The name of the club shall be Southport Model Boat Club. The aims and objectives of the Club are to bring members together for the purpose of exchanging ideas and opinions on all aspects of design, construction and sailing of model boats.

The Club's sailing water shall be Jubilee Pond, Rotten Row, Southport, PR8 2DA. The pond and associated land are owned by Sefton Council and leased to the Club under a tripartite agreement between the Club, Sefton Council and the Southport Model Engineering Club dated 25th March 2009.

• 3.1The day to day running of the club shall be arranged by a Committee of 4 elected Officers: a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer/Membership Secretary. A further 3 members shall be co-opted to the Committee by the Officers to carry out the duties of Groundsman, Health and Safety Officer and Communications Officer.
• 3.2The Secretary shall call Committee Meetings each month and record minutes of each meeting. Either the Chairman or Vice-Chairman plus 3 other Committee members must be present for the entire Committee Meeting for the Meeting to be quorate.
• 3.3Committee members shall have equal voting rights. In the event of a tie, the Chair shall have a casting vote.
• 3.4Further members may be co-opted to the Committee as and when required. Co-opted members shall have no voting rights at Committee Meetings. The attendance of Co-opted Committee members shall not be counted as part of the quorum required to make a Committee Meeting quorate.

Two Trustees shall be elected by the Annual General Meeting and serve until they either retire or are required to step down by the Annual General Meeting. The role of the Trustees is to facilitate the winding up of the Club if the Club becomes unsustainable.

• 5.1An AGM of the Club shall be held in October of each year to receive reports from the outgoing Committee and to elect Officers and Trustees.
• 5.2The Committee shall notify all Members by giving 4 weeks notice of the date, time and venue for the AGM. This notice shall notify Members of those Officers and Trustees willing to be re-elected and those Officers and Trustees who shall be stepping down at the AGM.
• 5.3Members shall be invited to nominate other Club Members for any Officer position or as a Trustee. Nominations must be received by the Secretary in writing at least 10 days before the date of the AGM.
• 5.4One week before the AGM, the Committee shall send draft accounts, the names of nominees for Officers and Trustees and any other documents which need to be voted on by the AGM.
• 5.5Only Members who are fully paid up at the start of the AGM can attend the AGM.
• 5.6At least 20% of the Club members must be present at the AGM for the Meeting to be quorate.
• 5.7The Committee shall report the financial state of the Club and key achievements for the year to date and notify the AGM of any key plans and/or issues for the year ahead.
• 5.8Following these reports, the Chairperson shall call for nominations for an Honorary President to be nominated and elected by AGM to supervise the election of Committee members and Trustees.

The Committee and/or Trustees may convene an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at any time. The date, time, location and reason for the EGM shall be communicated to Members as far in advance as is practically possible.

Any proposal for winding up the Club shall be considered at an AGM or EGM. If this happens the Trustees, with the co-operation of the Committee, shall ensure that all assets of the club are donated to the Club's approved Registered Charity. They shall also notify Sefton Council and the Southport Model Engineering Club of the Club's winding up.

There shall be 4 types of membership:

• 8.1Applications for membership must be on the prescribed Application Forms and must be renewed annually.
• 8.2The Club reserves the right to refuse membership and is not required to disclose the reasons for such refusal. It also reserves the right to withdraw membership if, in the judgement of the Committee, a member breaks the Club rules, causes nuisance or brings the Club into disrepute.
• 8.3Memberships fees shall be reviewed annually by the Treasurer and set at the AGM. All renewing club memberships fees must be fully paid up by 31st January each year. Any member who is in arrears after that date shall be deemed to have resigned from the Club.
• 8.4After 1st October new Members shall be given their membership free of charge for the period between the date of their application and 31st December following.
• 8.5Public Liability Insurance shall be included in the agreed membership fees. Membership fees shall not be reimbursed in part or full if a Member leaves the Club for any reason.
• 8.6Life Membership shall be offered to those members who, in the opinion of the AGM, have provided the Club with outstanding service and/or support over a significant number of years. Nominations for Life Membership must be received by the Secretary in writing at least 10 days before the date of the AGM.

• 9.1In the event of a complaint about a Member being received by a Committee Member in writing, the Committee shall consider the complaint at the next Committee Meeting.
• 9.2If the Committee decides that the member who is the subject of the complaint (the Accused Member) may have breached Club Rules or caused nuisance or behaved in a manner that may have been prejudicial to the interests of the Club, a Committee member shall be elected by the Committee to investigate the complaint.
• 9.3The Committee member shall inform the Accused Member about the complaint and ask for a response to the complaint and to hear their side of the story.
• 9.4The Committee Member shall make every effort to resolve the complaint to the satisfaction of both the Complainant and the Accused Member.
• 9.5If this is unsuccessful the Committee Member may request the Accused Member and/or the Complainant to attend the next Committee Meeting at which the Committee shall decide on how to best resolve the complaint. This resolution may be to issue a written warning to the Accused Member and even their expulsion from the Club. No refund of subscription shall be made on expulsion.

• 10.1The Treasurer shall ensure that, at all times, the Club has adequate public liability insurance to cover the activities of its Members.
• 10.2The Club's insurance shall only extend to those members whose boats are either free running or radio controlled. No internal combustion engines are to be operated at any time on the Club's sailing pond.
• 10.3Neither Southport Model Boat Club nor any of its duly elected officers accept any responsibility for any accident however it may occur whilst a member is travelling to or from the pond on public road regardless of whether the member is a driver or passenger in the vehicle.
• 10.4The Committee shall not be liable or responsible for any loss, injury or damage suffered by the members, members' relatives or guests. All members are responsible for their guests at all times in thought, words and deeds.

• 11.1All accidents, in the first instance, which happen at a Club event or meeting, shall be reported in writing to the club's Health & Safety Officer who shall ensure that the accident is recorded in the Club's Accident book.
• 11.2The Club's Health and Safety Policies shall be reviewed annually by the Committee.