Durham Bridge Club
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Membership Successes

2023 NEBA
Summer Pairs
Frank Bouweraerts
Irina Hendrickx

2022 NEBA
Swiss Pairs
John Dobson
Audrey Bainbridge

2021 NEBA
Gazette Cup
Joan Crompton
Irene Burns

2021 Runners-Up
NEBA CORWEN TROPHY
For Champion Pairs
Dorothy Pearson
Susan Penswick

2021 EBU
Easter Congress
9 High Tournament
Irina Hendrickx
James Foster

Club Tournament Winners

Club Champion
Evening 2022
Audrey Bainbridge

Club Champion
Afternoon 2022
Adrian Darnell

Durham City
Trophy 2022
Bill Dixon & Peter Sykes

Sykes Cup
2021
Nigel Martin
& Adrian Darnell

Cansino Cup
Pairs 2021
Margaret McCabe &
Iain Gordon

 

Historical Minutes
Committee Minutes 6th February 2018

 

 

Present: :Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Susan Penswick, Den Kerry, Jill Hancock, David Thompson, Nigel Martin, John Portwood

 

Apologies: Roger Hancock

 

Minutes of 16th  January 2018 : Accepted

 

Matters Arising:

 

Buying Tables: Agreed that the Chair should buy 15 tables (with free delivery) and that the committee would provide a rota for receiving delivery and sorting out those old tables which needed to be thrown out. The Club would enquire about more storage space.

 

Competitions for beginners : Jill Hancock would liaise with Bev Godfrey about possible arrangements

 

Extra Sim. Pairs events and Charity events: Agreed that no change was currently needed to the number of Sim. Pair events; that as we had our own charity day and supported an Alzheimerʼs charity with table money on the AGM evening we were not interested in supporting more charity events. The question of the number of Sim Pairs events could be looked at again when designing next yearʼs calendar.

 

The replacement Sykes cups: These had now been returned to the Secretary who would sort out the matter of having them reengraved

 

Request from John Reiss : John Reiss had asked whether he might be allowed to use the hosting system once a month as he had been unable to find a regular partner. The Chair expressed the feeling of the committee that we had laid down a clear principle that the hosting system was designed to allow for the extraordinary not the regular lack of a partner and that deciding that this did not apply to some arbitrary number of times a month made nonsense of the principle. The unanimous decision was to refuse the request and the Chair would inform John Reiss of this.

 

Arrangements for increasing numbers in the afternoon session : This item was triggered by an exceptional afternoon of 16½ tables which created problems both of space in the main hall and achieving a movement which ensured that the requisite proportion of boards were played to allow the awarding of EBU masterpoints. Various solutions for achieving the latter were suggested : it was agreed that it would be sensible to keep two sets of identical boards in the cupboard for use if such a situation should arise again, and that if such numbers occurred frequently it would be possible to play as two sections with a second set of boards created as the hands were played. Norman Grey could be consulted about any technical difficulties which might arise.As this number of tables was currently an exception no further action was immediately necessary. However, we would need to reconsider the matter if it became more frequent. Currently the Youth Hall was not in use on a Tuesday afternoon so it would be possible to spill over into that and pay if we used it. Jill Hancock would consult Terry Simpson and the FMYCC committee about this.

 

Teaching Bridge in the North East : A questionnaire had been received asking about the Clubʼs current situation on teaching and Jill and Roger Hancock as those currently teaching agreed to deal with it. Jill Hancock said that she and Roger did not wish to be responsible for teaching next year. It was agreed that Peter Sykes should be asked whether he might be interested in teaching and Ann Squires also might be prepared to be involved. There was also the question of whether a Monday evening or a Tuesday afternoon was more likely to attract potential players.

 

Report on repairs and running of the Centre: Jill Hancock reported that although the problems with the lighting in the Main hall were on the extensive list of necessary repairs there was currently no timetable for these to be dealt with. Members of the committee pointed out that the burglar alarm frequently malfunctioned and that the doors of the new ladies toilets didnʼt fit properly and had no locks. It was also reported the Colin Hilary the Chairman of the FMYCC committee was standing down and the a new chair would be elected

 

Locking Up: There had been complaints that the firedoor had not been properly secured and that lights had been left on in the toilets after a Tuesday evening session. It was agreed that the TD would announce that the fire door should not be used as an exit at the end of the evening. The lights in the toilets probably related to the problems listed above.

 

Date of next Meeting: Tuesday 6th March

 

Committee minutes 16th January 2018

 

 

Present: :Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Susan Penswick, Den Kerry, Jill Hancock, David Thompson, Nigel Martin, John Portwood, David Emerson

Apologies: Roger Hancock

Minutes of 5th December 2017 : Accepted

Matters Arising:

 (i)  To Report: a) The Sykes Cup has been repaired at a cost of £10

b) The Christmas parties were successful and spending was within the agreed limits

c) The replacement Sykes Cups need to be returned

(ii) FMYCC Christmas Fayre 9th December: The tombola raised about £140 which was passed to the Chair of the FMYCC committee. It was agreed that the fair was very poorly advertised attended, that the money raised was not worth the effort expended and that we did not wish to do this again. Jill Hancock as our representative on the FMYCC committee would express our feelings to them and suggest that there might be a more appropriate time for a fund-raising event. It was also agreed that items remaining from the tombola should be given to charity shops.

 

New Bridge Tables : Agreed that the Chair would circulate the committee with the best possibilities for new tables; that a cost of c.£50 a table was reasonable and that we would buy 12-15 depending on how many we need to throw out

 

Cansino Cup: George Cansino felt that the cup should be competed for by both afternoon and evening sessions. It was agreed that using the percentage scores from the different sessions would not be equitable so the following regulations were agreed upon:

a) this would be a pairs competition

b) results from the first Tuesday of every month (morning and afternoon) should count towards the Cansino Cup (Currently no-one played at both sessions with the same partner)

c) points would be awarded for ranking (i.e.1St =10, 2nd =7, 3rd =5,4th = 4, 5th =3, 6th =2, 7th =1)

d) the best 6 points scores of any pair would be aggregated to produce a winner. (Normally this would be 6 from a possible 12 but this year from 11 as January had been missed)

e) the Cup would be presented at the appropriate Christmas party

 

Competitions for Beginners : Jill Hancock would liaise with Bev Godfrey to see whether a meeting could be arranged

 

Mr Leslie Simons' membership request : This matter had previously been dealt with since the last committee meeting by committee emails and Mr Simons had agreed to terminate his membership and had received his subscription back. He was now requesting that his membership should be renewed. The general view of the committee was that they did not wish to renew Mr Simonsʼ membership and that it would not be possible for him to come on a Tuesday afternoon to use the hosting system since a) it would not be suitable for the TD to assign a member to play with him after his behaviour at Bishop Auckland and b) we had previously agreed that hosting was not designed to provide a permanent partner for a member who could not find a regular partner. However, since Mr Simons was a member of the EBU and NEBA, it was felt that he could not be prevented from coming with a partner to play as a non-member. The Secretary would email the committeeʼs decision to Mr Simons with the warning that any contravention of “best behaviour at bridgeˮ would result in his being reported to NEBA/EBU. It was left to David Thompson to decide whether, after consultation with Bishop Auckland Bridge Club, he wished to report Mr Simonsʼ earlier behaviour to NEBA

 

EBU Simultaneous Pairs: Agreed that committee members would look at the list of possible Sims competitions on the EBU web site and discuss the question of registering for more of them at the next meeting

 

NEBA Swiss Pairs 5th September 2018: The Secretary reported that we had again been asked to host this event and that we had agreed to do so after the success of last yearʼs event

 

Duplimate Boards : The committee agreed that it preferred to continue with having a full set prepared

 

Durham Times Reports: The Monday night group had asked that their results should also be reported and this was agreed.

 

The Committee was very sad to hear that David Emerson would no longer be able to serve on the committee or play on a Monday or Tuesday at the Club. He has been appointed by the EBU as a EBED Education and Youth Officer at Aylesbury and the committee warmly congratulated him on the appointment and thanked him for all his work for the club, especially with the Monday night beginners.

 

Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 6th February if needed

Committee minutes 5th December 2017

 

 

Present: : Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Susan Penswick, Den Kerry, Jill Hancock, Roger Hancock, David Thompson, Nigel Martin, David Emerson and Peter Sykes

 

Apologies: John Portwood

 

Minutes of 7th November 2017 : Accepted

 

Matters Arising:

To Report: a) Duplimated boards have now been introduced for the afternoon session

b) The Charity day ran successfully and raised £513 for Tin Arts (including £213 from the raffle for which the Secretary bought a bottle of whisky as 1st prize (£26)). This has now been presented to Tinarts and pictures of the presentation are on the website

c) "Information for players" is now on the website under "Guidelines for Aspects of Bridge" and members' attention should be drawn to this.

d) The Secretary has bought a buzzer for timing the play of hands

e) Improvement of the website is ongoing. A system for archiving items is needed

 

FMYCC Christmas Fayre 9th December: Agreed that the tickets should be 50p. each. The stall would be run by David Emerson and Ann Squires (and Den Kerry offered to help)

 

Christmas Parties on 12th December: Arrangments:

The Secretary would arrange for the food (and it was agreed that catering for 14 tables in the afternoon and 9 in the evening seemed reasonable)

The Chair would be responsible for getting the prizes (winners, runners-up, spot and quiz) and the drink

Renee McMahon would supply short quizzes for both afternoon and evening

For the afternoon it was agreed that it would be a none EBU event with a simple Mitchel movement and aggregate scoring producing NS and EW winners

For the evening the movement would depend on the number of tables

More savoury compared with sweet items was requested for the afternoon and hand wipes should be provided

The Treasurer suggested that an overall spend of c£700 (compared with last year's c£600) was reasonable

 

Monday night Christmas Party: Jill Hancock reported that the Monday night group had organised their own party for 18th December and the committee agreed that the club would provide money for drink and prizes

 

Locking and clearing up on Tuesday evenings: There was some feeling that this responsibilty was not being fairly distributed currently. It was agreed that the Chair should produce a rota for committee members who regularly played in the evening. 2 members (not partners or spouses) should be allocated to an evening and agree between them who was responsible for that night. Whichever was the keyholder would ensure that the key was available to his/her partner.

To improve the pattern of clearing

a) the director should ask at the beginning of the final round that players would quietly clear their table including bringing the boards in the right order and orientation to the case

b) the hand sheets should be put at the top of the room near the case for boards

c) the boxes in the cupboard should be more clearly labelled (Nigel Martin to supply sticky labels)

 

Information for Interclub team members: It was felt that there needed to be more information available for those who had volunteered to play about the composition of the three teams. It was agreed that the membership of all three teams should be published on the website as soon as possible with thanks to all who had volunteered. However it was recognised that it was often not possible to get the teams agreed as far ahead as one might like and last minute changes could often not be avoided

 

Sykes Cup : the missing Sykes Cup had now been found and it was agreed that it should continue to be awarded to the winning pair of a designated evening session and presented at the following AGM. The Secretary would check whether is was possible to repair the slight damage to the cup.

 

The Replacement Sykes cups : It was agreed that the club would introduce a new event to next year's calendar which would be a swiss pairs evening session for which these cups would be awarded. The Secretary would arrange

to get the current engraving changed

 

Donated Cup : George Cansino who is a regular afternoon player has kindly donated a bridge trophy won by his brother Jonathon Cansino at Deauville in the 1960s. The committee agreed that, if it met with George Cansino's approval, the 1st Tuesday afternoon session played in each month should be for the Cansino cup and the winning pair would be the pair with the highest average out of the best 8 played. If accepted this competition would start in January 2018 and the cup would be presented at the following Christmas party

 

Afternoon Misscoring : The Chair has produced a form to be filled in if an incorrect score has been entered or a board has been misorientated. The scorer can then deal with the problem at the end of the session.

 

Arrow-switching : The committee felt that there was no reason to change the current system

 

Report from the NEBA Council meeting: The Chair and Secretary had attended the meeting. It was reported that the Interclub bottom groups would be returning from North/South division to groups E and F. Further details would be available from the Council minutes.

The suggestion from Bev Godfrey at the meeting that beginners could be encouraged to join the main competitive sessions of clubs (a problem which many clubs in the area seemed to be experiencing) by getting experience competing against beginners from other clubs was approved by the committee. It was reported that the current Monday group of beginners had already organised something of this nature for themselves with Seaham. The club would contact Bev Godfrey to see what could be arranged.

 

Tables: It was agreed that the Chair would buy 10 new tables and we would get rid of those that are now unstable

 

Next Meeting: Tuesday 9th January (if needed)


 

Committee Minutes 7th November 2018

 

 

Present: : Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, John Portwood, Den Kerry, Jill Hancock, Roger Hancock, David Thompson, Nigel Martin, David Emerson

Apologies: Susan Penswick,

Minutes of 10th October 2017 : Accepted

Matters Arising:

i)  Information for players: The Chair supplied 3 short docs. "Which Openng bids do I alert /announce?"; "Which doubles/redoubles do I alert";"When partner fails to alert or announce or gives an explanation different from your intention". The committee felt that these should go on the website as a three-tiered entry (i.e. the title which would lead to the brief explanation of the rules which would lead to the explanatory examples). It was hoped that breaking the information up in this way would encourage players to take note of it rather than presenting it in what could appear a somewhat forbidding document. It was also felt that these explanations appertained more to the evening sessions. The afternoon sessions certainly needed to be more aware of EBU regulations on these matters but "drip-feeding" one point at the beginning of each session might be more effective

ii) Bridgemates: the problems experienced with the change over to Bridgemates now seemed to have been solved

iii) Afternoon Summer Championship: Calculated on the basis agreed at the last committee meeting (i.e. the average of the 8 best results over the summer period) the Summer Champions were John Dobson and Malcolm Dawson

iv) The Sykes Cup 2017 which was played on Tuesday 24th October was won for a second year by Adrian Darnell and Nigel Martin

 

Website : The Committee felt that the website needed improvement in its appearance etc. It was agreed that, if he was willing, John Dobson should be coopted to help the committee improve the website. Nigel Martin also expressed an interest in being involved with it.

Charity Event : Arrangements had been made with Tin Arts to supply speakers for the two bridge sessions to give a brief explantion of the charity's work. For the raffle it was agreed that: the Club would buy a good bottle of whisky for the first prize; that there should be c.6 prizes; that the prizes should be predetermined 1st. 2nd. etc.; that the raffle should be held on the following Tuesday afternoon so that it did not interfer too much with the play.

Slow Play: The Chair had produced a document on "The Pace of Play". It was agreed that this should join those discussed above on the website. It was also agreed that: it would be a club rule that if the first card had not been faced when the move was called the board could not be played; that the TD should check on Scorebridge when s/he was about to call the move and keep a note of which tables/pairs had still not completed their results; that the Secretary would buy a clockwork timer/buzzer to help remind the room that time was nearly up; that the TD should note particularly which pairs were already running over time on the first round and try to ensure they speeded up.

David Emerson reminded the committee that the EBU timing was for 8 boards an hour (i.e 2 boards in 15 mins.) and not the 14 mins. which the club tended to try to play.

Afternoon Sessions : A request had been made to the Chair for duplimated boards in the afternoon. As Bev Godfrey was happy to prepare these, the club could afford it and the Chair was prepared to fetch them from Darlington, it was felt this was an excellent idea and gave learners a chance to improve

Monthly Team Evenings: The committee agreed that these were proving a lot of trouble with little apparent profit. It was decided to revert to the previous arrangement of a team session on the Tuesday evening before an Interclub match (i.e. 5 a year)

Next Meeting: Tuesday 5th December


 

Committee Minutes 10th October 2017

 

Present: Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, John Portwood, Den Kerry, Jill Hancock, Roger Hancock, David Emerson

Apologies: Susan Penswick, David Thompson, Nigel Martin

Minutes of 17th September 2017 : Accepted

Matters Arising:

  1. Agreed that the Sykes Cup should be presented this evening to Adrian Darnell and Nigel Martin as the 2016-17 winners by John Portwood (the previous winner)

  2. Result of the Interclub match on Sunday 8th October: A team lost 5:15; B team won 13:7; C team drew 10:10. The Team Captain was asked to ensure that each team had a designated captain – preferably one who could bring and use a scoring computer

  3. Reported that David Emerson had agreed to be co-opted to the committee and was welcomed by the Chair

  4. The Chair reported that a pleasant afternoon's bridge had been enjoyed by all who came

  5. The Chair was working on the first handout of "Information for Players". This would be on doubling and/or coping with misinformation on conventions

Bridgemate System: Some users were still experiencing difficulties in starting up the system and not enough of those running it felt able to deal with any problems that might arise in the course of a session. It was agreed that there should be a group session next Tuesday (17th October) at 6 p.m. aimed at covering as many problems as possible. Committee members should email John Portwood with suggestions for scenarios of problems and frequently committed errors. John Portwood was to check whether the current "Scorebridge" licence was transferable to the new computer which came with the bridgemates and would check whether one of the USB ports on the old computer was malfunctioning (which would account for some of the difficulties experienced)

Website: The committee approved the changes which had been made so far to the website and it was agreed that the Secretary should work with the DIC to update and improve the website

Summer Championship: This began in April and ended at the end of September. It was agreed that the winners should be calculated on the average of the top eight results achieved in this period. Afternoon and Evening pairs should be calculated separately.

System for Registering Members : It was agreed that the Secretary should bring the membership list on the website up to date and that the DIC should check with the Secretary as to whether new names were members or not.

Charity Event : It was agreed that this year the Club would support Tin Arts and that as usual we would contact them to ask for someone to do a brief presentation about the charity to the two bridge sessions. Table money from afternoon and evening sessions and the proceeds of a raffle (see below) would be donated.

Afternoon Sims: Agreed that the club should register for the EBU Winter Sims in January to be played in the afternoon but fewer booklets should be ordered

Request from FMYCC : It was agreed that the club should run a Tombola at the FMYCC Christmas Fayre on Saturday 9th December. David Emerson kindly volunteered to organise this. In view of the oversubscription to the Charity Raffle last year, members would be asked to contribute to the Raffle and Tombola at the same time with the understanding that a selection of the contributions would be chosen for the Raffle and that the remainder would be used in the tombola.

Families Information Service Website: The committee agreed that this was not an appropriate website for what the Club offers and that we should ask for our listing to be cancelled.

Future plans: carried over to next meeting

Committee Minutes 17th September 2017

 

Present: Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Susan Penswick, John Portwood, David Thompson, Roger Hancock, Jill Hancock, Nigel Martin

 

 

Apologies : Den Kerry

 

Minutes of 8th August 2017: the minutes were accepted

 

Matters arising from both Minutes :

a) The Sykes Cups were awaiting presentation and the Committee thanked John Portwood for paying for the replacements

b) The new Bridgemate system is now successfully in use. More instruction was needed for those using it in the afternoons.

c) The NEBA Swiss pairs event hosted on 6th September had been a success and the club had already been asked if it would host it again next year. The Secretary agreed to consult with the NEBA calendar organiser to try and ensure it was held at a time when the Club was able to book both halls so that there was less restriction on numbers, as with a limit of 15 tables people had had to be turned away.

d) The Team Captain presented proposed teams for the Interclub on Sunday 8th October. A&B teams were away at Morpeth and C team away in Stockton

e) The Chair had in hand arrangements for Sunday 1st October and had the list of those to be invited

 

Results Correction Period : The committee agreed that the correction period should be 24 hours from the time of publication of the results on the website. Queries should be sent to the DIC (i.e. John Portwood)

 

Appeals : In view of a recent disputed ruling, the committee reviewed its appeals procedures in the light of EBU laws. It was decided that an appointed appeals committee was not necessary or appropriate. In future a disputed ruling would be considered by the DIC (John Portwood) unless John was the TD for that night, in which case Adrian Darnell is appointed acting DIC to consider the ruling. It was further agreed that the following protocols suggested by the Chair should apply :

a) no open conversations about the circumstances as that might prejudice the final decision

b) the circumstances should not, until finally resolved, be made public (e.g. via the Club's website)

c) the Director(s) may, as he/they feel appropriate, consult both within the Club and outside

d) consulting outside the Club is essential in the case of determining "logical alternatives" (see 8.16.6.of the 2017 White Book)

 

Information for Players : Following from the discussion about Appeals the Chair raised the question of the uneven standard of information about EBU regulations existing among Club players which could result in rather erratic use being made of the TD since the TD was only likely to be called if someone at the table was aware that a rule was being infringed. It was agreed that players should be made more aware of the EBU regulations. In pursuit of this the Chair was to produce a series of brief (i.e. half page) papers every 2/3 weeks, each on a specific point, on matters such as announcing and alerting. It was agreed that simply putting the EBU rules on the notice board would have little effect..

The reminder that pairs should have correct identical convention-cards should be repeated.

 

Website : It was felt that the Club's Website was currently looking somewhat austere compared to those of other clubs. Committee members agreed to bring suggestions for improvement to the next meeting.

 

Charity Event in November: The Secretary had put a form on the notice board asking for proposals of local charities for this year and committee members agreed to urge Club members to make suggestions

 

Club Entry for the NEICKO competition : Entries close on 29th September. The Club would enter at least one team made up of Adrian Darnell, Nigel Martin and another pair and the possibility of a second team would be explored

 

Coopting to the Committee: It was agreed that David Emerson should be invited to join the committee

 

Future Development plans: The Chair was shortly to meet with the relevant person from Framwellgate School to discuss the possibility of 6th form involvement and the Committee agreed that lifts back to Durham could easily be organised to encourage more students to play on Tuesday evenings.

 

Date of next Meeting : October 10th 2017

Committee Minutes 8th August 2017

 

 

Present: Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, John Portwood, David Thompson, Den Kerry, Roger Hancock, Jill Hancock, Nigel Martin

 

Apologies : Susan Penswick

 

Minutes of 4th July 2017: the minutes were accepted (with the amendment to the wording of the item on afternoon hosting)

 

Matters arising from both Minutes :

a) Computer training sessions had taken place but further development would be determined by purchase of bridgemates (see below)

 

b) Since the cost of joining the EBU was included in the table money, it was agreed that all new members should be registered with the EBU if they were not already EBU members. However, when people became members of the club it should be made clear to them that their data would be automatically passed on to the EBU unless they specifically said they did not wish to become EBU members.

 

c) The Secretary reported that replacements for the Sykes Cup had now been bought and were ready for presentation.

 

d) It was agreed that the quotation achieved by the Chair for 20 bridgemates + dedicated laptop and all relevant software and installation requirements + carry case for 20 bridgemate and laptop + VAT, next day delivery, 2-year warranty and subsequent software/firmware updates of £3,125 (which included a £109 discount) represented a good investment particularly for the afternoon sessions which had been experiencing considerable problems with the current computer system. It was agreed that the bridgemate system should be bought and set up as soon as possible. The Chair reported that Bev Godfrey who was very familiar with the system had agreed to come and assist if necessary.

 

e) The new formulation for afternoon hosting seemed to be working. The only slight problem was that not all afternoon regulars used email

 

NGS Consultation : The communication from the EBU was noted. However, since the Monday night was to be entered as a novice event and those currently hosting on the Tuesday afternoon were not excluding themselves as hosts, the club did not currently have anything to discuss on this matter

 

 

Work on FMYCC: The work on the building which the committee had been told would begin in July had clearly not started. It was now expected to start in October

 

NEBA Swiss Pairs on 6th September: The Secretary reported that the event was now being advertised on the NEBA website and that entries were coming in. It was agreed that Lisa should be asked if she would serve tea and coffee and wash up for the usual fee. If she was not available the Secretary would try to find an alternative.

 

Selection for Interclub: It was agreed that afternoon and evening sessions should be circulated for those available and willling to play for the club and that the selection proceedure from these lists should be as transparent as possible with those chosen to play being notified at least a fortnight ahead of the date of the match. As Den Kerry captaining the C team would be on holiday until just before the date of the first match, before going on holiday he would supply the Club Captain with a list of a possible C team which could be used in conjunction with any players available from the B team pool.

 

Chair's Team Event : The Secretary reported that the room had been booked for Sunday October 1st and the Chair stated an intention to continue the tradition of providing refreshments.

 

AOB: Other items were carried over to the next meeting in September. The proposed date is September 17th

Committee Minutes 4th July 2017

 

Present: Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Susan Penswick, John Portwood, David Thompson, Den Kerry

 

Apologies : Roger Hancock, Jill Hancock, Nigel Martin

 

Minutes of 6th June 2017: the minutes were accepted

 

Matters arising from both Minutes :

 

i) New Club rep. on FMYCC : A response from Colin Hilary has invited us to name a club representative on the FMYCC and Jill Hancock has been put forward

 

ii) Computer training sessions: Agreed that John McCourt and Peter Sykes should be asked whether they could manage a session at 5o'clock on Tuesday 18th July. This should be for committee members only and the training should then be passed on to volunteers from the afternoon session.

 

iii) Reported that a part-time caretaker has been appointed by the FMYCC and that we are allocated c. 2 hours of his time (for which the club will be billed) to set out chairs and tables for Tuesday afternoons and store them again on Wednesday mornings. So far this is working well.

 

iv) Registering club members as EBU members: Agreed that John Portwood would supply the Secretary with a list of those members whom the EBU claim are not registered as EBU members and she will supply him with the necessary data to register them.

 

v) Replacement of Sykes Cup: Agreed that the Secretary should order two of the small nickel cups and get them inscribed: Durham Bridge Club / Sykes Cup.

 

vi) Bridges Mates: The question of what would be the best type of "bridgemate" is still under discussion. The Chair agreed to consult Bev Godfrey now she is back from holiday.

 

vii) EBU Sims: The Secretary reported that the club has now been registered for the Summer, EBED Autumn and British Autumn Pairs; that the Secretary is listed to receive the files and transfer the relevant file to Bev Godfrey to deal the boards, and that the Chair will collect the boards for 25th July from Darlington. 2 packs (i.e 40) booklets have been order for pairs played in the evening and 3 pkts for those played in the afternoon

 

InterClub: The Club Captain has entered three teams for the coming season

 

Afternoon Hosting : The Committee agreed to the  principle that hosting was intended to ensure that members whose regular partners were absent for some reason could get a game, or that visitors to the area who were without a partner, or newcomers to the club who were looking for a regular partner could be welcomed to the club and get a game. It was not intended to provide a partner regularly to the same player(s). The Chair planned to announce these agreed principles of Hosting at an upcoming afternoon session (11th or 18th July). The Secretary would offer the same email partner-finding service for the afternoons as that used by the evening players.'

 

Directing and Scoring Rota : The Chair suggested that a directing and scoring rota for evening sessions would be useful to cover occasions when he and/or John Portwood were not present

 

EBU Club Information Request Form : It was agreed that the data entered by the Secretary was correct and the form could be returned to the EBU

 

Future Plans: It was agreed that the Club would not offer a beginner's course of teaching next year although some further development sessions might be included in the Monday evening sessions.

 

The Chair reported that he was in discussion with the Head of Framwellgate Moor School about the possibility of offering Beginner's Bridge lessons for 6th Formers on Wednesday afternoons. Since this is the school closest to the club it offered the possibility of attracting new young members from the local area. The discussions would be continued in September when the new head of 6th form was in place.

 

It was also agreed that we should encourage student members by offering to ensure that they would have lifts back into central Durham after the evening session (with or without a pub visit!)

 

Table Money: The Treasurer reported that she would not be available from the 26th July to deal with money. The Secretary agreed to look after the banking etc. while she was away.

 

Non registering of Results : The Chair had had a letter from John Dobson complaining that the results of a considerable number of sessions did not seem to have been registered with the EBU. The Chair agreed to discuss this with John Portwood who had had to leave the meeting to set up the computer for the evening session.

 

Since both the Secretary and the Treasurer would not be available for a meeting on August 1st and since there appeared to be no immediately pressing business, it was agreed to call the next meeting in August (if it was needed) when it proved convenient.

 

The meeting closed at 6.45p.m.

Committee Minutes 6th June 2017

Present: Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Susan Penswick, John Portwood, Roger Hancock, Jill Hancock, David Thompson .

 

Apologies : Nigel Martin, Den Kerry

 

Minutes of 16th May 2017: the minutes were accepted (with a correction to the date)

 

Matters arising from both Minutes :

i) New Club rep. on FMYCC : the Secretary has written to the Associate chair of the FMYCC board asking for clarification of the position. As he is on holiday an answer has not yet been received.

ii) Training sessions for computer skills: the Chair has agreed with Peter Sykes and John McCourt that training sessions will be arranged as soon as possible. Volunteers from the club are needed and the secretary will email the afternoon group to stress the particular need for more people in the afternoons capable of using the computer

iii) The Secretary has learned from Terry Simpson (the FMYCC manager) that the Trustees are currently considering the question of again employing a caretaker - the previous caretaker having been made redundant under the previous Council management. He agreed that it would be possible to make setting out the tables and chairs on Tuesday afternoon and storing them on Wednesday mornings part of the job description. The Secretary confirmed that the Bridge club would pay for this work. As the time-scale for such an arrangement to come into effect is uncertain, it was agreed that the Chair should stress to the evening players that everyone was responsible for storing the table at which they finished playing, for stacking the chairs correctly, and for one member at the table to be responsible for moving a stack of chairs to the storage place.

It was also agreed that there should be a rota of the 5 key holders for locking the building at the end of the evening session.

iv) Report on the NEBA AGM: Roger Hancock reported that it had been a very short meeting and that the attempt to change the start time for Interclub matches had received no support. The Secretary reported that it had not been possible to put the request for seminars on the new EBU laws on the AGM agenda but had been assured that this would be considered by the committee at their next meeting

v) Monday Evenings: Jill Hancock reported that David Emerson had agreed to help on July 3rd and 10th when both Jill and Roger Hancock will be away but that it would be useful if other members could be present.

It was also agreed that the new Webmaster should discover from John McCourt how the Monday sessions should be entered for the EBU and how or who should register the new club members as EBU members

 

Draft Calendar : The Secretary presented a revised draft for 2017-18 which incorporated the changes agreed at the last meeting. This was approved with the change of the Christmas parties from Dec.19th to Dec.12th as neither the Chair nor the Treasurer could be present on 19th Dec. It can now go on the website and the notice board

The Chair agreed that he was happy to continue the Interclub teams event (with scones and jam) on Sunday 1st October 2017

It was noted that the club was to host its first NEBA Swiss Pairs event on 6th September and stressed that support from within the club was vital.

 

Regular Teams Evenings: It was agreed that this should be a year long competition with a prize of wine to be awarded at the AGM in April 2018

 

Bridge Mates : The Chair proposed that having a single set of Bridge Mates would make life much simpler for whoever was directing/running the computer. It was agreed that John Portwood would do a tablet stock-take with a view to buying an adequate number of the same type. It was also agreed that we would discover the cost of the type of bridgemate currently in use at most NEBA events .

 

Sykes Cup : It appears that the Sykes Cup has been lost or stolen. It seems unlikely that the loss will be covered by insurance so it was agreed to replace it. John Portwood as the last recipient of the cup generously proposed that he should contribute to the cost of replacement. The Secretary will make enquiries about the cost of a replacement

 

Tueday Evening Sessions : The Chair suggested that it would be helpful for directors if players at the evenings sessions could be urged to conform to EBU regulations and provide properly completed convention cards. It was agreed that this policy should be promoted

 

Next Committee meeting : Tuesday July 4th at 6.pm

 

The meeting closed at 6.50p.m. and unfinished matters on the agenda are to be rolled on to the next Committee meeting

 

 

 

 

Committee Minutes 16th May 2017

Present: Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Susan Penswick, Nigel Martin, John Portwood, Roger Hancock, Den Kerry Jill Hancock, David Thompson .

 

Apologies : None

 

Minutes of 4th April 2017: the minutes were accepted.

 

Minutes of the 46th AGM on 25th April 2017: were provisionally accepted by the committee

 

Matters arising from both Minutes :

i) New Club rep. on FMYCC : if there is a designated place on the FYMCC committee for a club rep. Jill Hancock volunteered and was accepted. (Secretary has written to the Associate Chair to clarify the position)

ii) New Webmaster: Agreed that John Portwood should become the new Webmaster with Nigel Martin as his assistant/deputy. Agreed that there is clearly a need to broaden the computer skill base within the club. Need to provide training sessions and ask for volunteers from the club to learn skills (particularly from the afternoon members). (Adrian to talk to Peter Sykes about arrangements)

iii) Replacement for Glenda as caterer to be dealt with via the Afternoon Rota (see below)

 

Tuesday Afternoons : The Secretary provided a chart for Tuesday afternoons which will be put on the Notice board and members will be encouraged to sign up where needed

 

Clearing on Tuesday Evenings : Terry Simpson to be consulted on the possibility of employing someone to set out tables and chairs on Tuesday mornings and put them away on Wednesday mornings. Meanwhile, members on Tuesday evenings should be reminded strongly that everyone is responsible for seeing that the room is cleared

 

Monday Evenings : Currently this is running with about 4/5 tables. Again assistance is needed with the organisation and a rota will be set up

 

Cash Handling : The Treasurer requested that table money should kept intact and that, if collected by someone other than a committee member, it should be handed over to a committee member. Any expenses incurred should be paid by the Treasurer from petty cash or by cheque not from the table money

 

Draft Calendar : The Secretary presented a working draft for 2017-18 and the following were agreed:

i) that the 1st Tuesday of every month should be available for a committee meeting if one was needed

ii) that the "Teams of Four League" should not occur this summer but that for the evening sessions the 3rd Tuesday of every month should be a teams evening and for the afternoon session there should be a team session on the Tuesday before each interclub match

iii) that the Secretary should book the two halls provisionally for each interclub Sunday to ensure they were available for home matches

iv) that we should increase the number of EBU/EBED Sims. events played by the Club to 5 in the coming year and that they should alternate between evening and afternoon sessions

 

NEBA AGM 24th May :

i) John Portwood requested that seminars on the new EBU laws should be on the agenda

ii) that the Club rep. (Roger Hancock) should oppose a change to a 1p.m. start for Interclub matches as this would make it impossible for us to compete

 

The EBU 2017 Laws: John Portwood reported that he had order copies of the new Law Book for himself and for the Club

 

The meeting closed at 6.55p.m. and unfinished matters on the agenda would be rolled on to the next Committee meeting on June 6th