All sports clubs require a structure under which their club meetings are organised. The club's meetings should be referred to in the constitution in which there are usually two types of general meeting; the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). The rules for these general meetings are also stated in the constitution i.e. quorum for a meeting, minimum number of days notice required etc.
General meetings of the club
The main reasons for holding an Annual General Meeting are:
- To consider the club’s annual report
- To elect officers
- To discuss and vote on amendments to the constitution or club rules
- To produce the annual accounts
- To produce the chairman’s annual report.
It is important to make sure that the AGM is well publicised and welcoming to ALL members. The members need to be involved in the AGM to ensure that the club’s decision making process is fair and representative of the club. It is also an opportunity to recruit ‘new blood’ onto the committee.
The secretary is normally responsible for making all of the arrangements for the meeting. Usually notice for an AGM is a minimum of 21 days, therefore the venue, date and time should be arranged well in advance. The members should be notified and invited to make nominations for the election of officers.
Extraordinary General Meetings are called upon if at least a third of the club’s members (or some other proportion specified in the constitution) wish to amend a club rule, amend the constitution or discuss any other important, urgent matters which cannot wait until the AGM.
Committee meetings
Committee meetings are organised by the elected officers to manage the day to day running of the club. Regular meetings ensure that the club is successfully planning, communicating and monitoring progress. It is vital to make sure that these meetings are kept short, to the point and are completely necessary, otherwise you may lose the interest of many officers. The Running Sport: The Role of the Chairperson booklet (see Resources side panel) is an excellent guide for club chairs. Many clubs find it helpful to develop 'standing orders' setting out rules and guidelines for the conduct of committee meetings.
The role of the officers on the club’s Management Committee vary from club to club, depending on the sport and the size or level of the club. Some clubs only need to have one management committee whilst other larger clubs may have a series of sub-committees i.e. Playing committee, Junior committee or Coaches committee which are all overseen by the Executive committee.
There are many varied roles and workloads taken on by the officers on these management committees. Unfortunately in many clubs the same few officers are continually relied upon to take on the majority of the work. Another section of this website provides more detailed information about the range of officer roles and job descriptions (see Articles panel).
In larger organisations it's particularly important to distinguish the strategic and governance role of the main board/committee from the operational and managemenet roles of the various officers, task groups and sub-committees. Without a clear distinction, the main board or committee becomes overwhelmed in the management of the day-to-day details. See the Articles side panel for useful guidance on this.
It's easy to waste time during meetings! Knowing how to communicate effectively is a great asset to the efficient running of a club. If you'd like to brush up on this, download a copy of Running Sport: How to Communicate Effectively from the Resources panel.
