GREAT BRITAIN
DIVING FEDERATION

1.	Name
1.1	The organisation shall be known as the Great Britain Diving Federation, hereinafter referred to as "the Federation".
2.	Objective
2.1	The objective of the Federation shall be to promote the interests of the sport of diving and do other things conducive or incidental to the attainment of this objective.
3.	Membership
3.1	The membership year will run from the 1st April to 31st March. (The financial year will run from 1st November to 31st October).
3.2	Individuals wishing to apply for membership shall apply to the Administration Director on the appropriate form and may comprise the following:
	- members of diving clubs    - diving members of diving sections of swimming clubs    - members of affiliated diving bodies    - individuals, not being in either of the categories above, involved in diving.
3.3	The Administration Director shall report membership return forms received for each of the following classes of membership to the Executive Directors not later than 30th April:
	- the number of senior and junior applicants (junior members shall be those      under the age of 16 years on 31st December in the year of membership).    - Club officers    - Presidents    - Vice-presidents    - Honorary members    - Life members    - Patrons    - Associate members    - Temporary members
3.4	Persons applying for membership shall pay an annual membership fee to be fixed by the Executive Directors. Such fees shall be payable by 30th April to the Administration Director. Any current member who has any fees outstanding after this date will forfeit all rights of membership to the GBDF until fees are paid in full.
3.5	Members who pay their annual membership fee by Bank Giro Credit (Standing Order) shall not have their membership fee increased, so long as that Standing Order remains in place.
3.6	A new member joining after 30th September shall pay half the membership fee for the current year.
3.7	The Federation and all its members shall comply with the rules of FINA and LEN.
4.	The Annual Conference
4.1	A Conference will be held annually in January or as soon thereafter as possible.
4.2	Membership of the Conference shall comprise of the following:
	- The President of the Federation    - The Chief Executive    - Executive Directors    - Senior and Junior Members    - Other persons as invited by the Board of Directors.
	The Chief Executive or President shall chair conference.
4.3	Members must provide proof of identity at the Conference if requested.
4.4	The Conference shall be organised by the Board of Directors.
4.5	A quorum shall be 15 members who are present and eligible to vote.
4.6	The Conference shall determine the policies to be adopted by all members.
4.7	Only those members over the age of 16 years at the 1st January in the year of the Conference shall be eligible to vote.
4.8	Decisions of the Conference shall be binding on all members.
4.9	Minutes of the Annual Conference shall be published by the Administration Director, with the approval of the Board of Directors and circulated on the GBDF Website (www.diving-gbdf.com), by the 30th June immediately following the Conference. Any member requiring a personal copy can obtain one from the Administration Director.
4.10	Proposals for agenda items for the Annual Conference must be sent in writing to the Administration Director at least 40 days prior to date of the meeting. Such proposals shall be made by members only and must be made in writing.
4.11	The Administration Director shall circulate such proposals to the Board of Directors and, if such proposals are approved by the Board of Directors, such proposals shall be included on the agenda.
4.12	Nominations in writing for the post of President of the Federation and Chief Executive of the Board of Directors shall be sent to the Administration Director at least 40 days prior to the date of the Annual Conference.
4.13	Nominations in writing, together with relevant CVs for membership of the Board of Directors shall be sent to the Administration Director 40 days prior to the date of the Annual Conference.
4.14	The notice, stating the date, location and commencement time, agenda, report of accounts and details of nomination for membership of the Board of Directors shall be sent to all members of the Annual Conference at least 21 days prior to the date of the Annual Conference together with any briefing notes relating to the agenda items.
4.15	Decisions of the Annual Conference shall be made by a simple majority of those who are in attendance and entitled to vote & any postal votes received, save where otherwise expressly stated.
4.16	Members who are entitled to vote at Conference, but who are unable to attend, may submit postal votes. Such votes must be submitted on the official form, approved for the purpose; postal votes may only be counted if they are received by the Administration Director, at least two days before Conference. Such votes must be sent by ordinary First, or Second Class Post and not more than one member’s form may be included in any one envelope. Postal votes conforming to the above procedure shall be added to the votes of those voting members present. No details of postal votes shall be given to any member prior to Conference voting.
4.17	The Annual Conference shall not make formal decisions about matters which are not included on the agenda unless a proposal for such is put by a member at the Conference and receives a two thirds majority of the votes cast by those in attendance at the Conference and eligible to vote. If the Conference gives such approval the matter shall be discussed and decided by the Conference by a simple majority.
4.18	The Annual Conference shall elect from nominations received and included with the agenda the President, the Chief Executive and other Directors.
5.	A Special Conference
5.1	A Special Conference may be called on the written application of either of the following:
	- Two thirds of the Board of Directors, or    - One quarter of members entitled to be present and vote at a Conference.
5.2	Such written application shall be sent to the Administration Director.
5.3	The Board of Directors must within 28 days of such notice convene the Special Conference.
5.4	The written application requesting the Special Conference must include a full statement of the items of business to be considered by the Special Conference.
5.5	Notice to members convening a Special Conference must state the date, location and commencement time and include any briefing notes relating to the business for consideration by the Special Conference.
5.6	All members entitled to attend and vote at the Special Conference must be given written notice, together with a copy of the proposed agenda. Such notice and agenda shall be sent to each member entitled to attend and vote no later than 14 days prior to the date proposed for the Special Conference.
5.7	A quorum for the Special Conference shall be 20 members who are present and eligible to vote.
5.8	Only those members over the age of 16 years at 1st January in the year of the Special Conference shall be eligible to vote.
5.9	Minutes of any Special Conference shall be published by the Administration Director, with the approval of the Board of Directors and circulated to each member within 60 days of the Special Conference.
6.	Executive Directors
6.1	The Executive Directors shall meet on at least 4 separate occasions each year and as required by the Chief Executive. All dates for meetings of the Executive Directors shall be published on the GBDF Website.
6.2	The Executive Directors shall be made up of a maximum of 12 persons.
6.3	All Executive Directors must be 18 years or over on the 1st January in the year of the appointment as an Executive Director with the exception of the Diver Representative, who shall be 16 years or over.
6.4	The Executive Directors may include the following members appointed by the Annual Conference:
	Chief Executive	To be responsible for the management and co-ordination of the Executive Directors on a day to day basis and to chair meetings and oversee the legal responsibility of the issues of diving.
	Finance Director	Responsible for the financial control of diving funds, insurance and submitting audited accounts to the Annual Conference.
	Administration Director	To provide administrative support for the Board of Directors, including secretarial, membership and information.
	Masters Director	To be responsible for the organisation of domestic Masters championships and training for Masters events including International competitions held within Great Britain.
	Novice Director	To be responsible for the organisation of domestic Novice & Intermediate championships and development, where appropriate.
	Director of Communications	To be responsible for all aspects of communication, including Internet Communication, services and Newsplash.
	Marketing Director	To develop and implement a general marketing strategy and deal with promotions and sponsorship of diving.
	Divers Representative	A diver aged 16 years or over on the 1st January in the year of election to be elected at the Annual Conference to represent divers issues throughout the year.
	BDCA Representative	To be appointed by the BDCA.
6.5	Decisions of the Board of Directors shall be covered by a simple majority of those members present.
7.	Powers and Duties of the Board of Directors
7.1	To develop and promote diving and be responsible directly to the President & Chief Executive and the membership for the conduct of all business.
7.2	Each Executive Director shall document their activities in a quarterly report to the Chief Executive and in an annual report to him/her 30 days before the Annual Conference.
7.3	The Executive Directors shall have the duty to produce the plans for the development and promotion of diving and appropriate business plans and shall take all such steps as are necessary and prudent to give effect to such plans.
7.4	These plans shall be submitted to the President & Chief Executive as a formal report along with fully audited accounts in time for the Annual Conference.
7.5	Subject to the overriding authority of the Conference the Executive Directors shall have the authority to deal with all matters concerning the government and management of diving not otherwise dealt within these rules.
7.6	The Board of Directors shall fix annually the amount of membership fees applicable to the forthcoming membership year and this shall be reported to the Annual Conference.
8.	The Regions
8.1	There shall be fourteen regions, co-terminus with UK Sports Council boundaries, as follows:
	Northern	Northumberland, Cumbria, Durham, Cleveland and Tyne & Wear.
	North West	Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
	Yorkshire and Humberside	North, South and West Yorkshire, and Humberside.
	East Midland	Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, and Northamptonshire.
	West Midland	Metropolitan County Council of West Midlands, Hereford & Worcester, Salop, Staffordshire and Warwickshire.
	Eastern	Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex.
	Greater London	Greater London.
	South East	Surrey, Kent, and East and West Sussex.
	Southern	Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire. Oxfordshire and the Channel Islands.
	South West	Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire.
	Scotland
	Wales
	Northern Ireland
9.	Conduct of GBDF Members
9.1	The Board of Directors may suspend or expel an individual for failure to adhere to the accepted Code of Ethics of Diving and other recognised bodies or for failing to perform specific duties or for conduct considered to be detrimental to the interests of diving.
9.2	Any member whose suspension or expulsion is to be considered by the Board of Directors shall be entitled to have their case fully heard by the Board of Directors.
9.3	If any member suspended or expelled is an Executive Director, the Chief Executive may, with immediate effect, make an alternative appointment of an Executive Director.
9.4	A suspended member may attend and speak at the next Annual Conference and the case reviewed by the incoming Board of Directors.
9.5	If any member of the Board of Directors is found to have failed to adhere to the Code of Ethics of the GBDF and/or other recognised bodies or has failed to perform specific duties or has conducted him/herself in a manner considered to be detrimental to the interests of diving, a Special Conference will be called in accordance with the Constitution. Members will vote in a secret ballot at the Special Conference to decide what action should be taken. The decision will be a result of a majority vote of those attending and eligible to vote at the Special Conference.
9.6	A member of the Board of Directors who has acted in such a manner may attend and speak at the Special Conference prior to a secret ballot.
9.7	The Chief Executive shall inform the next following Annual Conference or Special Conference of the removal of any individual as an Executive Director.