RULES OF THE BRIDLINGTON RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB
RULE 1
Style, Title and Objects of the Club
The name of the Club shall be “The Bridlington Rugby Union Football Club” (“the Club”). The Objects of the Club shall be the playing, promotion and encouragement of rugby union football, such other sports as may be approved by the General Committee. The Club shall be affiliated to the Rugby Football Union and the Yorkshire Rugby Football Union. The headquarters of the Club shall be at The Club House, Dukes Park, Queensgate, Bridlington (“the Club House”).
RULE 2
Club Colours
The colours of the Club shall be dark blue and amber.
RULE 3
Constitution
3.1 The Club shall consist of life members, members for life, vice presidents, full members, associate members, junior members, honoury members and temporary members.
3.2 Classes of Membership are defined as follows:
(i) Life Members – those members elected under the provisions of Rule 4.1
(ii) Members for life – members who have paid the requisite subscription as set from time to time by the General Committee in advance.
(iii) Vice Presidents – those members elected under the provisions of Rule 4.2
(iv) Full Members – those persons elected by the General Committee as full members.
(v) Playing Members – those persons who apply to be playing members of the Club and who are so elected by the General Committee.
(vi) Associate Members – those persons elected by the General Committee as associate members.
(vii) Junior Members – those persons being under the age of 18 years on the 1st September in any year and elected by the General Committee as junior members wishing to continue as members shall apply to the General Committee for either Full membership, Playing membership or Associate membership as he case may be.
3.3 The only members of the Club who shall be entitled to vote at the Annual General Meeting and any other meeting of the Club shall be Life Members, Members for Life, Vice Presidents, Full Members and Playing Members they shall have paid respective subscriptions for the year in question.
RULE 4
4.1 Life Member
On the invitation of the General Committee, such invitation to be ratified at the next Annual General Meeting of the Club, a full members may be elected as a life member and, on such appointment, he shall henceforth be free of subscription but shall retain all the privileges of the Club.
4.2 Vice Presidents
On the invitation of the General Committee, such invitation to be ratified at the next Annual General Meeting, a full member may be elected as a vice-president of the Club.
RULE 5
Temporary Member
Ladies and Gentlemen over the age of 18 years and attending functions approved by the General Committee on the Club premises.
RULE 6
Honourary Members
A discretionary power shall be vested in the General Committee to invite and admit as honourary members of the Club such persons who, in its opinion, deserve recognition on account of their services to the Club and/or the game of rugby union football. Honourary members shall not pay a subscription and shall be entitled to the privileges of associate members
RULE 7
Assets and Investments
7.1 All the assets and investments of the Club shall be vested in Bridlington Rugby Union Football Club Limited (“the Company”). The Company shall hold such assets and investments as trustee for and on behalf of the members of the Club and shall buy, sell, gift or otherwise deal with the said assets and investments as the Company sees fit in the best interest of the Club.
7.2 Subject as set out in Rule 8.2 below the shareholders and directors of the Company shall at all times be the same persons so far as legally possible.
RULE 8
Officers of the Club
8.1 The officers of the Club shall consist of the President, the Chairman, the Director of Rugby, the Director of Finance, the House Director, the Commercial Director, the Hon. Secretary, the Captains, the Hon. Solicitor, the Chairman of the mini/junior section of the Club (“the mini/junior section”) and the Club Safeguarding Officer. The officers shall be appointed annually by the Directors of the Club.
8.2 The directors of the Company shall appoint the Chairman of the Club as a director of the Company during his term of office as Chairman of the Club.
8.3 Such person appointed as a director of the Company pursuant to the provisions of Rule 8.2 above shall resign as a director of the Company forthwith on termination of his office as the Chairman of the Club and he shall execute such documents and do all acts and things necessary to effect his resignation in accordance with the law.
8.4 In the event that the outgoing Chairman of the Club fails or delays unreasonably in executing such documents and doing such acts and things as are necessary to effect his resignation as a director of the Company in accordance with the law any director of the Company so appointed by resolution of the directors shall be deemed to have been appointed the agent of the outgoing Chairman of the Club with full power to execute such document and do all such necessary acts or things in the name and on behalf of the outgoing Chairman of the Club to effect his resignation according to law.
RULE 9
General Committee
9.1 The management of the affairs of the Club shall be delegated to a General Committee comprising the President, the Chairman, the Director of Rugby, the Director of Finance, the Commercial Director, the House Director, the Hon. Secretary, the Chairman of the mini/junior Section, the Club’s Safeguarding Officer and such other members of the Club as shall be co-opted on to the said Committee pursuant to the provisions of Rule 10.5.
9.2 Any bank account opened by the General Committee or on the authority of the General Committee shall be in the name of the Club and the mandated signatures to any such account shall be approved by the General Committee.
9.3 The particulars of all bank accounts opened in the name of the Club and the signatories to such accounts must be forwarded to the secretary of the Company prior to implementation who shall immediately present such information to the directors of the Company for their approval.
RULE 10
Duties and Powers of the General Committee
10.1 The General Committee shall be responsible for the management of all the affairs of the Club (save and except those matters vested in the Company pursuant to the provisions of Rule 7.1) and in particular shall have the power to amend the classes of membership mentioned in Rule 3.2 and/or to bring in new classes of membership as the said Committee shall in its absolute discretion deem appropriate.
10.2 Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing the General Committee shall prepare a Complaints Policy Procedure with power to amend or modify such Policy at its discretion. The said Policy shall be made available to any member of the Club by request to the Chairman or Honourary Secretary of the Club.
10.3 The General Committee shall appoint a Sub-Committee under the chairmanship of the Chairman of the Mini/Junior Section; this Sub-Committee shall be responsible for the management of the affairs of the Mini/Junior Section and shall in the course of such management abide by the Club’s policy relating to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults which said policy shall be prepared by the said Sub-Committee, approved by the General Committee in conjunction with the said Sub-Committee during the relevant Financial Year or such other more frequent time as the Chairman of the Mini/Junior Section deems appropriate.
10.4 In addition to the Sub-Committee referred to in Rule 10.3 the General Committee may delegate such of its powers as it may in its absolute discretion consider necessary to relevant sub-committees under the chairmanship of a member of the General Committee or such other person as the General Committee shall appoint.
10.5 The General Committee shall have the power to co-opt up to a maximum of six members or fill any vacancy which shall arise in its numbers during the course of the relevant Financial Year.
10.6 A quorum of the General Committee for all purposes shall besix.
10.7 The General Committee shall meet at such times as the said Committee deems necessary but in any event shall meet not less than four times in any Financial Year.
10.8 The General Committee shall set a budget for the Club (which shall include a separate and specific budget for the Mini/Junior Section) for the ensuing Financial Year as soon as reasonably practicable before the Annual General Meeting at which a new Committee is elected which said budget shall be submitted to the secretary of the Company for the approval of the directors of the Company prior to the end of the Financial Year.
10.9 No member of the General Committee shall incur any expenditure or debt above the said budget except by resolution of the General Committee passed prior to the proposed expenditure. If any debt or expenditure be incurred by any member of the said Committee without the authority of the said Committee, as evidenced by a resolution to that effect, such debt and/or expenditure shall be that member’s own liability unless the expenditure or debt be subsequently sanctioned by the General Committee at the General Committee meeting immediately following such expenditure or debt.
RULE 11
Annual General and Other Meetings of the Club
11.1 The financial year of the Club shall be the period ending on the 30th April in each calendar year (“the Financial Year”).
11.2 An Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held prior to the third Saturday in June in each year at the Club House or such other venue as the General Committee shall determine.
11.3 A notice convening such Annual General Meeting, which shall state the business to be conducted thereat, shall be posted on the notice board in the Club House not less than fourteen days prior to the date fixed for the said meeting.
11.4 An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called at any time by order of the General Committee or by the directors of the Company or on a requisition signed by at least twenty members, of whom at least ten shall be members entitled to vote at General Meetings of the Club. Such requisition shall state the object of the proposed meeting. Notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be posted on the notice board in the Club House at least fourteen days prior to the proposed meeting, stating the object and business of the proposed meeting.
RULE 12
Alteration of Rules
No addition, alteration or amendment to these Rules shall be made except at the Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club. Written notice of any proposed addition, alteration or amendment and details shall be exhibited on the Club notice board at least fourteen days prior to the meeting.
RULE 13
Annual Subscriptions
13.1 The annual subscription for each class of members shall be determined from time to time by the General Committee, such subscriptions shall be due in advance on the 1st day of May in each year.
13.2 If any member shall be in arrears with his/her subscription and shall not have paid his/her subscription prior to the 30th day of September in each year he/she shall thereupon cease to be entitled to use the Club House or to enjoy the benefits and privileges of the Club until such time as the overdue subscription shall have been paid.
13.3 The General Committee shall cause a list of members in arrears with his/her subscription after 30th September in each Financial Year to be placed on the Club notice board
RULE 14
Election of Members
14.1 No person shall become a member of the Club unless that person has completed an application for a specific class of membership in a form approved by the General Committee and the General Committee has approved the application.
14.2 The approval of the application for membership may be delegated by the General Committee to the Chairman of the Club and one other officer of the Club to act jointly.
14.3 A register of the names and addresses of the members, their class of membership and a record of the latest payment of their subscriptions shall be kept at the Club House.
14.4 A person shall not be entitled to any privileges of the Club until two days have passed since the application for membership was submitted, whether or not he is admitted as a member before these two days have elapsed.
RULE 15
Resignation of Members
Resignation from membership shall be sent by the resigning member in writing to the Hon. Secretary and any member not having submitted his resignation in writing prior to the date of the Annual General Meeting shall be liable for his/her subscription accordingly for the ensuing year.
RULE 16
Expulsion and/or suspension of Members
If the conduct of any member is reported to the General Committee as being injurious to the character or interests of the Club, the General Committee shall, on giving not less than fourteen days written notice, request such a member to attend a meeting of the General Committee to explain his/her conduct. If having heard that member’s representation, oral or written, or failing any such representation being made by or on behalf of the member, the General Committee is of the opinion that the conduct of that member was injurious to the character or interest of the Club, it may at its absolute discretion either:
(i) Suspend that member from the benefits and privileges of the Club for whatever period of time it deems appropriate, or
(ii) Expel him/her. In such case his/her subscription for the current year shall be forfeit.
RULE 17
Visitors
17.1 Members may, subject to the rules and bye-laws for the time being in force, personally introduce guests to the Club provided that no person whose application or membership has been declined or who has been expelled from the Club shall be introduced as a guest. The member introducing a guest shall enter the name and address of the guest, together with his or her own name, in a book which shall be kept for this purpose in the Club House. No person shall be introduced as a guest more than six times in one calendar year
17.2 Members of opposing clubs, members of the Yorkshire Rugby Union or any other County Unions and all persons selected to play in any representative game which shall be played at Dukes Park, Bridlington, or any ground designated a home pitch and also members of those other sports’ teams approved by the General Committee, together with their supporters and spectators, shall be regarded as Temporary Members of the Club on such a day or days and shall be entitled to such privileges of the Club as are offered to Temporary Members pursuant to Rule 5 hereof.
RULE 18
Rules and Membership List
A copy of these Rules and a list of members shall be exhibited on the Club notice board in the Club House and a copy of the Rules shall be available on request to the Hon. Secretary. No member shall be absolved from the observance or performance of these Rules by alleging that he or she was not familiar with them.
Adopted by the club in General Meeting on the 16th July 2012
