Chairman’s Report on 2017

This was another stable and successful year for the Club with no major issues or changes. We began the year with 55 (out of 61) existing members renewing their subscription. During the year we gained 5 new members taking the membership to 60. Of these, there were 36 members who attended regularly, 9 who attended frequently, and 15 who came occasionally.

Average weekly attendance was 28 which is slightly up on 2016 but down from 30 in the previous 2 years. The weekly hire charge for the hall is £45 which equates to the table money from 30 members. Hence as in the previous few years we drew slightly on reserves to pay for the hall hire.

The Stand-by Player scheme worked reasonably well again in 2017. We had a Stand-by Player for almost three quarters of the time. Thank you to everyone who has taken one or more turns. Don’t forget that the Stand-by Player pays no table money for the relevant week. Jo Simons has submitted a proposal for a change to the scheme which will be discussed at the 2018 AGM.

We had 26 people attend the Children in Need Simultaneous Pairs evening in November (30 last year) and the total donated to Children in Need was £93 (compared with £113 in 2016).

The Christmas party was very well supported with 40 attending (40 in 2016). It was very enjoyable and the feedback has been excellent. The Club pays for the drinks and plates etc but otherwise costs are kept very low by the effort and generosity of all those who make and bring the food along. Thank you very much to all involved. 

In 2013 the Southam Village Hall Committee published a 5 year plan which coincided with the last increase in the hourly hall hire rate. We should perhaps just note that a new 5 year plan might bring with it an increase to the hourly rate.

We have discussed the pace of play a number of times and confirmed that the Club aims to play 27 boards and have a short break at half-time. It is principally the Director’s responsibility to keep play on schedule but this requires co-operation from the members. Please try to be aware of whether you are falling behind schedule and if so move on as quickly as you reasonably can.    

Neil Richardson, who was both one of our Directors and our Auditor, has decided not to attend Southam anymore. I would like to thank Neil for his contribution to the club over a number of years and specifically for agreeing to audit the 2017 accounts. I am pleased to say that Stewart Aylward has agreed to act as Auditor for this coming year.

Fliss Hall has previously agreed to train as a Director and I am also pleased to say that Colin Davison has agreed to be a Director. If anyone else is available to be trained please let me know.

After five years without any changes the committee believes that some new faces would be beneficial. Peter Morris has done excellent work throughout that time as Treasurer and would now like to stand down. So the club is in need of someone who can take on the role of Treasurer and some volunteers to be on the committee. 

The combination of a number of factors (additional cost in 2018 for Director training, anticipated average attendance, reduction in reserves over a number of years) means that the time has come for an increase in table money to £2. This is unanimously supported by the committee and will be recommended at the AGM.

To conclude, I would like to acknowledge and thank all the Directors and the committee members for their various contributions towards the smooth running of the club and in maintaining the friendly and sociable atmosphere.  

Tony Reeves

01/02/2018