Constitution and Rules

Club Rules

FIREARMS

Members / Guests are not allowed to bring firearms of any type into the main clubhouse.

This includes not bringing firearms onto the veranda.

All firearms must be taken into the armoury / gunroom via the secured and alarmed side entrance.

DRESS CODE

During the day there is no specific dress code, with the generally accepted Bisley range wear the norm, except that caps/hats should not be worn within the clubhouse.During the evening (typically after 19:00) gentlemen would be expected to wear "smart casual" attire. In particular jeans or shorts should not be worn. Ladies would be expected to dress in a complementary manner.

Certain events may require a special dress code that will be announced and may require club or regional or national dress code and honours to be worn (e.g. Dinner with Overseas Clubs in July).

The North London Rifle Club

Constitution and Rules as amended up to the AGM of 24/04/2021

INTRODUCTION

1) The Club shall be called the "North London Rifle Club". The Clubhouse is situated at Bisley Camp, Brookwood, Woking, Surrey, GU24 0NY.

2) The Club was formed in 1880 to promote shooting with Service Arms in the Volunteer Force. Its aim now is the encouragement of sport in the community and, in particular, the development of skill in target shooting including amongst cadets and young shooters. The Club shall at all times comply with the criteria for approval by the Secretary of State for Home Affairs under Section 15 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 as amended by Section 45 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 and relevant subsequent legislation.

MEMBERSHIP

3) The North London Rifle Club is an unincorporated Members’ Club with the categories of Membership defined in the Schedule at the end of these Rules. The following conditions will apply:

a. Honorary Members have the right to use the social facilities of the Club and have such other rights (which may or may not include the right to stand for the Committee) as the Committee may determine.

b. Provisional Members may shoot in Club events but not record representative scores in either Club competitions or Team matches. They may, after six months from the date of their election as Provisional Members, apply for Shooting Membership provided they have successfully completed a course in the safe handling and use of firearms arranged by, or approved by, the Committee on payment of such subscription as appropriate.

c. Social Members may take no part in the sporting activities of the Club irrespective of whether they hold a Fire Arms Certificate.

d. Temporary Members shall be persons attending an event at the Club whose names shall not less than twenty-four hours before such event have been submitted to the Club and shall have been approved by a Shooting Member of the Club authorised by the Committee for this purpose.

e. Youth Members may use the Club’s shooting facilities:

i. Subject to any approvals and permissions as the Committee and NRA deems appropriate in relation to their age, maturity and size,

ii. Provided they have successfully completed a course in the safe handling & use of firearms arranged by, or approved by, the Committee

4) Discounting any Temporary and Youth Members, the total number of Members of the Club shall not exceed six hundred except as provided for in Rules 10) and 37). The combined total of Social Members shall not exceed 20% of the Club Membership.

5) The Committee will have sole right of electing Members and fixing the annual subscription. All candidates for election to all categories of Membership except Temporary are to be posted in the Clubhouse for a minimum of seven days. The club will inform the police of any application for Shooting membership, giving the applicant’s name, address, date of birth and of the outcome of any application. Candidates for election to Shooting membership must be proposed and seconded in writing by Shooting Members of the Club and must meet the requirements specified in Home Office Approval for Full membership. The votes of two thirds of the Members of the Committee present shall be necessary for the election of a candidate. The Honorary Secretary shall notify every new Member of their election and provide each with a copy of the Rules and Bye-laws.

6) If a Shooting Member of the Club ceases to satisfy the requirements specified in Home Office Approval for Full membership, then he/she shall forthwith inform the Honorary Secretary. He/she shall be deemed to have transferred to an appropriate class of membership to be determined by the Secretary.

7) Any Member may resign from the Club by notifying the Honorary Secretary in writing before 1st March, after which date payment of the current year's subscription is required.

8) Where someone joins the Club and that person had been a Member of the Club at any time during the previous two years before admission, that person will enjoy continuity of membership and be treated as never having left the Club for purposes such as calculating length of membership, membership benefits and disciplinary matters. This does not apply where the previous membership class was Temporary.

CONDUCT OF MEMBERS

9) Should a complaint be made as to the conduct of a Member, the Honorary Secretary shall, on the request of the Chairman of the Committee, or on the written request of five Members, convene a meeting of the Committee to consider the matter. At least three days’ notice is to be given to every Member of the Committee stating that the meeting is "To consider the conduct of a Member". Such a meeting may be adjourned from time to time. On the votes of at least ten Committee Members, the Committee may, after affording the Member concerned an opportunity to explain, either summarily expel him or her from the Club or request the Member to resign within a specified time. The Honorary Secretary is then to forward the outcome in writing to the Member concerned. Should a Member so requested fail to submit their resignation within the designated time, the Committee may at any subsequent meeting by an ordinary resolution expel such Member. A Member expelled or requested to resign under this Rule shall have no claim upon the Club or its property for any subscription or entrance fee already paid, or for any prize which may be due and shall not be admitted to the Club premises as a visitor or otherwise.

10) A Member expelled under Rule 9) shall receive notice and be entitled to attend the next Annual General Meeting held after such expulsion and shall be entitled to have a motion for reinstatement put to the meeting. The formalities of proposal and seconding shall not be necessary. Such an expelled Member shall have no vote at that meeting unless reinstated for which a two-thirds majority vote of those present will be necessary.

11) No Member is to give the address of the Club in any advertisement or use the Club address for business purposes, and no Member may, except for professional services rendered at the request of the Committee, on any pretext or in any manner receive any profit, salary or emoluments from the funds or transactions of the Club.

12) No Member is to reprimand any Club staff but should refer the matter to the Honorary Secretary or the Chairman of the Committee.


MANAGEMENT

13) The Club year shall coincide with the calendar year. All subscriptions become due on 1st January. Members elected after 31st July will be required to pay half the appropriate subscription for the year.

14) The Clubhouse is normally open at weekends and, by arrangement with the Manager or Steward, at other times as may be required. Excluding the Imperial Meeting the Clubhouse will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (Tuesday and Wednesday after Bank Holiday Mondays). The Committee is empowered to close it for such periods as it may deem necessary informing members as soon as practicable.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE

15) The entire management of the affairs of the Club and its premises shall be vested in a Committee of twelve elected Members, together with certain ex-officio Members. The Committee Members are the elected and ex-officio Members.

16) The President and Vice Presidents shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting. The President shall be an ex-officio Member of the Committee.

17) There shall be at least two and not more than four Trustees elected at a General Meeting of the Club who shall hold office until death, resignation or until removed by the votes of two-thirds of Members voting at a General Meeting. The Trustees shall formally be appointed by deed as Trustees within the meaning of Section 36 of the Trustee Act 1925 and the provisions of the Trustee Act 1925 shall apply to any such appointment. The Trustees shall be ex-officio Members of the Committee if not already elected in their own right. All leases, conveyances, investments and securities shall be made or taken in the names of the Trustees and the property vested in them shall be held by them on trust for the Members of the Club for the time being subject to these Rules. They shall be bound to deal as directed by resolutions of the Committee of which entries in the Minute Book signed by the Chairman of the Committee at the same or a subsequent meeting shall constitute conclusive evidence. The Trustees shall be indemnified against risk and expenses out of the property of the Club.

18) At the Annual General Meeting the four senior elected Members of the Committee shall retire but shall be eligible for re-election at that meeting. If there are, or during the previous year have been, any vacancies on the Committee through the death or resignation of any elected Members, a sufficient number only, in order of their seniority, of the elected Members of the Committee to make a total of four vacancies, shall retire. The Committee may nominate a sufficient number of Club Members to fill the vacancies and the Honorary Secretary shall in the notice convening the meeting state the names of those who are retiring and of those Members, if any, whom the Committee may have nominated to fill their places. Other candidates may be proposed and seconded by Members of the Club, provided that the nominations in writing reach the Honorary Secretary by twenty-eight days before the meeting.

19) The election of Committee Members shall be by ballot of Members present at that meeting and every Eligible Member of the Club shall be entitled to vote for as many candidates as there are vacancies to be filled. No Member may give more than one vote to any candidate and a Member need not use all his/her votes. The candidates up to the number of vacancies who receive the most votes shall be declared elected. In the event of a tie for the last place or places a second ballot shall be held for the last place or places only. In the event of a further tie the Chairman of that meeting shall have a casting vote for each place to be filled.

20) The seniority of Members of the Committee is firstly determined by their date of most recent election, the more recent being less senior. Among those elected on the same date, seniority is determined by the number of votes received, a Member receiving fewer votes to be deemed senior to one receiving more. Where Committee Members are elected on the same date without a contest, or where two or more receive an equal number of votes, their seniority is to be decided by drawing Iots among themselves.

ANNUAL AND EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETINGS AND ELECTRONIC VOTES

21) The Annual General Meeting of the Club is to be held not later than 30th April, provided that no such meeting takes place more than fifteen months after that held in the previous year, at a place to be determined by the Committee, of which fourteen days’ notice must be given to every Eligible Member.

22) At the Annual General Meeting a report is to be presented on the activities of the Club and a statement of its financial position made. The following business is also to be transacted:

a. Election of President, Vice Presidents, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Inspector and Members to serve on the Committee for the ensuing year. Members elected to serve on the committee shall serve until required to retire as defined in Rule 18.

b. Any other business of which any Eligible Member has given twenty-eight days’ notice in writing to the Honorary Secretary.

23) The Honorary Secretary is to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club on the written requisition of the Committee or of any ten Eligible Members. Such requisition is to state the purpose of, and the business to be transacted at such Meeting. No other business is to be entertained (other than under Rule 29d). The nature of the business to be transacted is to be communicated by the Honorary Secretary to every Eligible Member at least seven days before the date on which it is to be held, which shall be not more than twenty-eight days from the date of receipt of the requisition.

a. The Committee reserves the right that, in place of the provisions in Rule 23)3 above, any decision in relation to the lease renewal negotiation and conclusion of a lease for the NLRC Clubhouse may be put to the vote before the Members by email, subject to the following conditions set out in Rule 25a below (“Electronic Vote”).

24) At any General Meeting the President or in his absence the Chairman of the Committee will take the Chair. Should neither be present the meeting is to elect a Member of the Committee to act as Chairman. If the person who would chair the meeting under the foregoing declines to serve for whatever reason, the chair shall pass to the next person specified.

25) Subject to Rule 23)a, any questions for decision should be put to the meeting in the form of motions duly proposed and seconded and will be determined by a show of hands, a simple majority of Eligible Members present being sufficient to carry a motion (except in those cases where under these Rules a different procedure is laid down). At any General Meeting the Chairman of the meeting will have a second or casting vote if required. The Chairman may at his absolute discretion substitute a secret ballot for the show of hands.

a. The conditions for an Electronic Vote are as follows:

i. All Electronic Votes, i.e. content of question put to the vote and deadline, require prior approval by the Committee.

ii. The Hon. Secretary will send an identical email to all Eligible Members, asking them to vote “Agree” or “Do not Agree” on the specific proposal by the deadline as agreed by the Committee in Point (i) above.

iii. In the case of Eligible Members for whom the club does not have an email address, the Hon. Secretary shall send a copy of the email to the latest postal address given by the Member to the Club.

iv. The voting request (postal or email) shall be sent by the Hon. Secretary to every Eligible Member at least 7 days before the above deadline.

v. All votes (postal or email) received by the Hon. Secretary past the above deadline are discounted.

vi. Each Eligible Member has only one vote.

vii. In case of a tie, the President of the NLRC has the deciding vote.

26) All Members are permitted to attend and speak at General Meetings, whether Eligible Members or not. Notwithstanding Rule 10, a non-member may attend a General Meeting only if he/she has received the explicit permission of the Chairman of the meeting. Such permission may cover any or all of attending part, parts or all of the meeting, making a statement to the meeting, responding to questions and asking questions. It never covers voting.

27) No Member may vote by proxy at any General or Committee meeting, or in an Electronic Vote. Eligibility to stand for the Committee or vote in a General Meeting or Electronic Vote is as specified in the Schedule at the end of these Rules.

QUORUMS

28) At the Annual or an Extraordinary General Meeting twenty Eligible Members will constitute a quorum. If at any General Meeting the required number of Eligible Members is not present within an hour after the time appointed for holding the same, the Meeting shall stand adjourned to the same day in the next week, and if at such adjourned Meeting the required number of Eligible Members is not present within an hour after the time appointed for holding the Meeting, the Eligible Members present shall be a quorum. At a Committee meeting five Committee Members will form a quorum other than as specified in Rule 9.

DUTIES OF OFFICERS

29) In addition to all other powers conferred upon the Committee by these Rules, and without limiting the generality of their powers, the Committee shall:

a. At its first meeting after the Annual General Meeting, elect a Chairman of the Committee. In his or her absence at any meeting another Committee Member may be elected by the Members present to take the Chair for that meeting.

b. Elect a Target Rifle Captain, a Match Rifle Captain and an F Class Captain for a maximum term of three years who will be ex-officio Members of the Committee.

c. Have power to make such Bye-laws as it may consider necessary or expedient for the proper working of the Club and to amend or repeal the same at their discretion. Such Bye-laws will be binding on all Members of the Club as soon as they have been published in writing on the notice board in the Clubhouse and until set aside at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting.

d. Be empowered to make new Rules concerning anything not already provided for. However, any such new Rule will only be valid until the next Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting when it shall be proposed by a Member of the Committee notwithstanding that such Extraordinary General Meeting was not convened for that purpose.

e. Have authority to appoint and dissolve Sub-Committees of not less than three Members for such purposes as may be considered desirable, and may delegate to such Sub-Committees such powers as it may see fit, provided that powers given to the Committee under Rules 9) and 18) may not be delegated.

f. In the event of the death or resignation of a Member of the Committee, or of any of the Officers referred to in Rule 22), have the power to appoint an interim successor to serve until the next Annual General Meeting.

g. Have power to elect Advisory Members to the Committee. Such Advisory Members need not be Members of the Club and will have no vote on any question whatsoever.

h. May at its discretion remit on behalf of the Club all or any claims against a Member or ex-Members of the Club.

i. Have the sole right of appointing or dismissing the Honorary Secretary, Manager or Steward of the Club and of setting the remuneration and terms and conditions of service of these officials.

j. Have the sole right of engaging and paying any Club staff who may be required or delegating this authority as seen fit.

k. Have the sole power of framing the conditions of any competition or match and generally have sole control in all matters connected with shooting.

l. Make arrangements for the use of the Clubhouse by non-Members at such times and on payment of such fees and subject to such conditions as it may decide are in the best interests of the Club.

m. Be the sole interpreters of the meaning of these Rules and the Bye-laws.

30) The Honorary Secretary is to convene all meetings and is responsible for the correspondence of the Club. He or she is to keep a Minute Book and will be responsible for ensuring that the proceedings of all meetings, General or Committee, are recorded therein. He or she will act generally on the direction and under the control of the Committee. The Honorary Secretary is an ex-officio Member of the Committee if not already an elected Member.

31) The Honorary Treasurer is responsible for all money, cheques, credit card and electronic transactions, which may be received and will deal with the same as approved by the Committee. He or she is also to ensure that proper books of accounts are kept. The Honorary Treasurer is an ex-officio Member of the Committee if not already an elected Member.

32) The Accounts of the Club are to be inspected annually by an Honorary Inspector (not a Member of the Committee) who is to be appointed at the Annual General Meeting.

33) The Manager or Steward is responsible to the Committee for the management of the Clubhouse on such terms and conditions as the Committee shall decide.


RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBERS

34) Each Member of the Club may on application to the Honorary Secretary be provided with a copy of these Rules and the Bye-laws and will be bound to conform to such Rules and Bye-laws of the Club and the regulations and orders of the Committee.

35) Each Member of the Club is required to furnish his or her contact address, contact telephone number and email address where available to the Honorary Secretary and to advise of any change.

36) No Member may participate in any Club meeting or competition or use the Club targets or the Clubhouse until he or she has paid the current year's subscription and any arrears together with any fine or other payment due to the Club.

37) The names of any Members who have failed to pay their Annual subscriptions by 1st March will be posted on the Club notice board. Those Members whose subscriptions still remain unpaid on 1st April will cease to be Members of the Club and notice of this will be sent to their address by the Honorary Secretary. Any Members so struck off under this Rule may, subject to the consent of the Committee, be readmitted on payment before 1st July of all sums due to the Club at the date they ceased to be Members, together with a fine as determined by the Committee which may, in any particular case, be waived in total or in part.

38) In the event that any such re-admissions take the total Membership of the Club above the number specified in Rule 4 no further new Members will be accepted until the overall total falls below the limit laid down.

CORRESPONDENCE

39) All notices and letters sent by post to the last notified address will be deemed to have been delivered. Any email, notice or letter shall be deemed delivered at the time it would be in the ordinary course of post or electronic communication.

VISITORS

40) Any Member is welcome to introduce visitors subject to such regulations and Bye-laws currently in force. Every visitor is considered to be the guest of, and should be accompanied by, the Member introducing them. Visitors are not to remain on the Club premises after their host Members have left. No person may be introduced as a visitor who has been expelled, requested to resign under Rule 9), or has been rejected as a candidate for election under Rule 5), or who, having ceased to be a Member under Rule 37), claims re-admittance in accordance with such Rule, or whose conduct or presence in the Clubhouse is considered by the Committee to be objectionable or prejudicial to the interest of the Club.

PERSONAL ACCOUNTS

41) Every Member must before leaving pay all charges due to the Club, whether on account of their visitors or themselves.

DISSOLUTION

42) In the event of the dissolution or ceasing to function of the Club, the Trustees are to realise the assets of the Club in as timely a manner as practicable. The funds realised, together with any interest earned thereon, shall be distributed between those voting Members who were in good standing at 31st March in the year of dissolution. The last Membership list produced by the Honorary Secretary shall be evidence of Membership. The division of funds will be made as specified in the Schedule at the end of these Rules.

CHANGES TO RULES

43) Subject to Rule 29)d, these Rules may be altered or added to only at a General Meeting of the Club and then only by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the Eligible Members voting. Notice in writing of a motion to amend these Rules must reach the Honorary Secretary by not less than twenty-eight days before the meeting at which the same is to be considered. The purport of such notice will be conveyed to all Members in the circular convening the meeting.

NATIONAL EMERGENCIES

44) In the event of a national emergency, such as an epidemic, which makes the holding of meetings illegal or unwise, or makes the normal implementation of club rules and bylaws impracticable, the Committee, for the duration of the emergency and a further 28 days. may:

a. Meet by a suitable electronic means decided by the Honorary Secretary,

b. Suspend, modify, or with consideration to the prevailing circumstances, implement in its original spirit, any club rules or bylaws,

c. Postpone any General Meeting notwithstanding the timescales specified elsewhere including in Rules 21 and 23,

d. If any Officer is unavailable or otherwise unable to carry out his/her duties because of the emergency, allow any other Officer or a member appointed by the Committee to carry out those duties for a time up to the next Annual General Meeting.

If a General Meeting is postponed, the business specified to be transacted at that Meeting, not being a motion for reinstatement under Rule 10 or a rule change under Rule 43, shall be transacted by the Committee and submitted to the General Meeting when it is held.

This Constitution and Rules incorporate those adopted at the AGM 1958, 1992, 2003 and 2008 and subsequent amendment including those of GM 1997 as well as the AGM 2011, 2012, 2014, EGM 2015, AGM 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.