ASSOCIATION RULES
The Association shall be called ‘THE STURMINSTER AND HINTON ANGLING ASSOCIATION’ and its Headquarters will be The Fiddleford Inn, Sturminster Newton or as decided from time to time by the Committee.
Objects of the Association:
- To promote and encourage angling within the STURMINSTER NEWTON area
- To promote and protect the angling interests and other activities meeting the objectives of the membership.
- To acquire waters and provide fishing and access rights for the benefit of the Club
- Make waters available to anglers with a view to making their sport more variable and enjoyable.
- To encourage all anglers in the conservation of fish species and numbers.
- To encourage the safe handling and return to the water of all fish wherever caught with minimum stress.
- To encourage anglers in the protection and conservation of their angling environment and its ecology,
- To ensure an on-going commitment to the fair treatment of all anglers with no discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, or social class.
- To encourage all club members to read and familiarise themselves with the constitution, rules and codes of conduct of the Sturminster and Hinton Angling Association
Administration: The administration and management of the Association shall be by those Members who are resident within 12 miles radius of Sturminster Newton (deemed to be the Market Cross) and only such members shall be entitled to vote at any General or Annual General Meeting.
Membership & Fees: Membership is open to those with a bona fide interest in angling. Junior membership can be granted up to the age of 18, thereafter full membership charges will apply. There will be reduced rates for members over-65 and for those with a partner who is also a member.
Temporary membership may be granted on a weekly or daily basis through the purchase of the relevant Guest Ticket.
All farmers with land adjoining the Hinton Estate waters on the River Stour are Honorary Members of the Association and may fish these waters together with their immediate family.
Life membership may be granted by the Committee to a Member who, on reaching the age of 65, has been a Member of the Association for at least 10 consecutive seasons and is considered to have rendered distinguished service to the Association.
Memberships are valid for 12 months from the date of subscription. Members should provide updates to their personal details when renewing their subscriptions.
Members of the Committee who are not Life Members shall be entitled (whether they take up the offer or not) to a complimentary permit equivalent to their period of service to the Committee. Should such a Member have an angling spouse then that spouse will require a permit at full cost.
The Association shall have the following Executive Officers: Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Match Secretary, Web Secretary and Veterans’ Secretary. There shall be a maximum 12 Committee Members and other members may be co-opted to the Committee for specific purposes.
Presidents & Vice-Presidents: There shall be a President of the Association elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The members at an AGM may also elect as Vice-Presidents persons who have rendered special or distinguished service to the Association.
Officers & Committee: The Officers and Committee shall be elected at the AGM by votes of members, resident within 12 miles of the centre of Sturminster Newton. The Committee shall manage the business and affairs of the Association and may make or amend regulations regarding the use of Association waters, including differing rules for various fisheries, at their sole discretion.
The Committee shall meet at the headquarters of the Association or at other places at a time and place they decide. Matters before the Committee shall be decided by a majority of votes with the acting Chairman having a casting vote as required.
General Meetings: At the AGM of the Association, to be held in April where possible, a statement of accounts and balance sheet shall be presented to the members and each officer of the Association shall present their report to the meeting. Attending members may also present for discussion notices of motion for which at least 14 days’ notice has been given to the Honorary Secretary prior to the AGM. The order of business shall be as follows:
- Apologies for absence.
- Minutes of Last Meeting.
- Matters Arising.
- Chairman’s Report.
- Honorary Secretary’s Report.
- Honorary Treasurer’s Report.
- Web Secretary’s Report.
- Match Secretary’s Report.
- Election of President.
- Election of Executive Officers.
- Election of Committee
- Alteration of Rules.
- Notices of motion of which 14 days’ notice has previously been given.
- Appointment of Auditor
- Any other Business.
Accounts: All monies received on behalf of the Association shall be banked at Lloyds Bank, Blandford Forum or such other clearing bank as the Committee may from time to time decide. Cheques drawn on such an account shall be signed for amounts:
- Up to £100 by any one of the Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer or other Member of the Committee properly authorised by the Committee.
- Above £100 any two of the above.
Withdrawals of investments require any two of the aforementioned signatories.
Electronic banking shall be encouraged.
The Accounts of the Association shall be audited annually the auditor as appointed at the Annual General Meeting. Members of the Committee may not act as an auditor.
The Treasurer shall submit to the Committee a statement of account since the last meeting, also a cumulative total since the end of the previous season.
Any monies of the Association not immediately required by the Committee for Association purposes may be invested in such a manner as the Committee may decide.
The Honorary Secretary and Treasurer shall, whenever required by the Committee, hand over to them all documents, records, leases and other property belonging to, or relating, the affairs of the Association.
Insurances: The Committee shall enter into such policies of Insurance to safeguard property, equipment, trophies, liability and the interests of the Association.
Discipline: The Committee may reprimand, suspend or expel any member who infringes the rules of the Association or regulations relating to any of the Association’s waters. No member of the Association shall be suspended or expelled without first being summoned in writing to appear before the Committee on the stated matter with ample opportunity to explain his/her conduct. Suspension or expulsion will only be enacted if at least two thirds of the Committee present vote for such a course of action.
Disputes: Any disputes between members and any difference of opinion arising from angling competitions, the award of prizes or the holding of trophies shall be decided by the Committee whose decision will be final.
Amendment of Rules: The Association Rules may only be amended at an AGM or at a special meeting called by the Committee. An amendment may be proposed by any member of the Committee or by any six members who have given written notice of the same to the Honorary Secretary at least 14 days before the meeting. Notice of any such proposal shall be posted on the Association’s website.
