Rugby Bridge Club Management Committee.
Minutes of meeting held at 28, Dickens Road, Rugby
on 23rd September 2013
Present
Peter Langley (Chairman)
Philip Shorey
Anne Carrington
David Hicks(Secretary)
Chris Malthouse
David Owen
1. Apologies
There was an apology from Wendy Pattinson, Janet Chappell and Terry Bradbury, who unfortunately had been admitted to hospital. The committee wished Terry a speedy recovery.
2. Minutes of last meeting
The minutes of the 21st June 2013 had been previously agreed.
3. Matters Arising not elsewhere on the agenda
3(i) Newsletter
It was noted that the Newsletter would now be produced quarterly and a view was expressed that the August Newsletter had been a particularly good one.
Action: Wendy Pattinson
3(ii) Cawston
Phil Shorey in reporting to the Committee said that he had met the chair elect of the Parish Council who had informed him that the Parish Council did not need Rugby Bridge Club’s financial contribution to the project and at an open meeting there had been a vote against Rugby Bridge Club being in partnership with the Parish Council.
He said he was aware that there was support within the community for Rugby Bridge Club to be involved and he had requested that the Parish Council put in writing a proposal as to what they were prepared to offer to Rugby Bridge Club with regard to a tenancy agreement to allow the club to come to an informed decision and to determine the clubs next steps.
In the discussion that followed there were a number of differing views expressed but a clear view was established that if the club were to enter into a tenancy agreement with the Parish Council it would have to be a 15 year tenancy agreement with provision for a 5 year negotiation period with regard to any extension or termination of the tenancy agreement.
It was agreed that the Chairman would write to the Parish Council expressing the clubs disappointment at the decision of the Parish Council not to enter into a partnership agreement with Rugby Bridge Club and saying that there was a wish on the part of the club to reach a final decision on any tenancy agreement being agreed by the end of November to enable the club to move forward as appropriate.
A short notice would also be placed on the Web Site to keep the members informed of the current position and in the meantime other possible options would be pursued including the former British Legion Club at Hillmorton, which had recently closed.
Action: Peter Langley, Phil Shorey and Terry Bradbury
3(iii) Management Committee Procedures
The revised Management Committee Procedures were approved.
Action: David Hicks
3(iv) Tournament Session Rules
The revised Tournament Session Rules reflecting the club’s membership of the EBU were agreed.
Action: David Hicks
4. Wednesday Night Survey
The Chairman referred to a survey that he had carried out of the players who regularly played bridge on a Wednesday night. Concerns had been expressed within the committee about the poor levels of attendance and a need to have the view of those who did play to ascertain if the evening met their needs or in which way it could be improved to make it more attractive to members and to encourage a greater attendance. Eleven had responded by returning completed questionnaires.
Frequency of Play
Of those who responded the majority indicated that they were playing about the same as they used to do and there was some reluctance expressed about playing more because they already played enough bridge to meet their needs.
Factors mentioned to explain the decline in attendances included the fact that there was competition from Dunchurch, Lutterworth and other RBC sessions.
What Type of Session Should Wednesdays Be?
Of the respondents seven members said they wanted the session to strike a balance between a teaching / training session and a session of duplicate play, two wanted it to be primarily a teaching / training session and one wanted it to be primarily a session of general duplicate play and another said it should be targeted at improvers.
Help Provided to Improvers
There was support for the help provided and the majority of respondents considered it adequate or better and none considered it to be inadequate.
The following specific comments were made:
· There was too much pressure to play hands quickly, members did not like being asked to take an average, pressure to play quickly discouraged them from seeking help and when help was given it tended to slow things down;
· Help to one player or pair could impact on their opponents and make the overall result misleading;
· Help was not always available at the time when it was needed.
The Specific Proposal Suggested by the Management Committee
Those surveyed had been asked to respond to a Management Committee suggestion that there could be duplicate play between 7.0 and 9.30pm, using a mixture of dealt hands, hands fed in by helpers to illustrate particular aspects of bidding or play and after 9.30, those who wished to stay could take part in a seminar lasting about 45 minutes, in which the most interesting hands played that evening could be discussed.
The majority of the respondents were in favour of the suggested play for the session and specific comments included the following:
· A 10.15 finish may be too late for some;
· Continuous assessment of bidding and play could be better than a seminar at the end. Some people could find it difficult to remember hands by the time of the seminar;
· It should not be necessary to provide prepared hands;
· Pairs could nominate the hands they would like to discuss;
· This idea could be used on one Wednesday per month, with the others devoted to normal duplicate play.
Other Comments and Suggestions
· There was acceptance that more players were needed to improve the Wednesday session;
· Better players should not partner each other. Other sessions were available during the week for them;
· Unless boards have been played 5 times or more, results should not be included on the web site;
· Coffee / tea and biscuits should be provided;
· Computerised scoring should be introduced.
Conclusions
The Chairman said that whilst the responses were mixed, there did seem to be clear support for striking a balance between general duplicate play and teaching or training. A clear majority were in favour of the specific approach suggested by the Management Committee, but with some caveats. The level of support expressed suggested it was sufficient for the approach to be introduced, at least on a trial basis.
The pressure to play more quickly that had emerged was seen as a key problem for less experienced players and whatever approach was adopted in future, there was a need to consider whether this could be dealt with more sensitively.
There was clearly a tension between treating Wednesday evenings as a normal duplicate session and to help or give training to less experienced players. This seemed to express itself as a lack of confidence in the authenticity of the overall result. However there was a need for some form of result to help players measure their progress and the Committee needed to address the problem.
It was agreed that the Committee suggestion of general duplicate play followed by a seminar would be taken forward as trial and would be reviewed towards the end of the year.
Action: Peter Langley/Chris Malthouse
5. Saturday Morning Training Sessions
Chris Malthouse reported on the results of a survey carried out into the effectiveness or otherwise of the Saturday morning training sessions and said that he was very pleased to report a very high level of positive responses about the training given.
Suggestions made to improve the training had been incorporated in the new course, which commenced in September and he said it was the intention to carry out a further survey in due course, but done separately for beginners and improvers.
Action: Chris Malthouse.
6. Financial Update
Phil Shorey reported that the Current Account stood at £4554.59, the Business Account at £117,383.39 making a total of £121,937.98, and the finances of the club remained at a steady level.
7. Trophies and Awards
The chairman referred to a decision reached at the Management Committee meeting on 21 June 2013 that he would analyse the awards and trophies currently available to members and he commenced by making reference to the varying ways in which awards and trophies were given:
· In some cases there is a trophy with no money attached; in others both a trophy and money are given. In two cases money was given for first, second and third places. The total amount of prize money was typically £240 - £250 per annum depending on the awards for the annual event, which varied from year to year;
· In three cases, awards were given for performance at a specific session during the year, but most awards were given for performance over the whole year;
· Four awards were given for Tuesday evening performance, but there were no comparable awards specifically for Thursdays or Fridays. However the new master point competition brought together all three sessions;
· All the annual awards with the exception of one were given for overall percentage score provided a minimum number of sessions had been played.
· The new master points trophy was unique in being given for aggregate master points rather than average percentages, so it encouraged more frequent play;
· The Allott and Troughers awards were based on overall performance after handicapping; all other awards were based on un-weighted overall performance;
· The John Day Shield was given for best improvers on Tuesdays over a year. All other awards and trophies were given for the best overall pair(s) or player(s);
· Most awards were given to pairs but the new master point competition was based on individual performance.
He continued by saying that the criteria for these awards had grown up in an incremental way with it appeared little or no thought being given to the overall pattern. In a few cases the criteria may have been proposed by those making the award, but in most they had been decided by the Club itself.
He said his observations on the current pattern were as follows:
a. 4 awards come with money attached but 5 do not. The overall amount of prize money awarded was reasonable but could be increased to correct some anomalies, particularly if the club’s income rose sufficiently.
b. There were 3 awards / trophies for performance at individual sessions, 5 for performance over a whole year and 1 (the Stephen White Plate) for winning a specific competition played over several months. If the new Pairs Competition became established consideration would have to be given to it being a monetary award and/or trophy. The overall balance between these different types of award seemed reasonable;
c. Four awards were given for Tuesday performances but none for any other session. This may have been seen as appropriate when the Tuesday session was pre-eminent, but this was no longer so today. Consideration should be given to introducing new awards for the Thursday and Friday sessions or strengthening the awards for the master point competition that covers all three sessions and perhaps generalise some of the existing trophies or awards;
d. Most of the competitions reward average percentage achieved and was probably sensible. However was it reasonable to have one award (the master point competition) that allows people to improve their chances by playing in more sessions;
e. It was important to give less experienced and improving players a chance of winning some awards. The Allott and Troughers awards were important in this respect because of the handicapping element. It was important that handicapping was based as far as possible on actual results over a specified period rather than on subjective judgement;
f. The John Day Shield was important in principle because it rewarded year-on-year improvement rather than overall performance. However it applied only to Tuesdays and because of the need to play in 24 (now 20) sessions, relatively few pairs were eligible;
g. It seemed illogical that prize money was given to the second and third pairs on Tuesday evenings and at the Annual Pairs Event but not for second and third in any other competition;
h. It was important to have a mix of pairs and individual awards. In principle the club could reduce the former and extend the latter slightly to achieve a better balance.
Recommendations
On the basis of the analysis he proposed the following changes to the awards and trophies, as follows –
Margaret Preece Shield – Award for the new Pairs Competition, with monetary awards of £40, £30 and £20 for first, second and third places respectively;
John Day Shield – Continue to reward the best improvers in terms of percentage improvement from year to year, but to be based on a combination of Tuesday, Thursday and Friday sessions, not just Tuesdays. No weighting between different sessions should be necessary. A minimum level of appearances to be established and 30 were suggested.
Perrin Trophy – Retain as at present.
Stephen White Plate – Retain as at present but add a cash prize of £30 for the winning pair.
Williams Trophy – Transfer this to the first Thursday in November.
Allott Trophy – Retain as at present with £40 prize money.
Troughers Trophy – Retain as at present with £40 prize money.
Master Point Competition – Retain with the award of the Rom Ecker Spoon with monetary prizes of £40, £20 and £10 for the first three placed players at the end of the year.
Julia Mills Trophy – Retain as at present. Prize money to be 15% of money received from ticket sales (to the nearest round figure) – eg £100 for 12 tables and £120 for 14 tables at £14 per head).
He closed by saying that he considered that the changes proposed would help to create a healthier and better balanced mixture of trophies and monetary awards for different types of competition, giving every member of the Club a chance to shine.
In the discussions that followed the point was made that where trophies had been donated for a specific competition then it should continue to be presented for the named competition and that it would be a very complicated exercise to award a trophy for the best improvers based on performance over three days, throughout the year.
In general terms the recommendations of the Chairman were agreed but he undertook to give further consideration to the points made and would report back at the next meeting. It was agreed that any changes would be effective from the year commencing 1st April 2014.
Action: Peter Langley
8. Correspondence.
The Secretary reported that there was no correspondence.
9. Rugby Pairs League
A general view was expressed that the first session of the Rugby Pairs League had gone well with 9 full tables and Graham Lightfoot was to be congratulated on the success of the evening.
Action: David Hicks
10. Annual Dinner
Anne Carrington opened the discussion by saying that numbers attending the annual dinner were well down from previous years and she questioned whether there was any real interest and suggested that consideration should be given to a buffet evening followed by bridge.
Whilst recognising that numbers had dropped there was no real support for Anne’s suggestion or for a suggestion that consideration should be given to arranging a Christmas dinner.
It was agreed that Phil Shorey would approach the membership to ascertain their views on a dinner in the Spring of 2014.
Action: Phil Shorey/Anne Carrington.
11. Bridge in the Street
David Hicks gave a short summary of a brief report that Terry Bradbury had asked him to give to the committee, which said that whilst the interest shown initially was promising with six people wanting to become involved, the take up since had been disappointing despite Terry’s endeavours to follow up their interest previously shown.
In the discussion that followed the view was expressed that whilst the efforts of Terry and others were commendable it was questioned whether the exercise was worthwhile and should be repeated.
Action: All
12. Children in Need Days.
Phil Shorey indicated that he had taken a straw poll of members to get a feel for the most appropriate days to support the charity and it was agreed that they should be the 12th and 14th November, a Tuesday and Thursday.
13. Warwickshire CBA Events.
The Chairman referred to a recent discussion he had had with Myra Scott from the Warwickshire CBA with regard for events that were being arranged for less experienced players and said that there was need to make sure that such events were drawn to the attention of members and there could be a possibility of them being held at Rugby in 2015.
14. Warwickshire CBA Proposed Awards Scheme.
Reference was made to a proposal being given consideration by WCBA to have an awards system to recognise the contributions to bridge in various areas.
In the discussion that followed it was agreed that there was no wish to become involved in a county scheme and a view was expressed that such a scheme could be dominated by the larger and more active clubs in WCBA and such awards scheme were often quite subjective.
It was said that the club recognised member’s commitments to the club in appropriate ways and more often than not a simple thank you was all that was needed to recognise a significant contribution.
15. Schools Initiative
The Chairman outlined the progress that had been made on the initiative to get local schools involved in the game of bridge and said he had received a positive response from Rugby High School, Harris School and there was an interest at becoming involved at Lawrence Sheriff.
He continued by giving his thoughts on how any such initiative should be developed and said he was pleased at the positive response from the committee by giving their support and that a number already had CRB clearance to be in schools.
He suggested that the training should be delivered by the clubs teaching members, 2 each week, supported by others prepared to help, would be of an hour’s duration, commencing in November, going through to April and following the EBU Teaching Book.
He said the next steps were to produce a detailed training syllabus and ‘flyer for the schools, which would be circulated to committee members for consideration and comment.
16. A.O.B.
(i) It was confirmed that a match against Daventry Bridge Club would take place on Monday 30th September.
(ii) 2014 1 day bridge event would be on the 13th April 2014 and David Owen would support Chris Malthouse.
(iii) It was agreed that the club would sponsor Rugby Bridge Club teams playing in the Coventry League, as in previous years.
17. Date of next meeting
Monday 9th December 2013, 1900 hours at 3 Hardy Close, Bilton.
|