RULES OF THE ASSOCIATION
I NAME AND OBJECTS
This Society shall be named "The Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers". Its objects shall be:
1 To promote ringing for divine service and to secure recognition of ringers as church workers.
2 To cultivate the art of change ringing and encourage recruitment and the instruction of ringers.
3 To promote good fellowship amongst ringers and bring all ringers into a closer friendship.
4 To endeavour to arrange instruction for bands of ringers desiring it.
5 To obtain the co-operation of church authorities in the maintenance of bells and ringing rooms in proper condition.
II MEMBERS SUBSCRIPTIONS
The Association shall consist of Qualified. Associate, Non-Resident and Life members. The amount of subscriptions for subsequent years for each of these shall be decided at an Annual General Meeting and stated in a schedule to the Rules. A proportion of the subscriptions of members shall be allocated to the Bell Repair Fund. Annual subscriptions are due on the 1st January. All new members shall be supplied with an Association badge. Qualified and Associate members shall be supplied with their appropriate cards of membership.
III ORGANISATION AND GOVERNMENT
Within the general framework of the Association there shall be Branches.
The General Officers shall be a President, General Secretary, Treasurer, Peal Secretary, Report Editor, Composition Secretary, Ringing Master, Librarian and Education Committee Convenor.
Branch Officers shall be Chairmen (one from each Branch), Branch Secretaries and Ringing Masters.
The General Committee shall consist of the General Officers, the Vice-Presidents, the Central Council Representatives and two members from each of the Branch Committees. It shall have control over the funds of the Association.
There shall be a standing sub-committee consisting of the President, General Secretary, one other General Officer chosen by the President and one representative from each of the Branch Committees The Branch Representatives shall be nominated by their respective Chairmen.
Branch Committees shall consist of the Branch officers and other members.
There shall be an Education Committee. It shall consist of one representative from each Branch, not necessarily a General Committee member, and shall elect its own convenor who shall be ex-officio on the General Committee. It shall meet at least once a year and shall have the power to co-opt.
There shall be an Association Librarian/Archivist.
There shall be a Gift Aid Officer. He/she shall be appointed annually by the General Committee and to that Committee, if not otherwise a member of it.
There shall be an Association Membership Manager. He/she shall be appointed annually by the General Committee and to that Committee, if not otherwise a member of it.
There shall be a Webmaster. He/she shall be appointed every three years by the General Committee and to that Committee, if not otherwise a member of it.
There shall be a Safeguarding Officer. He/she shall be appointed annually by the General Committee and to that Committee, if not otherwise a member of it.
There shall be an Association Public Relations Officer. He/she shall be appointed annually by the General Committee and to that Committee, if not otherwise a member of it.
There shall be a Bell Repair Fund Committee consisting of a maximum of twenty members including the five Custodian Trustees of the Bell Repair Fund.
There shall be a Young Ringers' group.
IV VICE PRESIDENTS
The title "Vice President" can be conferred as a mark of distinction on any person the Association wishes to honour.
V ANNUAL REPORT
The Association will publish an Annual Report.
VI INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS
Two members shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting to independently examine the accounts of the Association.
VII THE GENERAL MEETINGS
The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held on the first Saturday in May following the May Day Bank Holiday, in each Branch in rotation if possible. Two General Meetings shall be held during the year in addition, normally on the first Saturday in February and the third Saturday in September.
VIII BELL REPAIR FUND
There shall be a Bell Repair Fund.
IX CENTRAL COUNCIL OF CHURCH BELLRINGERS
The Association shall be affiliated to this Council and shall abide by its rules and decisions.
X ALTERATION TO RULES
No alteration or addition to these Rules or Standing Orders shall be made except at one of the three General Meetings. Particulars of a proposed alteration or addition shall be notified in writing to the Secretary, placed on the agenda and announced at a General Meeting. The proposition shall not be put to the vote until the meeting following the announcement.
STANDING ORDERS OF THE ASSOCIATION
A MEMBERS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
1. To be eligible for election to the status of Qualified Member a ringer shall have rung to a method either
a) on tower bells 720 changes on either a working bell or the treble; or the tenor covering to 1260 changes; or
b) 720 changes on a pair of handbells.
2 Associate Members are those ringers who have not yet qualified for (1) above.
3 Qualified and Associate Members may apply to the General Committee for Life Membership on reaching the age of 65 years, if they have held continuous paid annual membership, either as an Associate Member or Qualified Member of the Association, for the last 30 years. Life Members may hold office and vote on all matters. Applications shall be made in writing to the General Secretary by the 31 December.
4 Life Membership may be granted by the General Committee to others at their discretion, particularly to those who have rendered outstanding service to the Association and to those who are unable to continue active ringing. Life Members may hold office and vote on all matters. Applications shall be made in writing to the General Secretary by the 31 December.
5 Qualified and Associate Members are entitled to the Report of the previous year and to vote for the election of officers when they have paid their subscription for the current financial year.
6 Ringers who are neither resident in the County nor attached to any tower in the County may become Non-Resident Members. Non-Resident Members are not eligible for election to official positions in the Association and do not have a vote at elections. (For exception see 8 below). They do not receive reports and notices issued by the Association.
7 A Member may leave the County but wish to continue his membership. If he/she has paid two or more Annual Subscriptions he is eligible to become a Non-Resident Member without any further payment. The change may be made by application to his/her Branch Secretary.
8 An election may be made before a peal attempt providing there are three or more members of the Association in the band and all of them agree to it. Non-Resident Members are eligible to vote only at such an election.
B GENERAL COMMITTEE
A quorum of seven shall be competent to transact the business of the General Committee.
C BUSINESS AT GENERAL MEETINGS
A proposition dealing with the funds of the Association shall only be put to the vote at a General Meeting. A notice of the intention to move such a resolution shall be given at a previous General Meeting unless such a proposition has been recommended by the General Committee.
D ELECTION OF OFFICERS
1 The General Officers shall hold office for three years: the President and Peal Secretary being elected for one year; the Treasurer, Report Editor and Librarian the next: the General Secretary, Composition Secretary and Ringing Master the year after that. All retiring officers shall be eligible for re-election. except that the President shall not be eligible for election for more than two consecutive terms of office.
2. Candidates for the position of President, Secretary. Treasurer, Peal Secretary, Report Editor, Composition Secretary, Ringing Master and Librarian may be either:
a) nominated by a proposer and seconder at the General Meeting preceding the Annual General Meeting, or
b) nominated by a proposer and seconder in writing to the General Secretary on or before the last day of the month in which the said General Meeting has taken place.
3 An election shall be decided by a show of hands unless six or more members request a ballot.
4 In the event of a tie the election shall be deferred until the following General Meeting, the retiring officer carrying out his duties until that date. If the retiring officer is unable to do so, the President shall nominate a person to the office until the next meeting.
5 In the event of a General Officer resigning before the expiration of his full term of office, notice of the General Officer's resignation shall be given at the next General Meeting of the Association. Candidates for election to the resigning General Officer's position may be:
a) nominated by a proposer and a seconder at the General Meeting at which the General Officer's resignation is announced; or
b) nominated by a proposer and a seconder in writing to the General Secretary on or before the last day of the month following the month in which the General Meeting took place at which the General Officer's resignation was announced.
6 The election to fill the vacancy outlined in Standing Order D5 shall take place at the next General Meeting of the Association. Such a General Meeting need not be the Annual General Meeting of the Association.
7 In the event of the resigning officer being unable to carry out his duties until a successor has been elected, the President of the Association may, after consultation with other General Officers: a) nominate a person to the office until a successor has been elected, or b) take such steps, if any, as he thinks fit.
8 Any General Officer elected pursuant to Standing Order D5 and D6 shall hold office only for the length of the unexpired term of the General Officer who has resigned.
E VICE PRESIDENTS
Any nomination shall, in the first place, be made in writing to the General Secretary. It must have the approval of the General Committee before being submitted to a General Meeting for voting.
F MANAGEMENT OF BRANCHES
1 Each Branch shall be managed by a Committee which includes the Chairman, Ringing Master, Branch Secretary and/or Treasurer. Two members of this Committee shall be on the General Committee. All members of the Committee shall reside or ring within their Branch.
2 At any Branch meeting only members resident or ringing in that Branch shall be entitled to vote at elections.
3 The Branch Secretaries shall collect and forward to the Association Treasurer the subscriptions of members in their respective Branches and give them their Reports, cards of membership and badges. Receipt books shall be sent to the Association Treasurer by mid December.
4 Branches shall be entitled to hold and manage their own funds out of which all administrative expenses of the Branch are to be paid. After the Annual General Meeting each year the Association Treasurer shall forward to the Branch Secretary a grant to cover the year's expenses. At the Annual General Meeting each year the amount of the grant for the following year shall be decided.
5 Branches shall produce accounts each year which shall be independently examined and sent to the Association Treasurer for publication in the Annual Report.
6 An account of the year's work in the Branch shall be sent to the Report Editor by 31st December for the Report.
7 The name, tower and address of all resident members of the Association shall be sent to the Association Membership Manager immediately after the meeting at which they were elected.
G CENTRAL COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES
1 Nominations shall be made at the May meeting a year before the new Council meets, or in writing to the General Secretary before the end of May, and the election shall be held at the following September meeting.
2 Casual vacancies shall be filled by nomination and election at the next General Meeting after the vacancy occurs.
3 Representatives attending meetings of the Council shall be entitled to reimbursement of costs up to the maximum stated in the Schedule.
H BELL REPAIR FUND
1 Collections for this may be taken at any meeting and the amount of the collection announced.
2 The Bell Repair Fund Committee shall be responsible for the administration of the Bell Repair Fund.
3 The Bell Repair Fund Committee shall, each year, appoint a member of the Association to produce an annual Friends of the Bell Fund Report.
4 A quorum of seven shall be competent to transact the business of the Bell Repair Fund Committee.
I PEALS
1 Peals shall be recorded providing that all those taking part are Qualified, Life or Non-Resident Members of the Association.
2 Conductors shall forward the following to the Peal Secretary:
a) details of the performance written out in the same way as in the Report on one side only of the paper;
b) the names of the towers to which the ringers belong and an indication of Non-Resident Members;
c) the names, addresses and subscriptions of any ringers elected immediately before the peal;
d) the peal booking fee as stated in the schedule;
e) the composition or its peal number in the Association's Reports.
3 These details shall be forwarded to the Peal Secretary within one month of the performance. No peal shall be accepted if reported more than two months after its performance, except that details of all peals rung in December must reach the Peal Secretary by the 31st January at the latest. The power to accept or reject a peal shall be vested in the General Committee.
J ASSOCIATION LIBRARY/ARCHIVE
The Association's Library/Archive shall be housed in The Old Palace near York Minster. The Association Librarian/Archivist shall be authorised to spend an amount up to the limit stated in the Schedule for the administration of the Association Library/Archive.
K EDUCATION COMMITTEE
1 The Education Committee shall be entitled to hold and manage its own funds out of which all administrative expenses of the committee are to be paid. After the Annual General Meeting each year the Association Treasurer shall forward to the Education Committee a grant to cover the year's expenses. At the Annual General Meeting each year the amount of the grant for the following year shall be decided and stated in the Schedule.
2 The Education Committee shall produce accounts each year which shall be independently examined, and shall be sent to the Association Treasurer for publication in the Annual Report.
3 An account of the year's work by the committee shall be sent to the Report Editor by 31st December for inclusion in the Report.
L YOUNG RINGERS’ GROUP
1 The Young Ringers' group shall be entitled to hold and manage its own funds out of which all administrative expenses of the group are to be paid. After the Annual General Meeting each year the Association Treasurer shall forward to the group a grant to cover the year's expenses. At the Annual General Meeting each year the amount of the grant for the following year shall be decided and stated in the Schedule.
2 The Young Ringers' group shall produce accounts each year which shall be independently examined, and shall be sent to the Association Treasurer for publication in the Annual Report.
3 An account of the year's work by the group shall be sent to the Report Editor by 31st December for inclusion in the Report.
4 Membership will be open to all resident ringers under 19 years of age.
5 The group shall be managed by a Committee which includes a Chairman. Ringing Master, Secretary and Treasurer.
6 At any group meeting only members of that group shall be entitled to vote at elections.
SCHEDULE TO THE RULES
1 The annual subscription for Qualified and Associate Members and the subscription for Non Resident Members shall be £12.00, except for those under 17 years of age or in full-time education, for whom the subscriptions shall be £6.00.
2 40% of all subscriptions shall be paid into the Bell Repair Fund.
3 Branch grants shall be 15% of annual subscriptions (excluding Non Resident Members’ subscriptions) received in the previous year but not exceeding an amount equal to the branch expenditure during the previous year, less the cost of advertising in the Ringing World during the previous year. Applications for further funding shall be made to the General Officers of the Association.
4 Cost of badges: £3.50 each.
5 Cost of Reports to Non Members: £4.00 each.
6 Peal Booking Fee: 50p per ringer, the whole of the peal booking fee collected shall be paid into the General Fund.
7 Central Council Representatives: Maximum entitlement – travelling expenses 20p per mile or standard class rail fare, subsistence £10.
8 The annual grant to the Education Committee shall be £500 less the cost of advertising in the Ringing World during the previous year.
9 The Librarian shall be authorised to spend up to £120 each year.
10. The annual grant to the Young Ringers shall be £250 for 2020.
