Beverley and District Ringing Society Constitution

1. NAME AND OBJECT

The Society shall be called "The Beverley and District Ringing Society" and shall have as its object, the advancement of and instruction in, the art of Change Ringing, both in its scientific aspect and as a branch of Church work.

2. MEMBERSHIP

1. Active Members

Any ringer residing in the Society's district may be elected an Active Member upon an annual payment of not less than the current Active Membership subscription. Membership shall lapse if the subscription is not paid for the previous year. A lapsed member loses all membership rights but may reinstate their membership immediately upon payment of all outstanding subscriptions. A member whose active membership has lapsed for two consecutive years may be elected as a returning member.

2. Non-Resident Members

Non-resident ringers or ringers temporarily residing in the Society's district may be elected Non-Resident Life Members upon a single payment of not less than the current non-resident life member subscription. Non-Resident Life Members shall not be eligible to vote at the election of officers or to hold any official position. Alternatively, they may pay the active member subscription for three consecutive years. This would make them eligible to vote at the election of officers and to hold office. On leaving the Society's district, they would base able to apply for non-resident life membership without further payment, as a result of which, they would no longer be eligible to hold office or vote at the election of officers.

3. Affiliated Members

Any non-ringing person interested in the success of the Society may be elected as an Affiliated Member upon payment of not less than the current affiliated member subscription. Affiliated Members shall not be eligible to hold office or vote at the election of officers.

4. Honorary Life Members

The Society may when it is deemed appropriate bestow honorary life membership upon any individual for services rendered. Honorary Life Members shall be allowed to hold office and vote at the election of officers.

5. New Members

New and returning members shall only be proposed and seconded by Active or Honorary Life Members and shall be elected by a majority of those present at the monthly meeting.

3. GOVERNMENT

The management of the Society shall be vested in a General Committee consisting of the President, Vice President, Ringing Master, Assistant Ringing Master, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and four other Active Members. Five Committee members shall form a quorum. The Committee shall have the power to co-opt up to three additional members if necessary. All officers and Committee members shall serve no more than five consecutive years in any one office, shall have full control over the general funds of the Society, power to expel any member for misconduct and in the case of a vacancy occurring in their body, the power to appoint any eligible person to office.

• The Committee shall appoint one of their number Chairman of the Bell Repair Fund and at least three Active Members of the Society who, together with the Chairman, shall form a Sub Committee to conduct the business of the Bell Repair Fund.
• The Committee shall annually appoint a Management Sub-Committee who shall look after and run the Mini Ring.
• A member of the Committee shall be designated the Membership Secretary.
• A member of the Committee shall be designated the Public Relations Officer.
• The Committee shall annually appoint an Active Member of the Society as Peal Secretary.
• The Committee shall annually appoint an Active Member of the Society as Education Officer.
• The Committee shall annually appoint an Active Member of the Society as Safeguarding Officer, responsible for advising the Society in its duty of care towards young people and vulnerable adults. If the appointed officer is not an elected member of the Committee, the Committee shall co-opt the Safeguarding Officer as an additional member.
• The Committee shall be responsible for producing an Annual Report and Accounts. These Accounts shall be examined by two Examiners elected by the members of the Society at the Annual General Meeting.

4. CENTRAL COUNCIL REPRESENTATION

The Society is affiliated to the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. An Active Member or Members shall be elected to represent the Society for a three-year period corresponding to each triennial session of the Council.

5. FINANCE

The financial year shall be from January 1st to December 31st inclusive. All subscriptions and the Peal Fee shall be set at the December General Meeting to take effect the following year.

6. MEETINGS

General Meetings shall be held on the second Saturday of each month and those in March, June, September and December shall include a business meeting, unless an alteration to this procedure is agreed by a majority of members present at one of the Society's business meetings. The Annual General Meeting shall be held in March. In the event of a tower not being available for a meeting on a selected date, the Secretary shall have the power to make an alternative arrangement.

7. BELL REPAIR FUND

The Society's Bell Repair Fund shall be administered in accordance with its Constitution, a copy of which may be obtained from the Secretary.

8. STRIKING COMPETITION

When a Striking Competition is held, the following rules shall apply:

1. The teams entering must be fully representative of the tower.
2. All persons ringing must be fully paid up Active or Honorary Life Members of the Society.
3. Each competitor may only ring once.
4. Each band should ring 240 of true Minor or 2 x 120 of Doubles with a cover or a minimum of eight minutes Call Changes with at least 24 different rows - repeated changes are allowed. The Rounds preceding the test piece and the Rounds following the test piece shall not be marked. In the case of Call Changes, the final Rounds must not be called before the expiration of eight minutes.
5. If possible, there should be an out of area judge.
6. Should the competition be held where there is a resident band entering, it may be necessary to penalise the band at the discretion of the Judge. The Ringing Master should advise on local conditions.
7. Before commencing ringing, each ringer (from Treble to Tenor, in that order) is allowed to check their rope length. The whole of the checking is to take no more than five minutes.
8. Practice shall be up to three minutes and stand.
9. Up to one minute of rounds may be rung before going into the test piece.
10. A breach of these rules will result in disqualification.

9. ALBERT SELLERS MEMORIAL CUP

The Albert Sellers Memorial Cup shall be awarded to the winners of the Striking Competition when a competition is held.

10. DEREK WATSON MEMORIAL TROPHY

To encourage the participation of less experienced ringers in the Striking Competition, the Derek Watson Memorial Trophy shall be awarded to the highest placed Novice Band that competes in the Striking Competition, when a competition is held.

A Novice Band will usually include more than one ringer who is not yet competent beyond Call Changes for competition ringing. The Ringing Master or Striking Competition organiser will assess the eligibility of bands to compete as Novice Bands and publish the list of eligible bands prior to the commencement of the competition.

11. PEALS

Peals shall be recorded providing that all those taking part are members of the Society. The Society shall only recognise in its records Peals of Minimus, Doubles, Minor, Major, Royal and Maximus etc., rung without a cover bell and Doubles, Triples, Caters, Cinques etc., rung with the Tenor bell covering.

The details of all peals rung for the Society shall be notified to the Peal Secretary. The Compositions used for all Peals rung for the Society shall be notified to the Peal Secretary and a permanent record of these compositions shall be maintained.

The Society shall levy a Peal Fee to be paid into the General Fund.

12. BEVERLEY DINNER

The Society shall be responsible for the organisation of the Beverley Dinner and shall appoint a Dinner Steward accordingly. The Steward shall be any member or officer of the Society.

13. JOAN CASTLE MEMORIAL TROPHY

The Joan Castle Memorial Trophy shall be awarded annually to the tower in which the most Quarter Peals are rung by ringers substantially representative of the local Sunday service band. To qualify, the bands should consist of fully paid up members of the Society and more than half of the band should be regular Sunday service ringers at that Church. i.e. at least 4 out of 6, 5 out of 8, 6 out of 10 and 7 out of 12. The Committee shall adjudicate on the award of the Trophy.

14. ALTERATION TO THESE RULES

No alteration, addition to or deletion from these rules shall be made so as to cause the Bell Repair Fund at any time to cease to be a Charity in law.

No alteration, addition to or deletion from these rules shall be made except at an Annual General Meeting of the Society or at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for the purpose. Notice of any proposed alteration, addition to or deletion from these rules shall be given to the Secretary of the Society at least three calendar months prior to the Annual General Meeting or the Extraordinary General Meeting.