This document sets out the current version of the Club Constitution & Rules and should be read in conjuction with the various adopted policies and codes of conduct in this section of the website.

1. Name
The Club shall be known as Stockport Georgians Cricket Club (SGCC) and be part of Stockport Georgians Athletic Club (SGAC).

2. Aims and objectives
To provide facilities and actively encourage membership from all sections of the community, in order that cricket may be played and supported at all levels in the club. The club shall be a not-for-profit organisation and any financial surplus shall be reinvested in providing and maintaining cricketing facilities for its membership.

3. Rules and conditions
Other than those set out below, the rules set out by SGAC shall be adhered to. Any change shall only be made at the Annual General meeting (AGM) or at an Extra-ordinary General Meeting (EGM) and shall be in possession of the Secretary at least 28 days prior to the meeting. Changes will be circulated to eligible members and any amendments must be in the possession of the secretary 14 days prior to the meeting.

4. Management
The club will be managed by a Management Committee of nine, comprising the President, Chairperson, Secretary (officials), Treasurer, Bar manager, Club Captain (1st XI captain), Membership secretary, Ground manager and Chairman of selectors. The presence of five of the above shall constitute a quorum; the chairperson of the meeting will have a casting vote. In the case where one person carries out more than one committee position, the President, Chairman and Secretary have the power to co-opt other members onto the committee. The committee will normally meet monthly.

5. Safeguarding
The Committee will appoint a Safeguarding Officer (SO). The SO will be solely responsible for maintaining relevant procedures within the club and will report regularly to the committee. The club have adopted the ECBs “Safe Hands” policy.

6. Diversity and Inclusion
The club adopts and enforces the ECB Anti-Discrimination Code. A copy of the code will be maintained on the Club Website. By joining the club, members agree to abide by the code in its entirety.

7. Function of the management committee
The function of the Management committee is to:
a. Act, at all times, in the best interests of SGCC as a whole
b. Consider and make decisions relating to all matter of policy, administration and financial control of SGCC. To ensure that all income or gains shall be reinvested in the club and that there should be no distribution of cash or club assets to club members or third parties.
c. Resolve matters of an urgent nature.
d. Appoint, as required, sub-committees, which may include non-members of the management committee.
e. Report to the AGM upon the activities of the committee.

8. Duties of the officers
The Officers will have the following duties and responsibilities:
a. Secretary – Responsible for convening meetings, preparation of agenda, minutes and conducting correspondence. He/she will act under the direction of the committee
b. Treasurer – Responsible for all monies of SGCC, which shall be held in a bank approved by the committee. The treasurer will endeavour that no liabilities will be incurred or payments made without the approval of the committee, this may be retrospective if discount or urgent payment is necessary. The treasurer will present a statement of accounts to the AGM.
c. Bar Manager – Responsible for all aspects of the management of the bar, including stock, ordering and cash etc.

9. Club Colour
The club colour is red.

10. Honoraria
The Officers will receive an honoraria; the amount to be determined at the AGM.

11. Appointment of Auditor(s)
An auditor will be appointed at the AGM who will audit the accounts prior to the meeting.

12. Election of officials and officers
The election of the above will take place at the AGM. Nominations must be on the form provided and be in the possession of the Secretary before the commencement of the meeting. It is important that the member being nominated has signed the form

13. Personal liability
None of the officials and officers of the club will be held personally or collectively responsible for any financial liabilities of SGCC. The exception to the above is in the case of fraud and/or the misappropriation of funds.

14. Subscriptions
Members will be expected to pay an annual subscription as per rule 20 unless exempt. The rate to be applied to each category of membership will be determined at the AGM.
Playing members will be expected to have paid their annual subscription before the start of the season. Players who have not paid their annual subscription will incur a surcharge on their match subscription until such point that their annual subscription is paid. The rate at which this surcharge is levied will be determined by the AGM.
Playing members who have not paid their annual subscription will not be in membership, thus disqualifying themselves from the facilities of club membership.

The committee will deal with and make decisions on subscription rates for members that may be suffering financial hardship on a case by case basis.
The club will accept the “Leisure Key Card Scheme” as operated by the local authority.
All playing members will be expected to pay a match subscription. The rate to be applied to each category of membership will be determined at the AGM.
A list of the membership will be maintained by the Membership Secretary.

15. Expenses
Expenses necessarily incurred by a member shall be reimbursed, providing the expense is approved by the Management committee. Receipts, vouchers should support the claim.

16. Election of captains and vice captains The above will take place at the AGM. Nominations must be on the form provided which must be in the possession of the Secretary before the commencement of the meeting. It is important that the member nominated signs the form. Captains and Vice captains from the previous season are automatically nominated for the same team for the new season, if willing to stand.

17. Selection committee
The above will comprise the team captains and vice captains, together with the Chairman of Selectors who will be elected at the AGM. The committee will normally meet each Monday night during the season. Teams selected will reflect the best interests of the club and will be displayed on the notice board from Monday night onward. It is the responsibility of members to ascertain if they have been selected; members unable to play must advise their captain at once.

18. Conduct
SGCC expects members to conduct themselves at all times, particularly when representing the club, in such a manner that will not bring the name of the club into disrepute.

19. Actions against misconduct
If a member fails to comply with the requirements at 17 above and it is brought to the attention of the Management committee, the following will apply. The committee will appoint 3 members to interview the members who will be given the opportunity to state his/her case; written evidence will also be permitted. The members will then decide the action, if any, to be taken. Depending upon the seriousness of the offence the section will be:
i. A verbal warning
ii. Suspension for a specified period
iii. Expulsion from membership.
The member may appeal against any decision to the Management committee within 7 days by writing to the secretary. The decision of the management committee on hearing the appeal will be final.

20. Membership
Membership of SGCC shall be open to and encouraged from people from all sections of the community irrespective of their age, gender, ethnicity or disability. Any person wishing to join should contact the Membership Secretary whose details will be displayed in the club. The new member will then be provided with a copy of the club rules, a code of conduct and a request for annual subscriptions.

Membership will be available in the following categories.

Officials membership – The elected committee members of the club, senior/junior team managers and coaches and the SO (Safeguarding Officer(s)) will be deemed members of the club. There will be no mandatory annual subscription for this category. Officials will be afforded full voting rights at club AGM/EGMs.

Adult playing membership - All paid up players aged 18 or over will be deemed members of the club. Subscriptions for this category and any sub-category will be decided at the AGM each year. Playing members will be afforded full voting rights at club AGM/EGMs.

Junior playing membership - All paid up players aged 17 or under will be deemed members of the club. Subscriptions for this category and any sub-category will be decided at the AGM each year. Junior playing members will be afforded full voting rights at club AGM/EGMs if they have played 10 or more senior games in the previous season. Junior members will not be allowed to stand for election to the Committee.

Life Membership – this is a membership that may be bestowed upon an individual by the Committee to acknowledge long service to the club. There will be no mandatory annual subscription for this category. Life members will be afforded full voting rights at club AGM/EGMs.

Social Membership – This is a membership that will enable an individual not covered by the categories above to gain access to the clubs’ facilities. Subscriptions for this category and any sub-category will be decided at the AGM each year. Social members will be at liberty to attend AGM/EGMs but will have no voting rights.

Temporary membership - This category will be allowed, but the total at any one time shall not exceed two thirds of club members. Temporary members must be signed-in in the visitor’s book by a club member who will be held responsible for their conduct. Visiting teams and supporters will be granted temporary membership – a block entry signed by the captain of SGCC will be entered in the visitor’s book. Temporary membership will be granted to clubs and outside organisations that hire the facilities – a block entry signed by the representative of SGCC who has arranged the hire of facilities will be made.
Temporary members will not be allowed to attend club AGM/EGMs.

All categories of membership may be suspended or revoked at any time as per rule 19, “Actions against misconduct”.

21. Annual General Meeting
The AGM will be held in November each year. Entitlement to attend and vote at the above will be open to members as detailed in rule 20. Any member (except social, temporary and junior members) may call an extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) at any time, providing it is supported by the signatures of not less than 15 other eligible members. The conditions of attendance of junior members are the same as for the AGM.

22. Opening times of bar and sale of intoxicating liquor
Monday to Thursday - 11.30am to 1pm and 3pm to 10.30pm. Friday and Saturday - 11.30am to 1pm and 3pm to 11pm. Sunday, Good Friday and Christmas Day 12noon to 2pm and 5.30pm to 9pm. Winter hours will vary on Sunday only. Notwithstanding the above mentioned intoxicating liquor may be supplied during any lawful hours, specified by the management committee, to members and non-members attending the club when functions are authorised by the committee, always provided;(a) such a function is a function of SGCC and limited to 20 per year (b) the function is promoted by and the responsibility of a senior member who is present and limited to 20 per year;(c) such function not being within (a) or (b) is limited to 12 per year;(d) such functions at (a) to (c) are for the purpose of raising funds for the club to discharge the liabilities of SGCC. The organisation of such functions will not be permitted to members under the age of 18 years. Persons under the age of 18 years will not be served intoxicating liquor.
Only the Bar Manager and/or members of the committee will normally serve; Other members may assist upon request of the above. The club is open to members on weekdays and Saturdays 11am to 11pm and Sundays 10am to 11pm.

23. Club Trophies
Trophies shall be awarded in all senior teams for the highest league batting and lowest league bowling averages unless stated otherwise. A player must have played at least 50% of the games played to qualify for a team award but will only be eligible for the team for which they have played most games. Should this be an equal number, the better average will count.

The minimum qualification for each team is as follows:

Men 1st XI and 2nd XI - minimum of 200 league runs (batting) and 24 league wickets (bowling)
Men 3rd XI - minimum of 150 league runs (batting) and 15 league wickets (bowling)
Men 4th XI – minimum of 125 league rungs (batting) and 10 league wickets (bowling)
Women 1st XI and 2nd XI - a minimum of 150 league runs (batting) and 15 league wickets (bowling)
3rd XI women and U19 men - (aggregate Awards) Most runs, Most wickets.

In the event of there not being a qualifier then the trophy will be awarded to:
• the highest run scorer or the highest wicket taker, if still undecided then,
• the Committee will choose a winner.

The Cricketer of the Year Trophy shall be awarded following a ballot of the membership, to be organised by the committee.

The Volunteer of the Year Trophy shall be awarded, at the discretion of the committee to a club member who has contributed greatly in a non-playing capacity.

The Emerging Player Trophies shall be awarded at the discretion of the committee for a junior cricketer making an impact in senior cricket.

The Rizwan Jameel Individual Bowling Trophy shall be awarded for the most impactful senior single bowling performance of the season and be chosen by the senior team captains.

24. Dissolution of club
In the event of the dissolution of the cricket club all remaining assets will be made available to cricket’s governing body (ECB Ltd -England and Wales Cricket Board) for distribution to a similar club or organisation at their discretion.

These rules were updated following the AGM of 17th NOvember 2022 and this version renders any earlier rules obsolete.

Membership
Please note that membership of the club is offered on the submission and acceptance for the role of Club Member on the Stockport Georgians website www.georgianscricket.co.uk. Each Club Membership record requires all mandatory fields to be be completed otherwise the Club Membership and associated club responsibilities may be compromised.

Junior Members will be deemed a member when at least one parent membership is approved and linked to their member record. Players over the age of 18 are entitled to managed their own membership by creating their own Club Member account through their own email address.

All Club Members are expected to abide by the above Club Consitution & Rules, the associated Spirit of Cricket Guidance and our Policies references.

Membership for the junior members and social members is by donation. Further details are contained in our handbook.