Broodlines

Wicket Brood’s guidelines to members – October 2022All members pay subs annually. Subs run from January to December.
Any new member gets first term free and then pays full subs.
● New members joining in September have 3 months and then pay £30 in January.
Note they do not have voting rights in the AGM during their trial 3 months.
● New members joining in January pay £20 after they have been with us for 3
months. Members who join after March pay £10 after 3 months when they want to
dance out. All paid-up members can vote in the AGM.
Students pay a reduced fee of £10.
The amount of subscription is reviewed at that AGM and any increase agreed is due after
the AGM.

Introduction:

Wicket Brood doesn’t have a written constitution, preferring to rely on cooperation and commonsense. The purpose of this document is to provide members with useful information about the side.

The side:

Wicket Brood are a Border Morris side, who perform for enjoyment and to entertain the public.

Kit List :

  • Brood colours are purple, green and black.
  • Long sleeved tatter jacket in Brood colours.
  • Full length black trousers.
  • Hat – black, purple or green, decorated in Brood colours to individual taste.
  • Stout boots strictly in Brood colours.
  • T shirt in Brood colours.
  • Face paint in Brood colours.
  • Bells may be worn if desired (usually around knees).

On very hot days, it is the Squire’s decision on the day whether or not tatters can be left off
and Brood members can dance in brood coloured T-shirts (black, purple or green,
combination of purple/black/green or Brood logo)

Roles and responsibilities:

Officers are elected annually and can be put forward for re-election if they wish. If more than one person stands for election for one position, a secret ballot will be held, organised by the Bagman (unless it is this role up for election, in which case another officer will officiate).

Squire – Has overall responsibility for the dancing, liaison with event organisers and other performers and addressing the public during public performances. The squire also chairs the AGM.

Foreman – Has overall responsibility for the selection, teaching and calling of the dance repertoire.

Bagman – Has overall responsibility for the organisation and coordination of bookings, including confirmation of commitment by dancers and musicians and external liaison with relation to bookings. They coordinate the AGM.

Band Leader – Has overall responsibility for coordinating the band and the music, both at practice and for bookings.

Treasurer/Membership Secretary – has overall responsibility for the management of Brood funds. They will  be responsible for collecting subscriptions . As membership secretary they will keep a list of all paid up members with contact details, but will only forward  such details to other members to the extent that the member is content for that to happen. They will notify the E officer whenever the list of paid up members changes.  They book the practice hall and deal with any other issues requiring the use of Brood funds. They arrange insurance. They ensure that there is always another member, other than themselves, and not related to them, who can access the bank account online.

The Treasurer’s annual report should include a summary of the accounts along with a copy of the bank statement supporting the final balance. It should also include the names of the people who are able to access the account online and all other signatories.

E officer – The  “e-officer” is responsible for the web site, / face book/ group mail list and operation, and any other electronic interface used by Brood. They will hold all necessary access codes to run the sites and post material, and will have one and preferably two deputies. The e- officer will be an elected post and they will identify their own deputies from the membership and notify the club.

All material for the web site/social media presence (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) will be posted by the e-officer or deputy. Photos and any other items supplied by members may, at the discretion of the e-officer, be published electronically and, where the contributor so requests, acknowledgement of the author of the material will be displayed alongside the material. Any material submitted for publication will become free for Brood to publish as and when it wishes.

Any concerns about the content of any electronically published material within the control of Wicket Brood or use of group mail can be raised with the e officer who will then seek to resolve with the parties involved. Alternatively any concern can be raised with the Squire who will then seek to resolve through the e officer and parties involved. The overarching principle is that everything necessary is done to avoid offence to anyone by what appears on any electronic communication or publication including web pages and group mail.

If agreement cannot be reached promptly on content/use of any published material the e-officer will remove the offending item  or suspend the writer from the group mail list and immediately notify all the other elected officers. The Squire will then convene a meeting of the whole club within 21 days to discuss and settle the issue. As with an AGM the Squire will chair the meeting. 

Note –

The officers do not form an Executive Committee with wider responsibilities. Decisions affecting the side are made by the side as a whole.

If necessary, an officer may delegate some or all of their responsibilities to another member of the side.

Other members of the side may help with the smooth running of the side by assisting in various ways including:

  • Ensuring sticks and drum are available at practices and at dance-outs.
  • Publicity e.g. website, leaflets, posters, cards, badges and T shirts.
  • Charity collections.
  • Maintaining archives and membership list.
  • Attending practice as regularly as possible.
  • Attending as many booked events as possible.
  • Giving the earliest possible notice if it becomes necessary to withdraw from an event for which they have previously signed up.
  • Attending the AGM.

Joining the side:

It is preferable for prospective dancers to start coming to practices as early as possible in the practice season ( September to April) so that they have time to learn a reasonable number of dances before the main performance season ( April to September).

Prospective members should usually decide after two months from first brood practice whether they wish to join, but in any event by the end of that practice season.

Practices:

Members are not required to attend any specific number of practices however it is important that members endeavour to attend practice frequently where reasonably possible. This is in order to:

  • help ensure they become and/or remain proficient with the dances; dances do get updated from time to time
  • help with the teaching of dances to our newer members
  • help foster a sense of community within the side

Subscriptions (subs):

All members pay subs annually. Subs run from January to December.
Any new member gets first term free and then pays full subs.

● New members joining in September have 3 months and then pay £30 in January.
Note they do not have voting rights in the AGM during their trial 3 months.
● New members joining in January pay £20 after they have been with us for 3
months. Members who join after March pay £10 after 3 months when they want to
dance out. All paid-up members can vote in the AGM.

Students pay a reduced fee of £10.The amount of subscription is reviewed at that AGM and any increase agreed is due after
the AGM.

Membership list

Members shall give contact details [suggest minimum of name, address, contact number for use on dance-outs (preferably mobile) and an email address] to the Treasurer/Membership secretary who will maintain these in the private Membership Contact Register. This will be made available to elected Officers of the side only. Any item not marked by the member as “ex directory” will also be published to the side as part of the Brood Contact List.

Google Group mail

Group mail is to be used primarily for information about Brood events or Brood meetings eg
arrangements/changes/cancellations for a dance out; bagging lists; invitations to the side for Brood events such as music practices, dance practice dates, attendance at practice or dance outs, arrangements for AGM, availability of kit : it can also be used for dance/music information generally of interest to other Brooders but it is not for promoting personal issues/political issues/grievances and nor is it a “chat room”.

Wicket Brood also has a WhatsApp group which may be used for informal communications.
Group mail and other electronic forms of group communication is for current members of
Brood – once a member leaves Brood or his/her membership subscriptions lapse, then they
will be removed from the group mail list, and from any other Brood electronic communication group.

Guests

Guests (especially founder or past members)  are welcome at events, but where a non-member wishes to either play in the band or join in a dance then this should only be done with the permission of the Band Leader or Squire respectively. In considering allowing non-members to partake in a dance using sticks, then foremost consideration must be given to the safety of both other dancers and the general public.

Tagging Brood members in Photos on Social Media

      • All photos posted on social media by members are to remain untagged. The photographer can send the link to the album to people and they can tag themselves if they wish to
      • Brood members can respond to the email and give their permissions to be tagged by the photo publisher.
      • Photos can be tagged “Wicket Brood”. Members can then find all Brood photos.

Procedure for AGM:

1. Minutes of last meeting.

2. Matters arising.

3. Annual reports from officers (including account sheets).

4. All members are invited to contribute a review of their year in the side if they wish to.

5. Election of officers (secret ballot where more than one person is proposed).

6. Motions for discussion.

7. AOB.

The AGM is held in late September/early October and signifies the (nominal) end of the dance season and the start of the practice season.