Constitution and Rules (old)

Contents

  1. 1 CONSTITUTION
    1. 1.1 NAME
    2. 1.2 AIMS
    3. 1.3 ELIGIBILITY
    4. 1.4 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
    5. 1.5 SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING
    6. 1.6 PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS
    7. 1.7 MISDEMEANOURS
  2. 2 RULES (A) COMPETITIONS ORGANiSATION
    1. 2.1 COMPETITIONS GENERAL
    2. 2.2 COMPETITIONS BOAT FISHING
    3. 2.3 CALCULATION OF RESULTS
    4. 2.4 ORGANISATION ON THE DAY
  3. 3 RULES (B) BOAT FISHING RULES
    1. 3.1 ORGANISATION
    2. 3.2 EQUIPMENT
    3. 3.3 METHOD OF FISHING
    4. 3.4 GENERAL


CONSTITUTION

NAME

The Association shall be called ‘The Association of Major Flyfishing Clubs’. Herein after referred to as the Association.

AIMS

  1. To organise inter–club fly fishing competitions between member clubs
  2. To encourage wide participation by club members
  3. To promote and encourage the best principles and practices in competitive fly fishing

ELIGIBILITY

Any club that can satisfy the Association as to its suitability and ability to meet its commitments shall be eligible for election to the Association. Clubs seeking to become members should meet the following criteria:

  1. The club should have a minimum of fifty full angling members. Any member club whose membership falls below the qualifying number must seek re-election.
  2. The day-to-day affairs of member clubs should be in the hands of an annually elected management committee.
  3. The accounts of member clubs should be presented to its club members for annual adoption.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

An Annual General Meeting of the Association will be held each year in January on a day appointed by the Committee. Notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be sent to member clubs not less than twenty-one days prior to the date of the meeting. The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be:

  1. To receive from the Committee a) a report of the activities and affairs of the Association during the year ending the preceding 31st December b) for adoption, an audited income and expenditure account of the year ending the preceding 31st December
  2. To elect new clubs and accept resignations
  3. To elect a) a management Committee of: a Chairman, a Secretary, a Treasurer, up to four other members. b) to elect, if any, an Honorary President and Honorary Vice-Presidents. The President shall hold office for renewable periods of five years. Vice-Presidents shall hold office for life, or until they retire. The President and Vice-Presidents may be retired by a resolution of the Committee to that effect and passed by a unanimous vote at a committee meeting, at which at least two thirds of the members are present.
  4. For adoption, a financial statement, including determining the level of subscription and the date they must be paid, for the forthcoming year.
  5. To elect an auditor.
  6. To confirm the arrangements, presented by the Committee, for the forthcoming season.
  7. Such other business as shall have been communicated to the Secretary and have been included in the notice of the meeting, or as may be raised at the meeting and which the Chairman, in his absolute discretion, considers does not need prior notice to members.

SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING

A Special General Meeting of the Association shall be called at any time by the Secretary on a resolution of the Committee specifying the object of the meeting, or on receipt by the Secretary or a requisition signed by not less than one third of the member clubs specifying the object of the meeting, provided that not less than twenty one days notice shall be given and no business which is not specified shall be transacted.

PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS

At all general meetings the Chairman, or in his absence a member selected by the members present, shall take the chair. Except for changes to the Constitution which may only be proposed at an Annual General Meeting and will require a two thirds majority of those present and voting, decisions at general meetings and all other meetings of the Association shall be by a simple majority of those present and voting. Each member club shall be defined as an eligible member and have one vote. In the case of equality of votes the Chairman of the meeting shall have the casting vote. The quorum for all meetings of the Association shall be half the eligible members. On all questions of procedure the decision of the Chairman of the meeting shall be final. Decisions made at a general meeting shall be binding on all members.

MISDEMEANOURS

The committee shall have the power to admonish, request the resignation or expel member clubs or their individual members for any conduct, which in the opinion of the committee, is injurious to the standards and interests of the Association. No resolution to admonish, request the resignation, or expel a member club or their individual members shall be valid unless the charges have been notified in writing and a reasonable opportunity has been offered of meeting such complaint and submitting personally, or in writing, any explanation or statement which such member club or their members wish to give.

 

RULES (A) COMPETITIONS ORGANISATION

COMPETITIONS GENERAL

  1. Any competition organised by the Association shall be a programme of matches and not a knock-out competition
  2. Member clubs shall designate a ‘home venue’, which must be confirmed by the Committee as suitable.
  3. All individual members of member clubs shall enjoy equal and full rights and privileges of the Association.
  4. Only full members of a member club and such other members as have been elected at the clubs Annual General Meeting are entitled to fish for that club in an Association competition. Clubs may enter a second team but no individual is entitled to fish for more than one club team in any one season.

COMPETITIONS BOAT FISHING

    1. The competition shall be called the Association of Major Flyfishing Clubs CHALLENGE TABLE.
    2. No fewer than four, nor more than six teams shall fish in any one group. If there is more than one group they shall be selected by merit, such that the winner of lower groups shall fish in the group above them and the losing team in a group will be required to fish in the group below them. In cases where the number of groups changes, or the size of a group changes, further composition of the groups may be decided by the clubs present at the AGM.
    3. New Clubs shall enter the competition at the bottom of the table.
    4. The Challenge Table shall consist of a ‘Group Programme’ of four matches and two ‘Association Matches’. Matches in the group programme shall be hosted by clubs in the group, normally on their home venue, except that no one venue may be used more than twice in the challenge table. All matches in the group programme must be completed by the end of September. The association matches shall be hosted by the Association at venues decided by the Committee. The first association match must take place before the group programme and must be fished before the second weekend in May. The second association match will be the final match of the season.
    5. The following designated Challenge Table Trophies shall be held for a period of one year (see table below)
  • No member of a club may fish in the Challenge Table more than four times, of which only one may be an Association Match.
  • In all matches boat pairings shall be arranged so that individual anglers from the same club, but in different teams, do not fish together. In association matches individual anglers from clubs in the same group will also, as far as possible, not fish together.
Trophy Recipient
Association Trophy Association Champions
Anglian Water Trophy Group Two Winners
Essex Water Trophy Group Three Winners
Fulling Mill Trophy Group Four Winners
Lew Cass Cup Individual best fish in the lowest group for an angler who has never won an individual trophy

CALCULATION OF RESULTS

For all competitions organised by the Association the results will be calculated in the following manner.

 

  1. Winners will be decided by the total weight of eligible trout. In the event of a tie, the team with the greater number of eligible trout shall be declared the winner.
  2. Trout will be weighed once in front of the teams. Should any angler dispute the weight at that time a second and final weighing may take place.
  3. Objections must be made through the Captain of the Team to the Organiser-of-the-Day before the weigh in is complete. The weigh in will continue although the results not calculated. The Organiser shall consult all other captains and a decision about the complaint (which may be by majority vote) shall be made. A full report of the incident shall be sent by the Organiser, within fourteen days, to the Association Secretary who shall, as soon as possible, consult with the Committee to decide if any further action is necessary.
  4. Results announced immediately after the match shall be regarded as indicative. Results shall only be regarded as ratified after they have been scrutinised by the Committee or its agent(s).
  5. For each match, including the Association matches, the winning team shall score the same number of points as there are teams in the group, with one less being awarded in descending order. In the event of a tie on both weight and number of fish both teams will be awarded the higher number of points. A club which fails to field a team in any one match shall score no points.
  6. The winner of the group shall be the team with the most points from all matches and the loser the team with the fewest points. In the case of teams with the same number of points, table position shall be calculated by totalling the weight of catch for all matches.
  7. The results of teams who withdraw after they have fished in any round shall be calculated as though they remain members of the group.

ORGANISATION ON THE DAY

All teams should arrive at the venue to allow sufficient time for any administration and to tackle up. If a delay occurs the team must notify the fishery as soon as possible. The Organiser-of-the-Day shall decide whether to start the match or wait for a maximum of two hours. If it has been decided to wait the organiser shall consult the other captains whether to fish the full-agreed time, or reduce the length of the match. Should these circumstances occur any one team captain shall have the right to insist that the match finishes at the previously agreed time.

RULES (B) BOAT FISHING RULES

ORGANISATION

  1. Association Matches shall be between teams of four anglers. Matches in the group programme shall be between teams of six anglers.
  2. The host team shall be responsible for all the organisation of the match, including booking the boats and the weigh-in.
  3. Fishing shall be for eight hours, and unless otherwise agreed between the hours of 10.00am and 6.00pm
  4. Boat pairings will be made by the Association so that, if possible, each visiting team has at least one member paired with one from the home team.
  5. The host team captain shall be responsible for informing all the competitors of any local rules and all the arrangements for the match. The Association deprecates unlimited catch competitions. For all competitions organised by the Association the number of trout it is permitted to catch shall be that allowed on a single day ticket. It is not permitted to release eligible trout before this limit is reached. Provided a full catch of trout is brought to the scales, an additional bonus on the agreed time of quarter of a pound for each full quarter of an hour of the match remaining.

EQUIPMENT

  1. Matches shall be fished with artificial flies only. Only four points may be attached to the cast at any one time. No flies, nymphs or casts shall be artificially weighted. The use of lead is specifically banned and other wires should not be used in such quantities that they add artificial weight to the flies.
  2. A fly shall comply with the following specification.

i. The hook shall be single or double, provided that in the case of a double the angle between the bends does not exceed 90 degrees

 ii. The maximum hook size will not exceed 5/8ths of an inch and the dressed fly must not exceed 15/16ths of an inch,

iii. Any normal pattern of fly may be used if it meets these criteria.

  1. Fly lines may be varying thickness densities up to A.F.T.M.10. Lines with a weighted core are not permitted. Lines should be either double tapered or weight forward as manufactured and be designed to cast in the normal manner.
  2. One rod not exceeding 12 feet in length may be used by each competitor. Each competitor is allowed to carry a spare rod of the same maximum length. Only one rod may be mounted at the same time.
  3. If both anglers agree, a standard sized drogue, fixed at one or two fixing points, may be used. Boats must drift with the engines on the left side.
  4. Thwart boards are allowed.

METHOD OF FISHING

  1. Flies must be cast in the recognised method, with anglers sitting down at all times, except when netting a fish or maneuvering the boat.
  2. Each competitor shall be allowed to cast his flies forward of the boat in a 90 degree arc from the center of the boat to level with its drift on his side. Flies may not be fished behind the boat or when the boat is under power (either motor or rowing). If for any reason his partner is not fishing a competitor may fish in any direction in front of the boat.
  3. Competitors may fish after their partner has hooked a fish but must make every effort not to interfere with the playing and landing of the fish. In particular, if a fish runs sideways towards them, competitors should clear their lines out of the water.
  4. Competitors may change ends every two hours, or as mutually agreed. The person for the time being in the stern of the boat shall have command of the boat. Boat pairs may toss a coin to decide who shall have command of the boat first.

GENERAL

Apart from the situation regarding catch and release (see above), in any case where the rules of the fishery conflict with these rules, the rules of the fishery shall have precedence.

Last amended January 2014