Governance: Bye Laws

Passed: 7th June, 2005

International Affiliation

The Association shall be affiliated to the International Table Tennis Federation and The European Table Tennis Union.

Definitions

Association: The Table Tennis Association of Wales Limited
Board: The Board of Directors of the Association
Affiliate: A player or official born within Wales but now residing outside Wales, paying due regard to the I.T.T.F./E.T.T.U. regulation currently in operation whose affiliation fee has been received for the current season; Any player playing or residing in Wales whose affiliation fee has been received for the current season; A non playing qualified coach or a non playing qualified umpire working under the direction of the Association whose affiliation fee has been received for the current season
Cadet: A person under 15 years of age at 1st January of the current season
Junior: A person under 18 years of age at 1st January of the current season
Veteran: A person achieving the age of 40 years at 1st January of the current season
County Association: An association set up under the provisions of these byelaws and having jurisdiction over a County as defined by these byelaws
Good Standing: Official recognition by the Association
Local League: Any organisation or association which runs a competition between teams from clubs in a particular locality with a minimum of 15 affiliated players
Season: The period commencing the day after completion of an Association Annual General Meeting and ending on the day when the next Annual General Meeting is completed
Community Club: A properly constituted club (not being a schools club) with a proven membership of in excess of 15 full members where all members are affiliated to the Association based in an adequate venue, with a regular booking using at least 4 tables. The club must have a junior coaching programme operated by qualified Association coaches
Affiliated Body: Any Local League, County Association or Community Club or any other body accepted by the Board as affiliated to the Association
Member: Those persons accepted by the Board and duly registered as voting members of the Association
Secretary: Means the Company Secretary of the Association
Officer: Means any Board member or any official appointed by the Board

Affiliation

Eligibility: The normal route of affiliation shall be via the Local League or Club but an individual may also be accepted into affiliation as a direct affiliate
The method of affiliation and eligibility shall be that decided by the Board, forms and fees to be submitted to the Secretary, no later than 31st October, after which a levy may be imposed by the Board
Every Affiliate or Affiliated Body shall be deemed to remain affiliated until affiliation fees due to the Association are unpaid on the 31st October in any season or until renewal of affiliation is refused by the Board

Affiliation Fees

The affiliation fee(s) shall be decided at General Meetings
There shall be a block affiliation fee fee as determined in a general meeting for clubs which shall cover all members junior or senior who play only for recreation and do not play in TTAW recognised leagues or competitions. To play in such competitions they must pay the full affiliation fee

Licence

A player wishing to participate in any Association organised or approved event shall take out a competitive player's Licence before the commencement of his/her first approved event
The period of the Licence shall be decided by the Board
The cost of the Licence shall be decided by the Board
A player wishing to take out a Licence after 1st January but before the AGM will pay 50% of the fee for the current year
Juniors may purchase single Tournament Licence at a level set by the Board
Unless otherwise directed Tournament Organisers seeking the Association's approval for their events will only permit Licence holders to play
The responsibility for purchasing a Licence shall rest with the individual player
The player shall purchase the Licence from the Secretary
The Association will issue each Licenced player with a licence number

Membership

The following shall be eligible for legal membership of the Association:

One person nominated by each recognised Local League
One person nominated by each recognised County Association
One person nominated by each recognised Community Club
Should a Local League or Community Club have more than 75 affiliates then such Local League or Community Club shall be entitled to nominate two members
All Members must also be Affiliates. Should any member be overdue for his or her affiliation fee or should the body which nominated him or her be so overdue for its affiliation fees then their right to vote shall be suspended until such fees are paid
Should such fees be outstanding for more than 12 months the Board shall have the right to exclude such Member from membership

Appointed Officials

The Board shall have the power to appoint and dismiss at its discretion the following who shall in turn have the power to appoint and dismiss such assistants as they require subject to ongoing ratification by the Board: Tournament Officer who shall have full responsibility for the organisation and running of such tournaments as the Board shall direct shall take place within any guidelines set down by the Board
Team Championship of Wales Officerr who shall have full responsibility for the organisation and running of the Team Championship within any guidelines set down by the Board
Coach Education Officer who shall have full responsibility for the organisation, development and education of coaches within any guidelines set down by the Board
Umpires Officer who shall have full responsibility for the organisation, development and education of umpires within any guidelines set down by the Board
Any other officials from time to time required by the Board

Selection Committee

Selection of National Teams and Squads shall be the responsibility of the National Selection Committee comprising the Chairman of the Board, The National Coach and the Chairmanâ€™s three nominees
Members of the Selection Committee cannot be chosen to play in any International representative events
Members of the Selection committee cannot be involved in the selection of members of their immediate family

Local Leagues and Community Clubs

Each Local League will submit a list of its Officers, its balance sheet for the previous season, its fixture list for the current season, a list of registered players or other affiliates and their paid affiliation fees to the Secretary by 31 October each season
Each Club and County Association will submit a list of its Officers, its balance sheet for the previous season, a list of its members (in the case of a Community Club its reduced fee members) and their affiliation fees to the Secretary by 31st October each season
Every County Association, Local League or club shall on demand supply to the Secretary or other Officer of the Association the last known address of any of its members

Regulations

The Board shall have the power to make regulations to cover Team Championship of Wales (and levy fines), international contacts, regulation dress and badges and such other matters not specifically dealt with in these byelaws as the Board shall think fit
A regulation shall come into force with effect from such day as the body making it shall specify nut not earlier than the day following the meeting at which it was first made or approved
The maximum fines which the Board may levy for breaches of regulations relating to the Team Championship of Wales shall be set and be subject to review at a General Meeting

Paid Appointments

No person holding a paid appointment shall be an honorary officer of the Association nor a Member
Paid employees of the Association may attend Board and other meetings at the request or discretion of the Chairman of the Board

County Administration

County Boundaries

For the purposes of this Rule the word 'County' shall indicate that Wales shall be divided into areas
The alteration, creation or abolition of a County administrative area may only be effected by a resolution of the Board
There shall be Counties of Clwyd, Conwy, Dyfed, Glamorgan, Gwent and Powys

Formation of County Association

Where two or more Local Leagues in any County agree a County Association shall be set up for that County

Local League/Community Club Affiliation

Every Local League may affiliate to a County Association if a County Association exists
A Local League shall affiliate to one County Association only, and shall not transfer or be required to transfer its affiliation to another at any time
Every Community Club may affiliate to a County Association if a County Association exists
A Community Club shall affiliate to one County Association only and shall not transfer or be required to transfer its affiliation from one County Association to another at any time

Health and Safety

The Health and Safety Policy for The Association is as set out in Appendix E.

General and Disciplinary

An Affiliate may not play Table Tennis, whether in competition or exhibition, with or against any player or body not affiliated to the Association or other National Association affiliated to the International Table Tennis Federation nor under any auspices not in Good Standing with the Association without the permission of the Secretary
No Affiliate or affiliated organisation shall play Table Tennis with or against or take part in any Table Tennis function in conjunction with any suspended organisation or Affiliate
No Affiliated Body shall play Table Tennis in any competition or function outside Wales in preference to any competition or function being organised by the T.T.A.W. without the permission of the Secretary
No affiliated player may permit a cinematographic record of himself or herself to be taken in connection with Table Tennis for public exhibition unless permission has first been obtained from the Secretary
No affiliated player, affiliated body or official may take part in a televised event in connection with Table Tennis unless permission has first been obtained from the Secretary or the event is one authorised by the Association
At any meeting of the Association the Board or any committee, any person present having a financial interest in a subject under discussion shall forthwith declare his interest and withdraw from the meeting. He shall not return during that discussion unless unanimously invited by the remaining members present nor shall he vote
The Association is firmly against drug misuse and supports drug free sport. It is the policy of the Association to inform and educate its members in support of this policy. The association has the authority to control the misuse of drugs in the sport and is totally committed to managing any drugs misuse issues through fair and independent decision making processes and wishes to involve its members in the quest to achieve the highest quality performances drug free. All Affiliates agree to be subjected to drug testing if required and accept the procedures set down herein and in any Appendix A
Doping offences are governed by the rules and regulations set out in Appendix A to these Rules and in case of any conflict then Appendix A shall govern same
The Secretary shall be the designated Anti Doping Officer referred to in the aforementioned Appendix
Betting in any shape or form on players or matches is strictly prohibited
A player entering any Tournament shall give an undertaking to observe the regulations of the tournament, to abide by the decisions of the Referee and to fulfil the schedule of play arranged for him unless prevented by circumstances beyond his control and accepted as such by the Referee and shall comply with that undertaking
Only a brand and grade of ball licensed by the Board may be used in play within, between or organised by any organisations which are affiliated or in Good Standing. For the purposes of the above a ball in respect of which a licence is in force on June 1st shall be deemed to remain licensed until May 31st following
Any player having accepted selection by the Association to attend any international match or other event shall, unless he has good and sufficient cause not to, attend the same and comply with the arrangements of the Board
An Affiliate who accepts an invitation made on behalf of the Association to be a member of a team or squad or to participate in organised training, coaching or trials shall be deemed to have accepted the duty of obedience to such officials as the Association may appoint
An Affiliate shall not do nor cause to be done anything deliberately harmful to the Association nor likely to bring the Association or the game of Table Tennis into disrepute
An Affiliate shall not without good and sufficient cause absent himself from the hearing of any allegation or appeal after having been requested with reasonable notice to attend; or in connection with such an allegation or appeal refuse to answer any question if directed to answer by the chairman of the adjudicating body
If an Affiliate who has given an undertaking breaks such undertaking within a period of two years after giving it, such breach shall be deemed a breach of byelaw and upon such breach the offender shall additionally be liable to an alternative penalty in respect of the original breach
All affiliated clubs, leagues and other bodies, and all registered coaches, shall be subject to the Associations "Guidelines for Misconduct with Children and Young People" Appendix B
All affiliated clubs, leagues and other bodies shall accept and enforce whatever sanctions are imposed on those guilty of misconduct
All Affiliates who are not coaches shall also be subject to the same Guidelines, all references in the guidelines shall be read as including all other members

Further Disciplinary Matters (Other than doping offences)

All Affilates shall comply with and accept the provisions of Appendix C-2 in regard to disciplinary matters (other than doping offences which shall be dealt with in accordance with Appendix A)
The procedures in this section shall not apply to paid employees in relation to matters involving their employment but shall be dealt with as set out in Appendix C-1. Grievance procedures for employees are set out in Appendix D

Legal Proceedings

The rules of the Association being sufficient to enable the Association as the governing body of the game of Table Tennis in Wales, to deal with all cases of dispute, legal proceedings shall be taken only as a last resort, after the full procedure laid down by these rules and any regulations made thereunder shall have been followed through.

Publication of Reports of Proceedings etc.

The Association shall be entitled to publish in the public press, or in any other manner
it shall think fit, reports of its proceedings, acts and resolutions, whether the same
shall or shall not reflect upon the character of any league, club or affiliate, and every
such league, club or affiliate shall be deemed to have assented to such publication.

Age Limits

In all competitions run by or approved by any affiliated body the terms 'Cadet', 'Junior'
and 'Veteran' shall have the meanings assigned to them by these byelaws.

Tournaments

The Board shall have power to make regulations defining categories of tournaments, whether ranking points may be awarded and governing the conduct and organisation of such tournaments as may be specified. Such regulations shall be issued from time to time at the discretion of of the Board
No Open or Invitation Tournament shall be held without the authorisation of the Board
A list of entrants and proposed seedings for any Ranking Tournament must be submitted to the Director of Tournaments for seeding approval, at least 7 days prior to the draw taking place
To qualify as a ranking tournament the organiser must agree to the system of play and advertising of same required by the Director of Tournaments

Welsh Championships

Each of the following may be held once every season:-
- Welsh Open Championships
- Welsh Closed Championships
Championships shall be conducted in accordance with regulations made from time to time by the Board

Approved Laws of Table Tennis

Except as provided otherwise under this rule, all competitive play under the jurisdiction of the Association shall be under the Laws of Table Tennis as approved by the Association (hereinafter referred to as ":the approved Laws").
Except as provided otherwise under this rule, the approved Laws shall be those determined by the International Table Tennis Federation (hereinafter referred to as "the I.T.T.F. Laws")
All those entitled to receive notice of Association General Meetings shall be given notice of: any I.T.T.F. decision to change I.T.T.F. Laws; any consequent change in the approved Laws and the date of its coming into effect, which shall in no case be earlier than 60 days after the giving of notice any decision of a General Meeting that the approved Laws shall diverge from the I.T.T.F. Laws
A change in I.T.T.F. Laws shall be incorporated in the approved Laws from the date on which it comes into operation for international competition, or from such later date as may be necessary to satisfy the minimum notice requirement under these byelaws unless a General Meeting shall have resolved otherwise
Any Affiliate may propose to a General Meeting that the approved Laws shall diverge from the I.T.T.F. Laws in a way specified, or that the application of an I.T.T.F. Law change be deferred for a period specified. Proposals for consideration by an Annual General Meeting must be received by the Secretary not later than the last day of April.

Matters Not Covered By Bye Laws

In the event of any question or matter arising which is not provided for in these byelaws, or relating to interpretation or any conflict or error herein such question or matter shall be dealt with by the Board whose decision shall be final
In the event of any inconsistency between these byelaws and the Memorandum & Articles of association of the Association then the Memorandum & Articles shall apply

Equal Opportunities

The TTAW is an equal opportunity organisation and in all its affairs and appointments
shall not discriminate as to race, colour, creed, sex, religion or handicap or otherwise

Register of Pecuniary Interests

For the record and for openness and scrutiny a Register of Pecuniary Interest shall be maintained and in which shall be recorded the pecuniary interests of those persons whose interests shall be declared in writing to the Association auditor
Written disclosures shall be entered in the Register which shall be maintained by the Secretary or other Officer designated by the Board and shall be available and open to inspection by any member or authorised public official or Association auditor
All register entries shall be checked annually by letter to those concerned who shall report any necessary deletions and/or additions
Any person required by these rules to declare orally or in writing any relevant pecuniary interest and fails to do so shall be subject to sanctions as follows:-
- All Affiliates or Officers or Members shall be charged with bringing the sport into disrepute via the prescribed disciplinary processes.
- Employees shall be charged with misconduct via the disciplinary processes laid down in the contracts of employment
"Pecuniary Interest" for this purpose is not restricted to financial benefit and includes any financial loss or increased personal charge, expenses or disadvantages but excludes members' expenses, subscriptions and/or competition fees
The following Pecuniary Interests in particular shall be declared as follows although not an exhaustive list
1. any employment or income received from work undertaken within the sport
2. Any income received from the sport as a partner, director, or employee within a firm
3. Any sponsorship which you may personally receive
4. Any sponsorship which you may give to any aspect of the sport
5. Any contracts which you may have with the sport for the provision of services or goods for profit
6. Any interest in any corporate bodies you may have for your own benefit and which do business with the Association
7. Any interest which any close members of your family may have in these matters shall also be declared when matters are discussed which could affect their financial position

Acquiescence in Rules

All Members and Affiliates agree to be bound by and acquiesce in these byelaws including all Appendices and to all other byelaws or regulations issued from time to time.

International Eligibility

The following shall be eligible to be considered for selection for Welsh representative event or teams (subject to any regulations governing particular events issued by International Table Tennis Federation, European Table Tennis Union or Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation or Commonwealth Games Federation) and be eligible for entry to the Welsh Closed Championships:-

All players born in Wales
All players with a UK passport who have permanently resided in Wales for a
consecutive period of 3 years in such manner so as to demonstrate an intention or permanent attachment to Wales

For the avoidance of doubt, residence in Wales purely as a student or similar temporary residence shall not qualify hereunder.

Criminal Records Bureau

The Association policy for handling and use of disclosure information is set out in Appendix F

Anti Corruption Policy

The Association subscribes to an Anti Corruption policy as set out in Appendix G

Whistle Blowing Policy

Introduction
TTAW encourages you to bring to its attention alleged wrongdoing and ethical or legal concerns which may impact on the work that we do and anyone involved.
You have a duty to be vigilant and to keep the TTAW informed of any such matters. This policy is to provide you with a formal channel through which employees and workers of the TTAW can raise matters of a serious nature relating to the TTAW. Such matters cannot be raised informally.
We encourage you to disclosure information which tends to show one or more of the following where such disclosure relates in some way to TTAW:-
- that a criminal offence has been committed, is being committed or is likely to be committed.
- that a person has failed, is failing or is likely to fail to comply with any legal obligation to which he or she is subject.
- that a miscarriage of justice has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur.
- that the health and safety of any individual has been, is being or is likely to be endangered.
- that the environment has been, is being or is likely to be damaged.
- that information tending to show any of the above has been, is being or is likely to be deliberately concealed.
- Such disclosures are referred to in this policy as “Disclosures”.
When considering whether a matter falls into any of the above categories, you should bear in mind the rules and regulations to which the TTAW and its staff are subject. If you make a Disclosure, you must have a reasonable belief that the information you are disclosing is true and you must make the Disclosure in good faith.
Matters not covered by this Policy
TTAW already has an employee Grievance Policy and a Harassment Policy in place. This policy is not intended to replace the Grievance or Harassment Policies. Accordingly, if you have any grievances in relation to your own employment, you should raise these in the normal way through the Grievance Policy.
You are also referred to the TTAW’s Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy.
If you are unsure whether your concern is covered by this Policy, you should seek advice from the Appointed Person, whose contact details are set out below. He/she will be able to advise you accordingly.
Method of Disclosure
Disclosures cannot be made informally or anonymously and you should not discuss or raise such matters with your colleagues or your Manager. If you wish to make a Disclosure you must make it through the formal channel set out in this policy.
TTAW has a specified individual to whom Disclosures should be made (the “Appointed Person”). The current Appointed Person is Steve Eades (eadessteve@hotmail.com). The Appointed Person will act as a co-ordinator to ensure that any Disclosure is referred to an appropriate party for investigation.
As stated above, if you wish to make a Disclosure, you must make it in writing to the Appointed Person unless:-
- the Appointed Person is absent and you reasonably consider that the Disclosure cannot wait until his/her return. In this instance you should make the Disclosure in writing to Chairman instead;
- the Disclosure relates to or involves the Appointed Person in any way, in which case you should make the Disclosure in writing to Chairman instead.
Procedure following Disclosure
After you have made a written Disclosure, the Appointed Person will write to you acknowledging receipt of the Disclosure and to arrange a meeting with you. The written acknowledgement will normally be sent to you within 2 working days of the Disclosure and the meeting will usually take place within 5 working days of the Disclosure.
The purpose of the meeting will be to enable the Appointed Person to obtain full details of the matter to enable him/her to conduct a preliminary investigation to establish whether the Disclosure is well founded and, if so, to whom the Disclosure should be referred for investigation. At this meeting you will be asked to identify any other individuals with knowledge of the matter, who may also need to be interviewed.
Your role is to raise a matter which may be of concern to the TTAW. The scope of the preliminary investigation carried out by the Appointed Person is to be determined by the Appointed Person him/herself.
At the end of the preliminary investigation, the Appointed Person will have a further meeting with you to inform you of the outcome and whether any further investigations are to be undertaken and by whom.
If the Appointed Person concludes that your Disclosure is not well founded, no further investigation will be carried out under this procedure. This decision will be final and will not be reviewed unless further evidence is produced in relation to the Disclosure.
If the Appointed Person considers that your Disclosure is well founded, he/she will assess who is best placed to carry out further investigations and will refer the matter accordingly.
Further Investigations
If the Appointed Person considers that further investigations are required, the matter will be referred to the most appropriate and relevant person to conduct the investigations (the “Investigator”). Once again, the Investigator will not be investigating the Disclosure on your behalf, but on behalf of the TTAW. The Investigator will determine the method and scope of the investigations. The Investigator may need to meet with you in order to obtain further information.
The Investigator will prepare a written report outlining the extent of the investigations and setting out his/her conclusions and/or any recommendations. A copy of this report will be provided to the Appointed Person.
The Appointed Person and the Investigator will have a meeting with you, after the report has been finalised, to inform you of the outcome of the further investigations. You will not be entitled to keep a copy of the report.
The conclusion of the Investigator is final. You have no right of appeal. The Investigator, with assistance from the Appointed Person, will be responsible for ensuring that any recommendations in the report are referred to the correct channels for implementation.
Time Periods
All or any of the time periods set out in this policy may need to be varied in certain circumstances. If this is the case, the Appointed Person will inform you of this during the course of the procedure and advise you of the revised timescale.
Confidentiality
The Appointed Person and the Investigator will keep your “Disclosure” and the fact that you are the source of the Disclosure, as confidential as possible and will only inform individuals that need to know. These individuals may include, but will not necessarily be limited to, the alleged wrongdoer(s), others named by you when making the Disclosure and any witnesses or other individuals who can provide further information in relation to the Disclosure.

You must treat the Disclosure with the utmost confidence. You must not discuss the Disclosure with any third party other than the Appointed Person, the Investigator and, if you have one and consider it appropriate to consult him or her, your legal advisor. You must not attempt to carry out your own investigation.
Victimisation and/or Malicious Disclosures
The TTAW will make every effort to ensure that you suffer no adverse repercussions as a result of making a Disclosure. Any allegation of victimisation of an individual who has made a Disclosure will be taken very seriously and anyone found to be victimising such a person will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
Any individual who is found to be making a Disclosure in bad faith or maliciously however will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
Records
The Appointed Person will maintain notes of meetings, reports, recommendations and all other documents relating to Disclosures made under this policy. Such documents will be kept confidentially.
Revision of Policy
This policy is not intended to be contractually binding. The TTAW reserves the right to amend and/or withdraw this policy from time to time for any reason, including without limitation, to take account of changes in the law, best practice and/or operational requirements.

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