Brighton & Hove Chess Club
The Railway Club, Belmont House, 4 Belmont, Dyke Road, Brighton, BN1 3TF (near Seven Dials)
Constitution of the Club
(6th October 2007)
1 The name of the Club is ‘Brighton and Hove Chess Club’.
Objects
2 The objects of the Club are:-
(i) The provision of opportunities for Members to play and study chess, assisted by the use of the club library.
(ii) The promotion of chess as a worthwhile social activity and sporting endeavour, and as a means of intellectual and artistic expression.
3. (i) Members are entitled to all the facilities of the club.
(iii) Every candidate for membership shall complete an application form and deliver it to the Membership Secretary or other officer of the Club, with the appropriate subscription.
(iv) Candidates for Membership shall be elected by Club Officers at their sole discretion.
(v) The Club secretary shall provide the minutes of the Club Committee meetings to any member upon request.*
4 (i) The management of the Club shall be entrusted to a Committee of Officers consisting of the President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Tournament Controller plus any others as and when required, and not less than three non-officers, all elected at the Annual General Meeting, making a total of not more than ten.
5 The Committee shall have at any time and from time to time to fill any casual vacancy among the Officers and Committee. Any Officer or Member of the Committee so appointed shall hold office only until the next following Annual General Meeting but shall then be eligible for re-election.
6 (i) Save as otherwise provided in this Rule, every Member shall pay an annual subscription which shall be due in advance at the Annual General Meeting, payable to the Treasurer or Membership Secretary who should issue a receipt. Such subscription shall be deemed to be a debt due to the Treasurer for the time being. The amount of such subscription shall be determined from time to time by the Committee according to the following schedule, namely:-
Category 1: Full (other than as described in categories 2-4).
Category 2: Junior Members aged under 18.
Category 3: Full-time students of any age.
Category 4: Anyone in receipt of income support.
(ii) For new members joining after January 1 st the subscription will be pro-rated to October 1 st following.
(iii) The Committee may at its sole discretion waive any fee or part of any fee on such terms if any as it may determine.
Subscriptions in arrears
7 If any Member shall fail to pay his subscription within three months after it has become due the Treasurer may send him a notice in writing to his address as recorded in the books of the Club calling upon him to pay the same within seven days. If he shall fail to pay his subscription the Committee shall be entitled to terminate his membership without further notice.
8 (i) Save as may be otherwise determined by the Committee, visitors are welcome to enter the Club rooms, with the exception of members expelled or whose application has been previously declined.
(ii) Visitors shall sign the Visitors Book and may be admitted free of charge for up to three visits after which they may be invited to join as a full member.
Laws of Chess
9 (i) The Laws of Chess as laid down by the British Chess Federation shall be observed in the Club. A copy of the Laws shall at all times be available in the Club room.
(ii) No game shall be played for money but this provision does not preclude the Committee from authorising the awarding of prizes in connection with Club Tournaments.
General Meetings
10 (i) The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held during September or October in each year. At this meeting Members present shall elect Officers and Committee Members for the year.
(ii) The Committee may call a General Meeting at any time.
(iii) The Secretary shall call a General Meeting within twenty-one days on the written request of one fifth of the Members of the Club for the time being or ten Members whichever is less. Such written request must state the purpose for which such meeting is required.
(iv) The Secretary shall at least fourteen days before any general meeting send to every Member at his address as recorded in the Club’s books a notice of the Meeting stating the time when and the place where it will be held and the business to be conducted.
(v) The business at a general meeting shall be limited to that provided by these Rules and any further matters set out in the notice convening the meeting. The quorum at any general meeting shall be two-fifths of the Members of the Club for the time being or fifteen whichever is less.
(vi) At all general meetings the President shall be Chairman.
(vii) At all general meetings unless expressly required by these Rules, decisions shall be by simple majority of those voting save that in the event of an equal number of votes being cast for and against a motion the Chairman may thereupon cast a deciding vote regardless of whether and if so in what way he has already voted on such motion. No member under the age of 18 shall be entitled to vote at a general meeting.
(viii) Any Member entitled to vote at a general meeting but who is not able to attend such meeting may assign his vote to an attending Member who is himself entitled to vote but no such assignment shall be valid unless the Member making such assignment shall give or cause to be given written notice thereof to the Chairman before the start of such meeting. The Chairman shall when dealing with any apologies for absence from the Meeting. A Member who assigns his vote shall not be counted for the purpose of establishing a quorum.
Disciplinary Action
11 The Committee shall have the power to take disciplinary action, whether reprimand or expulsion, against any Member who shall offend against the Rules of the Club or whose conduct whether or not inside the Club’s premises shall in the opinion of the Committee render him unfit for membership of the Club. Before any such disciplinary action is taken the Secretary shall give such member seven days written notice of the complaints made with a request to attend a Meeting of the Committee. Such meeting shall consider the complaints together with the case made by the Member in reply. At least two thirds of the whole Committee are required to vote in favour of expulsion and a simple majority in favour of a reprimand. The decision of the Committee shall stand unless reversed at the next general meeting.
Opening Hours
12 The Club shall be open during such hours as may from time to time be determined by the Committee.
Interpretation of Rules
13 The Committee shall be the sole authority for the interpretation of these Rules and of the regulations made from time to time by the Committee; and the decision of the Committee upon any question of interpretation or upon any matter affecting the Club and not provided for by these Rules or by the regulations shall be final and binding on the Members.
Amendment of Rules
14 These Rules may be added to, repealed, or amended by resolution at any annual or special general meeting provided that no such resolution shall be deemed to have been passed unless notice of such proposed resolution shall have been given in the notice convening the meeting and unless the resolution is carried by a majority of at least two-thirds of the Members voting thereon. The Secretary shall as soon as possible and in any case within twenty-eight days of the making of any such amendment to the Rules post details of such amendments on the Club notice board.
* Added by amendment at the 2007 AGM