MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 30th.JULY 2015

PRESENT.

Keith Spencer (Chairman), Jane Hall (Secretary), John Edwards (Treasurer), G and  N Graham,  R Furlonger, J Furlonger, C Wood, J Gamble, T Smith, R Hooper, P Sulley, K Wills, B Wills, R Dove, N Davis, G Lee,, H Garner, G Lindley,E Poyser,  H Beeby, P Morris, P Burton, L Bridge, T Fullick, R Gunn, P Tillcock, D Tillcock, L Lomas, A-M Campbell, R Page, S Cobley, D Cobley, J Glass, J Glass, H Yates, D Thompson, S Fordham, P Meats.

APOLOGIES.

P Sweet, R Fey, P Jones, P Dale

MINUTES OF THE AGM HELD ON  24^th JULY 2014.

The minutes were circulated.  There were no questions arising.  The minutes were accepted as a true record.  Proposed by R Furlonger, seconded by G Graham.

MATTERS ARISING.

There were no matters arising.

TREASURER’S REPORT:

John Edwards provided a detailed breakdown of income and expenditure (previously circulated). The club has produced a significant increase in income due to a small increase in membership and large increase in attendance. (9.3 tables a night compared to 7.75 the previous year)  The Club has bought a dealing machine, with the help of loans from members; and is now purchasing a scoring system on a similar basis.  This will greatly improve the efficiency of the Club sessions and the resources available to members.  Jane Hall and Toni Smith were to be thanked for their hard work on publicity and classes; these were crucial to ensuring a steady flow of new members being welcomed into the Club.

For 2015/16, it was proposed that table fees would remain unchanged at £2, (£3 for visitors).  But the annual subscription would increase from £7 to £10, in order to be more in line with other clubs; this was still excellent value and would secure a sinking fund for replacement equipment.  Additionally, it was proposed that members and visitors in full time education would have a discounted table fee of £1, and a subscription of £5.   Fees and subscriptions would be reviewed annually in order to reflect the current financial situation.

The Treasurer’s report and proposals were agreed.  Proposed by L Bridge, seconded by R Gunn.

TEACHING AND CLUB DEVELOPMENT REPORT:

Toni Smith explained that last year this was a new post on the Committee.  During the year she has been developing her ideas for a comprehensive package of classes and training for all levels of player.  To this end she would be starting a beginner’s course in October. For improvers in addition to George Ripley’s monthly morning seminars an evening class facilitated by Toni would also be offered; these would cover topics outside George’s seminars.  Team players would also have monthly sessions to improve their team play.   Toni explained that she was also exploring the possibility of beginners and improvers being mentored by some of the more experienced players in the Club; members had already offered their help.  Another opportunity to improve play would be to hold short sessions before the Thursday evening Club night on particular topics, such as announcing/alerting rules, what to do when you play out of turn, simple conventions, scoring.

The plans were fluid so that she could respond with classes that met the expressed demands of members and potential members. So it was necessary for members to clearly express their interest and to sign up for the various options on offer. 

To help co-ordinate all the teaching, social and other events going on at the club a diary of events would be placed on the web site, and circulated to members via email.

TEAM CAPTAINS’ REPORT

Steve Fordham gave a report on behalf of all the teams.  The first “Team of 8” were disappointed not to return to the first division; a closely fought division where our first team lost their deciding last match.  The second “Team of 8” were unlucky to be relegated, but enjoyed their first year in the second division.  The two “Teams of 4” fared better; the first team narrowly missed regaining the championship, the second team had a good first season finishing a very respectable half way.  The Club were entering a third “Team of 8” which would be run by Julia Furlonger.  The Committee had decided that the teams would be renamed Woodborough Red, Woodborough White and Woodborough Blue.  On behalf of all the captains Steve thanked everyone who had played.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: 

Keith Spencer thanked the Committee for their work over the year.   Ray, John and Phil for researching suitable scoring systems; the Committee decided on Bridgemate2 as it was already familiar to many of our members being widely used at other clubs.  Ruth had continued to provide excellent refreshments. Toni, George and Jane were thanked for facilitating the teaching sessions. John and Jane work hard behind the scenes to make sure the club runs smoothly.  The teams’ results were disappointing but the club was thriving with a good average of 9 tables an evening.  The new website was a much better system enabling a quick and easy upload of results and analysis.

Several social events were being planned.  The club’s first afternoon charity event would be held on 21^st.October.  The annual Open Evening would be on 29^th.October. The Christmas party would be held on 17^th.December.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE

The Committee; Keith Spencer (Chairman), Jane Hall (Secretary), John Edwards (Treasurer), S Fordham,  R Furlonger, R Gunn, R Hooper, D Tillcock  were elected en bloc.  Proposed by C Wood, seconded by J Furlonger.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

• Butler Imps.  The idea of scoring using Butler Imps was raised by Keith Spencer. It was explained that this was similar to team scoring; full information would be given to members prior to any evening using this method.  It was explained that although it would be possible to score using both systems it would not make sense as different bidding strategies applied.  The reason for considering Butler Imps was to help team players.  However it was a matter for members to help decide.  It was agreed that the club would try it once, following a full explanation of the implications, to see how members respond.
• Slow Play.  Pat Burton asked if the boards could be speeded-up.  It was mentioned that at the last AGM it was agreed to occasionally use the timer but this had not happened.  Clive opined that using the timer not only kept the boards moving on in a timely way but also kept the noise down as most tables finished at the same time.  Keith undertook to keep an eye on slow play.
• Convention cards.  Keith raised the importance of having a convention card as it eased the difficulty of redressing complaints about bidding.  Simple convention cards were available on the web, and help could be given to anyone who needed it.
• Dealing machine.  Clive Wood raised concerns that those who were using the dealing machine would have the advantage of knowing if the cards had been manually shuffled or computer dealt.  An announcement at the start of the evening would be fairer.  Clive also asked if the cards were random or selected to produce certain distributions. Keith assured members that the dealing machine only used random deals for club nights.   Members’ attention was drawn to the chart on the notice board and the article from Chislehurst BC on this matter. 
• Table allocation.  Clive asked if we could return to picking a card to allocate table and position as in the past; he was happy to supervise this to avoid anyone not complying.  Reg opined that whilst the reasons for wanting a balanced room was understood, if all the less experienced players played in one direction, it does at least give them a chance to come towards the top.
• Eric Poyser thanked everyone on the Committee for their hard work running the club.

MEETING CLOSED AT 7.40 PM