RULES OF THE SOCIETY

1.NAME.

 The Society shall be called the Liverpool and District Rugby Referees' Society.

 

2.OBJECTS.

 The objects of the Society shall be: -

(a)     To provide referees for Rugby Union matches in the Liverpool area and, if required, in other areas.

(b)    To maintain and improve the standards of refereeing by encouraging and developing a high standard of referee and adviser education and training and development for any interested member of the community.

(c)     To foster discussion on all matters relating to refereeing and to seek to establish uniformity of interpretation of the laws of the Rugby Union game.

 

3.MEMBERSHIP.

There shall be the following categories of membership: -

 

(a)    Full Members

(i)                  Honorary Life Members. The Annual General Meeting may, on the recommendation of the Policy Committee, elect Honorary Life Members in recognition of their past service to the Society

(ii)                Ordinary Members . Referee Members, on ceasing to referee, but who remain otherwise involved with the business of the Society may, if they so wish, become Ordinary Members. Other Ordinary members may be elected by a majority of Full members present at any General Meeting of the Society

(iii)              Referee Members. These shall be active referees who have satisfactorily served a period as a Probationary member, provided that the Management Committee shall have discretion to admit to Referee Membership an applicant who has had at least one full year's experience with another Society.

 

(b)    Other Members

(i)                  Probationary Members. Any person desiring to be admitted as a Referee Member may be admitted as a Probationary Member by the Management Committee upon satisfactory completion of the Entry Level Referee Award, Parts 1 & 2 and shall serve a probationary period, subject to the discretionary power given to the Management Committee under Rule 3 (a) (iii) above

(ii)                Associate Members. These shall be representatives of universities, colleges, schools or any other educational establishment, who regularly referee matches to which the Society does not appoint a referee.

(iii)              Club Members . Any club, including a university, college, school or other educational establishment affiliated to the Rugby Football Union, may apply for membership of the Society in this category. Such application, which must be renewed annually, must be proposed and seconded by a Full Member of the Society and confirmed by a MAJORITY vote of the Management Committee, who may reject any such application if, in its opinion, such membership would be incompatible with the declared objectives of the Society or its wider interests and responsibilities. This would mean that the Society would not appoint referees or other officials to any match involving that university, college, school, club or other educational establishment, nor be eligible for any other benefit of membership. This is subject to the proviso that any application from a club, university, college or school outside the Society's normal area shall not be accepted, by the Management Committee without the prior consent of the Society in whose area that club (etc) is situated. When admitted to membership of the Society, the club (etc) shall nominate in writing, a representative who will be responsible for all matters relating to that Club's (etc) dealings with the Society.

(iv)              Patrons . This class of membership is open to any individual who has previously been a member in any other category, but is no longer actively (based upon non attendance at Society meetings) involved in the Society's business

 

ONLY FULL MEMBERS SHALL HAVE A RIGHT TO VOTE AT GENERAL MEETINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

                                                                                                                                  

4. SUBSCRIPTION.

All members other than Honorary Life members may be requested to pay a subscription to be determined each year at the Annual General Meeting.

 

5. OFFICERS

The Officers of the Society shall be elected each year at the Annual General Meeting and shall consist of the President, Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Assistant Secretary, Hon. Chair of Finance, Hon. Assistant Chair of Finance, Hon. Chair of Training and Development, Society Secretary for the Development and Appointment of Advisors, Hon. Grading Secretary, Hon. Secretary for Exchanges,   Hon. Secretary of Appointments and two Hon. Assistant Secretaries to the Appointments Secretary.    

 

6. COMMITTEE .

Overall responsibility for the strategic direction of the Society's activities shall rest with the Policy Committee. It shall consist of the Officers of the Society and three other elected members. Members of the Policy Committee shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting and shall be eligible for re-election with the exception of the President, who shall serve a maximum of two years at a time. In the event of a vacancy occurring on the Policy Committee during the course of that year, the Policy Committee shall have the power to fill that vacancy until the next Annual General Meeting. The Policy Committee shall have the power to co-opt up to three members. The operational day-to-day management of the Society shall be the responsibility of the Management Committee. It shall consist of the President, the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, the Hon. Secretary, the Hon. Chairman of Finance, the Hon. Appointments Secretary, the Hon. Chairman of Training and Development, a Society representative of the North West Federated Society Committee and one referee member to be nominated by the Policy Committee. It will receive reports either in person or in writing from all Sub-Committees and from the Society's representatives on the North West Federated Society, Lancashire RFU and Cheshire RFU. Minutes shall be circulated to each member of the Policy Committee.

 

7. QUORUM

Twenty members shall form a quorum for an Annual or Special General Meeting, six members shall form a quorum for a meeting of the Policy Committee and four members shall form a quorum for a meeting of the Management Committee.

 

 

 

8. VOTING

On every occasion where there is a vote by show of hands or by a ballot, each Full member (or in the case of meetings of the Policy and Management Committees, each member of the Committee) shall have one vote, save that of the Chairman of the Meeting who shall have a second or casting vote.

 

9. SUB-COMMITTEES

The Management Committee shall appoint annually the following sub-committees.

(a)     Appointments and Grading Sub-Committee . This Sub-Committee shall consist of the Chairman, the Hon. Appointments Secretary, and the two Hon. Assistants to the Appointments Secretary, the Hon. Grading Secretary, the Hon. Chairman of Training and Development, the Society Secretary for the Development and Appointment of Advisors , the Hon. Secretary for Exchanges and up to two other members. The Equal Opportunities Officer may also be present in a non-voting capacity. This Sub-Committee shall meet monthly during the season to make appointments to matches and to grade or re-grade referees when required.

(b)    Training and Development Sub-Committee. This sub-committee shall consist of the Hon. Chairman of Training and Development, the Honorary Appointments Secretary, the Society Secretary for the Development and Appointment of Advisors, the Society Coaches Development Officer Press and Recruitment Officer, the Entry Level Referee Co-ordinator and a Referee member. It shall be responsible for recommending and actioning training and development programmes for all grades of referee and for advisers. It shall meet every two months throughout the year.

(c)     Finance Sub-Committee. This sub-committee shall consist of the Hon. Chairman of Finance and six other members (of which three shall be members of the Policy Committee) as recommended by the Hon. Chairman of Finance. It shall be responsible for    recommending annually the various budgets and for monitoring them on a regular basis. It shall meet at least three times a year.

(d)    External Relations Sub-Committee. This Sub-Committee shall consist of the Hon. Assistant Secretary, a Press Officer, a Sponsorship Officer and a representative from the Finance Sub-committee. It shall be responsible for all matters relating to the external activities of the Society, e.g. the Annual Dinner, sponsorship, liaison with the media and other promotional activities of the Society. It shall meet as appropriate, but on not less than four occasions per year.

(e)     Long Term Development Sub-Committee . This sub-committee shall consist of any three suitable members. It shall be responsible for evaluating long term changes in the game of Rugby Football and shall make recommendations in the form of a three to five year plan, updated annually, to the Policy Committee on Society strategy and organisation structure. It shall meet as instructed by the Policy and Management Committees.

(f)     The Management Committee may appoint such other sub-committees as it considers necessary for the efficient conduct of the Society's business and may appoint to them members of the Policy Committee, provided that the Chairman of the Sub-Committee and other members shall always be members of the Policy Committee.

 

10. ADVISERS

The Management Committee shall each year invite, to act as Advisers, persons who are not Referee members and who are considered competent to submit reports on referees. Such persons, if not already members of the Society shall, on acceptance, become Ordinary members. The Appointments and Grading Sub-Committee shall, at least once a year, hold a meeting to which all Advisers shall be invited. It may, at its discretion, accept reports from persons not appointed as Advisers.

 

 

11. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

(a)     The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held not later than the end of June each year. Ten days' notice shall be given to members of the business to be transacted at the Annual General Meeting, but failure to receive such notice on the part of any member shall not invalidate the proceedings. Any member wishing to put a proposal to the Annual General Meeting, including any alterations to these Rules, must give notice in writing to the Honorary Secretary at least 21 days prior to the meeting. Any members wishing to make a nomination for the election of an Officer or Policy Committee member must give notice in writing to the Honorary Secretary at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.

(b)    In the absence of a Chairman and Vice-Chairman, the first business of the meeting shall be to elect a Chairman for the Meeting.

(c)     No matter, other than those contained in the Agenda (circulated in accordance with the Rules), shall be considered at any Annual General Meeting or any Special General Meeting

(d)    Any member may interrupt the speaker by rising on a point of order; such member shall have preference of speech and shall proceed to explain the said point of order.

(e)     The mover of a resolution shall speak first. Only the mover shall be allowed to speak twice on the same subject. The seconder of the resolution may leave his/her speech until later in the debate, if he/she so desire.

(f)     The Chairman shall, at his discretion, decide the order of speaking thereafter.

(g)     Amendments, which may be oral or in writing, during the course of the meeting shall take three forms: - (i) Words may be omitted from the original motion

                     (ii) Words may be added to the original motion

                     (iii) Words in the original motion may be changed.

(h)    All amendments shall be seconded                                

 

 

12. SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING

The Honorary Secretary shall call a Special General Meeting of the Society within twenty eight days of being requested to do so by either (i) resolution of the Policy Committee, or (ii) on receipt of a request signed by not less than ten members of categories (a) i, ii or iii and (b) I, specifying the purpose thereof. Fourteen days notice of every Special General Meeting specifying the purpose thereof, shall be given to every member.

 

13. ACCOUNTS

The Hon. Chairman of Finance shall keep the accounts of all receipts and payments and shall present such accounts together with a Balance Sheet showing all the assets and liabilities of the Society to the Annual General Meeting.

 

14. AUDITOR

An Honorary Auditor shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting

 

15. COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES

The Society's representatives on the committee's of the Lancashire and Cheshire Rugby Football Unions shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting.

 

16. EXPENSES

Personnel representing the Society or on Society business are entitled to reasonable out of pocket expenses, being claimed or paid should be reported to the Honorary Secretary.

 

17. RESPONSIBILITIES OF CLUBS

1. A list of fixtures for the following season must be sent to the Hon. Appointments Secretary by the30th June each year.
2. Clubs must, as soon as possible after receiving notification of the appointment of a Referee, confirm the appointment with the Referee (as described in the Appointments procedure) in writing wherever possible, giving the time of kick off and other necessary information.
3. Clubs must offer the Referee his out of pocket expenses, preferably before the commencement of the match
4. In the event of the cancellation of a match, the referee and the Hon. Appointments Secretary must be informed immediately. Failure to inform the Referee will make the Club liable for payment of the referee's travelling expenses
5. If a Club fails to inform the Hon. Appointments Secretary of a cancelled game, and therefore an adviser makes a wasted journey to a ground, then the home club is likely to be billed for the Adviser's expenses.
6. If the Referee or the Hon. Appointments Secretary is not given at least three days' notice of a cancellation of a match, then an administrative fee may be levied on the offending Club

 

18. COMPLAINTS

 If a Club has any complaint about a Referee or a Referee any complaint about a Club, such complaint should be made in writing to the Hon. Secretary.

 

19. SUSPENSIONS AND EXPULSION

The Management Committee may suspend or expel from membership, after due and proper inquiry, any Club or member, whose conduct has been prejudicial to the interest and aims of the Society.

 

20. APPEALS

 A Club or Member may appeal to its Constituent body against any punishment inflicted upon them. Notice of such appeal must in all cases be received by the Constituent Body within 14 days of the date of the decision appealed against and must set out the grounds of the appeal in full.

 

21. TRUSTEES                                                                         

The property of the Society shall be vested in not less than two or not more than four trustees appointed by the Policy Committee. The Trustees must deal with the property as the Policy Committee, from time to time, directs by resolution (of which an entry in the minute book is conclusive evidence). The Trustees shall be entitled to be indemnified against risk and expense out of the Society's property. The Trustees    

shall hold office until death or resignation or until removal from office by the Policy Committee. Where by reason of death, resignation or removal it is necessary for a new Trustee or Trustees to be appointed, the Policy Committee must nominate the person or persons to be appointed the new Trustee or Trustees. For the purpose of giving effect to such nomination the Hon. Secretary of the Society is nominated as the person to appoint new Trustees of the Society within the meaning of the Trustees Act 1925 Section 36 and he must by deed appoint a person or persons nominated by the Policy Committee.

 

22. ALTERATIONS OF THE RULES                                    

These rules may be altered only at an Annual General Meeting or at a Special General Meeting called for that purpose. Notice in writing specifying any    proposed alteration or addition must be given in writing to the Hon. Secretary at least twenty one days before the Meeting, in the case of the Annual General Meeting and as defined in Rule 12 in the case of a Special General Meeting.