O&CSS Rules and Regulations for Members of the Oxford and Cambridge Sailing Society
NAME: The name of the Society shall be the Oxford and Cambridge Sailing Society.
OBJECTS: The objects of the Society are the encouragement of yacht and dinghy sailing and racing and, in particular, team racing.
FLAG: The flag of the Society shall be a dark blue flag bearing a lion passant guardant or with a paw resting on a book of rules charged with a cross orb.
MEMBERSHIP: Election of all candidates for membership shall be by the Committee. Every candidate shall be proposed and seconded by members of the Society, to both of whom the candidate shall be personally known. Both proposer and seconder shall write letters to the Secretary of the Society in support of the candidate. In electing candidates, the Committee is expected to maintain the traditional selective nature of the Society membership.
Membership shall be confined to present or past members or supporters of the Oxford University Yacht Club and Cambridge University Cruising Club.
OFFICERS: The Officers of the Society shall consist of a President, Honorary Secretary, and Honorary Treasurer.
COMMITTEE: The committee shall consist of the Officers and not less than five or more than eight other members. At all meetings three shall form a quorum. When present, the President shall be the Chairman but in his absence a Chairman shall be elected before any business is transacted. At any meeting, in the event of equal voting, the Chairman shall have the casting vote.
COMMITTEE DUTIES: It shall be the duty of the Committee to manage the affairs of the Society, subject to the approval of the Society at its General Meeting.
GENERAL MEETING: The Officers and other members of the Committee shall be elected for one year only by a simple majority of members present at the General Meeting to be held each year.
One member of the Committee, other than the officers, shall be ineligible for re-election for one year.
At the General Meeting, when present, the President shall be Chairman but in his absence a Chairman shall be elected before any business be transacted.
ALTERATION TO RULES: The rules of the Society shall not be altered except by a two-thirds majority of members present at the Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for the purpose. At such a meeting, not less than twenty members of the Society, present in person, shall constitute a quorum. Two weeks’ notice shall be given to all members of any proposed changes to the rules.
HONORARY MEMBERSHIP: The Committee shall have the power to elect any person as an honorary member of the Society for such a period not exceeding one year as they may think fit. Such honorary members may be elected to Life Honorary Membership at the Annual General Meeting.
SUBSCRIPTION: The subscription shall be £1.05 per annum, payable to the Honorary Treasurer on the 1st January in each year except that, in the case of a member residing outside the United Kingdom for a substantial part of any year, the committee shall have the power to remit such part of such member’s subscription as they consider appropriate in the circumstances. An alternative one-off Life Membership fee of £31.50 may be paid.
ACCOUNTS: The Honorary Treasurer shall produce at the Annual General Meeting correct accounts for the past year, ending 30th June in the current year.
RAISING SUBSCRIPTIONS: The Society in General Meeting shall have the power to raise subscriptions for all members at its discretion.
EXPULSION: The Committee has power at any time to expel any member.
VIRTUAL MEETINGS AND VIRTUAL ATTENDANCE: The Committee may decide to hold any general meeting via electronic technology, and the President may make the same decision for any committee meeting. The terms ‘present’ and ‘present in person’ used in these rules shall include electronic participation.
Amended 1 October 2020