Governance and Elections

Governance and Trustee Elections

The British Student Taekwondo Federation (BSTF) is a national student sport federation and registered charity. Founded in 1986, we are governed by an elected board of trustees and project a national student voice for more than 70 active university Taekwondo clubs.

The mission of the British Student Taekwondo Federation is:

The advancement for the public benefit of physical education among students in Universities and Colleges by the provision of services and promotion of the martial art and amateur sport of Taekwondo.

To this aim we provide various support services, and deliver a range of programmes and events including the BUCS Taekwondo Championships Series, training camps, officials’ courses, BUCS London University Sports League tournaments, European Universities Games qualification events and team management and a range of other events and services.

We work closely with a variety of valued partners and sponsors including suppliers, athletic unions and sports departments, NGBs, Taekwondo associations/ companies and British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS). We provide the framework for open, multi-discipline competition between all university clubs, independently managing and insuring our events to enable all university Taekwondo practitioners to train and compete together.

There are three categories of membership within the organisation, including: Member Clubs (open to all clubs in membership of their respective Students’ Union); Individual Affiliates; and Honorary Life Members.

Governance of the charity is undertaken by the Board which is comprised of the Executive directors, Non-executive elected trustees and Non-executive directors.

Their roles are described in brief below:

Executive Directors Management (Staffed posts)	Non-executive Trustees Governance (Elected posts)	Non-executive Directors Advisory (Selected posts)
1. Work to effectively deliver the charity’s objects 2. Manage the operations of the charity, including its tournament and event programmes 3. Ensure adequate financial planning and control systems are in place 4. Determine strategies to achieve the charity’s goals 5. Communicate regularly with the Board 6. Plan the charity’s annual budget 7. Report to the Charity Commission 8. Engage with stakeholders and partners	1. Provide oversight, assuring the effective performance and governance of the charity 2. Ensure the charity adheres to its governing documents 3. Ensure compliance with charity law 4. Ensure the charity’s assets are only used to support its objects 5. Identify and avert conflicts with personal interests or loyalty to any other person or body 6. Authorise the charity’s annual budget	1. Hold traits of independence, impartiality, wide experience, special knowledge and personal qualities 2. Attend the charity’s board meetings in an advisory capacity 3. Review and report on potential performance improvements, long term planning and risk analysis 4. Provide an independent viewpoint

Executive Directors

Management

(Staffed posts)

Non-executive Trustees

Governance

(Elected posts)

Non-executive Directors

Advisory

(Selected posts)

1. Work to effectively deliver the charity’s objects
2. Manage the operations of the charity, including its tournament and event programmes
3. Ensure adequate financial planning and control systems are in place
4. Determine strategies to achieve the charity’s goals
5. Communicate regularly with the Board
6. Plan the charity’s annual budget
7. Report to the Charity Commission
8. Engage with stakeholders and partners

1. Provide oversight, assuring the effective performance and governance of the charity
2. Ensure the charity adheres to its governing documents
3. Ensure compliance with charity law
4. Ensure the charity’s assets are only used to support its objects
5. Identify and avert conflicts with personal interests or loyalty to any other person or body
6. Authorise the charity’s annual budget

1. Hold traits of independence, impartiality, wide experience, special knowledge and personal qualities
2. Attend the charity’s board meetings in an advisory capacity
3. Review and report on potential performance improvements, long term planning and risk analysis
4. Provide an independent viewpoint

The AGM is typically held during the first term of each academic year and is an opportunity for all clubs to get the latest information on this year’s upcoming events, and to elect the governing Trustees. Every university club in membership of their students’ union and the BSTF, regardless of style or affiliation, carries an equal vote at BSTF general meetings. All university clubs nationwide have an equal say in electing their trustees. Voting is exercised by an elected committee member representing their institution’s member club. In order for students from each institution to take part in the charity’s tournaments and for a club representative to attend the AGM, each institution must be in current membership of the charity.

Trustees are the passionate individuals who offer their time, energy and expertise to improve university taekwondo for all. Candidates are typically PhD students or alumni with prior experience leading university sports club committees, and often bring special skills to the board from their field of work (e.g., medicine, law, systems engineering, project management). Posts are usually either 1 or 2 years in length after which you may stand for re-election. You must be available to serve the full duration of your elected term.

Please be aware that the role is very different from that of a club captain. Being a BSTF trustee can be hard work, but if you love university sport and taekwondo then there are few better ways to give back to it than becoming a trustee, and such a role will give you a wealth of experience that employers will love.

The main responsibilities of elected trustees, essential required skills and desirable additional skills are listed below.

Key Responsibilities	Essential Skills	Desirable Skills
Elected trustees ensure the accountability, legal compliance, & efficient governance of the charity	Be eligible, understand and accept role and responsibilities of a charity trustee – check this handbook	Expertise in the governance of charitable organisations/ NGBs / Students’ Unions
Provide oversight on a wide range of the charity’s’ activities, promptly reviewing documents year round	Understand and support the charity’s objectives, always following its Standard Operating Procedures	Significant experience operating or governing university clubs or students’ union departments
Attend around 9 meeting per year, some online & some requiring travel, up to 12 months of the year	Candidates must be: Passionate, Responsive, Reliable, Capable, Collaborators	Significant experience working in professional environments, ideally at company board level
Attend & support 3 or more other events each year, including the National Championships Finals	To always act impartially in the best interests of all university clubs at all times	Successful record delivering major sponsorship agreements in the third sector
Commit to providing 16-20 full days per year across events, meetings, reviewing documents & other tasks	Prepared for a challenge which requires good time management skills, technical precision & hard work	Hold desirable specialist skills, such as: medical doctors; lawyers; programmers; accountants

If you are interesting in becoming a BSTF trustee you must contact us by email to put yourself forward. This must be received a minimum of 10 working days in advance of an AGM and should include a short text biography (must be 300-500 words) for publication on our website along with a passport style profile picture. Please see the events page for the date and venue of the charity’s next AGM.

Prior to elections at the AGM candidates will be questioned by board members and clubs’ representatives on a range of topics, including what experience they might bring to the board and on their understanding of the role of a charity trustee. It is as a minimum recommended that candidates be aware of the charity’s management and governance structure, and gain a thorough understanding of the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s handbook CC3, The Essential Trustee, in advance of the meeting. For further reading on this subject the Wales Council for Voluntary Action have produced a detailed Guide for Charity Trustees, covering all aspects of charity management and governance.