Constitution of Connacht Squash

Name
The Association shall be called “Connacht Squash”

Objectives
The Objectives of the Connacht Squash are:
1. To advance the game of squash in Connacht;
2. To select all teams to represent the province;
3. To promote, organise, develop, administer and control the game of Squash and its associated activities in Connacht subject to the overall authority of Irish Squash to which this association shall affiliate as a constituent member.
4. To appeal for, collect, receive and spend money on behalf of Connacht Squash and to be responsible for the control of the finances of the association.

Membership
The membership of the association shall comprise
(a) Squash clubs in Connacht that apply for and are admitted to membership – hereinafter called “Clubs”;
(b) Regional Associations as may be set up by Connacht Squash from time to time for the organisation of the game in a portion of the Province;
(c) Honorary members. That is, any individual or organisation admitted to honorary membership by the committee of Connacht Squash.

The Committee
Connacht Squash shall be managed and controlled by a Committee comprising:

• The three members of the Executive (see below)
• A Vice-President
• The Junior Secretary
• The Masters’ Secretary
• The Refereeing and Marking Secretary
• A Public Relations Officer (PRO)
• General Committee Members
• Connacht’s representatives to Irish Squash
• and two representative of each of the affiliated clubs of Connacht, all of whom shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of Connacht Squash.

Failure to elect all of the above at the Annual General Meeting of the association will not preclude those elected from managing and controlling the affairs of the association provided all three members of the Executive are elected.
In the event of Regional Associations being set up the president and secretary of such associations shall be members of Connacht Squash.
The Committee shall have power to appoint sub-committees and to vest in and delegate to any such sub-committee so appointed such powers as it shall from time to time deem necessary and convenient provided that such sub-committees shall include at least one member of the Committee.

The Executive
The Executive of Connacht Squash shall comprise the President, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer of the Committee. The Executive shall be responsible for the day-to-day management of Connacht Squash and the making of decisions on behalf of Connacht Squash on occasions when there may be no opportunity to convene a formal meeting of the Committee. All decisions made by the Executive shall be presented for ratification at the next meeting of the Committee.

Meetings of the Committee
The Committee shall meet not less than five times in its year of office. The President shall take the chair at any meeting and in his / her absence the Vice-President, the Honorary Secretary or Honorary Treasurer. At any meeting four members of the committee shall form a quorum.The Honorary Secretary, who shall give notice of the date, time and place of the proposed meeting to members of the committee, shall arrange meetings of the Committee, upon the instructions of the President.

General Meetings
Connacht Squash shall hold an Annual General Meeting in the months of May, June or July in each year at which the following business shall be transacted:

• To consider the reports of the members of the Executive;
• To elect the members of the committee for the following season;
• To appoint an auditor who shall examine and report on the accounts of Connacht Squash for the coming season;
• To consider and transact any other business.

A Special General Meeting may be convened at any time at the request of the Committee or on the requisition of five members of Connacht Squash for the discussion of any special business provided fourteen days notice of such business to be dealt with at such meeting is specified in the Notice convening the special meeting. The quorum for General Meetings (Annual or Special) shall be 5 members of Connacht Squash.

Voting
(a) At Committee meetings each committee member shall have one vote.
(b) At the A.G.M. only affiliated member clubs of Connacht Squash shall have a vote.
(c) Voting shall be by show of hands except for elections where voting shall be by ballot.
(d) All votes must be given in person and proxy voting is not allowed.
(e) In the event of an equality of votes the chairperson shall have an additional casting vote.

Notice of Meetings
Two weeks written notice of general meetings shall be sent to all members of Connacht Squash as well as to all Committee members. In the case of member clubs the notice shall be sent to the Honorary Secretary / Club Captain.The notice of meeting shall set out the agenda of such meetings.

Subscriptions
Subscriptions are paid by each individual player in Connacht to Irish Squash. In turn Irish Squash shall reimburse Connacht Squash on a percentage basis.

Selection of Connacht Teams
The selection of teams to represent Connacht in competition shall be done by the Committee having regard to the criteria in force at the time and on the advice of the relevant person with particular responsibility for that age group or category. Such relevant persons are the Junior Secretary and the Masters’ Secretary in the case of Junior and Masters Teams respectively. In the case of senior teams the Committee shall appoint Men’s and Ladies managers for the purpose of selecting said teams.

Competition Rules
Competitions run on behalf of Irish Squash shall be governed by the rules of Irish Squash applicable to such competitions.
Competitions run under the jurisdiction of Connacht Squash shall be governed by those rules applied to the event by Connacht Squash prior to the event and notified on the official notice or entry form.
League Rules are those notified prior to the commencement of that particular league.Connacht Squash reserves the right to alter any and all rules if it deems such alterations to be in the best interest of the game.

Rules of the Game
The rules applicable to squash matches played under the control of Connacht Squash shall be those for the time being in force in accordance with the direction of Irish Squash.

Code of Ethics
Connacht Squash shall apply the Code of Ethics and Good Practice in Children’s Sport as set out by the Irish Sports Council and adopted by Irish Squash from time to time.

Code of Discipline and Disciplinary Procedures
Connacht Squash shall apply the Code of Conduct for the time being in use by Irish Squash and those set out in the Rules of Squash currently in force. Breaches of this code and these rules shall be subject to the following disciplinary procedures:
1. Connacht Squash shall deal with all disciplinary matters arising from incidents under its jurisdiction through its Disciplinary Committee.
2. Complaints from any person alleging a breach of the code of behaviour or the rules of squash shall be considered by the committee of Connacht Squash who will decide if the matter should be referred to the Disciplinary Committee for determination in regard to penalties and sanctions if applicable.
3. The Disciplinary Committee shall be a sub-committee of Connacht Squash and comprise 4 members appointed by the Committee of Connacht Squash at the commencement of the season. One of the members shall be a chairperson with a casting vote. At least one of the members of the Disciplinary Committee shall be a member of the Committee of Connacht Squash.
4. Any person who is the subject to a hearing by the Disciplinary Committee shall be informed in writing of the alleged breach of good conduct and shall be entitled to be heard at that meeting.
5. Decisions of the Disciplinary committee shall be communicated to the Committee of Connacht Squash and thence to the parties involved by Connacht Squash.
6. Decisions of the Disciplinary Committee may be appealed to an Appeals Committee comprising three persons appointed by Connacht Squash for that purpose. No member of the original Disciplinary Committee may be a member of the Appeals Committee.7. The Decision of the Appeals Committee is Final.

Alteration of this Constitution
This constitution may be altered at a general meeting only (Special or Annual) and provided such alteration is approved by at least two-thirds of those present and voting at such a meeting. This constitution is subject to amendments and recommendations made by Irish Squash.