Constitution

SECTION 0: DEFINITIONS

In this Constitution,

“Club” shall mean the Archery Club, HKU.

“Committee” shall mean the Executive Committee of the Club.

“Association” shall mean The Hong Kong University Sports Association

“Financial Committee” shall mean the Finance Committee of the Sports Council.

“Team” shall mean the Team of the Club.

“University” shall mean The University of Hong Kong

“University student(s)” shall mean

Full-time undergraduate(s) registered to read for any bachelor’s degree offered by the University;
Part-time undergraduate(s) registered to read for any bachelor’s degree offered by the University; and/or
postgraduate(s) registered to read for master’s degree or doctorate offered by the University.

“Sports Council” shall mean The Hong Kong University Sports Association Council.

SECTION I: GENERAL

Article 1: Name

The name of the Club shall be “Archery Club, HKU”, and the Chinese name shall be“香港大學射箭會”.

Article 2: Purpose

The purpose of the Club shall

a. to promote the interest of archery within and without the Club;

b. to improve the skills of students in the sports of archery; and
c. to foster the sportsmanship of the University’s students in the sports of archery.

Article 3: Affiliation

The Society is a member club of the Sports Association.

Article 4: Official Languages

a. Chinese and English shall be the official languages of the Club, enjoying equal status;
b. Either or both languages may be used in official meetings and official documents. Chinese, in its oral form, shall mean Cantonese dialect and
Mandarin.

Article 5: Club Session

The Club session shall commence on the conclusion of each Annual General Meeting and terminate on the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting in the following year. Each Annual General Meeting must be held within the period 15th February to 15th March.

Article 6: Governance

The Club shall be governed by an Executive Committee which comprises of no less than three members. The Chairperson and Financial Secretary are mandatory posts in which an office-bearer must be elected.

Article 7: Material Asset

The control of material assets of the Club shall rest on its current Committee.

Article 8: Finance

The official bank account of the Club shall be kept by the Chairperson and Financial Secretary of the Club jointly. The signatures of both are required in any proceedings related to the bank account.

SECTION II: MEMBERSHIP & PRIVILEGES

Article 1: Membership

All Members of the Club shall abide by the rules and the constitution of the Club.

Article 2: Membership Categories:

There shall be 3 main membership categories:

a. Full members
Anyone who are University students and has been registered with the Club and paid the membership fees, also approved by the Committee at a Committee Meeting.
b. Associate_Members

Anyone registered with the Club and paid the membership fees, also approved by the Committee at a Committee Meeting and falls into the following 3 categories:

i. All students that are not University students but are taking approved day course(s) offered by the University

ii. All previous full members of the Club not taking approved post-graduate course(s) offered by the University

iii. All members of the teaching staff and administrative staff of the University
c. Honorary Life Members
They are the University’s students of graduates who have made significant contributions to the Club and deserve special recognition. Their memberships are subject to the approval of the Committee. The Honorary Life Members shall fall into any of the following classes:
1. past Committee Members
2. candidates for the “Player of the Year” and “University Sports Trophies” as elected at an AGM
3. any members as considered appropriate by the Committee

Article 3: Privileges of Degree of Membership
a. Full members shall have the right:
i. To enjoy all facilities of the Club, provided that they can use them properly.
ii. To take part in the Club activities.
iii. To attend all General Meetings with full speaking right; and
iv. To propose, to second motions, and to vote in all General Meetings, unless he/she is the Honorary Secretary of the General Meeting
v. To nominate candidates or to be nominated for candidature to the Committee, Player of the Year and the University Sports Trophy awards.
b. Associate Members shall be entitled to enjoy all the privileges of Full members except (iii), (iv) & (v) mentioned above.
c. Honorary Life Members shall have the right to take part in the Club activities.

Article 4: Membership Termination
a. The membership of all Full Members shall be terminated on 31st July or on the date stated on the University Registration Card, whichever is earlier. The membership of Full Members may also be terminated as stated in item (d) below
b. Associate Members shall have their membership terminated in the following cases:

i. The day course(s) have ended for students who are not University students but are taking approved day course(s) offered by the University

ii. The course(s) have ended for any previous full members of the Club not taking approved post-graduate course(s) offered by the University

iii. Termination of employment for any members of the teaching staff and administrative staff of the University
c. All Honorary Life Members shall have their membership extend indefinitely long unless the conditions stated in item (d) below applies.
d. Membership of any category and/or class may be terminated by the written consent of the member, by the resolved motion that membership be terminated at an Extraordinary General Meeting or Annual General Meeting, or by the agreement of the majority of the Committee.

SECTION III: GENERAL MEETING

Article 1: Authority

The General Meeting shall possess the highest authority in all matters affecting the Club

Article 2: Annual General Meeting

a. The Annual General Meetings of the Club shall be held between 15th February and 15th March.

b. The meetings shall comprise the Full Members of the Club. (Amended in 2019- 2020 AGM)

c. Business:

i. To appoint the Chairperson and Honorary Secretary of the Meeting;

ii. To receive and adopt the agenda;

iii. To receive and adopt the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting, and all Extraordinary General Meeting(s), if any.

iv. To receive and adopt the Annual Report of the outgoing session prepared by General Secretary;

v. To receive and adopt the Financial Report of the outgoing session prepared by the Financial Secretary; vi. Constitution Amendments, if any.

vii. To elect the Executive Committee Members of the Club for the coming session.

viii. To receive and adopt the proposal for the coming session;

ix. To receive and adopt the financial budget for the coming session;

x. To elect candidates for the “Player of the Year” and the “University Sports Trophies”; (Amended in 2019-2020 AGM)

xi. To authorise the newly elected Chairperson and Financial Secretary to be in charge of the official bank account of the Club jointly;

xii. Any Other Business. (Appended in 2019-2020 AGM)

d. A notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Club, the agenda and a list of club members thereof shall be posted five days beforehand. Such notice and agenda shall be sent to the members of the Club.

e. At the Annual General Meetings of the Club, 20 Full Members or 15% of the total full members of the Club, for which has a greater number,shall be counted as the quorum. Each present full member shall be entitled one vote only. f. The Annual General meeting shall be convened by the General Secretary acting under the instruction of the Committee and presided over by the Annual General Meeting Chairperson, or in his absence, a member duly appointed by the Annual General Meeting.

Article 3: Extraordinary General Meeting

a. An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be convened at the request of any member of the Club seconded by not less than ten other members of the Club, and shall inform the Sports Council Honorary Secretary 72 hours beforehand.

b. The meeting shall comprise of the members of the Club.

c. The meeting shall be chaired by the Chairperson of the Committee except the meeting is called for a vote of no confidence against any member of the Committee, when the chairperson will be taken by a Full member duly appointed by the Meeting.

d. No other agenda shall be discussed except those convened especially for the purpose.

e. A notice of the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club and the agenda thereof shall be posted on Sports Association board 72 hours beforehand. Such notice and agenda shall be sent to the members of the Club.

f. At the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club, 20 full members or 15% of the total full members of the Club, for which has a greater number, shall be counted as the quorum. Each present full member shall be entitled one vote only.

Article 4: Vote of No confidence

a. A vote of no confidence for infringement of the constitution, negligence of duties, or unbecoming conduct, may be moved against any member of the Committee at an Extraordinary General Meeting held especially for the purpose. A vote so passed shall call for the resignation of the person or persons against whom the vote is moved.

b. A vote of no-confidence shall pass with a two-thirds majority of the Full Members of the Club present and voting.

c. If the vote of no-confidence is moved against the Chairperson, a member of the Constitution Review Committee of the Sports Council appointed by the Sports Council Chairperson is authorised to take the chairmanship of the General Meeting in the relevant agendum.

d. A vote so passed shall call for the immediate resignation of the person or persons against whom the vote is moved.

Article 5: Vote of Confidence

a. Any members of the Committee, who ceases to be a Full Member during his/her term of office in a session, may continue to hold office till the end of that session upon a vote of confidence being passed to him/her in a General Meeting.

b. If the vote of confidence is moved against the Chairperson, a member of the Constitution Review Committee of the Sports Council appointed by the Sports Council Chairperson is authorised to take the chairmanship of the General Meeting in the relevant agendum.

c. A vote of confidence shall pass with a two-thirds majority of Full Members of the Club present and voting.

d. Should a vote of confidence not pass, immediate resignation shall be taken effect upon the person against whom the vote is moved.

Article 6: Standing Orders

Standing Orders for all General Meetings of the Club shall be in accordance with those for the Sport Council Meetings unless otherwise approved by the General Meetings

Article 7: Returning Officer

a. Sports Councillors are eligible to be a Returning Officer upon appointment by the Sports Council Chairperson. Any General Meeting without the presence of a Returning Officer shall be considered invalid

b. The Returning Officer shall not be a member of the Club, and shall not vote.

c. In all General Meetings, any Constitution, Council By-laws or Regulations of the Association, and Standing Orders of the Sport Council shall be observed.

SECTION IV: ELECTION

Article 1: Time

The Annual Elections of the Club shall be held at the Annual General Meeting as stated in Section III, Article 2 c(vii).

Article 2: Election of Officials.

a. The Annual General Meeting Chairperson shall preside over the election.

b. The returning officer shall be appointed by the Sports Council Chairperson.

Article 3: Nominations.

a. Nominations for the office-bearers of the Club shall be accepted up till but not after forty-eight hours before the Annual General Meetings of the respective sessions, provided at least one nomination has been received for the posts as stated in Section V, Article 2B a, b & c.

b. Nominations for elections shall only be made on forms provided for the purpose by the Association. Each form shall contain the name of the candidate, together with the signature of a proposer, a seconder and the signature of the candidate signifying his or her consent, duly signed by any member of the Committee certifying the date of receipt.

c. All candidates, proposers, seconders, and office-bearer shall be Full members of the Club.

d. Nomination for the office-bearers should be opened and published at least 7 days (168 hours) before the Annual General Meeting of the respective session.

Article 4: Method of Voting

a. Voting is by secret ballot for elections. No proxy is allowed. Simple majority wins. Members may vote cast or more will be required for nominations to be forwarded to the Sports Council. (Amended in 2019-2020 AGM)
b. When there is only one candidate for one post, electors shall vote for or against the candidates, or abstain. The candidate shall be declared elected provided:
i. he/she has secured a number of votes for him/her greater than the number of votes against him/her and
ii. number of vote for him/her plus number of vote against him/her is greater than the number of abstain; (Amended in 2019-2020 AGM)
c. When there are two candidates for one post, the straight ballot shall be held, and in the event of a tie, re-election shall be held.
d. When there are more than two candidates for one post, electors shall indicate on their ballot sheets order of preference for the candidates. Ballots sheets shall be arranged and counted according to the preference. The candidates at the bottom of the poll on the first count shall be declared to have lost, and his votes shall be distributed among the remainders according to the second preference indicated on them. This process shall be continued until one candidate has a clear majority and he or she shall be declared elected.
e. In case there exists any vacancies in the Executive Committee other than the Chairman during a term of office, the Committee shall have the power to co-opt other full members to fill the vacancies. Nominations shall be opened if there exists a vacancy for the post of the Chairman during a term of office and procedure leading to election shall be as in the Annual Election.

Article 5: Eligibility of voting-right of the Club at election

Only Full members of the club shall vote in the General Meeting of the Club.

SECTION V: COMMITTEE

Article 1: Composition

The following shall be members of the Committee:

a. Chairperson

b. Internal Vice-chairperson

c. External Vice-chairperson

d. General Secretary

e. Financial Secretary

f. Programme Secretary

g. Equipment Manager

h. Social Secretary

i. Two Publicity Secretary

j. Team Captain

k. Past Representative

Article 2A: Functions

The functions of the Committee shall be:

a. To direct all affairs of the Club.

b. To formulate the policies of the Club in accordance with its purpose.

c. To represent the club members in such matters affecting their interest.

d. The Committee shall be responsible to the General Meeting for all its actions.

Article 2B: Post and Responsibilities

a. Chairperson

Directs all the programmes and conducts any business concerning the Club.

b. Internal Vice-chairperson

Assists the Chairperson in all his duties pertaining to internal affairs and fosters coordination between the Club and the Sports Association. He shall be the ex-officio Chairperson of the Committee in the absence of the Chairperson.

c. External Vice-chairperson

Assists the Chairperson in all his duties pertaining to external affairs and acts as the Club’s representative in all matters outside the University.

d. General Secretary

Handles documentary works and filing.

e. Financial Secretary

Handles all matters relating to the finance of the Club.

f. Programme Secretary

Manages training courses, such as contacts concern people and parties, booking of pitches, also supervise activities taking place in the field.

g. Equipment Manager

Manages all the equipments and facilities of the Club, including maintenance and stock keeping.

h. Social Secretary

Conducts amenities and liaisons, also responsible for the outward touch of the Club.

i. Publicity Secretary

Handles all publicity releases and business of advertising programmes.

j. Team Captain

Manages regular practices and responsible for all matters concerning the training and competitions of the Team.

k. Past Representative

To give advises to the current Committee for the smooth running of the Club activities.

Article 3: Meeting

a. A committee meeting may be held at any time, and shall be convened by the General Secretary acting under instructions from the Chairperson.

b. At a committee meeting, not less than half the number of committee members in office shall form the quorum, among whom must be the Chairperson or someone delegated by him.

Article 4: Acting Executives

In the event of any vacancy occurring in the post of the Committee members, acting executives should be appointed to take up the work, who shall have the same authorities and duties as the respective posts, but such authorities and duties are subject to limitations imposed by the Club.

Article 5: Session

The session of the Committee shall commence at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the outgoing session and terminate immediately at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting or 15th March whichever date comes first.

Article 6: Resignation

Resignation of any Executive Committee member shall be received only with a motion carried with a two-thirds majority in a General Meeting.

SECTION VI: Finance

Article 1: Funding and financial sources

a. Funding disbursed by, via, and/or approved by the Sports Association shall be a source of income of the Society.

Article 2: Budget and Annual Financial Report

a. The Society shall submit an Annual Financial Report to the Sports Council Honorary Secretary not later than 25th March.

b. The Society shall submit a Half-yearly Financial Report to the Sports Council Honorary Secretary not later than 15th November.

c. The Society shall submit the Financial Budget to the Sports Council Honorary not later than 15th April.

d. The Society shall consult the Finance Committee if they have any amendments to the Financial Budget before the commencement of the function, and may be required by the Finance Committee to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting to receive and adopt the amended Financial Budget.

Article 3: Auditing

a. The Finance Committee shall review the Half-yearly Financial Report and Annual Financial Report of the Society and scrutinize the Financial Budget of the Society.

b. The Finance Committee shall recommend the Sports Council to receive and adopt Half-Yearly Financial Report and Annual Financial Report and Financial Budget of the Society.

SECTION VII: Penalty, Resignation and Dissolution

Article 1:Complaint and penalty

a. Any protest, complaint, injustice, unfairness, or alleged infringement of the Constitution shall be placed before and considered by the Sports Council.

b. The Sports Council, if deemed necessary, shall adjudicate upon or act in all cases specified under subsection (a).

Article 2.Resignation

Resignation of any Executive Committee member of the Society shall be received only with a motion carried with a two-thirds majority in a General Meeting of the Society.

Article 3. Dissolution

a. The Society shall be dissolved if and only if a motion proposed by a member of the Executive Committee is carried with a two-thirds majority in a General Meeting of the Society.

b. Committee for Dissolution shall be established upon the invocation of after motion passed in accordance with subsection (a).

c. Affairs related to dissolution shall be handled by the Committee for Dissolution, including –

i. to cancel the registration with the authorities, if any;

ii. to notify related parties regarding the dissolution;

iii. to transfer the control of the remaining assets to the Independent Clubs Association; and

iv. any affairs deemed essential to the dissolution by the Committee for Dissolution.

d. A General Meeting shall be convened after affairs specified under subsection (c) were completed.

e. Without any objection, the Society shall cease to exist upon the conclusion of the General Meeting convened under subsection (d).

SECTION VIII: CONSTITUTION

Article 1: Amendment

a. No amendment of this Constitution may be made except at the Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting convened specially for the purpose. A notice intimating the proposed amendments shall be posted seven clear days before the General Meeting.

b. The proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be submitted to the Constitution Review Committee of the Sports Council for consultation at least
two months before the general meeting, save with permission from the Sports Council Chairperson.

Article 2: Interpretation

The interpretation of this Constitution shall rest with the Committee (not the Chairperson alone) of the Club