1. The Club

1.1. The name of the club shall be: Cambridge University Bridge Club.

1.2. It shall be an unincorporated members club.

1.3. The society's aims are the promotion of bridge at Cambridge University and the selection of teams to represent Cambridge University.

2. Membership

2.1. Membership of the club shall be open to all. Ordinary Membership taken out during an academic year shall expire fourteen days after the start of Michaelmas full term in the following academic year. There shall be a fee for Ordinary Membership, to be described in the Standing Orders. The Committee shall have the right to offer Honorary Membership, which shall not expire, as it sees fit.

2.2. The Committee may suspend or terminate the membership of any member. The reason for suspension must be submitted in writing to the member concerned, who has the right to call a General Meeting to examine his case.

3. Meetings

3.1. Club meetings shall be held in accordance with the Standing Orders.

3.2. There shall be an Annual General Meeting during the last week of the Lent Full Term.

3.3. Other General Meetings shall be held at the direction of the Committee; or within fourteen days of receipt by the Secretary of a request in writing, signed by twenty members of the club, stating the purpose for which the meeting is required; or as required by item 2.2 above. No General Meeting may be held outside Full Term, or within the first fourteen days of Michaelmas Full Term.

3.4. Notice of General Meetings shall be given at least seven days before the date of the meeting. The quorum for a General Meeting shall be twelve. Any member of the Club may attend and vote at any General Meeting.

3.5. Resolutions for inclusion in the agenda for a General Meeting must be presented to the Secretary at least one week before the Meeting. Such resolutions, which may include Constitutional Amendments, must be proposed and seconded by different members of the club.

3.6. All Committee Members shall be given at least two days' notice of proposed Committee meetings. The quorum for a Committee meeting shall be equal to half the voting Committee members plus one, excluding unfilled posts.

3.7. At all Meetings, each person eligible to vote will have exactly one vote, except the President who shall have a casting vote in addition to his or her own vote.

3.8. In order to pass a resolution, a meeting must be quorate. In General Meetings, a two-thirds majority of those voting is required; in Committee meetings a simple majority is required.

4. The Committee

Note: Some of the committee roles below have been superceded by recent changes in our events programme and their organisation. These have not yet been formally amended in the constitution.

4.1. A Committee shall manage the affairs of the Club; all members of the Committee shall be members of the University and of the club. The President, Secretary, Treasurer, Social Secretaries, Tournament Directors, Webmaster, and Captain are the voting members of the committee. The President, Treasurer and Secretary must be different people.

4.2. There shall be an election at the Annual General Meeting, at which a President, Secretary, Treasurer, up to two Social Secretaries, up to two Tournament Directors and a Webmaster shall be elected, in accordance with the Standing Orders, from among those eligible and nominated and seconded by different members of the Club, to hold those positions from the end of that Annual General meeting until the end of the following Annual General meeting or until their resignation.

4.3. The President shall act as Chair at any General Meeting of the Club and at any Committee meeting. The President is also responsible for the general management of the club.

4.4. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the Club's financial affairs. The Treasurer is required to present a statement of accounts at the Annual General Meeting.

4.5. The Secretary shall be responsible for organising Cuppers, and any necessary correspondence.

4.6. The Tournament Directors shall be responsible for tournament direction, scoring and the running of ordinary meetings.

4.7. The Social Secretary shall be responsible for arranging the Club's social events, and providing refreshments for ordinary meetings.

4.8. The Webmaster shall be responsible for the maintenance and updating of the club's website.

4.9. The Committee will appoint a member of the club as a Captain who shall be responsible for selecting the Club's teams.

4.10. The Committee may appoint non-voting members onto the Committee, to assist with the running of the Club.

4.11. In the event of a committee post detailed in 4.3 to 4.8 above falling vacant, an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called and an eligible member of the club shall be elected to hold that positions until the end of the following Annual General meeting or until their resignation.

4.12. The Committee shall have the power to issue Standing Orders, which shall be binding on members as if they formed part of this Constitution, but will be void in all cases where they conflict with this Constitution. The Standing Orders may be altered or revoked only by a quorate Committee meeting.

5. Regulations

5.1. Senior Treasurer:

The Club shall have a Senior Treasurer as required by the University. Senior Treasurer shall be a member of the Regent House, or other person approved by the Junior Proctor. The Senior Treasurer shall be appointed by the elected members of the Executive Committee and shall be ex officio a member of the Executive Committee. The Senior Treasurer shall not be liable for any financial debt or other obligation of the Society unless he or she has personally authorised such a debt in writing.

5.2. Dissolution

(1) The Society may be dissolved at a General Meeting provided that at least Twenty-one days written notice of the intention to dissolve the Society has been given to the members. At least two thirds of those present and voting at the General Meeting must vote in favour of the motion for Dissolution for it to be effective.

(2) Any motion for Dissolution of the Society shall provide that assets remaining after all liabilities have been met shall be transferred either to another Registered University Society, or to the Societies’ Syndicate.

5.3. Disciplinary Processes

The Society’s only disciplinary sanctions are to expel or to suspend a member whose actions are felt to be such as to bring the Society into disrepute, or to adversely affect the smooth running of the Society in a major way. Such expulsion or suspension can only be effected by a majority vote of all Executive Committee members, excluding the Senior Treasurer. In the event of an expulsion, the excluded member is required to return all equipment, documents and finances belonging to the Society within 7 days. He/she will not be entitled to any full or partial refund of annual subscriptions; If the excluded or suspended member wishes to appeal the decision, that appeal should be made to the Senior Treasurer, who will consider all the facts, and whose decision will be final. An appeal as to the process of exclusion, but not a further investigation into the facts, may be lodged with the Junior Proctor.

5.4. Any member of the Club, or visitor, entering any event or competition held by the club, or any other event or competition that is licensed or organised by the English Bridge Union (EBU), agrees to abide by: the current edition of the Laws of Duplicate Bridge, the Bye-laws of the EBU, the Regulations and Directives of the EBU, and the procedures that have been laid down for their application.

5.5. The constitution of any bridge league that the Committee decides that the Club should participate in shall be binding on the Club and all its members.

5.6. This Constitution may be altered or revoked only by a General Meeting, and revokes all previous constitutions.