
independent member nominated by the Swim England North East Region. The person refused
membership shall be entitled to make representations to the Review Panel. The procedures for review
shall be at the discretion of the Review Panel whose decision shall be final and binding
3.5 In its consideration of applications for membership, the Club shall not act in a discriminatory manner
and in particular, shall adhere to the Equality Act 2010 (as may be amended). Accordingly, (unless the
Club chooses to restrict its membership to only people who share the same Protected Characteristic)
the Club shall not refuse membership on the basis of a Protected Characteristic within the Equality Act
2010, such as disability; gender or gender identity; pregnancy; race; religion or belief; or sexual
orientation. Neither may refusal be made on the grounds of political persuasion.
3.6 The Club may refuse membership only for good and sufficient cause, such as conduct or character
likely to bring the Club or the sport into disrepute, or, in the case of a swimmer, being unable to
achieve the entry standards as laid down and provided by the Club to the applicant for membership.
4 Subscription and other fees
4.1 The annual membership subscription shall be determined from time to time by the Committee and the
committee shall in so doing make special provision for different classes of membership as the Annual
General Meeting shall determine.
4.2 The annual subscription and entrance fee (if any) shall be due on joining the club and thereafter on
the first day of January each year.
4.3 Any member whose subscription is unpaid by the date falling thirty days after the due date for
payment may be suspended by the committee from some or all club activities from a date to be
determined by the committee and until such payment is made.
4.4 The Committee shall, from time to time, have the power to determine the annual membership
subscription and other fees. This shall include the power to make such increase in the subscription as
shall, where the Club pays the individual Swim England membership fees to Swim England on behalf
of members, be consequential upon an increase in individual Swim England membership fees. Any
increase in subscriptions shall be advised to the members in writing with the reasons for any increase
to be reported to the members at the next Annual General Meeting.
4.5 The Executive Officers (or the Committee) shall have the power in special circumstances to remit the
whole or part of the fees, including the Swim England membership fees, to address issues of social
inclusion.
5 Resignation
5.1 A member wishing to resign membership of the club must give to the secretary written notice of his
resignation. A member's resignation shall only take effect when this (rule 5.1) has been complied with.
5.2 The member who resigns from the Club in accordance with Rule 5.1 above shall not be entitled to
have any part of the annual membership fee or any other fees returned.
5.3 Notwithstanding the provisions of rule 5.1 above a member whose subscription is more than three
months in arrears shall be deemed to have resigned. Where the membership of the member shall be
terminated in this way he shall be informed in writing that he is no longer a member by notice handed
to him or sent by post to his last known address.
5.4 The Swim England Membership Department shall be informed should a member resign when still
owing money or goods to the Club.
6 Expulsion and other Disciplinary action
6.1 The Committee shall have power to expel a member when, in its opinion, it would not be in the
interests of the Club for the individual to remain a member. The Club in exercising this power shall
comply with the provisions of Rules 6.3 and 6.4 below.
6.2 Upon expulsion the former member shall not be entitled to have any part of the annual membership
fee refunded and must return any Club or external body’s trophy or trophies held forthwith. Clubs in
exercising this power are required to comply with the provision of Rules 6.3 and 6.4 below.
6.3 The Club shall comply with the relevant Judicial Regulations for handling Internal Club Disputes
Procedures (“the Procedures”) as the same may be revised from time to time. (A copy of the
Procedures may be obtained from the Swim England website, Swim England Handbook or from the
Office of Judicial Administration).
6.4 A member may not be expelled or (subject to rule 6.5 below) be made the subject of any other penalty
unless the panel hearing the complaint shall unanimously vote in favour of the expulsion of (or other
penalty imposed upon) the member.
6.5 The officers of the club (or any person to whom the committee shall delegate this power) may
temporarily suspend or exclude a member from particular training sessions and/or wider club
activities, when in their opinion such action is in the interest of the club. Where such action is taken,
the complaint will thereafter be dealt with in accordance with the Judicial Regulations.
7 Committee
7.1 The Committee shall consist of the Chairman, Hon Secretary, Hon Treasurer, Head Coach and
Divers’ representative (together "the Executive Officers of the club") and a minimum of five and a
maximum of ten Elected Members all of whom must be members of the club. All Committee members
must be not less than eighteen years of age though the Committee may allow younger members to
attend their meetings without the power to vote.
7.2 The Committee shall appoint a member of the club as Welfare Officer who must not be less than 18
years of age, who should have an appropriate background and who is required to undertake
appropriate training in accordance with Wavepower. The welfare officer will have a right to attend
committee meetings without the power to vote. (The welfare officer should ideally have no personal or
professional relationship with the head coach or Executive Officers of the club).
7.3 The Committee members shall be proposed, seconded and elected by ballot at the Annual General
Meeting each year and shall remain in office until their successors are elected at the next Annual
General Meeting. Any vacancy occurring by resignation or otherwise may be filled by the Committee.
Retiring members of the Committee shall be eligible for re-election.
7.4 Committee meetings shall be held not less than bi-monthly (save where the committee itself shall be a
simple majority resolve not to meet), and the quorum of that meeting shall be 6 plus one Officer. The
Chairman and the Secretary shall have the discretion to call further meetings of the Committee if they
consider it to be in the interests of the club. The Secretary shall give all the members of the
Committee not less than 10 days oral or written notice of a meeting. Decisions of the Committee shall
be made by a simple majority and in the equality of votes the Chairman (or the acting Chairman of
that meeting) shall have a casting or additional vote. The Secretary, or in his absence a member of
the committee, shall take minutes.
7.5 In the event that a quorum is not present within thirty minutes of the published start time, a meeting
shall stand adjourned to the time and date falling seven days after the date of the meeting, or such
other date and time as may be determined by the Chairman. If a quorum is not present at the
adjourned meeting then those committee members attending may act for the purpose of calling a
Special General Meeting of the members, to which the provisions as to minimum notice contained in
rule 11.1 shall not apply.
7.6 In addition to the members so elected the committee may co-opt further members of the club as and
when required, who shall serve until the next Annual General Meeting. Co-opted members shall not
be entitled to vote at the meetings of the committee and shall not be counted in establishing whether a
quorum is present.
7.7 The committee may from time to time appoint from among their number such sub committees as they
may consider necessary (and to remove (in whole or in part) or vary the terms of reference of such
sub committees) and may delegate to them such of the powers and duties of the committee as the
committee may determine. All sub committees shall periodically report their proceedings to the
committee and shall conduct their business in accordance with the directions of the committee.
7.8 The committee shall be responsible for the management of the Club and shall have the sole right of
appointing and determining the terms and conditions of service of employees of the club. The
committee shall have power to enter into contracts for the purposes of the Club on behalf of all the
members of the Club. The Committee shall be responsible for ensuring that the Accounts of the Club
for each financial year be examined by an independent examiner to be appointed by the members in
General Meeting. The committee shall also have the power to make regulations and to settle disputed
points not otherwise provided for in this constitution.
7.9 The members of the committee shall be entitled to an indemnity out of the assets of the Club for all
expenses and other liabilities properly incurred by them in the management of the affairs of the club.
7.10 The Committee shall maintain an Accident Book in which all diving-related accidents to club members
occurring outside council provided training shall be recorded. Details of such accidents shall be
reported to the insurers in accordance with the Accident/Incident Notification guidelines. The club shall
make an annual return to the Swim England Membership Department indicating whether or not an
entry has been made in the prescribed online form.
8 Ceremonial Positions and Honorary Members/Life Members
8.1 The Annual General Meeting of the Club, if it thinks fit, may elect a President and Vice Presidents. A
President or Vice President need not be a member of the association and on election shall, ex officio,
be an honorary member of the club and must be included in the club’s annual return of members to
Swim England.
8.2 The Committee may elect any person as an honorary member of the club for such period as they think
fit and they shall be entitled to all the privileges of membership except that they shall not be entitled to
vote at meetings and serve as officers or on the committee unless any such person shall have
retained in addition his ordinary membership of the club. Such honorary members must be included in
the club’s annual return as to membership.
9 Annual General Meeting
9.1 The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held each year on a date falling within the period 1st
October (the opening date) and 30th November (the closing date). The date for the Annual General
Meeting shall be fixed by the Committee.
9.2 The purpose of the Annual General Meeting is to transact the following business:
9.2.1 To receive the Chairman's report of the activities of the Club during the previous year;
9.2.2 To receive and consider the accounts of the Club for the previous year and the report on the
accounts of the independent examiner and the Treasurers report as to the financial position of
the club;
9.2.3 To remove and elect the independent examiner (who must not be a member of the committee
or a member of the family of a member of the committee) or confirm that he remain in office;
9.2.4 To elect the officers and other members of the committee;
9.2.5 To decide on any resolution which may be duly submitted in accordance with rule 9.3.
9.3 Nominations for election of members to any officer or to membership of the committee shall be
made in writing by the proposer and seconder to the secretary not later than 21 days before
the opening date specified above. The nominee shall be required to indicate in writing on the
nomination form his willingness to stand for election. Notice of any resolution proposed to be
moved at the Annual General Meeting shall be given in writing to the Secretary not less than
21 days before the opening date.
10 Special General Meeting
10.1 A Special General Meeting may be called at any time by the Committee. A Special General Meeting
shall be called by the Secretary within twenty-eight days of receipt by him of a requisition in writing
signed by not less than ten members entitled to attend and vote at a General Meeting or (if greater)
such numbers as represents one tenth in number of such members, stating the purposes for which
the meeting is required and the resolutions proposed.
11 Procedure at the Annual and Special General Meetings
11.1 The Hon. Secretary shall personally be responsible for providing a “Notice of Meeting” to each
member, this will be carried out either by hand, in writing at the last known address or by email using
the most recent email address provided.
11.1.1 The Notice will include the date, time and place of the General Meeting together with the
resolutions to be proposed thereat.
11.1.2 Notice will be provided at least 14 days before the meeting and in the case of the Annual
General Meeting, a list of the nominees for the Committee posts and a copy of the examined
accounts.
11.1.3 The Notice of Meeting shall in addition wherever possible be displayed on the club notice
board where one exists.
11.2 The quorum for the Annual and Special General Meeting shall be 10 members entitled to attend and
vote at the meeting or (if greater) such number as represents one tenth of such members.
11.3 The Chairman, or in his absence a member selected by the committee, shall take the chair. Each
member present shall have one vote and resolutions shall be passed by a simple majority. For the
procedures for submitting resolutions to be considered at a General Meeting members are referred to
Rule 9.3. In the event of an equality of votes the Chairman shall have a casting or additional vote.
11.4 Only paid up members of the club who have reached their 18th Birthday shall be entitled to be heard
and vote on all matters. Members who have not reached their 18th Birthday shall be entitled to be
heard and vote only on matters determined by the chairman as matters concerning juniors, such as
the election of the diver’s representative.
11.5 The Secretary, or in his absence a member of the committee, shall take minutes at the Annual and
Special General Meetings.
11.6 The Chairman shall at all General Meetings have unlimited authority upon every question of order and
shall be, for the purposes of such meeting, the sole interpreter of the rules of the club.
12 Alteration of the Rules and other Resolutions
12.1 The Rules may be altered by resolution at an Annual or Special General Meeting provided that the
resolution is carried by a majority of at least two thirds of members present and entitled to vote at the
General Meeting. No amendment to the rules shall become effective until such amendment shall have
been submitted to and validated by Swim England North East Region.
12.2 Such number of members as represent one tenth in number of the members entitled to attend and
vote at a General Meeting shall be entitled to put any proposal for consideration at any General
Meeting provided the proposal in writing shall have been handed to or posted to the Secretary of the
club so as to be received by him not later than 10 September in the case of the AGM or in the case of
a Special General Meeting 28 days before the date of the meeting and thereafter the Secretary shall
supply a copy of the proposal or resolution to the members in the manner provided in Rule 11.1.
13 By-laws
13.1 The Committee shall have power to make, repeal and amend such by-laws as they may from time to
time consider necessary for the wellbeing of the Club which by-laws, repeals and amendments shall
have effect until set aside by the Committee or at a General Meeting.
14 Finance
14.1 The Hon. Treasurer is accountable for managing the club finances, ensuring all monies are collected
as required and expenditure is appropriate.
14.2 A bank account has been set up in the name of the Club; between three and five signaturies will be
registered at any one time to include the Hon. Treasurer and Hon. Secretary.
14.3 The withdrawal of monies from the club will be undertaken according to the following:
14.3.1 By cheque signed by two of signatories.
14.3.2 Using the club account debit card which shall be in the name of the Hon. Treasurer. When
using the card, the Hon. Treasurer shall inform either the Hon. Chairman or Hon. Secretary of
the transaction date, amount spent and recipient within 48 hours of the transaction.
14.3.3 By online payment; as above, the Hon. Treasurer shall inform either the Hon. Chairman or
Hon. Secretary of the transaction date, amount spent and recipient within 48 hours of the
transaction.
14.4 All monies payable to the Club shall be received by the Treasurer and deposited in a Bank account in
the name of the Club. Any monies not required for immediate use may be invested, as the committee
in its discretion think fit.
14.5 The income and property of the Club shall be applied only in furtherance of the objects of the Club
and no part thereof shall be paid by way of bonus, dividend or profit to any members of the Club save
as set out in Rule 17.3.
14.6 The Committee shall have power to authorize the payment of remuneration and expenses to any
Officer, member or employee of the Club and to any other person or persons for services rendered to
the club.
14.7 The financial transactions of the Club shall be recorded by the Treasurer in such manner as the
Committee think fit.
14.8 The financial year of the Club shall be the period commencing on 1
st September and ending on 31st
August. Any change to the financial year shall require the approval of the members in a General
Meeting.
15 Borrowing
15.1 The Committee may borrow money on behalf of the Club for the purposes of the Club from time to
time at their own discretion, up to such limits on borrowing as may be laid down from time to time by
the General Meeting, for the general upkeep of the Club or with the prior approval of a General
Meeting for any other expenditure, additions or improvements.
15.2 When so borrowing the Committee shall have power to raise in any way any sum or sums of money
and to raise and secure the repayment of any sums or sums of money in such manner or on such
terms and conditions as it thinks fit, and in particular by mortgage of or charge upon or by the issues
of debentures charged upon all or any part of the property of the Club.
15.3 The Committee shall have no power to pledge the personal liability of any member of the Club for
repayment of any sums so borrowed.
16 Property
16.1 The property of the Club, other than cash at the bank, shall be vested in not more than four
custodians. They shall deal with the property as directed by resolution of the Committee and entry in
the minute book shall be conclusive evidence of such a resolution.
16.2 The custodians shall be elected at a General Meeting of the Club and shall hold office until death or
resignation unless removed by a resolution passed at a General Meeting.
16.3 The Custodians shall be entitled to an indemnity out of the property of the club for all expenses and
other liabilities properly incurred by them in the discharge of their duties.
17 Dissolution
17.1 A resolution to dissolve the Club shall only be proposed at a General Meeting and shall be carried by
a majority of at least three quarters of the members present and entitled to vote. A specific date for the
dissolution shall be included in the resolution.
17.2 The dissolution shall take effect from the date specified in the resolution and the members of the
Committee shall be responsible for the winding up of the assets and liabilities of the Club.
17.3 Any property remaining after the discharge of the debts and liabilities of the Club shall be given to a
charity or charities (or other none profit making organization having objects similar to those of the Club
for the furtherance of such objects) nominated by the last Committee.
18 Acknowledgement
18.1 The Members acknowledge that these rules constitute a legally binding contract to regulate the
relationship of the members with each other and the Club.
The following statement will appear on club membership forms and is to be signed by the member and
countersigned by a person having parental responsibility if the member is under 18 years of age.
“I acknowledge the receipt of the rules of The City of Leeds Diving club and confirm my understanding
and acceptance of the rules laid down in the club constitution (found on the Clubs website –
www.diveleeds.com & notice board) shall govern my membership of the club. I further acknowledge and
accept the responsibilities of membership upon members as set out in these rules”.
Version 3.0: July 2019
