Constitution

Last changed 23rd of April 2024

A. Purpose

OUT MTB’s aim is to build a national community of LGBTQ+ and allied adventure cyclists through organizing community-led mountain bike and gravel rides across the UK.

B. Principles of Inclusivity

  1. To achieve our aim we should be inclusive of:
    • The LGBTQ+ spectrum, gender diversity, and our allies.
    • Age: We must work hard to appeal to all ages from 18 to 70+.
    • Geography: We are for everyone in the UK. We believe LGBTQ+ mountain biking and gravel riding should be for all.
    • Fitness: We will run rides for members at intermediate and more advanced levels of fitness. However, we will work with local clubs and organizations to support and facilitate some beginner rides.
    • Ride style: We will support mountain biking, gravel riding, and bike packing.
    • The wider community: We believe in full collaboration with other communities where they intersect with ours, especially other LGBTQ+ cycling clubs, but also LGBTQ+ fitness and outdoors groups, ordinary local cycling clubs, LGBTQ+ support groups, and adventure and gravel riding groups. Members should reach out to other groups and invite them to collaborate with us.
    • Our members’ creativity: We should celebrate the experience and local knowledge of our Ride Captains and their event running skills. We will work to grow our network of Ride Captains.
  2. Membership is open to individuals that recognize mountain biking and gravel riding are inherently dangerous activities that can result in personal injury and even death. Members shall be aware and accept these risks and agree to be responsible for their own actions and involvements.

C. Governance

OUT MTB’s governance structure is as follows:

Steering Committee (Club Manager, Secretary, Finance lead, Social media lead, Risk & insurance lead, Inclusivity lead & others)

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Ride Captains (get signed off by Club Officers)

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Ordinary Members (vote for Club Officers)

FIG. 1: GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

Our Principles of Governance are:

  • To be governed by our Ride Captains and our most active members.
  • To be lightweight, agile, flexible, and low cost.
  • To remain informal, and as much as possible, remain a group of friends.

Members should adhere to our Code of Conduct as published on our website and updated from time to time.

A remote Gathering will be held to govern the Club at least annually.

A non-executive Steering Committee, akin to a non-executive board, will report to the Membership on the progress of the club over the past year.

  • Steering Committee members’ names will be listed on the Club’s website and updated after each Gathering.
  • Former Steering Committee members will be automatically removed at the remote Gathering, if they do not attend the Gathering or request to remain.
  • Any Steering Committee member can invite Ordinary Members to join the Steering Committee, subject to a simple majority vote any Steering Committee members that are present at the next meeting of the Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee roles will be set by the Steering Committee from time to time, but should constitute at a minimum:

  • Club Manager, responsible for all day to day running of the Club (delegating sub roles to other Steering Committee members where they deem appropriate).
  • Treasurer, responsible for seconding any purchases by the Club Manager (or vice versa), and reviewing and reporting on the club’s income and expenditure, via as brief a statement as possible.
  • Welfare and Inclusion Officer, with primary responsibility for impartially handling complaints, including with respect to the Club Manager and Treasurer.

All members are eligible to become a Ride Captain once they have undergone the sign-off process which is available from the website.

Votes at the annual Gathering should be instigated by the Club Manager (or the Welfare and Inclusion Officer, when votes are in respect of the Club Manager).

Valid votes are a simple majority of the attending members. The Club Manager holds the casting vote in the event of a tie.

This Constitution may be amended only by a 2/3 majority vote (of attending members) at the annual Gathering.

Dismissal and removal of all types of members can be considered when they are in breach of our Code of Conduct:

  • Steering Committee members can be dismissed via a simple majority vote of the Steering Committee.
  • Ordinary members can be removed from the Club by simple majority vote of the Steering Committee. Appeals can be made to the Steering Committee via the Welfare and Inclusion Officer. The Steering Committee will vote whether to reinstate the member or not.

D. Finance

  1. Club expenditure must be kept to a minimum. The club should aim to keep primary expenses to:
    • Club Insurance from either British Cycling or Cycling UK
    • Web hosting and domain
    • Outdoor first aid training for Ride Captains on Level 2 and 3
  2. Donations to the Club should first be used for the Club’s basic running expenses as detailed above. The Steering Committee should propose uses for any surplus, which should be put to a vote of the Steering Committee.
  3. The Treasurer shall keep proper books of account, and at the end of each year shall prepare an annual income and expenditure account and a year-end balance sheet.
  4. The balance sheet and income and expenditure account shall be audited and reported to the membership at the annual Gathering for approval.
  5. Free to use digital systems should be used in an agile and intelligent way to deliver the Club’s events.
  6. The Club should charge the smallest possible membership fee and try to cover its costs through seeking sponsorships or voluntary donations.
  7. All Club expenditure should be jointly authorized by both the Club Manager and Treasurer.
  8. All Club roles are unpaid and voluntary, and expenses will not be available for any undertakings.
  9. No one involved in the Club should personally profit from the activities they run for the Club. This is as stated in the Code of Conduct. Members seeking to profit may be subject to removal from the Club in accordance with our policy on dismissal and removal.

With thanks to Out Velo for their help in setting up OUT MTB.