GOSPORT BRIDGE CLUB
Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on 7th January 2013 at 19 Palmerston Way
The meeting opened at 1904 with the following committee members present;
Roz Reid Chairman
Edna Stratton Vice Chairman
Phil Runchman Secretary
Phil Downham Treasurer
Shirley Corner Committee member
Jean Ruskin Committee member
1. Apologies for absence.
There were no apologies but Roz had invited John Jones to attend the meeting to help discuss Bridgemates and Directors.
2. Minutes of the last committee meeting held on 22nd October 2012 and matters arising.
The minutes had previously been circulated but were summarised by the secretary and accepted as a true record of the meeting. There were the following matters arising not covered by subsequent agenda items.
a) Blue points. Following the death of Keith Palmer plans to run a Blue point event have been shelved. John Jones pointed out that those playing in EBU Sims Pairs may find themselves (if lucky!) acquiring blue points which they could if they wish convert to green points (one green point for three blue points).
b) Club Website. Roz gave the committee members the access code and password for amending the Club website. Although this was also available to selected club members such as John Jones we did not wish to make it available to all members.
c) Christmas Party. This had been a successful and enjoyable evening despite prohibition thanks to the efforts of the SBL and John Jones.
3. Directors and Bridgemates.
This item was brought forward on the agenda so that John could leave early. We are missing Keith Palmer who had always been willing to direct at short notice and had been the driving force for the introduction of Bridgemates. Phil Downham was now reasonably confident in setting up the Bridgemates. Correcting mistakes if an erroneous entry was made could be a problem but by judicious telephone calls to Bridgemate administrators he was learning how to do this. John Jones, Roz, Phil R and Mac Locock had some experience but needed more practice. It was agreed that Directing and running Bridgemates was too much for one person on the same night; also having too many people trying to help at the same time would be counterproductive. For the next Sims (8th January) Phil D will set up the Bridgemates teaching John Jones who would be Director. The next pairs evening (22nd January) would be a visitors evening and we would not use Bridgemates. After that those involved would try and work out a rota to give others experience and practice using Bridgemates.
Roz and Phil R have tried to book themselves on an EBU Club Directors course at the end of January. Jean Ruskin expressed an interest in going on a course and we had heard that Pauline Bishop might also be interested. If the Club sends two people on the same course we only have to pay for one. Phil and Roz will report back on their course.
Phil D is happy to hold the Bridgemates at present (he is also happy to remain a holder of the hall key); he has fitted all the equipment in a redundant family suitcase, which works well. At present the committee felt that Phil should keep all the equipment together except the 2nd large computer screen, which could be left at the hall. The committee also decided to set up a sub committee consisting of Roz, Phil D, John Jones and Jean Ruskin to look at the problems of directors, Bridgemates and websites and that they should ask Jim Sherman if he could help us with his IT expertise.
Action; - Mostly Roz and Phil D
4. Treasurer’s Report.
Phil D and John Jones were arranging for the latter to inspect the accounts shortly. Currently we have a balance creditor of about £1,500 some £50 more than at the time of the AGM. Our expenditure has gone down as the Methodist hall is significantly cheaper than the Catholic one but our income is also down as membership still seems to be falling. We now have an average of less than 11 pairs on duplicate nights. Reasons for this are not entirely clear. Most members like the new venue now that heating problems have been resolved, but some have complained at lack of adjacent parking, and that it is quite crowded especially on SBL nights. We have lost a couple of members due to clashes of personality and the Chairman continues to ask some of our stronger players to show consideration and courtesy to some of our weaker ones (without naming names).
Overall our financial position is satisfactory but we must continue to address the membership issue. Phil D did mention that someone (on an SBL) night had been drinking and had spilt some beer!! SBL are aware that this is unacceptable at the Methodist Hall.
We still need to change the signatories on the club bank account and Phil gave forms for this to Roz and Jean to complete.
Action:- Phil D, Roz and Jean to change bank signatories.
5. Competitions Update.
Newbury knocked out our Basingstoke Cup team in the first round but our HICKO Team beat Petersfield and play their second round against Swanmore on 8th January. No matches have yet been played in the Solent Trophy; we have a bye to the semi-finals to be played in February. Currently the Solent Trophy remains a Knock Out competition. In the NICKO Phil D’s team have won their first match, we do not know how our other team have done yet. We were to enter three teams for the NICKO but reduced this to two after Keith’s death. Entry fees were paid by Keith and the treasurer is arranging to pay these to his estate, i.e. Clare, at an appropriate moment. The EBU will credit us the cancelled entry fee. Following Keith’s death our selection committee for the Solent Trophy and NICKO is Roz, Phil D and John Jones.
Action: - Selection Committee to select Solent Trophy and NICKO teams.
6. Visitor’s Evening.
As previously agreed this will be on 22nd January with no table money although we shall send results to the EBU. Bridgemates will not be used. Roz asked if we should restrict methods to “simple systems” but the committee felt that established members should be able to use their usual methods. They would be asked to explain any unusual bid to our visitors and to be as friendly and courteous as possibly. This is another effort to increase membership, we expect a couple of pairs from Aileen Wilkinson’s classes and perhaps also for Pat Loader’s.
7. EBU Update.
a) P2P fees. By trawling through the EBU and County websites the secretary had found that the EBU element of P2P would increase by 1P from 33P to 34P while the County fee would be unchanged at 4P for 2013/14. Overall P2P would increase from 37P to 38P in line with inflation and the committee agreed that this was less than had been feared and acceptable.
b) We need to update our Club Committee Contacts Information with the EBU following Keith’s death. The committee agreed the following contacts:-
Chairman Roz Reid
Treasurer Phil Downham
Secretary Phil Runchman
Competition Contact Phil Downham
Scorer Roz Reid
Webmaster Roz Reid (? or Jim Sherman)
2nd Scorer Pat Loader
3rd Scorer Mac Locock
Club Affairs Roz Reid
Action:- Roz
8. AOB
a) Shirley pointed out that the GBC scorecards prepared by Keith were not suitable for SBL teams scoring as there were no columns for entering IMPs for and against. The EBU cards recently ordered from Fleming’s are fine and should be used on SBL nights; the GBC cards can be used for duplicate pairs.
b) Shirley also asked if we should consider changing the name of the club to reflect the fact that we no longer play in Gosport. She wondered if being called Gosport Bridge Club might put off new members if they thought they had to travel to Gosport. Gosport Bridge Club does have a proud history but we could retain the connection by becoming “Gosport and Stubbington Bridge Club” or something similar. This would have administrative complications such as changing the names of accounts with the bank, the EBU and the County. Committee members would give the matter some thought; any change would have to be agreed at an AGM or EGM.
c) Roz wondered if the duties of Chairman could be shared as at other clubs such as Titchfield which now had a “Revolving Chairman”. Although some members thought that the duties of Chairman were not that onerous in fact she often had several phonecalls or e-mails a day to deal with such matters as heating at the hall, could you find me a partner, dates of team matches, who can unlock the hall or take the tea and coffee etc etc etc. While she was happy to continue in her role at present perhaps the club could consider a replacement/substitute at some time in the future. There were no immediate volunteers from the committee members at present.
9. Date of next meeting.
As the routine running of the club seemed to be well under control it was felt that we only needed one other meeting before the AGM in August. This was provisionally arranged for Monday 24th June 2013.
The meeting closed at 2045
GOSPORT BRIDGE CLUB
Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on 22nd October 2012 at 19 Palmerston Way.
The meeting commenced at 1904 with the following committee members present.
Roz Reid Chairman
Edna Stratton Vice Chairman
Phil Runchman Secretary
Phil Downham Treasurer
Shirley Corner Committee member
Jean Ruskin Committee member
1. Apologies for absence.
There were no apologies but the committee noted with great sadness the recent death of Keith Palmer. Keith was officially our Scorer but he had filled and carried out many other roles. His knowledge, experience, and hard work will be badly missed by the committee and the Club as a whole. Roz has e-mailed the membership with details of the funeral and will make an announcement at the Club on Tuesday. We have already observed a minute silence in his memory as have other Clubs in the area where he worked and played.
2. Minutes of the last committee meeting held on 25th June 2012 and matters arising.
The secretary summarised the previous minutes which were accepted as a true record of the meeting. There were the following matters arising:-
Item 4. Competitions Update. The Solent Trophy will retain it’s current format as a knockout competition this year although next year it will probably be a one day multi teams event at Romsey. Phil Downham is Captain.
Item 6. Next Year’s Programme. This is up and running satisfactorily.
Item 7. Blue Points. Keith Palmer had suggested that we consider running a Blue Point event when they are introduced next year. As Keith is no longer with us to organise this it was decided to shelve this proposal at present.
Item 8. Electronic Scoring. This was an agenda item for later in the meeting.
Item 10. (a) EBU website. Roz has updated the Club’s information on this. We need to inform the EBU of Keith’s death although they will also be informed by the County as he was he was an EBU Shareholder for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
(b) Club website. Keith had set this up before he died. We have paid another year’s rental and Roz has the access code and password which she passed on to other committee members so that they also had access.
3. Minutes of the GBC AGM held on 28th August 2012 and matters arising.
The secretary also summarised these minutes. There were the following matters arising.
Item 3. Para 7. EBU Matters. The rise P2P fees had been acceptable.
Item 4. Treasurer’s Report. The Club finances were healthy although our balance creditor was down to £1450 due to the purchase of the Bridgemates.
Item 8 (a) The membership had decided that the Christmas Party should be held at the Methodist Hall despite the ban on wine.
4. Treasurer’s Report.
Our financial position and balance creditor were broadly unchanged from that reported to the AGM in August although it is getting more difficult to keep track of the accounts as we now only pay the hall rental four monthly, the SBL only pay us for their nights monthly, and the EBU take P2P fees two monthly in arrears. However Phil D as treasurer and the committee as a whole were happy with our finances at present as we expected to start making some profit now that our hall hire charges were less. It was agreed that we should need to look more closely at our finances if or when our balance creditor fell below £1,000.
Roz had met with John Jones as the new Chairman of the SBL to discuss the financial arrangements between the League and GBC (John had not been involved in discussions about these arrangements earlier in the year.) Basically SBL now collect their own table money of £2.00 per person per night and pay £1.50 per person per night to GBC to cover the hall hire and other expenses such as maintenance of equipment. John is now happy with this arrangement although it was agreed as before that it should be kept under review. He will probably discuss it again with Phil D when he gets round to inspecting our accounts.
Phil D told the committee that we owed £150 to Keith’s estate as he had paid our NICKO fees. It was thought that the best way to deal with this was for Phil to write a cheque for Clare. We also need to update the signatories on our bank account. These are currently Phil D, Keith Palmer and Pat Loader; this should be changed to Phil D, Roz Reid and Jean Ruskin.
Action;:- Phil D
5. Competitions Update.
Roz has arranged teams to play in the HICKO and Basingstoke Cup and the first matches have been booked. We have entered three teams for the NICKO but following Keith’s death and other illness we shall have to withdraw one (the entry fee will be refunded). Teams and arrangements for the Solent Trophy (see above) have yet to be finalised and Phil D will deal with this.
Action:- Phil D
6. Bridgemates.
Before his death Keith had purchased 12 Bridgemates and the equipment to run them. We have started to use them for duplicate pairs nights with success but not without some teething problems. Keith was very much the driving force behind this innovation, his expertise and computer skills will be missed but he had held some instruction sessions for other directors and officers of the Club. Roz and Phil R now hold the Bridgemates and have tried running dummy sessions with them, also not without difficulty! The reaction of Club members to the Bridgemates had generally been positive and the committee felt that having made such a large capital investment we must persevere in using them. Roz and Phil R will keep trying with dummy sessions, they will bring the Bridgemates to the next duplicate session (23rd Oct) arriving early to set them up and Phil D will direct and help them. Until we gain more confidence them we shall also use travellers and only try to play 24 boards.
Action:- Roz, Phil R and Phil D.
7. Christmas Party.
SBL had agreed at their AGM to run the Christmas Party within the restrictions of the Methodist Hall (i.e. no alcohol and no raffle prizes of alcohol or value of more than £5). They would like GBC (i.e. Shirley) to provide tea and coffee as usual and Jean agreed to liase with Isobel Evans to see if we could help in other ways such as soft drinks. It would be GBC’s turn to run the Christmas Party next year.
Action:- Shirley and Jean
8. Visitors Evening.
We had held a Visitors Evening in January of this year and it was felt that this had been enjoyable and successful in attracting some new members. It was therefore decided to repeat this on 22nd January 2013. Again there would be no table money on that night for members and visitors, and we should approach Pat Loader and Aileen Wilkinson to invite players who attended their classes. Whether or not to use Bridgemates could be decided nearer the time.
9. EBU Update.
Again this was something we relied on Keith for as he would attend the EBU Shareholders meeting in early October and report back to us. Our main concern in the past had been P2P fees usually decided at this meeting. Phil R had just checked the EBU website, there is nothing new on P2P fees and the minutes of the latest Shareholders meeting have not been published. However he had noticed from the EBU accounts that they had made a profit last year and not the loss that Keith had been predicting so perhaps there would not be too much pressure to raise P2P fees. No doubt we shall be informed in due course of any change to P2P fees and the committee felt this was no longer the concern it had been in the past.
10. AOB.
(a). Jean asked if we should look for new committee members now that Keith was no longer with us. It was agreed that we should, Pauline Bishop and Julian Sykes were mentioned as names who might help.
(b). Phil R asked who should replace Keith as a key holder for the hall. Roz was concerned as she would be away on three Tuesdays before Christmas and some others in the New Year. Phil D agreed to hold the key for 30th October and perhaps further ahead as he lived near the hall and could easily go round to open up and close up even if he was not himself playing that night.
Action:- Phil D
(c). Roz reiterated her intention to announce to the Club that Keith’s funeral would be on 1st November at 1400 at St Mary’s Church, Alverstoke with a wake to follow at Hornet Sailing Club. It was suggested that we might consider naming one of the Club’s Competitions such as the Club Pairs or Mixed Pairs after Keith but the committee felt that this was a matter for the whole membership to discuss at an AGM and that we should only consider this after consulting Clare.
(d) Roz remained concerned about directors. Our current ad hoc arrangements work reasonably but it would be nice to have named directors on the programme as in the past. Only John Jones has put forward dates he is available at present. Phil D said he would try and help and Mike Mollart-Rogerson had also said he could help from time to time. Roz, Phil R and Jean said they would consider attending a course for directors in the New Year to learn more about the role.
Action:- All named above.
11. Date of next meeting.
This was agreed for Monday 7th January 2013.
The meeting ended at 2040.
GOSPORT BRIDGE CLUB
Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on 25th June 2012 at 91 Palmerston Way.
The meeting opened at 1903 with the following committee members present.
Roz Reid Chairman
Edna Stratton Vice Chairman
Phil Runchman Secretary
Phil Downham Treasurer
Keith Palmer Scorer
Shirley Corner Committee Member
1. Apologies for absence.
Apologies were received from Jean Ruskin.
2. Minutes and Matters arising.
The minutes of the previous committee meeting held on the 23rd April had already been circulated but the Secretary briefly summarised them so we could deal with matters arising.
a) The Treasurer has updated our membership list with the EBU
b) Our concerns regarding the relationship with the Solent Bridge League appear to be resolved although we await the result of their EGM on P2P. The Chairman and Pat Loader are working amicably on the next seasons programme.
c) We have located nine out of ten of the new tables bought last year but cannot identify where the other one might be.
3. Treasurer’s Report.
Our balance creditor remains at £2,800 and has been falling by about £250 each year over the last few years (disregarding capital expenditure on new tables). However the rent for our new venue at the Methodist Church Hall (£25 per week) is significantly less than before at the Catholic Church Hall (£36 per week) so if membership numbers are maintained we should be able to start accumulating some more capital although this was not the purpose of the Club. Phil Runchman wondered if we should consider a small increase in table money in view of a large item of capital expenditure envisaged for electronic scoring (vide infra) but this was not supported by the rest of the committee as our table money is already more that that at other clubs in the region.
4. Competitions Update.
There were no new competition results to report. However the County is proposing changing the format of the Solent Trophy competition. Currently this is a knock-out competition for teams of eight, this year our team narrowly lost to Southampton. The winners of the Trophy go on the play in the Garden City multi team competition run by the EBU for the best teams in the whole South of England. It is however difficult to arrange matches as one needs to find a date and venue to suit 16 people! The County is proposing to change to a single multi team event run on a Sunday at Romsey and is asking for Club’s views on this. Keith agreed to seek the views of our best players who make up our Solent Trophy team and let the Chairman know the result so that she can e-mail our view to the County.
Action:- Keith and Roz.
5. New Venue – Methodist Church Hall.
Following reconnaissance by a team of committee members we had decided to move from the Catholic Church Hall to the Methodist Church Hall in Mays Lane Stubbington and have in fact moved there on 12th June. The committee was unanimous in their view that this move has been a great success and comment from the membership is very favourable. The fact that we can store tables at the hall and do not have to take them home is a great boon. It will be difficult to accommodate more than twelve tables but this is enough for SBL team nights and we do not usually get more than twelve tables on Pairs nights. The only drawback is that Church rules do not allow consumption of alcohol at parties and no raffle prizes valued at more than £5. Thanks are due to Jean Ruskin who researched and found this new venue.
6. Next Year’s Programme.
Roz produced her draft II of next year’s programme. The SBL will probably have seven teams in at least one of their two divisions next season and will need 14 nights for teams to play each other twice. The programme gives them this with two extra nights to catch up on cancelled matches. The committee agreed that should more catch up sessions be needed then not more than one match should be played on scheduled Pairs nights in the summer, if necessary SBL teams may have to find alternative venues such as playing catch up matches at members’ private homes. SBL will play on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month from October to May inclusive. The programme includes four simultaneous pairs events, there was some discussion in the committee as to whether all of these were needed but it was decided that they were, however it was decided to have only one and not two multi teams events. It was decided to cancel the Anniversary Party on 4th September partly because of the alcohol ban but mainly because we no longer needed to celebrate our move from Gosport to Stubbington eight years ago when we had held the party as a means of boosting membership. The Christmas Party will be on 11th December. Phil R suggested that we book the Catholic Church Hall for this night so that we could serve wine and have a better raffle but after discussion it was decided to accept the Methodist restrictions and Phil would bring a hip flask! Roz made her usual plea for directors, John Jones has agreed to direct the sims and some of the major Pairs nights, Keith and Phil D will help as usual so it was thought that we could manage. Roz will finalise the programme by the time of the AGM in August.
Action:- Roz
7. Blue Points.
Keith explained to the committee why the EBU is introducing blue points. Currently they award local Master Points for club and local events which allows players to rank themselves locally and Green points for National sims and major Congresses so that players can rank themselves nationally. However some players find it difficult and expensive for travel and accommodation to attend major Green point events, and yet they would still like collect Green points. Blue points will fill the gap and be awarded for certain specified Club and County events. A Club will be able to hold up to two Blue point events each year and each County up to four. These events must meet certain rules, they must be open to all EBU members, be in two sessions and at least 36 boards must be played. Three Blue points will be equivalent and can be converted to one Green point. Some Hampshire events at Romsey will be Blue pointed next year and we as a Club could organise one, perhaps at a weekend, but not on our usual Tuesday night.. This could attract good players from other local clubs. The committee felt that we should wait until Blue points are up and running before considering arranging an event ourselves.
8. Electronic Scoring.
As discussed and minuted at the last committee meeting Keith has been researching the possibility of introducing electronic scoring. The Hammond Memorial Hall Trust, a local charity would be prepared to give us a grant of £800 to pay for this if we can raise/afford the other approximately £1,400 needed. He has researched two systems but recommends one, Bridge Mates II, which has been tried and used worldwide. Basically it consist of a Bridge Mate pad for each table which transmits the score for each board to a base station connected to a computer which calculates and displays the score instantaneously. Players will need to enter their EBU number at the start of play at each table. Once the system is up and running there would be no need for table slips or paper travellers although for the first few sessions it would be prudent to use them as a back up. The score for each board is entered on the pad by North and verified by East to transmit it to the computer. Keith showed sample Bridge Mate Pads to the Committee and even the more techno-phobic members of the committee thought they would be easy to use!
The advantages of the system are:-
(a) The score is available on the night as soon as the last board has been played
(b) As the score is calculated automatically no mistakes can be accepted.
(c) No one has to sit up all night to calculate the score.
If we bought the system we may be able to recoup some of the cost by hiring it to other clubs and/or the County, it can be used for scoring Multi teams, Swiss teams and other event as well as normal Pairs. Maintenance costs are minimal, batteries for the pads may need replacing every couple of years and software may need updating but this should be free.
The committee felt that this was a good idea and would make the Club up to date for the 21st century. Two committee members wondered if we should consult the membership at the AGM before committing ourselves to spending 50% of our capital reserve, however most of the committee including the Treasurer felt that they would like the system in place for the start of the next season in September so we should go ahead and buy it now. Keith was therefore authorised to purchase the system with Bridge Mate pads for twelve tables. Eventually we should like to have pads for fifteen tables and we could perhaps approach the SBL for a contribution to the capital costs. Keith undertook to provide the necessary instruction to Officers of the Club, Directors and the Membership on using the system.
Action:- Keith.
9. Annual General Meeting 28th August 2012.
The Club AGM will be held on 28th August as already notified in the current programme but the Secretary would produce a Notice of Meeting and agenda for the Club Notice Board as in previous years. There was no further need to discuss the EBU and P2P again as an agenda item, the Chairman would mention electronic scoring in her annual report but Keith would be on hand to answer Member’s questions. Current Officers and Committee Members are happy to be re-elected although nominations for new Committee Members would be welcomed.
Action:- Phil R
10. AOB
(a) Roz as Chairman has to update the Club page on the EBU website. She will nominate herself as Competitions Contact, Keith will be Principal Scorer and Website Manager. The EBU will be informed about our change of venue.
(b) Keith suggested that we consider using a professional website manager, Bridge Webs, to manage our website as he was concerned as to what might happen if he himself was unable to keep it updated for us. Roz had noted how good the new Titchfield website looked and this was managed by Bridge Webs. This would cost £40 per year and so the committee agreed unanimously that we should do this. Bridge Webs would provide an access code and password so that Officers of the Club could access the site to post score results committee minutes etc on the site.
Action: Roz and Keith.
11. Date of Next Committee Meeting.
This was agreed as Monday 22nd October which would be just after the EBU AGM.
The meeting closed at 2109.
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