Ridgeway Bridge Club

Annual General Meeting Monday 18^th November 2019

Chairman’s Report

My two years in office as Chairman have been challenging

The implementation of the  General Data Protection Regulations took up many days of my time. The club had a legal agreement with the EBU regarding compliance. This was rescinded after the EBU took Counsel’s advice. However the EBU advised clubs who use bridgewebs to comply with the Regulations as members details reach a wider field. I also had to tighten up our internet security on Bridgewebs in view of the fact that the EBU advised us that bridge clubs are being targeted by fraudsters

In my Chairman’s report to last years AGM I mentioned the steps being taken to keep the Club afloat which have been successful as otherwise we would have folded up.

It has thus been possible to keep all 3 bridge sessions going.

Our treasurer Molly Mason  continued as Treasurer  for another year. She has been very committed in collecting monies , banking and doing the accounts which is very much appreciated 

We owe a great deal to Duncan Holman who puts the tables and chairs out on a Monday and Wednesday  before our bridge sessions commence. This has  also saved  us a substantial amount of money and is a major factor in keeping the club afloat, in addition to not employing people to make the teas and coffees and serve biscuits..

The aims of the Committee  are to ensure  :

1. That the club maintains a friendly but still competitive  atmosphere.
2. That the club continues to be financially viable
3. That the 3 weekly sessions continue  – Monday evening, Wednesday afternoon at Cookhill  and Thursday morning at Feckenham Village Hall.
4. That Monday evenings continue so that working members can attend   

I must mention the sterling support of all Committee Officers and members in order to achieve these objectives ,

 With regard to the new General  Data Protection Regulations  A club privacy document was prepared and is published on the Bridgewebs web site. All members have been asked how they want to be contacted in future in accordance with the regulations. Members should advise  the membership secretary when they change address, telephone number or the way in which they wish to be contacted.

As reported in my report to the last AGM A number of initiatives are being introduced by the WCBA  to promote bridge in Worcestershire of which classes for beginners has been at the forefront.  Our  flier for Ridgeway club to has gone  in the WCBA magazine and was also shown at events . Members have been requested to post our Flier on appropriate notice boards where they can.

Bridge for beginners courses run by Mike Vetch( an EBU approved trainer)were held in Worcester and  also at Redditch College commencing in January 2019 .Another course commenced in September 2019 . Follow up training has been held on occasions at Cookhill Village Hall in the conference room. Joan and myself attended some of these sessions to be supportive. Subsequently some of the beginners sessions were held on a Monday night in the main hall and were run separately from the main club session and at different times. Thanks go to members who sat in with the beginners on a Monday evening when there was a sit out pair. Gentle Bridge Sessions for the beginners have been held on a Tuesday in the Committee Room. It is to be hoped that our club will eventually attract new members from this initiative.

To help improve Ridgeway’s profile and to give the members concerned experience in a more competitive environment we  formed a team to compete in the Inter-Club Simple Systems competition which was  held over 4 sessions in November. January, February and April.  Our Ridgeway team were the winners and we are putting a team forward for the next inter club competition commencing in November 2019 with Joan Ogg as the team captain. The names of the team members will be posted  on the news page of Bridgewebs

As agreed by the Committee I have introduced a News Page for our club on the Bridgewebs site. The News page has details of dates for your diary, WCBA events and training courses, and any other matters affecting our club.

The directors and host rotas are also shown on the webpage. There is no host system at Feckenham . The Monday host rota also enables working members to be able to play if they have not got a partner and many of the beginners are working and they may eventually join the club.

Our Summer and Christmas parties have been very successful and enjoyable thanks to the efforts of Ann Ball and Sandra Cruickshank

I give thanks also to all the members who assist in putting chairs and tables and equipment away and to those who help to wash and tidy up in the kitchen. The support of our members is vital to the success of the club.

Tony Oliver and John Holloway are resigning as Committee members so there are two vacancies.  Committee Meetings are held every 2 months.

Again without our Directors and scorers we could not run our bridge sessions and my thanks go to them.

I am sure that you would all like to show your appreciation to the work done by officers and Committee members of the club.

David Ogg

Chairman 5^th  November 2019