Arafura Bridge Club
2011 ANNUAL REPORT
of
Management Committee
of
Arafura Bridge Club Incorporated
March 2012
Management Committee Report
Introduction: The past year has been our most successful yet in the number of members recruited, the numbers attending our sessions and the social activities undertaken. In addition, under the guidance of Michael Furstner, the Club has sponsored a comprehensive training programme for beginners and for intermediate level players.
On a different note, the Club sustained a higher than expected loss of $ 876. We still have $ 8,707 in the operating account balance and the term deposit.
Membership of the Committee: The Management Committee elected at the AGM comprised:
President: Dev Caple
Vice-President: Pat Brisch
Treasurer: Robin Olsson
Secretary: Paul Hedrick
Members: Alan Cairncross, Bill Kaiser and Vino Sathianathan.
In addition, because of his involvement with the training programme, Michael Furstner attended a majority of the meetings in an “ex officio” capacity.
The following appointments were also made:
Auditor: John Morton
Public Officer Paul Hedrick
Delegate to the NTBA and to the Tournaments Committee:
Dev Caple
Masterpoint Secretary: Yogan Sathianathan
Annual Financial Statements: The statements have been audited by John Morton. Our Trading Balance for the year ended 31st December 2011 is $ 8,707. There was a loss of $ 876 on the year’s activities.
Comments on the Club’s Finances: As mentioned above, the Club suffered a loss on the year’s activities. This loss can be attributed to a number of factors including the overwhelming success of our social functions, which proved more popular than the Committee thought possible. The impact of the increase of 50% in the rental, which we pay to the Darwin Bridge Club for each of our sessions, had an effect. However the main factor was the receipt of invoices from the NTBA for charges, which were overlooked by the NTBA in 2010 but carried over to 2011. Thus we paid $ 1,766 to the NTBA in 2011, covering the two years 2010 and 2011. The Club is certainly growing and we are reaching a stage where the Committee will have to prepare a proper budget for its activities.
There are two other comments, which must be made. The Club cannot endure another sharp increase in rent, without having to curtail some of it’s activities. We would be reluctant to do this, as it is its social and friendly environment, which makes Arafura special. The Committee has checked out alternative venues, but it would be a very sad day, if we have to quit the DBC rooms. The second point is that the NTBA has increased its per capita levy on Clubs by $ 5 and your Committee has been forced to pass on this increase to you this year. The Committee tried unsuccessfully to have our pensioner members excluded from the increase. The existing NTBA constitution prevents any differentiation in rates.
Membership: As at 31st December 2011, we had 101 members. The membership comprises:
Ø Home Club Members – 57
Ø Associate Members - 44
It is sad to report that Barbara Baggley has passed away. Barbara was a stalwart in the growth of bridge in the Territory from its earliest days. She was always a staunch supporter of Arafura and is sadly missed.
Sessions: 2011 proved to be a highly successful year for the Club, with the numbers at both our Monday evening and Thursday afternoon sessions being at record levels. On a less happy note the session fees had to be raised to $ 5 to cover the increase in the cost of renting the DBC rooms.
The Club has participated and sponsored a number of ABF and NTBA events, including heats of the GNOT and the Grand National Pairs as well as the NTBA Seniors Championship.
The Club Champions for this year were:
Open Pairs: Judy Miller & Greg Nicholson
Mixed Pairs: Therese Demarco & Dimitri Hnaris
Senior Pairs: Joyce Allen& Michael Furstner
Handicap Pairs: Dev Caple & Bill Kaiser
Individuals: Robin Olsson `
Training Programme: The Club owes Michael Furstner a special vote of thanks for the time and effort he is devoting to organizing and undertaking a comprehensive training programme both for beginners and intermediate level players. Two courses were conducted for intermediate players and one course for beginners in 2011. Michael is a strong believer in the idea that it is not sufficient to just have the lessons, but that you must follow it up with practical experience. Thus there have been many sessions of supervised play and additional lessons on various bridge conventions. There has been a tremendous amount of work for Michael in all this.
The Committee has strongly supported Michael in all his endeavours. In addition, we received a grant from the ABF through the NTBA to assist in covering the costs of the training proramme. If all this is not enough, Michael has assumed responsibility for editing our web page.
Social Activities: The range of social activities and the subsidizing of these activities have increased. Our ‘Smokos’ on Monday evening and on Thursday allow members to mix socially with our fellow players. Outside activities have included the Champagne Breakfasts, the ‘Dry’ Lunch, the outing at Berry Springs, a Brunch and of course our Christmas Party, which this year was held at the Casuarina Club. The party was a major success with 83 attending.
Thanks:The Committee would like to sincerely thank all members for their support and for willingly helping out both at our bridge sessions and at our social activities.
Finally the Committee would like to wish you all continued happy Bridge playing.
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