Part 13Other special types of company etc

Chapter 9Community amateur sports clubs

Basic concepts

659Meaning of “open to the whole community”

1

A club is “open to the whole community” for the purposes of section 658 if—

a

its membership is open to all without discrimination,

b

its facilities are available to members without discrimination, and

c

its fees (if any) do not represent a significant obstacle to membership or use of its facilities.

2

For the purposes of this section “discrimination” includes indirect discrimination and (in particular) includes discrimination on the grounds of—

a

ethnicity or nationality,

b

religion or beliefs,

c

sexual orientation, or

d

sex, age or disability (except as a necessary consequence of the requirements of a particular sport).

3

A club is not prevented from being “open to the whole community” for the purposes of section 658 merely because it has different classes of membership depending on—

a

the age of the member,

b

whether the member is a student,

c

whether the member is waged,

d

whether the member is a playing member, or

e

how far from the club the member lives,

or merely because it has restrictions on the days or times when different classes of membership have access to its facilities.