First published 13 June 2018
Revised 31 January 2024
Updated June 2024
Having incorporated as a CIO (registered charity number 1173532), paragraph 26 of the Constitution permits the Trustees to make Rules for the proper conduct and management of the Club. The Trustees may alter the Rules at any time.
The current Rules of Swardeston Cricket Club CIO (the Club), passed by a resolution of the Trustees at a meeting held on the 31 January 2024, are set out below.
1. ECB ‘Safe Hands’ Policy and Inclusion and Diversity Policy and Anti Discrimination Code
The Club has adopted and will, in all circumstances, conduct its business in accordance with the ECB ‘Safe Hands’ Policy for Safeguarding Children in Cricket and the ECB Club Inclusion and Diversity Policy. Furthermore, all members, volunteer helpers and parents of junior members will ensure their personal conduct is in accordance with the ‘Safe Hands’ policy, copies of which will be displayed on the Club noticeboard and website. Any member who has failed to behave in accordance with the ‘Safe Hands’ policy will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the Club’s disciplinary procedure. The Club has also issued a Safeguarding Policy Statement, which is displayed on the Club noticeboard and website.
2. Disciplinary Procedure
The Club is committed to maintaining high standards of behaviour, both on and off the field. All members are expected to treat their team mates, training partners, coaches, opposition, spectators, umpires and other officials with respect and fairness at all times.
The Club is committed to the investigation of any claims, when brought to its attention, of discrimination, harassment, bullying, abuse or victimisation of an individual and reserves the right to impose such sanctions as it considers appropriate and proportionate, where such is found to be the case.
In the event that any employee, trustee, member, volunteer, participant or spectator feels that they have suffered discrimination, harassment, bullying, abuse or victimisation, they should report the matter in writing to the Safeguarding, Clubmark and Disciplinary Sub-Committee. Any such report should include: details of what occurred; when and where the occurrence took place; any witness details and copies of any witness statements.
The Safeguarding, Clubmark and Disciplinary Sub-Committee shall hold a hearing within 14 days of receiving the complaint having written to all affected parties (including witnesses) to request their attendance. Any individual requested to attend shall be entitled to be accompanied by a friend and any relevant witnesses.
The Safeguarding, Clubmark and Disciplinary Sub-Committee has the power to take appropriate disciplinary action and the outcome of the hearing shall be put in writing to the affected parties within 7 days of the hearing. Possible sanctions include:
- A warning as to future conduct
- A suspension from membership
- A removal from membership
- An exclusion from the facility, either temporarily or permanently
- A playing suspension
In the event that the individual wishes to appeal against the decision, they should appeal in writing to the Trustees, addressing their appeal to the Chairman. The Chairman shall appoint an Appeals Committee of 3 Trustees to consider the appeal and shall outline at the time the process for the appeal to the affected parties.
3. Categories of Membership
There shall be the following categories of non-voting membership:
- Full adult playing membership (playing open-age cricket)
- Full-time education membership, for those over the age of 18 (playing open-age cricket)
- Woman playing membership playing only women’s matches but not open-age cricket (any woman player who plays open-age cricket shall be treated as either a full adult playing member or a full-time education member, depending upon their age)
- Junior playing membership (for those under the age of 18 who play open-age cricket)
- Junior membership (for those under the age of 18 who play junior age-group matches but not open-age cricket)
- Social membership
The Membership and Honorary Roles Sub-Committee (see Section 5 below) shall be responsible for maintaining accurate records of club members.
Any changes to the membership categories shall be decided by the Membership and Honorary Roles Sub-Committee.
The annual cost of each membership category, as well as the associated match fees, shall be recommended by the Membership and Honorary Roles Sub-Committee to the Trustees by the end of March at the latest. Membership subscriptions should be paid by the end of May each year.
4. Roles and Responsibilities of the Trustees
The Trustees set the vision, strategy and policies of the Club and produce a club development plan that is reviewed annually.
Stuart Bartram will be the Chair of the Trustees and will carry the casting vote.
Tony Bailey will be the Treasurer.
Lee Beadman will be the Secretary.
One of the Trustees shall always be the Club Safeguarding Officer, a position which is currently held by Lee Beadman.
Any proposed changes to these roles will be subject to a vote by the Trustees.
The process for appointing Trustees is stated in the CIO’s constitution.
5. Sub-Committees
The Sub-Committees are responsible for the operational running of the Club, reporting to the Trustees.
The Trustees will be able to delegate authority to Sub-Committees (although any Sub-Committee must contain at least one Trustee) and shall be able to appoint new members or remove existing members to/from the Sub-Committees.
The Trustees shall be able to appoint new Sub-Committees or close down existing Sub-Committees if they are no longer required.
In all cases, Sub-Committees should meet outside of Trustee (Committee) meetings and come prepared with reports and recommendations to the Trustee (Committee) meetings themselves.
The current Sub-Committees and their members are:
Fixtures & Selection Sub-Committee
Responsible for:
- entering senior competitions
- annual recommendations for captain and vice-captain positions
- team selection
- player recruitment and retention
- fixture arrangement
Peter Thomas (Trustee)
Mark Thomas (Trustee)
Lewis Denmark
Jordan Taylor
George Walker (Trustee)
Matt Hogg
Cameron Clarke
Sam Thelwell
As a CIO, captains are appointed by the Trustees on the recommendation of the Fixtures and Selection sub-committee. The choice of captains for each season should be recommended by the Fixtures and Selection Sub-Committee to the Trustees at the latest by the end of December prior to the new season.
Youth Cricket Sub-Committee
Responsible for:
- entering junior competitions
- organising junior match fixtures
- arranging and implementing all coaching
- appointing a lead coach for each year group
- organising and recommending coaching equipment needs
Tony Bailey (Trustee)
Kevin Denmark
Cameron Clarke
Mark Taylor
Neil Taylor
Women and Girls’ Cricket Sub-Committee
Responsible for:
- entering women’s competitions
- organising women’s match fixtures
- appointing a lead coach for each team/year group
- organising and recommending coaching equipment needs
Stuart Bartram (Trustee)
Neil Taylor
Women and girls’ playing member
Membership and Honorary Roles Sub-Committee
Responsible for:
- maintenance of the register of club members and vice-presidents
- agreeing any changes to the membership categories
- setting the annual subscription rates for each membership category
- agreeing any changes to the honorary roles
Lee Beadman (Trustee)
Tony Bailey (Trustee)
Simon Green
Facilities, Planning and Management Sub-Committee
Responsible for:
- procuring and maintaining suitable playing, practice, changing and social facilities
- identifying and proposing any major capital expenditure or maintenance outlays to the Trustees
- generating grant applications where applicable
- maintaining sustainable relationships with Swardeston Village Hall, Swardeston Social Club and CEYMS
- managing groundsmen alongside CEYMS
Kevin Cooper (Trustee)
Stuart Bartram (Trustee)
Peter Thomas (Trustee)
Tony Bailey (Trustee)
Kevin Denmark
Stewart Pywell
Safeguarding, Clubmark and Disciplinary Sub-Committee
Responsible for:
- all welfare issues and maintenance of the Club’s Clubmark status (or successor ECB policies)
- all disciplinary matters including any disciplinary hearings
Lee Beadman (Trustee)
Mark Thomas (Trustee)
Anthony Raywood
Sponsorship and Communication Sub-Committee
Responsible for:
- sponsorship
- all internal and external communications including social media and the Club websites
Stuart Bartram (Trustee)
Ben Hogg
Norman Bygrave
Alfie Cooper
Social Sub-Committee
Responsible for:
- organising social events with the purpose of strengthening intra-club relationships and raising funds for the Club
- cricket dinner to continue annually
- agree event dates annually prior to the start of each season
- organise food for matches at The Common
Mark Thomas (Trustee)
George Walker (Trustee)
Sarah Thomas
Jeremy Elliott
Simon Green
6. Honorary Roles
The honorary roles of President and Vice President shall continue. The current incumbents shall continue in their roles and any changes shall be recommended to the Trustees by the Membership and Honorary Roles Sub-Committee on an ad hoc basis.
7. Future Conduct of Meetings
The Club hold regular Trustee-only meetings and wider Trustees and Sub-Committee meetings, at which all Sub-Committee members are entitled to attend. The only major difference shall be that those Sub-Committee members who are not Trustees will not have a formal vote on decisions, although their opinions will be taken into account by the Trustees. All meetings are minuted.
8. Financial Reporting
The Club shall prepare financial statements for the period to the end of October each year, subject to review by external auditors. These shall be presented to, and approved by, the Trustees before uploading onto the Charity Commission website.
9. Annual General Meeting
An annual general meeting will be held each year to which all non-voting members are invited. At each annual general meeting, three of the Trustees will seek re-election in order to provide a mechanism for non-voting members to hold the Trustees to account.
