Constitution (pre-2022)

 

This is the old IHPA Constitution, pre-2022.

It's here for historical and archival purposes only.

 

Old Constitution - pre-2022 

1. Aims.

1.1 The aims of the Irish Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, hereinafter referred to as the Association, shall be:

1.1.1 To promote the sport of free flying in Ireland. For the purposes of this constitution, free flying is defined as the flying of foot launched aircraft.
1.1.2 To obtain and maintain access to flying sites in Ireland for its members.

2. Membership.

2.1 Membership of the Association shall be open to any person who has paid the annual ubscription and who has adequate third party insurance as determined by the Association’s Committee.

3. Affiliations.

3.1 The Association shall be affiliated to:

  • The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
  • The Commission International de Vol Libre (CIVL).
  • The National Aero Club of Ireland (formally The Irish Aviation Council.)
  • The Association for Adventure Sports.

4. The Association shall:

4.1 Organise national and international free flying competitions in Ireland.
4.2 Assist members in competing in free flying competitions outside Ireland.
4.3 Issue pilot ratings to members under the terms of the SafePro & ParaPro systems, or such other pilot rating systems as may be endorsed by the FAI/CIVL.

5. Committee.

5.1 The affairs of the Association shall be managed by the Committee which shall consist of six officers. The six officers shall be, in order of seniority:

  • The Chairman/Chairwoman.
  • The Secretary.
  • The Treasurer.
  • The Competitions Secretary.
  • The Assistant Competitions Secretary.
  • The Training and Flight Safety Secretary.

5.2 The Committee shall be elected for a period of one year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). If a vacancy occurs among the officers of the Committee between one AGM and the next, the Committee may co-opt a member of the Association to fill it.

5.3. Committee Meetings shall be held at least once every two months. Notice shallbe given to each officer of the Committee by the Secretary at least two days before a Committee Meeting. The quorum for such a meeting shall be four.

6. Duties of the Officers of the Committee..

6.1 The Chairman/Chairwoman shall chair the Committee.

6.2. The Secretary shall:

6.2.1 Record the minutes of all Committee Meetings and General Meetings.
6.2.2 Record the details of all international competitions in which members of the Association have participated; this record should include the names of those who attended as well as details of their results.
6.2.3 Be responsible for the correspondence of the Association, and shall keep a file to this purpose.
6.2.4 Draw up and maintain a list of members. It is the responsibility of members to ensure the secretary has their addresses.
6.2.5 Submit a report of the Association’s activities to the AGM.
6.2.6 Provide adequate publicity for all events, Committee Meetings and General Meetings.
6.2.7 Provide copies of the constitution to each Committee member and on request to any member of the Association.
6.2.8 Provide copies of General Meeting and Committee Meeting minutes on request to any member of the Association.

6.3 The Treasurer shall:

6.3.1 Be responsible for the Association’s finances.
6.3.2 Be responsible for obtaining grants for the Association.
6.3.3 Submit a financial report at the AGM.
6.3.4 Be, with the Chairman/Chairwoman, a cosignatory of cheques drawn on the Association’s account.
6.3.5 Set, in consultation with the Committee, the level of the annual membership subscription.

6.4 The Competitions Secretary shall:

6.4.1 Be responsible for organising national and international competitions held in Ireland for the Association.
6.4.2 In conjunction with the Chairman/Chairwoman, take measures to improve the standard of free flying in the Association.

6.5 The Assistant Competitions Secretary shall assist the Competitions Secretary.

6.6 The Training and Flight Safety Secretary shall:

6.6.1 In conjunction with the Chairman/Chairwoman, take measures to improve the standards of training and safety in the Association.
6.6.2 Promote a safety culture in all aspects of free flying and advise training schools of safety standards to be adhered to.
6.6.3 Ensure that the Safe Pro and Para Pro Standards of Safety and Training are implemented by the training schools and review all applications for pilot ratings with instructors.
6.6.4 Receive and file reports on flying accidents involving members. It is an important responsibility of members to submit reports on accidents in which they are involved to the Training Secretary.
6.6.5 Disseminate to members information on reports received and on such accident reports from other free flying organisations as may be thought relevant to the members in helping themto fly safely.
6.6.6 Submit a report on accidents and safety issues arising in the preceding year at the AGM.

6.7 Only officers of the Committee shall have the authority to endorse a member’s membership card to indicate the pilot rating the member holds.

7. Honorary Officers.

7.1 The sole honorary officer of the Association shall be the President. The President shall be elected for a period of three years at the AGM.

7.2 The President should advise and aid the Association to the best of his/her abilities.

8. Annual General Meetings.

8.1 The AGM of the Association shall be held in March for the purpose of:

8.1.1 Reviewing the Association’s activities during the previous year.
8.1.2 Electing a President.
8.1.3 Electing the members of the Committee.
8.1.4 Making recommendations for the Association’s activities in the forthcoming year.

8.2 The quorum for the AGM shall be twenty per cent of the members and notice of the meeting must be posted to the members at least fourteen days beforehand.

8.3 Non-members of the Association may only attend General Meetings by invitation of the Committee.

8.4 General Meetings shall be chaired by the Chairman/Chairwoman of the association, or in his/her absence, by the Secretary. If neither of these is available the meeting shall be chaired by the most senior Committee officer present.

8.5 In the elections for President and Committee, if there are more than two candidates for any post, the election shall be by single transferable vote.

8.6 Only members of the Association are eligible to stand for election as President or officer of the Committee.

8.7 Any proposals or nominations for election as officer of the Association must be submitted to the Secretary by the proposing member by January 31 and posted to the members by the Secretary at least fourteen days before the AGM.

9. Extraordinary General Meetings.

9.1 The Secretary shall convene an EGM at any time if directed to do so by the Committee or on receiving a requisition signed by at least twenty percent of the members of the Association.

9.2 The quorum for an EGM shall be twenty per cent of the members and notice of the meeting must be posted to the members by the Secretary at least fourteen days beforehand.

9.3 Any proposals must be submitted to the Secretary along with the signatures of the proposing and seconding members and posted to the members by the Secretary at least fourteen days
before the EGM.

10. Conduct.

10.1 An officer of the Association may only be removed from office for stated serious misconduct or non performance of duties on a motion passed at a General Meeting. The motion must be passed by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members present at the General Meeting. The officer concerned must be provided with the grounds for his/her proposed removal at least fourteen days before the meeting and be given adequate opportunity for rebuttal at the meeting.

10.2 A member may only be expelled from the Association for stated serious misconduct on a motion passed at a General Meeting. The motion must be passed by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members present at the General Meeting. The member concerned must be provided with the grounds for his/her proposed expulsion at least fourteen days before the meeting and be given adequate opportunity for rebuttal at the meeting.

10.3 Any member may propose a motion for the removal of an officer or the expulsion of a member. Motions for the removal of an officer or the expulsion of a member must be submitted to the Secretary along with the grounds for the proposed removal and the signatures of the proposing member and two seconding members.

10.4 On receiving a proposal for the expulsion of a member the Committee may suspend the membership of the member whose expulsion has been proposed until a vote has been taken on the proposal.

10.5 Any member may propose a motion for the reinstatement of an expelled member. Motions for the reinstatement of a member must be submitted to the Secretary along with the signatures of the proposing member and two seconding members. The motion must be passed by a vote of at least two-thirds of themembers present at a General Meeting.

11. Amendments to the Constitution.

11.1 No section of this constitution may be amended without the approval of at least two thirds of the members present at an AGM of the Association. Any proposed amendment must be submitted to the Secretary along with the signatures of the proposing and seconding members and posted to members by the Secretary at least thirty days before the meeting.

Adopted at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association, May 27 1997.

Gerry O’Reilly (Chairman).
Fintan Swanton (Secretary).

Amendments – 2004.
Following the publication of the Irish Aviation Council Air Accident Investigation Unit Report No: 2003/0025, wherein it’s Safety Recommendations it suggests that: “4.3 An officer of the IHPA Committee should carry the role of Flight Safety Officer in addition to his existing duties” the following amendments were made to the constitution:

1. That the title of the Training Secretary be amended to Training and Flight Safety Secretary.

2. That the duties of the Training and Flight Safety Secretary be amended to include:

6.6.4 Promote a safety culture in all aspects of free flying and advise training schools of safety standards to be adhered to.

6.6.5 Ensure that the Safe Pro and Para Pro Standards of Safety and Training are implemented by the training schools and review all applications for pilot ratings with instructors.

6.6.6 Submit a report on accidents and safety issues arising in the preceding year at the AGM.