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Acorn Constitution
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Draft Constitution

Constitution of the Acorn Bridge Club

TITLE          RULE 1

 The name of the club shall be the “The Acorn Bridge Club”

OBJECTS      RULE 2

 The objects of the Acorn Bridge Club shall be

  • To promote the game of Contract Bridge
  • To provide pleasant conditions for its members
  • To be affiliated with the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland and register all members with the CBAI.

MEMBERSHIP    RULE 3

Membership of the Acorn Bridge Club shall be open to all those applicants whom the committee deem to have adequate knowledge of the game of Contract Bridge. The committee reserves the right to set criteria for dealing with applications for membership.

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP    RULE 4

Members who have rendered exceptional service or contribution to the club may be considered for honoury membership. Awards for Honorary Life Membership shall be at the discretion of the committee and require a 2/3 majority vote of the full committee.

AUTHORITY      RULE 5

Supreme authority shall be vested in the Annual General Meeting.   It is the function of the Committee Elect to conduct its affairs in conformity with the policy formed at the AGM.   This committee shall be governed by any directions or resolutions made at the AGM.

COMMITTEE     RULE 6

The committee shall consist of 11 members and be composed of the following officers

President

Vice President

Hon. Secretary

Hon. Treasurer

2 Ass. Treasurers

Hon. Tournament Director

The outgoing president shall be an ex officio member of the committee.

The outgoing president shall nominate the president of Acorn Bridge Club for the forthcoming Bridge Year.

Nominated candidates for the committee and officers, together with the names of their proposer and seconder, will be displayed on the club website in advance of the AGM.

The Committee shall be elected at the AGM.

If there are more candidates proposed and seconded for any position on the committee, then a secret ballot shall be held.    Those candidates receiving the highest votes shall be elected to their respective positions.

The committee shall meet formally at least 5 times a year.   The committee shall have the power to co-opt a member to the committee or subcommittees should the need arise.

The President will normally act as chairperson but in the absence of the President the Vice President or other person accepted by the committee may act as chairperson.

In the event of a tie on any voting issue, the chairperson will have a casting vote.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING / SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING   RULE 7

The Annual General Meeting of the Acorn Bridge Club shall be held before December 1 each year.   The exact date to be decided by committee and notification to members to be given 3 weeks in advance

The quorum for the Annual General Meeting shall be 25% of the paid up membership of the club at the time the meeting is convened.

The incoming officers shall assume their duties at the conclusion of the AGM.

Motions for the Annual General Meeting, together with proposer and seconder, should be submitted to the Hon. Secretary, and displayed on the club website at least two weeks before the AGM.

The Annual General Meeting shall appoint from amongst its members a team of : 

  1. Tournament Directors                                                                                                            
  2.  Scorekeepers and timekeepers

The committee has the power to appoint a tournament director for special events where the regular tournament directors are unavailable.

Special General Meeting

 A Special General Meeting can be convened at the discretion of the committee or at the request in writing of at least 20 members of the Club.    Agenda for this meeting must be submitted to the Hon. Secretary at least 14 days in advance and must be displayed on the club website.

TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS    RULE 8

The Tournament Directors shall rule in cases of disputes/complaints in the course of competitions and in all cases the rules of the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland shall apply.

DISPUTES / COMPLAINTS    RULE 9

The committee may suspend or terminate for serious cause, the membership of any player.   Such a player shall have the right to appeal before the Committee in advance of any decision being made.

A member subject to any form of discipline shall be informed in writing of the impending discipline made by the committee and such a member has the right to appeal.

If a member wishes to make a complaint about any other member then his/her complaint must be submitted in writing to the Hon. Secretary.

Should the committee accept the validity of the complaint then the complainant shall be informed of the complaint and given the opportunity to address the committee.

The committee shall then decide upon appropriate action.

FINANCE   RULE 10

The Annual Subscription shall be fixed at each Annual General Meeting.   This subscription is payable not later than 30th November in each year or on the application for membership.

The financial year shall be from 1st Sept to 31th Aug of the subsequent year.

All funds and assets in the possession of the committee shall be the property of the Acorn Bridge Club.

An account of receipts, funds and expenditure shall be kept during the year.

A Statement of Accounts shall be available at the AGM.

Table fees shall be fixed at each Annual General Meeting.

The subscription fee shall include the registration fee of the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland.

COMPETITIONS     RULE 11

All major competitions are restricted to paid up Club Members who have played at least 6 times during the current bridge year.

A visitor to the club may play no more than three occasions in a given year without becoming a member.

HANDICAPS    RULE 12

The power to determine and alter the handicaps of members of the Acorn Bridge Club shall be vested in the Committee. However, the computerised scoring system will in general fix handicaps which will be the average deviation of each player from 50%. The handicap file must be updated after each tournament.

New members’ handicaps will be set by the tournament director who will use available knowledge of the player until such time as 5 tournaments have been played. After 5 tournaments have been played, the computer system will set the handicaps.

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION    RULE 13

The power to make, amend and revoke the rules of the Acorn Bridge Club shall be vested in the Annual General Meeting.

Proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Acorn Bridge Club must be submitted in writing to the Hon. Secretary at least 14 days prior to the Annual General Meeting and must be displayed on the Club website.

Changes in the rules must be approved by a full 2/3 (two thirds) majority of those members present at the Annual General Meeting.

The decision of the Committee on any question of the interpretation arising out of the rules of the Acorn Bridge Club shall be binding on the members.

BRIDGE YEAR     RULE 14

The playing year of the Acorn Bridge Club shall be decided by the committee. 

Last updated : 26th Nov 2015 23:56 GMT