1.        NAME

The Club shall be called ‘Bourne Bridge Club’ (hereinafter called “the Club”).

2.        OBJECTIVE

The objective of the Club shall be to provide members facilities to play Contract Bridge according to the Laws of Duplicate and Contract Bridge (2017).

3.        AFFILIATIONS

The Club may be affiliated to the English Bridge Union.

  4.    MANAGEMENT

4.1    The affairs of the Club shall be managed by the Committee and the Committee shall have power to determine any issue arising in connection with the affairs of the Club which is not specifically provided for in this Constitution.

4.2    The Committee may from time to time formulate and publish such rules as it thinks expedient for the efficient and harmonious running of the Club (but in the case of any conflict between such rules and this Constitution, the Constitution shall prevail).

4.3    Any issue of policy determined by the Committee or any rules published by the Committee may be varied by a resolution of members at a General Meeting of the Club, provided that such resolution is not in conflict with this Constitution and is not retrospective in application.

4.4    In the event of such variation being made, the policy or rules (as the case may be) shall not be further varied by the Committee in a manner inconsistent with the resolution.

5.      MEMBERSHIP

5.1     The Committee:

1. shall require applications for membership to be made using the Club’s application form;

2. may refuse an application for membership if they believe that it is in the best interests of the Club for them to do so;

3. shall, if they decide to refuse an application for membership, give the applicant their reasons for doing so, within 30 days of the decision being taken, and give the applicant the opportunity to appeal against the refusal; and

4. shall consider any such appeal and shall inform the applicant of their decision, this decision shall be final;

5. will keep a register of members which will include details of their names, addresses and contact details;

6. will require a former member of the Club who wishes to re-join as a member to do so by means of a formal application for membership;

7. shall ensure that members of the Club are automatically enrolled as members of the English Bridge Union and shall abide by its Bye Laws, rules and regulations, whilst we are affiliated to the EBU.

      5.2     Transfer of membership - Membership of the Club cannot be transferred to anyone else.

5.3     Duty of members

1. 1. 1. It is the duty of each member of the Club to exercise their powers as a member of the Club in the way they decide which in good faith would be most likely to further the purposes of the Club.

1. 1. 2. All members are deemed to have accepted the regulations of this constitution and the rules and codes of conduct adopted by the Club.

5.4     Termination of membership:

5.4.1   Membership of the Club comes to an end if:

1. 1. the member dies; or

1. 2. the member sends a notice of resignation to the Committee; or

1. 3. any sum of money owed by the member to the Club is not paid in full within six months of its falling

          due; or

1. 4. the Committee decides that it is in the best interests of the Club that the member in question should be removed from membership and pass a resolution to that effect.

1. 5. the member is expelled from the club under the Disciplinary Rules.

5.4.2   Before the Committee take any decision to remove someone from membership of the Club they must:

1. inform the member of the reasons why it is proposed to remove them from membership;

2. give the member at least 21 clear days’ notice in which to make representations to the Committee as to why they should not be removed from membership;

3. at a duly constituted meeting of the Committee, consider the appeal

4. consider at that meeting any representations which the member makes as to why the member should not be removed; and

5. allow the member, or the member’s representative, to make those representations in person at that meeting, if the member so chooses.

6.      OFFICERS

6.1    The Officers of the Club shall be the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, who shall serve for a term of five years.

6.2    No member of the Club shall simultaneously hold more than one Office of the Club.

6.3    Each of the Officers of the Club shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Club and shall retire annually at the ensuing Annual General Meeting, but shall be eligible for re-election.

6.4    In the event of a vacancy arising during the year of any Officer of the Club, the Committee shall choose one of their number to fill such vacancy until the Annual General Meeting.

7.      COMMITTEE

7.1    The Committee of the Club shall consist of the Officers of the Club, together with five other members of the Club, who shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Club and shall retire annually at the following Annual General Meeting, but shall be eligible for re-election.

7.2    The Committee may from time to time co-opt further members of the Club to serve on the Committee until the ensuing Annual General Meeting, whether to fill a vacancy arising, or as additional members.  Co-opted members shall be entitled to participate fully in the proceedings of the Committee.

7.3    A quorum at meetings of the Committee shall be four members of the Committee, including at least one of the Officers.

7.4    The Committee may from time to time appoint sub­committees to undertake on its behalf such aspects of the administration of the Club as it shall think fit and members of such sub­ committees may include members of the Club who are not members of the Committee.

7.5    The Committee shall make a report to each Annual General Meeting of the Club concerning the affairs of the Club since the previous Annual General Meeting.

7.6    The Chair shall have the casting vote at any Committee meeting or at the AGM.

8.      GENERAL MEETINGS

8.1    An Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held in each year no later than four months after the end of the financial year.

8.2.   A Special General Meeting of the Club shall be convened by the Committee if a request for such a meeting signed by at least ten members of the Club is delivered to the Secretary, stating the reason for the meeting and such meeting shall take place within one month of the receipt of such request.

8.3    A Special General Meeting of the Club may be convened by the Committee on its own initiative at any time.

8.4    The Chair, if present, shall chair all General Meetings of the Club, and in their absence some other member of the Committee, approved by a majority of those present at the Meeting shall chair the meeting.

8.5    Notice of all General Meetings of the Club shall be given to all members of the Club no later than two weeks prior to the date fixed for the meeting.

8.6    Any member may propose a motion to be discussed at a General Meeting provided that written notice is delivered to the Secretary no later than one week prior to the date fixed for the meeting.

8.7    The Chair of the meeting may permit discussion of other business at a General Meeting if they think fit.

8.8     A quorum at General Meetings of the Club shall be twenty members present in person.

8.9    If fifteen minutes after the time fixed for a General Meeting of the Club no quorum shall be present, the meeting shall be adjourned to a new date (of which the like notice shall be given to members as was required to be given for the meeting which has been adjourned) and in the case of a General Meeting which has been adjourned due to the lack of a quorum (but not of a meeting adjourned for any other reason) such number of members as are actually present at the adjourned meeting shall constitute a quorum.

8.10  Voting at General Meetings of the Club shall be by show of hands and in the event of parity of voting the Chair of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

9.      NOTICES

9.1    Notices of any Special General Meeting of the Club and of an Annual General Meeting at which in the opinion of the Committee any business of a non-routine nature is likely to be discussed, shall be given to members by email to the last address of each member notified to the Secretary and by displaying a notice in a prominent position at the Club.

9.2    Notices of any Annual General Meeting at which in the opinion of the Committee no business of a non-routine nature is likely to be discussed, may be given to members either by email to the last address of each member notified to the Secretary and by displaying a notice in a prominent position at the Club.

9.3    Notices of any other matters to be brought to the attention of members shall be made by displaying a notice in a prominent position at the Club or by email.

10.    NOMINATIONS

10.1  Nominations for the posts of Officers and Committee members shall be in writing and shall be signed by a proposer and a seconder, both of whom shall be members of the Club and also by the person nominated.

10.2  Nominations must reach the Secretary no later than one week prior to the date fixed for the Annual General Meeting.

11     SUBSCRIPTIONS and FEES

11.1  Each member of the Club shall pay an annual subscription, the basic amount of which for the time being shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting of the Club. Subscriptions shall be due for payment by the AGM date each year in respect of the year to the following. Unless the Committee decides otherwise, any member whose subscription remains unpaid after the due date shall pay table money at the rate applicable to visitors until their subscription has been paid in full.

11.2  Each member of the Club and visitor, shall pay table money on each occasion when they play at the Club, the basic amounts of which for the time being shall be determined by the Committee.  The exception will be when the Club is hosting a match.

11.3  The Committee may determine variations on the basic amounts of table money for members and visitors in different circumstances and may waive subscriptions or table money in the event of hardship or for any other good cause.

12     ACCOUNTS

12.1. The Committee shall arrange for accounts to be prepared in respect of the financial affairs of the Club for each year ending on 31 March and for the appointment of an Auditor to audit those accounts.

12.2. The audited accounts for each year shall be presented to the Annual General Meeting of the Club for approval.

12.3  The finances of the Club shall be managed by the Committee.

12.4  The Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping a record of all financial transactions and for keeping all Club monies in a Bank Account approved by the Committee in the name of the Club save for petty cash deemed necessary by the Committee.  Cheques drawn on the account must be signed by two designated signatories of the Club.

12.5  The Committee may spend up to £500 in a single transaction without reference to the Members.   This excludes the rent of the hall and the cost of booking special events.

13.    VISITORS

13.1  Visitors will be welcomed at the discretion of the Director for that session. After three visits a visitor will be eligible for membership, in line with membership policy.

14     MEMBERSHIP & MEMBERS’ BEHAVIOUR

14.1    Each member of the Club shall be required, whether at or away from the bridge table, to conform to the standards of fair play, courtesy and personal deportment prescribed by the Bye Laws and regulations for the time being of the EBU, including the fundamental principle set out in the EBU’s “Best Behaviour at Bridge”.

14.2    The Club shall have the powers and the procedures for the enforcement of the requirement in clause 14.1. They are set out in the Schedule of the Constitution, and shall stand as part of the Constitution and be subject to the same provisions of the Constitution for its amendment.

14.3    Members should notify the member of the Committee responsible for membership of any changes in contact details.

14.4    All membership details are held in compliance of the General Data Protection Regulations (2018).

14.5   The Committee has the right to terminate the membership of any member if that member has infringed the rules laid down by The Club.  In such circumstances the member has the right of appeal and can be represented.

15.  GENERAL

15.1    Competitions shall be held at such times and under such conditions as the Committee shall determine

15.2    The Club accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the property of any member or visitor whilst at the Club.

15.3    Any matter not provided for in this Constitution and all questions arising in connection therewith shall be considered and resolved by the Committee.

15.4  Neither the Officers nor other Committee members shall be either individually or jointly responsible for any liabilities incurred by The Club.

16     ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION

16.1 No alterations shall be made to this constitution except at a General Meeting of the Club.

         16.2. In order for a resolution to alter this constitution to have effect at least 67% of the votes cast on the resolution must be in favour.

17     WINDING­UP

17.1. In order for a resolution that the Club shall be wound up to have effect at least 67% of the votes cast on the resolution must be in favour and in addition the number of votes cast in favour of the resolution must exceed 50% of the number of members of the Club entitled to attend and vote at the General Meeting at which the resolution is put.

17.2   If a resolution that the Club shall be wound up is effectively passed, the Committee shall be responsible for windingup the affairs of the Club and unless the winding up has been initiated with a view to amalgamating the Club with some other club (in which case any surplus assets and funds may be transferred to such other club), any surplus assets and funds shall be transferred to such of those organisations as the Committee may think fit.