CONSTITUTION: 8^th September 2022.   

1. The club is called the BICKERLEY BRIDGE CLUB.

2. The object of the Club is to provide facilities for members to play Duplicate Bridge in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

3. Member and Visitors:
   1. Membership shall be open to any person approved by the       Committee. Application forms to be completed.
   2. Visitors may play at the Club no more than three times annually, providing their standards of play and behaviour are acceptable.
   3. All members and visitors of the Club are deemed to have accepted the regulations of this Constitution and the rules and codes of conduct adopted by the Club.

4. Administration of the Club:
   1. This shall be conducted by the Committee who are elected by ballot at an AGM to the following positions and who are required to be members of the Club:-
      1. The Chair ii) The Secretary  iii)  The Treasurer and  iv)  Up to four further members.
   2. All elected committee members shall serve for one year and may then stand for re-election to the individual posts.
   3. The Committee shall determine the Annual Subscriptions and Table charges including for visitors.  Annual subscriptions should be paid as soon as possible after the financial year end, which is 31^st July;  failure to pay within 3 mths of this date will result in lapsed membership.  The Club plays at Greyfriars Community Centre and subscriptions are also payable annually to the Centre.
   4. The Committee shall have the power to operate such bank accounts as are necessary;  individual signatories being at a minimum the Chair, Treasurer and Secretary,  with two signatures required for each transaction
   5. A quorum at meetings of the Committee shall be four members of the Committee, including at least one of the Officers. In the event of parity of voting the chair shall have a second or casting vote.  At least one week’s notice of any Committee Meeting, shall be given.

5. AGMs and EGMs

1. The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held between 4 to 7 weeks after the financial year end.
2. An Extraordinary General Meeting can be called for by the Committee. If called by any member, they must submit a written request to the Secretary cc the Committee, which is signed by no less than 20% of the total paid up members.
3. Any member unable to attend the AGM or an EGM if called, shall be entitled to a Proxy / Postal vote to be made on a form obtainable from the Secretary, stating how the vote is cast and signed by the member and handed to the person chairing the meeting by the start of the meeting
4. Notice of the AGM and any EGM must be displayed on the Club’s notice board and Website no less than four weeks prior to the meeting. The quorum for any EGM or AGM shall be more than 50% of the paid-up membership being in attendance, including any Proxy / Postal votes.
5. All proposals, resolutions and nominations for Officers and Committee must be submitted to the Secretary in writing within fourteen days prior to the Annual General Meeting. In the event of no nomination for a position, a proposal may be accepted from the floor.

6. Powers and Procedures:
   1. Play and conduct shall be in accordance with the current edition of ‘The Laws of Duplicate Bridge’ published by the World Bridge Federation and supplementary regulations published by the English Bridge Union. The club subscribes to the Best Behaviour at Bridge (BB@B) Code, to be found at https://www.ebu.co.uk/documents/laws-and-ethics/articles/best-behaviour-at-bridge.pdf
   2. The Club shall have the powers and the procedures for the enforcement of the requirement in clause 6(a), including the expulsion or suspension of any Member who offends against this Constitution.
   3. The keeping of personal data on Members, such as telephone numbers and email addresses shall be according to the Privacy Notice for the Club as posted on the website.
   4. The Club shall not be liable for any injury nor loss sustained by Members while in any activity relating to the Club.
   5. In the event of the dissolution of the Club, for which more than 50% of the paid-up Members should be in favour, an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called to determine the Committee’s plans for distribution of assets after discharge of liabilities.
   6. This Constitution may not be altered or varied except at an Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for that purpose.  In order for a resolution to alter this Constitution, more than 50% of the votes cast on the resolution must be in favour.