1 General
1.1 University Sports Clubs affiliated with Aberystwyth Guild of Students shall be known as the Athletic Union (AU).
1.2 Affiliated sports shall fall under the remit of the full time sabbatical role of Student Activities Officer, or other similar role which may evolve.
1.3 The Student Activities Officer will be responsible for liaising with governing bodies with whom the Guild is affiliated as well as being the point of contact for the organisations such as UK University Sports (UKUS) and UWAU.
1.4 Copies of this Constitution will be held by:
a) Guild Reception
b) Student Activities Officer,
c) Guild President
d) Guild General Manager.
It will also be accessible on the Guild’s website.
1.5 The rules laid out in this Constitution shall be binding upon each and every club and person in membership of the Athletic Union.
1.6 All clubs must adhere to Guild cornerstone policies: Equal Opportunities, Bilingualism and Environmentalism. Failure to do so is may result in financial penalties being imposed or Guild privileges being removed.
1.7 This constitution will run alongside the Guild Constitution and is subject to its overriding authority.
1.8 All Clubs must complete a new committee form that must be filled in and returned to the student activities officer prior to the last day of term. Failure to do this may result in financial penalties or have guild privileges removed.

2 Bilingualism
2. 1 Bilingual shall be taken to mean Welsh and English
2.2 See Guild Constitution Guidance Note 2.2 for application, 2.4 for interpretation and enforcement and 2.6 for review and amendment.

3 Membership
3.1 AU - ORDINARY MEMBER
Shall be a Full Member of the Guild of Students, as defined by the Guild Constitution (Section 6), and shall have paid full current membership fees to an AU affiliated club(s). Ordinary Members must hold a valid Aberystwyth University ‘Club Sporty’ card.
3.2 AU - ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Associate membership is available to non-Aberystwyth University students, who are affiliated with an individual club, and thereby the AU, on the basis of them having:
(i) Expertise in a relevant area or discipline; or
(ii) Honorary membership; or
(iii) Some other ground which the Guild deems appropriate.
Associate Members are required to have paid full current membership fees to an AU affiliated club(s) and must hold a valid Aberystwyth University ‘Club Sporty’ card.
3.3 All members must register with the AU online membership account to activate their ‘member’ status.
3.4 Anybody who does not fulfil the above criteria of ‘member’ will be prohibited from participating in Guild activities and sporting events. Clubs who do not enforce this practice may be subjected to financial penalties or have Guild privileges removed.

4 Rights
4.1 Only Ordinary members are permitted to vote or hold office by running for a democratically elected position. Associate Members are not permitted to hold any Guild Executive, AU Executive or Club Committee positions.
4.2 All members Ordinary and Associate can attend meetings as observers. However only Ordinary members will be entitled to
(a) propose or second amendments to the AU Constitution
(b) to nominate or second a candidate for election
(c) to vote on any issue in meetings.

5 Structure
5.1 The AU Executive shall consist of :
(i) Student Activities Officer (full speaking and voting rights)
(ii) Sports Officer (full speaking and voting rights)
(iii) Sports Administrator (full speaking rights but no voting rights)


6 Elections
6.1 The Student Activities Officer shall be elected annually as per the Guild Constitution.
6.2 The Sports Officer will be elected on the final AGM of each academic year. Voters must hold a valid Club Sporty card to register a vote – no other card will be accepted.
6.3 Prior to the end to the current year clubs must elect a new committee for the following year. The assistance of the Student Activities Officer may be requested at any time.
6.4 The date, venue and time of club elections must be communicated to all members at least two weeks prior to the meeting.
6.5 Candidates for club elections must satisfy their Club Constitution and adhere to membership criteria stated in both the AU Constitution and the Guild Constitution.
6.6 The election for club committee may be held by a secret ballot or a show of hands.
6.7 A candidate for the club committee is elected if they have the majority of votes.
6.8 The Student Activities Officer will have the casting vote in the case of a draw.

7 Finance
7.1 Every club will be allocated a club account which will be monitored by the Student Activities Officer and the Guild Finance Manager. Only two members from each club will be on the account mandate and sufficient training will be provided by the Guild to highlight the importance of this role.
7.2 Each year the AU Executive will respond to grant application submitted by clubs, and will allocate Guild funds accordingly. This may vary depending on size, frequency of club interaction, fundraising, health and safety requirements, previous allocations, fines imposed etc. (This list is not exhaustive).
7.3 Should a club feel the award given is not reflective of needs, a meeting can be requested with the Student Activities Officer who can explain the decision. The Sports Administrator will be present as an observer and advisor (also note taker if required).
7.4 If this meeting does not resolve the situation satisfactorily an appeal against the grant amount should be made to the Guild’s General and Finance Committee through the Guild President. This is only expected in extreme cases.
7.5 Allocated grants must be spent on the expenditure stipulated in the grant application unless prior agreement is obtained from the Student Activities Officer.
7.6 Grant allocation will be kept separate from club accounts, and will be reviewed at the end of each term. If the expenditure has not been committed and appears not to be required the AU Executive will retain the right to withhold any grant and reallocate the funds.
7.7 Every club’s grant account will be returned back to £0 at the end of every academic year. All unused grant allocations will be returned to the general Guild accounts.
7.8 Any club or club member found to be tampering with club funds, whether by failing to deposit monies entrusted to them by club members, or by fraudulently authorising payments, will be dealt with accordingly and in line with the law.
7.9 If a club account becomes overdrawn, the responsibility for this and any further bills will rest jointly with mandated signatories as recorded on the relevant club Mandate Form held in the Guild’s Finance Office.
7.10 Clubs cannot spend any of their grant on social functions
7.11 Clubs cannot make donations from their grant to outside organisations
7.12 Clubs cannot have an external bank account other than that provided by the Guild.

8 Equipment
8.1 All equipment bought by and on behalf of the Guild is the property of the Guild. The individual club committees are responsible for equipment allocated to them.
8.2 No club or official of any club will be allowed to lend any equipment or club property to any person or club without first obtaining the express permission of the Sports Administrator.
8.2.1 Following the receipt of permission, the recipient will sign a declaration to the effect that should any equipment or property be damaged or lost whilst on loan the cost of repair or replacement will be met solely by them. If the equipment is to be replaced it must be at an equivalent standard (or better) than the item(s) being replaced.
8.4 Equipment lists will be submitted at the start of every academic session and assessed by the club committee together with the Student Activities Officer and Sports Administrator in the final term of each academic year.

9 Safety
9.1 The Guild and its members must adhere strictly to Health and Safety legislation. It is the responsibility of the club committee to ensure that all members adhere to the requirements of Guild’s Health and Safety policy for clubs.
9.2 Safety checks must be carried out before any activity commences.
9.3 Each club must submit a risk assessment on their planned activities for the year at the start of each academic year. Additional risk assessments can be requested by the AU Executive at any time.

10 Miscellaneous
10.1 If a team or a club, through negligence or wilful action, damages club property the responsibility for making good such damage shall lie with the officials of the team or club involved.
10.2 In case of damage caused by a team to property not belonging to the club the officials of the team or club concerned shall be held responsible for that damage and for the cost of making such damage good. They shall also be responsible to any person or body that has reasonable authority to make enquires into the cause of such damage.
10.3 Should a member of the AU be selected to represent Aberystwyth University in any external competition, it will be down to the discretion of the AU Executive, following the receipt of financial advice, to allocate funding.

Appendix 1 - Award of Colours
1) Colours should be awarded annually
2) Nomination will be open for University colours with a maximum of 25 being awarded per session.
3) In awarding University colours the following criteria shall hold:
(a) Long service and loyalty to a club and/or University sport in general;
(b) Outstanding performance.
4) Where possible full and half colours will be awarded as to standards obtained. In team sport the following criteria will hold:
a) Full colours awarded to a player for
(i) two years in a first team and two thirds of matches played
(ii) special circumstances such as long service.

Appendix 2 – Affiliation to AU
1) To become affiliated, a club shall
(a) have a minimum of 20 members signed on
(b) submit its constitution to the AU Executive
(c) submit all other necessary materials as detailed by the AU Executive
(d) meet all the legal requirements stipulated for insurance purposes and identified by the AU Executive.
2) After one session of membership a club shall be eligible for consideration for a full grant, provided they have been seen to function as laid down in their constitution.
3) Every affiliated club must submit a full list of its paid members within 21 days of the beginning term.
4) Any affiliated club which can be proved to be working unconstitutionally shall, at the discretion of the AU Executive, lose its grant and/or have other penalties imposed. Such penalties can only be imposed within the academic year of the wrongdoing.
5) Every club must review its club constitution at least every two years.
6) Committees of the affiliated clubs shall be deemed to be responsible for their club’s constitutional matters.

Appendix 3 – Sabbatical function
1) The Student Activities Officer will sit on the Guild Executive and will carry out duties such as:
a) Chairing AU Executive meetings
b) The overall organisation of student sport, both representative and recreational, within the student body of Aberystwyth Guild of Students.
c) Representing the Guild at UKUS & UWAU conferences and other sporting conferences as deemed necessary
d) The organisation, booking and maintenance of Guild transport in co-operation with the Sports Administrator
e) The administration of fixtures in co-operation with team secretaries.
f) The overall control and distribution of AU funds and all financial aspects of the AU
g) The organisation of Sports Week before the start of the University academic year
h) The overall responsibility for advertising of all sporting activities within the University and the maintenance of relevant university sports notice boards.
j) The overall responsibility for publicity of all University sporting activities in national, local and inter-college publications
k) The overall control of the purchasing of all club equipment in consultation with club officials
l) Control of insurance issues in cooperation with the Sports Administrator
m) Running and organising of events such as Superteams, Inter-varsity, AU Awards Evening and the Welsh Cup
This list is not exhaustive.