The Club shall be called The Morden Ruffians Bridge Club

The Headquarters of the Club shall be situated at such venues within the six parishes of the Shingay Group as the Committee shall arrange, normally the Steeple Morden Village Hall.

1. Membership shall be open to all Bridge players and beginners.
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.
3. All applications for membership of the Club must be proposed and seconded by existing members of the Club unless the Committee decides otherwise.
4. All membership application forms received by the Secretary shall be notified to members on two consecutive club nights.
5. Any member wishing to object to an application for membership should notify the Secretary in writing.
6. After the expiry of a period of two weeks, the Committee shall, as soon as convenient consider the application for membership, taking into account any duly made objections and shall promptly notify the applicant of acceptance or otherwise of the application.
7. In declining an application the Committee may give a reason but shall not be obliged to do so.
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.
9. 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 decide otherwise.

1. The Officers of the Club shall be the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson/Play and Programme Director, Secretary and Treasurer. The play and programme director is responsible for ensuring weekly play is co-ordinated and directed (by him/herself or by any competent member, on a rota basis).

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

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 re-election.

4. 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 Annual general Meeting.

1. The Committee of the Club shall consist of the Officers of the Club, together with at least 1 and not more than 3 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 re-election (but see 6.7).

2. The Committee may from time to time co-opt further members of the Club, to serve on the Committee until the ensuing Annual General Meeting whether to fill a vacancy arising or as an additional member, except that the total number of members of the Committee including Officers shall at no time exceed 7.

3. A quorum at meetings of the Committee shall be three members of the Committee including at least one of the Officers.

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

6. 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.

7. No person shall serve on the Committee for more than 3 consecutive years (as a Committee member and/or as an Officer) unless authorised by an Annual General Meeting of the Club.

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.

2. 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).

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.

4. 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.

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.

2. A Special Meeting of the Club shall be convened by the Committee if a request for such a meeting signed by at least 10 members of the Club is delivered to the Secretary, stating the reason for the meeting and such meeting will take place within one month of the receipt of such a request.

3. A Special General Meeting of the Club may be convened by the Committee on its own initiative at any time

4. All General Meetings of the Club shall be held at a location determined and advertised by the Committee.

5. The Chairperson, if present, shall chair all General Meetings of the Club and in his/her absence the Vice-Chairperson or some other member of the Committee shall chair the meeting.

6. Notice of all General Meetings of the Club shall be given to all members of the Club no later than two weeks prior to the date fixed for the meeting.

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

8. The Chairperson of the meeting may permit discussion of other business at a General Meeting if he/she thinks fit.

9. A Quorum at a General Meeting of the Club shall be 10 members present in person.

10. 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) and, in the case of a General Meeting which has been adjourned due to a lack of a quorum (but not of a meeting adjourned for any other reason), such number of members as are actually present at the adjourned meeting shall constitute a quorum.

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

1. Notices of any Special General Meeting of the Club and of an Annual General Meeting shall be given to members by post, or if possible e-mail, at the last address notified to the Secretary.

2. Notices of any other matters to be brought to the attention of members will be made available at Club nights.

1. Nominations for the posts of Officers or Committee members shall be in writing, and shall be signed by a proposer and seconder, both of whom shall be members of the Club, and also by the person nominated.

2. Nominations must reach the Secretary no later than one week prior to the date fixed by the Annual general Meeting.

1. Each member of the Club shall pay an annual subscription the basic amount of which for the time being shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting of the Club. The fees to be levied will cover the operating costs of the Club, which is a non-profit making organisation.

2. Each member of the Club and each guest and visitor shall pay table money on each occasion when he/she plays at the Club, the basic amounts of which for the time being shall be decided by the Committee.

3. Each successful applicant for membership of the Club may be required to pay a joining fee, the amount (if any) of which for the time being shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting of the Club.

4. 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 and table money in the event of hardship or for any other good cause.

5. The Annual General Meeting may authorise the Committee to increase the basic amounts of subscriptions prior to the ensuing Annual general Meeting.

6. The Committee may determine from time to time the amount of fees to be charged for use of the equipment of the Club, or for any other purpose for which it is of the opinion that fees ought to be charged.

1. The Committee shall arrange for accounts to be prepared in respect of the financial affairs of the Club for each year ending on 15^th August.

2. The accounts for each year shall be presented to the Annual General Meeting.

1. Any visitor or guest of a member play at the Club at any time, but in the event of the playing facilities being inadequate to accommodate all those wishing to play, priority shall be given to members.

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

3. 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 his application for membership has been considered by the Committee, even if the limit imposed is thereby exceeded.

1. In the event of a complaint being made to the Committee about the conduct of a member of the Club the Committee may (and if a written complaint is received signed by at least 5 members of the Club, it shall) investigate the complaint.

2. On investigating such a complaint the Committee shall give the member about whose conduct the complaint has been made an opportunity to be heard.

3. If on investigating such a complaint the Committee is of the opinion that the member has behaved in such a manner as to cause injury to the interests of the Club, then the Committee may reprimand the member, suspend the member from the privileges of membership for such period as it thinks fit, or expel the member from the Club.

4. The Committee shall forthwith notify the member of any decision made on the investigation of a complaint about his/her conduct, and may if it thinks fit publicise the decision to the Club.

5. An appeal shall lie to a General Meeting of the Club against any decision to reprimand, suspend or expel a member of the Club following the investigation of a complaint about his/her conduct.

6. Notice of such an appeal must be in writing and delivered to the Secretary within two weeks of the notification to the member of the decision of the Committee.

7. In the event of an appeal being made against it, the decision of the Committee shall not be put into effect until the appeal has been determined.

8. On the appeal being heard by a General Meeting of the Club, the General Meeting shall have power to overrule the conclusion of the Committee, or to uphold it, in which event the sanction imposed by the Committee may be confirmed or varied (to any power which the Committee was empowered to impose, or to none).

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

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. In order for a resolution that the Club shall be wound up to have effect at least two thirds of the votes cast on the resolution must be in favour and in addition the numbers 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.

2. If a resolution that the Club should be wound up is effectively passed, the Committee shall be responsible for winding up the affairs of the Club and unless the winding up has been done with a view to amalgamating the Club with some other club (in which case any surplus assets and funds may be transferred to such other club) any surplus assets and funds shall be transferred to such charitable organisations as the Committee thinks fit and as may be specified in the resolution initiating the winding up.