1.  Title

The name of the club shall be: Southern British Shorthair Cat Club.

2.  Objectives

a) To promote the welfare and appreciation of the Club’s breeds.

b) To support shows for the exhibition of the Club’s breeds and to hold our own shows.

c) To encourage an active interest in the protection and welfare of cats.

d) To recommend guidelines for and to promote the breeding of British Shorthair and Manx cats, including the new colours within the breeds.

e) To work in conjunction with the relevant Breed Advisory Committee in the selection and promotion of judges, and to encourage entrants to the stewarding scheme; to review and make recommendations on matters relating to the Standard of Points for the Club’s breeds.

3.  Membership

The Club shall consist of Honorary Members, Ordinary Members and Junior Members. All members shall be accepted by a majority vote of the Committee.

 a) Honorary Members shall be such persons as may be invited by the Committee because they have rendered special services to the Club. They shall not be eligible for election to the Committee or to vote at any meeting, although they shall have the right to speak thereat.

 b) Ordinary Members shall be all persons who, having been duly accepted by the Committee, shall have paid their subscriptions for the year in which they become members and annually thereafter.

c) Junior Members shall be all persons who, having been duly accepted by the Committee, shall have paid their subscriptions for the year in which they become members and annually thereafter, and be not more that 16 years old. A Junior Member shall enjoy all the rights of membership except the right to vote. Junior Membership shall cease at the end of the year in which the member attains 16 years of age.

d) Any member of the Club including Life or Honorary Members suspended under Article 12 of the Constitution of the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy, and wishing to rejoin after the expiry of the suspension, must reapply to the Club Secretary.

e) All Ordinary Members shall be entitled to attend and vote at General Meetings of the Club and shall be eligible for election to the Committee.

f) A member will be deemed to have lapsed if subscription fees have not been received by the Membership Secretary by the date of the Annual General Meeting.

g) A person shall have been a member for at least one year before asking the Club to support an application for a prefix.

4.  Fees

The fee structure is as follows:

Single (Annual),   Single (Biennial),   Single (10 Years);

Joint  (Annual),   Joint  (Biennial),   Joint  (10 Years);

Overseas (Annual),  Overseas (Biennial),  Overseas (10 Years) and Junior (Annual). In addition there is a Joining Fee.  All fees will be reviewed annually at the Annual General Meeting.

5.  Committee and Officers

The affairs of the Club shall be managed by an Executive Committee consisting of the Chairman, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer (hereinafter called the Officers) and nine other members. One Officer and three Committee members shall stand down in rotation each year and shall be eligible for re-election at the Annual General Meeting. Any vacancy on the Committee, however caused, may be filled by co-option by majority vote of the remaining members of the Committee. Any person so co-opted shall serve until the end of the year during which she was co-opted. Persons may be appointed for specific duties as and when required, but shall not have a vote.

The Committee shall appoint the Show Manager(s) and Show Committee.

The Committee shall have the power to decide on all questions for which no role is provided.

Members elected must undertake not to hold a similar office as a Committee member or Officer of more than three other cat clubs.

6.  Duties of Officers and Committee

It shall be the duty of the Chairman to preside at all meetings of the Club and to perform all duties pertaining to the office. In the absence of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman shall execute such duties.

It shall be the duty of the Honorary Secretary to record the minutes of all meetings in a book specific for that purpose and to conduct correspondence on behalf of the Club.

It shall be the duty of the Honorary Treasurer to keep a record of all transactions and present each year, at the Annual General Meeting, a properly drawn up Balance Sheet which shall be examined by a suitable independent person appointed at the AGM.

A Membership Secretary will be appointed to maintain a register of members, to inform new members of their election and supply a copy of the rules.

7.   Honorary President and Vice President

The Club shall have a President and Vice President who shall be recommended by the Committee and approved by members at the Annual General Meeting. They shall hold office for three years and at the end of this period shall retire, but be eligible for reappointment. They shall have the right to attend all Committee meetings but shall not be entitled to vote.

8.  Vice Chairman

The Vice Chairman shall be elected annually at the first Committee meeting after the Annual General Meeting.

9.  Meetings

a) Committee Meetings - The Committee shall meet as necessary for the running of the Club. Notice of meetings shall be sent to each Committee member 21 days prior to the meeting.

If any member of the Committee shall fail to attend three consecutive meetings without reasonable cause, the Committee may, after due enquiry, request the said member to resign from the Committee, and the said member on receiving the request be bound to resign. All Committee meetings should be convened by the Hon.Secretary upon instruction from the Chairman. A quorum shall consist of six members including officers.

b) Annual General Meetings shall be held in the second quarter of each year. The agenda for each Annual General Meeting shall be sent to each member fourteen days before the meeting. Items for the agenda must reach the Hon.Secretary by the 1st February.

All motions must be proposed and seconded by members.

A quorum shall consist of fifteen members.

c) A Special General Meeting shall be held whenever the Committee consider it necessary or whenever twelve members so request, by individual demand in writing delivered to the Secretary. The members calling such a meeting shall be responsible for expenses incurred. Not less than 21 days notice shall be given to all members of any Special General Meeting. Only business for which the meeting is called may be discussed at the said meeting.

d) Voting: At all Committee meetings matters shall be decided by a simple majority vote. The Chairman to have the casting vote. On points of order the Chairman’s decision is final.

At the Annual General Meeting every matter not otherwise provided for shall be decided by a show of hands unless otherwise decided by the Chairman. In the event of an inequality of votes the Chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

A postal vote will be held for the election of Committee members if the nominations exceed the number of places available. Only fully paid-up members will be eligible to take part. An independent scrutiniser will be nominated by the Officials and Committee. (Nominations for the Committee should be received by the Hon.Secretary by the 1st February.)

10.  Amendments to Rules

Changes to rules must be passed by a two-thirds majority at a General Meeting.

11.  Finance

The financial year of the Club shall end on the 31st December each year, to which date the accounts of the Club be balanced.

All expenses incurred by the Hon.Secretary and Hon.Treasurer on behalf of the Club and approved by the Committee, and by delegates duly appointed, shall be defrayed out of the funds of the Club. All cheques shall require the signature of any two of the following three Officers: Hon.Secretary, Hon.Treasurer, Chairman.

 12.  Discipline

The Committee shall have the power to withdraw membership from anyone who, in its opinion, has behaved in a manner contrary to the objects of the Club, provided that members against whom this rule is invoked shall have the right to appear and be heard before the Committee and shall have the right to appeal to a General Meeting.

Any member or Honorary member receiving money on behalf of the Club (unless authorised by these Rules or by the Committee to retain it) shall hand it over to the Hon.Treasurer without undue delay.

13.  Affiliation to the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy

a) The Club shall be affiliated to the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy and shall be represented at Council.

b) Delegates shall be Members or Officers of the Committee.

c) Except with the permission of the Council, no delegate may serve on the Committee of any Club of another registering body, nor act in any official capacity for such a Club.

d) The Club shall be bound by the rules laid down by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy and the Council shall have disciplinary powers according to its constitution over the Club and the members thereof. Membership of the Club shall be deemed to constitute acceptance of the Constitution and rules of the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy.

 14.  Breed Advisory Committee

The Club shall provide representatives for the relevant Breed Advisory Committee who shall be elected annually by members at the Annual General Meeting. The Committee shall have the power  to send substitutes if required.

15.  Shows

The Committee shall decide which Cat Shows shall be supported by the Club. Prizes and Trophies may only be won by fully paid-up members.

16.  Trophies

All Cups and Trophies donated by members shall become the outright property of the Club. Cups and Trophies will be accepted at the discretion of the Committee.

The Cup Officer shall keep a list of trophies held by members and shall reclaim them at the end of twelve months.

17.  Dissolution

Fourteen days notice of any proposal to wind up the Club shall be given in writing to the members and a Special General Meeting shall be called to consider the question. If the motion to dissolve the Club is confirmed by a two-thirds majority of those voting in person or by ballot or proxy, the Club’s liabilities shall be discharged and any balance of funds shall be divided equally among fully paid-up members, but Cups and Trophies, the property of the Club, shall be distributed to other Clubs at the discretion of the Committee.

At this Special General Meeting (but at no other meetings) members shall be allowed to vote by proxy.

Revision 2.0 - 10th April 2006

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