RULES OF THE DRIVE BOWLING CLUB

Paragraph

Subject

1

Title

2

Objectives

3

Officers of the Club

4

Management Committee meetings

5

Management Committee

6

Club Year

7

Annual General Meeting – Notice and Agenda

8

Annual General Meeting – Date and Quorum

9

Election of Officers

10

Casual Vacancies

11

Extraordinary General Meetings

12

Membership and Subscriptions

13

Payment of Subscriptions

14

Election of New Members

15

Conditions of Election

16

Expulsion

17

Visitors and Temporary Membership

18

Casual Green Play

19

Green – Hours of Play and Dress Code

20

Bar Opening Hours

21

Gambling

22

Dogs

23

Members’ Property

24

Unauthorised Notices

25

Complaints and Suggestions

26

Health and Safety and Electric Fence

27

Receipts

28

Club Assets and Property

29

The Drive Bowling Club Limited

30

Alteration to the Rules

31

Rules Posted in the Clubhouse

1.     TITLE

The organisation shall be entitled The Drive Bowling Club.

2.    OBJECTIVES

Its objectives shall be:

(a) The Drive Bowling Club shall operate as a Mixed Bowling Club to maintain first rate facilities for playing the game of Bowls under the Rules and Regulations of Bowls England, Sussex County Bowls (Men’s Section) and Sussex County Bowls (Women’s Section).

(b) To provide a congenial social centre for the pleasure and comfort of members and their guests.

3.    OFFICERS OF THE CLUB

The Officers of the Club shall be: President, Club Secretary, Treasurer, Club Minutes Secretary, Secretary of The Drive Bowling Club Limited, Match Secretary, Captain, Vice-Captain, Junior Vice-Captain, Competition Manager, Building Maintenance Manager, Grounds Manager, Housekeeping Manager, Events Manager, Bowling Committee Secretary, Sussex County Bowls Men’s Delegate, Sussex County Bowls Ladies’ Delegate, Brighton, Hove and District League Delegate, Brighton, Hove and District Women’s League Delegate. Safeguarding Officer, Webmaster.

All Officers of the Club will be elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting when they shall retire but be eligible for re-election from year to year.  The President of the Club shall hold Office for no more than 3 years.

4.    MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETINGS  

The management of the club in the first meeting of any year shall elect a Chairperson for that year.  The committee shall have the power to appoint Sub-Committee/s and may at any time co-opt any Full Member as an Officer of the Club as they may think fit.  Any such Officer so co-opted shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting.  Five members of the Management Committee shall form a quorum.  The Committee shall hold formal meetings at monthly intervals during the playing season or otherwise as necessary.

5.    MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

The Management Committee shall consist of the President, Club Secretary, Treasurer, Club Minutes Secretary, Secretary of The Drive Bowling Club Limited, Match Secretary, Captain, Vice-Captain, Junior Vice-Captain, Competition Manager, Building Maintenance Manager, Grounds Manager, Housekeeping Manager, Events Manager, Bowling Committee Secretary, Sussex County Bowls Men’s Delegate, Sussex County Bowls Ladies’ Delegate, Brighton, Hove and District League Delegate, Brighton, Hove and District Women’s League Delegate. Safeguarding Officer, Webmaster. 

The Management Committee shall have:

·      control of the finances of the Club the power to engage

·      manage and dismiss club contractors

·      the maintenance of club buildings and grounds

·      all such administrative powers as may be necessary for properly carrying out the objectives of the Club in accordance with these rules.

The Club Minutes Secretary shall keep the minutes of all Management Committee meetings and of the Annual General Meeting, these shall be read and approved at each subsequent meeting and duly signed by the Chairperson.

6.    CLUB YEAR

The Club’s year shall cover the period from one Annual General Meeting to the next. Members of the Management Committee shall remain individually responsible for the discharge of their appointed duties until they are replaced at the Annual General Meeting.

7.    ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – NOTICE AND AGENDA

A notice convening the Annual General Meeting shall be sent to every full member by email or by post to any member without email, not less than twenty-one days before the date of the meeting.  The notice shall set out the Agenda for the meeting and the business transacted shall be confined to the said Agenda.  Notice of any resolution for consideration at the Annual General Meeting must be signed by the proposer and seconder who must be Full Members, and received by the Club Secretary not later than 1st December of the previous year.  If in order, the resolution shall be placed on the agenda for the meeting.

8.    ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – DATE & QUORUM

The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held on the third Tuesday in January of each year or at a similar date as the Management Committee shall decide.  Twelve Full Members shall form a quorum.  At Annual General Meetings only Full Members shall be entitled to vote.

(Any voting can be carried by a simple majority)

9.    ELECTION OF OFFICERS

The election of officers of the Management Committee shall take place in the following manner:

a)    The Management Committee may nominate any Full Members to be Officers of the Club.

b)   Any two Full Members of the Club shall be at liberty to nominate a Full Member to be an Officer of the Club.

c)    A nomination sheet for the purpose of election of a full member to the position of a Club Officer shall be affixed to the Club notice board prior to the 1st December.

d)   Balloting lists shall be prepared containing the names of candidates only and each Full Member present at the Annual General Meeting shall be entitled to vote for any number of such candidates, not exceeding the number of vacancies.  In the case where there shall not be a sufficient number of candidates nominated, the Management Committee shall fill the remaining vacancies.  If two or more candidates receive an equal number of votes the Management Committee shall select by lot from such candidates, the candidate/s who are to become an officer of the club.

e)    Members of the Committee shall retire every year at the Annual General Meeting and be eligible for re-election.

10.  CASUAL VACANCIES

Any vacancy arising through the death, resignation or prolonged absence of an officer or other member of the Committee during their term of service may be filled by co-option at a formal meeting of the Committee.  The member so co-opted shall serve until the next Annual General Meeting, at which duly nominated, they may offer themselves for election for a further term of office.

11.  EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club may be called by the Management Committee and shall be called within 21 days after the receipt by the Club Secretary of a requisition in writing to that effect, signed by at least 12 Full Members. Every such requisition shall specify the business for which the meeting is to be convened and no other business shall be transacted at such meeting.

12.  MEMBERSHIP AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

The membership of the club shall consist of:

·      Full Members (that is to say Members whose rights and privileges are not in any way limited) who shall be duly elected Full Membership and shall pay the Full Members subscription. In addition to Full Members there shall be the following other Members of the Club (who have no voting rights) namely

·      Honorary Members (shall be over 90 years of age and have been Full Members for over 20 years and shall pay no further subscriptions.)

·      Associate Members (shall have been former full Members, or the spouse/partner of existing or former Full Members)

·      Junior Members (shall be under 18 years of age, in full-time education, pay 20% of the Full Members subscription.  When on the Club premises, a Junior Member may not purchase or consume alcohol and must always be accompanied by a member of their family, who will take full responsibility for them.)

·      Other members with limited rights and privileges as the Management Committee of the Club may from time to time deem expedient to elect.

The subscriptions and fees for each category of membership for the ensuing year shall be recommended by the Management Committee to the Annual General Meeting.  The Management Committee shall set out in detail the subscriptions and fees agreed for each year in the Annual Subscription Renewal Form addressed to members individually, as soon as possible after the Annual General Meeting.

13.  PAYMENT OF SUBSCRIPTION

Members’ subscriptions and fees shall become due immediately following the Annual General Meeting and should be paid no later than five weeks afterwards.  If any member fails to pay by the end of the five-week period, without a satisfactory explanation they shall cease to be a member of the Club and their name will be erased from the list.  They may, however, be reinstated on payment of all outstanding fees, provided that satisfactory grounds are given for their default.

 

14.  ELECTION OF NEW MEMBERS

All elections of new candidates for membership shall be made at a meeting of the Management Committee.  Every candidate must be proposed and seconded on the nomination form provided for the purpose.  The form shall be signed by both the candidate and their sponsors, who must be Full Members.  Sponsors will be held responsible for eligibility.  The nomination form must be posted in the Club for at least 14 days before the election.  No candidate shall be elected except by the unanimous vote of those present at the Management Committee meeting or quorum to be held as soon as practicable after the 14 days.  Should any candidate fail to secure such unanimous support, their candidature may be postponed for consideration at a later meeting and the sponsors shall be so informed.  If a candidate is rejected, no reason shall be given for the decision.

15.  CONDITIONS OF ELECTION

A newly-elected member shall receive formal notice of their election and of the subscription and fees due from them.  They shall also be furnished with a copy of the Rules of the Club and payment of their dues shall be held to signify their acceptance of these Rules.  If a newly elected member shall fail to pay their dues within one month their election shall be null and void.

16.  EXPULSION

The Management Committee shall have the power to reprimand, suspend or expel any Member who infringes the Rules of the Club or whose conduct, whether within or without the Club premises shall in their opinion render them unfit for Membership of the Club.  In such a case, seven days’ notice in writing shall be addressed to the offending member summoning them to appear before the Management Committee.  No member shall be expelled without the opportunity to explain their conduct in person.  The Management Committee’s decision shall be final.

17.  VISITORS AND TEMPORARY MEMBERSHIP

Visiting members of recognised Bowling Clubs, suitably introduced, shall be admitted to temporary membership (including the use of Club and green) by the session, by the day, the week, the fortnight or the month on payment of the fees for the time being in operation.  No visitor, however, shall be admitted to temporary membership for a period exceeding two months in any one season.  The member introducing a visitor shall be responsible for seeing that their name and contact details are entered into the club diary on every visit.

The fees currently in operation for the various periods shall be clearly set out in the Visitors Book, and also in a notice posted in the Club.

On match days, visiting Clubs having the same or similar objectives as this Club may also be admitted and be entitled to purchase intoxicating liquor for consumption on the Club premises.  The full courtesy of the Club and green shall be accorded to such visiting Clubs without charge.

18.  CASUAL GREEN PLAY.

Associate Members or casual visiting bowler (who must be introduced by and be the responsibility of a Full Member or Associate Member of the Club) may play on the green, paying the appropriate green fee, for a maximum number of six times in any one year.  If they play in a match during this period, then they will also pay a match fee.

19.  GREEN-HOURS OF PLAY AND DRESS CODE

a)    During the playing season the green shall be open for play from 9.00 am until dusk, but the Grounds Manager, Club Captain or in their absence, the most senior officer present, have discretion to restrict the hours of play or to close the green when necessary for its care and protection.

b)   Whilst playing in Club competitions (internal and external) and friendly matches (at home or away) members are to wear the new Club Kit (2022) navy trousers and new club shirt/ navy shorts or cropped to wear white socks, wet weather clothing, hats, sun protection sleeves, and any other accessories should be white on these occasions.  Fleeces, jumpers may also be navy.  Social drives players are to wear the dress code decided by the committee and shown on the match sheet.  Casual and roll-up players, and players in organised roll-ups, may wear relaxed, smart, casual clothing.  Regulation bowls shoes must always be worn

20. BAR OPENING HOURS

The supply of alcoholic liquor in the club will be permitted during the general licensing hours currently in force in the licensing district in which the Club is situated and/or such other hours as may, from time to time, be granted to the Club.

21.  GAMBLING

The Club shall not be used for gambling or for playing any unlawful games of chance.

22. DOGS

No dogs will be brought into the Club or the Club premises, except for guide/assistance dogs.

23. MEMBERS’ PROPERTY

Member’s property is left on the premises at the owner’s risk and the Club cannot be held responsible for loss or damage resulting.

24. UNAUTHORISED NOTICES

No paper, notice or placard, written or printed, shall be put in the Club, without the sanction of the Club Secretary or the Club President.

25. COMPLAINTS AND SUGGESTIONS

Any members wishing to make a complaint and suggestion should address it, in the first instance, to the Club Secretary, who if the matter cannot be immediately resolved, will invite the member to record their views in writing for the decision of the Management Committee.

 

26. HEALTH AND SAFETY AND ELECTRIC FENCE

Any accident or injury must be recorded in the Accident Book, located with a First Aid Kit behind the main Clubhouse door to the green. A further first aid kit is located in the bar area and a defibrillator is situated by the gate to the entrance of the club.

Members are required to exercise due care for their own safety and the safety of others whilst on the Club Premises.

The bowling green electric fence must first be switched off before entering the Bowling Green and members are asked to ensure that they switch the electric fence back on if they are the last person to leave the green.

27. RECEIPTS

The receipt of the Club Secretary or Club Treasurer for the time being shall be a full and valid receipt on behalf of the Club.

28. CLUB ASSETS AND PROPERTY

All assets of the Club (excluding the shares in The Drive Bowling Club Limited) shall belong to Full Members only and shall be held by Trustees for Full Members only.  The Trustees for this purpose shall be the President, Club Secretary and Club Treasurer for the time being.  In the absence of any direction by the Management Committee of the Club, the Trustees shall act in such manner as they see fit for the benefit of the Club.  The Trustees shall be entitled to be indemnified against risk and expense out of the Club property.

29. THE DRIVE BOWLING CLUB LIMITED

The Club shall nominate five persons to be Shareholders and Directors of The Drive Bowling Club Limited, each shareholder to hold one fifth of the issued share capital of The Drive Bowling Club Limited.  Each Shareholder and Director shall hold office for five years or until earlier termination, and on ceasing to hold office the shares held by them shall be deemed to be at the disposal of the Club.

Such persons as described above shall not be entitled to be re-nominated immediately after their term of office.  At every Annual General Meeting the Club shall nominate a person or persons to be a Shareholder and Director or Shareholders and Directors of The Drive Bowling Club Limited to fill any vacancy or vacancies there may be in such office.  The Management Committee shall have the power at any time to nominate a person to fill a casual vacancy as Shareholder and Director of The Drive Bowling Club Limited until the next Annual General Meeting of the Club, when such person shall be entitled to be re-nominated for a period of five years.  All persons accepting appointments as Shareholders and Directors of The Drive Bowling Club Limited shall sign a declaration of Trust in such a form as may be prescribed by The Management Committee from time to time.

30. ALTERATION OF THE RULES.

No rule of the Club shall be rescinded or altered, and no rule shall be added unless affirmed by a simple majority of the Full Members present and voting at the AGM or an EGM.

31.  RULES POSTED IN THE CLUBHOUSE.

A copy of the Rules shall be permanently posted in the Club and will be available on the Club’s website.

Revised March 2022