Club Standing Orders

The committee will, at the first committee meeting after the annual general meeting, elect from within itself members to fulfil the positions required to ensure the efficient organisation of the club and its affairs and to act as custodians of its various assets. (See appendix 1)
The Chair Person is responsible for the coordination of all aspects of the clubs activities.
The Vice-Chair Person shall deputise for the Chair Person at the Chair Person's request or at the request of a majority of the committee. In the absence of the Chair Person and Vice Chair Person the committee may elect any of their number to exercise the role of Chair for that meeting.
The Secretary is responsible for ensuring that agendas are circulated for all meetings and shall be responsible for the communication of all minutes of the meetings of the Club to the members of the committee and the communication, through appropriate channels, of details of club activities to all members and to other orienteering bodies and organisations and to other interested parties as required.
The Treasurer shall be responsible for all the financial affairs of the club and may be called upon at any time to give a report on the prevailing financial circumstances of the club. He or she is required to prepare a simple form of report for each meeting. The Treasurer is responsible for ensuring that the club's officers and members are protected by suitable third party insurance when in pursuit of activities on behalf of the club.
Membership fees are to be kept low to encourage new members and shall be set at the Annual General Meeting. Event entry fees are to be set by the committee and it is policy to cover all the anticipated direct and indirect costs of any event and to endeavour to provide surpluses to assist in the general administration and development of the club. The Treasurer shall produce, as guidance to the members of the committee, a projected budget and any proposals for event fees. An adequate reserve fund is to be maintained to cover any foreseeable shortfalls outside the club's control.
Committee members and members working on behalf of the club may be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses. Receipts should be produced where possible and agreed car mileage will be paid at up to the prevailing Inland Revenue 'Low User' approved rate.
The committee will establish and maintain as part of the Club's standing orders, policies on specific areas of the Club's affairs where appropriate (See appendices)
The Committee will promote and maintain a number of Permanent Orienteering Courses to bring the sport to novices and otherwise disadvantaged parts of society and as a potential source of revenue for our activities. Where any POCs are being set up we should try to ensure our involvement at least at the planning and mapping stage to ensure the courses comply with proper orienteering standards.
The Committee will establish a development plan and the Vice Chairman will monitor progress towards achieving its aims. The plan will be reviewed annually by the committee and updated.

The Club will maintain a Development Team to work to promote the aims of the Club and develop activities to encourage the involvement of new and existing juniors, adults and families and to maintain support for the already established school / community orienteering links. It will also organise such coaching as may be required.
In accordance with clause 19 of the constitution which authorises the committee to delegate its powers to sub-committees the committee authorises the officers of the club acting together as a sub-committee to take such decisions as they deem necessary between formal meeting of the full committee.

Standing Orders Appendix 1 - Officials & Roles:

In addition to the four officers of the club (Chair Person, Vice Chair Person, Secretary and Treasurer) and any President the following roles have been identified:

Fixtures Coordinator: To chair Fixtures Committee, coordinating the programme, permissions and availability of maps. To ensure that the club members receive the necessary training to be event officials. The Fixtures Coordinator has ultimate responsibility for all events and direct responsibility for events not under the remit of the Minor Events Coordinator and will find officials for these events and be one of the club's two nominated officials authorised to register events.

Fixtures Secretary: To maintain a record of planned events, assembly areas etc. and liaise with the Regional Events Coordinator. To produce and distribute flyers publicising those events.

Club Captain: To act as a conduit for inter-club fixtures to be arranged and publicised and to coordinate activities of members entering as teams in relays or inter club competitions. To represent the interests of the ordinary members at committee.

Access Development Officer: To seek out and negotiate use of new areas and extensions to existing ones

Permissions Secretary: To obtain access permissions for all Club events including car parks and toilet blocks where available. Detailed discussions re car parks, toilets, which areas are to be avoided etc., booking premises to support events etc., will be normally done by the organiser of the specific event or the Minor Events Coordinator

Permissions Administrator: To maintain a register of connections and access times of year for all areas and to ensure that any information discovered about an area by event organisers, planners, controllers, mappers / surveyors etc. is recorded for future reference.

Technical Adviser: To advise on technical matters e.g. rules - controlling - suitability of new areas etc. To organise such training courses as are required. This role is held by one of the Club's senior controllers.

Minor Events Coordinator: Will have specific responsibility for the Winter and Summer Leagues and the Score Cup. To coordinate the activities of the Minor Events Steering Group and recommend a programme to the Fixtures Committee for assimilation into the full Club programme; to find organisers to run events and coordinate their activities; to register these minor events and to store, maintain and monitor equipment used for them; to maintain and publish the results of the Winter and Summer Leagues. To be one of the club's two nominated officials authorised to register events.

Map Custodian - To hold and maintain the Club's master electronic record of maps.

Mapping Coordinator: To monitor production of new maps and act as a link between the Club and commercial printers, professional mappers and BOF. To store and monitor Club's mapping equipment. To act as a back up map custodian holding an electronic copy of the Club's maps. Mapping Adviser: To advise and assist the Club's internal mappers on technical points and organise training as required. To act as a back up map custodian holding an electronic copy of the Club's maps.

Mapping Adviser: To advise and assist the Club's internal mappers on technical points and organise training as required. To act as a back up map custodian holding an electronic copy of the Club's maps.

Map Printing officer - To house and maintain the Club's printer(s) and produce in house mapping.

Permanent Courses Co-ordinator: To promote new permanent courses and coordinate the activities of any course wardens. To chair any POC Sub Committee meetings. To maintain, overprint and sell POC maps.

Coaching Coordinator: To organise coaching for members, coordinate the activities of the Club's coaches and encourage new coaches as part of the Club's development team.

Development Plan Monitor: To maintain Club's Development Plan, updating it with Committee decisions and publicising it annually. To bring appropriate matters to the attention of the Committee for discussion and coordinate an annual review of the plan. This role is normally fulfilled by the Vice Chair Person.

Development Team Leader: To coordinate the work of the Club's development team.

Development Team Liaison Officer: To act as the conduit between the development team and the Club' full committee, POC sub-committee and Minor Events Steering Group.

Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme Officer: To act as point of contact with the scheme organisers and arrange programmes for any applicants.

Junior Representative The junior squad is invited to elect or nominate a representative on the committee

Media Liaison Officer: To promote the club and its events by use of whatever media can be interested.

Membership Secretary: To maintain membership records.

Results Secretary: To process results for non electronic events. To work with the webmaster to correlate and publish the results of all senior events and the Club League.

Event Entries Officer: To receive and collate entries for all pre-entry events.

Electronic Systems Coordinator: To lead a team co-ordinating our use of electronic systems at events and processing the results of electronic events. To organise training of other members in these processes.

Electronic Systems Assistant: To be a member of the electronic systems team and deputise for the coordinator.

Sport Ident Equipment Monitor: To oversee and coordinate the acquisition, maintenance and protection of the Club's SI equipment.

Club Delegate (and deputy): To represent the Club at meetings of EMOA and / or any BOF representative meetings and report back to the committee.

Club Archivist: To maintain old records of the Club.

Social Secretary: To organise social activities with help as required.

Newsletter Editor: To compile and publish a Club newsletter in late Jan, May and September and to feed appropriate material to the website.

Webmaster(s): To maintain the Club web site with input from other members and publicise the Club, its events and results.

Planners' & Organisers' Equipment: To store, maintain and monitor equipment used by planners and organisers.

Club Shop: To co-ordinate purchases of clothing and equipment by members and provide light refreshments etc. for sale at events. To act as an enquiry point at events and maintain the Club's display boards.

Note - some of these roles may be shared between members from time to time and more than one role may be held by one member. Members holding these roles are normally invited to join the committee but are not obliged to do so.

The composition of the Club's current Sub-Committees etc. are as follows

(All 4 of the Club's Principal Officers are ex-officio members of all committees)

Fixtures and Access Development

(These two sub-committees are combined at the present time, including permissions) normally meeting January, April, July and October. A comprehensive review each January with regular updates. They report to the Club's full committee.

Fixtures Committee Co-ordinator, Fixtures Secretary, Mapping Coordinator, Permissions Secretary, Access Development Officer, Club Captain, Minor Events Coordinator and Development Team Leader.

Minor Events Steering Group

Minor Events Coordinator, Minor Events Results Officer, Development Team Leader and up to three nominated additional members of the Fixtures Committee. Meeting as required but to present a suggested forward programme to the Fixtures Committee by each January.
It reports to the fixtures sub-committee.

Map Group

Mapping Coordinator, Treasurer, Club Technical Adviser, Mapping Adviser, Map Custodian and Access Development Officer and any active club mappers. Meetings June each year and otherwise as required. It reports to the fixtures sub-committee.

Electronic Systems Team

Electronic Systems Coordinator, Electronic Systems Assistant and other members of the team. To coordinate our use of electronic systems at events and the processing of the results of electronic events. To organise training of members in these processes. It reports to the Club's full committee.

Development Team

Team Leader, Development Team Liaison Officer, Coaching Coordinator and all club coaches and other members of the team - Meetings as required but normally twice a year. To coordinate the Club's development work in liaison with BOF and act as point of contact for schools and youth groups and to coordinate the Club's work in supporting senior groups developing and organising activities in the sport. To assist in publicising the Club, our events and the sport in general. It reports to the Club's full committee.

Permanent Courses

POC Coordinator, Development Team Leader, Mapping Adviser, Access Development Officer and any course wardens. Meetings as required. It reports to the Club's development team

Standing Orders Appendix 2 - Mapping Policy:

Mapping shall be overseen by a Map Group from within the Club comprised as in appendix 1. All active mappers will be invited to meetings of the group. Whenever the Map Group feels it necessary they will recommend to the Club that mapping training courses are organised.

When the Access Development Officer suggests an extension to an existing area or a new potential area, the Map Group should decide whether and when to include it in the surveying programme. Existing areas should be constantly monitored by the Map Group with cross reference to the advance event programme produced by the Fixtures Committee.

Mapping of larger areas where commercial printing is thought justified should be commenced such that a realistic deadline can be set for the map to be printed at least six months prior to first usage. The timescale for mapping for major events is dictated by BOF guidelines.

The Fixtures Committee should meet every January to map out a medium term events programme and meet as required throughout the year (normally quarterly) to keep the programme up to date. The Map Group should meet each June to update the mapping programme to accommodate the fixtures. This should identify probable events up to three years ahead to enable long term map planning to be put in hand.

If no suitably qualified club volunteer is available, potential mappers should be identified and then invited to tender for the work with references and / or examples of their work. Tender documents and contracts are held by the Club in a format which should be used for commercial mapping. Club members may tender for such contracts on a commercial basis but will be treated on exactly the same basis as any other commercial mapper. The Map Group will, when time permits, make a recommendation to the full Committee who will make the final decision. This will usually involve a special meeting convened for the purpose but where urgency dictates, the Club Chairman and Officers may jointly make this decision. The decision will not be merely on cost but will consider experience, quality of work and timescale.

Whenever a map is being prepared for an area which could sustain a larger event a Mapping Supervisor will be appointed by the Map Group to monitor progress and have the work checked on the ground. The Mapping Supervisor may often be the Mapping Coordinator but he/she may invite other members when location or numbers of maps in hand make this expedient. The role of a Mapping Supervisor is seen by the Map Group as that of assisting the mapper both technically and with local knowledge as and where appropriate and also as a 'quality controller'.

For smaller areas volunteer mappers should always be sought but their work should still be checked on the ground and the finished cartography checked by the Mapping Adviser or another of the Club's experienced mappers. The planner or controller of a forthcoming event may suggest features to be included but once the mapper has signed off his or her map it should not be further altered and any subsequent observations should be shown as map corrections or the immediate area avoided in event planning.

Where the Club is requested to arrange mapping for third parties e.g. Local Authorities or Schools, the Club will endeavour to assist and wishes to maintain access to as many areas as possible. The Club will invite all club mappers to offer their services and will then be selected in rotation from the pool to ensure no undue preference. If no one is willing then the mapping requirement will be offered to non-club members.

The club will contract with the third party to provide a map, at a cost agreed by the Map Group with the mapper, bearing in mind the expenses he or she is likely to incur. The cost will also be dependent on the availability of aerial photographs and/or good quality base maps. The Club will register the map with BOF in order to provide insurance protection for the mapper and will permit the use of its software license. Once the third party has confirmed that the mapping has been completed to specification, the Club will pay the mapper his expenses as the agreed price less 10% representing the Club's overhead charge. Mapping contracts should make a contribution to cover the Club's costs and insurance (currently this insurance is provided through the BOF registration scheme).

Any volunteer mapper is responsible for accounting to the Inland Revenue for any profit element in these arrangements. If in the light of personal taxation circumstances, a volunteer mapper, working on a map for a third party, wishes to merely claim out of pocket expenses then mileage may be claimed at the current Inland Revenue maximum rate for casual users rather than any current rate agreed for in house work. Whenever entering into any contract of this nature with a third party, the contract shall whenever possible, provide access to the area for Club Orienteering at least once a year, such access not being reasonably refused.

All maps must be registered with BOF in order to provide insurance protection for the mapper and to comply with event registration requirements. Planners and Controllers are requested not to make changes to maps themselves. Changes must only be made to maps by mappers authorised by the club. If they require changes to be made to a map they must refer to the original mapper, the Club's Map Custodian or Mapping Co-ordinator who will arrange for the necessary changes to be made. If such changes are to be considered the mapper should be involved at least 28 days prior to the event to allow adequate time for proper surveying and the final version of the map must be produced no later than 14 days before the event. This protocol has been introduced to avoid the confusion of more than one edition of a map existing and to avoid changes being made to maps that produce other "side effects". Any updates agreed must be passed to the Map Custodian to keep the Club's library up to date.

Event officials shall provide paper copies of map corrections to the Map Custodian and any extensions or corrections brought to his attention are added to an evolving version of the map held by him and periodically copied to the other back-up map custodians. Any other discrepancies identified on the map should also be reported to the Map Custodian. This information can then be made available to any mapper looking at an area afresh. A copy of map corrections should also be provided to the Club's archivist.

In the interest of consistency and cost reduction any members producing a map for the Club not owning their own OCAD licence may be loaned one of the current Club versions of OCAD. Allocation of OCAD licences will be determined by the Club Committee on the advice of the Club Mapping Adviser. When a club member is making minor changes or updating a map they will normally be expected to use an earlier freeware version. A limited number of club mappers can use the Club licences and for planning purposes an earlier freeware version of OCAD will normally be used or some other appropriate planning software.
Club members are required to remove the current Club version of OCAD from their computer when they have completed the mapping projects for which it was allocated.

It follows that we need to have a reliable way of identifying any particular version of any map. We must be able to identify which version of OCAD any particular map is in and to this end a uniform file naming protocol is being introduced.

File names in future must all be lower case and without spaces. The first up to 8 characters will identify the area. Separated by a dash - 4 characters will then date the map followed again by a dash followed by up to 5 characters giving the scale. This will be followed by a 'v' and the version of OCAD employed. In addition whilst every map should have a BOF registration number, we do not need a new number every time we do a minor update but should identify each version by adding a letter i.e. EM 08 499b or EM 08 499c. This has the added benefit to users of being able to compare two versions of a map and see which is more current.

After this an underscore dash may optionally be followed by any additional information the mapper wishes to add to the file name.

e.g. bradgate-0810-10000v934-bof.em.08.499c_mappeddm

This would imply a map of Bradgate updated October 08 to be used at 1:10000 mapped using ocad version 9.34 under BOF reg EM 08 499c and mapped by Don Moir

Printing of Maps - For all events other than the Winter or Summer League or similar minor events (and preferably for those events also), only maps printed commercially or on the Club's laser printer, should be used. This is to ensure that a uniform and acceptable quality of map is produced, including paper of the correct type and weight and that the correct colour table based on ISOM 2000 and IOF specifications is used. Map files should be with the Map Printing Officer at least 7 days before the event. Event Officials must agree printing timescales with the Map Printing Officer to avoid any potential delay during holiday absences etc.

Planners are obliged to consult the Events Coordinator who will, in discussion with the Club Treasurer, give advice on numbers of maps to be printed for which courses based on historical records etc.

The Club also owns a GPS location device, several different sighting compasses, two laser distance measurers, a contouring level, a measuring wheel, a set of editing and amalgamating utilities and other mapping aids which can all be borrowed from the Mapping Co-ordinator. Printed maps will be held by the Map Stocks Officer who will keep the Club advised of any impending shortages. Electronic versions of all Club maps will be held by the Map Custodian and two other back up map custodians, entirely separately for security reasons. These back up holders are presently the Mapping Coordinator and the Mapping Adviser.

Standing Orders Appendix 3 - Access and Environment Policy:

As a sport Orienteering is entirely dependent upon the existence of suitable areas on which we can hold events, which unfortunately are fairly scarce and do of course come under many apparently competing pressures. Whilst the sport can be demonstrated to have a low environmental impact, the general public and some officers of other interest groups do not always see it that way. As orienteers we must protect wildlife and the habitats that support them and avoid any perceived conflict between ourselves and other parties.

We must recognise our part to play in maintaining the integrity and beauty of the countryside which we enjoy and ensure that it is still there for future generations to do likewise.

Our area includes North Northamptonshire with many blocks of mature woodland often of non native species which Forest Enterprise amongst others is working to restore to something more akin to a natural environment. This does involve areas being felled and new areas being fenced off to the detriment of our current usage but we must support such efforts in the long term interests of both the natural environment and our sport.

We also take in Rutland where we have few opportunities to stage events. This county also has some blocks of mature woodland but most are closed to us either by virtue of protected status or shooting rights. We must work to get closer to all parties involved in the use and management of these areas to try and promote the fact that our interests need not conflict.

Leicestershire Orienteering Club will therefore continue to take on board all environmental considerations when staging any events. We will seek out new areas at the development stage and work with landowners to accommodate our needs without negative impact on wildlife or other users. We will continue working in partnership with landowners, government / local authorities and agencies, wildlife and environmental organisations in avoiding any conflicts of interest. We will also work to the environmental policies of both the British Orienteering Federation and the International Orienteering Federation.

Standing Orders Appendix 4 Team Events Policy

Where members represent the Club in team competitions the Club takes no responsibility for entry fees, transport or any other costs.

Standing Orders Appendix 5 Equity Policy

The Club has an ongoing commitment to treating all people fairly. The Club will do this by adopting and promoting the British Orienteering Federation Equity Policy which currently reads:

BRITISH ORIENTEERING FEDERATION EQUITY POLICY

The British Orienteering Federation has an ongoing commitment to treating all people fairly. No participant, volunteer, employee or job applicant will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, creed, colour, disability, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, sexuality or social class or be placed at a disadvantage by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be relevant to performance.

The Federation recognises its legal obligations under

Equal Pay Act 1970
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
The Sex Discrimination Acts 1975 and 1986
The Race Relations Act 1976
Equal Value Amendment Regulations 1983
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Human Rights Act 1998
Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act

The Federation will

adopt a planned approach to eliminating barriers which create discrimination
give clear guidance to individuals working within the Federation on the commitment to equity
promote this policy to all staff and members of the Federation
promote personal development for all participants and workers to support their progress within the Federation and, where appropriate, provide specialised facilities, equipment and individual training
continuously monitor and review the Federation's selection criteria and procedures in relation to participation and employment to ensure people are treated solely on the basis of merits and abilities which are appropriate to the position
adopt a planned approach to taking positive action towards groups which are currently under-represented in the Federation's workforce, membership, and orienteering in general

The overall responsibility for monitoring and evaluation of equity in the Federation will be with the Management Committee, who may delegate any part of the role to an appropriate individual or group.

The Federation regards discrimination, harassment or victimisation as serious misconduct, which is likely to bring the Federation into disrepute. Thus, any complaint on any of these grounds by employees will be dealt with under the Federation's Disciplinary Rules and Procedures. Any complaint on any of these grounds by any other will be dealt with under Bye-Law 1 of the Federation's Articles of Association.

Definitions

Direct Discrimination the treatment of one person less favourably than another would be in similar circumstances

Indirect Discrimination the implementation of requirements or conditions, which, whilst applied equally to all, have the effect of putting some individuals or groups at a disadvantage, and cannot be objectively justified on the grounds of relevance to the proper performance of the activity involved.

Harassment actions or comments that cause persistent offence to a person or group.

Victimisation the treatment of someone less favourably than others because s/he has taken action against the Federation or individuals under one of the relevant acts (as previously outlined), or provided information about such discrimination.

Workers any individual, voluntary or paid, working within or on behalf of the Federation, or its affiliated associations and clubs

Standing Orders Appendix 6 Protecting Young and Vulnerable People.

The Club is intent that children and vulnerable adults will find orienteering a safe environment in which to have fun, learn and develop. The Club will do this by adopting and promoting the British Orienteering Federation Policy on Protecting Young and Vulnerable People.

The British Orienteering Federation policy currently reads:

The British Orienteering Federation regards the welfare of all young people and vulnerable adults to be of paramount importance. In order to protect them from abuse, the Federation is committed to taking all reasonable steps to provide a safe environment for them to participate in orienteering activities held under the auspices of the Federation. To this end, the Federation will establish, operate, review and update procedures which promote the safety from abuse of young and vulnerable people; which provide a channel through which concerns and allegations can be reported and for responding speedily to any reports of concerns and allegations.

In addition, the Federation will establish, operate, review and update procedures for advising adults on how to interact with young and vulnerable people in ways which are beneficial for all concerned, which support anyone who reports concerns that a young person or vulnerable adult may have been or may be at risk of being abused, which provide support to and the fair treatment of anyone against whom allegations have been made and for responding appropriately if it is established that someone is unsuitable for work with or has behaved in an unacceptable manner towards young and vulnerable people.

Everyone, whether employee or volunteer, involved with young and vulnerable people within orienteering has a responsibility to follow these procedures; this includes acting as specified in the procedures if they have reason to believe that such a person has been or is in danger of being harmed.