Agenda Item 4b: President of Ladies’ Branch should by right be a member of the RCCC Board

The Ladies Standing Committee held a Zoom meeting on Tuesday, 8 June to discuss the papers for the forthcoming RCCC AGM.

Corrie Lawrence, host of the aforementioned Zoom call, has written an Aide Mémoire (below) to try and simplify the process of voting on the AGM matters and highlight particular items that might be complicated or of concern for the LSC.

The information below is useful for all rccc members, not only the lsc.

Dear ladies,
Following the arrival of the AGM papers on Friday, and our LSC meeting on Tuesday, 8 June, there have been many questions about the voting procedures and the numerous items to be voted on. It is made all the more difficult because we cannot meet in-person to discuss the issues of concern.
As you communicate with your members on matters to do with the AGM at this challenging time, we felt that the information below might be of assistance to you, particularly as the voting is being done online again this year.


PROCESS

Friday, 4 June: AGM Board papers arrived in RCCC member inboxes. (If you have not received yours, email Elaine at elaine@scottishcurling.org). NB: If you are a paused member, you are ineligible to vote at the AGM and will not have received the papers.

If you wish to attend the AGM, you must book your place: Pre-register now. Once registration is complete, you will be emailed a link that will allow you to access the AGM. You should also receive a reminder email.

All curlers are encouraged to participate. Please cast your votes for the AGM.

  • Members for whom Scottish Curling does not hold an email address will be sent a paper voting slip; to count, this slip must be completed and returned by 2 pm Thursday, 24 June 2021.
  • Members can cast their votes online between 4 June 2021 and 2 pm Thursday, 24 June 2021.
    • Members can vote online or by post without attending the 26 June Zoom AGM.
    • Members can ‘reset’ and cast their votes again if they make a mistake or change their minds.
    • Members who are not comfortable with online voting can ask a friend or relative to help them cast their votes.
  • OPTION 1 – Appoint the Chair as your proxy. You are allowing the Chairman of the Board to choose for you.
  • OPTION 2 – You are telling the Chairman of the Board how you wish your votes to be cast.
    • Please consider completing your own ballot. Granting proxy to the Chairman of the Board will effectively be a vote against Ladies Branch.

VOTING

The main item for the LSC is our standalone Special Resolution 4b, the purpose of which is to ensure that the President of the Ladies Branch is a Director of the Board as a right accorded to that position.

We (The LSC) do not agree with the Board’s reasons for not supporting our Resolution and consider that our case remains strong, having discussed it fully at our LSC meeting on Tuesday, 8 June.
*Please encourage all members to vote in favour of this Resolution.

The Board is proposing many changes to the RCCC Memorandum and Articles. They have grouped these into six Resolutions. (3a-3f)

The LSC discussed these in detail at our meeting on 8Th June and, whilst there are some changes which are not contentious and can be supported, there are some which caused concern to a significant number of your representatives.
Due to the way the changes have been grouped, where one or more changes are of concern and you do not wish to approve them, it will be necessary to vote against the whole Resolution.

Please consider the following points in relation to each Resolution:

3a The reason for amending the wording in relation to CEO remuneration is unclear.

3b There is concern about the Chairman of the Board holding the proxy votes, as opposed to the President of RCCC or a nominated member.

3c These resolutions do not give cause for concern.

3d Whilst there is support in principle for the proposed introduction of a Junior Vice President, following the Ladies Branch structure, there were mixed feelings about the forced imposition of a gender balance and how this sat with “the best person for the role” requirement.

3e There is widespread concern with this proposal which would require at least 50% of ALL Club Members to support a Motion – not just 50% of those members who actually voted on the matter. This is a higher bar than is required for changes to either the Articles or Bye-laws of RCCC which only require 75% or 50% respectively of those members actually voting. This seems likely to make it significantly more difficult for members to introduce Resolutions.
It is also unclear what the seconding requirement by another Local Club would entail – is it the same 50% hurdle or something else?

3f Whilst the renaming of “Virtual Clubs” to “Gateway Clubs” was welcomed, the removal of the detailing of the responsibilities of the Board to a separate document out with the Bye-Laws is of serious concern.

If you would like to discuss any of these matters before casting your vote, please contact your LSC representative in the first instance or any member of your LSC Executive.

Thank you for your patience.

Corrie Lawrence


INFORMATION SHARED BY MORAY FIRTH LADIES
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