Present 28 :

7 committee members - Mike Booth, Chris Bickerdike, Jim Barker, Sandra Bickerdike, Brian Relton, Heather Upton, Linda Ashcroft - plus 21 members playing in the Mixed Pairs.  

Apologies 3 :

David Stone, Gordon Mortimore, Ray Bliss

The Chairman, Mike Booth, opened the meeting at 4.45 pm.

Minutes of the last meeting:

The minutes were not available for reading, but the Secretary assured the meeting that the only matter outstanding from last year’s AGM was concerning the possibility of online entry into events. As indicated in the minutes of last November’s committee meeting, this suggestion was rejected as it would probably reduce overall number of entries into each event.

Chairman’s Report

The Chairman  thanked all those who help in running county bridge, singling out Chris Bickerdike, Brian Relton and Sandra Bickerdike. He also thanked Bill Thomson – his predecessor as Chairman, who is not currently playing bridge – for his generous donation of £250 to the CCBA.

Officers’ Reports

Reports from Treasurer, acting Tournament & Entries Secretary, Membership Secretary, Western Counties League Secretary, Congress Secretary, and EBU Education Officer had been, and are still, available for reading online (see below) and were available in hardcopy at the meeting. All reports were accepted without any questions from the floor.

Election of  New Vice-Chairperson

The one nomination was Liz Perry, proposed by Mike Booth, and seconded by Sandra Bickerdike.  The proposer outlined Liz’s total involvement in bridge – a playing member at three clubs, chairperson of Falmouth BC, a club director, an experienced Bridgemates scorer, and a schools bridge teacher – concluding that with her boundless energy she was the ideal person to take over the chair next October. Her nomination was accepted unanimously. 

Re-election of  Officers

The following officers had indicated their willingness to continue on committee, and their re-election en bloc was proposed, seconded and carried unanimously.

                                Chairman                                               M Booth

                                Honorary Secretary                             C Bickerdike

                                Honorary Treasurer                             D Stone

                                Chief Tournament Director                 C Nichols

                                Membership Secretary                        Mrs S Bickerdike

                                Club Representative (East)                 Mrs L Ashworth

                                Club Representative (West)               Miss H Upton

                                EBU Shareholder                                  M Booth

                                County Club Representative                M Booth

                                EBU Youth Officer                               J Barker

                                Congress Secretary                             C Bickerdike

                                Western League Secretary                 B Relton

                                General Committee                             G Mortimore

Election of Officers

There were no nominations for either of the vacant committee positions, Tournament & Entries Secretary and EBU Press Officer, so Chris Bickerdike reluctantly agreed to carry on in an acting capacity for both positions until someone comes forward. He emphasized that the CCBA currently runs on the time and effort given by a very small band of people, and that some new blood is needed to help spread the workload.

Re-election of Honorary Auditor

Ray Bliss was proposed, seconded and carried unanimously. He was thanked for agreeing to audit the accounts for another year.

Any Other Business

No topics for discussion were raised, other than Jim Barker reminding the meeting that the next event was the Swiss Teams at the Queens Hotel, Penzance in a fortnight’s time.  He needs a minimum of 12 teams to run as a Swiss Teams, so please do your best to support this sociable event which includes lunch (£88 per team).

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 5.00pm                                              

CJB 12/10/16

TREASURER’S REPORT (David Stone)

During the 12 months ending June 2016 we achieved a surplus of some £750 of income against expenses, similar to the previous year, even though this account has lost the Green-Pointed event to the Congress account.  This was, and always has been, our biggest income from county events. We were fortunate, however, to receive a generous donation of £250 from our past Chairman, Bill Thomson.

Our payments to the EBU were significantly higher than the previous year due to the fact that we entered pairs in the Corwen Trophy, and a team in the Garden Cities tournament, whereas the previous year we had no such entries. The South West League costs were down due to where the matches were played (i.e. less travel expenses claimed). I anticipate higher costs playing in the South West League this year.

With a bank balance of over £4,000 there has been no need to increase either entry fees or the county P2P levy (currently 7p per player per club session).

TOURNAMENT & ENTRIES SECRETARY’S REPORT (Chris Bickerdike)

Overall attendance was about level year on year, but there was one more event this year, as the Swiss Pairs was cancelled last year. The free cream tea helped to ensure that this event was a success this year, and the free cream tea will again be included next February. The Norman Woodhouse Individual has been dropped from the programme, and, because of fewer entries recently, the knockout will be played between the four leading teams in the County Swiss Teams Championship played in early February.

At the table, highlights were (a) Joe Bryant & Geoff Warren convincingly winning the John Perks Cup, (b)  the Bickerdikes, Richard Draycott & Jean Law winning  the county knockout for the second successive year, and (c) the Teams of Eight being  won by Wadebridge.

In the absence of having a Tournament & Entries Secretary, Chris Bickerdike again managed the programme, with much help from Jim & Frances Barker, Brian Relton and others. A big thanks to them all, to Linda Dickson who duplimated boards for all events, and finally to Chris Nichols and Jim Barker, again, for directing.

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY’S REPORT (Sandra Bickerdike)

The county membership has gone up by about 20 this year and currently stands at 583 players. This is largely due to the efforts in clubs to encourage beginners and improvers to play duplicate bridge.

Please can I remind secretaries to keep your membership lists up-to-date on the EBU website.

WESTERN COUNTIES LEAGUE REPORT (Brian Relton)

Following on from the outstanding results of 2014-2015 for all three teams, the 2015-2016 season proved to be a far more down to earth experience. The A & C Teams both won two out of their seven matches, whilst the B Team had a good season, finishing third overall, with four wins, one draw and two defeats.

Twenty two different players represented the County - not a great number, and more would be welcomed. Home matches were played at Bodmin Bridge Club and our thanks to that Club for its kind help and in the provision of equipment, etc. This venue will be used again in the coming season.

Thanks also to the players who are prepared to play and make the very lengthy journeys to fulfil away fixtures.

CORNWALL CONGRESS REPORT (Chris Bickerdike)

There have been two Congresses since the last AGM. In September 2015, the 31^st Congress was held for the first time at the Falcon Hotel, Bude. Because of problems with Bridgemates, the Congress was a limited success, and it only made a profit of £180. Last month, the 32^nd Congress was again held at the Falcon. We employed a National Tournament Director and a Scorer, both from Devon.  With their presence,together with  the setting, the charm and the friendliness of the Falcon Hotel, the Congress was a great success. Attendances were slighty down on Friday and Saturday, but up by four teams on Sunday. With several costs still outstanding, my projection is that we will make a profit of £400+, and that the balance carried forward In the Congress bank account will be about £4,200.

EBU EDUCATION OFFICER (Jim Barker)

Minibridge: Marlborough School in Falmouth - Liz Perry has been running an after school minibridge club. It is still the only one, but I have made contact with Nansloe School in Helston who may be interested in starting minibridge. Please let me know of any other approaches to schools so we can pool our knowledge.

Teaching for adults has continued in Penzance, Carbis  Bay, Helston, Falmouth, Truro, Bude and

Wadebridge. Some of these improvers  have started to play duplicate but not all.

A Directors Day was held at Falmouth in August for club directors, hoping that it may encourage some of them to help with county events. Thanks to Rod Bell and Chris Nichols for heling to run it.