1. The ruling body shall be the voting members at a General Meeting where all full members can attend. The RTC will have at least one General Meeting each year known as the Annual General Meeting (AGM); additional General Meetings may take place during the year and any of these can be physical or remote (e.g. Teleconference, Webinar).
2. RTC has the following categories of members:
Full Member: an organization that provides a range of rebreather training courses for its instructor members to deliver.
Associate Member: an organization that is active in the field of rebreather technology such as a manufacturer of rebreathers or associated hardware or software. Associate Members have no voting rights.
Observer: an organization that has been invited to attend RTC meetings. Observers pay no fees and have no voting rights.
3. Full Members must meet these requirements:
a. Be a training organization that has been in business for at least three years
b. Ensure that any of their equivalent courses will meet or exceed any existing standards issued by the RTC
c. Comply with any relevant ISO standards for the courses they offer
d. Have liability insurance in place covering the training they provide
e. Meet the legal requirements in place for any countries in which they operate
f. Maintain a professional reputation in the marketplace
g. Have a quality control protocol to ensure that their courses are conducted according to their published standards
4. Full Members shall pay annual dues of US $100 per calendar year; Associate Members shall pay $50 per calendar year; Observer Members pay no fee. Dues are to be paid to the Treasurer by January 31 each year. The amount of such fees may be varied at the discretion of the Board of Directors. In the event of unanticipated, one-off expenses arising in the course of a year, any extra costs shall be borne equally between the Full Members.
5. If any member is found to be consistently acting against the best interests of the RTC, the other members may vote to place that member into a six-month probationary status. While in probationary status, the member cannot vote. At the end of the six-month period, the member may be fully reinstated or expelled according to the results of a further vote. The affected member may not vote in these proceedings.
6. A member may formally resign from the RTC at any point by providing written notice to the Secretary.
7. The RTC will elect a Board of Directors (BOD) consisting of the following officers:
a. President
b. Vice President
c. Treasurer
d. Secretary
8. The officers hold their position for two years. A new BOD shall be elected at every second AGM. No BOD officer can hold the same office for two consecutive periods with the exception of the Treasurer.
9. A quorum exists when at least two-thirds of the members are attending a meeting or have provided a proxy vote for the issue being voted upon.
10. The President shall act as the chair of a meeting, in his/her absence the Vice President shall act as chair. If both are absent the members present shall agree upon a chair for that meeting.
11. If a member cannot attend a meeting and wishes to vote on a previously announced matter, they can send their vote in writing to the President and/or Secretary at least 48 hours before the meeting. Proxy votes cannot be applied if a motion is substantially altered during the discussions at the meeting unless the proxy voter can be contacted for consultation prior to the vote being conducted to confirm ratification of their proxy vote.
12. All general resolutions adopted by a General Meeting or the BOD require a two-thirds or greater majority to carry. The only exception concerns the creation or editing of an RTC Standard or modification to these rules and regulations when the consensus of all members is required.
13. The BOD may accept new members subject to ratification by the next General Meeting.
14. A Full Member organization may send up to three delegates to any General Meeting, but the member always has only one vote.
15. The Secretary or a person appointed by the Secretary shall ensure that at least five days prior to each scheduled meeting an agenda will be circulated to members. Following a meeting, they will distribute minutes to the members within 30 days.
16. Members are to treat all communications within the RTC as confidential except where express permission has been given for information to be released.
17. Employees or officers of member organizations will not stand as an expert witness against a fellow member organization unless under a court-ordered subpoena.
18. In the event of a matter of controversy arising that is not covered by these Rules and Regulations, Robert’s Rules of Order shall be used as the working protocol for settling it.
19. Only paid-up members in good standing have the right to promote themselves as members of the RTC.
20. The working language of the RTC shall be English.
Version date: 13 November 2020