Constitution

Definitions

Associate Member

Class of membership under article 3.

Board

Board of Management, consisting of the group of Board Members.

Board Member

Elected or co-opted board member under article 4.

Club

All-Ireland Mahjong.

Competitions

Tournaments, leagues, and other structured competitive series of games.

Full Member

Class of membership under article 3.

Mahjong

The multi-player tile game, played online or in person, (as distinct from the single-player solitaire game), in all the rulesets that have international recognition.

Members

Full Members and Associate Members.

Umbrella Bodies

The European Mahjong Association and other international coordinating bodies to which All-Ireland Mahjong may affiliate.

The Club

1. The name of the Club is All-Ireland Mahjong.
2. Objectives of the Club
   1. Serve as the National Governing Body for all variations of multi-player mahjong in the Republic of Ireland.
   2. Promote and develop Mahjong in all of Ireland as a recreational game that is played fairly and honestly.
   3. Provide support and coordination to local groups of players in all of Ireland.
   4. Nurture an environment where people are welcomed into the game regardless of their ethnicity, gender, sexuality or nationality.
   5. Build links with similar mahjong organising bodies elsewhere in the world.
   6. Promote opportunities and facilities to enable, assist and enhance participation, performance and enjoyment of Members.
   7. Promote, develop and coordinate mahjong Competitions, and encourage mahjong representation at other events such as conventions, festivals, and so on.
   8. To affiliate and cooperate with other mahjong organisations including, but not limited to, the European Mahjong Association and the World Riichi Championship.
   9. Raise funds for the purpose of furthering the above objectives, through appeals for donations, sponsorship, and/or requiring contributions from activities endorsed by the Club.

Membership

1. There are two classes of membership: Full Members and Associate Members.
2. Full Members: if an adult is a long-term resident (for more than 12 months already, or intending to be for more than 12 months) of the island of Ireland, in any of the 32 counties, then they are eligible to be a Full Member. The existence, or membership, of the Club does not affect anyone’s eligibility to register as a member of the UK Mahjong Association. Residents of the six counties of Northern Ireland are eligible to play as UK players or Ireland players. Note that the EMA allows a player to be affiliated to one country at most, for the purposes of EMA and WRC Competitions. The current EMA rules prohibit someone from changing their national affiliation more than once in any twelve month period.
3. Associate Members: Any adult not meeting the residency criterion for Full Members, but who has Irish citizenship, is eligible to be an Associate Member.
4. The membership fees will be determined by the Board.
5. A player may choose to withdraw their membership at any time.
6. The board will approve any application for membership by a majority of votes cast.
7. Members remain Members until they choose to end their membership (by resignation or by failing to pay any due membership fee), or their membership is ended by a vote of the Board, should the Member not meet their responsibilities as Member.
8. A Full Member’s rights are:
   1. to attend General Meetings;
   2. to vote in General Meetings;
   3. to submit motions to General Meetings;
   4. to vote to call for Extraordinary General Meetings;
   5. to be nominated for election to the Board.
9. An Associate Member’s rights are:
   1. to attend General Meetings.
10. All Members (Full and Associate) have the following responsibilities:
    1. to comply with the Club constitution; (as set out on this web page)
    2. to acknowledge and abide by the regulations specific to local mahjong groups, meetups and events that they take part in;
    3. to avoid saying or doing things that could compromise the Club’s objectives; This is only here so that if someone’s repeatedly being a dick, we can remove them from the Club;
    4. when playing in any event organised or endorsed by a governing body to which the Club is affiliated, either directly or via an Umbrella Body, to comply with the rules of that governing body; (For example: when playing in a Dutch Competition endorsed by the Dutch governing body – the Nederlandse Mahjong Bond – to which the Club will be affiliated once its affiliation to the EMA is accepted, the Member must comply with the rules of the Nederlandse Mahjong Bond).

Board of Management

1. The Board consists of the President, Treasurer and Secretary. Other people may be co-opted onto the board, as determined by a board decision.
2. Role of the Board:
   1. to decide the level and structure of membership fees;
   2. to decide which competitions should be endorsed as official All-Ireland Mahjong competitions;
   3. to decide which competitions should be proposed to Umbrella Bodies as official competitions;
   4. to decide who should represent the Club in the management of Umbrella Bodies;
   5. to decide positions to be taken when invited to do so by Umbrella Bodies, and to solicit the opinions of Members on those positions as appropriate, at the Board’s discretion, before making a decision;
   6. to decide which players to nominate, from the list of Full Members (and only Full Members), to participate in international Competitions, when the Club has been asked to do so in its role as Ireland’s national governing body for mahjong;
   7. to carry out the day to day management of the Club and to pursue its objectives.
3. Term of Office: Board Members have a one-year term of office, which they can renew in the same manner as a Board Member is appointed. A Board Member will continue in post after the end of their term, until the next general meeting; they can be a nominee for re-election at that general meeting.
4. Quorum: A Board Meeting’s quorum is two people.
5. Board decisions are ratified by a simple majority of votes cast. The Chair holds the casting vote in the event of a tie.

General Meetings

1. A General Meeting is a meeting at which all Members are invited and welcome to attend. It must have an option for Members to attend online (for example, via Zoom); it may, at the discretion of the Board, also include an option to attend in person.
2. The purposes of a General Meeting can include:
   1. the election of Board Members;
   2. reading and approving the minutes of the last General Meeting;
   3. voting to decide on any motions submitted to the Board at least 22 days beforehand.
3. Quorum: A General Meeting’s quorum is three people.
4. Invites to General Meetings will be sent to all Members between 14 and 21 days before the General Meeting, together with a copy of all motions that are to be voted upon in the Meeting.
5. Decisions in General Meetings: a simple majority of votes cast by Full Members is necessary and sufficient. A tied vote is decided by a casting vote from the Chair.
6. Annual General Meetings (AGM)
   1. An AGM must be held once each calendar year.
   2. It will receive the Annual reports from the President and Treasurer.
7. Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM); if one-third or more of Full Members, or a majority decision of the Board, requests an EGM, including at least one matter to be voted upon, then an EGM must be convened by the Board within 42 days of the required number of votes being cast.

Miscellaneous

1. Amendment of this Constitution requires a two-thirds majority of votes cast, at each of two successive General Meetings.
2. Data Protection: the Club’s data protection and privacy statement is the responsibility of the Board.
3. Winding up order: Upon the winding-up of the Club, its assets (after all debts and liabilities have been paid), shall be disposed of in accordance with the wishes of the majority of those entitled to vote at the General Meetings.