Rugby Bridge Club Management Committee
Draft Minutes of meeting held at 28, Dickens Road, Rugby
on 21st June 2013
Present
Peter Langley (Chairman)
Philip Shorey
Anne Carrington
David Hicks(Secretary)
Terry Bradbury
Chris Malthouse
Janet Chappell
David Owen
Before the formal commencement of the meeting the Chairman extended a warm welcome to Janet Chappell and David Owen who were appointed to the Committee at the AGM held in May and noting that Janet had previously served on the committee.
1. Apologies
There was an apology from Wendy Pattinson who was away on holiday.
2. Minutes of last meeting
The minutes of the 15th April 2013 had been previously agreed.
3. Matters Arising not elsewhere on the agenda
3(i) Newsletter
Mention was made of the concerns previously expressed by Wendy with regard to the poor response to her request for articles for inclusion in the Newsletter but it was confirmed that she would be leading a small working group consisting of David Owen to consider what actions could be taken to encourage more members to contribute to the Newsletter..
The Chairman then informed the committee that in correspondence with Christine Cooper she had kindly offered to support the Newsletter Working Party, her offer of help was warmly welcomed by the committee and it was agreed that she should be invited to join the working group.
In the discussions that followed it was suggested that the Newsletter should be issued quarterly with copies being made available at bridge sessions and on the Club Web Site which also kept members informed on current events and issues and forthcoming activities and attractions.
Action: Wendy Pattinson and Peter Langley
3(ii) Cawston Update
The Chairman said he had spoken to Rugby Borough Council who had reported that the planning application would hopefully be considered by their Planning Committee on the 2nd July. It had been suggested that there may be some environmental issues with regard to sound proofing but it was believed it was nothing very significant and for this reason he remained upbeat and optimistic that planning permission would be granted.
Phil Shorey in making reference to the suggestions made at the EGM with regard to sliding doors in the main hall and additional sound proofing on the kitchen area said that he had spoken with the Cawston people and there was support for the suggestions made, which would be picked up once planning permission had been granted.
Action: Peter Langley and Phil Shorey
3(iii) Management Committee Procedures
It was agreed that the General Secretary would take responsibility for the Management Committee Procedures.
Following discussion on Section 3 Finance of the procedures and the fact that financial transactions were carried out on line, it was agreed that paragraphs (ii) and (iii) should be deleted from this section of the procedures.
Action: David Hicks.
3(iv). Tournament Session Rules.
It was agreed that an approach would be made to Peter Iredale, as the Senior Tournament Director, to ask him to consider their appropriateness before being formally adopted.
Action. Peter Langley
3(v) Wednesday Night Sessions
Chris Malthouse informed those present that the Wednesday night sessions were averaging between 21/2 and 4 tables with many of those attending being experienced players. Support was given to those perhaps needing or asking for guidance and the more gentle nature of the bridge being played facilitated this. However the working group would be meeting shortly to consider a number of ways in which this evening session could be improved to make it more attractive to both the less experienced and more experienced players. In the discussions that followed the point was made that with such small numbers the sessions were not very cost effective.
Action: Chris Malthouse
4. Where Are We Now
The Chairman referred to a paper he had prepared and circulated for discussion on how the club should move forward in 2013 and onwards.
He began by referring to the very healthy position of the club with increased membership and attendances at sessions and said that the he believed the membership of the EBU and the gaining of master points was a factor. The challenge going forward was to maintain and increase these numbers and he said he would be bringing forward proposals to ensure that the winners of the Master points competition were properly rewarded for their efforts.
A key part he said was the training sessions on a Saturday morning and the need to get more people interested in learning bridge and in addition advanced training for experienced players who wished to enhance their skills and reference was made to a suggestion from Sue Osborne that members should be approached to ascertain their views on what they would perhaps like to be provided to enhance their skills. It was agreed to take the suggestion forward within the working party.
On the proposed move to Cawston he said that once planning permission had been granted there would be a need to appoint another Rugby Bridge member to sit on the management panel to accompany Phil Shorey, David Owen offered to take on this role and his offer was accepted.
Reference was then made to 4 teachers attending an EBU Training Course. Assuming the move to Cawston went ahead the club could look to enhancing the training equipment available to the teachers.
On competitions and sessions he expressed a view that they provided a good choice for those wishing to play bridge from the experienced to the less experienced, supplemented by entering teams in the Rugby and District League and the Rubber Bridge Charity competition organised by Terry Bradbury.
On the proposed Pairs Competition he said he was keen to see this developed and following on from the trial run would like to see this competition incorporated in next year’s events
In turning to the question of the club’s membership of the EBU he said there was an issue about the extent to which members were aware of EBU tournaments, the club did participate in a limited number of such events but there was a need for debate to ensure that there was a right balance between the club’s events and those of the EBU.
In turning to the question of finance he said that in the past the club had made a small profit each year and significant reserves had built up to enable the club to become involved with the proposal to have a 15 year tenancy agreement with Cawston Parish Council. If the move to Cawston went ahead there would be a need to build up reserves to enable the club to be in a strong position to go ahead beyond the proposed 15 years tenancy agreement.
The point was made that in the past there had been considerable one-off expenditure recently and the current hiring costs of premises would no longer apply if we moved to Cawston, but going forward the club should be looking to be in a strong financial position to enter into negotiations for an extension of the tenancy agreement, 10 years into the lease agreement. These issues meant that there could well be need for a more systematic approach involving budgets and annual targets linked to possible changes to membership fees and table money.
It was agreed that the proposed move to Cawston meant there was no need for a separate development fund.
The discussions on the paper concluded with the Chairman saying that there was still work to do with spreading the tasks of running the club more widely by encouraging more members to volunteer and the need to have a list of activities available.
Action: All
5. Roles within the Committee
Anne Carrington agreed to continue with her role as Membership Secretary, David Owen had already agreed to support Phil Shorey on the Management Committee to be created to manage the Cawston Community Hall and Janet Chappell to support Wendy Pattinson on special events in addition to organising the catering for Troughers evenings.
6. Financial Update
Phil Shorey reported that there was £4651.07 in the current account, £2204.81 in the business account and £115,000 in a three month term deposit account with Lloyds. In general terms the club were breaking even currently but there was a need to keep the finances continually under review.
He informed the meeting he would arrange for the Air Ambulance to attend a bridge session to be presented with the monies raised for that charity and whilst on the subject of charities Chris Malthouse said that the Lions Event would be supporting the provision of a sensory garden. There was support within the committee for fund raising events to be in support of a range of local charities.
Action. Phil Shorey
7. Refreshment at Sessions
It was established at the outset of this discussion that the motion put to the AGM was for the provision of biscuits to be withdrawn from bridge sessions and for the provision of free tea and coffee to remain at those sessions where it was currently provided.
It was decided after discussion that free tea, coffee and biscuits would continue to be supplied at sessions where it was currently provided, members would be reminded to only take one biscuit and the cost implications would continue to be monitored. On the issue of the provision of refreshments Phil Shorey suggested that there should be a shared responsibility for making provisions available to provide for this, where it was not provided by the Steward. Anne Carrington undertook to do this for the Friday Clifton sessions.
Action. Phil Shorey/Anne Carrington.
8. Correspondence
The committee gave consideration to letters received from Malcolm Taylor and Christine Copper, which outlined their thoughts on the election of the Chair to the Management Committee and the Chairman undertook to reply to both correspondents.
Action. Peter Langley
9. Annual Awards
The Committee went through the list of the annual awards and trophies to ascertain criteria for awards made.
Phil Shorey made the point that he had had great difficulty in tracking down trophies for engraving and ascertaining previous winners, which had led to some confusion arising as to whom the trophies should be awarded and had led to delay in getting the trophies inscribed.
On the question of awards the Chairman expressed a view that there should be a balance between awards and trophies and made the point that the numbers attending and the skills of those playing on Tuesdays and Thursdays were now very similar and was of the view that master points should be a criteria for awards made. This he suggested would encourage more members to attend and to enhance their bridge skills by having advanced training. He undertook to prepare a paper outlining his thoughts in more detail.
Anne Carrington made the point that there were a number of members who worked and their ability to play in sessions was therefore limited.
Action: Peter Langley
10. AOB.
(i) Members who do not play at club bridge sessions
Anne Carrington presented a paper to the committee, which highlighted the fact that there were a number of Rugby Bridge Club members who were paying an annual subscription but were not playing in sessions or making a contribution to the running of the club but could enjoy all the benefits that were available, including to the right to vote at EGM or AGMs, which could influence how the club went forward.
After discussion It was agreed that the issue would be tabled for further discussion early in 2014.
Action: Anne Carrington
(ii) Annual Dinner
There was discussion on the level of subsidy to those attending the annual dinner and the financial implications for the club, particularly if non members were enjoying a subsidised evening.
Currently it was said that the subsidy was £15 for members and £10 for non members. The view of the committee was that any subsidising of the event should be limited to members and a figure of £5 was mentioned.
It was agreed that the venue for the Annual Dinner required further consideration and the committee were asked to look around for other venues which may be able to host this event but bearing in mind that the venue would probably be required to be booked early in the Autumn.
Action: All
(iii) Terry Bradbury reported that the rubber bridge knock out tournament was underway and £420 was to be paid to the Myton Hospice Charity and he would be arranging for a presentation, with photographs to publicise the charitable work of the club.
Action: Terry Bradbury
(v). Table Money
The attention of the committee was drawn to the fact that whilst there had been discussion in Committee on the proposal within the Constitution that future changes to table money would need to be put to a General Meeting, it had not been voted on or agreed. However during discussion of this at the AGM, committee members voted 4 to 3 against any proposed changes to table money going to the AGM for approval. This it was said was seen as an anomaly, although not all of those who voted had been present when the Committee last discussed the issue. It was agreed that in future the Committee would vote on important and contentious issues of this sort to avoid such an anomaly arising again.
11. Date of next Meeting.
Friday 16th September 2013 at 28 Dickens Road.
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