as amended by the Council on 6 July 2023 and 8 July 2024

16 July 2024

1. TITLE

(a) The name of the Association shall be the Middlesex County Chess Association and for the purposes of this constitution "Middlesex” shall mean the Cities of London and Westminster, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Enfield, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Richmond on Thames and Tower Hamlets.

2. OBJECT

(a) The object of the Association shall be to foster chess throughout Middlesex.

3. MEMBERSHIP AND AFFILIATION

(a) The Association shall consist of clubs which are members of the Middlesex Chess League.

(b) Affiliation by individuals shall be at the discretion of the Executive Committee and shall be subject to the payment of a fee.

(c) Affiliation shall be open to clubs that have their place of meeting in Middlesex and are not current members of the Middlesex Chess League, on the payment of a fee.

(d) Individuals affiliated under article 3(b) do not have any voting rights, although they may raise any matter with the Council or Executive Committee by putting their proposals in writing to the Association's Secretary who will then refer the matter for discussion to the next meeting of the Executive Committee or Council as appropriate.

(e) No club shall be admitted to the League or to membership of the Association unless and until the Treasurer has certified that the appropriate fee, and any moneys owed by the club to the Association, have been paid in full.

(f) Subject to paragraph (e), no club shall be admitted to the League after 1st September in any year unless the League Secretary so agrees for good reason.

(g) Membership of the Association for any season shall commence on 1 September in that season or (if later) the date of payment of the appropriate fee and shall end on the following 31 August, inclusive of both dates.

4. FEES

(a) All fees shall be determined at the Annual Council meeting (see article 10 below).

(b) In addition each private member or affiliated club shall pay any registration fees which are due to the Southern Counties Chess Union.

(c) The Association may invoice a member club for ECF Game Fee in respect of any player if all the following conditions are satisfied:

1. The player has played in a team of such member club in the Middlesex League or in some other competition organised by the Association;
2. The player did not meet the English Chess Federation’s membership requirements for the relevant competition; and
3. The Federation has correctly invoiced the Association for Game Fee in respect of the player.

(d) The member club shall pay such invoice within one week or such other period as may be stated in the invoice.

5. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP OR AFFILIATION

(a) Membership or affiliation may be terminated only by the vote of two thirds of those present, and eligible to vote, on an appropriate motion at a meeting of the Council, which motion shall state the reasons for terminating the membership or affiliation.

(b) The chairman of the meeting shall before the vote give the club or individual the right to present its or his case to the Council.

(c) Notwithstanding the words “Membership or affiliation shall automatically lapse on failure to pay the appropriate membership or affiliation fees within six months of the date due”, which formed part of this article immediately before 6 July 2023, no membership or affiliation of any club shall be deemed to have lapsed by virtue thereof.

6. COUNCIL AND CLUBS VOTING ENTITLEMENT

(a) The governing body of the Association shall be called the Council and shall consist of the members of the Executive Committee (as defined in article 13) together with delegates from Middlesex League clubs.

(b) Proxies will not be permitted.

(c) An officer of the Association may represent a member club at a meeting of the Council but shall not be entitled to more than one vote in that event.

7. CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL AND VOTING

(a) The President, or on his absence the Deputy President, shall take the chair at meetings of the Council.

(b) In the absence of both the meeting shall appoint a chairman.

(c) Each member of the Council (see article 6 above), with the exception of the chairman, shall be entitled to one vote.

(d) Any individual affiliated to the council under article 3(b) may attend any meeting of the Council but shall not be entitled to participate in the business conducted unless invited by the chairman to do so.

(e) In the election of officers only delegates from affiliated clubs may vote.

8. NOTICE OF MEETINGS OF COUNCIL

(a) Any member club wishing to place any motion on the agenda for a meeting of the Council, other than a Special Meeting, shall give written notice to the Secretary not later than 15th May in the case of the Annual Council Meeting and not later than 31st July in the case of the Fixtures Meeting.

(b) At least 21 days' written notice shall be given of all meetings of the Council and the notice shall specify the date, hour and venue of the meeting together with the business to be transacted.

9. QUORUM FOR MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL

(a) Eight members of the Council (as defined in article 6 above) or half its membership, whichever is the less, shall form a quorum.

(b) A meeting of the Council shall not cease to be quorate unless the number of members present drops to below four.

10. ANNUAL MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL

(a) The annual meeting of the Council shall be held no later than 15th July to approve the annual accounts for the preceding financial year, receive officers’ reports, elect the Association's officers and members of the Executive Committee, appoint an auditor for the ensuing year and transact any other business of which due notice has been given.

(b) The Treasurer’s report shall include the current and forecast financial condition of the Association.

(c) A copy of the audited statement of accounts shall be circulated with the notice convening the meeting or (if that is not practicable) as soon as possible after such circulation.

(d) The Fixtures Meeting shall be held no later than 15th September each year for the arranging of the next season's fixtures.

(e) The Fixtures meeting will also deal with such other business as may be set out in the agenda convening that meeting.

11. SPECIAL MEETINGS OF COUNCIL

(a) A special meeting of the Council shall be convened on a resolution of the Executive Committee, or on a resolution signed by the secretaries of no fewer than five clubs which are members of the Middlesex Chess League.

(b) The requisition shall specify the business to be transacted, and the special meeting shall be held within six weeks from the day of receipt of the requisition by the Association's Secretary.

(c) Should a quorum not be present within 30 minutes of the time stated for the commencement of a special meeting the meeting shall not take place.

12. OFFICERS

(a) The officers of the association shall be the President, Deputy President, Secretary, Treasurer, Team Captains, Correspondence Match Captain, League Secretary, Individual and Team Tournament controllers, Organiser of Junior Chess, Winters Trophy Controller, Grader and such other officers as the Council may decide to elect.

13. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

(a) Subject to the control of the Council the management of the Association shall be vested in an Executive Committee which shall comprise the officers of the Association together with up to four other members who shall be elected at the Annual Council Meeting.

(b) Any vacancy which may occur during the year, other than in the offices of President or Deputy President, may be filled by the Executive Committee.

(c) The Executive Committee may at its discretion co-opt members.

14 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

(a) No fewer than fourteen days notice shall be given of meetings of the Executive Committee.

(b) The President, or in his absence the Deputy President shall be chairman.

(c) In the absence of both the meeting shall appoint a chairman.

(d) Four shall form a quorum.

(e) A meeting of the Executive Committee shall not cease to be quorate unless the number of members present drops to below three.

15. SUB-COMMITTEES

(a) The Executive Committee may, at its discretion, appoint sub-committees and shall decide their terms of reference.

(b) The President and Secretary may attend the meetings of any such sub-committee and the League Management Committee.

16. FINANCIAL CONTROLS

Financial year

(a) Subject to paragraph (b), the Association’s financial year shall be the twelve months beginning on 1st April.

(b) The Executive Committee may at any time change future financial years to such other period of twelve months, and with such transitional arrangements, as it thinks fit.

Budget and good practice requirements

(c) The Treasurer shall before or within two months after the start of each financial year produce a realistic annual budget for approval by the Executive Committee.

(d) The Treasurer may include in the annual budget or may otherwise impose rules or guidelines for encouraging good financial practice by officers, and for ensuring so far as practicable that the total budgeted income is achieved and that the total budgeted expenditure is not exceeded, and officers shall use all reasonable endeavours to comply with such rules and guidelines.

(e) Each Middlesex County Chess Association activity should be self financing or within approved budget as agreed by Council or the Executive Committee.

Access to bank account

(f) The Treasurer shall endeavour to ensure that the President and the Secretary have sufficient access to the Association’s bank account to enable the Association’s financial business to be conducted in the Treasurer’s absence, on his behalf, or at his request or direction.

17. INTERPRETATION OF THE CONSTITUTION

(a) At meetings of the Council or Executive Committee the interpretation of this constitution shall be subject to the chairman's ruling.

(b) At any other time the President's interpretation shall be adopted.

18. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

(a) Subject to the following paragraphs, no amendment to this Constitution may be made except by the vote of not less than two thirds of those present and entitled to vote at a properly convened Meeting of the Council.

19. DISSOLUTION

(a) If an Annual or Special Meeting of the Council, in either case acting on the recommendation of the Executive Committee, resolves by a two-thirds majority to dissolve the Association on a specified date, or if the Association is dissolved by some other lawful means or ceases to exist as a functioning entity, the persons who last served as officers or those of them who are willing to act shall after payment of the Association’s debts distribute the remaining assets of the Association or the proceeds of sale thereof to the persons who (so far as ascertainable) shall have been members of the Association during the five years prior to dissolution in shares commensurate with (so far as ascertainable) their contributions during that period, and for the avoidance of doubt no part of such assets or proceeds shall be distributed to any persons other than such members.

20. LEAGUE RULES

(a) The Rules of the Middlesex County Chess League (“League Rules”) may be amended by a simple majority of those present and voting at the Annual Council Meeting or any Special Meeting of the Council.