Constitution

Constitution | Privacy Policy | Code of Conduct

1 Name

The name of the club is Dundee Mountain Club (hereinafter referred to as the Club). This name was chosen to reflect the fact that the Club’s interests include a variety of mountain sports including skiing and mountain biking as well as mountaineering activities (see 2.1).

2 Objects, Values and Ethos

2.1 The objects of the Club are to bring together people with common interests in mountain sports (including but not limited to mountaineering, hillwalking, climbing, mountain biking and ski-touring), to facilitate the pursuit of such activities, and to undertake other activities incidental or conducive to the furtherance of these objects.

2.2 The Club’s values are:

Being active in mountain sports every week of the year, with enthusiastic members willing to take the initiative, plan their own adventures together and execute them safely and responsibly.
Being flexible by embracing the unpredictability of Scottish mountain weather – making plans informally at short notice and letting nature guide us as to where we’ll go and when, and whether it’ll be on foot, on skis, on a rope, on crampons, or on a bike!
Being sociable, be it at regular weekly social gatherings, at the local climbing wall, on the hill, in a mountain hut, or at other social events such as dinners, ceilidhs, talks etc.

2.3 The Club’s values determine its ethos and how it operates. Therefore it doesn’t pre-plan calendars of day trips, and it doesn’t arrange transport, routes, itineraries, or leaders. Instead participants in club activities make their own plans between each other and take individual responsibility (4.6). The Club is there to help facilitate this by providing regular weekly socials (4.7) and ways of keeping in touch inbetween (4.8), and of course arranging accommodation for full-weekend trips (4.1).

3 Membership

3.1 Persons seeking to obtain membership of the Club must apply to the Executive Committee (see clause 5), normally after attending an official Club meet as a guest.

3.2 The Executive Committee (see clause 5) holds the power to reject any application for membership.

3.3 The membership consists of the following categories:

3.3.1 Adult Membership – which is only available to those aged 18 or over.

3.3.2 Youth Membership – which is only available to those under 18 years of age that have a parent or guardian who holds Adult Membership.

3.4 Persons who have applied for and subsequently been offered membership must pay an annual subscription fee (“Membership Fee”) in order to join the Club. The Membership fee for each category of membership is agreed by each Annual General Meeting.

3.5 Funds collected from Membership Fees shall be used to the benefit of the Club membership.

3.6 The Club needs to collect and store some basic personal information for each individual who joins in order to administer their membership, organise club activities and provide membership benefits. This information is essentially the individual’s name, contact details, emergency contact information, and details of any existing membership of Mountaineering Scotland (MS) currently held.

3.7 The Club needs to collect and store some basic personal information for each guest who wishes to attend a Club meet in order to administer their attendance on the meet. This information is essentially the guest’s name, contact details, and emergency contact information.

3.8 The Club shall be a member of the Mountaineering Scotland (MS) hence persons obtaining membership of the Club shall be registered with MS at the same time. Persons joining the Club must therefore agree for their name and contact information to be passed on to MS for this purpose. MS will use this information to process their MS registration and provide them with benefits such as civil liability insurance and a subscription to the Scottish Mountaineer magazine.

3.9 Persons joining the Club who are already members of MS shall be permitted to pay a reduced membership fee which is equal to the normal membership fee for their category of membership minus the applicable MS member affiliation fee.

3.10 The Club Code of Conduct outlines the standards expected of each Club Member with regards to respecting other Members and the means by which any inappropriate behaviour can be dealt with. All Club Members are expected to acknowledge and accept this policy

3.11 All members joining the Club shall be deemed to accept the terms of this Constitution and any Bye-Laws published from time to time by the Club. For persons under the age of 16 joining the Club a parent or guardian (who shall themselves be an Adult member as required by 3.3.2) shall be deemed to make this acceptance on their behalf.

3.12 Personal data collected by the club about club members and guests on meets will be only kept for as long as it is required to administer club activities. Data collected will be regularly (at least annually) reviewed and information on ex-members and guests no longer in contact with the club will be destroyed.

4 Meets and Socials

4.1 In accordance with the values and ethos of the Club (2.2, 2.3), the Club does not plan a calendar of day meets; instead these are typically arranged amongst members themselves via 4.7 & 4.8 (often at short notice when weather forecasts, snow reports etc are available). The Club does however schedule a calendar of full-weekend meets (typically one per month) because accommodation for these usually needs to be booked well in advance. For these meets the Club reserves appropriate accommodation (typically mountain huts, bunkhouses, hostels etc) in locations relevant to the objects of the Club, for use by members and invited guests (see 4.2 and 4.4).

4.2 Attendance on all Club meets is restricted to Club members and invited guests. Guest invitations are typically only offered to persons with an interest in applying for membership. A non-member will normally be permitted to attend only one meet as a guest before being required to apply for membership.

4.3 Youth members may only attend a meet if they are accompanied on that meet by their parent or guardian (who must hold Adult membership as stated in 3.3.2).

4.4 The Club will arrange accommodation for the meets which involve overnight stays (typically 2 nights – Friday and Saturday). The cost of this accommodation will be shared between all persons who have booked to attend the meet (both members and guests). Refunds will not usually be given for non attendance or cancellation.

4.5 In accordance with the ethos of the Club (see 2.3), transportation for all meets will normally take the form of car sharing by those attending rather than Club organised transport. The cost of shared transport (including fuel & reasonable vehicle wear and tear) will be split between all persons using the shared transport (both members and guests).

4.6 It is a condition of participation in club activities that all participants acknowledge and accept the following participation statement: “Climbing, hillwalking, mountaineering, and many other outdoor pursuits are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement.” Furthermore and more specifically:

4.6.1 All participants in club activities are responsible for their own participation and safety.

4.6.2 All participants in club activities are responsible for ensuring they have the appropriate (i) knowledge, (ii) skills and (iii) equipment for their chosen undertaking, with regard to (a) their planned activity / route / itinerary, and (b) the current and forecast conditions (e.g. current season, current snow/ice conditions, weather forecasts, avalanche forecasts, etc, as appropriate).

4.7 The Club shall arrange a weekly evening social meeting in Dundee. This provides a social focus for members as well as the opportunity to discuss upcoming meets and book places. It also affords non-members the opportunity to meet members face to face and find out more about the Club.

4.8 The Club shall arrange a means of communication (e.g. online forum / group / email list) that members can use to arrange and co-ordinate activities (see also 2.3).

4.9 The Club shall arrange various social events for its members such as ceilidhs, dinners, slideshows etc (specifics may vary from year to year). Members are encouraged to participate in and indeed get involved with the organisation of such social events.

5 Management

5.1 The affairs of the Club are conducted by an Executive Committee. (Hereafter referred to as the Committee)

5.2 All Committee members must hold Adult membership of the Club.

5.3 The Committee consists of the eight Officers of the Club (see 5.3.1) plus any other Adult members appointed to the Committee by the Officers of the Club (see 5.3.2).

5.3.1 The eight Officers of the Club who are honorary consist of the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Meets Secretary, General Secretary, Membership Secretary, Social Secretary and Digital Officer. They are elected annually at the Annual General Meeting.

5.3.2 The Officers of the Club should seek to appoint additional Adult members to the Committee to assist with the running of the Club. Any appointment made should be for the purpose of carrying one or more specific role(s)/task(s)/function(s) on the Committee. Examples of such roles are:

  • Activity reps (e.g. MTB, Climbing, Skiing etc.) – helping to promote/develop a specific mountain sport within the club
  • Newsletter editor – producing the club’s newsletter
  • Meet reports editor – collating, editing and publishing meet reports on the website
    Club promotion & publicity – helping to promote & advertise the club


The Officers of the Club should advertise these roles (and any other roles they have identified as being valuable to the Club) to the membership in order to seek candidates for the roles. Members should also be invited to suggest new roles should they have their own ideas regarding how they wish to help assist with the running of the Club. Once an Adult Member has expressed interest in taking on a given role the elected Officers of the Club should discuss the need for the role and the suitability of the candidate and must vote on whether to carry out the appointment, with a simple majority being required for the appointment to proceed. Details of any appointments made (i.e. name of appointee and role appointed to) must then be announced to the membership of the Club. Any such appointment to the Committee remains in effect until the next Annual General Meeting, or until the appointed person withdraws from the role (whichever occurs sooner). An individual can be appointed to multiple roles, and an Officer can also be appointed to one or more additional roles, though in such cases the Officers should discuss whether the individual is likely to have sufficient time available before voting on the appointment. If an individual does hold more than one post on the committee they still only get a single vote, and are only counted once for the purposes of achieving a quorum (see 5.4 regarding quorum and voting).

5.3.3 If the post of any Officer or other Committee member should fall vacant, the Committee has the power to fill the vacancy by appointing another Adult member of the Club to the position, subject to the candidate member concerned being willing to take on the position and the Committee voting in favour of the appointment (in accordance with the voting rules in 5.4).

5.4 The quorum for meetings of the Committee is any 4 elected Officers of the Committee. Decisions to be taken by the Committee shall be agreed by majority vote with the following voting rules: (i) the quorum must be satisfied, (ii) all members of the Committee (elected Officers and appointed members) are entitled to vote, (iii) any motion requires the support of at least 4 of the elected Officers in order to be carried.(iv) in the event of an equality of votes the chairperson of the meeting (normally the president or vice president but can be any nominated elected officer) shall have the casting vote.

5.5 The President’s responsibilities are:

  • to act as the “public face” of the club,
  • to seek opportunities to stimulate positive awareness of the club and build relationships,
  • to promote the ethos and values of the club (see clause 2),
  • to chair Committee meetings and raise important topics for discussion,
  • to coordinate the committee as a whole to ensure important tasks ultimately get done, and
  • to ensure adherence to the club Constitution.

5.6 The Vice President’s responsibilities are:

  • to assist the President and take over Presidential duties if necessary
  • to be willing to assist other Committee members as required

5.7 The Treasurer’s responsibilities are:

  • maintaining financial records of the Club’s accounts (see also 7.3), managing the the day to day finances of the club (i.e. bank account, cashbox, payments, receipts) collecting the Club’s receipts (e.g. membership fees, payments for accommodation, social events etc),
  • administering the Club’s payments (e.g. hut fees, MS fees, promotion, member expenses for communal meals etc.), and
  • advising the Committee on the current state of the Club’s finances and what can be afforded. It should be noted that financial decisions are Committee decisions; the Treasurer is not authorised to make decisions independently regarding Club funds (see 5.4 and 7).


5.8 The Meets Secretary’s responsibilities are:

  • the planning of the full-weekend Club meets (see 4.1), with a secondary responsibility being to encourage and facilitate the planning of trips amongst members themselves (e.g. via 4.8).
  • deciding suitable locations/destinations for full-weekend meets based on the time of year and potential activities (after canvassing the membership of the Club for suggestions),
  • liaising with owners of huts and bunkhouses to arrange accommodation bookings,
    coordinating with the Treasurer to arrange payment of accommodation deposits and bills,
    publicising details of upcoming meets to the membership,
  • helping members coordinate transport and communal meal arrangements
    helping members plan and coordinate trips of any length amongst themselves and invited guests, and
  • be a point of contact for members wishing to organise multi-day trips (including full weekend meets) to ensure trips do not adversely compete.


5.9 The General Secretary’s responsibilities are:

  • arranging and taking the minutes of meetings of the Committee and General Meetings
  • ensuring all external queries (e.g. prospective member questions) are dealt with in a timely manner and by the appropriate person, and
  • dealing with general administration (e.g. correspondence, mailing newsletters to members, etc.)


5.10 The Membership Secretary’s responsibilities are:-

  • to administer new club membership requests
  • to encourage new memberships by promoting benefits in person and online (see 4.8)
  • to monitor meet attendance / online forum usage and encourage those who have already attended a guest meet to join the club
  • to liaise with MS to enrol new members, update existing membership data and ensure appropriate fees are paid (also liasing with the Club’s Treasurer)

5.11 The Social Secretary’s responsibilities are:-

  • to organise and promote club social events (some examples of these in the past have been the Annual Gathering, Charity Ceilidhs, Burns Night Supper, Halloween party, Fireworks night, BBQs etc.)
  • to promote and encourage attendance at weekly pub socials online (see 4.8) and in person

5.12 The Digital Officer’s responsibilities are:-

  • managing the club’s website, domain names and hosting
  • managing the club’s systems including communication, social media, meet signup, payment and integration with third party applications
  • assisting members with updating content (e.g. providing editor access and training)
  • advising the committee on data security and compliance with applicable data protection regulations (e.g. Data Protection Act, UK GDPR)

5.13 Members of the Committee may delegate tasks to other Committee members provided the Committee as a whole supports the delegation taking place (see voting procedure in 5.4).

6 General Meetings

6.1 Annual General Meeting

The Club holds an Annual General Meeting in the month of March to:

6.1.1 Approve the minutes of the previous year’s AGM.

6.1.2 Receive reports from the President, Meets Secretary and General Secretary.

6.1.3 Receive a report from the Treasurer and approve the Annual Accounts.

6.1.4 Receive a report from the Auditors.

6.1.5 Consider changes to the Constitution.

6.1.6 Elect the Officers of the Club.

6.1.7 Appoint Auditors for the Club’s accounts.

6.1.8 Agree membership fees for the coming membership year (see also 3.4)

6.1.9 Deal with other relevant business.

6.2 Extraordinary General meeting

An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by an application in writing to the General Secretary supported by at least 4 members of the Club. The Committee also has the power to call an Extraordinary General Meeting by decision of a majority of its members subject to the Committee voting rules given in 5.4.

6.3 Notices

At least 30 days’ notice shall be given to all Adult members of any General Meeting.

6.4 Voting

6.4.1 With the exception of changes to the Constitution, decisions put to a vote shall be resolved by simple majority at General Meetings.

6.4.2 All persons currently holding Adult membership of the Club are entitled to vote at General Meetings.

6.4.3 The President of the Club holds hold a deliberative as well as a casting vote at General Meetings.

6.5 Quorum

The quorum at General Meetings shall be at least 25% of the Adult membership.

6.6 Changes to the Constitution

6.6.1 Any change to the Constitution shall require a two thirds majority of those present and eligible to vote (see 6.4.2) at a General Meeting.

6.6.2 Notice shall be given to all voting members of any General Meeting as specified in 6.3 and any proposal to change the Constitution shall be submitted in writing to the General Secretary at least 20 days prior to the meeting. The General Secretary shall then circulate the proposed constitution changes to the club (e.g. via email or the club forum) at least 10 days prior to the meeting (subject to 6.6.3 below having been satisfied).

6.6.3 All proposals for changes to the Constitution shall be signed by two members eligible to vote at a General Meeting.

7 Finance and Accounts

7.1 The financial year runs from 1st April to end of March of the following calendar year.

7.2 Membership subscriptions are annual:

7.2.1 The membership year is aligned with the MS membership year (1st April to end of March of the following calendar year.

7.2.2 Memberships therefore expire and become due for renewal at the beginning of each April (except where applicable renewal fee has already been paid in advance).

7.3 The Treasurer is responsible for the preparation of annual accounts of the Club.

7.4 The accounts shall be audited by an independent person elected annually by the Annual General meeting.

7.5 All cheques drawn against the Club’s funds shall be signed by the Treasurer and one other nominated member of the Committee. Financial decisions regarding the spending of Club funds must also be agreed by the Committee in set out in 5.5 and 5.4.

7.6 All Adult members of the Club shall be considered to be jointly responsible for the financial liabilities of the Club.

8 Bye-laws

The Committee shall have the power to publish and enforce such bye-laws as the membership feels necessary to govern the activities of the Club.

9 Dispute Resolution and Club Discipline

The Club shall operate a fair system for dispute resolution, and arrive at any decision on the expulsion of a Member as laid down by the ‘Law of Natural Justice’ as recommended by MS.

10 Dissolution

In the event of the dissolution of the Club, any assets thereof shall be donated to a mountain rescue charity chosen by the Committee and shall not be distributed amongst the members of the Club in any way whatsoever.

This constitution was approved unanimously at the Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday 22nd March 2023.