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RUGBY BRIDGE CLUB CONSTITUTION 1. GENERAL The name of the Club shall be Rugby Bridge Club, hereinafter called the “Club”. The Club shall be affiliated to the Warwickshire Contract Bridge Association and the English Bridge Union. Members must pay the required Club subscription and be bound by the Constitution and Rules of the Club. 2. OFFICERS The Offices of the Club shall be Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. 3. COMMITTEE The Committee shall consist of the Officers and not more than six other members of the Club. 4. GENERAL MEETING The Annual General Meeting shall be held in April. The functions of this meeting shall be to: (a) Determine policy in accordance with the wishes of the membership. (b) Elect Officers and members of the Committee. (c) Receive Chairman’s and Treasurer’s reports. (d) Determine the annual subscription and table monies. (e) Appoint an auditor. At least 14 days’ notice of this meeting shall be given to all paid up members. A General Meeting of the Club may be called at any time by the Committee or by written request to the Secretary from not less than three-tenths of the membership. Seven days’ notice of such meetings shall be given. At all General Meetings of the Club each member shall have one vote. The Chairman shall have a casting vote only. One third of the membership shall constitute a quorum. No person may vote or hold office unless his current annual subscription has been paid. 5. ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION Motions to alter the Constitution must be submitted in writing to the Secretary at least six weeks before the date of the next Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting called for such purpose. One month’s notice of the text of the proposed change must be made available to Club members.
(a) The Chairman, or in his absence the Vice-Chairman, shall preside at all General or Committee Meetings. (b) The Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings and ensure members are given proper notice, as required by the Constitution of the Club, of General Meetings and the proposed agendas. (c) The Treasurer shall collect all monies due to the Club and deposit them in the Club’s bank accounts, disburse monies as directed by the Committee and present written audited statements of income and expenditure to the Annual General meeting. The Club’s financial year shall commence on March 1st. 7. POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE The Committee shall have the power to make such rules and decisions as it deems appropriate for the conduct of the Club (including the right to suspend or expel members) provided that these do not contravene the Constitution of the Club. Fifty per cent of the Committee membership shall constitute a quorum at Committee meetings. 8. OTHER SUBSCRIPTIONS Payment of any required subscriptions to organisations, whose premises the Club may occupy, shall be the responsibility of individual members and not that of the Club. 9. CLUB DEVELOPMENT (a) A sub-committee, of at least three members, who need not necessarily be members of the Club Committee, shall be elected annually. (b) The purpose of this sub-committee shall be to look at future development of the Club and be responsible for fund raising to support future development. This development is to be aimed primarily at providing the Club with its own premises and equipment by the purchase of either a freehold or long leasehold property. (c) The funds raised shall be separately accounted for and separately identified in the Balance Sheet. (d) The funds accumulated under Clauses 9(b) and 9(c) shall not be utilised for any purpose other than as specified in Clause 9(b) except as agreed by a resolution duly passed at a General Meeting of the Club with not less than two-thirds of the members present voting in favour of the resolution. (e) The sub-committee shall be responsible to the Club Committee and all monies are to be deposited or disbursed by the Club Treasurer. (f) The Club’s Officers shall have the right to attend all meetings of the sub-committee in an ex-officio capacity. 10. MEMBERSHIP FEE The annual membership fee must be renewed not later than four weeks after the A.G.M. or at the first attendance after the A.G.M., whichever is later. 11. NEW MEMBERS The Club encourages new members, as a minimum, to take on one of the following duties: a) Host b) Steward c) Committee Member d) Tournament Director e) Catering Help. 12. EVREUX TWINNING SUB-COMMITTEE A sub-committee shall be elected annually to: (a) Organise all fund raising activities for Evreux events. (b) Organise all twinning activities and events with Evreux. (c) Advise the Club Committee if for any reason any fund raising event or activity appears likely to result in a loss. (d) Advise the Club Committee if the cost of any Evreux Twinning activity appears likely to exceed the funds currently available in the Evreux Twinning Suspense account. (e) Arrange for all funds raised to be paid over to the Club Treasurer as soon as reasonably practicable. 13. SATURDAY TRAINING WORKSHOP (a) A sub-committee, of at least three members, who need not necessarily be members of the Club committee, shall be elected annually. (b) The purpose of this Sub-committee shall be to organise the activities associated with the Saturday training sessions. (c) The funds raised shall be separately accounted for and separately identified in the Balance Sheet. (d) The funds accumulated under Clauses 13(b) and 13(c) shall not be utilised or any purpose other than as specified in clause 13(b) except as agreed by a resolution duly passed at a General Meeting of the Club with not less than two-thirds of the members present voting in favour of the resolution. (e) The Sub-committee shall be responsible to the Club Committee and all monies are to be deposited or disbursed by the Club Treasurer. 14. CONDUCT OF MEMBERS Each Club member shall be required to conform to the standards of fair play, courtesy and personal deportment prescribed in the current Bye-Laws and Regulations of the English Bridge Union. The A.G.M. shall appoint a Conduct Panel with powers and procedures to enforce this requirement. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE FOR RUGBY BRIDGE CLUB In this document the following applies. a) The masculine encompasses the feminine. b) The singular ‘member’ encompasses the plural ‘members’. 1. The intention of this procedure is to follow the principles of natural justice so that any accused member has a fair opportunity of answering the allegations against him and is kept properly informed at every stage. 2. A written complaint, when received, must be passed to the Chairman of the Conduct Committee who, depending on the seriousness of the allegations made, must decide whether to a) request comments from each member complained of immediately and/or b) seek the views of Conduct Committee members on how to proceed. 3. When comments are to be sought immediately, a copy of the complaint must be sent to each a) member concerned. However, should the complaint contain possibly defamatory comments not directly related to the complaint, only an extract of the relevant part of the complaint should be sent detailing the specific allegations; b) Committee member. 4. When a decision is taken that, at first sight, there appears to be a case to answer and a need for a formal enquiry, further statements must be obtained as appropriate e.g. those from the Tournament Director and witnesses named in the complaint. Each member concerned must then be informed in writing, by recorded delivery if necessary, that a formal enquiry is to be held. The information must incorporate a) summary of allegations made b) names of persons making the allegations c) names of persons who have agreed to be called as witnesses d) a copy of all evidence to be considered at the enquiry e) a copy of any relevant parts of the current Constitution and of this procedure. 5. Each complainant and each person complained of must be made aware of his right to be represented and to call witnesses at his own expense. A selection of dates and times must be offered to all parties. The Committee should seek to accommodate each complainant and each person complained of if he indicates his wish to attend. If reasonable efforts are unsuccessful in finding an agreed date and time, the Conduct Committee should offer a final date, time and venue and proceed, if necessary, without the presence of any person concerned. The date, time and venue must be confirmed in writing, by recorded delivery if necessary, to all parties. 6. For the purposes of the enquiry, any Committee member who is in any way personally involved in the allegations must disqualify himself. Any Committee member may disqualify himself for personal reasons and should do so if he has discussed the subject with any of the parties or has received information that is not, or will not become, generally available to the Committee. 7. At the hearing each member concerned and his representative must be allowed to be present throughout and must be offered the opportunity to question any witnesses. 8. The Committee must deliberate in private. Thereafter each member concerned must be informed in writing, by recorded delivery if necessary, of the Committee’s a) findings and decisions b) decision on publication of its findings and decisions. Each member complained of must be informed of his subsequent right of appeal to the Club Committee, excluding any members of the Conduct Committee, within 21 days of despatch of the letter and of that Committee’s power to increase or decrease the penalty imposed. Each E.B.U. member complained of must be informed of his subsequent right of appeal within 21 days of despatch of a similar letter from the Appeal Committee to the County Conduct Committee and of that Committee’s power to increase or decrease the penalty imposed. 9. The Conduct Committee shall have powers to decide as it may think fit to select and give effect to one or more of the following provisions in relation thereto that the member shall be a) reprimanded orally b) reprimanded in writing c) barred from all, or such as it shall specify, of the events run by Rugby Bridge Club for such period as it shall determine. 10. If a complaint against an E.B.U. member is upheld by the Appeals Committee, the findings of the Committee must be reported to the County Conduct Committee specifying as applicable a) the date of the enquiry b) the name, address and E.B.U. number of each member complained of c) the allegation proved d) any penalty imposed e) that the member has been advised of his right of appeal to the County Conduct Committee. 20.02.2007
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