DEVON CRICKET BOARD CONSTITUTION 1. Name 1.1 The name of the organisation shall be the Devon Cricket Board (referred to in this document as either “the Board” or “the DCB”). 2. Affiliation to the English Cricket Board 2.1 The Board shall be a constituent member of the England and Wales Cricket Board (referred to in this document as “the ECB”) and shall exercise, fulfil and exploit all rights, responsibilities and opportunities arising therefrom in the interests of the playing and development of cricket in Devon. 3. Aims 3.1 To actively govern and promote the playing and development of the game of cricket at all levels and age groups in Devon and in so doing to promote excellence in both playing, and coaching, and the provision of playing facilities for cricket in Devon. 3.2 The DCB shall be the Governing Body for cricket in Devon and in discharging this role will adhere to the Rules, Regulations and Codes of the ECB. 3.3 To encourage the upholding of the traditions and standing of the game of cricket in accordance with both the Laws of Cricket and the “spirit of cricket”. 3.4 To represent the views of the Board and the interests of members at both regional and national levels and with appropriate bodies, and provide effective channels of communication on behalf of those playing cricket in Devon with those other levels and organisations. 3.5 To co-ordinate the activities of all cricketing bodies and other appropriate and related agencies within the County of Devon. 3.6 To be open in carrying out the Board’s business and in taking account of the views of organisations and individuals that wish to contribute to cricket in Devon. 3.7 To uphold and operate a policy of non-discrimination. Accordingly, membership shall be open only to clubs paying the appropriate Affiliation Fee and whose Constitution includes the following statement “Membership shall be open to all, irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, colour, creed, ethnic origin, social status, and sexual orientation” or one to the same effect. This same policy shall apply to the Board itself. 4 .Objectives 4.1 To determine policies for the development of cricket in Devon in accordance with national, regional and local priorities and available resources. 4.2 To prepare, approve, implement and periodically review and revise as appropriate a Development Plan for cricket in Devon. This shall be done in the context of any National Strategy for the development of the game. 4.3 To support and develop players in order to encourage selection and representation of Devon cricketers at county, regional and national levels. 4.4 To ensure that whatever resources come under the control or influence of the Board they are used effectively and efficiently in achieving the aims of the Board as set out above. 4.5 To apply to all appropriate sources for grant support or sponsorship for the benefit of the Board’s aims and where appropriate distribute aid from whatever sources to improve the playing of cricket and the development of facilities in Devon to enhance this objective. Within this overall objective to also give appropriate support to applications from affiliated clubs and organisations who make a contribution to the Board’s Aims and Objectives. 4.6 To adopt, implement and support policies to ensure the welfare of young people playing cricket throughout all cricket agencies in Devon. 4.7 To act as employer in relation to such employees as the Board shall decide are appropriate to deliver the above Aims and Objectives from time to time; and in discharging this function to ensure that all appropriate facilities and support are available for such a person or persons. 5. Membership 5.1 Membership of the Board. The voting composition of the Board shall consist of the Officers of the Board (as specified in Clause 7.2 below), the duly appointed representatives from the Devon County Cricket Club, the Devon Cricket Board Youth Association, the Devon Womens Cricket Association, the Devon Cricket Board Coaches Association, the Devon Cricket Association of Cricket Officials, the Devon League, and a representative from each of the four Area Committees in Devon. 5.2 The Board shall have the power to co-opt up to a maximum of three additional persons to become members of the Board, all of whom will thereupon have voting rights. 5.3 In relation to the various bodies who have nomination rights for a representative on the Board (as set out in Clause 5.1 above) it shall be the normal expectation that the representative on the Board will be the Chairman or a nominated representative. 5.4 Devon Affiliated Membership of the Board. Devon Affiliated Membership of the Board shall be open to each Club, League, Association or Society which is established for the playing of cricket in Devon and whose ground is located within the Administrative County of Devon, the City of Plymouth or the Borough of Torbay or which does not have a ground of its own but is established with the objective of playing cricket in Devon and on payment of the appropriate annual Affiliation Fee as fixed by the Board from time to time. 5.5 Associate Membership of the Board. Those bodies within this category of membership shall also be affiliated to the Board. Membership will be open to Clubs which are geographically based outside the County of Devon but are interested either in playing cricket in Devon or supporting cricket in Devon. This shall be known as “Associate Membership”. A separate (and reduced) level of Affiliation Fee shall be fixed by the Board for such Associate Member Clubs and organisations. 5.6 General requirement. Any Club or other body seeking to become affiliated to the Board shall by applying for such Affiliation Fee and paying the appropriate fee confirm that it agrees to be bound by the Rules, Codes, Directions and behavioural standards promulgated by both the ECB and the DCB from time to time. 5.7 Failure to pay the appropriate Affiliation Fee. Failure to pay the appropriate Affiliation Fee shall disqualify from being affiliated to the Board from a date one month after that fee became payable, and from that date the relevant Club or other body shall be ineligible for any of the benefits of affiliation to the Board or to benefit from any of the services which the Board provides. 6.Benefits of Membership of the Board. 6.1 The following benefits and services are available to those in either category of affiliation to the Board and in relation to the categories of membership so indicated below: 6.2 Devon Affiliated Membership.
6.3 Associate Membership.
7.Appointments by, and working arrangements of, the Board 7.1 Appointments of representatives to the Board. The various bodies mentioned in Clause 5.1 above as being entitled to nominate a representative to the Board shall do so by their own formal processes and shall then formally notify the Honorary Secretary of the Board of the identity of their representative from time to time. Until such notice has been given to the Honorary Secretary of the Board, the relevant representative shall not be entitled to attend meetings of the Board or vote at them. 7.2 Officers of the Board. The Board shall appoint a Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Legal Advisor and a Child Welfare Officer. These appointments need not necessarily be made from within the Board membership. Each of these five officers shall become Members of the Board on appointment if they are not already a member. 7.3 Terms of office. For the sake of clarification it is the intention that such officers should normally serve for a three-year term on appointment. Initial and transitional arrangements are set out below in Clause 7.5 for the first terms of office of these officers. If however such an officer fails to complete their initial or any subsequent term of office then a successor shall then be appointed whose initial term of office before eligibility for re-election shall run for what would have been the remaining term of office of his or her predecessor. That person shall then be eligible for a further term (or further terms) of appointment. 7.4 For the avoidance of doubt, if one of the Officers mentioned in Clause 7.2 above is appointed from one of the members representing an organisation on the Board then that organisation shall be entitled to appoint another representative to membership of the Board. 7.5 Initial appointment of Officers and the establishment of appointments by Rotation. In order to avoid a situation in which the incumbents of all the offices of the Board are due to be appointed (or re-appointed) at the same time, a system of appointment by rotation is hereby being established. All the Officers of the Board will be first appointed at the first Annual General Meeting of the Board. The initial terms of office of each such office-holder shall be as now indicated:
7.6 Each such Officer shall be eligible for reappointment for a second and subsequent term of office. Such re-appointment (or the appointment of a successor) shall be done on the three-yearly anniversary of the expiry of the very first term of office for such office-holder. Thus a pattern of a three-yearly rotational cycle of appointments of Officers of the Board will be established. 7.7 Any nomination for an Officer of the Board shall be made in writing to the Honorary Secretary at least fourteen days before the Board Meeting at which the appointment is to be made. All nominations shall be supported both by a Proposer and a Seconder both of who shall have been members of the Board for at least twelve months at the time they subscribe that nomination. 7.8 Each voting member of the Board will have one vote, except that the Chairman will be empowered to exercise a second and casting vote where otherwise there is an equality of votes cast for any proposition. 7.9 The Board shall appoint an Honorary Membership Secretary and an Honorary Newsletter Editor. The terms of office for these officers shall be for three-year terms including their respective initial terms of office. However, these two officers shall not be voting members of the Board. They shall be entitled to attend meetings of the Board when matters within the terms of their specific remit are under discussion and otherwise with the approval of the Board. 7.10 The Board shall meet at least twice a year, and in addition hold an Annual General Meeting. 7.11 The Board shall be empowered to hold such further meetings as it shall from time to time consider necessary for properly conducting the business of the Board. 7.12 Notice of no less than seven days of all Board Meetings and the Annual General Meeting will be given to each Board member in writing. 7.13 The quorum for Board meetings will be six members of the Board. This shall include at least two Officers as specified in Clause 7.2 above. 7.14 The Board may establish such other Committees as it from time to time thinks fit, and may delegate to them such functions as it decides. 7.15 Urgent Action. In all cases of urgency and the need for urgency precludes action through a formal meeting of the Board, the Honorary Secretary (acting in consultation with the Chairman) shall be empowered to exercise the powers of the Board (including that of appointing members to an ad hoc Committee or the Appeals Committee for the purposes of dealing with a specific case). In all cases where the Honorary Secretary exercises powers in these circumstances a formal report of the action taken and the circumstances in which it was taken, shall be submitted by the Honorary Secretary to the next meeting of the Board. 7.16 The Annual General Meeting of the Board. This shall be held between 1 September and 31 December in every year. The requirement for Notice of Meetings is specified in Clause 7.12. 7.17 The Business to be transacted at the Annual General Meeting shall be specified on the Agenda and shall include: the receipt of a report on the membership of the Board for the next ensuing year (see Clause 7.1); the election of Officers having regard to the principles of rotation (see Clauses 7.2, 7.3, 7.5 and 7.6); the co-option of Members to the Board (see Clause 5.2); the appointment of the Appeals committee (see Clause 10.3); the receipt and approval of the Accounts of the Board for the preceding year (see Clause 8.8); the approval of Affiliation Fees for the next following year (see Clause 9.1); 7.18 Devon Area Committees. There shall be four Area Committees in respect to the East, North, South and West parts of Devon. The geographical boundaries covered by each of these Committees shall be determined by the Board from time to time. Each such Area Committee shall elect its own officers and be a body independent of the Board. The role of these Committees shall be as is set out in Clause 7.21 below. 7.19 All Clubs whose ground is located within the geographical area covered by one of the Area Committees shall be entitled to have a representative on the Area committee. Those Cricket clubs which do not have a ground of their own shall be eligible to join in membership of the relevant Area Committee within whose geographical area the Honorary Secretary for that Club for the time being resides. 7.20 Each Area Committee shall appoint one representative to be a Member of the Board (see Clauses 5.1 and 5.3 above) which shall normally be the Chairman of that Committee. 7.21 The role of each of the four Area Committees is to provide a working link between Cricket Clubs in the area and the Devon Cricket Board and in order to assist in that role to appoint a representative for the area on the Board, to implement locally the objectives of the Devon Cricket Development Plan, to assist with the adoption of ECB policies and to communicate ECB matters to Clubs locally, to co-ordinate the work of cricketing agencies within the area, to ensure that clear channels of communication exist and operate, and that resources are used effectively, and to act as an advocate for cricket in their area. 8. Administration and Finance 8.1 The Board shall be empowered to establish such other Committees as it shall judge to be desirable in the interests of the efficient discharge of the functions of the Board. 8.2 The Board shall be empowered to invite such other persons as it deems appropriate to attend its meetings and deliberations. This shall include the South West Women’s Cricket Club Development Officer, the Honorary Secretary of the Devon League, the Regional Development Manager of the ECB, or other officials. 8.3 At an early opportunity after the first establishment of the Board, the Board shall take appropriate steps to ensure that statements of the individual responsibilities (“job descriptions”) for each of its Officers are prepared and fully documented. 8.4 Minutes of all meetings of the Board and of such Committees as it shall established from time to time shall be produced by the Honorary Secretary expeditiously after all such meetings and made available to all members. 8.5 The Honorary Treasurer will keep proper records of all accounts, transactions, assets and liabilities that give a clear and accurate view of the financial affairs of the Board. 8.6 It shall be within the responsibilities of the Board (and in the absence of a decision of the Board, of the Honorary Treasurer) to address the need for appropriate insurance policies to protect the interests of the Board. This shall include public liability insurance and in the event of the Board exercising any responsibilities as an employer appropriate Employers Liability Insurance. It shall be the responsibility of the Honorary Treasurer to ensure that all requisite insurance premiums are paid and kept fully up to date at all times. 8.7 The Board’s financial year shall commence on 1 October in one year and end on the 30 September in the following year. 8.8 The accounts for each year will be reported to the Annual General Meeting of the Board within three months of the end of the financial year, and shall be made available to all affiliated members on request. The accounts shall be circulated to Members of the Board in advance of each Annual General Meeting. 8.9 The Honorary Treasurer shall make arrangements for the annual accounts to be appropriately checked before submission to the Annual General Meeting. An appropriately qualified Accountant to undertake the checking shall be appointed annually at the Annual General meeting 8.10 Following acceptance by the Board, a copy of the accounts will be sent to the appropriate cricket authorities as and when requested by the appropriate authorities. 8.11 The Board shall appoint a delegate to the ECB at its Annual General Meeting. This role will normally be undertaken by the Chairman of the Board. 8.12 The Board is expressly authorised to adopt such polices to guide its operation, its management, and its jurisdiction over all its own member organisations and Clubs, as the Board deems appropriate or necessary from time to time. This shall normally be done by formal Resolution at any General Meeting of the Board (which for the sake of clarity includes the Annual General Meeting). However, if circumstances so militate and in exceptional circumstances this can be done in reliance on the terms of Clause 7.15 (Urgency) above but subject to such a decision then being ratified at the next following General Meeting 9. Affiliation Fees 9.1 All Affiliated Members of the Board shall pay an annual Affiliation Fee which shall be determined at the Annual General Meeting of the Board for the relevant year starting on the following 1 January. Separate Affiliation Fee levels shall be fixed for Devon Affiliated Members and Associate Members of the Board. 9.2 For the sake of clarification payment of the Affiliation Fee by a Club or organisation entitles that Club or organisation to affiliation to the Board, but not any of its individual members. 9.3 The Board is empowered to pay any appropriate subscription to any relevant regional or national organisation. 10. Discipline 10.1 General conduct. All Members of the Board and of all bodies affiliated to the Board shall be expected to conduct themselves both on and off the field of play in such a way as to avoid bringing themselves, the Board, or the game of cricket into disrepute. The Board shall be empowered to investigate any complaints made by or against a Member of the Board, any Club or organisation in affiliation with the Board. The parties involved in any complaint shall be given the right to attend and appear before a Committee (other than the Appeals Committee) whose decision shall then be binding on all parties, subject only to the right of appeal to the Appeals Committee. 10.2 The Board shall be empowered to discipline any Member of the Board, any Club or organisation affiliated with the Board or any member of any Club which is affiliated to the Board who fails to abide by the general requirements of good conduct. Any decision to discipline any party shall include the right to exclude any Club, organisation or individual from continued affiliation with the Board, but without otherwise limiting the power of sanction or penalty 10.3 The Board as final arbiter within Devon. The Board shall be the final arbiter of all matters relating to the propriety of the conduct of its Members and those bodies (and the Members of those bodies) in affiliation with the Board. All constituent bodies shall be expected to establish their own disciplinary Codes consistent with those of the Board and of the ECB and to enforce them, but subject to a final right of appeal to the Appeals Committee of the Board. In any case where an appeal is made to the Board and is the subject of a hearing by the Appeals Committee the decision of that Committee shall be the final decision of the Board and no further appeal shall lie. By becoming a Member, affiliating to the Board, or pursuing an appeal to the Appeals Committee, all parties shall be deemed to have accepted that the Board shall operate in this role and that the Board is empowered to expect, assert and enforce appropriate standards. 10.4 Appeals Committee. The Board shall establish an Appeals Committee. This Committee shall meet when required and shall normally be chaired by the Honorary Legal Advisor unless he or she is not available. In that circumstance the Board shall appoint another suitable person to take the Chair of Committee for that meeting. The Appeals Committee shall if practicable be comprised of three Members of the Board. These Members shall normally be appointed at the Annual General Meeting. Additionally, if for the purposes of any specific appeal and for ensuring fairness to the parties involved the Board considers that an external independent Chairman or other member(s) should be appointed then the Board shall be empowered to make such an appointment for the purposes and to pay any costs thereby incurred by the Board. Otherwise all costs of any appeals shall be borne by the parties themselves. If exceptional costs are incurred by the Board in dealing with an appeal, the Appeals Committee shall have power to require, and may therefore order, either party to the appeal to pay those costs. 10.5 The Appeals Committee shall never include within its membership for the purposes of hearing any specific appeal any person who has had any earlier involvement whatever in respect of the matter which is the subject of that specific appeal. 10.6 The Appeals Committee shall be empowered to hear any appeal relating to matters arising within any member organisations which operate within the County of Devon which needs an independent hearing and adjudication. Those parties seeking such a hearing and adjudication shall first confirm their agreement to accept the outcome of that appeal as binding on all parties before any such hearing or appeal commences, and willingness to accept the potential consequences in relation to costs as are set out in Clause 10.4 above. 10.7 The Appeals Committee shall establish formal written procedures for the conduct of any Hearings. This procedure shall have proper regard to all the principles of natural justice. A copy of the procedure shall be made available to all parties involved in any appeal hearing in advance. 10.8 The adjudication on any appeal shall be given only after a formal Hearing to which each party is invited and is given the opportunity to present their case. A minimum of fourteen days notice of the holding of any Hearing shall be given in writing to all parties. The written note of the procedures (see Clause 10.6 above) which will be followed by the Appeals Committee at the Hearing shall be issued to all parties with the Notice of the Hearing, together with a description of the provisions in this Section of this Constitution. A written notice of the decision of the Appeals Committee shall be issued to all parties within fourteen days of the conclusion of the Hearing 10.9 Where the Appeals Committee hears an appeal it shall have power to:
10.10 Any appeal to the Board shall only be valid if it is received in writing by the Honorary Secretary within 28 days of the event leading to the appeal, and to satisfy this requirement the following shall also be deposited within that same timescale, namely: such Appeal Form as the Board require to be completed stating the full grounds of the proposed appeal; any requisite deposit of fees, and copies of any documents to be relied upon in supporting the grounds of appeal 11. Dissolution of the Board 11.1 In the event that the Board either ceases to exist or a decision is taken that it be dissolved for any reason such assets and monies as the Board shall then have after the settlement of all its liabilities shall be distributed in such manner as the English Cricket Board shall advise but with the specific interests of benefiting the continued fostering and development of cricket within the County of Devon. 12 Alterations to this Constitution. 12.1 Alterations to this Constitution may only be made at the Annual General Meeting of the Board or at a Special Meeting of the Board where the quorum shall be nine appointed members. No alterations shall be approved unless full notice of the proposed changes has been given to the full membership of the Board in the Notice convening the Meeting. There shall be at least a two-thirds majority of those present at the meeting voting in favour of the change for it to approve. This version of the DCB Constitution is as originally approved and as subsequently amended at the AGM on 5 December 2007, 15th December 2008. |