Munster Chess Union

Constitution

Annual General Meeting

Monday, 09/01/2025

Constitution of the Munster Chess Union

Last amended September 2025 - AGM

1. GENERAL

1.1 The name of the organisation of which this document is the constitution shall be the Munster Chess Union, hereinafter referred to as "the MCU".

1.2 The objects of the MCU shall be the promotion and regulation of chess within the Munster region.

1.3 The MCU shall be the governing body for the regulation of all matters relating to chess within Munster, subject to the overall authority of the Irish Chess Union, hereinafter referred to as "the ICU", and to the right of those Chess Clubs which are affiliated members of the MCU to manage their own affairs within the rules of the MCU and the ICU as promulgated from time to time.

1.4 The membership of the MCU shall consist of the individuals and Chess Clubs defined in Clause 2 below.

1.5 In pursuance of the above objects, the MCU shall be responsible for organising the Munster Chess Leagues and the Munster Chess Championships each year, and such other competitions and other events as may be decided upon by the MCU from time to time. The format and details of these competitions shall be decided by the Annual General Meeting of the MCU each year.

2. MEMBERSHIP

2.1 Membership of the MCU shall consist of individual membership and affiliated membership, as respectively defined in Clauses 2.2 and 2.3 below.

2.2 Individual membership of the MCU shall consist of all those Chess players within the Munster Region who fulfill the following conditions:- that they support the objects of the MCU; and that they are members in good standing of the ICU; and that they are members in good standing of one of the Chess Clubs affiliated to the MCU in accordance with Clause 2.3 below.

2.3 Affiliated membership of the MCU shall be open to all those Chess Clubs in Munster who fulfill the following conditions:-

  • that they support the objects of the MCU;
  • and that they pay the annual membership subscription of the MCU;
  • and that they abide by the rules of the MCU.

2.4 For the purposes of this Constitution ‘Chess Club’ shall be defined as any group of chess players within Munster who join together under a common name as a club for the purpose of playing and promoting chess, and any such Club shall automatically become a member of the MCU on written notification to the Secretary thereof of such Club’s formation, subject in all cases to the Club and its members complying with the requirements of this Constitution.

3. COMMITTEE AND OFFICERS

3.1 The management of the day to day business of the MCU shall be, and is hereby, delegated to an Executive Committee, hereinafter referred to as "the Committee", which shall consist of the following Officers, hereinafter referred to as "the Officers":-

  • a Chairman, who shall preside over all meetings of the MCU, and shall be responsible to the Committee and to the MCU for the prompt and efficient conduct of all business. In carrying out these duties he or she shall consult with the other Officers and shall call such meetings of the Committee as may be required;
  • and a Secretary, who shall be responsible, in consultation with the Chairman, for day to day correspondence, and maintaining such records as may be required, other than financial ones, and any other duties delegated to him or her by the MCU from time to time;
  • and a Treasurer, who shall be responsible for all financial matters including collecting subscriptions, making payments as required presenting a set of annual accounts to the Annual General Meeting and recommending the membership subscription;
  • and a League Controller, who shall be responsible for the organisation of the MCU Leagues and the Munster Chess Championship.

3.2 The Officers shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting each year from amongst the individual membership of the MCU, and shall hold office for one year or until the next Annual General Meeting whichever is the longer period. Each Officer shall be eligible for re-election, and, exceptionally, may temporarily hold more than one office in the event that insufficient individual members are proposed for all offices.

3.3 The Committee shall be responsible to the MCU for the proper running of its affairs, and shall meet as often as they deem fit to ensure the MCU fulfills all its responsibilities.

3.4 The Committee shall have the power to co-opt any individual member of the MCU to assist or advise them if they feel that such member has experience or abilities which can be of benefit to the MCU. It shall also have the power to form sub-committees to assist it in specific areas. Any person or persons so co-opted shall have no voting rights at Committee meetings by virtue of being co-opted.

3.5 The Committee will also appoint an individual member of the MCU to act as its delegate to the ICU, and such person will be subject to instruction from the committee in respect of the views to be expressed on its behalf to the ICU.

3.6 If any Officer shall, for whatever reason, fail to properly carry out his or her duties, the Committee shall appoint another member of the MCU to assume that particular office until the next AGM.

4. MEETINGS

4.1 There shall be held each year an Annual General Meeting (hereinafter referred to as "the AGM") attendance at which shall be open to all individual members in good standing with the MCU.

4.2 The AGM shall be held not later than the first Sunday of September each year.

4.3 The Secretary shall give not less than fourteen clear days notice in writing to the secretary of each affiliated Club, setting out the date, time and place of the AGM, and the agenda to be discussed thereat, and it shall be the responsibility of the said Club secretary to ensure that all members of that Club are fully informed of the notice and its content. The requirement to give notice of the AGM under this paragraph shall be deemed to have been satisfied if and when the secretaries of all the affiliated clubs have been notified in accordance herewith.

4.3.1 The first AGM to be called under this constitution shall be held immediately after the General Meeting called for the purpose of adopting the said constitution, and notice of such AGM shall be deemed to have being given in the notice calling the said General Meeting, which shall be as set out in Clause 4.3 above.

4.4 The agenda for the AGM shall consist of the following items:-

  1. Apologies for absence.
  2. Minutes of the previous AGM and any Extraordinary General Meeting held since then.
  3. Chairman's address.
  4. Secretary's report.
  5. Treasurer's report, which shall include a presentation of the annual accounts, and a recommendation on the annual membership subscription for the coming year.
  6. League Controller’s report.
  7. Election of Officers and Committee as listed in Clause 3.1 above.
  8. Motions of which the Secretary has been advised prior to the dispatch of notice under Clause 4.3 above.
  9. Any motions of which due notice shall have been given to the Secretary in accordance with Clause 4.5 below.

4.5 Any individual member desirous of placing a motion before the AGM may do so by giving the Secretary a written copy of such notice, together with the names of the proposer and seconder, not less than seven clear days before the date set for the AGM. The Secretary shall distribute written copies of the motion at the AGM. If neither the proposer nor the seconder are present when the motion is reached on the Agenda, then it shall fall without debate.

4.6 On the instruction of the Committee, or at the written request of ten individual members, the Secretary shall call an Extraordinary General Meeting within seven days of such instruction or request, giving fourteen days notice of the meeting as set out in Clause 4.3 above. In the case of a request by individual members, the ten members must represent at least three different affiliated clubs and each club must be represented by at least three members. The instruction or request must contain a motion, with the names of the proposer and seconder, and only that motion shall be discussed at the meeting.

4.7 If the Secretary shall fail to comply with an instruction or request given in accordance with Clause 4.6 above, then (in the case of an instruction from the Committee) any other Officer shall be entitled to give the required notice and (in the case of a request from members where neither the Secretary nor any other Officer has given the required notice) the secretaries of the Clubs shall be entitled to give the required notice.

4.8 The quorum for all general meetings shall be ten members, providing they represent at least four different clubs within the provience. Should a quorum not be present within thirty minutes of the time set for the start of the meeting, then (unless a clear indication has been received by the Secretary that members are en route and will arrive shortly) it shall stand adjourned for seven days, reconvening at the same time and if possible the same place. At this adjourned meeting, any two members of the Committee shall be deemed to form a quorum. The Secretary, or in his or her absence any other Officer, shall immediately after the adjournment give notice in writing to the said Club secretaries of the reconvened meeting.

4.9 In the absence of the Chairman the meeting shall elect any other member of the MCU present to preside at that meeting.

4.10 If any Officer be no longer able to carry out his or her duties the Committee shall appoint another member of the MCU to assume that particular office until the next AGM.

4.11 Voting at all meetings shall be confined to MCU members. It shall be the responsibility of the person presiding at the meeting to determine who among the attendance of any general meeting is an MCU member. If the AGM is being held later than August 31st, then membership of the MCU in the previous season shall be taken as satisfying the voting requirements.

4.12 Voting shall be by show of hands, and all decisions shall be determined by a simple majority of those present and eligible to vote, save for a motion proposing a change to this Constitution, when a two-thirds majority of those present and eligible to vote shall be required in order to carry the motion. In the event of an equality of votes the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

5. RULES

5.1 The Committee shall produce a book of rules that shall be binding on all members, both individual and affiliated.

5.2 The said book of rules shall be approved by an AGM on production, and thereafter may be amended only by an AGM or EGM.

5.3 The said book of rules shall cover the following, together with such other items as may be decided upon by the MCU from to time:-

  • Rules of play for the MCU competitions;
  • and Composition of MCU League Teams;
  • and Rules of conduct while attending MCU competitions and events.

6. CONDUCT/DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE

6.1 The Committee shall have the power to expel, suspend or take such other action as it shall think fit in respect of any member, or affiliate member, who refuses or neglects to comply with the Rules of the MCU or who is guilty of any conduct which in the opinion of the Committee is seriously unsporting or is prejudicial to the interests of the MCU.

6.2 No action shall be taken against any member without first inviting them to furnish an explanation of the circumstances complained of either in writing or personally before the general Committee at the members’ option. The decision of the Committee shall be ascertained by ballot and shall be final. A member of the MCU expelled by virtue of the provisions of this clause shall forfeit all right in and claim upon the MCU.

7. COMPLAINTS

7.1 All complaints shall be made in writing to the Secretary who, should he be unable to remedy them, shall submit the same to the Committee whose decision shall be final.

8. RULES OF CHESS

8.1 All rated chess games shall be played in accordance with the Laws of Chess as adopted from time to time by FIDE. ICU by-laws shall apply where relevant and shall take precedence over local provisions. Tournament organisers may adopt additional local rules, provided that such rules do not contradict the FIDE Laws of Chess, FIDE tournament regulations, or ICU by-laws. Any query or dispute concerning the application of the Laws of Chess during an event organised by or under the supervision of the MCU shall be referred to the appointed arbiter in the first instance, or to the MCU Committee (or its appointed representative) where necessary. The decision of the MCU Committee shall be final and binding.

9. RULES OF THE MCU

9.1 Members shall be bound by the Rules and Regulations of the MCU, and if any doubt should arise as to the proper interpretation thereof, the matter shall be referred to the Committee whose decision shall be final

10. DISSOLUTION

10.1 In the event of the MCU being dissolved or disbanded for whatever reason and by whatever means, its assets shall be transferred in equal shares to the then affiliated Clubs and any trophies to the Clubs then holding them.

Constitution of the Munster Chess Union.pdf