Member’s Rules
- Member’s sign-in: All Members must bring his or her Club membership card or temporary membership card and sign the Member’s Book. Membership categories allow bringing guest including Associate, Ordinary, and Spouse.
- Children, guests, and caregivers: Any children or guests, and/or primary or secondary caregivers who are not members must be signed in by the member responsible for them, as the staff of the Club needs to know who is on the premises at all times.
- Barbecue and facilities registrations: Members must book Club barbecues with the Club staff and use the barbecue during the scheduled time. The same applies to the booking and use of other facilities at the Club premises.
- Corkage: Members shall declare to the Club’s staff any bottle of wine or other alcoholic beverage including beer brought onto the premises and shall pay the appropriate corkage charge. Members are encouraged to buy wine, beer, soft drinks, and other beverages that are provided by the Club. A wine list is available on request.
- Bottled water: Although the Club stocks bottled water for sale, it encourages the low-carbon practice of members using their own water bottles and maintains a tap with filtered water on the rear hard standing at the Deep Water Bay Clubhouse.
- Pets: Dogs (except service dogs) and other pets are not allowed on Club premises (clubhouse, grounds and beach).
- Personal property: Users of the Club are responsible for their own property while on Club premises. The Club will not accept responsibility for losses or damage of personal property. Hanging clothes, wet gear and other personal properties in open areas of the Club premises and balcony railings is not condoned.
- Non-smoking policy: All areas of the Club are classified as non-smoking areas unless declared otherwise by the General Committee.
- Use of mobile phones: Mobile phones must be switched to “silent mode” at all times while on the Club premises. However, as long as electronic devices remain in silent mode, members may use them at will. Electronic devices under this definition include mobile phones, tablets, personal computers, and other devices that have audio functions that may cause disturbance to other members.
- Staff gratuities: The payment or giving of gifts or gratuities to individual members of the club’s staff and the purchase of drinks or other items for staff is prohibited.
- Service areas: No member or guest shall enter service areas within the Club without the prior permission of Club management. Service areas are indicated by “Staff Only signage and include all food preparation areas, bar service areas, and storage rooms.
- Daily accounts: All members, including visiting members and junior members, shall settle their accounts on a daily basis prior to departure from Club premises. The settlement is by means of Octopus Cards or EPS. Payment by cash is prohibited.
- Storage of personal items: Members shall not store personal items except paddles and personal flotation devices (PFDs), which may be stored only in the barrels or designated storage areas within the boat storage facilities, including on member’s registered and paid storage racks, usually on top of stored boats and/or stand-up paddleboards.
- Unsolicited donations of equipment, products, plants or other materials: Unsolicited donations of equipment, products or plants to the Club are welcome if useful to the Club, but the prior approval by the General Manager is required.
- Uninvited alterations of Club premises of Club and member’s property: Members shall not alter or interfere with the Club or members or remove or dispose of Club property or amenities without the prior written approval of the General Committee or the General Manager. This rule covers trees, shrubs, rocks, and all-natural and man-made physical assets of the Club in both clubhouses and grounds.
- Members shall not use any portable audio or video devices or musical instruments on Club premises without the prior consent of the General Manager unless using personal headphones.
- Parking at Emerald Bay: Members are required to display a VRC Parking Pass on their car windscreen for staff to check in case they need to contact the owner. Guests and visitors must reserve parking in advance with the General Manager at the Emerald Bay car park on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays.
- Members are required to follow safety guidelines when using Club equipment.
- If there is an accident on Club premises: Members should contact the senior staff member in charge and ask for first aid, and in an emergency, call Emergency Services, 999, for support. At Deep Water Bay, the nearest public hospitals are Queen Mary Hospital and Ruttonjee Hospital and the closest private hospital is Gleneagles. At Emerald Bay, Tseung Kwan O Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital in Shatin are the nearest public health facilities with emergency rooms.
CODE OF CONDUCT
The sense of community of the Club, as well as its power to set an example to the public, depends on good will, common sense, and courtesy. It is the responsibility of all members to behave at all times with consideration towards each other, employees and management of the club, and the general public. The General Committee is empowered to caution, suspend, expel, or request the resignation of members for inappropriate conduct.
- “Inappropriate conduct” shall be defined as follows: verbal, written, or physical displays that are injurious to the character and interests of the Club, abusive to management and staff of the Club or to fellow members, including any form of discrimination, bullying, sexual harassment, abuse, or any violation of the Rules or By-Laws of the Club.
- The General Committee has total discretion in determining whether actions by members meet the criteria of “inappropriate conduct”.
- In addition to direct actions by member(s), acts of gross negligence leading to injury or loss of property will be considered under this clause. “Gross negligence” in this instance refers to actions taken by adult members of the Club in contravention of safety procedures, common sense, and instruction from management and staff.
- Club employees and management are empowered to request intoxicated members to leave the Club premises should their behaviour be deemed offensive to other users of the Club, within the constraints of public safety and consideration for the physical condition of the member in question.
- Any physical or verbal abuse of another member, Club staff, visitor, or passer-by on Club premises will result in immediate suspension and probable expulsion.
- Within the Sporting Sections, due care should be taken to ensure the principles of good sportsmanship, which do not include loud verbal abuse or public humiliation of fellow members of the section or members of the Club, or any form of bullying, sexual harassment or abuse. While coaching often entails aggressive language, members who are not part of the coaching staff should be discouraged from violating common sense principles of good manners and mutually supportive team behaviour.
- If a member does not resign within one week after being requested to do so on grounds of inappropriate conduct, the General Committee may forthwith expel the member(s) and strike their name off the Register.
- If the General Committee decides that the offence of a member is sufficient to warrant immediate expulsion it is empowered to expel them forthwith.
- Any person ceasing to be a member of the Club in accordance with this Rule shall forfeit their entrance fee and subscription payments and shall not be introduced as a guest.
- The Code of Conduct shall apply to all communications written in an official capacity on behalf of the Club in the form of social media postings, on the Club website, by email, post, or any other form of material or electronic distribution such as texting, WhatsApp, WeChat, or any other public communications.
- Non-payment of entrance and subscription fees is cause for termination of membership. According to the Articles of Association, and Part B, Article 5 (XIV), “Any Member whose quarterly subscription is unpaid on the 30th day of the month immediately following the end of any quarter shall cease ipso facto to be a Member, and shall forfeit all rights in and claims upon the Club and its property, but may be reinstated, at the discretion of the Committee, on payment of all arrears.” In addition, under Part B, Article 5,(XV), “If a Member’s account remains unpaid after 30 days from the date of the invoice, a rate of interest as prescribed from time to time by the Club in General Meeting will be charged to that Member for late payment.”
- Disciplinary matters involving members shall be referred to an ad hoc disciplinary sub-committee of the General Committee, following efforts to mediate with the members in dispute undertaken in good faith by sporting sections or the management of the Club.
- Recommendations by the ad hoc disciplinary committee will be referred to the General Committee for a decision. Based on the Articles of Association, a two-thirds vote by the General Committee is required for termination of membership.