BYE-LAWS AND POLICIES

1. Members shall pay an Annual Subscription together with any boat or board fees for all craft located at the sailing site. Trailer Sailer owners shall pay a full boat fee (Stand Alone Fee) per trailer sailer, regardless of normal first and second boat / board fees. The Annual Subscriptions and dues of each Youth Group shall be negotiated separately with the General Committee and be calculated on each Group's particular requirements. Honorary members shall pay boat and board fees as stated, as well as subscriptions for their families where applicable. New Members' fees other than Entrance, Social, Outport, Junior and Temporary are reduced by 1/2 for applications placed after 31st August and by 3/4 for applications placed after 31st October. Applications placed after 31st December are at full rate but no further subscription is charged for the following financial year. Payment of membership fees in four instalments is available, but this will incur a small administration charge as detailed on the Webcollect site. E&OE

2. All members agree to take turns of duty in running the Club Racing Programme and/or bar as required.

3. All boats and boards shall be registered with the Harbourmaster and/or Membership Secretary by the 1st April each year. Only boats and boards so registered with the Club shall be allowed on site and any member wishing to bring a boat to the sailing site shall notify the Sailing Committee in writing with the details and size of the boat or board. Registration may be refused to any boat or board which the Sailing Committee considers unsuitable. Changes of ownership of any boat or board must be notified to the Harbourmaster and/or Membership Secretary. An adopted class is defined as 5 boats with 4 regularly sailing in the Sunday races. Adopted classes are: Illusions and F15 fleets. The following boat classes will automatically be accepted to the menagerie fleet: Asymmetric (RS Vareo, RS200 & Laser 2000), Solo, Laser, GP14, Enterprise, Topper, Optimist, Phantom, Wayfarer, National 12, RS Feva and Mirror.

4. Berths and moorings shall be allocated by the Harbourmaster each season, and individual members shall have no prescriptive right to a particular mooring or shore berth.

5. It is the boat owner’s responsibility to ensure that his/her boat and all its equipment is securely tied down or moored.

6. Members of the club, their guests and visitors, may use the club premises, and any other facilities of the club on the terms permitted under their own type of membership entirely at their own risk. New members and existing members by payment of their annual subscription and non-member parents or carers paying membership fees on behalf of junior members impliedly accept that: -

a) The club will not accept any liability for any damage to or loss of property belonging to members, their guests or visitors to the club.

b) The club will not accept any liability for personal injury or death arising out of the use of the club premises and any other facilities of the club, contaminated water or out of participation in any race or event organised by the club, including but not limited to liability arising out of incidents involving boats, boards or fishing tackle whether sustained by members, their guests or visitors, or caused by the said members, guests or visitors, whether or not such damage or injury could have been attributed to or was occasioned by the neglect, default or negligence of any officers, committee or servants of the club.

c) Before any boat or board is brought onto club premises it is required to hold adequate insurance and in particular to hold insurance against third party claims in the sum of at least two million pounds.

d) Before inviting any guests or visitors onto the club premises or to participate in events organised by the club or to participate in events organised privately by members under bye law 19 members will draw their attention to this byelaw.

7. No member shall lend or hire out his or her boat or board to a non-member from the Club premises or water, without first obtaining the permission of the General Committee. The General Committee may, as a condition of granting such permission, require the person borrowing or hiring the boat or board, to become a temporary member of the Club.

8. Boats and Club Buildings shall not be used as living accommodation. Under no circumstances is the bar area to be utilised other than for its designated purpose.

9. Each fleet shall elect a Captain, within one month of the Annual General Meeting, who shall be co-opted to the Sailing Committee.

10. Open Meetings: -
(a) There will be no club racing on open meeting dates specified in the club handbook. Club racing may be organised after the open meeting has finished.

(b) Club members may sail on open meeting dates but must not interfere with the racing.

(c) The Race Officer may ask any boat or boats to leave the water, whose actions are, in his opinion, detrimental to the Open Meeting.

11. Children under the age of eighteen years are not allowed in the Club compound or on the water unless under control of their parent/s or carer/s, or a Member over the age of eighteen. Parents and/or Carers and/or Members who have accepted responsibility for them will be held responsible for the conduct and safety of their children.

Note The club is only able to provide rescue facilities during the hours of club racing and/or training. Outside these hours, parents and carers have sole responsibility for their children and must appreciate that the club cannot be expected to exercise supervision or control. Even during club racing the club cannot accept responsibility for children, or any other persons, not engaged in racing or organised training activity.

12. Club Boats: Club Boats, when not being used for training are available for use by Sailing Members, normally in their first year of membership. All requests to use Club Boats must be approved in advance by the Duty Officer for the day. If you own your own boat, you are responsible for its repairs. As Club Members we are responsible for the upkeep and cost of repairing boats, so please use responsibly. There are certain Club Boats that are used by the Training Committee, who has priority for pre-booked RYA courses. As such, it is essential that these boats are used by a competent crew to avoid unnecessary damage. The Sailing Committee and Training Committee will regularly review the Club Boats and allocate their use by mutual agreement. The Duty Officer will be responsible for ensuring that Club Boats and their equipment are put away in the same condition that they were allocated in. Any minor gear failure or damage should be rectified within the week. More serious damage needs to be reported to the Sailing Committee by the Duty Officer so that repairs can be arranged. Damage caused on a Training Course will be resolved by the Training Committee.

13. Youth Groups
(a) Bye-Law 1 applies to youth groups and their members.

(b) Youth Groups are only admitted to the Club site and premises if accompanied by an adult Club member or complimentary member of their group who takes responsibility for their compliance with Club Rules and Bye-Laws. Admittance is restricted to one Group at a time on Club premises. A Youth Group, unless approved by the General Committee, shall not exceed twelve junior members.

(c) Two competent adult members or young adult members of the Club or complimentary members must be present whenever boats or boards are afloat and the rescue boat shall be manned.

(d) Adults as qualified in (c) above, who are not full members of the club, may be granted Complimentary membership provided their sole purpose is to supervise a Youth Group's visits for the specific periods as notified in Rule 6(b)(3) otherwise full membership will be obligatory.

14. Camping and Caravanning is permitted at the discretion of the General Committee. The use of caravans must be within the Club compound.

15. Swimming is Prohibited. The use of Non-powered water-based activities can be approved / rejected by any Committee Member in conjunction with the Duty Officer. If this decision is not accepted, then it should be raised at the next SC meeting.

16. The use of live ammunition is strictly forbidden on or in Club property, its margins or waters, except when authorised by the General Committee.

17. Radios and similar appliances are permitted provided they are used with due consideration to others and do not become a nuisance. Any issues arising will be resolved by the General Committee who will have the final discretion.

18. Prior approval must be sought from the appropriate Committee for storage of significant items of Personal property in club buildings or the compound. Personal property is stored at the owner’s risk.

19. Subject to approval by the House Committee, the Club premises may be used by club members for private functions. A fee will be charged, such fee to be determined by the House Committee on written application to the House Secretary.

20. Dogs are the sole responsibility of the owners; they shall be on a lead and under full control. They are allowed in the Club compound but not in the buildings. Dogs must not be left unattended at any time and are not allowed within the area bounded by the railings in front of the clubhouse. As far as possible dogs shall be prevented from fouling but where it occurs it is the dog owner's responsibility to take immediate remedial action.

21. Vehicle and boat access to the Sailing Site is via Chancery Lane and Meadow Lane, Thrapston, to the car park. The Causeway Entrance gate is to be locked on all occasions except by direction of a Committee Member.

22. Motor vehicles on club property shall only be driven by licensed & insured drivers and must not be driven unnecessarily, indiscriminately, or in a manner liable to cause injury or annoyance anywhere on the Club property or the accesses to Club property. When not in use, vehicles must be parked in the designated car parking areas.

23. The riding of motor or pedal cycles and the use of wheeled toy transport is prohibited within the site compound. Pedal cycles are to be stored in the rack provided.

24. Members must not light fires, cut trees or disturb wildlife habitat without the permission of the General Committee.

25. There is a strict “No Outside Publicity” rule regarding the fishery. This includes publication of any photographs or internet posts on fishing forums.

26. Fishing is a consented activity, by up to 40 anglers at any one time throughout the year (including night fishing). Fishing to take place from the bank only.

27. The use of boats or bait boats for angling is not permitted.

28. No fishing from the islands is permitted with the exception of the stone island at the sailing club end of the lake and the end of the spit.

29. All Angling Members must be in possession of a suitable unhooking mat.

30. Carp may be retained during the hours of darkness or for a short period of time while waiting for a photographer. Special care must be taken in the summer months when oxygen levels are low.

31. No transferring of specimen fish between the river and the lake is permitted. Any live bait’s must be caught on site.

32. It is the responsibility of all members not to drop litter and to remove any to the bins provided. Any litter in or around Angling members swim is your responsibility.

33. A maximum of three rods are permitted at any one time. Environment Agency Rod Licences must be carried by Angling Members for all rods in use.

34. Pike fishing runs from the 1st October – 31st March.

35. No guest anglers are permitted.

36. For the purposes of VAT, the following applies in respect of the Club accounts. "The Club is a non-profit making organisation. All profits and surpluses will be used to maintain or improve the Club's facilities.”

37. Committee Members only are responsible for enforcing the Rules and Byelaws of the Club.

38. Trailer sailers: the maximum craft is limited to 8. Electric outboards are permitted for the use of mooring purposes only. Launching of these craft shall be by using slipway No 3 (near the race box). For the purpose of launching and retrieval all trailer sailer craft are required to use a suitable trailer.


GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS

Relevant personal data you have provided will be used for dealing with you as a member of the Middle Nene Sailing Club and will be stored and used in accordance with the Club’s Data Protection Policy which can be found at the Club House.

The club also has a CCTV system which comprises of a number of fixed cameras located on and inside the club buildings. All cameras can only be accessed by the nominated Security Officer. The Club owns the CCTV system which is viewed by the Data Controller as required according to the CCTV policy which can be viewed in the clubhouse.


MIDDLE NENE SAILING CLUB SAFEGUARDING POLICY

MIDDLE NENE SAILING CLUB acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice and ROYAL YACHTING ASSOCIATION requirements.

The policy recognises that the welfare and interests of children are paramount in all circumstances. It aims to ensure that regardless of age, ability or disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, socio-economic background, all children:

• have a positive and enjoyable experience of sport at MIDDLE NENE SAILING CLUB in a safe and child centred environment
• are protected from abuse whilst participating in ANY SAILING ACTIVITIES OR EVENT RAN BY THE CLUB or outside of the activity.
MIDDLE NENE SAILING CLUB acknowledges that some children, including disabled children and young people or those from ethnic minority communities, can be particularly vulnerable to abuse and we accept the responsibility to take reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure their welfare.

As part of our safeguarding policy MIDDLE NENE SAILING CLUB will:
• promote and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children and young people
• ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities in respect of safeguarding and is provided with appropriate learning opportunities to recognise, identify and respond to signs of abuse, neglect and other safeguarding concerns relating to children and young people
• ensure appropriate action is taken in the event of incidents/concerns of abuse and support provided to the individual/s who raise or disclose the concern
• ensure that confidential, detailed and accurate records of all safeguarding concerns are maintained and securely stored
• prevent the employment/deployment of unsuitable individuals
• ensure robust safeguarding arrangements and procedures are in operation
• Appoint a designated safeguarding officer
• Share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know and will involve children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately.
• Create and maintain an antibullying environment, using relevant policies to help us deal effectively with bullying
• Provide a safe physical environment, in accordance with relevant Health and Safety Regulations.
• Use appropriate procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers
The policy and procedures will be widely promoted and are mandatory for everyone involved in the MIDDLE NENE SAILING CLUB.
Failure to comply with the policy and procedures will be addressed without delay and may ultimately result in dismissal/exclusion from the organisation.

Monitoring
The policy will be reviewed a year after development and then every three years, or in the following circumstances:
• changes in legislation and/or government guidance
• as required by the Local Safeguarding Children Board, UK Sport and/or Home Country Sports Councils and the ROYAL YACHTING ASSOCIATION
• as a result of any other significant change or event.

MIDDLE NENE SAILING CLUB EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION POLICY

Introduction

For the purposes of this policy ‘inclusion’ means access for all. It means recognising differences between individuals/groups and providing opportunities for them to participate in Middle Nene Sailing Club  regardless of those differences, whether this is as a club member, competitor, off volunteer or family member.

Middle Nene Sailing Club embraces diversity and difference and is committed to improving opportunities that are safe, inclusive, accessible, and equitable. We aim for our club to be equally accessible to all members of society, whatever their age, disability, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or social/economic status.

This Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy is intended to promote a change in attitudes and perceptions and to improve opportunities for everyone to participate.

We will ensure that we comply with the Equality Act 2010 and the characteristics protected by it (age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity). As a Club, we will welcome and include everyone regardless of whether they have a protected characteristic or not.

Our aim is to provide an environment where everyone feels:

·     Welcome

·     Represented

·     Included in decision making

·     Able to participate

·     Safe and free from discrimination, bullying, harassment and vilification.

Aims

Our approach to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion is:

·     To promote the development of knowledge and understanding of disability, equity and inclusion.

·     To contribute towards growing and sustaining numbers of people from underrepresented groups participating within our organisation.

·     To adopt inclusive practice.

Commitment

We will:

·     Not tolerate discrimination, harassment, bullying, or victimisation.

·     Actively identify and reduce barriers to participation for underrepresented groups.

·     Consult with expert partners and other organisations to facilitate inclusive practices and aim to remove barriers to participation.

·     Ensure underrepresented groups are given the opportunity to participate in all aspects of our club.

·     Provide opportunities for all with reasonable adjustments and consultation.

There are a number of measures that we will take to ensure that we are working under the guidance of the policy and within the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.

We will provide a welcoming environment

·     We will think positively about how we can include people rather than focusing on potential barriers to participation.

·     We will consider how Middle Nene Sailing Club is promoted. For example, by providing information in formats which are accessible and by using appropriate imagery.

·     We will encourage people to contact us to discuss their needs and requirements to facilitate inclusion. and We will ensure we consider what reasonable adjustments could be made to enable them to participate within the scope of practical consultation.

We will talk to people

·    We will, so far as is reasonably possible, consult with relevant groups and with prospective individuals about their needs and requirements.

·    We will not make assumptions and will try to speak to people about the reasonable adjustments they believe might be made to enable them to participate and to discuss how these could be made, with or without assistance.

We will make reasonable adjustments

·     We will demonstrate that every reasonable effort has been made to enable everyone to participate and that inclusion not exclusion has been the priority.

·     If reasonable adjustments are required to make an event/activity accessible, then we will endeavour to make those reasonable adjustments within the constraints of the existing configuration of the premises.

·     We will provide assistance, if accepted and ensure our inclusion policy is reviewed and improved as an operating document for advancement.

ANTI-SLAVERY POLICY

Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person's liberty by another to exploit them for personal or commercial gain. Middle Nene Sailing Club have a zero- tolerance approach to modern slavery and we are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships and to implement and enforce effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or our supply chain. This policy does not form part of any employee’s contract of employment and we may amend it at any time.

Middle Nene Sailing Club is committed to ensuring there is transparency in our own business and in our approach to tackling modern slavery throughout our supply chain. We expect the same high standards from all our contractors, suppliers, and other business partners.

As part of our contracting processes, we include specific prohibitions against the use of forced, compulsory or trafficked labour, or anyone held in slavery or servitude and we expect that our suppliers will hold their own suppliers to the same high standards. This policy applies to all persons working for Middle Nene Sailing Club or on our behalf in any capacity, including employees at all levels, directors, officers, agency workers, seconded workers, volunteers, agents, contractors, external consultants, third-party representatives, and business partners.

Responsibility for the Policy

Middle Nene Sailing Club Trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring this policy complies with legal and ethical obligations, and that all those under our control comply with it. The Trustees, Officers and Committees of the Club have primary and day-to-day responsibility for implementing this policy, monitoring its use and effectiveness, dealing with any queries about it, and auditing internal control systems and procedures to ensure they are effective in countering modern slavery.

All Committees at all levels are responsible for ensuring those reporting to them understand and comply with this policy and are given any required training.

Compliance with the Policy

The prevention, detection and reporting of modern slavery in any part of our business or supply chain is the responsibility of all those working for us or under our control. You are required to avoid any activity that might lead to, or suggest, a breach of this policy. You must notify the Committees as soon as possible if you believe or suspect that a conflict with this policy has occurred or may occur in the future.

You are encouraged to raise concerns about any issue of suspicion of modern slavery in any parts of our business or the supply chains of any supplier tier at the earliest possible stage. If you believe or suspect a breach of this policy has occurred or that it may occur, you must notify the committees. If you are unsure about whether a particular act, the treatment of workers more generally, or their working conditions within any tier of our supply chain constitutes any of the various forms of modern slavery, raise it with the committees.

We aim to encourage openness and will support anyone who raises genuine concerns in good faith under this policy, even if they turn out to be mistaken.

We are committed to ensuring no one suffers any detrimental treatment because of reporting in good faith their suspicion that modern slavery of whatever form is or may be taking place in any part of our own business or in any part of our supply chain. If you believe that you have suffered any such treatment, you should inform the General Committee immediately.

Communication and Awareness of the Policy

Training on this policy, and on the risk our business faces from modern slavery in its supply chain will be given where needed. Our zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery will be communicated to all suppliers, contractors, and business partners at the outset of our business relationship with them and reinforced as appropriate thereafter.

Breaches of this Policy

Any employee who breaches this policy will face disciplinary action, which could result in dismissal for misconduct or gross misconduct. Middle Nene Sailing Club will terminate our relationship with other individuals and organisations working on our behalf if they breach this policy.

The policy will be monitored and reviewed annually during the Middle Nene Sailing Club AGM.