| S c o t t i s h B r i d g e U n i o n |
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Constitution (2007)
View or download the Constitution in pdf format here. 1 NAME The name of the organisation shall be the Scottish Bridge Union, herein called the "Union". 2 PURPOSE The purpose of the Union shall be the development and control of Duplicate Bridge in Scotland. 3 GOVERNMENT Government of the Union shall be vested in the Council, subject to directives from a General Meeting of the Union resulting from motions properly notified to the Secretary. 4 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRICTS The Union shall be divided into seven geographical Districts, namely: 4.1 Ayrshire District shall be North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and Wigtownshire. 4.2 Central District shall be Perthshire and Kinross, Angus, City of Dundee and Fife (excluding South Fife). 4.3 East District shall be South Fife, City of Edinburgh, West Lothian, Midlothian, East Lothian, Clackmannan, Falkirk and Borders. 4.4 Highland District shall be Highland, Moray, Orkney and the Western Isles. 4.5 North District shall be Aberdeenshire, City of Aberdeen and Shetland. 4.6 South District shall be Dumfries and Galloway (excluding Wigtownshire). 4.7 West District shall be Stirling, Argyll and Bute, Dumbarton and Clydebank, East Dunbartonshire, North and South Lanarkshire, City of Glasgow, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. 4.8 A Club will normally be affiliated to the District containing its geographical location as defined above, but in special circumstances a Club may apply for affiliation or transfer to another District which may be more convenient to it. 5 UNION OFFICE BEARERS 5.1 There shall be three Union Office Bearers, namely the President, the Secretary and the Treasurer, that are elected at the Annual General Meeting. 5.2 Council may appoint other Officers as it sees fit. These officers may be but need not be members of Council. (In particular, there shall be a Master Points Secretary and a Membership Secretary.) 5.3 The President shall hold no other office. 6 AFFILIATED CLUBS 6.1 Any bridge club may seek affiliation to the Union by applying to the Secretary via the relevant District. If the application is accepted, the club becomes an Affiliated Club. 6.2 An Affiliated Club shall be responsible for ensuring that all its members are Members of the Union. 6.3 An Affiliated Club shall be responsible for supplying a list of its 'Home' Members to the Membership Secretary. 6.4 An Affiliated Club shall pay the Club Annual Subscription directly to the Membership Secretary by 30th November of the membership year. 6.5 An Affiliated Club shall pay the District Annual Subscription to the District Secretary by 30th November of the membership year. 6.6 An Affiliated Club shall forward such Annual Subscriptions as it collects from its members to the Membership Secretary by 30th November of the membership year. 6.7 An Affiliated Club shall have full powers to manage the affairs of the club. 6.8 An Affiliated Club shall control and apply the finances of the club. Proceeds from Affiliated Club Tournaments, Congresses and other events shall accrue to the club. 6.9 An Affiliated Club shall be licensed to issue Master Points. 7 MEMBERSHIP 7.1 There are the following categories of membership of the Union: Ordinary Member, Direct Member, Honorary Member, and Honorary Life President. 7.2 A bridge player becomes an Ordinary Member of the Union by becoming a member of an Affiliated Club. 7.3 A bridge player becomes a Direct Member of the Union by direct application to the Membership Secretary. 7.4 A bridge player becomes an Honorary Member of the Union when elected at a General Meeting of the Union. 7.5 A bridge player becomes the Honorary Life President when elected at a General Meeting of the Union. There shall be at most one Honorary Life President. 8 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS 8.1 The membership year runs from 1st September to 31st August. 8.2 The Honorary Life President (if there is one) pays no subscription. 8.3 An Honorary Member pays no subscription. 8.4 An Ordinary Member who is a member of one or more Affiliated Clubs shall nominate one of those clubs as their Home Club through which their Annual Subscription to the Union will be collected. An Ordinary Member shall pay their Annual Subscription to their Home Club, which shall forward it to the Membership Secretary. 8.5 Direct Members shall pay their Annual Subscription directly to the Membership Secretary. 9 ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT 9.1 The financial year of the Union shall be from 1st April to 31st March. 9.2 Proper books of account shall be kept. 9.3 The Treasurer's Accounts shall be prepared at the end of each financial year. 9.4 The Auditor, who shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting, shall not be a member of the SBU Council or any District Committee. 9.5 The Auditor shall examine the books and accounts of the Union. The Auditor's Report shall state whether the Treasurer's Accounts are in agreement with the books of account, whether proper books of account have been kept and whether a true and fair view of the Union's affairs is given by the accounts with regard to all financial matters, in particular (a) the end-of-year Balance Sheet (b) the end-of-year Income and Expenditure Account. The Auditor shall specify any qualifications to the accounts. 9.6 Should it be proposed that the Auditor be changed from the previous Auditor, notice of such proposal shall be given not later than the first week of April preceding the Meeting to the Secretary who shall forthwith give intimation of the proposal to the existing Auditor. 10 GENERAL MEETING 10.1 There are two kinds of General Meeting, an Annual General Meeting and an Extraordinary General Meeting. 10.2 Each Member of the Union is entitled to be present at any General Meeting. 10.3 Forty Members of the Union shall form a quorum. 10.4 The Secretary shall give at least twenty-one days notice of a General Meeting to (a) each Affiliated Club, which shall be responsible for informing its members of the date, time and venue of the General Meeting (b) each Member who is not a member of an Affiliated Club. 10.5 If the President is present, he shall be the chairman. If the President is absent, the meeting shall elect a chairman. 10.6 Each Member of the Union shall have one vote. Proxy voting shall be allowed in accordance with the procedure laid down by Council. [See Appendix 1.] The Chairman shall have a casting vote. 10.7 Any Member of the Union may present seconded Motions to an AGM. Such Motions shall reach the Secretary in writing at least 28 days before the Meeting. The Secretary shall promulgate all such Motions along with the Notice of the Meeting 11 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 11.1 There shall be an Annual General Meeting of the Union on a date not later than the end of May each year. 11.2 The business of the Annual General Meeting shall include (a)Accounts The Treasurer's Accounts, with the Auditor's report attached, shall be presented to the Annual General Meeting for its approval. (b) Election of the Union Office Bearers Nominations for Union Office Bearers for the ensuing year shall be made to the Secretary at least twenty-eight days before the Annual General Meeting. (c) Annual Subscriptions The annual subscriptions for Affiliated Clubs, Ordinary Members and Direct Members shall be fixed for the following membership year. 12 EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING 12.1 Council may call an Extraordinary General Meeting at any time. 12.2 Members may call an Extraordinary General Meeting at any time by sending to the Secretary a written application signed by at least fifty Members of the Union. The application shall state the object of the Extraordinary General Meeting and this shall be the sole business of the Extraordinary General Meeting. The Extraordinary General Meeting shall be held within six weeks of the receipt of the application. A copy of the application shall be included with the notice calling the Extraordinary General Meeting. 13 COUNCIL 13.1 Composition The members of Council shall be the Honorary Life President (if there is one), the Union Office Bearers, the Past President, the Vice-Presidents and the Delegates. 13.2 Period In Office Council shall take office from one Annual General Meeting to the next Annual General Meeting. 13.3 Past President The Past President shall be the person who was President immediately before the election of the President. If the Past President resigns or is unable to continue in office, the vacancy shall not be filled. 13.4 Vice-Presidents The seven Vice-Presidents shall be the Chairmen of the seven Districts. 13.5 Delegates Each District shall elect a number of Delegates to Council. The number of Delegates from each District shall be as follows: Ayrshire - one, Central - one, East - three, Highland - one, North - one, South - one, West - five. The Union Office Bearers, the Past President and the Vice-Presidents shall not also be Delegates. 13.6 If the President resigns or is unable to continue in office, the Past President (if any) shall be invited to serve as acting President until the next Annual General Meeting. If he declines, a replacement shall be elected by Council. 13.7 If any Union Officer other than the President resigns or is unable to continue in office, a replacement shall be elected by Council. 14 COUNCIL BUSINESS 14.1 Council Meetings There shall be at least three Council Meetings each year, one such meeting being immediately after the Annual General Meeting. 14.2 Quorum Nine members of Council shall form a quorum. 14.3 Chairman The President, if present, shall be chairman. If the President is absent, the Past President, if present, shall be chairman. If the Past President is absent also, Council elects a chairman. 14.4 Voting All matters shall be decided by vote. The Secretary and Treasurer do not have a vote. Each other member of Council has one vote. There shall be no proxy voting. The chairman has a casting vote. 14.5 Retraction of Decisions A decision that has been made by a vote at a Council Meeting shall not be brought before Council again unless (a) a period of six months has elapsed, or (b) a subsequent Annual General Meeting has been held, or (c) a Council Meeting agrees to review the decision by the express wish of at least two-thirds of members of Council who are present and entitled to vote. 15 COUNCIL DUTIES AND POWERS 15.1 Policy Further to Section 3. Council shall have the powers defined below. 15.2 Regulations Council shall make and define regulations for the conduct of Duplicate Bridge in Scotland. 15.3 Finances Council shall be responsible for the finances of the Union. 15.4 Discipline Council shall have disciplinary powers to deal with any Member or Affiliated Club that infringes this Constitution, disregards the decisions of Council, or breaks the rules of bridge, or brings bridge into disrepute. These powers include expulsion or suspension from the Union. Subject to the provisions of Section 10.7, any such Member or Affiliated Club may appeal against the decision of Council at a General Meeting in order to have their case re-examined. The decision of the General Meeting shall be final. Disciplinary procedures will be produced and maintained by the Laws and Ethics Committee. 15.5 Disputes Council shall decide questions of dispute, including any interpretation of this Constitution where such arise or are submitted by a Member. 15.6 Competitions Council shall conduct competitions under such conditions as it deems fit. 15.7 Other Bodies Council may cause the Union to join or affiliate (or to disjoin or disaffiliate) with other similar bodies as it deems fit. It may appoint delegates to other bodies. 15.8 Grants Council may, at its discretion, make grants or loans, monetary or otherwise, to any District or Affiliated Club. 16 COUNCIL DELEGATION OF POWERS 16.1 Officials Council shall appoint Union Officials to carry out its policy in areas where it sees fit. Such Union Officials need not be members of Council but shall have executive powers in the day-to-day running of the business of the Union. 16.2 Executive Committee At the Council Meeting immediately following the Annual General Meeting, Council shall appoint an Executive Committee consisting of the President and four other members of Council to oversee the actions of the Union Officers. The Secretary and Treasurer shall ex officio be members of the Executive Committee. 16.3 Committees (a) Council shall establish a Selection Committee, a Laws and Ethics Committee, a Tournament Committee and a Finance Committee. Council shall establish other Committees as it deems fit. (b) A Committee shall consist of one or more members of Council, one of whom Council appoints as Chairman. A Committee may co-opt up to three additional members who need not be members of Council but shall have been approved at a Council Meeting. Changes to the membership of a Committee must be approved by a Council Meeting. (c) The President and Secretary are ex officio members of all Committees. (d) Each member of a Committee except the Secretary and Treasurer has one vote. The Chairman has a casting vote. There shall be no proxy voting. (e) Each Committee shall have terms of reference decided by Council. A Committee may make executive decisions without reference to Council but must follow policy decided by Council. A Committee may recommend policy changes to Council and may be consulted by Union Officers on matters where they have expertise. 17 MINUTES The Secretary shall keep a Minute Book containing a record of all meetings of Council and the Executive Committee. 18 COUNCIL EXPENSES Members of Council and co-opted members of Committees are entitled to reasonable out-of-pocket expenses when they are engaged on Council Business. 19 CONSTITUTION 19.1 Copies of this Constitution shall be sent to all Affiliated Clubs and shall be available from the Secretary on request. 19.2 No alterations shall be made to the Constitution without the consent of at least two-thirds of those Members who vote on them at the General Meeting at which the alterations are proposed. 19.3 Notice of any amendment or alteration, together with the names of proposing and seconding members, shall be submitted in writing to the Union Secretary at least twenty-eight days prior to the date of the General Meeting. Within seven days thereafter, a copy of the notice shall be sent by the Union Secretary to each affiliated club, whose responsibility it shall be to bring the notice to the attention of its members. Direct Members shall be notified by the Union Secretary. A notice calling the meeting shall be sent to affiliated clubs at the same time. It shall be open to Council to make proposals and to place amendments to the Constitution before an Annual General Meeting, subject to the provisions of notice and majority contained within this clause. 20 DISTRICTS 20.1 Government Government of the District shall be vested in the District Committee, subject to directives from a District General Meeting. 20.2 Constitution Each District shall have its own Constitution. Appendix 1 PROXY VOTING 1. Proxy voting at General Meetings of the Scottish Bridge Union will be conducted according to the rules laid down in this document. 2. Council will appoint a Proxy Voting Officer. 3. When requested to do so, the Proxy Voting Officer shall provide members of the Union who wish to appoint a proxy to act on their behalf at a General Meeting with an application form (see annexe); such forms shall also be available from the Union's Website. 4. To comprise a valid application, such application forms must be completed to contain all the requested information and the signatures of the member applying to appoint a proxy and the individual proposed as proxy. The Chairman of the Meeting may be proposed as a proxy, in which case no counter-signature is required. 5. Save in exceptional circumstances, proxies may not seek to transfer their votes to be used by any other individual. 6. Completed application forms must be received by the Proxy Voting Officer no later than one week before the date of the General Meeting. 7. The Proxy Voting Officer shall check the validity of application forms, checking that all persons applying to appoint a proxy are entitled to vote at the General Meeting and that no member has sought to specify more than one proxy. Members who seek to appoint more than one proxy shall be deprived of their votes at the relevant General Meeting. 8. The Proxy Voting Officer shall write to all proxies to confirm the number of valid proxy votes that they have, providing an explanation if this number is less than the number of applications. The Proxy Voting Officer shall also inform the Chairman of the Meeting of the number of individuals who have selected the Chairman as their proxy, together with any instructions such individuals have specified. 9. The Proxy Voting Officer shall prepare lists of all individuals who have designated proxies, and display these prominently in the room in which the General Meeting is held. It shall be announced at the meeting that individuals whose names are on the list are not entitled to vote at the meeting. 10. At the Meeting, proxies shall identify themselves to the Proxy Voting Officer, presenting that official's letter of confirmation. The Proxy Voting Officer shall establish how they are casting their votes if voting is by show of hands, or assign them the appropriate number of ballot papers if voting is by ballot. 11. The Chairman of the Meeting shall adjudicate on any unforeseen circumstance or contentious matter arising in connection with the implementation of proxy voting. No appeal against the Chairman's ruling shall be allowed at the Meeting. Annexe (A): Application to Appoint a Proxy Date of General Meeting: Name of individual applying to appoint a proxy: Home club: Master Point Number or Membership No: Address: *Telephone: *E-mail: I hereby request that the Chairman of the Meeting be registered to act as a proxy on my behalf at the above meeting. Signed ________________ Date ________________ Include here any instructions that you wish to make to your proxy. Completed application forms shall be sent to the Proxy Voting Officer, W Ross, 60 Broomhill Avenue, Aberdeen AB10 6JY. Applications shall be valid only (a) if they are received by the Proxy Voting Officer at least seven days prior to the Meeting and, (b) if all the requested information is provided. [Fields marked * are optional.] Approved proxies will receive a letter of confirmation from the Proxy Voting Officer, which they must bring to the meeting to validate their right to cast proxy votes. Annexe (B): Application to Appoint a Proxy Date of General Meeting: Name of individual applying to appoint a proxy: Home club: Master Point Number or Membership No: Address: *Telephone: *E-mail: I hereby request that {Name of individual proposed as proxy} be registered to act as a proxy on my behalf at the above meeting. Signed ________________ Date ________________ Include here any instructions that you wish to make to your proxy. Name of individual proposed as proxy: Home club: Master Point Number or Membership No: Address: *Telephone: *E-mail: I agree to act as a proxy for the applicant at the above meeting. Signed _________________ Date __________________ Completed application forms shall be sent to the Proxy Voting Officer, W Ross, 60 Broomhill Avenue, Aberdeen AB10 6JY. Applications shall be valid only (a) if they are received by the Proxy Voting Officer at least seven days prior to the Meeting and, (b) if all the requested information is provided. [Fields marked * are optional.] Approved proxies will receive a letter of confirmation from the Proxy Voting Officer, which they must bring to the meeting to validate their right to cast proxy votes. |