NAME & LOCATION

Article 1. Name & Location

1.1. The association is called the European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF).

1.2. The headquarters is in The Hague (The Netherlands).

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Language

Article 2. Language

2.1. The official language of the association in correspondence, General Assemblies and meetings is, in principle, English.

2.2. The official statutes and bylaws of the EGLSF as an incorporated body in The Netherlands shall be a notarised copy of a certified translation of their English equivalents as adopted at the previous Genera Assembly or Extraordinary General Assembly.

2.3. The English translation of the statutes is the decisive version of the statutes for internal affairs of the EGLSF.

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DURATION

Article 3. Duration

3.1. The association was founded in The Hague on 9 September 1989 and established for an indefinite period.

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Business Year

Article 4. Association Year

4.1. The association year starts on January 1st and ends on December 31st.

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DEFINITIONS

Article 5. Used Words

5.1. Association: European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF)

5.2. Board: The board of the association.

5.3. Delegate: A representative of a member of the association, who looks after the rights of the member and cast its votes.

5.4. General Assembly: The sum of all members’ delegates and individual members. It is the highest decision making body of the association.

5.5. Meeting: The meeting of the General Assembly; this may be an Annual General Assembly (AGA) or an Extraordinary General Assembly (EGA).

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OBJECTIVEs

Article 6. Objectives

6.1. The objectives of the association are:
6.1.1. To fight for a respectable place for gays & lesbians in the regular sport, as a human right;
6.1.2. To oppose discrimination in sports;
6.1.3. To promote integration and mutual understanding in sports among regular and gay & lesbian sport organisations in Europe.

MEANS

6.2. The association tries to reach this objective by the following means:
6.2.1. Looking after the interests of its members;
6.2.2. Exchanging information between its members;
6.2.3. Encouraging the creation of new sports groups on a non-discriminatory basis;
6.2.4. Promoting its objectives by means of publicity, consultancy and research;
6.2.5. Monitoring the violation of human rights;
6.2.6. Supporting the visibility of gays and lesbians in sport;
6.2.7. Supporting sports tournaments organised by its members;
6.2.8. Supporting the realisation of a European multisport event, which shall be organised yearly except in the Gay Games years and shall be conducted on a non-discriminatory basis;
6.2.9. All other legal means that benefit its objective.

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Members Article

Article 7. Constituency

7.1. The association consists of

1. Ordinary members,

2. Extraordinary members,

3. Associate members,

4. Honorary members.

7.1.1. Ordinary membership is open to: registered and non-registered clubs and groups with natural persons as affiliated members, which at least also offer sport activities to their members and which accept, abide by and comply with the mission statement of the association.

7.1.2. Extraordinary membership is open to: all legal entities related to the field of sports, such as sport federations and umbrella organisations which consist primarily of sport clubs and which accept, abide by and comply with the mission statement of the association.

7.1.3. Associate members are

natural persons of at least 16 years of age

other legal entities

who accept, abide by and comply with the mission statement of the association.

7.1.4. Honorary members are natural persons who have rendered outstanding services to the Association because of their extraordinary contribution to lesbian women and homosexual men in the sports community at large

Article 8. Membership

8.1. One can become:
8.1.1. An ordinary member by submission of a written application to the board which has to be
accepted by the board.
8.1.2. An extraordinary member by submission of a written application to the board which has to be accepted by the board.
8.1.3. An associate member by submission of a written application to the board which has to be accepted by the board.
8.1.4. An honorary member upon nomination by a delegate or by the board by appointment of the General Assembly with a majority of two third of the cast votes.

8.2. Rejection of a written application by the board.
8.2.1. In case of refusal of membership, the board report to the General Assembly, giving the reasons for denial of the applicant.
8.2.2. The General Assembly may still grant membership to the applicant.

Article 9. Ending of Membership

9.1. Membership of the association ends by:
9.1.1. Death, if the member is a natural person.
9.1.2. Bankruptcy or dissolution of the legal body of the member.
9.1.3. Written withdrawal of membership by a member to the board.
9.1.4. Exclusion from membership by a written notice of the board.

9.2. Withdrawal by a member
9.2.1. A member can withdraw one month prior to the start of the association year.

9.3. Exclusion by the Association

Exclusion from membership by the board occurs when the member acts contrary to
Association’s rules or decisions, or contrary to the statutes, or when the member harms the Association in an unreasonable way.
9.3.1. The board shall inform the member in due course of this decision in writing.
9.3.2. The excluded member shall have the right to appeal this decision and address the council of appeal or the General Assembly at its following meeting (when there is no council of appeal).
9.3.3. The council of Appeal or the General Assembly shall decide upon the proposal of exclusion by majority of cast votes.

Article 10. Obligations of Members

10.1. There is an obligation to pay an annual membership fee for:
10.1.1. Ordinary members
10.1.2. Extraordinary members.
10.1.3. Associated members.

10.2. There is no obligation to pay an annual membership fee for honorary members.

10.3. Associate members pay a minimum membership fee covering the costs incurred on their behalf.

10.4. There is no principle right to recover the membership fee when the membership has ended.

10.5. The amount of the membership fee for all members is set in the bylaws.

Article 11. Rights of Members

11.1. All members are entitled to attend the General Assembly.
11.1.1. All members are entitled to express their opinions at the General Assembly and other meetings.

11.2. Appointment of delegates
11.2.1. Each member who is not a natural person has the right to appoint a delegate.
11.2.2. The number of delegates that each ordinary member can appoint is at least one or otherwise the number specified in the bylaws of the association. The bylaws must contain an objective criterion for the number of delegates each ordinary member can appoint.
11.2.3. The number of delegates an extraordinary member can appoint is one.
11.2.4. The number of delegates an associate member can appoint is one if the associate member is a legal entity.
11.2.5. Associate members who are natural persons and honorary members can not appoint a delegate to appear at the General Assembly on their behalf.

11.3. Voting rights
11.3.1. An ordinary member has at least one vote or the number of votes specified in the bylaws. The bylaws must contain an objective criterion for the number of votes each ordinary member has.
11.3.2. An extraordinary member has one vote.
11.3.3. An associate member has no vote.
11.3.4. An honorary member has no vote.
11.3.5. Representation of members and casting of votes is possible as specified in the bylaws. The bylaws must contain objective criteria for representation of members and casting of voting rights.

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GENERAL MEETING

Article 12. General Meeting

12.1. The Annual General Assembly must be held within 3 months after the end of the business year.

12.2. Convocation
12.2.1. Notice about any General Assembly shall be given in writing by the Board to all members no later than 4 weeks prior to its scheduled date.
12.2.2. This 4 weeks notice period also applies to Extraordinary General Assembly.
12.2.3. The invitation will include the agenda and any proposal for amendments or changes of the statutes and bylaws.

12.3. The agenda for the General Meeting covers at least:
12.3.1. The board’s Annual report.
12.3.2. The Financial Report presented by the Treasurer or by his/her designee
12.3.3. The budget for the forthcoming year;
12.3.4. The appointment of a cash-controllers committee
12.3.5. The determining of the annual registration fee.
12.3.6. Election of board members.
12.3.7. Plans for the coming year.

12.4. Chair and minutes
12.4.1. Two Co Chairs, male and female, of the General Assembly shall be elected by it, either at its beginning or at the previous. Exception of the co chairs gender parity rule must be approved by the General Assembly.

12.5. The cash-controllers committee
12.5.1. The cash-controllers committee is elected by the General Assembly. It consists of at least two people.
12.5.2. The cash-controllers committee reports its findings to the General Assembly.
12.5.3. The cash-controllers committee has the right to inspect any financial documents of the
association it requests.

12.6. The General Meeting can discharge the board after approval of the Annual Report and the board’s accounts for its management activities and expenditures.

12.7. Quorum
12.7.1. A minimum number of votes must be present at a General Assembly (annual and extraordinary) in order to conclude valid decisions. The details for the quorum are specified in the bylaws.

Article 13. Extraordinary General Meeting

13.1. The Board can convene an Extraordinary General Assembly at any time. Its notice shall be given following the same guidelines as for an Annual General Assembly.

13.2. Furthermore, the board is obliged to convene an Extraordinary General Assembly if requested by at least 10 percent of the entitled to vote members in the association.
13.2.1. In this case the Extraordinary General Assembly must be held within three months after the board received the request. If the board does not comply with the request within three months, the requestors are entitled to convene the Extraordinary General Assembly themselves, following the usual procedure of the board.

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BOARD

Article 14. Board

14.1. The Association Board shall consist at least of four (4) officers :

Female Co-President

Male Co-President

Treasurer

Secretary

and may include up to four (4) additional Board members called "Board Members at large".

14.1.1. The General Assembly determines the number of board members.
14.1.2. The co-presidents, General secretary and treasurer are elected by function.

14.2. The delegates elect the members of the board.

14.3. The members of the board are elected for a period of two years and are eligible for immediate re-election.

14.4. The board is responsible for the management of the association.
14.4.1 Two board members will represent the association in legal and other matters.
14.4.2. The treasurer can represent the association in all financial matters up to the sum
specified in the bylaws.

14.5. Rights and obligations of the board.
14.5.1. The board is entitled to decide to enter into agreements to obtain, dispose of or
encumber immovables.
14.5.2. The board is not entitled to enter into agreements in which the association commits
itself to guarantee for or to share other parties debts, in which the association supports third parties, or in which the association vouches for the debt of a third party.

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REPRESENTATION

Article 15. Representation

15.1. The General Assembly or the board may grant persons the right to represent the association.

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BY-LAWS

Article 16. By-Laws

16.1. The General Assembly determines the Bylaws of the association, which may not include regulations that contradict the Law or these Statutes.

16.2. The Bylaws regulate everything these Statutes enforce to be regulated in the Bylaws, and everything of which regulation in or with the Bylaws is desired.

16.3. Proposals about changes to the Bylaws are announced one month in advance in the invitation to the General Assembly in which these proposals are to be discussed.

16.4. Decisions regarding changes of or amendments to the Bylaws are made by a majority of cast votes in a General Meeting.

16.5. After the invitation is mailed proposals to change or amend the bylaws are only allowed according to the rules set in the bylaws.

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CHANGING THE ARTICLES AND THE DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION

Article 17. Changing of the Articles

17.1. The decision to change the Statutes or to dissolve the association can only be taken by the General Assembly if there is a quorum of 25% of the total numbers of votes of the association and with a majority of at least two thirds of the cast votes.

17.2. If the quorum mentioned in paragraph 1 is not present, a new General Assembly can be convened to be held within six months after the previous General Assembly. For this General Assembly no quorum is necessary. The decisions must be reached by a majority of two thirds of cast votes.

17.3. Proposals to change the statutes are announced one month in advance of the General Assembly together with the invitation to this meeting.

17.4. After the invitation is mailed proposals to change or amend the statutes are only allowed according to the rules set in the bylaws.

Article 18. Surplus

18.1. A possible financial surplus of the dissolved association is spent according to the decisions of the General Assembly, taking into account the objective of the association as much as possible.

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REFERENDUM

Article 19. Referendum

19.1. The board may ask for a referendum of the members in case there is a topic that requires an immediate decision and cannot wait for a General Assembly. The rules for the referendum will be set out in the bylaws.

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COUNCIL OF APPEAL

Article 20. Council of Appeal

20.1. The General Assembly may set up a Council of Appeal.

20.2. Against the decisions of the board the members can appeal at the Council of Appeal.

20.3. The Council of Appeal will inform the General Assembly of their decisions.

20.4. The criteria for the Council of Appeal will be set in the bylaws.

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OTHER BUSINESS

Article 21. Other business

21.1. In all situations that are not covered by the Statutes, the Bylaws and the Law the board is entitled to decide.

21.2. Members are entitled to appeal against the decisions, mentioned in paragraph 1, at the council of appeal or the General Assembly (when there is no council of appeal).

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