DHO CLUB RULES
The subscribers to the Memorandum of Association of the Club and such other persons as are admitted to membership in accordance with the Articles shall be members of the club. No person shall be admitted a member of the club unless he is approved by the committee. The committee’s authority shall be exercised by the membership secretary, under the supervision of the directors. Membership shall be deemed to have commenced on the date when a fully completed membership form was lodged with the membership secretary. The committee shall not be required to give any reason for refusing membership to any applicant. A member may be expelled from the club, for breach of the club rules, at a meeting of the committee, subject to confirmation of the club at its next meeting. Due notice of the motion for confirmation shall be posted to every member at least 21 days before the meeting. The member concerned shall be given an opportunity to appear before the meeting to state his case. No member shall be expelled unless at least 10 votes are passed in favour of the motion to confirm expulsion at the meeting.
These rules are the rules of the Downhill Only Club known colloquially as the DHO. They relate to the general running of the club following its incorporation. Subject always to the powers of the directors, this should be carried out by the committee, standing committees, and the officers appointed by them.
The objects of the club are the encouragement of racing and the promotion of good skiing and good fellowship amongst skiers in the Wengen district. The club will, so far as it is within its powers, also co-operate with the Wengen Kurverein to provide the best possible facilities for skiing in the district.
The rules of the club are divided into two parts; those required to be incorporated in the Articles of Association and those which are additional to the Articles of Association. This combined version of the Articles and the Rules effectively records the entirety of the rules of the club. The derivation of the rules set out in this document is shown in brackets after each item.
Members
The club shall consist of both voting and non-voting members. Voting members are defined as follows:-
Skiing members.
Every application for admission as a skiing member must be a
competent skier of good SCGB third class standard.
Honorary members.
The committee shall have power by unanimous vote of those present and eligible to vote, to invite eminent skiers and those whose services are of great value to the Club to become honorary members of the club.
Non-voting members are defined as follows:-
Emeritus members.
The directors shall have power, by unanimous vote of those present and eligible to vote, to invite members who have attained the age of 70 years to become emeritus members of the club.
Coggins members.
A coggins member must not have attained the age of 12 and must have a parent or guardian who is a member of the club. He or she will be required to pass a coggins test and will be entitled to participate in any skiing events specially organised for coggins, but not in the club runs or in the social events organised by the club unless the directors decide otherwise.
A coggins parent or guardian.
A coggins parent or guardian joining solely for the purpose of enabling their child to take part as a coggins member, or other person, not intending to remain a member beyond the current season shall become a temporary member and shall not be entered on the club’s database nor be entitled to receive the club’s journal.
The membership secretary shall maintain a list of members other than coggins members, which list may be kept in computerised form.
A member may at any time withdraw from the club by giving at least seven clear days’ notice to the club. Membership shall not be transferable and shall cease on death.
(Articles 2.1 to 2.5)
Expulsions
(Article 3)
Club Committee
Subject to the powers and duties of the directors as set out in the Club’s Articles of Association, the day to day management of the affairs of the Club shall be in the hands of the committee, and such sub-committees as it may from time to time establish.
The committee shall consist of up to 21 members elected by the skiing and honorary members of the club in accordance with these rules and co-opted members in accordance with rules 1.11 and 1.13 hereof.
Members of the committee shall be appointed to serve on three standing committees, namely a race and training committee, winter arrangements committee, and finance and general purposes committee.
The committee shall appoint persons from amongst its number to fulfil the roles of officers of the club; namely a president, one or two vice presidents, an honorary secretary, an honorary treasurer, an honorary editor, and an honorary membership secretary. The standing committees shall each appoint a chairman.
Committee members shall be elected at the annual general meeting for a period of three years. Committee members appointed under rule C.4 may on retirement offer themselves for re-election for a further period of three years if nominated by the respective standing committee of which they are a member, and agreed by the committee. Other committee members shall not be eligible for a re-election for a period of one year after retirement.
The committee shall propose applicants at the annual general meeting to fill the posts of committee members. A committee member who has not attended any committee meeting during the previous year (unless prevented by illness or absence abroad) shall retire.
In addition to the proposals by the committee any two members of the club may propose a member for election to the committee, by giving notice to the honorary secretary at least eight weeks before the date of the annual general meeting, appointed by the consent in writing of the applicants proposed.
Due notice of the names of all applicants proposed under rules 1.6 and 1.7 shall be posted to every member of the club at least three weeks before the annual general meeting. Special circumstances may necessitate deviation from this period, in which case such notice shall contain an explanation to that effect.
If at the annual general meeting the number of applicants duly proposed does not exceed the number of vacancies, the chairman shall declare the applicants elected, otherwise the election shall be by ballot of the members present.
The committee shall have the power by unanimous vote to elect an honorary president. This appointment shall be supernumary to the officers and other committee members as defined in rules 3 and 4. The honorary president shall serve for a period of three years, but may be elected for further three year periods. The honorary president shall be entitled to attend meetings of the committee, but shall not exercise any power to vote on resolutions that are before the committee.
The committee and the standing committees may co-opt any member of the club. A co-opted member shall not be entitled to vote.
The committee shall have the power to appoint such sub-committees as the committee may from time to time consider necessary. Sub-committees may incur expenditure on behalf of the club within their particular fields, but subject to any restrictions and limitations for the time being imposed by the committee.
Five members shall form the quorum of the committee.
The committee shall meet at least thrice annually at such other time and place as may be agreed by the committee.
(Rules 1.1 to 1.14)
Racing and Training Manager
The club shall appoint a racing and training manager; and a Wengen manager who may be co-opted to attend committee meetings.
Neither the racing and training manager, nor the Wengen manager, shall be members of the committee.
(Rules 2.1 and 2.2)
Subscriptions
The membership of any club whose subscriptions is more than 12 months in arrears shall lapse and the membership secretary shall be entitled to remove the name of any such member from the register of members.
Members shall be required to pay an annual subscription, except as provided for below, the amounts of which subscription will be determined from time to time at an Annual General Meeting of the club on proposals from the committee.
Annual subscriptions are due and payable on application for membership and thereafter on every succeeding 1 September. Annual subscriptions are payable by direct debit, but this requirement may be waived by the membership secretary or treasurer if there are special circumstances which justify a departure from this rule.
An honorary member shall be exempt from the payment of a subscription and shall be automatically awarded the club’s silver badge. An emeritus member shall be exempt from the payment of a subscription. A non-skiing member shall be entitled to a reduction in subscription equal to one half the annual subscription.
Members may compound their annual subscriptions by making a lump sum payment equal to twenty times the annual membership then current, which shall entitle them to membership for life.
(Articles 4.1 to 4.5)
General Meetings
The club shall in each calendar year hold a general meeting as its Annual General Meeting in addition to any other meetings in that year and shall specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it. The Annual General Meeting of the company shall be held in the United Kingdom during the months of October or November. The Honorary Treasurer shall produce at the Annual General Meeting a statement of the financial position of the club, as at the previous 30 April. The members shall be given at least 21 days’ notice in writing of the Annual General Meeting.
All general meetings other than Annual General Meetings shall be called Extraordinary General Meetings. The committee may call Extraordinary General Meetings, or they shall do so on signed request to the secretary of at least 50 members, who must be either skiing members or honorary members. At least 14 days’ notice in writing shall be given to members for an Extraordinary General Meeting.
(Articles 8.1 and 8.2)
Notice
The notice shall specify the time and place of the meeting and the general nature of the business to be transacted. The notice shall be given to all the members and to the directors and auditors.
The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to, or the non-receipt of, notice of a meeting by any person entitled to receive notice shall not invalidate the proceedings at that meeting.
(Articles 9.1 and 9.2)
Proceedings at General Meetings
The proceedings at general meetings are governed by Articles 10.1 to 13.3. They reflect normal company procedure. They are not produced here as they are lengthy, but are available on request.
Management of the Club
The directors and the committee shall each have power to make such arrangements as they consider appropriate for the conduct of their business, such power shall extend to the creation of committees and sub-committees and rules for their conduct. It shall be permissible for the directors or the committee to co-opt outsiders onto any committee or sub-committee they may establish but the standing orders and rules of such committees and sub-committees shall ensure that the majority of any quorum must consist of directors or members of the committee as the case may be.
The committee shall consist of up to 21 members who shall be elected or co-opted in accordance with the Club’s rules.
(Articles 16.1 and 16.2)
Journal
The Committee shall have the authority to appoint an editor who shall be responsible for the production of a club journal. The list of members’ names shall be published in the journal together with their respective category of membership, abbreviated appropriately. One copy of the journal shall be sent to each member, but where there are plural members resident at the same address the editor shall determine the number of journals to be sent to that address. Coggins members will not be entitled to receive a copy of the club journal.
(Rule 3)
Awards and Badges
All members will be entitled to wear the club’s bronze badge.
Other awards may be made by the committee at a committee meeting attended by not less than 10 members. The award of the club’s gold arrow and gold badge shall be by a unanimous vote of the committee members.
Qualifications for award of the club’s badges and arrows shall be as follows:-
Bronze badge All members
Silver badge Members who have rendered
notable services to skiing and to
the club.
Gold badge Members who have rendered
outstanding services to skiing and to the
club.
Bronze Racing Arrow Regional racing squads and British
junior team.
Silver Racing Arrow Regional racing squad A teams
members.
Gold Racing Arrow Members who are in the British or other
national teams (development squads).
(Rules 5.1 to 5.3)
Rules
These club rules may only be changed by a majority of two-thirds of those present and voting at an annual general meeting. Any proposal for changes in the rules shall be submitted to the committee by at least 10 members or by a sub-committee appointed for the purpose and the committee shall make a recommendation regarding the same to the membership at an annual general meeting. The notice convening such meeting shall specify the alterations proposed.
These club rules shall be interpreted in accordance with normal English usage and any dispute in the interpretation of these rules shall be adjudicated by the committee.
(Rules 6.1 and 6.2)
Edward Perrott
10 November 2003
