WELTON BRIDGE CLUB
CONSTITUTION
Contents
- Aims of the club
- Membership and Affiliation
- Personal Data Protection
- Governance of the Club
- Fees and Subscriptions
- Accounts
- Officers and Committee
- Duties of Officers
- Election of Officers and Committee
- Annual General Meetings
- Special General Meetings
- Voting
- Guests and Visitors
- Winding-up
1. AIMS OF THE CLUB
The club shall be called Welton Bridge Club and hereinafter called the “club”.
The aim of the Club shall be to promote friendship and fellowship amongst individuals who enjoy playing and learning about the game of Bridge
The club shall provide facilities for the playing of duplicate bridge by all its members on a weekly basis.
2. MEMBERSHIP AND AFFILIATION
a) Membership shall be open to any player of bridge who contacts a committee member or is introduced by a member. Any new players wishing to join the club will be required to pay a joining fee of £5.
b) Full membership is required for regular play and it is acquired by payment of an annual membership fee as determined by the club committee at its AGM. If a member joins part way through a club year then the treasurer will decide on the level of membership payment on a pro-rata basis.
c) The club shall be affiliated to the English Bridge Union (E.B.U) and the Lincolnshire Contract bridge association (LCBA). Bridge sessions will be played in accordance with current EBU/LCBA laws and regulations and etiquette. Members who join and do not hold an EBU number will automatically be made a member of the EBU and be given their own EBU number.
3. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION
By being a member of the Bridge Club players agree to and accept the club rules and will be deemed to constitute consent to the holding of relevant personal data solely for communication within the bridge club. On ceasing to be a member all personal data relating to the member shall be permanently deleted from the data base. Requests for information relating to personal data held by the club should be made in writing to the secretary and if approved the applicant can expect to receive a reply within one calendar month of receipt of the request.
4. GOVERNANCE OF THE CLUB
The club is to hold an Annual General Meeting where agenda items, nominations and points of order can be submitted up to one week prior to the meeting date, in the month of October.
The Club should have in place a Chairman, a secretary and treasurer. These officers are to be elected at the AGM, by the membership on a show of hands, or by ballot if so decided. Points of interest discussed at the meeting will be voted upon and implementation will follow the majority vote. Should there be a tied vote then the Chairman will have the casting vote.
5. FEES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
The annual subscription is due the first meeting following the Annual General Meeting during the month of October and this sum is assessed and confirmed at the AGM. A membership list is then made up for that year. There is also a weekly subscription called table money and this sum is fixed at a level by the treasurer and committee to ensure rental for the meeting room and any costs required for renewal of equipment is covered and to allow the club to continue to be financially viable. This may be adjusted on recommendation by the treasurer for subsequent years. A separate table fee amount will be set for visitors and reassessed annually. Any player who joins the club part way through the year will pay a fee pro-rata of the normal full year amount as determined by the treasurer.
Any member who has not renewed their annual subscription within 3 months of the AGM, unless notified in writing explaining the reasons for non-payment, shall be deemed to have resigned their membership of the Club and will subsequently either be required to pay the guest table fee or renew their membership at the full annual rate.
6. ACCOUNTS
Records of subscriptions, income and expenditure will be kept by the treasurer and all monies will be handled by the treasurer. All Rental and other invoices will be also be handled by the treasurer. The club will have a bank/building society account, with at least two signatories for withdrawals. An Income and Expenditure Account will be presented to the membership at the AGM.
7. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE
a) All Officers shall be elected annually by ballot at the AGM and shall be eligible for re- election.
Officers of the club are currently:-
The Chairman, Tournament Director, Secretary, Treasurer, Web master, EBU/LCBA representative, and general members.
b) Any person ceasing to be a member of the Bridge Club shall automatically cease to be an Officer and/or a Committee Member.
8. DUTIES OF OFFICERS
a) CHAIRMAN. The chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Bridge Club. In their absence the meeting shall elect one of the other Officers to act as Chairman for that meeting.
b) THE TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR shall direct the weekly sessions of bridge in accordance with nationally recognised rules of play and produce a rota of members who are able to act as directors and scorers.
c) SECRETARY. The Secretary shall be responsible for day to day administration, drafting and circulating notices, agendas and minutes which are subject to the Chairman’s approval. The Secretary will also deal with correspondence and act as the primary contact for members needing help to find a partner. The secretary will also keep and maintain an up to date list of club members and their personal contact details. If appropriate an Assistant Secretary can be added to the committee to help the Secretary or take notes in their absence such as the AGM. The Assistant Secretary may attend meetings and be able to have a proxy vote at the discretion of the secretary.
c) TREASURER. The Treasurer shall be responsible for collecting and managing all monies. The Treasurer shall keep accounts, documents and papers relating to the Bridge Club and will make these available to the Committee when directed.
d) EBU/LCBA representative shall attend LCBA schedule meetings and feedback important information and messages as appropriate to the committee and club membership. Any member of the committee or officers may be asked to attend in the absence of the LCBA representative.
e) WEB MASTER. The task of the web master is to administer the club website and post notices on the web pages as directed by officers of the club.
9. ELECTIONS OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE
a) The Committee shall conduct the general business of the Club, preside over election of officers, and maintain the conduct of the Bridge Club in conformity with accepted EBU practice.
b) Every candidate for office shall be proposed and seconded by members entitled to vote. The candidate must have paid the current subscription and must have been a member for the previous 12 months and be not less than 21years of age.
c) Each member of the Bridge Club shall have one vote for each vacancy and no member shall give more than one vote to any candidate. The Chairman will have a casting vote in the event of any tie. d) In the event of the whole Committee resigning at any time the Secretary shall obtain nominations for new officers during the following seven days, and a ballot shall be held for the election of a new Committee at a Special General Meeting called by the Secretary within ten days of such resignation.
10. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS
a) The Annual General Meeting shall be held in the month of October on a day to be fixed by the Committee.
b) Notice of the AGM shall be posted on the Bridge Club Notice Board or website for at least twenty-one days before the date appointed for the Meeting. Motions for inclusion in the Agenda of the AGM must be submitted to the committee prior to the meeting.
c) The Agenda for the AGM shall be posted on the Bridge Club Notice Board and website for at least seven clear days before the date appointed for the Meeting.
d) The audited accounts are to be made available to ALL members at the AGM by the treasurer
At the AGM a simple statement of the income and expenditure account shall be presented.
e) At the AGM one-fifth of the Bridge Club Membership shall form a quorum. If at the time appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present the meeting shall stand adjourned. The members present may determine when the next meeting will be held and if it should proceed without the required quorum.
11. SPECIAL GENERAL MEETINGS
The Secretary shall be required to convene a Special General Meeting in one or more of the following circumstances:-
a) At the direction of the Chairman, Committee or one or more of the officers.
b) Upon a written request forwarded to the Secretary made and supported by one-fifth or more of the members.
c) Notice of any Special General Meeting shall be posted on the Bridge Club Notice Board and website a minimum of a week before the date appointed for such a meeting.
12. VOTING
a) At all General Meetings every member present shall have one vote on each resolution on the agenda.
b) If paid up members are unable to attend an AGM they should have the right to vote either by proxy or post.
c) Votes by e-mail to the secretary will also be accepted. The Chairman will have authority to vote on behalf of a member who is absent from an AGM if that person has informed the Chairman of his or her wishes in writing.
13. GUESTS AND VISITORS
Guests and visitors will be subject to the current rules of the club and will be required to pay the set visitor fee. They shall be deemed visitors for a period of 3 weeks, thereafter they would be expected to become full members of the club and pay a subscription pro rata from the day they join and to pay the set joining fee.
14. WINDING-UP
If the bridge club can no longer meet or it becomes financially unviable to continue and likely to incur unsustainable debts then a special AGM may be called to wind up the club. A vote to wind up the club must be agreed by a majority of the existing members of the club.
In the event of the members agreeing to wind up the club all debts and financial responsibilities shall be settled from existing club funds. Any remaining surplus funds shall be distributed equally among selected charities as voted for by the membership. Bridge assets such as cards and bidding boxes shall be donated to organisations or charities as directed by the committee. The treasurer will then close all existing bank or building society accounts.
Completed 01/08/2022
David Minnis- Chairman WBC
|