1. NAME

The name of the Club shall be the INVERNESS MOUNTAINEERING CLUB (henceforth referred to within this document as IMC). The Club shall be located in and operate from Inverness.

2. OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Club shall be:

1. To encourage and facilitate the pursuit of mountaineering.

2. To provide a social venue for mutual help, support and events such as slide shows and lectures.

3. To make it easier for members to undertake climbing and mountaineering by organising meets, booking huts and combining transport.

3. LIABILITIES

1. The Club does not take responsibility for the participants on Club activities, be they members, potential members or guests. Climbing and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement.

2. The IMC is committed to equality. Membership of IMC is open to all who accept Article 3.1 of the constitution and meet the criteria in Articles 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3. No applications will be refused, other than on reasonable grounds, which shall be stated and there will be no discrimination on grounds of any of the protected characteristics set out in section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 and subsequent legislation, including but not limited to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race (which includes ethnic or national origin, colour or nationality), religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.  IMC will respect the rights, dignity and worth of every member so they are able to enjoy their sport with the club without the threat of discrimination, intimidation, victimisation, harassment or abuse.

3. The IMC is subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) because it collects, stores, shares and uses personal data of its members. IMC takes member’s privacy seriously. The Club’s privacy notice sets out how, why and for how long the Club will use members personal data, as well as who it is shared with. It also explains members’ legal rights as a data subject and how to exercise them.  The  Club’s Privacy Notice is found at Annex A to the Constitution

4. MEMBERSHIP

1. Any candidate for membership of the Club must be at least 18 years old. Application for membership shall be made via the online application form on the IMC website or a written application to the treasurer.

2. Candidates for membership should attend two meets prior to consideration of membership by the Committee.

3. If the Committee accept the candidate for membership, then on payment of the annual subscription the candidate shall become a full member of the Club.

4. All paid up members shall be entitled to attend and vote at all General Meetings. They shall also be entitled to attend all meets and excursions and social functions of the Club.

5. The Constitution shall be available on the IMC website and all new members shall be provided with a copy of the Constitution or a link to its published location on the website.

6. The Committee shall be allowed to turn down any candidate’s application for membership on reasonable grounds, which shall be stated.

7. Members are required to observe the terms of the Club’s Code of Conduct, a copy of which is found at Annex B to the Constitution.

8. If a complaint is made against a club member who is believed to have failed to act in accordance with the Club’s Code of Conduct, Meet Rules or other policies, the Committee will conduct an investigation under the  terms of the Club’s Complaints Procedure found at Annex C to the Constitution.

9. Honorary members may be proposed at the Annual General Meeting (henceforth referred to within this document as AGM). Honorary members are not required to pay the membership fee but are entitled to vote at the AGM, Extraordinary General Meeting (henceforth referred to within this document as EGM) and attend meets and other events.

  5. SUBSCRIPTIONS

1. The annual subscriptions shall be determined at an AGM.

2. Any proposal to change the subscriptions shall be included in the agenda for the AGM and given to members with the notice of that meeting.

3. The annual subscriptions shall be due and payable on acceptance of the application for membership and every succeeding 1st April. The Treasurer shall remind members when the annual subscriptions becomes due.

4. Members whose subscriptions are more than three months in arrears shall be held to have resigned.

6. OFFICE BEARERS

1. The office bearers of the Club shall be President, Secretary, Treasurer and Meets Secretary.

2. The Meets Secretary shall have the role of arranging a series of outdoor meets through the year. The Meets Secretary shall not be responsible for any further arrangements such as the arrangement of transport and/or food, information about the area or equipment and clothing required. Such information shall be the responsibility of the individual member at all times.

7. MANAGEMENT

1. The management of the Club shall be vested in a Committee which shall consist of the office bearers and four other paid-up members.

2. The office bearers and the four other members of the Committee shall be elected at the AGM of the Club and shall hold office from the close of the AGM until the close of the next AGM.

3. The office bearers of the Committee shall retire annually but shall be eligible for re-election provided always that the President and the Treasurer shall not hold their respective offices for more than three consecutive years.

4. If a vacancy occurs in the office of President the Secretary shall temporarily fill the office until the close of the next AGM.

5. If a vacancy occurs in the Committee, then the Committee may co-opt a person to hold office for the remainder of the year.

6. The Committee shall have power to vote sums of money to purchase books and maps or other articles and to meet other expenses connected with the management of the Club and to cover any deficits on Club meets, excursions or other functions.

8. RECORDS OF BUSINESS INCLUDING ACCOUNTS

1. Minutes shall be made of the proceedings and resolutions at all business meetings of the members and of the Committee.

2. The Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping the Club accounts. The Club accounts shall be submitted for approval by all members at the AGM.

3. The financial year of the Club shall end on the 31st March, and thereafter the Treasurer shall submit to the Committee the accounts for the year.

4. Authorised signatories to the Club’s bank account shall be the Treasurer and the Meets Secretary.

5. The Treasurer shall make the Club's bank statements available at the AGM for inspection by members.

9. MEETINGS

1. The AGM of the Club shall be held in Inverness on a date to be determined by the Committee for the following purposes:

   To receive the Committee’s report on the past year’s activities.

   To receive and approve the Treasurer’s accounts for the year.

   To elect office bearers and other Committee members for the following year.

   To approve the annual subscription for the following membership year.

   To transact any other competent business.

2. The Committee shall have the power to call an EGM at such time as it shall see fit.

3. The Secretary shall call an EGM on receiving a written request signed by four non-Committee members. The request must specify the object for which the EGM is being called.

4. The notice of any EGM shall specify the business to be transacted. It shall not be competent to transact any other business at the EGM.

5. Notice of an AGM or EGM shall be given to all members in writing at least 28 days before the date of the meeting.

10. CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION

1. If it is proposed to change the Constitution, then an EGM shall be required. The proposed change shall be given in a notice calling the EGM. Proposed changes require a vote of not less than two-thirds of the voting members present at the meeting.

11. CHAIR

1. The Chair at meetings shall be taken by the President; in the absence of the President, by the Secretary. In both of their absences, the meeting shall elect a Chair from among the other members present.

2. The Chair of all meetings shall, in the case of equality of votes, have a second or casting vote.

12. QUORA

1. Twelve members shall constitute a quorum at all General Meetings and five members shall constitute a quorum at a meeting of the Committee.

13. CLUB MEETS

1. The social and mountaineering meets of the Club shall be fixed by the Committee.

2. No member of the Club shall be designated as leader, instructor or equipment officer. No member of the Club shall be formally recognised to act on behalf of the Club in such roles on any event or activity organised by the Club.

3. The rules and procedures for booking the meets shall be established by the Committee and maintained by the Meets Secretary.

4. The rules and procedures shall be published on the IMC website and a copy of the meets list shall be provided to members. The Club’s Meet Rules are found at Annex D to the Constitution.

14. DISBANDING THE CLUB

1. The Club shall be disbanded following a decision of not less than two thirds of the paid-up members of the Club.

2. In the event of the Club disbanding any funds or assets of the Club shall be donated to a Mountain Rescue Organisation chosen by the remaining members of the Club14.

Approved at an Extra-ordinary General Meeting on 2 May 2024.

Arthur D McCourt, President