1. Name and objects
The Club shall be called “The Turkish Van Cat Club”. The objects of the Club shall be to further
interest in the breeding, exhibiting and ownership of Turkish Van and Turkish Vankedisi cats, and to
help their welfare and progress in every possible way.

2. Membership
The Club shall consist of Ordinary Members and Honorary Members (Honorary Members are elected
at the AGM and have no voting rights). To become a member, application shall be made in writing to
the Honorary Membership Secretary, or by an online application through the Club website. The
application may be rejected by the Committee at their discretion with no obligation to give a reason.
Individual membership and joint membership shall be available and shall be deemed to have voting
powers as such unless under the age of 16. Junior membership shall also be available for those under
the age of 16, but shall have no voting powers. Junior members shall be sponsored by an adult
member who shall be held responsible for the sponsored member, and held liable for any breaches of
the Club Rules made by the sponsored member. On attaining the age of 16 junior members shall
automatically be upgraded to adult members for the remaining subscription period. For the purposes
of the Club's membership and that of the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF), joint
membership shall be deemed to comprise of two members, and junior members shall not be counted.

3. Subscriptions
The entrance fee and annual subscription shall be as agreed at the Annual General Meeting (AGM)
annually. The subscription is due on 1st January and any member who has not paid by the 1st March
shall receive a reminder from the Membership Secretary of the Club. A member failing to pay by 1st
April shall be considered to be a lapsed member and shall not be entitled to any of the privileges of the
Club. Lapsed members shall be eligible to re-apply on payment of the entrance fee and annual
subscription. New members joining at or after the annual TVCC Show, or after October 1st, whichever
is later, shall be granted an additional one year's grace.

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4. Management
i) The business of the Club shall be managed by a Committee consisting of a Chairman, Vice
Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and six other members, all of whom shall be at
least 16 years of age. The quorum shall be five. Committee meetings may be conducted by means of
tele-conferencing.
ii) The club shall have a President and Vice President who shall be appointed by the Committee and
approved by the Membership at the AGM and shall hold office until otherwise decided by a General
Meeting of the Club.
iii) The election of the Committee shall be held at the AGM. Committee members shall not serve on
more than two other Cat Clubs or Cat Society Committees. Attendance at Committee meetings shall
be recorded. Any Committee member who misses three consecutive meetings may be asked to
resign at the discretion of the Committee. The new Committee shall meet before the AGM to elect
officers and select delegates to the Breed Advisory Committee (BAC).
iv) The GCCF delegate(s), who should be Committee members, will be elected at the AGM (where

there is no Committee member able to stand an ordinary member may be elected but must be co-
opted to the Committee and must attend the meetings in a non-voting capacity, unless also filling a

vacancy see 5i).
Members of the Breed Advisory Committee will be selected at the Committee meeting prior to the
AGM by the Committee from the elected representatives of the Club. They will then be submitted to
the AGM for approval by the Membership.
Any delegate to the GCCF or the BAC who attends no meeting of the GCCF or BAC respectively
during the year will be ineligible for election to these posts for the following two years.
v) Notice of Committee meetings will be circulated to all Committee members, together with an
agenda, not less than three weeks before the proposed meeting.
vi) Deleted.
vii-a) The Chairman will be elected by the members of the Committee at the meeting preceding the
AGM and shall hold office for a period not exceeding five years. The retiring Chairman at the end of
such a period shall not be eligible for re-election for one year, but may immediately apply for election
to one of the other Committee posts. The Chairman shall be entitled to vote with the Committee and
shall also have a casting vote.
vii-b) The Vice Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Membership Secretary,
and Honorary Cup and Show Support Secretary shall be elected by the Committee at the meeting
preceding the AGM and shall remain in office at the will of the Committee for a period of three years.
The remaining Committee roles (to include Kitten Registrar and Welfare Coordinator) shall be
appointed by the Committee as and when the vacancies arise, and shall remain in place at the will of
the Committee for a period of three years. They shall all be eligible for immediate re-election at the
end of such a period.
viii) A responsible person shall be appointed at the AGM to approve the accounts.

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5. Powers of the Committee
i) The Committee shall be empowered to call meetings of the Club, to co-opt members to the
Committee if necessary, and to fill vacancies. Co-opted members shall hold office until the next AGM.
Co-opted members filling vacancies shall be at least 16 years old and shall have full voting rights,
however additional co-opts (who may be under the age of 16) shall have no voting rights.
ii) If, in the opinion of the Committee, the conduct of any member has been prejudicial to the welfare,
breeding or exhibiting of cats or to the interests of the Club, the Committee may, after giving such a
member an opportunity of being heard, suspend the member permanently, or, for a given time, from
the Club.
The member shall have the right to attend and state his or her case or, if he or she prefers, he or she
may make written representations to the Committee. Any member suspended shall have the right to
appeal to the next scheduled General Meeting of the Club and to attend to state his or her case. If the
appeal is allowed by a two-thirds majority of those attending he or she will be reinstated. At least
seven days notice in writing of such a meeting, when the question of suspension is to be considered,
must be given to the member concerned.
iii) If a Committee member is deemed to be prejudicing the management of the club, the Committee
can pass a motion to suspend that member from the Committee until the next AGM, at which time the
member can appeal to the Membership for reinstatement. The Committee can only take this action if
a) the item is agenda’d at a correctly scheduled Committee meeting and b) the committee member
concerned is either present in person or by representative to speak on his behalf or has made written
representation to the Committee to be considered at the meeting.

iv) Anyone convicted in the courts of cruelty to any animal shall be automatically suspended from the
club.

6. General Meetings
i) The Annual General Meeting shall be held before the end of April at a place to be determined by the
Committee. The agenda, the minutes of the last AGM, the approved statement of accounts, and any
subscription reminders shall be circulated to all members no later than 6 weeks prior to the AGM, or by
March 15th, which ever is the sooner. The quorum shall be eleven, and shall comprise of at least one
Officer of the Club, and at least one Club member who is not a Committee member.
ii) A Special General Meeting (SGM) shall be called at any time if the Committee consider it
necessary, or by written request of 20% of the members of the Club based on the total shown in the
latest published accounts, giving the exact reason. A non-returnable fee of £100 must accompany the
request as a contribution towards the cost to the club of holding the SGM. The meeting shall be held
within one calendar month of the date of the receipt of such a request, and all members of the Club
shall receive written notice not less than fourteen days prior to the date of the meeting. The quorum
shall be as for an AGM. No other business will be discussed at the SGM other than that for which it
was called.
7. Method of conducting business
i) All major Club decisions (these include the election of Committee members, changes to the Rules,
and alterations to the Standard of Points or the Registration Policy) will be decided by vote at the AGM
(or a specially convened SGM) on a simple majority of members voting. In the event of a tie the status
quo will prevail. Any proposal directed at winding up the Club and disposing of its funds will be
decided by vote at the AGM (or specially convened SGM) and will require a two-thirds majority of
members voting to be accepted. Members will be notified of the date of the AGM according to rule 6 i)
and will be invited to apply to join the Committee or make proposals for discussion at the AGM
ii) Minutes shall be kept of all meetings to be read, approved and signed at the following meeting. The
Honorary Secretary, as a record for future reference, should maintain a Minute Book. All officers or
members of the Club who, under the rules or in pursuance of the rules, have custody of any books,
documents, records, property or money belonging to the Club, shall on request, surrender them to the
Committee. Any costs incurred in reclaiming Club property shall be paid by the member responsible if
requested to do so by the Committee.

8. Finance
i) A Bank Account in the name of the Club shall be opened and all monies received by the Honorary
Treasurer for and on behalf of the Club shall be paid by him or her into the said account. All
reasonable expenses incurred by officials of the Club shall be defrayed out of the funds of the Club.
The financial year shall be the calendar year.
ii) There will be three named signatories for the account, usually the officers. Two signatures will be
required on cheques, noting that the two signatories must not reside at the same address. Internet
banking may be used for viewing purposes only.
iii) All trophies presented to the Club shall become the property of the Club.
9. Governing Council of the Cat Fancy
Members of the Club shall be bound by the rules and disciplinary powers of the GCCF. Any member
suspended by the GCCF shall be suspended by the Club. On expiration of such a suspension, the
member may apply to the Committee for re-admittance.

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