NCBA Committee Meeting Minutes – Wednesday 5^th February 2020

Present: Toni Smith (Chair, TS), Ian Dovey (Treasurer, ID), Keith Spencer (County TD, KS), Mark Goddard (County Captain, MG), Graham Brindley (GB), Sue Wright (SW), Shirley Ashtari (SA), Jane Hall (JH), Chris Frost (CF)

Apologies: Sue McIntosh, Pravin Tailor, Maciej Lejman

1. The minutes of the previous committee meeting, (27^th November 2019), were accepted following minor amendments to Items 3 and 11 of the draft issue. The minutes will be updated and issued.

There were no comments or matters arising.

2. Teams-of-Eight Secretary Report.

JH reported that there had been no problems to date and the large majority of scheduled fixtures had been played. One match in Division 2 had been conceded due to the failure of one club to raise a team. The match score has been allocated in accordance with the published League rules.

CF asked if it was acceptable to use Bridgemates for Team-of-Eight fixtures. It was stated that clubs could do so subject to both captains agreeing. CF also asked if guidance on the correct procedure for using Bridgemates for Team-of-Eight matches could be provided. The County TD will address this.

It was noted that some Counties (e.g. Derbys, Leics, Yorks.) mandate that all clubs play Team-of-Eight matches on the same day of the week, (Wednesday in Derbys and Leics). League matches are then played in accordance with a fixture list issued by the County association. The committee recognised there were a number of possible difficulties but it was agreed to ask all clubs for their opinions on the practicalities of NCBA adopting the ‘one-night rule’.

JH is standing down from the committee at the next AGM.

ACTIONS: KS to issue instructions to member clubs on the correct procedure for utilisation of Bridgemates for Teams-of-Eight matches.

JH is to ask all clubs for an opinion on Team-of-Eight fixtures being moved to the same night of the week for all clubs.

3. County Teams-of-Four 2020.

SA agreed to initiate proceedings for the NCBA Teams-of-Four League, (summer 2020). However she reminded the committee that she would be standing down at the upcoming AGM.

ACTION: SA to circulate the proposed structure for the 2020 Teams-of-Four competition/league.

4. Treasurer’s Report.

ID stated that there had been little activity regarding the accounts since the last meeting.

There was some discussion in relation to an email circulated by the Treasurer regarding NCBA finances. In summary this stated:

• NCBA have shown a profit in all preceding years.
• The contribution due to Graham Brindley’s ‘Wednesday Improver’ sessions has been significant but the organisation was profitable prior to this activity.
• P2P is the primary source of NCBA income, (approximately £1000 per annum since 2015).
• Green Point Event income is approximately £400 (nett) per event – the inability to run a Teams Event in the recent past is significant.
• NCBA expenditure is primarily on Tollemache, Garden Cities, Corwen and County matches.

P2P charges for individual clubs and the County Association will increase next year. There was general agreement that it would be unfair to increase the County levy within P2P.

ID pointed out that Team-of-Four and Team-of-Eight entry fees only showed a small income after EBU charges were accounted for. It was agreed that from April 2020 these fees would be increased to £20 and £40 per team, respectively. In simple terms this is the equivalent of each player paying 50p per match for a Team-of-Eight fixture.

ACTIONS: Team-of-Four and Team-of-Eight League Secretaries to notify clubs of revised team entry fees, (£20 and £40 respectively).

5. NCBA Trophies.

SW had located all NCBA trophies. It was noted that there are a number of trophies that have not been competed for in recent years. Further discussion regarding a trophy cabinet was postponed due to the uncertainty of the willingness of Nottingham Bridge Club to site a cabinet. The finances of purchasing/not-purchasing a cabinet have still to be debated.

ACTIONS: TS to hold further discussions with NBC regarding acceptability of a trophy cabinet.

6. NCBA Events.

GB circulated a note he had written regarding NCBA Events. This document high-lighted the difficulty of producing a calendar since the dates for County fixtures were not available. He also pointed out that the building at Spondon requires expensive structural repairs and this may result in increased hire charges for Green Point events.

The proposed Swiss Pairs event in May (as an alternative to a Swiss Teams event) was discussed. This will clash with an event in Northamptonshire which may affect entries. The possibility was discussed of holding the event at Nottingham Bridge Club. MG stated he thought it would be possible to accommodate 20 tables. The major difficulties are likely to be finding a Director, catering, car parking. No conclusion was reached.

GB had produced a ‘Festival of Bridge’ schedule for the week of 18^th July. This included:

• Sat 18^th        Green Point Swiss Pairs (Spondon)
• Monday 20^th  County-wide Sims (played at local clubs)
• Thurs 23^rd     Tony Sowter lecture
• Sunday 26^th   Priday Cup.

GB and TS offered to do sessions on ‘Splinters and Jacoby 2NT’ and ‘Slam Bidding’. Dates, times and locations for these were not discussed.

SA and GB had found a printer willing to print a ‘NCBA Calendar’ and a Draft version was shown to the committee. There was diverse opinion on the value of producing a Calendar for NCBA members, (cost circa £150 for the numbers involved). MG suggested it could be distributed as a pdf via email. By a majority of 5 votes to 4 it was decided to pursue development of the Calendar.

7. County Night.

Despite significant effort by MG to promote the EBU Sims/County Night event on 18^th January there were only 5 tables. It was agreed to hold the next County Night on Wednesday 8^th April; this coincides with an EBU Sims event. KS pointed out that the EBU charge £2.90 per player for these events. It was agreed that the table fee for the April event would be £5 per player to cover EBU and NBC room hire costs.

The committee were asked to consider if there are ways to improve County Night attendance.

 ACTION: County Night of April 8^th (EBU Sims) to be advertised with table fee of £5 per player.

8. Clubs Conference.

TS had circulated a proposed agenda for a Clubs Conference in March and there was some discussion on this.

With regard to two Agenda items CF asked the following questions:

• Will the NCBA share their knowledge/expertise regarding “Safeguarding” with the clubs?
• Are the NCBA going to support clubs with regard to teaching (new players, improvers) and training?

TS promised to address these items.

ACTION:  TS to invite clubs to send representatives to Conference.

9. AGM 2020.

Several committee members (including the Chair) are not available on the proposed AGM date of Wednesday 13^th May. ID pointed out that all mid-weeks dates are not ideal since many members will play bridge rather than attend the AGM. It was agreed that would be a consideration in the future. The Chair is to propose a new date for the AGM this year; (note that the Constitution does not set a “no later than” date).

ACTION: TS to propose revised date for AGM.

10. Committee Meetings.

The NCBA Committee meetings for next year were provisionally set for –April 1^st, July 5^th, October 7^th and January 27^th 2021.

11. Other Business.

Sue McIntosh has expressed her willingness to join the Events Sub-Committee.

It was agreed that sub-committees could meet when and where they wish.

SW stated that she was always happy to host NCBA meetings or relevant sub-committee meetings.

The Committee had received (via the Secretary at the time, Clare Batten) a complaint regarding behaviour at a County Night event. The subject of behaviour was discussed. The Chair asked the County TD (KS) to ensure that everyone at NCBA events was aware of what is considered appropriate behaviour.