Our constitution

1. The club will be called Portsmouth CTC (Hereinafter will be referred to as The Club), and may also be known as PCTC.
2. The Club is a Membership Group of Cycling UK

1. To encourage and promote all aspects of cycling.
2. To promote the Club within the local area and the (wider) cycling community.
3. To provide all its services in a way that is fair to everyone.

Membership is open to anyone who is paid up member of Cycling UK and who wishes to cycle in the broad area of Portsmouth, Havant, Fareham & Chichester.

1. Membership of the Club is open to anyone interested in promoting, volunteering or participating in cycling, regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs.
2. Honorary member status is occasionally accorded to members who have given exceptional service to the Club. This allows retained access of the Club website, communications and also allows continued access to non-cycling Club events.
3. All members who wish to organise a ride on behalf of the Club, must be a Registered Ride Leader and must do so on the PCTC website. This classifies the ride as an official Club ride, being conducted by the person posting/leading the ride on behalf on the Club, and therefore allows this person to be covered by third party liability insurance from Cycling UK along with protecting the Club should any claims be made or accidents occur.
4. Persons under the age of eighteen years shall only be accepted for membership with the completion of a consent and disclaimer form signed by their Parent or Guardian, and at the discretion of the Committee.
5. Parents/guardians of riders under the age of 18 must consent in writing to their
   participation. Young people under the age of 13 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
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. The Constitution can be viewed on the PCTC website.

1. The affairs of the Club shall be administered by a Committee which shall consist of at least three individuals acting as:
   • President
   • Vice President
   • Secretary
   • Treasurer
2. Other roles performed by the committee may include:
   • Assistant Secretary
   • Rides Secretary
   • Magazine editor
   • Campaigns Press & Publicity
   • New Riders Representative
   • Club night coordinator
   • Safeguarding officer
3. Any other additional member who shall all be elected/re-elected at the Annual General Meeting. Descriptions of committee responsibilities can be found in the Cycling UK Handbook.
2. Committee members may perform more than one role with the exception of the President, Secretary and Treasurer who must be separate individuals. It is not considered advisable for the safeguarding officer also to be the Secretary.
3. All committee members must be members of the Club.
4. The term of office for the President and Vice President will be two years and for all other committee members shall be for one year. Members shall be eligible for re-election.
5. If the post of any committee member should fall vacant after such an election, the Committee shall have the power to fill the vacancy until the succeeding Annual General Meeting.
6. The Committee will be responsible for adopting new policies, codes of practice and rules that affect the organisation of the Club.
7. The Committee will have powers to appoint any advisers to the Committee as necessary to fulfil its business.
8. The Committee will be responsible for disciplinary hearings of members who infringe the Club rules/regulations/constitution. The Committee will be responsible for taking any action of suspension or discipline following such hearings. In certain situations, the President may decide to refer the matter to Cycling UK.
9. The committee meetings will be convened by the Secretary of the Club and be held no less than 4 times per year.
10. At all Meetings a simple majority shall decide the issue of all matters in debate, except alterations to Club Constitution which will require a two-thirds majority of all Members attending a General Meeting.
11. The Committee Quorum for any meeting is 4 members of the Committee to be in attendance. This can be any 3 roles from within the Committee but must include both President, and Secretary or Treasurer.
12. In the event that the Club has no-residential address, the person holding the Committee role of President, will register the Club with Cycling UK (and any other affiliated organisations) to their home address and the person holding the role of Treasurer will register the Club Community Bank Account to their home address.

1. The Club Treasurer will be responsible for the finances of the Club.
2.  An Annual budget plan will be presented at the AGM for the following year.
3. The Committee will appoint an Honorary Auditor to preside over the accounts, which will be produced by the Treasurer for scrutiny by the Committee at least once per year. The Honorary Auditor may not be a member of the Committee.
4. The financial year of the Club will run from 1^st April and end on 31^st March.
5. All Club monies will be banked in an account held in the name of the Club.
6. An audited statement of annual accounts will be presented by the Treasurer at the Annual General Meeting.
7. Any cheques or online payments made from Club funds should hold the signature of the Treasurer or President which may be as an online transaction.
8. The property and funds of the group cannot be used for the private benefit of members.
9. All expenditure greater than £100 against the Club account shall be agreed by 3 members of the committee and logged by the Club Treasurer.
10. Cycling UK Membership Groups such as PCTC are unincorporated and have no legal personality, so contracts and debts are taken on by individuals (committee or members) who make or authorise them.

1. General Meetings are the means whereby the members of the Club exercise their
   democratic rights in conducting the Club's affairs.
2. The Club shall hold the Annual General Meeting (AGM) between the dates of 31^st March and 15^th May to:
   • Approve the minutes of the previous year's AGM.
   • Receive reports from the President and Secretary.
   • Receive a report from the Treasurer and approve the audited Annual Accounts.
   • Elect the officers on the committee.
   • Consider any proposed changes to the Constitution.
   • Discuss any motions raised.
3. Notice of the date, time and venue of the AGM will be given by the Club Secretary to all members and to Cycling UK by the end of February with 21 days notice. The AGM will normally be held in late April, being one month after the end of the financial year.
4. The Quorum for an AGM or General Meeting is a minimum of ten members of the Club. Note this is a requirement from Cycling UK who will require to ratify any business done at an AGM or General Meeting in the event that less than 10 members are present.
5. Nominations for officers of the committee will be sent to the Secretary prior to the AGM, no later than 7 days before the date of the meeting.
6. Proposed changes to the constitution shall be sent to the Secretary prior to the AGM, who shall circulate them at least 7 days before an AGM.
7. All members of the Club have the right to vote at the AGM.
8. The President of the Club shall hold a casting vote at general and committee meetings.
9. An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) or Special General Meeting (SGM) can be called by an application in writing to the Secretary and should be supported by at least 10% of the members of the Club. The committee shall also have the power to call an EGM/SGM by decision of a simple majority of the committee members. This can be done either by Resolution of the group’s committee or by receipt by the Secretary of a written request signed by at least ten regular riders. ‘Regular’ being defined as a rider who has participated in a PCTC ride more than 5 times in the previous 6 months).
10. Notice of the meeting should be sent to Cycling UK’s National Office at least 21 days in advance so that members are given the chance to attend. The notice should state the business for which the meeting is called, and no business, other than that stated in the notice calling for the meeting, may be transacted.

The constitution will only be changed through agreement by majority vote of at least two thirds of members attending an AGM or EGM/SGM.

PCTC have appointed a Safeguarding Officer to offer advice and guidance for members, as well as to help reporting and resolve any safeguarding and welfare concerns in accordance with Cycling UK’s policies and procedures.

A resolution to dissolve the Club can only be passed at an AGM or EGM/SGM through a majority vote of the membership.