Constitution of the Forest Sailing Club.

Name.

The name of the club shall be: FOREST SAILING CLUB

Aims and Objects of the club shall be:
- To Encourage and promote all forms of sailing.
- To promote social activities.
- To provide a clubhouse and amenities for use of the members of the club.

Definitions

For the purpose of this constitution the following terms shall be interpreted as follows:

Club – Shall refer to the Forest Sailing Club, it’s premises and amenities as well as the utilization of the water for sailing or fishing purposes.
1. Executive committee – Shall refer to the Executive committee as defined in clause 9.
1. Family – A member’s spouse or life partner and his children and adopted children under the age of 21 years.
1. Not in good standing – Shall be deemed to refer to members with outstanding fees, or who have been suspended either temporarily or permanently as members of the club by the Executive Council.
1. Writing – Facsimile, Mail or E-Mail.

Membership

Membership shall comprise of the following categories:

Ordinary Members.
Honorary Life Members.
Honorary Members.
Junior Members.
Pensioners.

The family of members in categories a, b, & c will have the same privileges as the member, with the exception of voting rights. The member will be responsible for the behavior and actions of his family.

Ordinary members shall have the following rights:

To vote at the general meeting of the club.
To be elected as Officers of the club.
To be eligible for nomination and election to the Executive Committee of the club.
To enjoy the facilities offered by the club from time to time.
To receive guests at the club under the guidelines as laid down in the rules from time to time.

Application for membership shall be made on the prescribed form. Both a proposing and seconding member, in good standing with the club, must sign the application form.

Honorary Life Membership may be conferred by the Executive Committee, subject to approval of the Annual General Meeting, by reason of an individual’s outstanding service to the Club. Such membership shall concur the same rights as an ordinary member but shall be exempt from paying Membership Fees and have no voting rights.

Honorary Membership may be conferred on anyone by the Executive Committee of the Club on such terms and conditions as the Executive Committee deems fit. Such Honorary Membership will be valid for a year and may be renewed on an annual basis by the Executive Committee. Such Honorary Membership shall have the same rights as an ordinary member but shall be exempt from paying Membership Fees and such Honorary member shall have no voting rights .

Membership Fees.

Fees shall be determined at the Annual General Meeting or at any Special General Meeting called for that purpose and will be brought into place the beginning of the new financial year these changes include the following:

a. Entrance Fees

b. Annual Membership Fees

c. Boat Storage Fees

d. Locker Fees

e. Special Fees being fees which the Club may establish from time to time at a Special or Annual General Meeting.

A 50% reduction will be made for Pensioners on Entrance and Annual Membership fees.

Resignation of Members.

A member may resign from the Club at any stage. Such a resigning member will remain liable for all outstanding Fees to the end of the current financial year, subject to any decision by the Executive Council.

Expulsion of Members.

The executive Council shall have the power to cancel any person’s membership if the Executive Council considers that such a member has been guilty of improper or unseemly conduct or has acted in a manner prejudicial to the interest or aims of the Club.

Such members will be liable for all outstanding fees and will not be entitled to a refund of any contribution which they may have made to the Club at any stage whether as a member or not, nor any fees that have been paid to the Club.

Limitation of Liability of Members.

The Executive Committee shall not be entitled to involve members of the Club in any financial Liability in excess of the funds available. The liability of members is limited to any outstanding amounts due by the member to the Club.

Election of Office Bearers:

The Clubs Executive Committee shall consist of the following:

a. Commodore

b. Vice-Commodore

c. Secretary

d. Treasurer

e. Training manager

f. Social Manager

g. Grounds manager

The election of the Executive Council shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting. At least 5 of the office bearers shall be yacht owners whose name appears on the Club register.

The Clubs Officers shall constitute the following appointments:

Sailing /Race officer
Safety/Rescue officer
Quartermaster
Galley Officer
Social officer
Maintenance crew
Projects.

Members of the Executive Council shall elect the Club Officers at their first Executive Council Meeting. The Club Officers may be members of the Executive Council, or they may co-opt additional members as officers. In the case of the latter, these co-opted members will only have a vote on matters pertaining directly to their portfolio at any Executive Council meeting.

10. Powers and Duties of the Executive Council

The executive council shall have the following general powers and obligations:

To co-opt to the Executive Council any member in good standing with the Club.
To interpret the Constitution and Rules of the Club and their decision shall be Final and Binding.
To act in any matter or circumstance necessary for the maintenance, control and management of the Club and to conduct the business of the Club in particular to buy, sell, lease or encumber immovable property.
To make, vary, alter and repeal any Rules of the Club, provided that such Rules do not conflict with the Constitution of the Club, and provided that no force or validity shall be given to such Rules until such varied, altered or repealed Rules have appeared for a period of at least 14 days on the Clubs notice board.
To organize and arrange competitions and functions and to levy the necessary fees at such competitions and functions.
To refuse or cancel membership of any individual considered undesirable or who is considered by the Executive Council to have been guilty of improper or unseemly conduct or to have acted in a manner prejudicial to the interest or aims of the Club.
To report any person mentioned in Clause10(f) to the Water Bailiff for reference to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.
To buy sell and acquire all apparatus, equipment, materials and provisions etc. required by the Club.
To raise funds in such a manner as may be deemed fit, and furthermore to invest such funds in a Building Society, Company, debentures, mortgage bonds, or other financial institutions, and in any other manner approved by the Executive Committee in writing from time to time.
To ensure that any proposed changes to the Constitution be proposed, seconded and after being exhibited to the Executive Council, be submitted in writing to all members 21 days before being presented at a Special or Annual General meeting for consideration.
The Office bearers will have inter alia the following duties:

Commodore:

Schedule and manage committee meetings.
Manage AGM and present His/her report.
Responsible for the overall running of the club
Represent the club at official functions.
Ensure planning and budgeting is carried out in accordance with members wishes.
Lead the club with a clear vision of the future of the club.
Is responsible for the overall safety of club members, visitors and all craft on the dam. This is in liaison with the training manager and safety officer.
Build and maintain good relationship with residents at the dam on the estates as well as the irrigation board.
Listen to members concerns and act upon them.
Guide other committee members in their tasks to achieve the goals set for each portfolio and the vision of the club.

Vice Commodore:

Create social and race calendar with the social manager and training manager and their respective officers.
Stand in for the commodore at events if the commodore is not available.
Work with the commodore to develop a short- and long-term plan for the club.
Support training manager with development projects in sailing.
Responsible for safety ashore reviewing the club safety policies and procedures.
Assist grounds manager with the Quartermaster in setting up an asset register and maintenance plan for the club buildings and equipment.

Training manager:

In conjunction with the training and race officers setup a schedule for both disciples for the year that meets the needs of the club.
To manage and control all training taking place in accordance with the guidelines laid down by FSC and in accordance with SAS guidelines.
Set up a team of instructors to train:
- Youth
- Adult
Get the race officer to setup a bridge crew to handle races and ensure they are trained up in accordance with SAS guidelines to manage races.
With the aid of the quartermaster ensure equipment is in good repair, clean and packed away properly.
Lease with the Vice commodore about equipment needs.
Ensure the safety officer is trained to the standard of the SAMSA and all safety equipment is serviceable.
Support Safety officers in their work to ensure all craft on the surface of the dam are compliant with SAMSA rules.

Grounds manager:

Responsible for the groundman.
Ensure with the groundman the appearance of the club grounds is kept in a neat and presentable way.
Maintain the boat shed and outside parking. Boats in their proper parking bay.
Plan layout of parking bays in the boatshed as well as outside parking.
In charge of general maintenance of the buildings and club equipment.
Deliver continuous improvements to the condition of the club house and grounds.
Bring to the attention of the Commodore and Vice commodore any equipment needs and spares needed for repairs and maintenance.
Plan and implement projects for the grounds and boat shed / park.

Social Manager

Draw up a social calendar for the year.
Plan with the events coordinator and galley crew events and meals for race days, social events and training events.
Advertise events on social media.
Lease with the vice commodore for events that require the hiring out of the club to both members and non-members. (Parties, fishing contests etc.)
Establish a Budget for the galley and events.

Treasurer

Present financial accounts at committee meetings
Present financial report at the AGM
Keep track of income and expenditure
Inform members of monies owed to the club.
Ensure invoices are sent out in a timely manner.
To give advice and guidance to budget holders and ensure that budget holders only authorize expenditure in conjunction with committee approval.
Ensure banking records are kept up to date.
Present to the committee recommendations on entry, camping, launch and membership fees.
Ensure all creditors are paid on time and invoices of transaction are recorded.
Ensure all collects from debtors are made.

Secretary

Publish an agenda of all meetings and distribute to all members of the committee.
To take minutes at committee meetings and disciplinary hearings.
To ensure the distribution of the minutes in a timely manner.
To Prepare notices of all meetings and support the commodore and management members in effectively running these meetings.
Capture all data such as new members, insurance documentation, lease agreement and correspondence received by the club.
Bring any correspondence to the attention of the relevant committee members.
Ensure Data is backed up and kept safe.
Handover to new Secretary guiding them through all the data and functions of the office.

11. Meetings

a. Annual General Meeting.

The Annual General Meeting shall be held no later than the 30 July of each year. The date, time and venue shall be decided on by the Executive Council.

The Annual General Meeting shall entail at least the following:

1. Annual Report by the Commodore.

2. Annual Financial and membership report by the Secretary/Treasurer.

3. Election of any Life Honorary Members

4. Election/Renewal/Ratification of any Honorary Members.

5. Election of the Executive Council

Notice of such meeting must be published in writing to members at least 21 days in advance. The quorum at an Annual General Meeting shall consist of at least 10 members, including the Executive Council, of good standing. In the absence of a quorum, the meeting shall be adjourned for half an hour. If after the adjournment, the required quorum cannot be formed, the members present at the meeting will form a quorum and shall be empowered to deal with all matters save and except matters affecting a change in the constitution of the Club,

b. Special General Meeting.

The Executive Council may call a Special General Meeting from time to time or be obliged to call a Special General Meeting when requested to do so by at least five members in writing. Notice of such meeting must be published in writing to members at least 14 days in advance. The quorum at a Special General Meeting shall consist of at least 10 members, including the Executive Council, of good standing. In the absence of a quorum, the meeting shall be adjourned for half an hour. If after the adjournment, the required quorum cannot be formed, the members present at the meeting will form a quorum and shall be empowered to deal with all matters have and except Matters affecting a change in the constitution of the Club.

c. Executive Committee Meetings.

Executive meetings shall be held from time to time as agreed necessary by the Executive Council but must be held at least quarterly. The quorum at an Executive Council Meeting shall consist of at least 3 members. A member absenting himself from three consecutive meetings without leave of the Executive council shall, ipso facto. cease to be a member of the Executive Council.

12. Indemnity.

a. No member or guest shall have any legal right of action whatsoever against the Club for any damage suffered to person or property as a result of default or neglect of the Club, the Club Officers, Executive Committee, the Club members or any of the Club’s employees.

13. Boat Storage

No boat will be stored at the Club or entered into the Club’s register, unless the boat is owned by a member of the Club. In the case of syndicated boat’s; all owners and co-owners must be members of the Club. On change of ownership of the boat, the Club Officer in charge of the boat register must be notified in writing within 21 days.

14. Dissolution of the Club.

In the event of the Club being dissolved, all assets of the Club shall be sold by public auction and the net proceeds shall be divided equally amongst all members in good standing, at the time and will exclude Honorary Members as defined under clause 4.

Revised: 24^th June 2022