This is the constitution of the club, as adopted at the EGM on 21 April 2021.  The club is not currently a member of the EBU.

CONSTITUTION OF THE LEAMINGTON BRIDGE CLUB

1 NAME The Club shall be called the Leamington Bridge Club.

2 OBJECTS The object of the Club shall be to provide facilities for and to promote participation in the playing of Duplicate and other forms of bridge, hereinafter referred to as Bridge, in a friendly environment.

3 MEMBERSHIP

3.1 Membership of the Club shall be open to anyone interested in Bridge on application, regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs, except as a necessary consequence of the requirements of Bridge. The Club will keep subscriptions at levels that will not pose a significant obstacle to people participating. The Committee may refuse membership, or remove it, only for good cause such as conduct or character likely to bring the club or Bridge into disrepute.

3.2 Any person wishing to become a member of the Club shall apply for membership by completing, and forwarding to the Secretary such form, consistent with the requirements of Clause 3.1, as may be prescribed from time to time by the Committee.

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

3.4 The Committee shall keep a register of members which shall include details such as names, postal and email addresses, telephone numbers and contact details. The only details generally available will be names, email addresses and telephone numbers and these shall be accessible to members only via the members’ section of the Club’s website. Access to the members’ section of the website is protected by password in accordance with GDPR (Data Protection) requirements. Any member who does not want their personal information stored on the website may have it removed on notice to the Chairman, but shall then cease to be entitled to access to the members’ section of the Club’s website.

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

3.6 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 consider reasonable.

3.7 A member shall cease to be a member of the Club immediately if expelled from membership under the provisions of clause 3.1, or if his or her resignation in writing is delivered to the Secretary.

3.8 A member whose subscription has not been paid shall cease to be a member on the expiration of the period of two months from the date on which the subscription was due for payment.

3.9 A former member of the Club who wishes to re-join as a member may do so without the necessity for a further formal application for membership, unless the Committee decides otherwise.

4 OFFICERS

4.1 The Officers of the Club shall be the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. No member of the Club shall simultaneously hold more than one Office of the Club. Each of the Officers of the Club shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Club (the AGM) and shall retire annually at the ensuing AGM.

4.2 In the event of a vacancy arising during the year in the office of any Officer of the Club, the Committee shall choose one of their number to fill such vacancy until the ensuing AGM.

5 COMMITTEE

5.1 The Committee of the Club shall consist of the Officers of the Club, together with three other members of the Club, who shall be elected at the AGM and shall retire annually at the ensuing AGM but shall be eligible for re-election.

5.2 The Committee may from time to time co-opt further members of the Club to serve on the Committee until the ensuing AGM, whether to fill a vacancy arising, or as additional members, except that the total number of members of the Committee (including Officers) shall at no time exceed ten. Co-opted members shall be entitled to participate fully in the proceedings of the Committee.

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

5.4 The Committee may from time to time appoint sub-committees 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.

5.5 Proceedings of the Committee and of any sub-committees shall be regulated in such manner as the Committee may from time to time decide.

5.6 The Committee shall make a report to each AGM of the Club concerning the affairs of the Club since the previous AGM.

6 MANAGEMENT

6.1 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.

6.2 The Committee shall meet as often as is necessary to manage the affairs of the Club, and may do so in person or by telephone or online.

6.3 All surplus income or profits are to be reinvested in the Club. No surpluses of assets will be distributed by members to third parties, save that in the event of dissolution of the Club, its assets may be distributed in accordance with clause 15.2.

6.4 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).

6.5 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.

6.6 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.

7 GENERAL MEETINGS

7.1 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.

7.2 Agenda items will include:

• Minutes of the previous AGM and other General Meetings
• Chairman’s Report Treasurer’s Report and presentation of accounts
• Election of Officers, Committee and Inspector of accounts
• Resolutions by members notified to the Secretary at least 7 days before the AGM
• Any other business agreed by the Committee

7.3 An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club (EGM) shall be convened by the Committee if a request for such a meeting signed by at least twelve 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.

7.4 Subject to Clause 7.9, an EGM of the Club will deal solely with the matter or matters for which the meeting has been called.

7.5 An EGM of the Club may be convened by the Committee on its own initiative at any time.

7.6 All General Meetings of the Club shall be held at the venue usually used by the Club for playing Bridge unless circumstances arise which render this impracticable. General Meetings may be held online if necessary.

7.7 The Chairman, if present, shall chair all General Meetings of the Club, and in his absence the Vice-Chairman or some other member of the Committee, approved by a majority of those present at the Meeting, shall chair the meeting.

7.8 Any member may propose a motion to be discussed at a General Meeting provided that written notice of the proposed motion is delivered (which may include by email) to the Secretary no later than one week prior to the date fixed for the meeting.

7.9 The Chairman of the meeting may permit discussion of other business at a General Meeting if he thinks fit.

7.10 A quorum at General Meetings of the Club shall be twelve members present in person or online.

7.11 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), at which such number of members as are actually present at the adjourned meeting shall constitute a quorum.

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

8 NOTICES

8 Notice of a General Meeting shall be given by email or telephone and by announcement on the Club’s noticeboard and website at least 21 days before the AGM and 14 days before an EGM.

9 NOMINATIONS

9.1 Nominations for the posts of Officers or 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.

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

10 SUBSCRIPTIONS and FEES

10.1 Each member of the Club shall pay an annual subscription, the amount of which for the time being shall be decided by the Committee. Subscriptions shall be due for payment by 1st October in each year in respect of the following twelve months. 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 his subscription has been paid in full.

10.2 Each member of the Club, and each guest and visitor, shall pay table money on each occasion when they play at the Club, whether in person or online, the amount from time to time to be decided by the Committee.

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

11 ACCOUNTS

11.1 The Treasurer shall open and maintain one or more bank accounts in the Club’s name, the identity and number of signatories to be determined by the Committee. The Committee shall arrange for accounts to be prepared in respect of the financial affairs of the Club for each year ending on 30th September.

11.2. The accounts for each year shall be subject to examination by the Inspector appointed at the previous AGM and his or her report shall be annexed to the accounts presented to the AGM of the Club for approval.

12. GUESTS and VISITORS

12.1. 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.

12.2. 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.

12.3. The Committee may from time to time place a limit on the number of occasions on which a non-member (whether a guest or a visitor) may play at the club without being required to apply for membership.

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

13 INDEMNITY

Each member of the Club shall be entitled (to the extent that such member is not entitled to recover under any policy of insurance held personally by such member) to be indemnified out of any or all funds available to the Club, (including by virtue of a claim on an insurance policy held by the Club), which may lawfully be so applied, against all costs, and liabilities whatsoever incurred by him or her in the proper execution and discharge of duties undertaken on behalf of the Club, or arising therefrom, or incurred in good faith in the purported discharge of such duties.

14. ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION

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

14.2. 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.

15. DISSOLUTION

15.1. In order for a resolution that the Club shall be dissolved to have effect at least two-thirds 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 one-half of the number of members of the Club entitled to attend and vote at the General Meeting at which the resolution is put.

15.2 Upon dissolution any remaining assets shall be given or transferred to another bridge club or bridge charity for use by them in the provision of facilities for, or the promotion of, Bridge. Any beneficiary club or charity, shall have the same or equivalent clauses to those of Leamington Bridge Club which deal with: Their Objects or main purpose (Clause 2) Being open to the whole community in a transparent, fair, non-discriminatory and affordable way (Clause 3) The non-distribution of surplus income, profits or assets (Clause 6.3) Application of assets upon dissolution (clause 15)