CHIPPING NORTON BRIDGE CLUB CONSTITUTION
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- NAME: The name of the Club shall be the Chipping Norton & District Bridge Club.
- OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of the Club shall be to promote interest in, and encourage the playing of, Contract Bridge.
- MEMBERS:
(i) The Club shall be composed of members who support the objectives of the Club and
who have paid their subscription for the current year.
(ii) Application from any person wishing to become a member shall, after three playing
visits, be made to the Secretary, who will communicate the application orally to the
members present at the first practicable ordinary meeting. In the event of no written
objection the applicant shall be deemed elected. In the event of a written objection,
which must be made within 7 days, the application shall be referred to the Committee,
whose decision shall be final.
(iii) Should there be written objection to the continuing membership of any member, the
Committee shall be empowered, after investigation to:
(a) Dismiss the objection, or
(b) Admonish the member, or
(c) Expel the member.
The decision of the Committee shall be final.
(iv) A membership waiting list may be operated at the discretion of the Committee.
- ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:
(i) The annual general meeting (AGM) of the Club shall be held in November on a day
and at a time and place to be decided by the Committee.
(ii) A notice specifying the day, time and place of the AGM and the business to be
transacted shall be sent by the Secretary to each member not less than 14 days
before the day of the meeting, together with nomination slips for Officers and
Committee members. The slips must be returned to the Secretary at least 7 days
before the AGM.
- OFFICERS:
(i) The members of the Club at the AGM shall elect, by ballot, a Chairman, Secretary,
and Treasurer.
(ii) An Officer shall hold office until the next AGM and shall be eligible for re-election.
(iii) Any vacancy arising during the year may be filed at any meeting of the Committee.
- COMMITTEE:
(i) The business of the Club shall be conducted by a Committee which shall consist of
the officers elected at 5(i), and three other members elected by ballot at the AGM.
The committee shall meet at least once during each four month period within the year.
(ii) The Committee may act on behalf of the Club in any matter in accordance with the
Constitution.
- MOTIONS AT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:
(i) Any member wishing to propose a motion for discussion at the next AGM shall give
written notice thereof to the Secretary, together with the name of a seconder, not later
than the 1st October and such motion shall be included in the agenda for the meeting.
(ii) Any amendment to a motion submitted in accordance with paragraph 7 (i) shall be
submitted in writing by the proposer to the Secretary, together with the name of a
seconder, not less than 7 days before the day of the AGM.
- EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING:
(i) An extraordinary general meeting shall be held at any time:
(a) at the discretion of the Committee.
(b) upon the receipt by the Secretary of a request in writing, signed by not less than one
fifth of the members and specifying the matters they desire to be discussed
(ii) A notice specifying the time and place of the extraordinary general meeting and the
business to be transacted shall be sent by the Secretary to each Club member, not
less than 7 days before the day of the meeting.
- QUORUM:
The quorum at a general meeting shall be one third of the members entitled to be
present. The quorum at a meeting of the Committee shall be 5 of the members entitled
to be present.
- VOTING:
With the exception of paragraphs 5 & 6, the method of voting shall be at the discretion
of the Chairman and in case of an equality of votes the Chairman shall be entitled to
give a casting vote.
- SUBSCRIPTIONS:
(i) Subject to the following sub-paragraphs (ii), (iii) and (iv), each member shall pay, for
the year commencing on the 1st October, such annual subscriptions as shall be fixed
at the AGM. Such subscriptions shall be placed to the Treasurer not later than the
31st December following.
(ii) Any person becoming a member after the 31st March shall pay one half of the annual
subscription for the current year.
(iii) The subscription for a junior member shall be half of that for an adult. A junior
member is any person under the age of 18 at the time of joining the Club. A junior
member shall become liable for full membership at the commencement of the Club’s
financial year following their 18th birthday.
(iv) In consideration of their services, the Secretary and Treasurer shall not be required to
pay an annual subscription.
- ORDINARY BRIDGE MEETING:
Ordinary meetings shall be held at such places and on such times as shall be decided at
the AGM.
(i) At the AGM, the Club shall decide the general programme of ordinary meetings
during the ensuing year.
(ii) When rubber bridge is played at ordinary meetings, members may make their own
arrangements as regards stake money.
- CHARGES AT ORDINARY MEETINGS:
A member playing bridge at an ordinary meeting shall pay such charges on each
occasion as shall be prescribed at the AGM
- FINANCE;
(i) The financial year for the Club shall be from 1st October until the next 30th
September.
(ii) A statement of accounts for the year ending 30th September, duly audited, shall be
presented by the Treasurer at the AGM next following that date.
(iii) The Treasurer shall operate a bank account on behalf of the Club. Any cheque
drawn on such an account shall be signed to two of the following officers: the
Chairman, the Secretary, the Treasurer.
(iv) No cheque on the bank shall, except with the authority of the Committee, exceed
such sum as may be prescribed at the AGM.
(v) The appointment of the Auditor shall be proposed by the Committee and approved
at the AGM.
- VISITORS;
(i) A visitor may attend and play at not more than 3 ordinary meetings without
becoming a member.
(ii) The Committee shall be empowered to elect temporary members of the Club on
such terms and such subscription as they shall by resolution decide, but no such
member shall be elected or re-elected for a period that shall exceed in all one month.
The numbers of temporary members shall at no time exceed one-tenth of the
membership of the Club (excluding such temporary members) and no person shall
be elected to temporary membership unless they are precluded by distance or other
circumstances from making full use of the privileges of membership.
(iii) Any member or EBU affiliated club shall be entitled to introduce visitors provided that
no person whose application for membership has been refused or who has been
expelled from the club shall be introduced as a visitor.
(iv) The member introducing a visitor shall enter the name and address of the visitor
together with his own name in a book which shall be kept by the Secretary.
- REGULATION OF PLAY:
The play of Bridge at normal meetings or at any special events shall be under the
direction of the Director whose decision on any points of dispute shall be final,
without prejudice to normal rights of appeal. In giving any such decisions the
Director shall act in accordance with the laws of Bridge in force for the time being.
- COMPETITIONS, MATCHES AND SPECIAL EVENTS:
The Committee may:
(i) enter teams for competitions organised by the English Bridge Union, the
Oxfordshire Bridge Association or any other bodies concerned with the organisation
and regulation of contract bridge.
(ii) arrange matches with other clubs.
(iii) arrange special events, whether for charitable purposes or for the general benefit of
the club, and may levy an entrance fee.
- INSTRUCTION;
The Committee may, from time to time, arrange instruction in contract bridge for the benefit of members or prospective members, whether by demonstration, lectures, or any other means.
- AFFILIATION:
The Committee may make affiliations with other Bridge organisations.
- ALTERATION OF THE CONSTITUTION:
Any proposal to alter the Constitution shall first be considered by the Committee, which
shall report on the proposal at the next AGM, the agenda for which meeting shall contain
details of the proposed changes.
- PROMULGATION:
Every member shall receive a copy of the Constitution and a copy shall be displayed
permanently at ordinary meetings of the club.
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