NORTH HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
CONSTITUTION
Amended: June 2007
NORTH HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
CONSTITUTION
1. TITLE
The Association shall be called the North Hockey Association (NHA and hereinafter referred to as “The Association”) and shall be affiliated to England Hockey Limited (otherwise known as England Hockey - EH) or such other successor National Governing Body (NGB) as shall be legitimately constituted and adhere to its rules.
2. AIMS AND OBJECTS
These shall be to:
2.1 Promote, develop and encourage all hockey (outdoor, indoor and mixed) for adults, young people and children in clubs and schools.
2.2 Arrange such Regional Leagues and other Regional Competitions for all age levels, as may be approved by the North Council.
2.3 Select and prepare squads of players to represent the North Region.
2.4 Implement policies and rules laid down by EH
2.5 To promote and ensure good management within the administration of counties and league structures
2.6 Organise umpiring and umpire coach education and maintain and improve standards of umpiring.
2.7 Organise coaching and coach education and maintain and improve standards of playing and coaching.
2.8 Produce or procure technical and other resources relevant to hockey.
2.9 Raise funds by any means approved by the North Council.
2.10 Pay remuneration, if thought fit by the North Council, to any official or employee of the Association and the expenses of any honorary official or employee or member who performs services to the Association.
2.11 Co-operate with Sport England and any other relevant body in the provision of playing and other facilities for the game.
2.12 Foster friendship between members and players of all regions.
3. CONSTITUENT BODIES
3.1 The County Hockey Associations listed in Schedule 1, each of which shall be bound by this Constitution, and which shall play in accordance with the “Rules of the Game” authorised by the Hockey Rules Board and the International Hockey Federation, shall be the constituent bodies of the Association.
3.2 The boundaries of the County Hockey Associations referred to above shall be those obtaining on 31 May 1997.
4. OFFICERS
4.1 The Officers shall be the President, the Deputy President, the Hon. Secretary, the Hon. Treasurer and four Vice Presidents. They shall be elected at an Annual General Meeting and shall be eligible for
re-election.
4.2 The President and the Deputy President shall not be of the same gender, provided there are appropriate nominations.
4.3 Neither the President nor the Deputy President shall serve for more than three consecutive years in any one office.
4.4 The four Vice Presidents shall comprise at least one man and at least one woman.
4.5 Nominations may be made by the North Council, the Executive Committee, a County Association or an affiliated club. Nominations shall be submitted in writing to the Hon. Secretary of NHA no later than six full weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting in any year. The nominations shall include the name and address of the nominee and his/her consent to the nomination. Nominations made by an affiliated club shall be seconded by another club or by a County Association.
4.6 If a vacancy occurs among the Officers, the North Council shall fill the vacancy for the remainder of
the Association year. Nominations may be made by the North Council or by County Associations.
5. NORTH COUNCIL
Subject to the over-riding power of a General Meeting, the Association shall be governed by the North Council. The Council may, however, delegate to any other Committee such of its powers as it may think fit.
5.1 The Council shall consist of:
5.1.1 The Officers, one of whom it shall elect as Chairman;
5.1.2 County Representatives (see Schedule 1);
5.1.3 A maximum of two representatives of the Coaching, Competitions, Umpiring and Youth Development committees;
5.1.4 The Regional Disciplinary Administrator;
5.1.5 The Publicity Officer;
5.1.6 The Regional Welfare Officer;
5.1.7 The regional representative to the EH Regional Representative Council;
5.1.8 Any member elected to the EH Board (non-executive)
5.1.9 Members co-opted by Council.
5.2 The Council may invite to any of its meeting such persons as it may think fit. Such persons shall not have the power to vote.
5.3 If a nominated representative of a County Association or a Standing Committee is unable to attend a meeting, the Association or Committee concerned may send a deputy who shall be entitled to vote.
5.4 Subject to 5.1.2 above, each member shall have one vote. In addition, the Chairman shall have a casting vote.
5.5 A quorum shall be twelve voting members, within which there shall be representatives from at least four County Associations.
5.6 Meetings:
5.6.1 The Council shall hold at least three meetings each year for the despatch of business, the agenda for each to be received by the members 14 days prior to the meeting.
5.6.2 A Special Meeting of the Council may be called subject to the above notice:
5.6.2.1 at the discretion of the Executive Committee;
5.6.2.2 by the order of the Council;
5.6.2.3 upon receiving a written requisition from no fewer than eight Council members, of whom four shall be County representatives. Such requisition shall state clearly the reason for such a request.
5.6.3 A meeting called under 5.6.2.3 above shall be held within one calendar month of the requisition and the quorum shall be as prescribed in 5.5 above.
5.7 Terms of reference:
5.7.1 The Council shall:
5.7.1.1 prescribe the policies of the Association;
5.7.1.2 be responsible for the long term plans, finance and budgets of the Association;
5.7.1.3 approve the Chairmen of the Standing Committees, namely the Competitions, Performance and Umpiring (pending the formalisation of the Performance Committee, the existing Coaching and Youth Development committees shall continue to have validity);
5.7.1.4 appoint a Regional Disciplinary Administrator (RDA) and other members as required under rule 13;
5.7.1.5 receive and consider reports and minutes of the Standing Committees;
5.7.1.6 appoint a representative to EH Regional Consultative Council;
5.7.1.7 make nominations for EH Board and any other relevant EH sub-committees or to fill any ad hoc vacancies as required by EH;
5.7.2 The Council shall have the power to:
5.7.2.1 make such appointments as it may deem appropriate;
5.7.2.2 approve and amend the terms of reference of the Standing Committees;
5.7.2.3 approve and amend the Association’s regulations;
5.7.2.4 affiliate to, or disaffiliate from, any body;
5.7.2.5 take any other action which it may deem appropriate.
6. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
6.1 The Committee shall consist of the Officers, one of whom shall be Chairman.
6.2 The Committee may invite to any of its meetings such persons as it may deem appropriate. These persons shall not be entitled to vote.
6.3 Each member shall have one vote. In addition, the Chairman shall have a casting vote.
6.4 A quorum shall be four voting members, of whom at least one shall be a woman and at least one shall be a man.
6.5 The Committee shall hold at least three meetings in each Association year.
6.6 If the Chairman is unable to attend a meeting, the voting members present shall appoint one of their number to act as Chairman for that meeting.
6.7 Terms of reference:
The Committee shall:
6.7.1 be responsible to the Council;
6.7.2 formulate for the approval of the Council, a long term plan incorporating relevant financial considerations;
6.7.3 implement the policies approved by the Council and deal with any matter within those policies;
6.7.4 co-ordinate the work of the Standing Committees;
6.7.5 appoint regional coaches and managers for representative sides and oversee appointments to Performance Centres;
6.7.6 consider and formulate proposals to the Council on any matter, including policy issues raised by other committees;
6.7.7 deal with the administration of the Association;
6.7.8 have power to convene a special meeting of the Council;
6.7.9 have power to take immediate action in the case of an emergency;
6.7.10 for each of the Standing Committees, nominate at least one member of the Executive Committee to be an ex-officio non-voting member of that committee.
7. MEMBERSHIP
7.1 Full membership
7.1.1 This shall be the only category of membership available to clubs and schools and shall be by affiliation and be open to associations, clubs and schools which are located within the County Associations defined in 3.1. All affiliated clubs and schools shall be bound by this constitution.
7.1.2 A bona fide member of any affiliated Regional or County Association (which, by derivation, includes Regional and County Hockey Umpires’ Associations), club or school shall be deemed to be a member of the Association.
7.1.3 Clubs:
7.1.3.1 With the exception of those clubs affiliating through Greater Manchester, Lancashire Central and Sheffield and District Women’s Hockey Associations, a club shall normally affiliate only through the County Association within whose boundaries its ground is situated.
7.1.3.2 However, a club, or the men’s or women’s sections of a club, may continue to affiliate through the County Association of which it was a member on 31 May 1997.
7.1.3.3 If a club moves to a ground within the boundaries of another County, it may continue to affiliate through the County of which it was first a member.
7.1.3.4 Any club wishing to change its county affiliation must first seek the approval of the Council.
7.1.4 Schools:
7.1.4.1 A school shall normally affiliate only through the County Association within whose boundaries its ground or building is situated. If, however, a school moves or the location of the ground is changed, it may continue to affiliate through the County Association of which it was first a member.
7.2 Associate Membership
7.2.1 Individual Associate Membership shall be open, subject to the approval of the Council, to those who have served NHA and others with an interest in hockey. They shall not be entitled to vote at a General Meeting. The Council shall decide the privileges to be granted to such members.
7.3 Honorary Life Members
7.3.1 Honorary Life Members may be elected by the Council in recognition of special service to NHA. They shall be entitled to vote at a General Meeting.
8. FINANCE
8.1 Income and property of the Association.
The income of the Association shall be derived from the affiliation fees and subscriptions of members and, subject to the approval of the Council, from any other appropriate source, and shall become the property of the Association. Such income shall be used for the furtherance of the aims and objects of the Association as defined in clause 2, and for such other purposes as a General Meeting or the Council may determine.
8.2 The level of affiliation fees and subscriptions shall be determined by the Annual General Meeting and shall be due by 1 November in each year.
8.2.1 Full Members:
8.2.1.1 All clubs, universities, colleges and schools shall pay an affiliation fee to the Association through the County Association to which they are affiliated.
8.2.1.2 Any club, university or college which, exceptionally, affiliates direct with the Association shall pay an affiliation fee direct to the Association.
8.2.1.3 Any member whose fee has not been paid by 1 January next following shall be removed from membership of the Association. Such members may apply for re-instatement on payment of any outstanding affiliation fees due, the affiliation fee for the current season and a re-affiliation fee (which, unless otherwise decided by the Council, shall be 50% of the current affiliation fee payable for each team).
8.2.2 Associate Members
8.2.2.1 Subscriptions shall be determined by a General Meeting and shall be payable on election. Thereafter, an annual subscription shall be payable by 1 November each year. Any Associate Member whose fee has not been received by 1 January next following shall be removed from membership, but may apply for re-election upon payment of outstanding subscriptions and the subscription due for the current season.
8.3 Annual Accounts
8.3.1 The Income and Expenditure Account, Balance Sheet and all subsidiary accounts shall be made up to
30 June in each year, shall be audited and presented to the next Annual General Meeting.
9. GENERAL MEETINGS
9.1 Annual General Meeting
9.1.1 The Annual General Meeting shall be held in June each year. The Association year will run from 1 July to 30 June following.
9.1.2 Notice of the Annual General Meeting, a list of nominations for Officers, a copy of the agenda and a copy of the accounts shall be sent to every member at least 21 days before the date of such meeting.
9.1.3 Business to be transacted:
9.1.3.1 the election of Officers, subject to any ballot which may be held and subject to 4.2 and 4.4;
9.1.3.2 the appointment of a qualified auditor;
9.1.3.3 the presentation of accounts and a report on the current financial position;
9.1.3.4 the determination of the annual affiliation fees and subscriptions;
9.1.3.5 the presentation of reports;
9.1.3.6 the consideration of any amendments to the Constitution;
9.1.3.7 the confirmation of the Council’s appointments and/or nominations;
9.1.3.8 the presentation of any trophies;
9.1.3.9 any other items submitted for inclusion on the agenda
9.1.4 No clause of the Constitution shall be amended nor any resolution passed at a previous General Meeting may be rescinded, save by resolution, of which notice shall be given on the Agenda, passed by at least two thirds of those present and entitled to vote at General Meetings.
9.1.5 Notice of any proposed alterations to the Constitution and any other motions to be submitted to the Annual General Meeting, together with the names of the proposer and seconder (unless the motion is to be submitted on behalf of the Council) shall be given in writing to the Hon. Secretary of the Association not later than six full weeks before the date of such meeting.
9.1.6 The Chair shall be taken throughout the meeting by the incumbent President, or in that person’s absence, by the Deputy President. In the absence of both these Officers, the meeting shall elect a member of the Council to chair the meeting.
9.1.7 At any General Meeting. No member may cast more than one vote, other than the Chairman, who, in addition, has a casting vote. The following shall be entitled to attend a General Meeting and to vote:
9.1.7.1 the Officers and other voting members of the Council and the following affiliated members:
9.1.7.1.1 clubs with both female and male playing members – two representatives each;
9.1.7.1.2 clubs with only female playing members – one representative each;
9.1.7.1.3 clubs with only male playing members – one representative each;
9.1.7.1.4 clubs which only play mixed hockey – one representative each;
9.1.7.1.5 schools – one female and one male from each County or equivalent Association;
9.1.7.1.6 Honorary Life members;
9.1.8 Any other person may attend a General Meeting, but may not take an active part in the proceedings unless invited by the Chairman.
9.1.9 Twenty members present and entitled to vote shall form a quorum.
9.2 Special General Meetings
9.2.1 The Honorary Secretary shall convene a Special General Meeting at any time:
9.2.1.1 by order of the Council;
9.2.1.2 upon receiving a requisition from no fewer than twenty affiliated clubs, signed on behalf of each
club by two of their officials. These twenty clubs must be drawn from at least three County Associations. Every requisition shall state clearly the reason for such a request.
9.2.2 A meeting called under 9.2.1.2. above shall be held as soon as possible and, in any event, within six weeks of receipt of the requisition.
9.2.3 At least fourteen days notice of a Special General Meeting, and of all resolutions to be proposed thereat, shall be given to each member as defined in 7.1.1 and in 9.1.7.1. above. No other business shall be conducted.
9.2.4 Provisions 9.1.6 to 9.1.9 shall apply to a Special General Meeting.
10. DISSOLUTION
A resolution to dissolve the Association shall be put to a General Meeting and shall be passed only by the affirmative vote of at least 75% of those entitled to vote and voting. The Council shall proceed to realise the assets of the NHA. Thereupon, after discharging or making provision for its liabilities, the whole of its assets shall be distributed in such manner as shall be determined by a General Meeting.
11.1 The Council shall approve annually the designated Chairmen of the Standing Committees, which shall
be Competitions, Performance and Umpiring (pending the formalisation of the Performance Committee, the existing Coaching and Youth Development committees shall continue to have validity). The Umpiring General Committee of NHUA shall be deemed, for the purpose of this Constitution, to be the Umpiring Committee of NHA.
11.2 The composition of each Standing Committee is laid down in the relevant schedule.
11.3 A quorum shall be four voting members.
11.4 Each Standing Committee shall:
11.4.1 act under the terms of reference prescribed by the Council;
11.4.2 deal with, or make recommendations on, any matters referred by the Council or Executive Committee;
11.4.3 prior to each committee meeting, submit the agenda and, subsequently, the minutes promptly to the Honorary Secretary of NHA;
11.4.4 have the power to appoint such sub-committees as it deems fit.
11.5 Each Standing Committee shall elect a Secretary.
11.6 Each Standing Committee may hold funds as authorised by the Council. It shall keep records of its
income and expenditure for each Association financial year.
11.7 Each Standing Committee may co-opt such persons as they think fit.
11.8 Only those nominated members of the Standing Committees shall have a vote. Co-opted members shall not have a vote. In addition, the Chairman shall have a casting vote.
12. APPEALS
12.1 Appeals shall be lodged in writing with the Honorary Secretary within 14 days of notification of the
decision being appealed against and shall be heard by three members of the Council, at least one of which shall be a member of the Executive Committee.
12.2 The composition of the appeal committee shall have regard to the matter under consideration (i.e. if the
matter relates to a women’s game, there shall be at least one woman on the committee; the reverse
shall apply if it relates to a men’s game);
12.3 A fee of £100 shall be lodged at the time of the appeal and any refund shall be at the discretion of the
Appeal Committee.
12.4 The costs of any appeal shall be borne fully by the appellant unless the appeal committee shall,
exceptionally, decide otherwise.
12.5 The decision of the Appeal Committee shall be final.
13.1 The Code governing the conduct of all players, coaches, managers, umpires and officials shall be set out by EH from time to time. Any player, coach, manager, umpire or official deemed to be in breach of any part of that Code may be disciplined thereunder.
13.2 In order to adjudicate upon any such case, the Council shall appoint annually a Regional Disciplinary Administrator (RDA) who shall be a member of the Council and a Deputy (different gender). Council shall also appoint four other persons (two males and two females) who shall form the members of the Regional Disciplinary Panel (RDP), which shall hear any appeals or consider appropriate cases.
13.3 The Council shall appoint annually a Chairman of the RDP. The Chairman shall not be an officer or employee of EH, the RDA (or deputy) or a currently serving CDA (or deputy). In a case where the Chairman is unavailable or unable to chair a RDP, he may appoint a deputy from those members appointed under 13.2.
13.4 The RDP shall comprise the Chairman and two of those members appointed under 13.2. In cases where enough of those members are unavailable or unable to sit on a RDP, the Chairman may co-opt suitable substitutes.