Constitution for The Caving Crew

1. Name

1.1 The name of the Club shall be the “The Caving Crew”.  Hereinafter referred to as “the Club”.

2. Aims and Objectives of the Club

2.1 To provide an opportunity for members of the Club to meet and participate in caving, mine-exploring and
exploration activities together.

2.2 To actively give Non-Cavers the opportunities to try Caving.

2.3 To welcome New Cavers into the Club, and into the wider community

2.4 To create an open, inclusive and accepting atmosphere for all members, whatever their ability or ambition.

2.5 To encourage and trial new and different strategies for recruitment and skills and information sharing.

2.6 To ensure that newer or younger voices are encouraged, heard and supported within the Club and in the wider
community.

2.7 To act on behalf of and in the interests of Club members eg. tackle sharing/hiring or skill-sharing.

2.8 To promote the interests of caving and mine-exploration amongst members of the Club

2.9 To promote awareness of the need to maintain access, conservation and protection of the underground and historic
environment.

2.10 To take part in and support the work and activities of the British Caving Association (BCA).

2.11 To maintain contact and friendships with the fully independent The Climbing Clan (or successor organisations) and
support it as a sister organisation and any climbers wishing to try caving.

3. Membership of the Club

3.1 Membership of the Club shall only be open to individuals :

3.2 who recognise that caving, cave diving and mine exploration are activities with a danger of personal injury or
death and

3.3 who are aware of and accept these risks and agree to be responsible for their own actions and involvement.

3.4 These individuals are hereinafter referred to as “the Members”.

3.5 The Members acknowledge and agree that they will become Club Members of the BCA and that the Club shall pay the
appropriate subscription on behalf of each Member included in the return filed by the Club with the BCA.

3.6 The Members further acknowledge and agree that upon the Club being affiliated to the BCA and each becoming a Club
member of the BCA that they will each be bound by the Memorandum & Articles of Association of the BCA.

3.6 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.

3.7 Members will pay membership fees, as determined at the Annual General Meeting.

3.8 The Club respects the rights, dignity and worth of every person and will treat all Members equally within the
context of Club activities and caving activities, regardless of age, ability, gender, race, ethnicity, religious
belief, sexuality, social/economic status or dietary requirements.

3.9 The Club is committed to all Members having the right to enjoy the underground in an environment free from threat
of intimidation, harassment and abuse.

3.10 All Members have a responsibility to oppose conscious or unconscious discriminatory behaviour and promote
diversity and equality of opportunity.

3.11 The Club will deal with any reports of incidences of discriminatory behaviour seriously, according to club
procedures.

3.12 Members under the age of 18 may only gain membership and take part in activities when appropriate best practice
rules and procedures are in place (taking guidance from the BCA and Sport England).

4. Committee of the Club

4.1 The Management of the Club shall be entrusted to the Club Committee, hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”.

4.2 The Committee shall all be Members of the Club.

4.3 The Committee shall be composed of the Executive Officers and non-executive Officers, only the Executive Officers
are entitled to vote.

4.4 The Executive Officers shall be the

• Chair,
• President
• Secretary,
• Treasurer,
• Tackle manager
• Caving Secretary,

hereinafter referred to as “the Exec”.

4.4.1 The Non-Executive Officers shall be the

• Evening and One Off Caving Officer
• Overnight Trips Officer
• Training Officer
• Online, Tech and Comms officer

hereinafter referred to as “the non-Exec”.

4.4.2 The Exec and the non-Exec are collectively known as and herein referred to as “The Officers”

4.5 All officers will retire each year but will be eligible for re-election

(to a maximum of 9 concurrent years in the same role).

4.6 Voting for the election of Officers shall take place at the AGM.  If the post of any Officer should fall
vacant after such an election, the Committee shall have the power to fill the vacancy until the succeeding Annual
General Meeting

4.7 The Committee shall have the power to co-opt additional non-voting members.

4.8 A quorum for a meeting of the Committee shall be half of the elected voting members.  In addition to the AGM
the Committee shall hold at least four

meetings each year.

4.9 The Committee will be responsible for adopting new policy, codes of practice and rules that affect the
organisation of the club. 

4.10 The Committee will have powers to appoint any advisers to the Committee as necessary to fulfil its business.

4.11 The Committee will be responsible for disciplinary hearings of members who infringe the club rules, regulations
or constitution. The Committee will be responsible for taking any action of suspension or discipline following such
hearings.

4.12 The decision of the Committee on the interpretation of this constitution and of club rules shall be final and the
Committee is empowered to deal with any matters not covered.

4.13 At least three of the committee must be unrelated or non-cohabiting.

4.14 In the event of a conflict of interest, the committee member in question should disclose it to the Chairperson to
allow the Chairperson and the rest of the committee to decide how best to proceed. Where the chairperson is aware of
an undisclosed conflict of interest, they should invite the committee member to disclose it, and work with the
committee to make sure clearly impartial and well documented decisions are made.

4.15 All major decisions that affect the Crew must be made at committee meetings. Minor issues may be discussed via
email, facebook or through other suitable forums.

4.16 In the event of disagreements, the matter will be brought to a majority vote.

5. Annual General Meeting (AGM)

5.1 The AGM shall be held in Early Autumn each year and details shall be communicated to Members with 28-days’ notice.

5.2 The AGM will:

• Approve the minutes of the previous year’s AGM.
• Receive reports from the President / Chairperson and Secretary and Officers. eg Trips report, Membership report,
  Training Report etc
• Receive a report from the Treasurer and approve the Annual Accounts.
• Receive a report from those responsible for scrutinising the Club’s accounts.
• Elect the Officers on the Committee.
• Agree the membership fees for the following year.
• Consider any proposed changes to the Constitution.
• Deal with other relevant business.

5.3 Nominations for Officers will be sent to the Secretary a minimum of 14 days’ prior to the AGM, who shall circulate
them to the Members at least 7 days before an AGM.  Only nominations submitted by 2 full members of the Club will
be accepted eg. if you’re a full member in good standing, you can nominate yourself for a role, and be seconded by
another full member in good standing.

5.4 Proposed changes to the constitution shall be sent to the Secretary a minimum of 14 days’ prior to the AGM, who
shall circulate them to the Members at least 7 days before an AGM.

5.5 All Members present in person have the right to vote at the AGM.  Each Member will have one vote and all
matters shall be determined by a simple majority except any proposal pursuant to clause 10.1 or to clause 11.1.

5.6 The quorum for AGMs will be 10% of the membership

5.7 The Chairperson of the Club shall be entitled to vote on all matters and in the event of a tie shall have a
casting vote at general meetings.

5.8 An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) shall be called by an application in writing to the Secretary supported by
at least 10% of the Members.  The Committee shall also have the power to call an EGM by decision of a simple
majority of the Committee members.

5.9 All procedures for an EGM shall follow those outlined above for AGMs.

5.10  Before the AGM, the committee should make an effort to encourage members from diverse and different
backgrounds to join the committee and consider putting themselves forward for positions.

6. Club Subscriptions

6.1 Subscriptions will be set annually and agreed by the Members at the AGM.

6.2 The club treasurer will be responsible for the finances of the club.

6.3 The financial year of the club will run from 1st Sept and end on 31st August

6.4 All club monies will be banked in an account held in the name of the club.

6.5 The Committee will nominate a minimum of 3 Club Officers as signatories for the club account.

6.6 An audited statement of annual accounts will be presented by the treasurer at the Annual General Meeting.

6.7 Any payments of club funds should hold the signatures of the treasurer plus one other officer.

6.8 All members of the Club shall be jointly and severally responsible for the financial liabilities of the
Club.

6.9 The annual accounts shall be annually scrutinised by an independent trusted third party appointed by the
committee. They do not need specific financial qualifications, but they should be clearly independent and have the
ability to ask questions and receive answers. Their report will be made available at the AGM alongside the treasurer’s
report.

6.10 No related officers or co-habiting couples should be signatories on the club account at the same time.

6.11 All expenditure over £60.00 must be agreed in advance by the Committee.

6.12 No expenses will be paid unless accounted for by receipt.

6.13 The Club is to be a non-profit making organisation and any surplus funds are to be employed in furthering the
purposes of the Club.

6.14 No member is allowed to personally accept money, goods or services for sharing skills or experiences with members
within the club. All donations must go to the club.

7. Discipline and Appeals

7.1 All complaints regarding the behaviour of Members should be presented and submitted in writing to the Secretary.

7.2 The complaint will be dealt with following the Club’s procedure for such matters.  The Committee has the
power by following the clubs procedures to take appropriate disciplinary action including the termination of
membership..

8. Effect of ceasing to be a member

8.1 On ceasing to be a Member a person forfeits all right to and claim upon the Club and its property and funds.

8.2  A person who has been expelled from the Club shall not be entitled to participate in any subsequent activity
of the Club nor use Club Tackle.

9. Rules of the Club

9.1 The Committee has the power to set Club Rules.  Such rules shall be in accordance with the articles of the
Club’s Constitution and the policies of the BCA.

10. Dissolution of the Club

10.1 The Club can only be dissolved by two-thirds majority vote at an AGM. 

10.2 Any liabilities at the time of dissolution shall be the joint responsibility of all Members if the assets of the
Club are not sufficient. 

10.3 The Committee will arrange to discharge any remaining assets by

donating to Charity (i.e. Cave Rescue) or to another organisation with similar aims and objectives (i.e. a similar
club) or to the British Caving Association.

11. Amendments to the Constitution of the Club

11.1 This Constitution can only be amended by a three fifths majority or more, of those Members attending the
AGM.  Notice of any amendment must be delivered to the Secretary at least 14 days prior to the AGM.

Declaration

Version 1.3 of this Constitution was approved and adopted by the Club on 17/03/24