The name shall be the “SOBELL BRIDGE CLUB”.

The Club shall be run for the purpose of raising funds in support of, and promoting awareness of, Michael Sobell House at Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood by organising the playing of social or competitive bridge in any of its forms or by other means at the discretion of the Committee.

Payments shall be made for the use of various premises. Funds, at the end of the financial year, surplus to these and the running and maintenance and development expenses of the Club shall be donated to the Friends of Michael Sobell House, Registered Charity No. 1079638.

The Club shall be open to all, irrespective of age, sex, race or religion, and, in particular, shall welcome friends and relatives of the patients and ex-patients of Michael Sobell House, disabled people, and those living on their own.

The Club shall be administered by a Committee of four officers (Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer) and up to twelve other members, including the following officials: Assistant Treasurer, Playing Secretary, Social Secretary, Liaison Officer and the Session Managers. Six shall form a quorum, two of whom shall be officers. Additional members may be co-opted for specific purposes, up to the next General Meeting of the Club. The Committee shall meet at least twice per year and shall be responsible for the satisfactory running of the Club.

Members of the Committee shall be subject to election annually at the AGM. Nominations for the committee may be made by any member of the Club, each nomination having a proposer and seconder. All nominations shall be in writing, and shall reach the Honorary Secretary at least seven days before the Annual General Meeting. Should there be more than one nomination for a committee post, election shall be by secret ballot of those present. There will be successive ballots, eliminating the candidate with the fewest votes, until one candidate has more than 50% of the votes cast. Should there be no nomination for a post in advance of the AGM, nominations can be accepted at the AGM.

Should any committee post become vacant, the Committee may choose to co-opt a member to fill the vacancy or continue with the post unfilled, or call a Special General Meeting to elect a replacement. Any member co-opted will be subject to election at the next AGM.

Should more than one of the officers’ posts become vacant, the remaining members of the Committee will call a Special General Meeting to elect new officers.

The Annual General Meeting of the Club will be held after the end of March and before the end of June each year. The quorum for the Annual General Meeting is 30 members or 10% of the Club membership, whichever is fewer. To make up a quorum, at least four committee members must be present, including two officers.

The AGM shall receive reports from the Officers, fix charges, fees and subscriptions, appoint an Auditor, consider any formal motion to make any material change to this Constitution, and deal with other matters of the Agenda only.

A Special General Meeting of the Club may be convened at any time by the Committee, or by request of at least six members of the Club, giving at least 21 days notice in writing to the Honorary Secretary of the reason for calling such a meeting. The quorum for a Special General Meeting is as for the AGM. The Agenda of a Special General Meeting will be limited to the reason for the meeting, and the meeting will only deal with items on the agenda.

The Committee may choose to appoint standing subcommittees to manage various aspects of the Club’s activities and development, as directed by the Committee. The subcommittees will include at least one committee member, who will be responsible for reporting the subcommittee’s activities to the committee.

The Chairman of the meeting will have the casting vote at any Committee or General meeting.

The duties of the Vice Chairman are to act in lieu of the Chairman at any formal occasion where the Chairman cannot attend.

The duties of the Honorary Secretary are to take minutes of all committee and general meetings and produce copies of those minutes as necessary; prepare Agenda for such meetings by agreement with the Chairman; deal with correspondence; administer the decisions of the Committee; handle all matters relating to applications for membership; and to maintain membership records.

The duties of the Honorary Treasurer are to collect all monies due to the Club, pay such monies into the Club bank account settle all accounts and keep a record of such transactions. A bank account will be maintained in the name of the Club, withdrawals from which will require the signatures of two of the officers of the Club or their authorised deputies whose signatures will be registered at the bank. Duly audited accounts will be prepared annually for approval at the AGM. The financial year shall run from 1 April to 31 March the following year.

The Playing Secretary will be responsible for all matters relating to the playing of bridge at the Club, or by members representing the Club, including the appointment of Tournament Directors, and the ordering and maintenance of bridge supplies and equipment. The Playing Secretary will also be responsible for arranging and managing matches with other clubs and the participation by the Club in events sponsored by the EBU, and other organisations. The Playing Secretary will appoint other officials as deemed necessary to carry out these duties.

The Social Secretary will be responsible for organising and managing social events.

The duties of the Liaison Officer are to liaise with the relevant authorities at Michael Sobell House and Mount Vernon Hospital in respect of the use of their premises, and to initiate and co-ordinate publicity and fund-raising events.

The duties of the Session Managers are to oversee the running of the regular weekly bridge sessions. They will liaise with the relevant Tournament Directors. One Session Manager will be appointed to manage each series of regular weekly sessions.

Upon the recommendation of the Committee a member or members who have given outstanding service to the Club may be invited to become President or Vice-Presidents of the Club. Such position to continue until terminated by the Committee, The President and Vice-Presidents will be ex-officio members of the Committee and all subcommittees without voting rights.

Any material change to this Constitution shall be made by formal motion at a General Meeting. Such changes shall be subject to approval by a majority of two-thirds of members attending the meeting.

On discontinuation of the Club and after all expenses have been paid, any remaining funds shall be donated to the Friends of Michael Sobell House Ltd, Registered Charity No 1079638.