Club AGM's & Handover

Monday 23 March 2020

section 1 - impact of covid-19 & club agm's

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and impact on the operations of University of Strathclyde sports clubs, the Sports Union is working to support committee groups hold required elements of Annual General Meetings (AGM’s), such as committee elections, constitutional changes and other important items for deliberation of the club membership.

The Sports Union have set up this dedicated webpage to provide information and guidance for committee groups to plan their own digital Committee Elections.

Background

All affiliated sports clubs have been consulted to update on the status of their AGM and ask committee groups to feedback on good practice to share with other clubs.

Committee groups who have been unable to hold AGM’s prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 are now transitioning to an online method, with many exploring digital platforms such as Facebook, Qualtrics, Survey Monkey, Mentimeter and Slido as prospective options to ensure the club membership voice is heard.

There is no one-size-fits-all digital solution. In the below section we have captured a range of best practice ideas shared from sports clubs which we hope will help other club committee groups plan their own AGM.

Best Practice

Below are several examples shared from other sports clubs:

Athletics & XC

• Membership:    110
• Platforms(s):     Mentimeter
• “We are using a survey/poll software, such as Mentimeter or Slido. We are able to reach a wider audience with this method that allows more interaction and each voter a say.” 

Dance

• Membership:    90
• Platform(s):      Video, Facebook Groups & Survey Monkey
• “Individuals applying for a role on committee submitted a video to our private Facebook group explaining why they should be considered for the role. We then used Survey Monkey for voting. This was simple, easy and didn’t take long at all”

Golf

• Membership:    40
• Platform(s):      Poster, Facebook Groups & Survey Monkey
• “We are planning on allowing candidates running for a position on the club committee to create a poster for their pitch, and then conducting a vote on Survey Monkey. We have looked at copying same voting process as the recent Sports President elections.”

Mountaineering

• Membership:    170
• Platform(s):      Video, Facebook Call & Google Survey
• “Our thoughts are to hold an online video call on Facebook to host the AGM. Nominees for each position will post a video speech into the AGM event page of their manifesto. Voting will then take place in the form of a Google questionnaire.”

Rowing

• Membership:    65
• Platform(s):      Zoom, Facebook Live, PowerPoint & Google Forms
• “We are planning on using Zoom, testing will be done prior to ensure it’s adequate. This platform has capacity for a large club and is free to download for members. Our second option is to host a simple Facebook livestream with a slideshow being displayed behind the presenter. Voting will open via Google Forms, with voters asked to provide their email when voting to verify they are a member. Only the Returning Officer will be able to emails and validate all votes.”

Example AGM - Step by Step Guide

In addition to the examples shared above by several sports clubs, the Sports Union has developed a step-by-step guide on how to conduct a Committee Election using the most basic option of an online survey form. 

For this example we have used the online platform Qualtrics which is a user friendly, web-based, interface for creating and distributing online, self-completion questionnaire surveys, monitoring participants’ responses, and downloading data into numerous software packages, including those statistical analysis packages that we use as standard in both University of Strathclyde teaching and research.

When registering for a Qualtrics account, please use your University of Strathclyde email address. 

Step 1 – Agree Dates & Timeline

Set a date for your 2020 Club AGM and outline the timeline for nominations, voting and handover training.

Step 2 – Appoint AGM Chair & Returning Officer

Appoint a Chair of the AGM and Returning Officer to conduct elections of the 2020-21 committee.

The Chair is usually the current Club Captain and the Returning Officer must be an impartial individual to ensure that the conduct of an election is fair and in accordance with the club constitution. The Club Captain can take on the role of Returning Officer in a situation where they are not running for a position. 

Step 3 – Open Nominations 

Promote available committee roles and brief Job Descriptions amongst all members of the Sports Club using a preferred platform (e.g. Facebook Group). 

Ask all candidates to submit their nomination online using a simple registration form by a prescribed deadline. 

Example Nomination Form.

Step 4 – Share Manifesto’s 

Share all Candidate Manifesto’s to the voting club membership in advance of the AGM. Manifesto’s should be in written or video form, as agreed by the Chair and Returning Officer.

Step 5 – Register AGM Voters

Ask all members to register to vote at the AGM using an online form.

Example AGM Registration Form

Step 6 – Circulate Online Voting System

Create and circulate an online voting method to all registered voters with details on all committee positions and candidates running for election.  

Example Online Vote Form

Step 7 – Vote Count

Returning Officer closes the online vote and immediately counts all votes for each committee position. Make sure to double count each position and save details should they be required.

Close the online vote form. The Returning Officer should then count all votes for each position (don’t forget to double count).

Step 8 – Publish Vote 

Returning Officer publishes results of the online vote for each position. 

Step 9 – AGM Minutes 

Complete the Club AGM minutes template and return to the Sports Union Coordinator via the Club Management Portal within seven days of the vote.

Step 10 – Handover

Prepare digital handover training between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 club committee groups.

Section 2 - committee structure

Understanding how your club is structured is vital if you are to run your club successfully. From holding AGM’s and meetings, to understanding your coach and instructor relationships, this page looks at giving you the best possible foundation for the year ahead.

There is not a one-size-fits-all structure that your club must adhere to. Each sport is unique and that means how you run your club must be adapted to your specific needs; however, the basic idea remains the same: clubs are run by a student committee that is democratically elected at a club AGM (Annual General Meeting) for the benefit of their members. A typical structure of a club committee is as follows:

1. Club Captain
2. Secretary
3. Treasurer
4. Team Captain(s), Social Secretary etc.

The exact make-up of your structure is dependent on the needs of your club, and should be set out in your club constitution. The club constitution should detail the committee positions that your club holds alongside how the club is to be governed, in line with USSU policies and procedures.

If you want to change a role within your club then your members must agree to it by voting to accept a new constitution with the changes in it included; this can only happen at a club AGM or EGM (Emergency General Meeting), so it is not something that happens every day.

agm purpose

Your AGM is the process by which each club reviews their season and elects a committee for the following academic year as well as voting in any changes, such as an update to your club constitution. It gives members a fair and democratic opportunity to stand for a committee position and affect the way that your club is run.

If run correctly, AGMs should provide your club and your members with:

• A fair and democratic committee election process
• More informed candidates running for positions
• A clearer handover process between committees
• A chance to contribute to club development

AGMs set the direction of your club and so they are important to get right. From ensuring you get the right candidates for the appropriate committee position to ensuring everyone can provide feedback and vote, a well-run AGM will ensure that preparations for the new year are on track.

Holding your AGM

An AGM needs to include some compulsory items:

• Reports from committee members
• Election of the new committee
• Agreement of handover dates

It's really important that you take a note of attendance and minutes from your AGM. 

AGM Handover Timeline

Common AGM issues

Knowing some of the issues that might arise will allow you to address and hopefully avoid some of these common problems.

"Members don’t know what they are running for"

Try and provide them with as much information about the roles as possible. Outline example job roles that you could email out and/or host a pre-AGM meeting before or after training to outline the position available.

"No one wants to run for a position"

Talk up the opportunities and personal development opportunities that being on a committee offers. While you shouldn’t campaign for an individual there is nothing wrong with telling someone that you think they would be perfect for a role.

"I don’t think the person is suitable"

While you might not be a fan of the person running for the position, don’t forget that your committee is democratically elected and so a majority might like this person to be elected. Think about your reservations and consider discussing them with the individual or the Sports President.

"I think attendance will be low"

While an AGM must accomplish set objectives, it doesn’t have to be boring! This should be as much about celebrating the year as planning for the next so add in some awards among the compulsory elections and reports. Make the venue accessible and at a convenient time, or just ask your members what they want from an AGM so they have no excuse not to attend!

Committee Responsibilities

The democratic nature of a student-led club allows all club members to have a say in how the club is run and ensures that you members take ownership over their club. With this ownership comes a responsibility to ensure that your members are safe, happy and adhere to USSU’s policies and procedures.

To help understand committee roles a bit better we have devised a job list for the compulsory committee positions. This might seem like a lot at first, but don’t forget that you are a committee and not just one person doing this – delegation is a good sign of leadership!

Just to prove that it should never be a “one person show”, below are some of the collective responsibilities that committee members should all undertake:

• Develop your club
• Organise trips and fixtures
• Safety of members including reporting all accidents, incidents and near misses to the Sports Union within 24 hours of the incident.
• Complete and update all risk assessments
• Adhere to all USSU Polices & Procedures
• Communicate with USSU
• New committee attend mandatory committee training
• Ensure all members have paid club membership
• Hold an AGM

Don’t be overwhelmed – while you might be doing some of this for the first time the staff at USSU have been helping committees for years and in some cases have been committee members both in and out of University so don’t be afraid to ask for their help!

Sports Union General Meetings

Another joint responsibility is to represent your club and your members by attending a small number of meetings a year. These are held by USSU and your Sports President, respectively. When a meeting is advertised as compulsory it is your club’s responsibility to send the minimum required attendees or face possible disciplinary action.

Documents

Click on the below links to download template Club Handover Document:

• AGM Minutes
• Club Constitution
• Risk Assessment