CONSTITUTION
NATIONAL 60+/70+ COUNTY CRICKET CHAMPIONSHIP
CONSTITUTION 2024
- Title
The Championship shall be known as the NATIONAL 60+/70+ COUNTY CRICKET CHAMPIONSHIP (the Championship).
The Management Committee shall have the power from time to time to approve the insertion of the name of a sponsor in the title of the Championship.
To the extent that there is a conflict between the terms of this Constitution and the terms of the Competition Rules and Regulations, the terms of the Constitution shall prevail.
- Mission Statement
The objective of the Championship is to provide, encourage and support a high standard of senior cricket played at a national and international level and to promote the best interest of the game in the Spirit of Cricket.
- Membership
3.1 The Championship shall be open to 39 English Counties with County Cricket Boards and shall also include Wales, the Channel Islands and the Yorkshire Ridings (each a County andtogether the Counties).
3.2 Counties may apply for entry into the Championship at the Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Championship. Current member counties will confirm acceptance of the application.
3.3 An annual subscription, agreed at the Annual General Meeting of the Championship, shall be levied on each County depending on the competitions entered. The annual subscription shall become due for payment by the 31st May each year unless deferred by the Treasurer.
3.4 Counties who participated in the Championship of the previous year shall automatically be included for the current year unless written notice of resignation is received by the Secretary of the Management Committee no later than September 30th of the preceding year. Formal withdrawal shall then take effect after all outstanding annual subscriptions and any other financial liabilities are paid by the resigning County. This action shall be confirmed at the Annual General Meeting of the Championship of the same year.
3.5 In the interests of promoting senior cricket and as an introduction to the Championship, Counties may be permitted to enter combining with one adjacent County. The combined Counties must be separately affiliated to its County Cricket Board.
Conduct and Behaviour
3.6 Counties and players of the County agree to abide by this constitution (the Constitution), the Competition Rules, the Playing Regulations and Appendix C which covers the Code of Conduct of the Championship and the Spirit of Cricket (pursuant to Clauses 4.1 and 4.3), in each case as amended from time to time. In the event of any dispute, breach or query, the Management Committee or appointed Sub Committees are empowered to deal with such matters.
3.7 The Disciplinary Regulations and Procedures in relation to on field conduct matters are included in the Playing Regulations. Disciplinary matters concerning off field matters are considered under the provisions of the ECB Disciplinary procedures which shall be published on the website.
3.8 A County may be expelled from the Championship for any serious breach of this Constitution, the Competition Rules, the Playing Regulations, the Code of Conduct and/or by bringing the Spirit of the Championship into disrepute. A proposal for the expulsion of a County shall be initially dealt with by the Management Committee whose recommendation shall be submitted to the AGM or an Extraordinary General Meeting for consideration. The decision of the AGM or Extraordinary General Meeting, by simple majority, shall be notified to the County in writing. In the event that the County is expelled from the Championship, this expulsion shall have immediate effect.
3.9 The Championship and the Counties shall operate under the provision that membership is open to all of the appropriate age, irrespective of gender, disability, race, ethnic origin, colour, social status and sexual orientation (reference in this Constitution solely to the male gender is used in the interests of concision).
4. Championship Structure
4.1 The Counties in membership shall participate in National Cricket Competitions. The Competitions shall be governed by the Competition Rules as detailed in Appendix A and the Playing Regulations as detailed in Appendix B.
4.2 The structure of the Championship and composition of the Competitions shall be determined annually by the Management Committee who may seek the opinion of the Counties at the Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting.
4.3 In addition the Championship is committed to the principles set out in the MCC’s Document ‘The Spirit of Cricket’ and shall operate within a Code of Conduct as detailed in Appendix C.
5. Management Committee Structure and Powers.
5.1 The business of the Championship shall be governed by a ‘Management Committee’ who shall be elected by the County’s vote at the Annual GeneralMeeting. The term of office for the Management Committee shall be two calendar years from the date of election.
5.2 The Management Committee shall consist of: the Chairman, the Treasurer and the Secretary (the Officers) together with a maximum of five other persons (the Members) who shall together form the Management Committee. The Officers and Members may appoint a Vice-Chair from among the elected members. Allocated duties and responsibilities to maintain the effective operation of the Championship will be posted on the Championship Website.
3 The President and Vice Presidents of the Championship shall be nominated and confirmed at the Annual General Meeting.
5.4 The names of the Officers and Members shall be recorded in the minutes of the Annual General Meeting for their term in office.
5.5 Counties are only allowed one representative on the Management Committee for a term of office.
5.6 The Management Committee shall be responsible for administering and managing the business of the Championship and are also empowered to deal with:
- The management of the Championship’s Finances;
- The management of the Championship’s Website;
- The arrangement of playing fixtures;
- The enforcement of Competition Rules, Playing Regulations and the Code of Conduct.
- The process and decision regarding breaches, queries or disputes concerning the Competition Rules, Playing Regulations and Code of Conduct and
- The payment of honoraria to authorised persons, the value and recipients of which shall be approved at the Annual General Meeting.
5.7 The Officers and Members of the committee may offer themselves for re-election no later than for thirty days prior to the date of the Annual General Meeting.
Nominations for changes to Officers and Members of the committee or re-election of the current term Officers and Members must be proposed by a County Representative and Seconded by a County Representative, those Representatives names having been advised to the Secretary prior to the start of each season.
These proposals must be submitted, to the Secretary, no later than thirty days prior to the date of the Annual General Meeting for inclusion in the Agenda of the Annual General Meeting for consideration.
5.8 The Management Committee shall have the authority to co-opt further Members and to appoint additional Members or fill any casual vacancy that may occur. The number of co – opted members may not exceed 50% of the elected members.
5.9 The Management Committee shall have the authority to form Sub Committees of no fewer than three Officers, Members or co-opted Members to take and issue decisions, or to carry out specific functions for the Management Committee.
5.10 Pursuant to Clause 3.6 Penalties and Fines may be levied on a County for breach of the Competition Rules, Playing Regulations and the Code of Conduct including the deduction of points. In addition to these the Management Committee shall have the power and may so empower any Sub Committee pursuant to clause 5.9, to take whatever other action and impose whatever other penalties it deems appropriate against a County or any individual members of a County found to be in breach. This provision shall not, however, give the Management Committee the power to override 3.8 of this Constitution by expelling a County from the Championship.
5.11 All correspondence by email to all County representatives or to more than one person must be sent BCC (blind copy).
6. Regional Group Committees
6.1 To provide a conduit for communication between Counties and to/from the Management Committee, five Regional Group committees will be formed comprising one member from each County in that group.
To assist consistency in communication, the membership of these Regional Groups remains fixed and is not linked to the Regional playing Groups which change from year to year and differ between the Competitions. Any new Counties admitted to the competition will be allocated to their relevant Region.
6.2 The Group memberships are as follows:
North: Cheshire; Durham; Lancashire; Lincolnshire; Yorkshire; Yorkshire Ridings;
Midlands: Derbyshire; Leicestershire; Northamptonshire; Oxfordshire; Shropshire; Staffordshire, Warwickshire;
East: Bedfordshire; Cambs/Hunts; Essex; Hertfordshire; Norfolk; Suffolk;
South East Berkshire; Buckinghamshire; Hampshire; Kent; Middlesex; Surrey; Sussex;
South West: Cornwall; Devon; Gloucestershire; Somerset; Wales; Wiltshire
Worcestershire
6.3 Each Group will democratically appoint a Chairman who will collate the collective views of the Group and will be invited to attend a minimum of two Management Committee Meetings annually with a view to providing direct information from Counties and to convey the Management Committees decisions and views to his Group to improve communications. In the event that a Regional Committee Chairman is unable to attend a meeting of the Management Committee, a Deputy will be permitted to attend. The Regional Committee Chairman or Deputy will not be an elected officer or member of the Management Committee and will not be eligible to vote on Management Committee matters. Minutes of Regional Committee meetings will be published on the Championship website.
7. Meetings
7.1 Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of the Championship shall be held before the 31st December each year. The Secretary shall publish notice of the Annual General Meeting on the Championship Website fifty-six days prior to the date of the meeting.
Whenever possible the AGM will be by attendance at a specified venue but, under exceptional circumstances, the Management Committee may decide that the AGM be conducted by email or by an on-line forum (such as Zoom).
A quorum at the Annual General Meeting shall be delegates representing no fewer than 1/2 of the Counties present who are eligible to vote.
Combined Counties are allowed one voting delegate. There is no limit to the number of County members attending the Annual General Meeting representing Counties but only the nominated delegate for each County will have voting rights. The nominated delegate shall be registered with the Secretary and provided with a Voting Card. Only the nominated delegate who has registered for the voting card shall be allowed to speak at an AGM. The Chairman of the meeting may, at his discretion, invite a delegate not holding a Counties voting card to speak. An attendance list of Counties present will be recorded by the Secretary.
7.2 Proposals to amend the current status of this Constitution, competition Rules or Playing Regulations must be received by the Secretary from a County Representative and supported by 3 other County Representatives from a minimum of 2 Regional Groups, those Representatives names having been advised to the Secretary prior to the start of each season, no later than thirty days prior to the date of the Annual General Meeting. Any proposals after this period will not be considered for inclusion at the Annual General Meeting. The Management Committee may also submit proposals to the same timeline.
7.3 The Annual General Meeting Agenda will be prepared and circulated to each County Representative at least 15 days before the date of the meeting.
The Agenda will include the County proposals and reflect the Championship business in the current year in the following order:
(i) To confirm and agree the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting;
(ii) To receive the annual report of the Chairman;
(iii) To receive the annual report of the Secretary;
- To receive the report of the Treasurer and a copy of the Annual Championship accounts;
- To receive the reports of the International Team Managers;
- To consider and vote on County proposals to amend this Constitution, the Competition Rules and the Playing Regulations;
- To transact such other business received in writing by the Secretary from the Counties, no later than forty-two days prior to the Annual General Meeting and to be included on the Agenda.
- To elect the Officers and Members of the Management Committee;
- To review the annual County subscriptions of the Championship;
- To appoint an Independent Examiner of Accounts; and
- To consider any other Business (AOB).
7.4 An Extraordinary General Meeting may be convened at any time by the Management Committee or by Counties on application to the Secretary in writing. Such application must be accompanied by emails from authorised County Representatives of no fewer than twelve Counties of the Championship (or such other number approved from time to time at an Annual General Meeting). The Secretary will verify that the emails are those of the appointed County Representatives.
7.4.1 Any such application or motion(s) must detail clearly the business for discussion and the requirement to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting.
7.4.2 If any such application wishes to change this Constitution, Playing Regulations, Competition Rules or seek to change a decision reached at the previous Annual General Meeting (or at an intervening Extraordinary General Meeting), then such application to proceed with these changes will have to be agreed by a simple majority vote of the Management Committee and pursuant to clause 8.1 must be accepted as a change by a majority of no fewer than 2/3 of the votes cast by the Counties.
7.4.3 An Extraordinary General Meeting will take place within one month of the date of application and shall be solely for the purpose of debating the detail of the application or motion(s). Notice of this meeting shall be distributed to Counties and governed pursuant to clause 7.1 in respect of a quorum.
7.5 The Management Committee shall hold a minimum of four formal meetings annually during their term of appointment. These meetings may be face to face or conducted on-line. The Secretary shall convene the meeting at intervals to ensure the efficient administration and management of the business of the Championship. The meetings shall be minuted by the Secretary. A quorum of such meetings shall be a number of no fewer than 1/2 of the Officers and Members elected for that term of office.
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8. Voting
8.1 Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meeting
Voting shall be based on one vote per County or one vote per Combined County (pursuant to Clause 3.5) In the event of a tied vote the Management Committee Chairman shall have one casting vote. Proposals to amend this Constitution, the Competition Rules or the Playing Regulations shall not be carried unless approved by no fewer than 2/3rds of the votes cast by the Counties present and voting. Abstentions do not count as a vote. On any other new proposals, voting shall be carried by a simple majority of Counties present and voting shall be decisive.
8.2 There is no proxy voting.
8.3 Management Committee meetings and Sub Committee Meetings – Each Officer, Member and co-opted Member shall be entitled to one vote. Voting shall be carried by simple majority of those present. In the event of a tie the Chairman of the meeting shall have one casting vote and voting shall be decisive.
9. Finance
9.1 The Financial affairs of the Championship shall be managed by an elected Treasurer and the accounts will be examined annually by an independent examiner.
9.2 The responsibilities of the Treasurer will be:-
- to manage cash transactions through a bank approved by the Management Committee;
- to ensure that cheques and transfers drawn on the Championship and Festival / Tour bank accounts with a value in excess of £250.00 must bear two signatures, the Treasurer and either the Chairman or the Secretary. Cheques and transfers with a value of less than £250.00 must bear the signature of the Treasurer;
- to ensure that details of all payments made using the Banker’s Automated Clearing Services (BACS) which require authorisation of the Treasurer only, are transmitted to the Chairman and the Secretary by E Mail on the final day of each calendar month, detailing all BACS payments over the value of £250.00 together with a copy of the relevant bank reconciliation;
- to ensure an application for the issue of a Debit or Credit Card for either Bank Account must be signed by the Treasurer and either the Chairman or the Secretary;
- to ensure any Bank Debit or Credit cards that are used for purchases must be authorised by and signed by the Treasurer and either the Chairman or the Secretary for each individual purchase;
- to keep ongoing and current records of all items of income and expenditure during the financial year, to prepare regular bank reconciliations and to prepare an end of year financial report of Income and Expenditure together with a Balance Sheet for each year ending 30th September (the Annual Accounts); and
- to present the Annual Accounts to the Independent Examiner for checking and to obtain the approval of the Management Committee of the Annual Accounts and to have them signed by the Chairman and Treasurer and to present the Annual Accounts to the Annual General Meeting for adoption.
9.3 The Championship’s funds shall be held by an organisation so authorised by the Bank of England which appears on their approved list published from time to time.
9.4 All decisions relating to the application of funds made available purely through grants and sponsorship shall be approved by the Management Committee
10. Alterations and Amendments to the Championship Constitution.
10.1 No alteration shall be made to this Constitution, the Competition Rules, the Playing Regulations and the Code of Conduct except at an Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting. Notice of the proposed alternation or amendment shall be given to the Secretary in accordance with the provision of clause 7.
10.2 Any item properly proposed and supported in accordance with clause 7, which is approved at the Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting which entails any alteration or amendment to the Constitution, the Competition Rules, the Playing Regulation and the Code of Conduct must have the full wording supplied by the proposer and supporters which will be used verbatim for consideration and decision at the Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting.
11. Winding Up
11.1 In the event of the Championship being wound up or in receivership, the Treasurer shall produce a financial statement of accounts at that date which shall be independently verified. If the accounts reveal a deficit then every County at the date of winding up and every County that ceased to be a member within the year preceding the date of the winding up order shall contribute equally to clear the value of the deficit. The Counties contribution to clearing the value of the deficit shall be limited to a value not exceeding the annual membership subscription detailed in 3.3. If the accounts show a surplus of funds, these shall be distributed to the Counties on the anniversary of the winding up for the furtherance of amateur sport in a manner to be determined by the Management Committee and approved at a final General Meeting.
12. Governing law and jurisdiction
12.1 This Constitution and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law.
12.2 Without prejudice to the provisions of clause 3, the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with this Constitution or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims).