1. NAME
The Club shall be called East Bridgford Bridge Club.

2. OBJECTS
To provide facilities for its members to play Duplicate and other forms of Bridge in a friendly and sociable atmosphere.

3. HEADQUARTERS
WI Hut in East Bridgford

4. AFFILIATIONS
The Nottinghamshire Bridge Assocation and the English Bridge Union.

5. MEMBERSHIP

5.1       Membership shall be open to:

5.2       Any person wishing to become a member of the Club shall apply for membership by completing and forwarding to the Secretary such form as may be prescribed from time to time by the Committee.

5.3.      All bridge players and those wishing to learn to play who are over the age of eighteen years will be entitled to apply for full membership of the Club.

5.4.    Players under the age of eighteen years will be entitled to apply for Junior membership. Such members are not entitled to vote at general meetings of the Club and cannot be Trustees of the Club.

5.5.    The Club may confer Honorary Life Membership on any member who has rendered special service to the Club.

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

5.7.      The Committee will keep a register of members which will include details of their names, addresses and contact details.

5.8.      In considering applications for membership the Committee shall have regard to the playing facilities available, and may from time to time decide that the Club shall be closed to new applications for membership for such period as it may decide.

5.9.      A member shall cease to be a member of the club immediately if expelled from the club under the provisions of clause 15, or if his resignation in writing is delivered to the Secretary.

5.10     A member whose subscription has not been paid shall cease to be a member on the expiration of the period of six months [5] from the date on which the subscription was due for payment.

5.11     A former member of the Club who wishes to rejoin as a member may do so without the necessity for a further formal application for membership, unless the Committee decides otherwise [5].

5.12   Members of the Club are automatically enrolled as members of the English Bridge Union and shall abide by its Bye Laws.

6. OFFICERS
6.1 The Officers of the Club shall be the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

6.2 No member of the Club shall simultaneously hold the office of more than one Officer 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 reelection.

7. COMMITTEE
7.1 The Committee of the Club shall consist of the Officers of the Club, together with four other members of the Club, who 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 reelection.

7.2 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 subcommittees may include members of the Club who are not members of the Committee.

7.3 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.

8. MANAGEMENT
8.1 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 its Constitution.

8.2 The Committee may from time to time formulate and publish such rules at 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, this Constitution shall prevail).

8.3 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.

9. GENERAL MEETINGS
9.1 An Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held each year no later than two months after the end of the financial year.

9.2 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.

9.3 A Special Meeting of the Club may be covened by the Committee on its own initiative at any time.

9.4 All General Meetings of the Club shall be held at the Headquarters of the Club unless circumstances arise which render this impracticable.

9.5  The Chair, if present, shall chair all General Meetings of the Club, and in his/her absence some other member of the Committee shall chair the meeting.

9.6 Notice of all General Meetings of the Club shall be given to members of the Club using the Club section of the village web site and the Club noticeboard.

9.7 Any member may propose a motion to be discussed at a General Meeting, either through written notice of the proposed motion or by prior discussion with the Chair.

9.8 The Chair of the meeting may permit discussion of other business at a General Meeting if s/he thinks fit.

9.9 A quorum at General Meetings of the Club shall be ten members, including officers.

9.10 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.

10. NOTICES
10.1 Notices of any Special Meeting of the Club, and of an Annual General Meeting at which in the opinion of the Committee any business of a nonroutine nature is likely to be discussed, shall be given to members using the Club noticeboard and the village web site.

10.2 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 headquarters of the Club and on the village web site.

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 by the Treasurer in consultation with the Chair and Secretary.

11.2 Each member of the Club, and each guest and visitor, shall pay table money on each occasion when s/he plays at the club, the basic amounts of which for the time being shall be decided by the Treasurer in consultation with the Chair.

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  August 31st.

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

13. GUESTS and VISITORS
13.1 Any member may invite a guest to play at the Club at any time, but in the event of the playing facilities being inadequate to accommodate all those who wish to play, priority shall be given to members.

13.2 Visitors may be permitted to play at the Club at any time, but in the event of the playing facilities being inadequate to accommodate all those who wish to play, priority shall be given to members and the guests of members.

13.3 The Committee may from time to time place a limit on the number of occasions on which a nonmember (whether a guest or a visitor) may play at theClub without being required to apply for membership.

13.4 If such a limit is for the time being in force, a nonmember who has applied for membership shall (subject to available playing facilities) be permitted to play at the Club until his/her membership application has been considered by the Committee, even if the limit applied by the Committee is thereby exceeded.

14. MEMBERS' BEHAVIOUR
14.1 Each member of the Club shall be required to conform to the standards of fair play and courtesy prescribed by the Bye Laws and regulations of the EBU. In addition, the Club expects members to be friendly and sociable at all times and follow the Club's Code of Conduct.This Code is in addition to the EBU rules and regulations.The committee, both individually and collectively, has a special responsibility for maintaining the ethos of the club and ensuring that the Code of Conduct is adhered to.

14.2 Members should attempt to resolve disputes amicably between themselves on the night. This may include the Event Director. Should the dispute not be resolved or considered to be of a serious nature then the members should notify the Event Director or any committee member.

When a dispute is subsequently adjudged (by any of the committee) to be of a serious nature, the committee may invoke a disciplinery process under Schedule of Disciplinary Procedures.

15. ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION
15.1 No alterations shall be made to this Constitution except at a General Meeting of the Club.

15.2 In order for a resolution to alter this Constitution to have effect at least two thirds of the votes cast on the resolution must be in favour.

1. Requirements of the Schedule
This schedule is referred to under clause 14.2 of the Constitution of the East Bridgford Bridge Club (hereafter referred to as the Club) and prescribes the powers and procedures for enforcement. It will comply with and follow the EBU disciplinary procedures and any variations thereof that are made from time to time. The Club shall act through the Conduct and Disciplinary Committee for the enforcement of standards prescribed in clause 14 of the Constitution.  The Club shall have additional powers as set out in the clauses below.

2. Receipt of Allegation
Any person making a complaint against one or more members of the Club under clause 14 of the Constitution, must either speak to, or write to, the Secretary or the Chair of the Club.

3. Conduct and Disciplinary Committee
The Club shall appoint its Conduct and Disciplinary Committee through its powers to appoint subcommittees under clause 7.2 of the Constitution. The Conduct and Disciplinary Committee shall be responsible for investigating complaints against the Club's members and determine sanctions for offenses admitted by the offending person or hear charges of offenses and determine whether those charges are proved and if proved, determine the sanction to be imposed.

The Conduct and Disciplinary Committee shall consist of no fewer than three members of the Club and no more than five. A quorum for any meeting shall be three of its members. It shall act by simple majority vote and its appointed chair, or whomsoever in his/her absence the Conduct Committee shall select to chair its meeting, shall have a second, or casting vote in the event there is parity pf voting.

Any member of the Conduct and Disciplinary Committee who is in any way personally involved in the allegations within a complaint shall be disqualified from participating in either Committee's handling of the complaint.

Where a written complaint is made, or a matter otherwise comes to the attention of the Conduct and Disciplinary Committee, it shall first consider whether such complaint or matter falls within its scope, and whether further action is warranted. In the first instance, every effort should be made to resolve the matter informally. If this is not possible, the Committee chair shall first write or talk to the offending person, seeking his/her comments on the substance of the complaint or matter that has been raised. The Committee shall also be entitled to make such further investigations or enquirer as it considers appropriate. The Committee shall also be entitled to seek advice both from within the Club and from the EBU Laws and Ethics Committee, and to obtain other external advice.

5.2 Complaint not justified
If the Conduct and Disciplinary Committee decides that the complaint is not justified, all parties shall be notified and the matter ended.

5.3 Complaint justified
If the complaint is judged to be justified, the Committee may, in its absolute discretion, offer a verbal caution to the offending member, which if accepted, ends the matter.
Alternatively, it may:

• Give a written reprimand to the offending member(s), or
• Suspend the offending member(s) from all or some of the competitions sponsored or licensed by the Club for such period as it shall determine, or
• Expel the offending member(s) from the Club.

Any sanctions imposed by the Committee must be communicated to the offending member(s) within twenty one days of the hearing.