CLUB RULES

1.

2.



3.





4.


5.

6.



7.


8.








9.




10.




11.

12.

13.



14.



15.


16.
 

17.


18.

19.

20.

The title of the Club shall be Camberley Clay Club.
 
The objects and aims of the Club shall be to foster and encourage all aspects of shooting in a safe environment, to arrange and organise practice shoots, to arrange matches and competitions, both among members and affiliated clubs, and to improve the standard of shooting among members.

The Executive Committee (the Committee) of the Club shall consist of Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Competition Secretary, Safety Officer, Supplies Officer, Range Officer, First Aid Officer and Grounds 0fficer. The Committee shall have the option to appoint up to a further three members, all of whom shall have full voting powers. Five Committee members are required to form a quorum.
All places on the Committee shall be filled by election by Club Members at each Annual General Meeting.

The Committee shall have power to fill any vacancies during the current year and shall have power to form sub-committees as may be required for special purposes.

The Financial year of the Club will be from 1st January to 31st December of that year.

All monies received on behalf of the Club shall forthwith be paid into the account of the Club at the Club’s bank. The Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and one other nominated Committee Member only shall have power to draw on such account with a minimum of two signatories for any transaction.

A copy of the previous year’s accounts shall be made available to every member of the Club at the Annual General Meeting of the Club.

The annual subscription of the Club shall be:
     Single Person £36.00
     Family Membership £48.00
     Colt Member (under 18 years)  £12.00

New Members joining during the year shall pay only for the whole months remaining in the year.
Existing Members will pay the full annual subscription if renewing after the 28th February due date.
Membership shall be deemed to have lapsed if subscriptions remain unpaid at 28th February.

A joining fee will be charged upon membership being accepted, as follows:
   Single Person  £15.00
   Family Membership  £22.50
   Colt Member (under 18 years) £10.00

Family membership shall be restricted to full member and spouse only.
Colt membership shall be open to persons under the age 18 years.
Termination of Colt Membership shall be on the 31st December following the date of the Colt’s 18th birthday. They will then be offered Single Person membership.

All applications for membership must be proposed and seconded by members of at least one year's standing.
 
The Club shall be affiliated to the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association.

The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held each year, on or prior to the last day of March.  Not less than thirty days’ notice shall be given to all members. Resolutions to be proposed and seconded at the meeting shall be given in writing to the Secretary at a minimum 10 days before the meeting. By a majority, attendees at an AGM may waive this rule.

On a petition, signed by at least one-third of the members of the Club, being presented in writing to the  Secretary, a special General Meeting shall be called within fourteen days of the date of presentation of the petition to consider the matter contained therein.

The Committee shall have power to form such Bye-laws as they consider will be conducive to the good of the Club and to the encouragement of the sport.

Members of the Club whose conduct is inappropriate and/or gives reason for concern and/or who decline to abide by any of the Rules and Bye-Laws may be expelled or suspended by a resolution passed at a meeting of the Committee where their entrance fee and subscriptions may be forfeited. Members shall have the right to appeal in person to the Committee with regard to any decision affecting them, provided notice of such appeal be submitted to the Committee, in writing, within seven days of notification of the decision.

It is a condition of membership that the Club will not be held responsible for any accident and/or injury by members or to members’ guests.

The shooting calendar of the Club shall run from January to December each year.
 
A member shall be permitted to accompany a maximum of two experienced shooting guests on any one day.
 
Dissolution. If, at any General Meeting of the Club, a resolution is passed calling for the dissolution of the Club, the Secretary shall immediately convene a Special General Meeting of the Club, to be held not less than one month thereafter, to discuss and vote on the resolution.  If, at that Special General Meeting, the resolution is carried by at least two-thirds of the Full Members present, the Committee shall thereupon, or at such date as shall have been specified in the resolution, proceed to realise the assets of the Club and discharge all debts and liabilities of the Club. After discharging all debts and liabilities of the Club, the remaining assets shall not be paid or distributed amongst the Full Members of the Club, but shall be given or transferred to some other voluntary organisation having objects similar to those of the Club or to a Charitable organisation, in each case of the Committee’s choosing.

CLUB BYE-LAWS

1.


2.


3.


4.

5.

6.



7.


8.


9.



10.


11.



12.



13.


14.



15.


16.


17.

18.

19.


20.

21.






22.


23.

Club members (and guests) may shoot individually (or within a Squad of their choice) other than at those shoots specified as competitions within the shooting calendar.

All persons under the age of l8 years must wear Ear and Eye Protection when on the Shooting Ground, whether they are shooting or not. All members and guests are encouraged to do so.

All members and guests will be responsible for picking up their own spent cartridge cases and placing them in the receptacles provided, or removing them from the Shooting Ground.

Only Ground Members have the authority to alter, adjust or re-load traps or move the position of a stand.

No Gun has the right to call for and shoot more Birds on a Stand than are allocated for that Stand.

Each Squad has the right to call for and see the Bird or Birds being thrown from the traps they are proposing to shoot – once only.  If a Squad has been waiting to shoot behind a Squad already shooting, then it will be deemed they have had ample chance to see the Birds and will not be permitted to see any further Birds before they shoot.

All Members must accompany and are fully responsible for the conduct and safety of their guest/s whilst on the Shooting Ground and should acquaint their guest/s with the Club Rules and Bye-Laws.

Each Club Member will be deemed to be his/her own Safety Officer and also of all persons in his/her field of vision who could be affected by any potentially dangerous activity, and will act accordingly whilst on the Shooting Ground.

All Members and Guests, except when shooting, must have their shotguns in a suitable gun slip or visibly broken at all times, whether being carried or laid down. All Auto Loader and Pump Action shotguns must have a breech flag fitted when being carried or laid down.

No cartridges will be permitted to be contained within a Shotgun at any time unless the Member or Guest is actually on a stand and prepared to shoot. All unspent cartridges must be removed from the weapon before leaving the stand.

No Member is to extensively coach a learner, novice, or other inexperienced person during a competition round as coaching takes time and may delay the progress of the competition.
A Practice Stand can be made available for this purpose by prior arrangement

All guests are most welcome (subject to the Club Rule 17 & 19).  If, however, they are inexperienced Clay Pigeon shooters, a Committee Member must accompany them (and their squad) at all times during their round.
For safety reasons, the host club member should explain this Bye-Law to his guest, prior to arriving at the shooting ground.

Any Member or Guest using a semi automatic shotgun may only load two cartridges at any one time. If this Bye-Law is not adhered to, then the person concerned may be requested to leave the Shooting Ground for safety reasons.

Members and guests must drive very slowly along the unsurfaced lane leading from the public road to the Club House and parking area so as not to make excessive noise which might annoy the occupants of the bungalow or cause a hazard to walkers and other users of the public footpath.

Vehicles are parked on the site entirely at the risk of the owners. The Club will not accept responsibility for any damage, accident or losses incurred. Members are responsible for alerting their guests to this provision.

Guests who are non-certificate holders and are not known to the Committee should be allowed to shoot on a designated stand only on their first attendance and until they can prove competence and safety to a Committee member.

To minimise impact on the environment and potential farming activity the use of fibre wad cartridges is mandatory.

Members are obliged to advise the Club immediately if their Shotgun Certificate is revoked.

Ammunition cannot be sold on the Shooting Ground to any member or guest unless they can produce their own valid Shotgun Certificate at the time of purchase.

No shooting will commence until the layout is signed off by the responsible Safety Officer.

There is a pedestrian right of way through the Shooting Ground.  It is the responsibility of all members and guests to immediately take action if any walkers are seen. A long blast on a whistle or air horn will signify an immediate cessation of all shooting. All persons on shooting stands will immediately unload and await further instructions from a Safety Officer. A series of short whistle or air horn blasts will signify a restart of shooting. Under no circumstances will a shotgun be discharged in the direction of a member of the public whether or not they are in range. Members must display patience and courtesy to walkers and all other members of the public at all times.

Prohibited persons as defined by Section 21 of the Firearms Act 1968 are not permitted to shoot at the club or be in possession of guns or ammunition.

The owners of any shotguns used on the Shooting Ground are reminded that the security of those guns remain solely their responsibility in accordance with responsibilities required of certificate holders.

CLUB BYE-LAWS - Colt Section

1.

2.


3.

4.

5.


6.

No Colt under the age of 15 years is permitted to carry a shotgun or ammunition at the Club.

Colts under the age of 15 years may only use a shotgun whilst under instruction of a competent authorised adult who is aged 21 or over (not necessarily his or her Parents) as required by Firearms Act 1968, Section 22(3).

Colt membership expires on the 31st December following the date of the Colt’s 17th birthday.

The Colt shall abide by the Rules of the Club and all Bye-Laws.

A new Colt member who is experienced in Clay Pigeon Shooting may not shoot on the Shooting Ground until a Committee Member has assessed the Colt through a minimum 10 Bird shoot on a designated stand and given specific approval.

No Colt shall be permitted to shoot within a normal Club Member’s Squad until he/she has:
a. Been taught safety, gun care, stance, mounting, loading and unloading procedure and shooting safety on a Stand.
b. Proved to be competent in safely handling a Shotgun to the satisfaction of a Committee Member/Safety Officer.
c. Completed a minimum of three Rounds whilst accompanied by a Member who holds a valid shotgun certificate.

COMPETITION BYE-LAWS

1.


2.


3.

4.


5.



6.


7.

8.



9.

10.



11.

12.













13.


14.









15.










16.

The Competition Secretary shall establish a fixture list of Competitions for the year. The list shall be presented to the Executive Committee for approval before it is published to members.

In exceptional circumstances fixtures may be amended at any time up to the commencement of shooting on the day of competition subject to the approval of two members of the Executive Committee.

Only club members are eligible to participate in Club competitions.

Cards must be placed in the marked box on the Club House counter on completion of each shoot in order to be included in the competition and for scores to be recorded.

Score cards must be clearly marked with a K for Kill or O for Loss. The Competition Secretary will check each score card for mathematical accuracy and in the event of any errors the Competition Secretary will amend the card.  Where it is not clear that a bird is K or O the Competition Secretary will use his/her best judgement to determine the score.

In the event of a tie, in either a handicapped or non-handicapped competition, the first three places shall be decided by reference to the Members' handicaps with first place being awarded to the highest handicap and thereafter in descending order.

Any disputed results will be referred to the Competition Secretary whose decision shall be final.

In the event that only one member enters a competition that member shall be deemed to be the winner assuming they complete the round. In the event that no members enter a competition then that competition may be deferred to a later date to be determined by the Competition Secretary.

The Bald Eagle Veterans Trophy shall be open to all members aged 60 and above at the date on which the competition is held.

The Charity Pool Shoot shall consist of one stand with 10 birds. The Grounds Officer will determine the variety of the birds. Entrants shall be required to pay a separate fee for this competition, the proceeds of which will go to the charity of choice of the previous year’s winner.

The Down-the-Line and Compak* Competitions will be shot at the discretion of the Grounds Officer.

The Shogun Trophy shall be awarded to the Club member who has attained the highest number of competition points over a season.  Points will be award for the top ten places in all competitions other than Ladies, Veterans, Side by Side, Small Bore, Charity and DTL Competitions.  Points shall be awarded on the following basis:-
1st Place – 12 Points
2nd Place – 10 Points
3rd Place – 8 Points
4th Place – 7 Points
5th Place – 6 Points
6th Place – 5 Points
7th Place – 4 Points
8th Place – 3 Points
9th Place – 2 Points
10th Place – 1 Point

The Blunderbuss Award shall be presented to the Club member whose handicap has improved the most over the season. In the event of a tie the winner will be decided by reference to Competition Bylaw 6.

The Knockout Cup shall be open to and consist of all members who attend the first round shoot. Following the shoot the Competition Secretary will establish the draw on a random basis. Thereafter, the Competition Secretary will randomly draw subsequent rounds based on the winners from the previous rounds.
In order to make up a sufficient number of shooters for the following round the Competition Secretary may include as many of the highest scoring losers as is required.
In the event a member fails to show up for his/her tie they will be deemed to have forfeited the tie in favour of their opponent (indicted by NS - “No Show” - on the results sheet). Should the opponent also fail to show up he/she will also be eliminated from the competition. Individual ties in all rounds, up to and including the semi final, may not be deferred to an alternative date. The final may be deferred to another date subject to the agreement of both finalists and the Competition Secretary.

For the Squad Cup, members will organise themselves into a squad for the day and choose a name for the Squad:

* The Squad name must be clearly marked on the Score Card before the shoot begins.
* Squad members do not have to shoot together to qualify.
* Club members may participate in one squad only.
* Guest and non-handicapped members’ scores will not be counted as part of a squad’s score.
* A squad can be a maximum of 5 club members but must have a minimum of 3 club members.

The trophy will be awarded to the squad with the highest average handicapped score. Members of the winning squad will each receive a medal although there will be no medals for 2nd or 3rd places.

Handicap System:
An equitable spread of club awards is achieved through a handicap system and this will apply to the majority of Club competitions as denoted on the Fixture List.
Handicaps will be calculated and published every six months and shall be based on the scores achieved in qualifying rounds (see below) during that period.
Qualifying rounds will include all shoots excluding the following:- Side by Side, Small Bore, DTL and Flurry competitions.
To calculate the handicap, the average score achieved during a six month period will be deducted from 50.
Handicaps will be adjusted pro rata for competitions in excess of 50-birds. For example, for a 60-bird shoot handicaps are divided by 50 and then multiplied by 60.