Gobstyk's Gaming Club

1.1 The club will be called Gobstyk’s Gaming Club.

1.2 It will be based in St Andrews Church Hall, Garmston Street, Lincoln.

2.0 Purpose

2.1 To provide the opportunity for Members to participate in the hobby of collecting, painting and gaming with miniatures and game systems.

3.0 Membership

3.1 Membership of the club is gained by attending more than half of the meetings in a running year. There will be a 3 month probationary period before membership takes effect.

3.2 Club meetings are open to non-Members who can make use of the club facilities upon payment of the standard meeting ticket price.

3.3 A record of attendance will be kept in a register book or database.

3.4 Members must be 12 years old or more (or be at high school) to attend the club or become a Member. Club Officials and signatories must be 18 years or older.

4.0 Club Assets

4.1 The assets of the club (gaming equipment, cash in hand and cash at the bank) belong to the Members.

4.2 If the club ever closes the assets will be distributed to the current Members as evenly as possible. Current Members at any time will be those who have attended more than half the meetings in the previous 6 months.

5.0 Club Officials

5.1 Decisions involving expenditure in excess of £50 or which involve a change in Club Rules will be made by majority vote of club Members at a normal meeting. Club Officials may make decisions on day to day running and expenditure of up to £50.

5.2 At the AGM the Members will appoint a Club Leader, Treasurer, Caretaker, Events Coordinator, Membership Secretary, Ambassador & Recorder. Nominations must be posted 28 days before the AGM.

5.3 Officials must have attended at least 80% (90% for Secretary & Treasurer) of the meetings during the past 12 months to be eligible for election or re-election.

5.4 A minimum of two Officials will be present at each club meeting.

5.5 At least one Official or senior Member will have been trained as a First Aider. At least one First Aider will be present at all club meetings where practicable.

6.0 Club Funds

6.1 Club funds will be administered through a bank or building society account which is designed for this purpose.

6.2 There will be four signatories to the Club Bank Account, one of whom will be the club Treasurer. Any two of the signatories must sign Club Cheques and make cash withdrawals.

6.3 The Treasurer will keep a record of transactions on club funds showing all credits, debits and the current balance. The record will be available for inspection by any club Member.

6.4 A receipt will be obtained for all club expenditure, checked by the Treasurer and retained for audit purposes. If the Treasurer commits expenditure then the receipt will be checked by a different signatory.

6.5 The club year will run from October 1st to September 30th. At the end of the year a suitably qualified independent person will inspect the financial records.

6.6 Public liability insurance will be the highest priority purchase for the club. Sufficient funds will be put aside for this annually.

7.0 Voting and club decisions

7.1 Decisions regarding the club, including amendment of Club Rules, will be made by majority vote at normal club meetings.

7.2 The Membership Secretary will keep a record of decisions taken at club meetings. The record will be available for inspection by any club Member.

7.3 Only current Members (not visitors) may vote.

7.4 There will be an Annual General Meeting to discuss the general direction of the club and forthcoming events.

8.0 Standards of conduct

8.1 Club Members and visiting non-Members will at all times adhere to the following standards of behaviour.

8.2 There will be no verbal or physical abuse of any other Member or visiting non-Member.

8.3.1 Class;
8.3.2 Ethnic origin, nationality (or statelessness), or race;
8.3.3 Gender;
8.3.4 Age;
8.3.5 Marital or sexual status;
8.3.6 Mental or physical ability;
8.3.7 Political or religious belief;

8.4 No person under the age of 16 years will be left unattended by less than two adults over the age of 18 years at any time.

8.5 It is the responsibility of all persons to ensure that:

8.5.1 They do not endanger the health and safety of themselves or others:
8.5.2 They observe the rules established for the safety of those involved in the club activities. These are defined as required by the Club Committee.

9.0 Disagreements between club members

9.1 Any disagreements between Members in a Gaming Club must be referred to the Club Leader.

9.2 If the Club Leader is unable to resolve the disagreement. or if personally involved in it, the matter must be referred to the GCN Area Representative.

9.3 The following procedures are to be used only if informal efforts to resolve disagreements have been made and failed.

9.4 Disagreements between any of the following must be referred to the GCN Council:

9.4.1 Two or more clubs from different Areas;
9.4.2 Clubs and the GCN Council

9.5 All the parties to the disagreement must be given reasonable opportunity to state their case.

10.0 Suspension of members

10.1 Suspension of membership ensures that no situation in the Gaming Club arises which could cause further concern and that no member is placed in a position which cause further compromise. Such action may be necessary in the following cases:

10.2 When an allegation is made that a Member has committed a serious criminal offence. In this case the Member must be suspended until police enquiries and any legal proceedings have been concluded;

10.3 When a disagreement between adults cannot be resolved quickly. In this case the suspension is to be for a period of not more than 90 days in the first instance. Suspension for further periods of not more than 90 days may follow;

10.4 When the action of an individual could seriously harm the reputation of the Gaming Club Network.

10.5 In every case membership may be suspended only by the appropriate authority with approval from the other appropriate authority as defined in the following table:

10.6 The suspended Member must not participate in any activity connected with the Gaming Club Network and must not wear uniform or badges.

10.7 Any appointment will be regarded as vacant.

10.8 Suspension in the case of disagreement must be followed as soon as possible by conciliation and such further steps as are necessary.

10.9 When a person's membership is suspended or the nature of the suspension changes, the appropriate Official must inform the GCN Council.

10.10 Any Gaming Club Network member who is dismissed has the right of appeal (with the aid of a 'friend' if so desired) to the next highest tier of authority.

10.11 If so requested by the person dismissed, the Official asked for appeal may appoint a committee to hear the appeal.

10.12 Reasonable opportunity must be given for the dismissed person to attend the meeting of such a committee to state a case against dismissal.

10.13 Following any incident of suspension of membership to an individual censure will not be lifted without the agreement of both the Officials who agreed upon censure, as outlined in 10.2.

10.14 Records of all suspension and disciplinary actions must be maintained by all Officials involved and be available for examination by the police authorities should they be required.