Name and Objects
1. The Club shall be called "THE INTERNATIONAL LAWN TENNIS CLUB OF GREAT BRITAIN" and its objects shall be:
(a) To promote, by social union and match-play, good fellowship among players who, as members of touring tennis teams, have represented their country abroad, or who are or have been active in international competition in any age category.
(b) To develop, encourage and maintain the highest standard of sportsmanship and understanding amongst players of all nations and young players in particular.
(c) To assist in the welcome and hospitality of International, University and Club players visiting Great Britain from abroad.
(d) To provide members with information about clubs and tennis facilities abroad.
(e) To involve professional players who have ended their careers.
President, Deputy President and Vice Presidents
2. There shall be a President and Vice Presidents and, when required, a Deputy President. No-one will be eligible for election as such who is not already a member of the Club.
The Vice Presidents shall be limited to eight in number. The President, Deputy President and Vice Presidents shall only be elected, upon nomination of the Committee, at a general meeting, to serve for one year, being eligible, however, for re-election. The President, Deputy President and Vice Presidents shall be ex officio Members of the Committee.
Membership
3. The Club shall consist of Ordinary Members, Honorary Members, Young Associate Members, Honorary International Members and Visiting Members.
A person shall only be eligible for election as an Ordinary Member if they are a British Citizen and/or a permanent resident in Great Britain and they have achieved one of the following:
(i) A career high ATP/WTA singles ranking of 200 or better, or a doubles ranking of 150 or better (or equivalent world ranking), or
(ii) Been a playing member of an International Team, including as a playing member of a team representing England, Scotland or Wales, or
(iii) Been a playing member of a team representing the Services, a University, County or Club affiliated to the Lawn Tennis Association playing in a match overseas.
In both cases (ii) and (iii) above this eligibility shall be subject to the applicant meeting the minimum playing standard as laid down by the Committee from time to time.
Honorary Members shall be citizens of and/or permanent residents in Great Britain and shall only be eligible for election if they have rendered signal service in pursuit of the objects of the Club as defined in Rule 1. The Committee shall issue guidance from time to time on the selection of Honorary Members.
Young Associate Members shall be under 25 years of age. Anyone under 25 who has played in an International Club of Great Britain team at home or abroad may, at the discretion of the Committee, be elected a Young Associate Member. In such cases no proposer or seconder will be required. Young Associate Membership entails no subscription or charge, carries no right to vote and terminates automatically at the age of 25, without prejudice to election as an Ordinary Member.
Honorary International Members shall only be eligible for election as such if they have been members of an International Club team playing in a fixture against the International Club of Great Britain or have participated in matches of an international character or have rendered signal service to international tennis. No person shall be elected as an Honorary International Member unless that person is a member of, and approved by, the International Club (if any) of his or her country. Honorary International Membership automatically ceases if a person resigns or is expelled from their own International Club. No one who is a citizen of Great Britain shall be elected as an Honorary International Member.
Members of Affiliated International Clubs who are temporarily resident in the United Kingdom shall be eligible for proposal for election as Visiting Members, providing the consent of the International Clubs of their own countries have been obtained. A Visiting Member shall be required to pay the Ordinary Membership subscription. Membership will cease at the time a Visiting Member gives up residence in the United Kingdom.
In the following Rules the word "Member", unless otherwise indicated, shall apply to Ordinary, Honorary, Young Associate, Honorary International and Visiting Members of either gender.
Election of Members
4. The Election of Members is vested in the Committee and shall be decided by a majority of the Committee present and voting, excluding abstentions, on a show of hands unless any Committee member present shall demand a ballot. If demanded, the Chairman shall be obliged to hold a ballot and if the ballot shows that 25% of those members of the Committee present and voting, excluding abstentions, voted against the candidate, the candidate's application shall fail. No candidate once rejected shall be eligible for election as a member for twelve months following his rejection.
Every candidate for Ordinary or Honorary membership shall require a proposer and seconder, both of whom must be members of the Club, who must write letters of support to the Honorary Secretary. No member may propose more than one person, nor second more than one person, for membership in any one year. The name of every candidate, together with the names of his or her proposer and seconder, shall be circulated to every member of the Committee prior to election. The candidate's name shall be read out at a meeting of the Committee and, subject to the preceding paragraph, he or she shall be eligible for election at that meeting.
New members
5. Each New Member shall receive from the Honorary Secretary notice in writing of his election, with a copy of the Rules; and shall be requested to pay the Subscription (if any) for the current year to the Honorary Treasurer, the payment of which shall be considered as implying acquiescence in, and submission to, the Rules of the Club.
Committee
6. The management of the Club shall be vested in a Committee consisting of eighteen Ordinary Members, together with the President, Deputy President, Vice Presidents, Captain and Vice Captain.
Election of Committee
7. Vacancies in the Committee shall be filled by vote (or, if required, by ballot) at the Annual General Meeting, five of the Committee, other than the ex officio Members, retiring annually by rotation, such retiring Members being, however, eligible for re-election.
Vacancies in Committee
8. In the event of any vacancies occurring in the Committee after the annual election, the Committee shall have power to fill such vacancies; but the Members so appointed shall retire at the Annual General Meeting next following after the election, being, however, eligible for re-election.
Notice of Members Proposed for Committee
9. Before January 1 notice shall be given in writing to the Honorary Secretary of the name of any Member proposed as a Member of the Committee by a Member of the Club. Without such notice, no name shall be proposed, and the election of the Members proposed by the Committee shall be deemed to be unopposed.
The notice calling an Annual General meeting under Rule 12 shall contain a list of the names of the Members of the Committee retiring by rotation, and the names of the Members proposed by the Committee for election or re-election shall be specified on that list.
Power of Committee
10. The Committee shall meet at such times and places as they may consider necessary and convenient for the transaction of business.
For ordinary business four shall form a quorum: for the election of Members (under Rule 4) the quorum shall be six, and for the expulsion of Members (under Rule 15) the quorum shall be nine. All matters (except election of Members) not unanimously agreed upon by the Committee shall be decided by the votes of the majority; and in case the votes shall be equally divided, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.
The Committee shall have power to co-opt persons at any time to assist the Committee for a specific purpose, but such persons shall not be entitled to vote.
11. The Committee shall be empowered to create bye-laws of the Club and alter and rescind the same for the purpose of interalia:
(i) creating a code of conduct for all Members of the Club playing in a Club match or participating in an International Club event or other activity approved by the Council of International Clubs;
(ii) applying and adhering to the rules of the Lawn Tennis Association and any applicable Disciplinary Code promulgated by the Lawn Tennis Association;
(iii) creating other such codes, rules and bye-laws that are not inconsistent with these Rules which the Committee believe to be in the interests of promoting the objects and activities of the Club.
Any Bye-Laws created under this Rule shall be notified to Members by posting the same on the Club's website and by circulation to the Members in hard copy within 12 months following the creation of the bye-laws or change thereof.
For the purpose of these Rules the expression Lawn Tennis Association shall include any successor body or entity that becomes the governing body of tennis in the United Kingdom and the expression Council of International Clubs shall include any successor body or entity which is responsible for the formation of International Clubs and the protection and fostering of the ideals of the International Clubs.
Executive Committee
12. The Committee shall appoint a Chairman, Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Secretary from their number, who will be confirmed annually by the Committee, following the AGM. The Committee will also appoint a Captain from the Ordinary or Honorary Members of the Club, and these four, with four other Members of the Committee, appointed by the Committee, shall form an Executive Committee of eight. The Executive Committee shall have power to deal with all urgent matters. Should an Assistant Honorary Secretary be appointed, he or she shall be one of the six Members of the Executive Committee. Vacancies in the Executive Committee, when they occur, shall be filled by the Committee. The quorum of the Executive Committee shall be three.
Annual General Meeting
13. An Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held at such place and hour, and on such day, in the month of February, March or April as the Committee may appoint. Particulars of resolutions to be brought forward at the Annual General Meeting shall be sent to the Honorary Secretary on or before January 1 in each year. Fourteen days' notice of the date, place and hour of the Annual General Meeting shall be posted to all Ordinary Members of the Club resident in Great Britain, together with a copy of any resolution to be moved, and also copies of the Honorary Secretary's and the Honorary Treasurer's Reports for the preceding year. For the purpose of preparing these Reports the year shall terminate on December 31. The quorum shall be ten.
Special General Meetings
14. A Special General Meeting may at any time be called by the Committee for the purpose of considering any question affecting the welfare and constitution of the Club; and a Special General Meeting shall be called on receipt of a requisition in writing, signed by fifteen Members of the Club, specifying the object of such meeting, at which the discussion shall be confined to that object. Fourteen days' notice shall be posted to all Ordinary Members giving the date, place and hour of such Special General Meeting. The quorum for such Special General Meeting shall be ten.
The Members eligible to attend and vote at general meetings of the Club shall be the Ordinary Members, the President, Deputy President and Vice Presidents.
Subscriptions
15. The Subscription for Ordinary Members, due and payable on election to the Honorary Treasurer, and thence forward on 1st January of each year, as from 1st January each year, shall be as determined from time to time by the Committee. Members in the following categories will have the option of paying 50% of the Annual Subscription:
a. Members under 25 who are not Young Associate Members.
b. Members (men) over 65 with a minimum of 25 years membership.
c. Members (ladies) over 65 with a minimum of 15 years membership.
d. Ordinary Members residing permanently outside Great Britain.
If the payment of the Subscription by New Members be not made within one calendar month after election the Member's name shall be erased from the list of Members, unless the Committee otherwise direct. Members elected after September 30, and having paid their Subscription for the current year, shall not be called upon to pay their Subscription for the following year. Any Member whose current year's Subscription shall be unpaid on January 1 shall receive notice from the Honorary Treasurer, and if his Subscription shall remain unpaid on April 1 he shall lose all privileges of membership from that date until he shall have paid his Subscription. If such Subscription be not paid on May 1 he shall cease from that time to be a Member of the Club, unless he can justify the delay to the satisfaction of the Committee. Any Member desiring to resign must signify his intention before January 1, otherwise he shall be liable for the current year's Subscription.
Expulsion
16. Should the conduct of any Member, either in the opinion of the Committee or of any twelve Members of the Club, who shall certify the same to the Committee, be regarded as injurious to the interests of the Club or incompatible with its objects, as defined in Rule 1, the Committee shall have power, after investigation, to recommend, in writing, such Member to resign. If the Member so recommended shall not comply within fourteen days, the Committee shall then call a Special General Meeting; and, if such Meeting agree by ballot by a two-thirds majority of such Members present and voting on the expulsion of such Member, the Member's name shall be erased from the list of Members and he shall forfeit all Subscriptions paid and the right to claim the privileges of membership.
Alterations to Rules
17. Alterations and additions to these Rules shall only be made by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting at a general meeting.
Affiliation
18. The Club shall be affiliated to the Lawn Tennis Association.
Dissolution
19. In the event of the dissolution of the Club H.M. Revenue and Customs shall be informed in writing at least one month prior to any distribution of the Club's assets.