Constitution

Halterworth Harriers Club Constitution, including Rules, Policies and Procedures

1 Name of Club

The Club will be called HALTERWORTH HARRIERS (hereinafter referred to as The Club). Halterworth Harriers will be affiliated to the Association of Running Clubs (ARC).

2 Aims and Objectives

The aims and objectives of The Club are:

• To offer and promote recreational and competitive participation in running in the area of Romsey and Hampshire.

• To promote The Club within the local community.

• To ensure a duty of care to all members of The Club.

• To provide all its services in a way that is fair to everyone.

3 Membership

(a) Membership of The Club is open to anyone interested in promoting, coaching, volunteering or participating in recreational or competitive running. Individuals who wish to become members must apply by completing a membership application form and submitting this together with the correct subscription to The Club Membership Secretary. 

(b) The membership shall consist of the following categories:

• Adult member – this is open to anyone who is  an amateur and aged 18 years or over at the date of their application.

• Junior member – this is open to anyone who is an amateur and aged between 15 years and 17 years at the date of their application.

(c) All members will be subject to the regulations of the constitution and by joining The Club will be deemed to accept these regulations and codes of practice that The Club has adopted.

(d) Members in each category will pay membership fees, as determined from time to time by the Committee.

(e) Individuals shall not be eligible to take part in the business of The Club, vote at general meetings or be eligible for selection of any club team unless the applicable subscription has been paid by the due date.

4.       Subscriptions

1. Subscriptions shall be due on 1st April each year and must be paid by 30th April. Members in arrears by more than 8 weeks will have their membership automatically terminated and will not be eligible to participate in the activities of The Club. Payment of a full subscription at a later date will enable the former member to be readmitted by the committee.

2. New members that join after 1st May shall be eligible for a discount on membership, reducing each month by one twelfth, so that new members joining later in the year only pay for the months they are members. 

5.      Cessation of Membership

1. A member wishing to withdraw from The Club shall give notice in writing to The Club secretary. Their membership will terminate on the date of that notice unless they are financially indebted to The Club, in which case the committee may withhold acceptance of the resignation until any outstanding liability has been discharged. A member not having tendered their resignation by 31st March shall be liable for the ensuing year’s membership subscription. 

6. Committee

1. The affairs of The Club shall be conducted by a Management Committee which shall consist of the Chair, Treasurer and Secretary as officers and up to twelve other members who shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting. These other members will cover roles such as Membership Secretary, Lead Welfare Officer, Welfare Officer, Health & Safety Coordinator, Webmaster, Session Leader Coordinator, Social Secretary, Kit Secretary and Press Officer.

2. All committee members must be members of The Club. 

3. If required, the committee shall elect a Vice Chair from among its members. 

4. The term of office shall be for one year, and members shall be eligible for re-election.

5. If the post of any officer or ordinary committee member should fall vacant after such an election, the Committee shall have the power to fill the vacancy until the succeeding Annual General Meeting.

6. The Committee will be responsible for adopting new policy, codes of practice and rules that affect the organisation of The Club, whilst adhering to the rules of ARC.

7. The Committee shall elect or appoint representatives to any organisation to which The Club is affiliated, or any other appropriate organisation.

8. The Committee will have powers to appoint any advisers to the Committee as necessary to fulfil its business, and to appoint and delegate powers to sub-committees for any purpose considered appropriate. 

9. The committee meetings will be convened by the Secretary of The Club and be held no less than three times per year.

10. Only the committee members will have the right to vote at committee meetings.

11. The quorum required for business to be agreed at Management Committee meetings will be three (one of whom must be an officer).

12. The committee shall be the sole authority for interpretation of The Club constitution and rules.

6 Finances

(a) The Club treasurer will be responsible for the finances of The Club.

(b) The financial year of The Club will run from 1st January and end on 31st December.

(c) All club monies will be banked in an account held in the name of The Club. 

(d) A statement of annual accounts will be presented by the treasurer at the Annual General Meeting.

(e) Any payments made against club funds should be authorised and approved by two of the committee who have access to the online bank account. Access to the online bank account should be limited to the Chairperson, Treasurer, Club Secretary and Membership Secretary.

  (f) All members of The Club shall be jointly and severally responsible for the financial liabilities

       of The Club. 

7 Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings

1.  General Meetings are the means whereby the members of The Club exercise their democratic rights in conducting The Club’s affairs. 

2. The Club shall hold the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the first quarter of the year (January to March) to:

• Approve the minutes of the previous year’s AGM. 

• Receive reports from the Chair and Secretary. 

• Receive a report from the Treasurer and approve the Annual Accounts. 

• Elect the officers and members of the committee. 

• Consider any proposed changes to the Constitution and Rules.

• Deal with other relevant business specified on the agenda.

3. Notice of the AGM will be given by The Club secretary to all club members with at least 21 days’ notice.

4. Nominations for members of the committee will be sent to the secretary at least 7 days prior to the AGM. Any member can be nominated by any two other members, with his/her approval.

5. Proposed changes to the constitution shall be sent to the secretary prior to the AGM, who shall circulate them at least 7 days before an AGM.

6. All members have the right to vote at the AGM.

7. The quorum for AGMs will be 25% of The Club membership.

8. The Chair of The Club shall hold a deliberative as well as a casting vote at general and committee meetings.

9. An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) shall be called by an application in writing to the Secretary supported by at least 10% of the members of The Club.  The committee shall also have the power to call an EGM by decision of a simple majority of the committee members. This meeting shall be convened within 14 days.

10. All procedures shall follow those outlined above for AGMs. 

8 Club Dissolution

(a) A resolution to dissolve The Club can only be passed at an AGM or EGM through a majority vote of the membership.

(b) In the event of dissolution, all debts should be cleared with any club funds.  Any assets of The Club that remain following this will become the property of another club with similar objectives or ARC. 

9 Amendments to the constitution and rules

The constitution will only be changed through agreement by majority vote of at least two thirds of the members present at an AGM or EGM.

Club Policies and Procedures

10 Safeguarding

The Club takes safeguarding of its members very seriously and has agreed to abide by the 

policies and procedures laid down by ARC, which can be viewed on their 

website. 

The below link can be used to locate them. All club members will be asked to read these and 

agree to abide by them.

ARC Home Page

11 Club Code of Conduct

Members and Runners will:

• Maintain the good reputation of The Club, have fun and enjoy themselves.

• Respect the rights, dignity and worth of all club members. Acts of violence, intimidation, bullying, harassment and physical or sexual abuse will not be tolerated.

• Ensure that all messages on club-based media, including email and WhatsApp, are measured, courteous and relevant to Halterworth Harriers as a running club.

• Ensure prompt payment of annual membership fees.

• Avoid swearing and abusive language and irresponsible behaviour including behaviour that is dangerous to yourself or others.

• Challenge inappropriate behaviour and language by others.

• Listen to your run leader/coach.

• Always thank the coaches and officials who enable you to participate in athletics.

• Inform your run leader/coach if you have any injury, illness or long-term medical condition that may affect your running. We strongly recommend that you carry In Case of Emergency (ICE) details on your person.

• Anticipate and be responsible for your own needs. Be organised, on time, and have appropriate clothing and equipment. If it’s dark, wear something bright – high visibility or reflective.

• Not divert from planned routes without the knowledge and consent of the run leader.

• Not run too far off the front of a group. Loop back at regular intervals or when requested to by your run leader.

• Look after the other runners within your group. If someone is struggling, make sure that they are not left on their own and inform your run leader.

• Be responsible for your own safety and the safety of others. Warn other runners around you of impending hazards.

• Respect and acknowledge other road and footpath users. Be courteous and run in single file where appropriate. Close gates after passing through.

• Not leave a session without first informing your run leader.

• Make sure you warm up before and cool down after sessions. Run leaders will encourage this but it is a personal responsibility of all to ensure they are prepared for sessions.

Session Leaders and the Committee will:

• Adopt an open policy with regard to membership and treat all members equally and fairly.

• Adopt national welfare policies and procedures, adhere to the codes of conduct and respond to any suspected breaches in accordance with the welfare procedures.

• Appoint a welfare officer and ensure that they are provided with appropriate training to act as a first point of contact for concerns about welfare issues.

• Ensure that officers & coaches hold the appropriate qualifications for their role and have undertaken the appropriate checks e.g. DBS checks.

• Ensure that sessions are welcoming and inclusive for all members.

• Provide instruction and guidance for club members before and during sessions.

• Maintain the safety of all club members at all times, and support club members and affected members of the public in the event of an incident.

12 Inclusion & Diversity Policy

Introduction

For the purposes of this policy ‘inclusion’ means access for all. It means recognising differences between individuals / groups and providing opportunities for them to participate in Athletics and Running regardless of those differences, whether this is as a participant, coach, leader, official, volunteer or member of staff. 

Halterworth Harriers embraces diversity and difference and is committed to providing opportunities that are safe, inclusive, accessible, and equitable. We want our club to be equally accessible to all members of society, whatever their age, disability, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or social/economic status. 

We will develop a focus on inclusion, not exclusion, and ensure that we provide appropriate advice to members and volunteers to ensure that everyone can participate as fully as possible. 

The Inclusion Policy is intended to promote a change in attitudes and perceptions and to improve opportunities for everyone to participate at our club. 

We will seek to ensure that we comply with the Equality Act 2010 and the characteristics protected by it ( age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity) and encourage our members to do so. We will seek to include everyone regardless of whether they have a protected characteristic or not. 

Our aim is to provide an environment where everyone feels: 

•    Welcome 

•    Represented 

•    Included in decision making 

•    Able to participate 

•    Safe and free from discrimination, bullying, harassment and vilification. 

Aims 

The aims of the Inclusion Policy are: 

• To promote the development of knowledge and understanding of disability, equity and inclusion amongst our participants, leaders/coaches, officials, volunteers and competition/event organisers by the provision of appropriate guidance and training. To guide and support the integration of inclusive practice into our core club/group programmes and activities. 

• To contribute towards growing and sustaining numbers of people from under-represented groups participating within our club. 

• To promote inclusion within Athletics and Running wherever possible and in accordance with the provisions of the Equality Act. The chairperson is typically the most senior official role in a club and fulfils a range of duties dealing with overall management of club affairs.  The chairperson leads The Club to achieve their vision, short term and long-term goals.

• To adopt inclusive practice within our competition and events. 

• To promote close working partnerships with relevant groups and organisations to support the development of inclusive practice within our club.

Commitment

We will:

• Not tolerate discrimination, harassment, bullying or victimisation. 

• Actively identify and reduce barriers to participation for under-represented groups. 

• Consult with expert partners and other organisations to facilitate inclusive practices and remove barriers to participation. 

• Ensure under-represented groups are given the opportunity to participate in all aspects of our club. 

• Provide opportunities for all in coaching, officiating and leadership positions. 

There are a number of measures that we will take to ensure that we are working under the guidance of the Policy and within the requirements of the Equality Act (2010).

13 Discipline and Grievance Policy and Procedure 

• All concerns, allegations or reports of malpractice or abuse relating to the welfare of children or vulnerable adults will be recorded and responded to swiftly and appropriately in accordance with The Club’s and ARC’s Safeguarding Policy and Procedures. The Welfare Officer shall be the lead officer for all members in the event of any safeguarding concerns.

• Any complaints of misconduct (improper or unprofessional conduct) regarding the behaviour of members or officers shall be dealt with by The Club in accordance with its discipline and appeals process and must be presented in writing to the Secretary (and where matters concern the Secretary, the complaint must be submitted to the Welfare Officer). Unless exceptional circumstances apply, the Secretary will hear complaints within fourteen days of receiving a complaint. If the complaint is sufficiently evidenced, the Secretary will appoint three Club Members (who have no direct or indirect interest/involvement in the matter) to sit on a disciplinary panel. Subject to appeal detailed below, a decision of the disciplinary panel shall be final and conclusive.

• Any appeals must be received by the Secretary within seven days of receiving the written decision. The Management Committee will consider the appeal within seven days of the Secretary receiving the appeal and respond within seven days thereafter to the originator.

• Any complaints of serious misconduct (including, without limitation, theft, doping violations, fraud, physical violence, safeguarding policy breaches, serious breach of applicable health and safety, gambling and/or ticketing regulations or any act or omission of the member or officer which in the opinion of ARC, acting reasonably, brings or is likely to bring the sport of athletics into disrepute) regarding the behaviour of members or officers shall be reported and dealt with by ARC in accordance with its disciplinary procedures.

• If a dispute arises between any members or officers of The Club about the validity or propriety of anything done by any member or officer under these rules and the dispute cannot be resolved by agreement, the parties to the dispute must first try in good faith to settle the dispute by mediation before resorting to litigation.

15 Privacy Policy

Halterworth Harriers is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. For any personal data you provide for the purposes of your membership, Halterworth Harriers is the Data Controller and is responsible for storing and otherwise processing that data in a fair, lawful, secure and transparent way.

What personal data we hold on you

You may give us information about you by filling in forms at an event or online, or by corresponding with us by phone, e-mail or otherwise. This includes information you provide when you register with The Club or participate in club emails and WhatsApp discussions. The information you give us may include your name, date of birth, address, e-mail address, phone number and gender (Athletics Data). We may also ask for relevant supplementary information, such as health information.

Why we need your personal data

We need your Athletics Data to be able to administer your membership and to provide the membership services you are signing up to when you register with The Club. Our lawful basis for processing your personal is that we have a contractual obligation to you as a member to provide the services you are registering for. If you choose not to share the data requested in the membership form, we cannot register you as a member of The Club.

Reasons we need to process your data include: 

For training and competition entry  

• sharing personal data with club coaches or officials to administer training sessions.

• sharing personal data with club team managers to enter events.

• sharing personal data with leagues and other competition providers for entry in events.

For funding and reporting purposes

• analysing anonymised data to monitor club trends.

• sending an annual club survey to improve your experience as a club member.

For membership and club management  

• processing of membership forms and payments.

• sharing data with committee members to provide information about club activities, membership renewals or invitation to social events.

• club newsletter promoting club activity.

• publishing of race and competition results.

Marketing and communications

• sending information about promotions and offers from sponsors;

• sending information about selling club kit, merchandise or fundraising.

Special category health data

Any special category health data we hold on you is only processed for the purpose of passing health data to coaches to allow the safe running of training sessions. We process this data on the lawful basis of consent. Therefore, we will also need your explicit consent to process this data, which we will ask for at the point of collecting it. 

Social media/Google/WhatsApp

The Club has a Facebook page and uses WhatsApp and Google Groups. All members are free to choose whether or not to join these services, and members can unsubscribe at any time. We also use Google Forms on our website (eg the Contact us form, Membership form and ad hoc event forms). If you engage with these services, please note that providers of these platform(s) have their own privacy policies and that The Club does not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. It is your responsibility to check these policies before you submit any personal data.

Who we share your personal data with

We use Google Groups, Google Forms, WhatsApp, Facebook and Strava to provide information on Club activities, to enable social networking and to highlight and administer club activities.

The Club will sometimes transfer your data outside of the UK. Where this happens, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are put in place to ensure the security and safety of your information and data.

How long we hold your personal data

We will hold your personal data on file for as long as you are a member with us. Athlete data is updated every year on annual membership forms. Any personal data we hold on you will be securely destroyed after four years of inactivity on that member’s account. Your data is not processed for any further purposes other than those detailed in this policy.

Your rights regarding your personal data

As a data subject you may have the right at any time to request access to, rectification or erasure of your personal data; to restrict or object to certain kinds of processing of your personal data, including direct marketing; to the portability of your personal data and to complain to the UK’s data protection supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office about the processing of your personal data. 

16 Declaration

The above club constitution, rules, policies and procedures for Halterworth Harriers have been agreed at the Annual General Meeting on 27th February 2025 and is hereby accepted as the current operating guide regulating the actions of members. 

Signed:

Name: Paul Garland

Position: Club Secretary

Date: 27th February 2025