Running club meetings
Successful sports clubs are well run and well organised with meetings that are effective.
What are general meetings?
A general meeting is open to all members, unlike board or committee meetings.
There are usually two types of general meeting- the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). They should be referred to in the constitution.
The rules for these general meetings should also be stated in the constitution.
For example:
- How many people are needed at the meeting to make it official (this is known as the quorum)?
- How much notice are you obliged to give members?
- How far in advance should you issue the Agenda?
Annual General Meeting
The main reasons for holding an AGM are:
- To elect the board for the following year
- To discuss and vote on amendments to the constitution or club rules
- To produce the annual accounts
- To highlight the achievements of the club over the last 12 months
Top tips for AGMs:
- Make sure you know if nominations for new committee members have to be taken in advance or can you take them at the meeting? (Most AGMs require a proposer and a seconder for each nomination)
- Delegate duties - the task of organising the AGM usually falls to the Secretary, but the Treasurer, Chairperson and Volunteer Coordinator will also have a role to play.
- Arrange the venue, date and time of the AGM well in advance
- And promote it well! Be welcoming to ALL members – maybe think about offering a fun, social element? 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 involve new people in the running of the club
Sample agenda
Here’s a sample agenda to help you with your next general meeting:
- Apologies for absence
- Minutes of the previous AGM
- Matters Arising
- Chairperson’s Report
- Secretary’s Report
- Treasurer’s Report
- Election of Officers
- Date of next meeting (if known)
Extraordinary General Meeting
EGMs are called upon if at least a third of the club’s members (or some other proportion specified in the constitution) wishes to amend a club rule, amend the constitution or discuss any other important, urgent matters which cannot wait until the AGM.
Committee meeting
Committee meetings are organised by elected officers to manage the day to day running of the club.
Keep these meetings short, to the point and ensure they are completely necessary - otherwise you may lose the interest of many officers. This is where the role of the Chairperson is vital.
Sample agenda
- Who is attending
- Who has sent their apologies
- Review of previous minutes
- What is the meeting objective? State the overall outcome of the meeting
- Agenda items for discussion - ask all attendees to send in any items for the agenda in advance
- Actions/ Outcomes - detail in minutes if a decision or vote is required or someone assigned needs to take lead on any areas of agenda.
- Date of next meeting
- Any other business (AOB)
Many clubs find it helpful to develop rules and guidelines for the conduct of committee meetings to help keep everyone on track.
Minutes
Minutes are an important part of every meeting, and we have complied some top tips for taking minutes.
