Contents

1.        Name        3

2.        Object        3

3.        Regulations        3

4.        Membership        3

5.        Branch Meetings        3

6.        Annual General Meetings        3

7.        Special General Meetings        4

8.        Branch Committee        4

9.        Sub-Committees        4

10.        Elections        4

11.        Finances        5

12.        Audit        5

13.        Byelaws        5

14.        Winding Up        5

15.        Alteration to Constitution        5

16.        Notice        6

17.        Current branch officers        6

Appendix 1: Nominations for Pub of the Season (POTS)        (16/02/2016)        9

Appendix 2: Voting for Pub of the Season (POTS)        (16/02/2016)        9

Appendix 3: Best New Cask Outlet award criteria        (17/01/2018)        9

Appendix 4: Sexist or suggestive pump clips at Wigan Beer Festival        (17/01/2018)        9

Appendix 5: Voting for Pub of the Season (POTS) by proxy        (19/04/2018)        10

Appendix 6: Formalisation of Branch Pub of the Year (POTY) voting        (16/01/2019)        11

Appendix 7: Branch Chair may nominate and vote for annual awards        (16/01/2019)        11

Appendix 8: Qualification for LocAle award        (16/01/2019 & 13/05/2024)        11

Appendix 9: Sub-committee to fulfil the role of Social Secretary        (14/01/2020)        12

Appendix 10: Sub-committee to fulfil the role of Branch Secretary        (14/01/2020)        14

Appendix 11: New processes for Annual Awards        (13/01/2022)        15

Appendix 12: Amendment to process of voting by show of hands        (10/01/2024)        20

Appendix 13: Amendment to Annual Branch Awards process        (10/01/2024)        21

1. Name

The name shall be the "Campaign for Real Ale Wigan Branch" hereinafter called 'the Branch'.

2. Object

The objects shall be to support the aims and objectives of the Campaign for Real Ale Limited (hereinafter called 'CAMRA') within the geographical areas covered by the Branch in Greater Manchester and Lancashire [post codes WN1 to WN6 and WN8 and L40 (Bispham Green)].

3. Regulations

The Branch shall observe the Regulations for Branches laid down from time to time by the Directors of CAMRA. Policy decisions of a general meeting of CAMRA or its Directors shall be binding on the Branch.

4. Membership

Any member of CAMRA is entitled to be a member of the Branch.

If any member of the Branch shall cease to be a member of CAMRA his membership of the Branch shall automatically terminate.

5. Branch Meetings

The Branch Committee shall normally hold a monthly meeting open to all Branch members. The Branch Committee may feel a need to hold a closed meeting for Branch Committee members only. This should be done on an ad-hoc basis and only called when necessary to progress specific aspects of Branch business. The Branch Committee and any member of the Branch may put forward resolutions or bye-laws at such meetings to be discussed and voted upon. For the meeting to be quorate there shall not be less than three members of the Branch Committee in attendance.

6. Annual General Meetings

An Annual General Meeting, hereinafter called 'AGM' shall be held once in every year, and not more than fifteen months shall elapse between one AGM and the next. Only members of the Branch and the Directors of CAMRA or their duly appointed representatives shall be entitled to vote at the Branch AGM. The business to be conducted at the AGM shall include: -

• The approval or otherwise of the accounts of the branch
• The election of branch officers and committee
• The appointment of auditors
• The approval or otherwise of motions
• Announcement and selection of annual awards
• AOB

At least 28 days’ notice of the AGM shall be given to all members of the Branch and to the Directors of CAMRA either by post or by a CAMRA publication which in the ordinary course of events will give sufficient notice. A quorum for the Branch AGM shall be seven members present, unless otherwise previously approved by the Regional Director or the Directors of CAMRA.

7. Special General Meetings

A Special General Meeting of the Branch may be called only on the decision of a majority number of the Branch Committee, on written request signed by five members of the Branch, or by the Directors of CAMRA. At least twenty-one clear days’ notice of such a Special General Meeting shall be given to all members of the Branch and the Directors of CAMRA by post or by a CAMRA publication which in the ordinary course of events will give sufficient notice. Only persons entitled to vote at a Branch AGM shall be entitled to vote at a Special General Meeting.

8. Branch Committee

The Branch Committee shall consist of a total of seven members, these being the elected Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, and a minimum of two other members, subject to such other guidelines for membership of the Committee as shall have been laid down by the Directors of CAMRA or at a General Meeting of CAMRA.

The Committee members shall be elected at and hold office from one Annual General Meeting to the next, when they shall be eligible for re-election. Any member of CAMRA who is a member of the Branch may serve on the Committee provided that s/he is not already on the committee of any other Branch of CAMRA.

The Branch Committee shall be empowered to fill by co-option from the Branch membership any casual vacancy which arises during the year. The Branch Committee shall undertake the general conduct of the affairs of the Branch.

In the event of the resignation of an entire Branch Committee the Directors of CAMRA will appoint such interim officers as may be necessary to manage the affairs of the Branch until a General Meeting of the Branch can be properly convened.

9. Sub-Committees

The Branch may establish sub-committees to address specific branch business matters. Membership of such sub-committees will be drawn from within existing committee members and any such co-opted members required. There will be a standard requirement for at least two sub-committees: one for the annual Wigan Beer Festival organisation and an Editorial/ Media sub-committee dealing with branch printed publications and website.

Other committees will be formed when deemed necessary by the Branch.

10. Elections

Nominations for Officer posts and posts on the Branch Committee shall be in writing, signed by a proposer and seconder, both of whom shall be members of the Branch, and accompanied by evidence of the willingness of the nominee to stand. If posts are not contested those supplying the written nomination will be appointed to the post. If a post is contested then a vote will be taken at the AGM or special meeting to decide who will fulfil the role. Verbal nominations at the AGM or Special Meeting will only be accepted for vacant positions where no written nomination has been received.

11. Finances

The financial year of the Branch shall commence on the first day of January in each year. The assets of the Branch shall be under the control of the Branch Committee and no payments shall be made out of the Branch monies except by authority of the Branch Committee. The Branch Committee shall ensure that the Treasurer keeps proper books of Account and that all monies received are placed to the credit of an Account in the name of the Branch at such Bank as the Committee may from time to time select.

Branch funds of any UK Branch shall not be deposited or held in Bank or other Accounts (whether interest bearing or not) located outside of the United Kingdom. (e.g. not to be in IOM or Channel Island Bank Accounts.)

Branch funds of any UK Branch, if deposited in interest paying accounts, will be made only in institutions where UK tax is deducted at source.

Cheques and other orders relating to the bank account shall be signed by the Treasurer and one of two other members of the Committee appointed by the Committee for that purpose.

All books relating to the finances of the Branch shall be produced to the Directors of CAMRA or their duly authorised representative on demand, on seven days clear notice to the Branch.

12. Audit

The Accounts of the Branch in each year shall be audited either by a professional auditor or by two members of CAMRA, neither of whom shall be a member of any Branch Committee nor a Director of CAMRA.

The Accounts drawn up shall include combined Profit and Loss accounts and Balance Sheets indicating all monies held by the Branch or on behalf of the Branch relating to all activities including Beer Festivals and publications run by the Branch.

Two copies of the audited Accounts shall be lodged with CAMRA at its Registered Office and with the Regional Director in whose region the Branch is situated within one month of the date of the Annual General Meeting.

13. Byelaws

The Branch Committee shall have power (unless and until overruled by the Branch in General Meeting) to adopt Bye-Laws for the better furtherance of the objects of the Branch.

14. Winding Up

The Branch may be wound up at any time by the Directors of CAMRA or by a Special General Meeting called for that purpose, the business having been notified in the notice convening the same, and upon a resolution to that effect being passed by a majority of at least two thirds of those present and entitled to vote. Upon dissolution the assets shall be used firstly to pay off all proper liabilities of the Branch and any surplus thereafter shall be paid to CAMRA. If the Branch membership falls below twenty-five the Branch may be wound up.

15. Alteration to Constitution

This Constitution may be altered only at an AGM or Special General Meeting called for that purpose, with the specific alteration having been stipulated in the notice convening the same and subject to the approval of at least two thirds of those present and entitled to vote.

Before any such alteration shall become effective it shall be approved by the Directors of CAMRA or their duly authorised representative.

16. Notice

The accidental omission to give notice of any meeting to any person entitled to such a notice shall not invalidate any proceedings at the meeting.

17. Current branch officers

Committee

Other officers

Brewery Liaison Officers (BLOs) (appointed regionally, rather than by the branch)

APPENDICES

& BYELAWS

Appendix 1: Nominations for Pub of the Season (POTS)        (16/02/2016)

Added to byelaws at branch meeting on Tuesday 16th February 2016 at Blundell’s Café Bar.

If a pub is selected as a Pub of the Season, that pub will become ineligible for nomination for the following three Pub of the Season awards.

E.g. if Wigan Central is voted as Pub of the Season for Spring 2016, it will become ineligible for nomination for Pub of the Season Summer 2016, Autumn 2016 and Winter 2016. The next opportunity to nominate Wigan Central for the Pub of the Season award will be Spring 2017.

Appendix 2: Voting for Pub of the Season (POTS)        (16/02/2016)

Added to byelaws at branch meeting on Tuesday 16th February 2016 at Blundell’s Café Bar.

If voting for a Pub of the Season award is taking place in a venue nominated for the award, the voting should be concluded by way of a secret ballot as opposed to an open show of hands as is the regular voting method.

Appendix 3: Best New Cask Outlet award criteria        (17/01/2018)

Added to byelaws at branch AGM on Wednesday 17th January 2018 at Wigan Central

The award should go to a venue which has demonstrated its credentials over a period of between four and sixteen calendar months from its opening or conversion to a cask outlet

Appendix 4: Sexist or suggestive pump clips at Wigan Beer Festival        (17/01/2018)

Added to byelaws at branch AGM on Wednesday 17th January 2018 at Wigan Central

CAMRA has clear policy on equal opportunity and discrimination. In view of this Wigan branch agrees to adopt policies which encourage participation by all who share our love of beer, real cider, and pubs. All members should feel comfortable in the company of branch members and at our organised events. To that end it is agreed that our festival will not feature any products which have sexist or suggestive pump clips or names. Any member demonstrating behaviour which breaches CAMRAs policies on Equality and Discrimination will be formally challenged and if necessary reported to CAMRA’s disciplinary panel.

Appendix 5: Voting for Pub of the Season (POTS) by proxy        (19/04/2018)

12 month trial agreed at branch meeting on Tuesday 11th April 2017 at the Tap ‘n’ Barrel.

The new voting system was trialled for a period of twelve months and used to determine POTS for the following periods: Summer 2017; Autumn 2017; Winter 2017; Spring 2018.

The trial was reviewed during the branch meeting on Thursday 19th April 2018 at Wigan Brewhouse and permanently added to the branch byelaws.

A branch member who is unable to attend the meeting during which voting for POTS is taking place may cast her/his vote by proxy providing s/he sends apologies for absence from the meeting along with an attending branch member. The apology must be written down (either on paper or via email or text message) and be able to be produced by the attending member at the time of voting. The apology should be accompanied by the wish to vote by proxy and the name of the pub that the member wishes to vote for. It is recommended that the absent member also includes her/his CAMRA membership number in the interest of checks being made retrospectively to ensure that the absent member’s branch membership is current and therefore s/he is eligible to vote for POTS.

Limitations: -

• An attending member at the branch meeting may only carry a maximum of two proxy votes for absent members;
• Should more than two absentees contact an attending branch member to pass on apologies, apologies may be accepted but only the first two proxy votes should be accepted by that member;
• By accepting a proxy vote from a non-attending member and casting it on her/his behalf, the attending member is vouching for the eligibility of the absent member to vote;
• Should any abuse of the voting system be discovered either at the time of voting or afterwards, appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken;
• Should any abuse of the voting system be discovered either at the time of voting or afterwards, an investigation will be undertaken to verify the validity of the award.
• The number of meetings a member has attended does not affect her/his right to vote;
• An absent member must directly ask an attending member to pass on apologies and vote;

Appendix 6: Formalisation of Branch Pub of the Year (POTY) voting        (16/01/2019)

Added to byelaws at branch AGM on Wednesday 16th January 2019 at Wigan Central

Eligibility for nomination

All of the pubs that are in the current published version of the Good Beer Guide are automatically nominated for Branch POTY, providing that at the point of voting for the award, the pub is still eligible to be in the GBG as per the branch regulations.

In addition, the previous four winners of branch Pub of the Season will also be automatically nominated, again providing that the pub is eligible to be in the GBG at the point in time of voting.

Under exceptional circumstances, additional nominations may be taken from the floor during the AGM and, if seconded, the pub will be added to the list of nominees at the discretion of the Branch Chair (or Acting Chair, should the Branch Chair not be chairing the AGM).

Voting – phase one

Once the list of nominees is complete, a ballot by show of hands (regardless of meeting location) will be taken. The ballot will entitle each branch member at the AGM to a single vote for a pub during this phase. The four pubs with the greatest number of votes will form a shortlist for phase two of voting. In the case of a tied number of votes during phase one, the Branch Chair (or Acting Chair) will determine the most appropriate way to form the shortlist.

Voting – phase two

Each attending branch member will have the option to take part in a secret ballot (regardless of meeting location). Members may vote for a single pub from the shortlist during this phase. The votes will be collected and counted and the pub with the greatest number of votes shall win Branch POTY. In the case of a tie, the Branch Chair (or Acting Chair) will break the deadlock with a casting vote.

Appendix 7: Branch Chair may nominate and vote for annual awards        (16/01/2019)

Added to byelaws at branch AGM on Wednesday 16th January 2019 at Wigan Central

This motion proposed that the convention be done away with, enabling the Chair to nominate and vote for awards like any other member of the branch should s/he wish.

Appendix 8: Qualification for LocAle award        (16/01/2019 & 13/05/2024)

Added to byelaws at branch AGM on Wednesday 16th January 2019 at Wigan Central and amended at branch meeting on Monday 13th May 2024.

Criteria for qualification for LocAle award are as follows: -

• There should always be a locally brewed real ale available on the bar

• “Locally brewed” defined as a beer brewed by any brewery within the branch boundaries or brewed by a brewery within ten miles of the pub by the shortest driving route
• The distance to qualify as a locale to be beers brewed has been increased to within 15 miles of the pub. This is to increase the choice of locale beers following the reduction in the number of breweries operating in the local area.

• The pub must have been open and serving locally brewed real ale for a minimum period of four months, in line with the minimum length of time a pub must have been open before becoming eligible for the annual ‘Best New Cask Outlet’ award
• The LocAle award will be valid for a period of twelve months after the pub is presented with the award and will automatically renew unless the pub is found to no longer be eligible for LocAle status (i.e. there is no longer locally brewed real ale available or it is found to not be of a good standard upon inspection)
• The beer must always be served to a high standard

Branch members are encouraged to regularly visit LocAle accredited pubs within the branch and report back to the branch and LocAle Coordinator any positive or negative findings from those visits. Naturally, there may be times when a barrel of real ale has to be changed and a new locally brewed real ale might not be immediately available. That should be taken into consideration when considering eligibility.

Appendix 9: Sub-committee to fulfil the role of Social Secretary        (14/01/2020)

Added to byelaws at branch AGM on Tuesday 14th January 2020 at Wigan Central

A sub-committee will fulfil the duties required by the Social Secretary, dividing the responsibilities between a number of officers in order to make the role more manageable.

The sub-committee will be headed up by one officer, with the title of Social Secretary. The Social Secretary will report directly to the Branch Chair

A number of officers may be elected to the role of Social Officer. The Social Officer role will report to the Social Secretary.

Some activities in the official role description are already covered by other officers within the branch and some do not particularly fit the way that the branch currently operates, therefore the activities that would be required from the sub-committee are: -

• Plan social trips, locally and farther afield, for current and prospective branch members;
• Plan an annual ‘Festival Volunteers Thankyou Trip’ for volunteers at Wigan Beer Festival;
• Attend branch meetings, festival planning meetings and other event meetings (e.g. Wigan Beer Week planning meetings) to feed into discussions surrounding social trips;
• Liaise with the Transport Officer for arrangements for transport for social trips;
• Liaise with the relevant BLO(s) when visiting breweries inside or outside of the branch;
• Contact planned venues to make arrangements - rooms, catering, timings etc;
• Organise transport and accommodation where necessary;
• Liaise with social secretaries in other Branches on joint events;

Should the member appointed as Social Secretary become unable to fulfil the role, an officer appointed as Social Officer should be nominated to temporarily fill the role until a permanent appointment to the role of Social Secretary can be made.

Appendix 10: Sub-committee to fulfil the role of Branch Secretary        (14/01/2020)

Added to byelaws at branch AGM on Tuesday 14th January 2020 at Wigan Central

A sub-committee will fulfil the duties required by the Branch Secretary, dividing the responsibilities between a number of officers in order to make the role more manageable.

The sub-committee will be headed up by one officer, with the title of Branch Secretary, as per CAMRA’s requirements. The Branch Secretary will remain a branch committee member and report to the Branch Chair as per the current Branch Constitution.

A number of officers may be elected to the new role of Admin Officer. The Admin Officer role will report to the Branch Secretary.

Some activities in the official role description are already covered by other officers within the branch. The activities that would be required from the sub-committee are: -

• Collate officer reports for monthly, quarterly and annual meetings;
• Circulate agendas and any supporting papers in good time;
• Check that a quorum is present at meetings;
• Circulate agendas and minutes of the annual general meeting (AGM) and any special or extraordinary general meetings within the time specified by the Branch constitution;
• Ensure up-to-date records are kept of committee membership and any changes are made on the Membership Database with a note to the Regional Director;
• Respond to all committee correspondence;
• Publicise meetings, events and festivals via What’s Brewing / Branch magazine /Branch website / social media;
• Order certificates from CAMRA’s print portal for branch and festival awards.

Should the member appointed as Branch Secretary become unable to fulfil the role, an officer appointed as Admin Officer should be nominated to temporarily fill the role until a permanent appointment to the role of Branch Secretary can be made.

Appendix 11: New processes for Annual Awards        (13/01/2022)

Added to byelaws at branch AGM on Thursday 13th January 2022 at Real Crafty

Amended at branch AGM on Wednesday 10th January 2024 at Real Crafty – see Appendix 13.

Timeline:

March – Encourage members to opt-in to emails at Wigan Beer Festival

During the Wigan Beer Festival, branch members will be encouraged on entry to opt-in to receive branch communications by email so that they can take part in our annual awards process. This can be performed in a non-time-consuming way either with flyers or posters in the hall with website addresses and/or QR codes with direct links to the CAMRA website where members can update their details and amend their communication preferences.

April – Email members, asking for feedback from the festival

Send out branch communications via CAMRA’s comm’s tool, asking members for feedback from the Beer Festival. A feedback form will be designed and shared using an online form. This will begin to engage members and get them used to responding to our requests.

June – Rules for awards

Send out branch communications via CAMRA’s comm’s tool, outlining the rules and process for our annual awards.

August – POTY Round 1

Send out branch communications via CAMRA’s comm’s tool with a link to a web form. The form will have a drop-down list of all pubs in our branch area that are marked as providing real ale. There will also be an option for ‘other’, enabling a member to nominate a pub that we might not currently know serves real ale. The branch can then investigate and update its records accordingly, improving the quality of information we hold.

Automatic entry into Long List

The ‘long list’ will contain some automatic nominations, providing those pubs are currently eligible for entry into the GBG as per the branch processes at the time.

For clarity, current branch criteria for eligibility for entry into the GBG are: -

• The pub must have continuously served real ale and/or real cider and/or real perry for a period of at least four months to a consistently good standard.
• The pub must not have had a change of licensee within the previous four months, except under exceptional circumstances wherein the new licensee has a recent proven track record locally.

Any changes to branch processes for GBG eligibility will supersede the above criteria.

The automatic entries into the list of 50 will be: -

• Pubs in the current published edition of CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide (GBG)
• Pubs that won one of the four annual awards at the last AGM
• Pubs that won POTS within the last 12 months

Under normal circumstances, between 20 and 29 pubs will therefore automatically enter the long list. The remaining spaces will be taken by those pubs that receive the greatest number of votes.

Pubs receiving zero votes will not be added to the long list, automatically or otherwise.

In the event of a tie, scores from NBSS will be used to break the deadlock. If there is still a tie, the length of the long list will be reduced, removing the lowest-scoring pubs.

September –CPOTY Round 1 and shortlist

Send out branch communications via CAMRA’s comm’s tool with a link to a web form. The form will have a drop-down list of all pubs in our branch area that are marked as providing real cider and/or real perry. There will also be an option for ‘other’, enabling a member to nominate a pub that we might not currently know serves real cider or real perry. The branch can then investigate and update its records accordingly, improving the quality of information we hold.

There are currently 24 pubs in WhatPub/Pubzilla that are marked as ‘Real Cider outlets’ although that list likely needs to be reviewed in light of the recently amended definitions of Real Cider and Perry from CAMRA (as updated May 2021).

A shortlist of up to five pubs will be formed from the pubs with the greatest number of votes on the web form. The pub that was awarded CPOTY at the most recent branch AGM will automatically enter the shortlist alongside up to four other pubs, providing that it meets the GBG criteria as described above.

Pubs receiving zero votes will not be added to the shortlist, automatically or otherwise.

In the event of a tie, scores from NBSS will be used to break the deadlock. If there is still a tie, the length of the shortlist will be reduced, removing the lowest-scoring pubs.

September – COTY Round 1 and shortlist

Send out branch communications via CAMRA’s comm’s tool with a link to a web form. The form will have a drop-down list of all clubs that are marked as providing real ale, real cider or real perry. There will also be options for ‘other’, enabling a member to nominate a club that serves real ale, real cider or real perry. The branch can then investigate and update its records accordingly, improving the quality of information we hold.

There are currently eight clubs in WhatPub/Pubzilla that are marked as ‘Real Ale outlets’.
There are zero clubs that are marked as real cider outlets.

A shortlist of up to five clubs will be formed from the clubs with the greatest number of votes on the web form. The club that was awarded COTY at the most recent branch AGM will automatically enter the shortlist alongside up to four other clubs, providing that it meets the GBG criteria as described above.

Clubs receiving zero votes will not be added to the shortlist, automatically or otherwise.

In the event of a tie, scores from NBSS will be used to break the deadlock. If there is still a tie, the length of the shortlist will be reduced, removing the lowest-scoring clubs.

October – POTY Round 2 – long list to shortlist

Send out branch communications via CAMRA’s comm’s tool with a link to a web form. The form will have a drop-down list of the long list of up to 50 pubs.

Members will be asked to vote for the best pub from the long list in order to form a shortlist of up to ten pubs.

The pub that was awarded POTY at the most recent branch AGM will automatically enter the shortlist alongside up to nine other pubs, providing that it meets the GBG criteria as described above.

Pubs receiving zero votes will not be added to the shortlist, automatically or otherwise.

In the event of a tie, scores from NBSS will be used to break the deadlock. If there is still a tie, the length of the long list will be reduced, removing the lowest-scoring pubs.

November – Judging

Send out branch communications via CAMRA’s comm’s tool announcing the shortlists for POTY, CPOTY and COTY.

Judges will be appointed by the branch from the branch membership. There will be no limit to the number of judges. Judges may judge one, two or all three award categories.

Judges must judge and record a complete set of scores for each of the venues on the shortlist for the category or categories they are judging, or the scores will not count.

Judging will be conducted as per the current CAMRA guidelines and scoring sheets as per the regional round of the respective competition.

Scores must be recorded by the end of December in order to be counted.

The Annual Awards Subcommittee (if still formed) or Branch Committee (if the Subcommittee has since been disbanded) reserve the right to challenge what is perceived to be abnormal scoring during the judging process. If the relevant committee is not satisfied following a challenge, sets of abnormal scores may be rejected.

The winners of POTY, CPOTY and COTY will be the pub/club with the highest average score following the judging process. In the event of a tie, scores from NBSS will be used to break the deadlock. If there is still a tie, the winner will be chosen by the result of a secret ballot of members attending the AGM. If there continues to be a tie, the Branch Chair (or Acting Chair, should the Branch Chair not be chairing the AGM) must break the deadlock with a casting vote. The POTY, CPOTY and COTY awards must not be shared, in order that a pub/club may progress to the regional round of the respective national competition.

November – BNCO suggestions

Send out branch communications via CAMRA’s comm’s tool asking our members to nominate pubs for the BNCO award, including as much information as possible to help determine eligibility.

A list of pubs will be formed from the nominations that meet the eligibility criteria.

December – Nominations for ComPOTY

Send out branch communications via CAMRA’s comm’s tool asking our members to nominate pubs for the ComPOTY award, including descriptive reasons why the pub is an asset to the community and therefore deserving of the award.

A list of pubs will be formed from the nominations.

January – Encourage members to attend the AGM for BNCO & ComPOTY

Send out branch communications via CAMRA’s comm’s tool encouraging members to attend the AGM to vote for BNCO and ComPOTY awards.

Voting for those two awards will take place exclusively in-person at the Branch AGM. No online or proxy votes may be cast.

The winner of the two awards will be the pub or club with the highest number of votes.

In the event of a tie, the award will be shared between the tied pubs/clubs.

Additional information

Online nominations/voting

Each of the web forms will ask members for their names and membership numbers. That is to enable the branch to verify that the member has a current membership within the Wigan branch and that each member can only vote once at each stage.

Members without access to email or the internet will be able to cast their votes by using someone else’s device, as long as they provide their own name and membership number.

Any occurrences of a member voting more than once at each stage will cause that member’s votes to be rejected, regardless of whether the votes were for the same or different pubs or clubs.

If a membership number is entered incorrectly and cannot be verified against the membership database, that vote will not be counted.

Timeline variation

The timelines set out above are subject to change for any reason deemed appropriate by the Annual Awards Subcommittee or Branch Committee.

Future changes to POTS process

Any changes to the branch processes for POTS will not automatically affect the annual awards processes.

Name change for CPOTY

Following the adoption of the motion, the name of the Branch Cider Pub of the Year award should be renamed to Branch Cider & Perry Pub of the Year award (still abbreviated to CPOTY).

Physical prizes

Currently the winner of POTY is presented with a framed certificate and shield, the Alan Ball Award. This motion proposes that all five annual award winners are presented with some form of physical trophy, to be decided upon following the adoption of this motion.

Motion

A full version of the Motion submitted and approved at the 2022 Branch AGM can be found on the Wigan CAMRA website here.

Appendix 12: Amendment to process of voting by show of hands        (10/01/2024)

Added to byelaws at branch AGM on Wednesday 10th January 2024 at Real Crafty

To amend the voting system when it is a show of hands, such as for Pub of the Season.

This motion is about achieving a situation where no pub receives an award for Pub of the Season with less than a majority of the people voting.  

The same would apply to the vote for Community Pub of the Season and Best New Cask Ale Outlet, as applicable, at the AGM, and to any other award in future voted for by a show of hands.  

If a pub gains a majority of those voting in round 1, it wins, as is the case with the current voting system.

If that doesn’t happen in round 1, the pub receiving the least votes drops out and a further round of voting is held.  

This happens until a pub gains a majority of those voting.

To help reduce the number of voting rounds needed, It would be appropriate to have a threshold for the number of votes needed to continue through to the next round of votes.

This might reasonably be set at 10% of the votes cast.  If 10% of the votes cast is not a whole number, it should be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

With such a threshold more than one pub might drop put after a round of votes.

If there is a tie in the pubs scoring the lowest number of votes and it is above 10% of the votes, there would need to be a vote between those pubs to separate them.

As set out this would achieve a situation where no pub receives an award for Pub of the Season with less than a majority of the people voting, and the same would apply to votes for Community Pub of the Season and Best New Cask Ale Outlet, as applicable, at the AGM, and to any other award in future voted for by a show of hands.

Motion passed by the meeting, with the additional clause that in the event of a tie, the Chair is to have the casting vote.

Appendix 13: Amendment to Annual Branch Awards process        (10/01/2024)

Added to byelaws at branch AGM on Wednesday 10th January 2024 at Real Crafty

To make some small amendments to the process for awarding Pub of the Year, Cider Pub of the Year and Club of the Year.

These proposals make some small amendments to the process for awarding Pub of the Year, Cider Pub of the Year and Club of the Year are about making the process as easy as possible for people to engage with and to get involved with.

The first proposal is that the public (members) nomination process should be replaced by a more internal nominations process.  This is primarily because a public nominations process makes it far more complicated without really having a material impact on the process.

Instead, the shortlist should include pubs in the Good Beer Guide and others that were on the GBG shortlist, any other pub that has won a Pub of the Season Award in the past 12 months, and any other pub that is known to serve beer in good condition.  This last category to be decided at a branch meeting.

This list could be shared with branch members by email to sense check it if that was felt appropriate, with an opportunity for people to make a case for other pubs to be included.

It should then proceed to a vote as in the existing process.  Currently, the nomination process feels like a vote.  There should be just one round of voting.

The second proposal is to reduce the number of pubs to be shortlisted from ten to six.  This is a far more realistic number of pubs to judge and is proposed to significantly increase the numbers of people judging.

The third proposal is to arrange the scoring so that it is clear which criteria are weighted to score double, so that it is not just a case of people’s scores being doubled by an unseen hand, but instead they can score an odd number, 17 out of 20, for example.

The fourth proposal is to agree a consistent scoresheet and a single point of contact for sending completed score sheets to, and to properly publicise both, and I would commend the attached scoresheet as a good starting point.

It was noted that this year only 2 nominations were received for non-GBG pubs, and 8 GBG pubs didn’t receive any nominations at all. Out of the 10 pubs that went through to the judging stage, some only had one or two nominations.

Motion 2 was passed by the meeting.