Minutes of the 2012 AGM
of the North Cambridge Bridge Club
Date: Monday 21st May 2012
Time: 6.45 p.m.
Place: Girton Pavilion, Recreation Ground, Girton
There were 32 members present, including John Pearce (Chairman), Alison Lloyd (Secretary) and Margaret Mitchley (Treasurer).
1. Apologies for absence had been received from Andrew Wilkinson, Joanne Caldwell, Kathrin Peters, Peter Cowley, Ian McDonald, Ian Aldridge, Lyn Mason, Eric Campbell, Dominic Clark and Roger Courtenay.
2. Minutes of the Last Meeting
The Minutes of the meeting held on 16th May 2011 were agreed to be a true record. Proposed by Pat Atkin and seconded by Myriam Warburton.
3. Matters Arising
There were no matters arising.
4. Chairman’s Report
As you are all no doubt aware we have recently had to record the sad passing of Bernard Buckley. Prior to the formation of this club Bernard was a stalwart in Bridge Clubs in the area being involved in County management and organisation. He was to become one of the elder statesmen of the Club, and was Chairman from 2003 to 2006. He organised and oversaw the move to these premises in 2005. His funeral will be held on Wednesday 23rd May at 1.30pm at Cambridge crematorium in the West Chapel.
Moving on to more optimistic matters I can report another successful year with an increase in both membership and table numbers. The Christmas party raised £288 which was donated to the Brittle Bone Society.
As ever my thanks go to the committee:
- Alison - our club Secretary who took over seamlessly from Wendy
- Margaret - collecting and counting
- Roy - endlessly providing boards and IT
- Robert - directing our tournaments and ensuring a good start to our evenings
And lastly we come to a very important person, David, the man who has sustained us with refreshments for many years. David is stepping down this year and I ask him to step forward and receive a token of our appreciation.
5. Secretary’s Report
We currently have a membership of 70 people and this year we have welcomed Simon Wood, Carol & Bernard Elberg, Tom Crawley, Verity Joubert and Roger Salmon as members of the club.
I would like to thank all the members of the committee for their hard work in the last year and in particular thanks must go to John for running the club is such an efficient manner.
6. Treasurer’s Report
The accounts which have been audited reflect a profit of some £320 (£323.21).
The main reason for this being that we have had a full year with table money at £2.50 per week; (it went up to this level following the 2010 AGM so we did not see the full impact last year), and we also had one more weekly session in the current year . Also there has been an increased contribution from SIMS events as the charge was set at £5 per session to fully cover the SIMS charge and normal club rate. I have carried out a rough comparison of tables per session and they have marginally crept up to average out at just below 9 from just over 8. 8.
Turning now to expenses, we have normal increases in most expenses other than training. We did not send any member on Directors courses having sponsored 4 members the previous year. (The small charge represents the final session of the previous year not held until May 2011). Looking at stationary and the duplimate costs together (which covers the costs of printing hands and cards) we have a reduction in costs reflecting a full year’s benefit of using the machine. As explained last year the cost of the machine is being written off over 4 years and this year we have a full year’s depreciation charge of £400. As far as the machine itself is concerned the net balance in the accounts is offset by the remaining 1 year instalment of the loan. This will be fully repaid by 31 March 2013.
Looking ahead to the current year the committee anticipates a reduced profit due to increases in regular expenses (both the weekly rent and P2P levy). Nevertheless owing to the current level of reserves we do not propose any change in either the membership fee or table money.
However we will be increasing the prizes for the monthly prize pairs to £2.50 for 2nd place and £5 for 1st. This will mean that winners will effectively get either one or two free weeks.
Finally I would like to record my thanks to David Pett for his audit of the accounts and to confirm his willingness to perform this arduous task again next year!
7. Appointment of Auditor
David Pett had kindly offered to continue as Auditor.
Peter Last proposed, and Verity Joubert seconded, the re-appointment of David Pett as auditor.
8. Tournament Director’s Report
I would like to thank all the directors for taking their turn and to you for making directing easy for us. Slow play is still a concern and I would like to remind members that we play at 2 boards every 15 minutes (this means moving sorting biding playing scoring two boards and to be ready to move). Tea or coffee should be made in free time well before the director calls move. It would help if you hold post mortems at the end of the round (quietly) if there is time. I have only had to set up two appeal committees and these were only for minor points.
A special thanks to Roy for scoring and making up the boards I know this can take some time each week and to Angela for putting up with this and bringing the boards in each week. Also to Ann Aplin and Margaret Sayers for doing the scoring when Roy is away.
NICKO
Wendy Pollard’s team of Dominic Clark, Susan Mealing, Peter Last and Neil Trentham made it to round four before being knocked out by Stamford A. The other two teams got knocked out in the first round and then lost in the Plate.
Cambs League
Team one of Ian Aldridge, Pat Atkin, Graham Clarke, Chris Dickman and John Pearce finished 3rd in League 1.
Team two of Andrew Wilkinson, Margaret Mitchley, Alison Lloyd, Peter Cowley and Robert Wright finished 2nd in League 3 and will be promoted.
If you wish to enter a team in the NICKO or Cambs League let me know.
During the year many club members have played in EBU competitions and congress with a special mention to Peter Morgan for coming top in the Senior Congress and Alison Lloyd and Peter Cowley in an EBU Sims pairs.
County pairs: Susan Mealing, Peter Last 2nd, Pat Atkin, Graham Clarke 12th
Swiss pairs: Bryan Last, Peter Last 6th, Joanne Caldwell, Eric Campbell 7th
Alan Edwards won the most master points playing here on a Monday night 493
There may be a lot more of you doing well but you are hiding your light under a bushel.
9. Election of Officers and Committee
Nominations for officers and committee had been posted on the notice-board, and there were no contested positions. The following were therefore elected having been proposed by Peter Last and seconded by Derek Sayers:
John Pearce – Chairman
Alison Lloyd – Secretary
Margaret Mitchley – Treasurer
Robert Wright – Tournament Director
Lorraine Waters - Refreshments
Roy Newman - Scorer and Webmaster
10. Presentation of Prizes
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Championship Pairs:
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Peter Morgan & Frank Padgett
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Championship Teams:
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Alison Lloyd, Peter Cowley,
Alan Edwards & Simon Stokes
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Winter Pairs:
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Wendy Pollard & Eric Campbell
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Handicap Pairs:
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Rosanne Mattick & David Larman
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Handicap Teams:
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Doreen Rapley, Myriam Warburton,
Vin Vaccher & Trevor McCann
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11. Any Other Business
Play on Bank Holidays: this year we have voted each time as to whether to hold a bridge session on a Bank Holiday Monday. As we have played on at least one Bank Holiday this year we will continue to take a vote each time and inform members of the collective decision.
Wendy proposed a vote of thanks to the committee for all their hard work throughout the year.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 7.15 p.m.