RAF WATER-SKI & WAKEBOARDING ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION

TITLE

1. TheAssociation shall be called the Royal Air Force Water-Ski and WakeboardAssociation (RAFWWA), hereinafter called RAFWWA.

OBJECTIVES

2. Theprimary objectives of RAFWWA are to promote the efficiency of the RAF byproviding an opportunity to take part in water-skiing and wakeboarding, therebyencouraging physical fitness and personal development among its members. Inorder to attain this object the subsidiary objects of RAFWWA are to:

a. Maintain and develop safe facilitiesand infrastructure, run in accordance with National Governing Body guidelines,in order to maximise opportunities to allow as many people as possible toexperience water-skiing and wakeboarding.

b. Maintain and develop an infrastructureto train approved drivers, instructors and coaches for the sport in accordancewith British Water-ski regulations.

c. Promote competitiveness by arrangingindividual, inter-region, RAF and inter-Service competitions that are open toparticipants of all levels of ability.

d. Select and train teams or individualsto represent the Royal Air Force in Inter-Service Championships, BritishWater-ski approved competitions and amateur events.

e. Facilitate the mounting of sports toursto offer opportunities for personnel to improve and compete, whilst encouragingleadership, organizational ability and initiative, as well as building positiverelations internationally.

3. Disposal of Assets. In the event of the Association being dissolved,the Association assets are to be distributed to Royal Air Force charities or asotherwise directed by the Royal Air Force Sports Board.

MEMBERSHIP

4. Full Membership. Full membership isopen to:

a. All Serving members of the RAF.

b. Members of other Armed Forces of theCrown serving with the RAF.

c. Personnel of Commonwealth and AlliedForces serving under RAF command.

5. Associate Membership. Associatemembership is open to:

a. Members of other Armed Forces of theCrown not serving with the RAF.

b. Members of the Reserve Forces of theRAF, University Air Squadrons, Air Training Corps and Combined Cadet Force (AirElement).

c. Ex-Service personnel of the ArmedForces of the Crown.

d. Service Dependants.

e. Personnel of Commonwealth and AlliedForces serving under the command of other Armed Forces of the Crown.

f. Civilians who offer their services asinstructors or who provide specialist advice and equipment for general use.

6. Associate Membership Rights.

a. Associate members have no votingrights.

b. With the exception of Servicedependants and Reserve Forces on full time contracts, civilians’ subscriptionsand other charges are to be higher than those for full members.

c. Associate members must be in theminority in the RAFWWA.

OFFICIALS

7. President. A president is appointed bythe Director of the RAF Sports Board (DSB(RAF)) on the advice of interestedparties including the outgoing president and Chairman.

8. Vice-President. Vice-Presidents andLife Vice-Presidents may be elected by members at an Annual General Meeting(AGM).

9. Chairman. A Chairman is appointed by(DSB(RAF)) on the advice of interested parties including the President and theoutgoing chairman. The Chairman shall take the chair at the AGM and atExecutive Committee Meetings (ECM). In the case of an equal vote at thesemeetings, the Chairman shall have the casting vote.

10. Honorary Members. Honorary members maybe elected by the AGM. Serving members are not eligible for honorarymembership. Honorary members have no vote.

ANNUALGENERAL MEETING

11. AnAGM shall be called by the Chairman annually and the agenda published 4 weeksbefore the meeting. All self-accounting Units in the UK shall be eligible tosend one representative to the meeting. A quorum for the AGM is 10participants.

12. TheAGM shall elect a committee comprising the following members:

a. Vice Chairman.

b. Honorary General Secretary.

c. Honorary Membership Secretary.

d. Honorary Competitions Secretary.

e. Honorary Treasurer.

13. Termsof Reference for these members are to be issued by the Chairman. The Committeeshall be empowered to deal with matters of urgency and to investigate and, ifnecessary, deal with reports of misconduct or any other matters referred toit. It shall undertake the organization and administration of the RAF,Inter-Service Championships and representative fixtures, including theoversight of the selection of RAF representative teams.

14. TheAGM is to be presented with the audited accounts of RAFWWA for discussion andacceptance. Reports from various appropriate members of the executive committeeare also to be presented.

FINANCIALYEAR

15. Thefinancial year of RAF WWA is from 1 Dec to 30 Nov. All Association accounts areto be presented to the RAF Sports Board for audit within 6 weeks of the end ofthe financial year.

RESPONSIBILITIESOF COMMITTEE MEMBERS

16. The Chairman. The Chairman isresponsible for the implementation of the Policy of RAFWWA, the co-ordinationof the work of the Executive Committee and the control of committee meetings.

17. The Honorary Vice Chairman. The Honorary Vice Chairman is responsible forall aspects relating to day to day RAFWWA business; with specific reference tothe oversight of the provision of resources and the safe conduct of all subsidiaryclubs.

17. Honorary General Secretary. TheHonorary General Secretary is responsible for all general administrativeaspects of RAFWWA’s business and the preparation and issue of agendas andminutes for RAFWWA committee meetings and the co-ordination, distribution andfiling of all administrative orders.

18. Honorary Membership Secretary. TheHonorary Membership Secretary is responsible for all administrative mattersrelating to RAFWWA membership and liaison with the Membership Secretary ofBritish Waterski & Wakeboard.

19. Honorary Competitions Secretary. TheHonorary Competitions Secretary is responsible for the overall planning,supervision and provision of resources for RAFWWA recognized competitions andthe oversight of the training and selection of RAF representative teams.

20. Honorary Treasurer. The HonoraryTreasurer is responsible for the acquisition and co-ordination of bids for allincome and the supervision of expenditure; additionally the maintenance of allaccounts and financial books relating to RAFWWA.

TRAINING AND SAFETY

26. Training. The Honorary Vice Chairman isresponsible for the oversight of all training and safety matters. Drivers, Instructors and Coaches are to betrained in accordance with British Water-Ski & Wakeboard regulations andthe RAFWWA will arrange courses accordingly.

27. Safety. The RAFWWA policy forwater-skiing safety outlines the minimum safety precautions to be taken duringwater-skiing events. The procedures are to be strictly adhered to by allmembers; deviation from the procedures may only be authorized by the ExecutiveCommittee. Periodically, RAFWWA, and those clubs affiliated to it, will mountoverseas visits. The safety policy must be adhered to during water-skiing tours. All recognised clubs are also to maintain upto date risk assessments which are to be written in line with BWW guidance.

COMPETITIONS ANDCHAMPIONSHIPS

28. RecognisedDisciplines. The RAF Sports Boardand RAF WWA recognises the following water-skiing disciplines as officialsports and as such are eligible for funding through the RAF Sports Board.

a. Slalom.

b. Trick.

c. Jump.

d. Wakeboard(boat & cable).

e. Kneeboard.

f. Barefoot.

29. Rules. Where possible all contests will be conductedunder the rules of British Water-ski & Wakeboard; however, in order toaccommodate novice entrants the rules and scoring procedures may be adapted inthe interests of inclusivity. Allmodifications to rules must be risk assessed accordingly.

30. Eligibility. The RAFWWA Championships and otherCompetitions are open to all units and members affiliated to RAFWWA. In addition, and at the discretion of theExecutive Committee, civilian members of British Water & Wakeboard may beinvited to attend and participate in championships and competitions organisedby RAFWWA. However, such civiliancompetitors shall not be ranked or placed within the overall competition andshall not be awarded championships, awards and prizes set aside for RAFcompetitions.

31. StationTeams. The rules governingeligibility for membership of stations in inter-station competitions are laiddown in AP 3415 under the heading of Regulations Governing Sport.

32. Championships. RAFWWA will hold the RAF Water-ski &Wakeboarding Championships annually. Additionally, the RAF Regions will provide representative teams tocompete annually in the aforementioned disciplines at RAFWWA Inter-regionalChampionships.

33. Inter-Serviceand Combined Service Competitions. The RAFWWA provide a team to participate in the Inter-ServiceChampionships and other National civilian competitions at the discretion of theExecutive Committee and under the authority of the RAF Sports Board. Responsibility for the organisation ofInter-Service competitions will fall to the single service nominated to providethe Chairman for the Combined Service Water-ski & Wakeboarding Associationfor the year in question. Where interestallows, competitions and championships will be held for the water-skiingdisciplines listed at Paragraph 31. RAFWWA will encourage RAF participation in the Combined ServicesWater-ski & Wakeboard Teams when entering in national and internationalcompetitions and championships.

34. Discipline. When teams are selected to represent RAFWWA,the respective team captain will be responsible to the Association Chairman forthe administration, appearance, and conduct of the other team members. Conduct prejudicial to the RAF will not betolerated and may result in disciplinary action.

35. National,European and World Amateur Competitions and Championships. Provided that an individual is of therequired standard, RAF WWA will support, with whatever means available, entryinto national, European and world amateur competitions and championships.

36. EntryFees. All RAFWWA sponsoredcompetitions and events will be non-publicly funded and all competitors will beinvited to pay a personal contribution to defray expenses.

COLOURS

37. RAFWWA Colours. RAF WWA Colours will beawarded annually by the Executive Committee to those competitors who haverepresented the Royal Air Force at Inter-Service, national or internationalcompetitions.

38. Combined Services Colours. Combined Services Colours will be awardedannually by the Combined Services Committee to those Royal Air Force personnelwho were selected to represent any recognised combined Services team atnational or international competitions.