Life Member Policy & Nomination

Background

Traditionally, one of the tasks of the St. Mary’s Sporting Club Board of Management has been to identify candidates within the club for elevation to Life Membership and to make such recommendations to the Club members at the Annual General Meeting.

Life Membership is awarded to a member to acknowledge the substantial and outstanding voluntary contributions they have made to the ongoing success and viability of the St. Mary’s Sporting Club.

Any financial Club member can nominate another Club member for life membership. That person must be nominated to the Board.

The Board must appoint a person or persons to research and investigate the eligibility of the nomination and make a recommendation to the Board based on this research/investigation. The Board then votes on the nomination and, if yes, the Board then takes that nomination to the Annual Meeting for a final vote

As stated in the following documents, nominations must be in writing (analogue or digital) and received by the St. Mary’s Sporting Club Board by 1^st September each year.

Life Members are not required to pay annual membership fees and retain all membership rights and privileges as though they had paid the membership fees.

Within this policy, the St. Mary’s Sporting Club Board of Management will hereafter be noted as the ‘Board’, while St. Mary’s Sporting Club will hereafter be noted as the ‘Club’.

Procedure for Life Membership Nomination:

• The Nomination Form attached to this policy must be used for all nominations.
• The Nominator must be a financial member of the Club.
• The nomination must be seconded by a financial member of the club.
• The Nominee must be a financial member of the Club.
• Nominations must be in writing (analogue or digital) and received by the Board by 1st September each year.
• The Secretary will register the nomination and authenticate that the nominator and seconder are financial members of the Club and advise the Board who will appoint the person/s delegated to research and investigate the eligibility of the nomination.
• Research and an assessment (as per the ‘Criteria’ – see below) will then be carried out and the result must be handed back to the Board by 30th September.
• Nominations are to remain confidential (as much as confidentiality is possible in an assessment of this type.)
• If the Nominee is successful, the Nominator will be noted on the official minutes.
• If a Seconder did not ‘accompany’ the nomination, the Seconder will be a Board Member.
• The Secretary will add the item of ‘Life Membership’ to the Agenda of the Club Annual General Meeting (AGM) and invite the Nominator of the successful application to attend the AGM and speak on behalf of their nomination.
• If the Nominator of the successful application is not available to attend the AGM and speak on behalf of their nomination, the Secretary invites the Seconder or an appropriate Board Member to attend the AGM and speak on behalf of the nomination.
• Current financial members shall take a vote at the AGM and a minimum of two-thirds must vote in favour of the nomination.
• If the Nominee is successful, they will be presented with their Life Membership at the AGM & further honoured at the next Presentation Night (or any appropriately designated Club function held within 12-months of the AGM.
• If anomalies arise the person or persons (as decided by the Board) investigating / researching, has the power to address these individual circumstances on their merits and report the outcome to the Board.

Criteria for Life Membership Nomination:

Life Membership is awarded to a member to acknowledge the substantial and outstanding voluntary contributions they have made to the ongoing success and viability of the St. Mary’s Sporting Club.

A member is eligible for nomination after:

• 150 senior Club games (a senior game is categorised as any game played in a senior grade of sport).
• 10 years Club service (not necessarily continuous) and service is defined as being involved in an official capacity in either an on or off-field capacity.
• A financial member for at least 10 years.
• Whether playing or ‘in-service’, the substantial and outstanding voluntary contributions is be supported by a character of strong moral integrity.
• 200 senior games at any level will qualify for automatic nomination for life membership.

The nomination will then be subject to the normal Board assessment process.

• Senior sport is defined as any sporting competition beyond a defined age group limitation.
• Weight will be given to the specific level of playing for or service to the club and the detail will be reviewed in the research undertaken by the Board in response to a nomination in accord with the above criteria.

Notes to the Criteria:

• Eligibility does not necessarily translate directly to a successful nomination as an assessment must still be undertaken.
• 150 senior games can be at any level of senior sport.
• Senior sport is any sporting competition ‘above’ an age group limitation.
• If a person has his/her years of service ‘interrupted’ then allowances may be made subject to assessment.
• Strong moral integrity is defined as “following your moral or ethical convictions and doing the right thing in all circumstances, even if no-one is watching you. Having integrity means you are true to yourself and would do nothing that demeans or dishonours you or the Club”.

Weight will be given to the specific ‘level of playing or service’ and the detail will be set out in the investigation/research provided to the Board