Romford Town Swimming Club

RTSC Committee/Club Volunteer Roles - Job Descriptions

Those roles denoted by a * are required to be formal members of the club committee. Other positions the individual can chose to be outside of the committee process but be available as when required to update the committee at meetings from time to time.

Chairman

The Chairman is responsible for the overall running of the Club and everything that entails with the primary assistance from the Treasurer and Secretary, forming the executive committee. The Chairman will usually be asked to report on the year’s proceedings at the Annual General Meeting.

The Chairman’s main duties are in relation to the conduct of Club meetings, both members meetings and Committee meetings. In that he has three functions:

1. To preserve order
2. To take care that the proceedings are conducted in a proper manner.
3. To ensure that the sense of the meeting is properly ascertained concerning any question that has been proposed before the meeting.

The Chairman must carry out these duties in good faith. This means, for example, the Chairman must not favour any particular section of a Committee or the membership but should exercise his powers impartially. The Chairman should not allow a meeting to commence or continue unless there is a quorum present. If the rules are silent a quorum will be a majority of the members except for a Committee when it will be all the members of the Committee. Usually the rules provide for a minimum number of members necessary for a quorum of a members or Committee meeting. In Law, the minimum number is two, as a person cannot have a meeting with himself! It is advisable to have a reasonable number as a quorum to prevent a small number of members controlling the Club. The recommended minimum number is five full adult members.

Secretary*

The Secretary normally deals with all club correspondence including letters from ASA, Speedo Leagues, County and Regional associations, etc. Organises meetings The Secretary is also responsible for meeting any licensing requirements (e.g. if the Club wishes to organise a prize draw raffle). For Committee meetings the Secretary should prepare an agenda and send a copy together with any accompanying documents to each member of the Committee. At the meeting the Secretary should take notes and subsequently prepare minutes. It is recognised that certain business discussed in Committee Meetings may be prejudicial to the Club (or other persons) if made public (e.g. Contracts of Employment of Staff). Minutes of Committee meetings may be kept private but ALL DECISIONS MUST BE MINUTED. It is also recommended best practice for the Committee to issue periodic briefings to members of key decisions made and matters discussed.

Normally Club Committee Meetings are private to the Committee members and General Meetings private to the members of the Club entitled to attend and vote. It is however, at the discretion of the Chairman to allow non-club members to attend although they would normally not have the right to speak. At the meeting the Secretary should ensure that the minutes of the last general meeting once approved by the membership are signed by the Chairman and then kept safely. Certain of these functions may be delegated to a Minutes Secretary if the Club rules allow. Minutes of members meetings must be widely public ised to the membership and must be retained for at least 6 years.

Treasurer*

The Honorary Treasurer is responsible for the financial accounting of the Club. For Romford Town that includes payment of salaries, collection of membership fees and administration of same. The Treasurer is required to make regular reports at meetings of the Club as to the financial position and prospects of the Club. The Treasurer is normally one of the signatories of the Club’s bank account and he, along with the other signatories must ensure that the money is applied solely for the purposes of the Club. It is recommended that dual signatories be required for ALL cheques. A counter signatory must not be a member of or a close family of the Treasurer. As a matter of practice the Treasurer is also responsible for the Club’s taxation affairs, in particular VAT returns if the Club is registered for VAT. Subscriptions paid by members of a Club are normally exempt from VAT, but VAT registration may become necessary where income from the sale of swimming kit, etc exceeds the VAT registration limit.

Each Club must identify its financial year e.g. 1st April - 31st March. Any changes to the financial year must be approved by the members in a General Meeting. The annual accounts of the Club shall be examined by an independent examining accountant. 'Independent' for these purposes means a person who is not related to and preferably not a close personal acquaintance of the Treasurer or any member of the Committee. This process has in the past been referred to as an 'audit'. However, the word 'audit' has legal implications which may require an extensive financial process. It is unlikely that most clubs will wish to pay for this, and because of the complex requirement, it is also unlikely that volunteers will be able to comply with the whole process at no cost. The recommended requirement is for clubs to have their accounts 'examined' as described above.

The 3 aforementioned positions on the committee form the Executive Committee of the Club and manage the Club in conjunction with the Chief Coach in between committee meetings.

Gala Secretary*

Manages the individual entries of members into galas that the club wishes its swimmers to swim at, this includes collecting gala fees, managing deletions and failed entries and liaising with the treasurer on any refunds etc.

Membership Secretary*

Maintains the club membership database and ensures that all members ASA memberships are maintained and kept up to date so swimmers are able to compete in both Club teams and individual galas.

Welfare Officer*

The appointment by every Club of a Welfare Officer is a fundamental part of the safeguards set out in the A.S.A. Child Welfare guidelines. The following are recommended to assist Clubs based upon best practice in this vitally important area:

• The Welfare Officer is a person of appropriate skills and experience and perform no other role within the management or administration of the club.
• The Welfare Officer to be a member of the Club Committee (or alternatively to be invited to attend every meeting of the Club Committee and all Sub-Committees for particular disciplines).
• The Welfare Officer to make a Report to the Committee on any issues relating to child welfare in consultation with the A.S.A. Independent Child Protection Officer/Department of Legal Affairs with regard to any particular reported concerns.
• The Welfare Officer should be independent (i.e. have no personal or business relationship with the Club coach, Club Secretary or Chairman. The thinking here is to avoid the difficulties that arise should an individual member wish to refer a concern to the Welfare Officer in circumstances where a person complained of (eg the Coach) is a relative of the Welfare Officer.

Swim 21 Coordinator*

Swim 21 Accreditation is a 'Quality mark'. It recognises nationally and regionally the clubs that are committed to providing safe, effective and quality services for the benefit of their members. The role of the coordinator is to ensure we maintain our membership, prepare all documentation for reviews and ensure that all tasks that are required to be completed by the various club officials are completed in compliance of Swim 21 rules.

Club Shop

The club shop provides its members with the basic essentials, such as club kit, floats goggles etc. The individual responsible orders and manages the stock and banks the takings in the Club bank account.

Dry/Wet side Coordinator

When appearing at league galas we are required to normally provide a timekeeper and judge. When hosting a league gala we need to manage all officials and provide door staff, raffle sellers, helpers to provide officials and coaches with refreshments etc. When holding our own club gala this role is covered by the Open meet sub committee.

Social Secretary

Sometimes run in pairs the role is to arrange various functions throughout the year either for the kids to purely have fun and be able to enjoy their friends company in a social environment and also to arrange events that can allow the parents to enjoy a good evening out rather than the humidity of the spectators gallery as well as providing much needed funds for the club.

Sponsorship/Fundraising Secretary

The aim for the individual(s) holding this post is to organize sponsorship for the club via any means, whether it be a race sponsorship in one of our galas, prizes for raffles from local shops up to raising club sponsorship from major companies or charitable organizations.

Publicity Officer

The role has the aim of raising the awareness of the club in the area via press (reports and pictures) and local radio coverage, including the advertising of our LTS programme.

Lifeguard Coordinator

Organises lifeguards when required for galas we host, if not provided by the pool operator and also regularly provides lifeguard courses for our staff and others.

Masters Secretary*

The Masters Secretary acts as the link between the Masters and Age Group part of the club to ensure their needs are met and assist in building ways of migrating maturing Age group swimmers into the Masters group.