COMMITTEE MEETING OF RETFORD BRIDGE CLUB

 Thursday 6th March 2025, 3.00pm on Zoom

Minutes

Present:      John Rolph, Keith Abel, Roger Stock, Julia Staniforth, Tessa Rolph. Joanne King,

                      Sandy Fulton, David Garside

Apologies:  Ian Maxwell

1. Welcome and apologies

2. Approval of Trustee Meeting Minutes 5^th December 2024

Minutes were approved unaltered

3. Matters arising

There were Bridgepad issues on 4^th February and results were sorted out manually. Initially, merging was not thought possible, so it was decided not to charge for this session.  No money was collected on 11^th February to compensate.  However, complete merged results were eventually produced so two Hallcroft members owe table money for a session as a result.  A conversation will take place to try to sort this out amicably.

4. Approval of AGM Minutes

Minutes were approved unaltered.

5. Matters arising

To achieve a virtual AGM in future, Ian needs to trial the equipment early in the year.  We still feel that this is a worthwhile aim and it would help two committee members in 2026.  There are significant technical issues because of the lack of internet.  We would like Ian to go to the Centre at a suitable time to test this; it might be better done during the week, rather than Tuesday evening.  Roger is happy to facilitate this by getting a temporary door code if required.

To enable individual table money balances to be visible on the website, we need to give everyone an individual password to access a restricted area of the website where up to date balances and additional information could be made available.  Roger thinks this might be helpful but the system needs to be enabled through Bridgewebs by Ian.  It might create more work for the Treasurer and Ian but those who have seen the system at other clubs feel it might be worthwhile. 

A new runners-up Trophy for the Improvers competition will be purchased by John.

We will continue to look for incentives to encourage more players to play and to improve.  It was noted that in other clubs afternoon F2F Bridge sessions are often more popular than evening ones. 

6. Treasurer’s Financial Update

First Quarter figures have already been presented and discussed.  There have been problems withdrawing money from our 35-day notice Nat West account while Roger has been away.  We will need to make some investment decisions on the expiry of our Cambridge and Counties term deposit.  Roger will ensure we have sufficient readily available cash reserves. 

7. Membership issues

We continue to recruit Icelandic players and one new F2F player has joined the club recently.  It is concerning that there are only a small number of local players playing regularly.  The Tuesday evening virtual session has been at risk on occasions.  It was noted 20 out of our 90 members have not played once since September. 

It was pointed out that this was not simply a Retford issue; it is a national problem and many well established county events are at risk. 

It was asked who adds members to Bridgewebs – Roger said that was usually his responsibility. 

There have been one or two language issues with the Icelandic players talking during a hand in Icelandic.  Roger will contact his Icelandic contact to ensure that this problem is addressed. 

8. Teams news

Retford will most likely win Division Two.  There are two more matches to play, but one is proving difficult to arrange.  A further pair has joined the squad.  It would be good to invite the Icelandic players to take part in future, although it is difficult to contact them individually.  Perhaps a practice session on BBO might be helpful for some members.  More matches on Realbridge might be possible in Division One next year. 

9. Joyce Irving Charity event

Last year we arranged this event on the first Sunday in August – this year 3^rd August.  Roger will check the availability of the hall (1.30 – 6.30pm).  We need to be clear about start and finish times after confusion at the AGM. 

10. AOB

Summer Holiday Clubs might be a good opportunity to introduce card playing to young people.  Tessa will look into this.  No Fear Bridge might be a good source of resources. 

One member had a fall recently at Hallcroft due to poor lighting outside the Centre.  We need to notify Sam from BDC as this is not the first instance of a fall – Roger will do this. 

Congratulations to John and Sandy for an excellent result in the EBU Ranked Pairs Grand Masters section (2nd).  A mention in the Daily Telegraph!

11.  Date of next meeting

22^nd May at 3pm on Zoom

Keith Abel, 6^th March 2025

Annual General Meeting, Sunday 26^th January 2025 at 1.45pm

Hallcroft Community Centre

Minutes

Present:     J Rolph, (Chair); K Abel (Secretary); T Rolph, J King, D Garside, I Maxwell,

                   J Staniforth (Committee); J Philips, J Styles, K Crane, R Howard, M Cook, M Coggles,

                   D Coggles, M Bradley, H Jones, J Burnett, D Ingram, A Allen, P Hunt

Apologies: S Fulton (Vice Chair); R Stock (Treasurer); J Stock, R Sendall, L Eagling, G Franklin,

       G and N Bonson

1. Welcome – John apologised for the lack of a virtual link, which means that Sandy and Roger can’t attend.  We will try again to make a hybrid meeting happen in a year’s time.

2. Minutes of meeting held on 5th January 2024

Passed without comment

3. Matters arising

No matters arising

4. Chairman’s Report 2023-24

John began his report by emphasising that the club is in a good position financially.  Our dwindling local membership means that F2F sessions at Hallcroft attract only 3-4 tables but online players from the former Busbridge BC and elsewhere ensure that all sessions are now viable.

The issue of dwindling numbers earlier in the year was addressed by contacting other Realbridge clubs in a similar situation.  This led to a Wednesday afternoon partnership with North Cray and Wilmington BC in Bexley, South East London, which is working well.  A similar partnership was forged with Allendale BC, based in Wimborne, Dorset, for Thursday evening.  They are a large club with some very strong players. Several Icelandic players have joined these sessions, and have now become Retford BC members. 

John emphasised that the committee is a strong supporter of the EBU’s ‘Best behaviour at the bridge table’ principle. Bad behaviour will not be tolerated under any circumstances, and we are extremely grateful to Steve Mulligan for taking up the role of Safeguarding Officer, to whom any instances can be reported in confidence.

Whilst the club is in a good state financially, John believes its future survival depends on attracting new members and on persuading more existing members to participate. We would like to explore possible future events for the benefit of existing members, and to encourage others to

take up the game. The current plan is to hold two free afternoon sessions at Hallcroft, one at the time of the AGM in January and the other in the summer, when we would run our charity event. Refreshments would be provided on both occasions.

The club is participating in the County Teams of 8 league again this year and is likely to be promoted to Division 1 for 2025/26. The competition is run on BBO, which makes it difficult to find sufficient players, but we would like to encourage others to participate.  If opportunities exist to represent Retford BC in other competitions, then we would consider contributing towards the costs of entry.

John closed by offering his thanks to all who have helped in running the club over the past year, and best wishes to all members for a successful 2025.

            5. Secretary’s Report 2023-24

     Keith reported that he had very little to add to what he had written in the Trustees Report under   

     Achievement and Performance.

    The Club should be very grateful for the work of the Committee and in particular John for his

    leadership, Roger for his diligent management of our finances and Ian for all the work put into

    making our website both attractive an informative.  It has been good to welcome Joanne King to

    our meetings as representative of our virtual members and it is even better to see her and Ken

    Crane here today as they have been playing regularly with us on Realbridge since the Pandemic.

    We are also very pleased to see that partnership with members of other clubs is allowing us to

     sustain three viable sessions of Bridge each week.

    Our current membership is 87 members, compared with 95 a year ago.  Sadly we have lost a

    number of local members for a variety of reasons as well as some virtual members.  However we

    gained 10+ members from the Busbridge Club in Surrey (Tuesday night) and 5 Icelandic

    members (Thursday).

               Our club is evolving, like many other clubs, but there are many reasons for us to be confident

               about our future.

            6. Treasurer’s Report (a) Audited Accounts for year ending 30^th September 2024

                                                  (b) Subscriptions and table money 2025-26          

    Online Bridge makes a surplus and F2F is more or less financially viable.  If there are questions

    on the figures, it is probably best to wait until Roger returns.  We were asked if it was possible to

    have a monthly figure or balance to keep track of finances.  We will raise this with Roger as other

    clubs manage to do this.  We can monitor our attendance record through the‘Individual’ sheet

    under Competitions.

7. Team Secretary’s Report

We have rejoined the County League although we mainly have to play on BBO, which we do not favour. Our re-entered team is in the second division and we have played 6/8 matches so far and lead the division comfortably.  NCBA have been pleased to welcome us back to the league.  We appreciate the flexibility of team members to enable fixtures to be played on different nights.

            8.  Trustees Report to the members and Charity Commission

            No comments made.

            9. Re-election of Treasurer Roger Stock                Proposer J Rolph          

                                                                                                Seconder I Maxwell

            Carried unanimously.

            9. Trustee appointments to Committee

Ian Maxwell               Proposer D Garside              Seconder K Abel

Julia Staniforth         Proposer D Garside              Seconder I Maxwell

            Carried unanimously.

            10. Resolutions proposed by members of the Club

            None raised

11. Members items

Tessa Rolph reminded us that we had intended to publicise the club at the Christmas Market, but this was cancelled due to storms.  Any help with future events of this kind would be welcome.  Cafe Bridge works well in some places, eg Newark.  We could find out about this.

12. Trophy winners

            Scratch Cup                                                                          

John Rolph and Sandy Fulton            62.24                                     

Julia Staniforth and Roger Stock        59.47

Hopkinson Cup (handicapped pairs)                                             

Ian Maxwell and Mike Bradley          53.43

Jane Stock and Roger Stock               52.96

Judy Shinner Trophy (master points)                                               

John Rolph                                          1676                                                   

Sandy Fulton                                       1654

AlnSal Trophy (best 20, less than 52% overall in 2023)              

Roger Stock                                        60.67

Norma and Graham Bonson               56.65

Hallcroft Cup (cumulative ranking points. <50% in 2023)           

Peter Hunt                                           546                                         

Lynda Starling                                    481

Haslam Trophy (sessions in 2024 by a member of < 3 years)             

Valerie Ovington                                46

Wendy Chandler                                 45

Joyce Irving Rose Bowl (charity afternoon 4th August 24)           

Catherine Goundry and Frank Turton 70.63%

Sandy Fulton and John Rolph            66.67%

The Tuesday Cup (2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays)                                      

John Rolph                                          51.21

Hilary Leigh and Jenny Bywater        50.13

Les Harris Trophy    (largest improvement from 2023 to 2024, less than 48% in 2023) 

Sylvia Milner                                      4.80% (43.32 – 38.52)

Alex Galloway                                    4.36% (43.71 – 39.35)

Hedley Hewitt Shield  (played following the AGM on 26^th Jan 2025)

Helen Jones and Jim Burnett              62.96%

Mary Cook and David Garside           54.63%

It was pointed out that we used to have Runners-up trophy for Improvers and the Committee can consider buying a new trophy as the original has been lost.

The meeting closed around 2.30 and was followed by Bridge with refreshments. 

Keith Abel, Secretary, January 2025

RBC TRUSTEES MEETING – 5^th DECEMBER 2024 @ 3pm on ZOOM

Minutes

Present:              J Rolph, S Fulton, R Stock, K Abel, J Staniforth, I Maxwell, J King, T Rolph, D Garside

Apologies:          None

1.  Welcome and Apologies

John explained for Joanne’s benefit that this was a ‘Trustees Meeting’ in order to fulfil an annual requirement for such a meeting.

2. Approval of Minutes of meeting on 26^th September

These were approved without alteration.

3. Matters arising not covered later

The Market Stall event on 25^th November didn’t happen because of bad weather but banners have been bought for any future event.   The £40 fee for the market stall has been recovered.

4. AGM and bridge session Sunday 26^th January 25

There were no specific items to be raised at the AGM.   F2F Bridge + food will be arranged as in previous years.  Sandwiches were bought at Sainsbury’s last year as Morrisons website was down.  Tessa will attend to this from information supplied from Roger.

Roger has received the door code for that day, which was sent on 7^th October (14157)

We considered whether we could award a significant Bridge- related prize for the session

eg a Mr Bridge weekend or a large cash prize? However we need to bear in mind that we are likely to only have a small number of players, and distant members would be clearly unable to take part.  On reflection it was felt that we should reconsider the prize idea, perhaps for a summer event.  We will look at offering bridge related vouchers and free entry to competition events.

We will support the Retford Hospice for this event as agreed – we can invite members to donate prizes and cakes. 

There are potentially a small number of people interested in using the virtual link, especially if the weather turns out to be bad.  We have not had much response from distant members.  However it was felt that it would be a good opportunity to test the viability of such a meeting and Ian agreed to make the necessary technical arrangements.

5. Financial Statement

The last quarter of the year report emphasizes the club’s healthy finances, and supports the decision to reduce table money and the annual subscription.  The Auditor should be able to produce the verified accounts shortly.  A gift for the Auditor has already been delivered.

6. Draft Trustees report

No comments made on the content.  It was pointed out that we have now removed references to Covid.  We need to check the name of the Independent Examiner, as our contact at Harrison Shipley has retired but is still willing to audit the accounts.

7. Membership update

We have 86 members so far (83 paid members + 3 life members).  This figure includes one new local member and 7 Icelandic members but we have not collected membership details from the latter yet.  All we have is names and EBU numbers.  It would be helpful to have at least an email address for these, but data protection rules need to be adhered to.

We shared the names of those members who have not rejoined and any knowledge we have of them.   We need to get new members on to Bridgewebs ASAP, as this affects entry to competitions. 

8. ICT issues and website

There is nothing new to report, although routine maintenance is needed at some point.  Ian will look to undertake this in the Spring.  Changes have been made to the front page of the website as discussed in our last meeting – comments on the new format would be welcome. 

‘Hand of the Day’ needs to be reallocated given that the Aulds are no longer playing – Sandy will look into this.

Roger uses Drop box for the accounts.  This is now 60% full and contains a lot of past hands.  These need to be deleted and he is happy to undertake this.  Ian however agreed to do this after creating back up files. 

Windows 10 will soon be unsupported.  Ian did not feel that this would cause us a major problem, but he will check the computer in case. 

9. Committee reappointments  -  D Garside, I Maxwell, J Staniforth

All are happy to stand again.  It would however be good to get new blood and it is worth approaching suitable candidates.

10. Competition winners  2024

These will be clarified by the end of the month but likely winners are emerging.  Cups will be awarded at the AGM where possible.

11. AOB

1. We were given an update on EBU / county fees for 2025:

• Club membership of EBU £30 
• UMS 46p
• Fee of 4p to Notts CBA (ie 50p per session)

2. Clarification was given over Bridge sessions during the holiday season:

• 24 – 26^th December  - no sessions
• Tuesday 31^st December  - no session
• Wednesday 1^st Jan – North Cray might be able to organise an afternoon session.  The Secretary will contact Wednesday afternoon players to see if there is interest.
• Thursday 2^nd January – Realbridge as usual

3. The RBC team is leading the 2^nd Division after 4 matches.   Dates are being established for future matches. Details of matches played can be seen on the NCBA website.

12. Date of next meeting:

Thursday 6^th March 3pm – Roger to send the link

RBC ZOOM COMMITTEE MEETING:  26th September 2024 @ 3.00pm

Minutes

Present:              J Rolph, K Abel, J Staniforth, R Stock, T Rolph, I Maxwell, J King

Apologies           D Garside, S Fulton

1. Welcome   

We acknowledged that this was Joanne’s first meeting.  The Secretary was requested to send a card to David. 

2. Approval of Minutes for meeting on 25th July

The Minutes were accepted without comment or alteration

3. Matters arising not covered below

Nothing to discuss

4.  Treasurer’s report

There was little to report on the current annual budget or the proposed budget.  Roger requested that cash from F2F should be passed on before the end of the financial year. 

Nat West has been in touch about short term investments for money in the current account; Roger was given permission to pursue this.  If he feels that moving money to a short term investment account would be beneficial, we agreed for him to do this.

Tessa queried cash payments to the bank account but they are very rare. 

Bill Milligan has offered to check the accounts as usual and John will arrange collection of paper work with him.

Action points: Roger to look into Nat West investment accounts; Roger and John to liaise with Bill Milligan to audit the accounts.

5. Realbridge update – review of current partnership arrangements (Wed and Thursday)

John outlined the current arrangements with North Cray (Wed) and Allendale (Thurs).  Wednesday is now more viable (4-5 tables typically) and the Allendale link has helped Thursday to become a big session at a very high level.  Roger has been in regular contact with Allendale and they appear happy with the arrangement.  There have been no complaints about the high standard from members. 

Roger reports that the North Cray arrangement seems to work well, although they are not an EBU club.  This does not appear to be a major concern and related issues have been dealt with satisfactorily.  We see no reason to discontinue these arrangements.  John did not feel that it was necessary to make a formal approach to the clubs about this. 

Ian voiced the fear that our membership and identity might be subsumed by the other clubs.  How do we reinforce our identity?  However it was pointed out that all our sessions would collapse without the support of other clubs.  Part of our aim is to support F2F Bridge, which we could not do if we lose our club identity.  It will be interesting to see whether local members, who have not played recently, renew in October.  From a local community standpoint, the physical club is very helpful and beneficial. 

Jo made the point that we may need to be patient.  We are still in post-Covid recovery mode. 

It was also pointed out that we are not providing F2F teaching at present, so it is more difficult to attract new players. This might resume in future however –see AOB. 

We could make the different nature of our three sessions clearer on the website. 

Action Point: Ian will look into defining the three sessions more clearly on the website, seeking help with wording if required.

6. F2F – small number of tables

This item was not discussed in David’s absence.

7. Membership 2024-25 – message to members re new fees and status of Icelandic players

A message will be sent to members about agreed subscriptions and membership fees.  The Treasurer has already broached the issue of subscriptions with some members when table fee payments are due.

The issue of the status of around 10 Icelandic players who join the Thursday evening sessions was raised.  We have agreed to accept the Icelandic players as RBC members, but payment will be made through Milton Keynes BC, where they are already members.  Jo has met the individuals through Milton Keynes BC and assured us that they are very adaptable. 

Roger has one contact email address but we have not received any payment yet.  In terms of practicalities, we need names, EBU numbers and an email address to enrol them. 

Clare Batten (NCBA Chair) intends to join RBC to speak to members on a Tuesday session in the near future; Julia would be happy to partner her. 

Action Point: Keith will prepare and distribute a letter about new fees and will include the date of the AGM. Roger will continue to reinforce the message about annual membership subscriptions.  They will work together to enrol the new Icelandic members. 

8. IT issues

Ian may not be able to do the annual maintenance in the short term but will intervene when required.  Batteries in Bridgepads may need to be changed.  It is not worth investing in new ipads or more integrated ICT systems (eg Pianola) at this stage. Ian feels that we could make more of Bridgewebs, but taking it further may not be a good investment of time.  We could arrange our online finances through Bridgewebs, but again our members might not use the system. 

Ian was thanked for simplifying the Realbridge links as agreed, but we need to update the membership fee and session fees. 

Action Point: Ian has requested contact detail information from committee members to be displayed on the website.  He will send an email to obtain this with appropriate permissions. 

9. Continued Charitable status and support for Bassetlaw Hospice

The question of continuing with charitable status has been raised because it prevents us donating more to non Bridge-related charities such as Bassetlaw Hospice.  Should we remain as a charity?  A number of points of clarification were made:

• The club cannot make donations beyond its remit ie to promote Bridge for the benefit of members in the Retford area. 
• We were reminded that we became a charity just less than 10 years ago, following an EBU push to do this for possible financial benefits.  Many of these do not apply to us, apart from Gift Aid. 
• We adopted an EBU-style Constitution with very specific requirements regarding the use of our funds to promote Bridge.
• Our charitable status imposes some additional administration for the Secretary in terms of charitable returns, but this is manageable. 
• Winding up the charity would not be easy to do and we would have to donate all our reserves to Bridge-related charities or activities.  It would require a great deal of administration, which the present Secretary would not be prepared to undertake. 

The meeting felt that there is no real advantage in giving up our charitable status at present. 

The meeting agreed that it was regrettable that recent charitable events have not raised the funds they once did, due largely to smaller F2F attendance.  Circa £200 was raised this year against circa £400 in previous years.  The donation to the hospice is a matter of individual choice and distant members are unlikely to contribute. 

However it was agreed that we could make the AGM another charitable event, raising money through a raffle or donations.  The Bridge session could be a handicapped event with results not forwarded to the EBU. 

10. AGM – 26^th January, 1.30 – 6.30

 Hallcroft has been booked.  The meeting will be at 2pm followed by a session of social Bridge.  Some of our distant members may be able to attend on this occasion.  This will again be a charity event in favour of the Hospice with the Hedley Hewitt Shield to be won.  The Club can provide some raffle prizes. 

The meeting will be a hybrid one, but the Bridge session F2F only.  We have established that there is no router at Hallcroft at present, but Ian can provide one. 

Action point: Ian will play at Hallcroft on a Tuesday night in January to test the router he intends to use.  

11. County teams update

We have entered a team and won our first match.  All pre-Christmas matches have been arranged.  One game will hopefully be played on Realbridge.  Sufficient pairs are on hand to complete all fixtures. 

12. AOB

There was a concern about the October rota.  David will be contacted to see if help is needed to complete the rota. 

A letter from BDC has been received about shutting the door of the Community Centre and who to contact if this is not possible.

We were reminded of the excess funds in our bank and investments accounts.  Technical replacement of all our equipment would not spend it all (maybe £5000 / £15000).  We need to think about our ultimate future. 

Bridge promotion events are possible and have been tried successfully elsewhere.  Julia suggested working on a plan and possible events in the next year, for example a free F2F teaching event with a paid teacher.  We can subsidise teaching courses and directing courses.  A conversation with Sandy is necessary to see a way forward. 

An opportunity to publicise the club exists at Retford Christmas Market on 24^th November; Tessa and Ian are prepared to man a stall and a sub-group will be organised to discuss this.  Free playing cards could be distributed, as we will receive cards shortly through NCBA. 

Action Point: Tessa to organise a stand for 24^th November and recruit helpers

13. Date of next meeting

Thursday 5^th December at 3pm

Action Point: Roger will set up the Zoom link for both this meeting and the AGM in conjunction with Ian.

Keith Abel 27/09/24

RBC ZOOM COMMITTEE MEETING 25^th JULY 2024 @ 3.00

Minutes

Present               J Rolph, D Garside, R Stock, K Abel, J Staniforth, I Maxwell

Apologies           T Rolph, J King, S Fulton

1. Welcome

2. Approval of Minutes for meeting on 2^nd May

The Minutes were approved subject to the comments below:

• Keith pointed out an error in the Minutes regarding Joanne King and directing.  Joanne had not offered to direct.  This has been corrected in the original Minutes with a footnote. 
• We were reminded that we should not include names of non committee members in the Minutes; the reference to our Junior member should be made anonymous. 

.

Action Point: Keith will remove the Junior member’s name and send new Minutes to Ian

3. Matters arising not covered below

• A cup has been purchased for the Tuesday competition. 
• The website link to RealBridge will be via the Calendar entry only, in order to de-clutter the front page; but only after those with poor eyesight have been consulted and the change explained.  We can reinstall the more central link if need be. 
• Setting up links with our partner clubs has not been completely successful but we can liaise with them to improve this system. 
• We formally co-opted Joanne King to the Committee.

We have not circulated Committee members contact details to all members as suggested. However we can easily put office holders’ email addresses on the website. 

Action Point: Ian will add appropriate contact details to the website; ie Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Technical director

4. Finance overview

A surplus of £2000 for this financial year is predicted – this provoked a discussion about how  we can spend our growing surplus for the benefit of members.  We have sufficient funds to replace all IT equipment if need be.  We will need a new Computer next year.

There was a feeling that a nominal membership fee was helpful - £5 was agreed for 2024-5.  We will also reduce table money to £1.20 from 1^st October 2024.  This will be reviewed in a year’s time.  If we enrol new members before October 1^st we will charge £7.50 for 12-15 months.

5. Tuesday / Wednesday and Thursday joint sessions

We agreed to formally review these arrangements at the end of September. 

Tuesday night seems to work well with the addition of the Busbridge members and F2F is fulfilling an important need.  The hybrid format is better accepted.

The Wednesday afternoon partnership with North Cray has not been running long enough to judge its success. Since North Cray is not an EBU club, we pay for uploading their results to the EBU when we direct.  However this will not leave us significantly out of pocket. 

Thursday night is running smoothly.  Allendale is a strong club but members are coping with that challenge. 

6. Joyce Irving Charity event 4^th August

We have about 5/6 tables at present in terms of positive commitments. 

Action points: Roger will order sandwich platters, quiches etc on the basis of what was bought last year for 7/8 tables.  John has purchased raffle prizes.  David will sell tickets on the day and will check if new ones need to be bought.

7. Heritage Day stall in Town Hall (14^th September)

John will talk to Tessa regarding U3A Bridge players and whether they wish to advertise their sessions.  Retford BC will not be represented.

8. Technical / equipment issues

The dongle has not been bought to enable online directing from Hallcroft CC due to a number of related issues.  New online Directors recruited since May have changed the dynamics of the situation.  A router has been found at Hallcroft but we are unsure who it belongs to.  ‘Three’ can provide a dongle for £12 per month for a minimum of 24 months or £28 per month without a contract.  In addition there are practical issues for a Director directing in this way, so it is not a very desirable situation.  It was agreed that we do nothing more for the moment.

John enquired whether we might consider switching to Pianola with Bridge Mates in the future instead of Scorebridge with bridge pads.  Any change might not be worth it for the small number of players playing F2F.  However Scorebridge may soon be obselete.  We will continue to review this issue.

Action points: Ian will service the equipment in August as usual; Roger will ask A1 Housing about the router. 

9. NCBA and team competitions update

Julia has the names of six pairs who might be prepared to play teams competitions on BBO.  Other players would perhaps be prepared to make up the numbers.  NCBA are keen for us to take part and will facilitate this if need be.  Julia would be prepared to organise a team and sort out matches, but she needs to know when matches could be arranged and how committed the players are to this idea. 

UMS will stay at 4p; nothing further was discussed at AGM which relates directly to RBC. 

The Committee agreed a donation of £60 to the NCBA.

Action Point: Julia will contact interested players with a view to firming up a possible squad and entering next year’s Teams of Eight Competition, if this seems to be a viable option.

10. Date for AGM 2024

We intend to organise a hybrid meeting this year, and Ian will look into the practicalities of this, using his own equipment if necessary.  Sunday 12^th or 26^th January pm would work well;

We need to check whether our Auditor can still check our accounts given changes to his work situation.

Action Point: Roger will check out the availability of Hallcroft CC for the AGM and contact the current Auditor

11. Date of next meeting

Thursday 26^th September @ 3.00pm

Keith Abel 26/07/24

RBC ZOOM COMMITTEE MEETING 2nd MAY 2024 @ 3.00

Minutes

Present:              J Rolph, K Abel, I Maxwell, R Stock, S Fulton, T Rolph, J Staniforth

Apologies:          D Garside, J King

1. Welcome and Apologies

2. Approval of Minutes for meeting on 8th February 2024

These were approved without comment.

3. Matters arising not covered below

• John is purchasing a new cup for Tuesday night sessions
• the Monthly Shield cannot be reintroduced
• Tessa has discovered playing cards cannot be recycled at Ranby Prison
•  Roger and Keith have checked and agreed membership figures.  Current membership is 98 (including our Junior Member)
• Ian has changed the table money information on the website; he is not aware that there is a need for a publicity space, as upcoming events are prominently displayed.
• Jim Burnett has been trained to use the computer at the club.
• The Find a Partner link has been reinstated and activated.  Roger has updated membership lists and populated this section of the website with email addresses – these are not disclosed so GDPR issues are not a problem.  No password is required to use it and log-in works with name only.  However it is clear that few members use the website actively, so this facility needs to be publicised. 

Action Point: Keith to send a message about this, with help from Ian, to encourage further use of the Find a Partner facility

4. Finance overview

Figures for Quarter 2 have been circulated – no requests for clarification. 

The 12-month investment account with Cambridge and Counties Bank is closing; Roger proposes opening a new bond (5% interest for next year) and adding £3558 from the current account to create a total of about £15,000.  This was approved.

It was agreed that small irrecoverable sums in the accounts need to be written off - ie visiting players unpaid subs (<£10)

Action Point: Roger to set up a new bond and make the necessary transfer. 

5. Tuesday evening directing issues

This was brought up in relation to Roger being away and the need for two Directors on a Tuesday.  Joanne King has volunteered to be trained for this* – technical ICT expertise is the main issue online, rather than knowledge of Bridge laws, although issues around ‘Claiming’ may be an exception for this.  Uploading to the EBU is not an issue

David and Ian have suggested that the Hallcroft Director could also direct online.  However there is no internet connection at Hallcroft.   A 4/5G enabled ipad would be viable but Ian suggested that the use of a dongle (cost approx £10 per month) would also work well and David agrees with this.  However directing online might be difficult to manage on a practical basis for the person playing at Hallcroft.  Sandy is willing to experiment using his ipad. 

Action point: Ian will purchase a dongle + 5G subscription; Roger will contact Joanne to pass on Directing on Realbridge sheet.  If there is a Realbridge Directing course, she may be interested in attending it. 

* Subsequent to the meeting Joanne pointed out that this was an incorrect statement

6. Thursday evening attendance

John has looked into linking with another EBU club playing on Realbridge, but few good matches have been found.  Sandy suggests contacting his Realbridge contact (Shireen) to see if she can contact Realbridge clubs whose players are seeking other places to play. 

It is ironic that this session is not being supported by our own growing membership.    We do not have concrete reasons for why numbers have dropped.  We may need to say that the Thursday night session is threatened.

Action Point: Sandy to contact Shireen.

7. Views / suggestions from our online Realbridge community

Joanne King hoped to attend this meeting as a representative of non-local players but had to cancel this arrangement.  She sent a number of suggestions by email.   Her points were very welcome but some overlapped with our own concerns. 

• We cannot run green point events as a club but could run Blue point events.   However we do not envisage reintroducing the annual Swiss Teams event, which ran up to the Pandemic. 
• It was good to read that Joanne is so positive about the hybrid session, which seems to be quite unusual. 
• We do not feel prizes would encourage greater participation. 
• We accept the point about charity event dates, but given the difficulty we have agreeing a date as a committee and booking a venue, we do not feel that a doodle poll would be helpful. 
• We do not feel that slow play is an issue online; it is more of a problem at Hallcroft.

Joanne has requested contact details of online members but we feel unsure about this for GDPR reasons.  We can give Joanne’s details to distant members and inform them that she is happy to be a conduit for their concerns.

We will formally co-opt Joanne to the Committee at the next meeting, assuming her agreement.  

Action Point: Keith to circulate contact details of committee members in reminder email. 

8. EBU Festival of Bridge September 2024

Doncaster BC is actively intending to organise activities in September and contacting other clubs locally.  We may be invited to join them. We can publicise their events.  The U3A group might be interested in this.  A separate Monday afternoon U3A Bridge event is no longer envisaged, but Bridge tables will be playing fortnightly alongside the whist players.  Sandy would be keen to support this if given the date in advance. 

Action Point: Tessa to let Sandy know the dates of these sessions

9. NCBA update

The Annual General Meeting is at Nottingham BC on Sunday 30^th June at 2pm – it is followed by a Bridge session, which is free to attending Notts members.  The Teams of Eight league organisation is unlikely to change in terms of format. 

10. Technical / equipment issues

There is nothing to report.  No problem with the club computer or printer has been reported. 

Action Point: Ian will carry out annual maintenance over the summer. 

11. AOB

We will need a meeting before the 4^th August Social event (Joyce Irving Rose Bowl) – this needs to be advertised in good time.  Some U3A members may feel able to join. 

It was agreed that the Realbridge link will in future be on the right hand sign of the home page. This will free up space on the main page.

Action Points: Ian will publicise the Joyce Irving Rose Bowl event on the website.  Keith will include information about the Realbridge link in his forthcoming email communication.

12. Date of next meeting

Thursday 25^th July at 3pm  

Action Point: Roger to send the links

Keith Abel 02/05/24

COMMITTEE MEETING OF RETFORD BRIDGE CLUB

 Thursday 8th February, 3.00am on Zoom

Minutes

Present:            John Rolph, Keith Abel, Ian Maxwell, Roger Stock, Tessa Rolph, Julia Staniforth, David Garside;

Apologies:        Sandy Fulton (late arrival – 3.25)

1. Welcome and apologies

2. Approval of Trustee Meeting Minutes 30^th November 2023

These were approved without alteration

3. Matters arising

New Competitions have been set up on the website; information on the website regarding subscriptions has been checked and no obvious error was spotted.  However F2F Table Money amount is incorrect (£2) and this needs to be changed to £1.50.  A space for publicising upcoming events still needs to be created on the website. 

ACTION POINT: Ian to address the above two issues

A previous query regarding individual scores was further discussed.  We need F2F players to sit N/E or S/W for accurate statistics on a Tuesday, as this is the default setting for Realbridge. 

ACTION POINT: F2F Directors need to make this clear on a Tuesday evening.

4. Approval of AGM Minutes

The inclusion of verbatim reports was queried; it was suggested that these be appended and a summary of the main points included in the Minutes. 

ACTION POINT: Keith will address this next year for 2025 AGM

5. Matters arising

No further matters arising

6. Treasurer’s Financial Statement (Quarter 1 2023-4 circulated)

No discussion needed. 

John will purchase a new trophy for the Tuesday evening competition and some engraving may need to be done as required.  Some trophies still need to be delivered to 2023 winners.  Re-institution of a monthly shield would be a good idea perhaps, although monthly winners could be flagged up on the website.  Ian reminded us that a significant number of our members do not live locally, and this means that the system does not work as it used to. 

It was suggested that generally people are less motivated by the idea of trophies than in the past.  Virtual awards via the website might be a much better idea, with certificates sent out.  However there was a difference of opinion about the value of actual trophies for local winners.

ACTION POINTS: John to buy a new trophy and arrange engraving as required.  He will also deliver trophies to local winners.  John will look at the practicalities of reintroducing the monthly shield competitions and notifying Ian for mention on the website.

7. Attendance at Thursday sessions

Declining attendance on a Thursday is an on-going problem, compounded by members ‘dropping out’ at the last minute if there are not many pairs online.  It was suggested that a message be sent round to remind members that the sessions need to be supported if the Thursday evening session is to be maintained.  A 10pm finish would be desirable. 

ACTION POINT: John will write a suitable email for circulation requesting comments and helpful feedback. 

8. Membership issues and Busbridge members

RBC Membership on the EBU site is now 90 but there may be a small discrepancy between subscriptions paid and membership numbers.  One or two local members still need ‘encouragement’ to pay their subscriptions.

We need to consider how we integrate the non-local members in committee work, forthcoming AGMs etc.  We can approach this group nearer the next AGM. 

ACTION POINTS: Roger and Keith will verify membership records and subscription payments.  Committee members will encourage non-local members to consider joining the Committee for 2025.

9. Technical update and equipment  issues

Nothing to report on IT equipment.  Jim Burnett is willing to be trained to use the computer at the Community Centre if required on a Tuesday evening.  We still have packs of new cards to use when required.

ACTION ISSUE – who will train Jim to use the computer?

10. U3A Monday afternoon lessons (Tessa)

Two sessions have taken place so far.  Sylvia Milner is teaching mini-bridge once a fortnight, with Tessa’s support, and seven pairs are involved.  The focus so far has been on good card play.  The future challenge will be to teach the bidding conventions!  It was noted that some ex RBC members play at U3A.  The Wednesday afternoon session might be useful for them, if they can use a computer competently. It was felt that fostering links with the U3A would be useful and helpful.  There may be other local groups (eg Whist groups) which could be approached.

ACTION POINT: Tessa to continue supporting this initiative and to mention Wednesday afternoon to anyone likely to be interested.

11. Joyce Irving Charity event

Another Sunday afternoon session in the summer would work well but this is quite close to the national event in September (see below).  Sunday 4^th August was suggested as a potentially good date; 21^ST July is an alternative.  This will be again a free event with refreshments provided.

ACTION POINT: Roger will try and book Hallcroft CC for 4^th August. 

12. ‘It’s a Big Deal’ – a Festival of Bridge 9^th - 15^th September

We cannot do too many charity events but it would be good to support this in some way, perhaps linking with the U3A group?  We will discuss this further at a future meeting.

13. AOB

We have spare sets of playing cards which could be donated to Ranby Prison.  Is there a teaching opportunity here?

ACTION POINT: Tessa will look into how we get playing cards to the prison.

14.  Date of next meeting

Thursday 2^nd May, 3.00pm

Keith Abel, 8^th February 2024

Annual General Meeting, Friday 5^th January 2024 at 1.45pm

Hallcroft Community Centre

Draft Minutes

Present:      John Rolph; Tessa Rolph; Keith Abel; Roger Stock; Ian Maxwell;

        Julia Staniforth; Alan Jillott; Jane Stock; Mike Bradley; Vivienne French;

        Frank Turton; Catherine Goundry; Janet Styles; Helen Jones; Jim Burnett; Joan Vessey;  

        Mary Cook; David Garside;

Apologies:  Ken Crane; Joanne King; Joan Oxley-Hales; Peter Hunt; Dawn Ingham;

Richard Sendall; Steve Mulligan; Helen Tulip; David Wightwick; Lynda Starling;       John Cornthwaite; Sandy Fulton; Rob Atkinson; Carol Sanders; Janice Troughton; Mary-Jo Mangon; Mike and Daphne Coggles        

Informal apologies from the Busbridge ex-members (see below)

1. Minutes of meeting held on 2^nd February 2023 – approved without comment

            2.   Matters arising – none to discuss

3. Chairman’s Report 2022-23 (as written)

Welcome everyone. Thanks to all those who have made it along to this year’s AGM. 

I circulated an interim statement last year explaining developments within the club, but I would like to add a few comments in order to update members.

Firstly, the Club’s finances are in a healthy position, as you will hear from Roger; and secondly the overall membership remains strong, as you will hear from Keith. Many clubs have experienced dwindling membership following the pandemic and have been unable to attract sufficient players back to F2F bridge. Busbridge BC, based in Godalming in Surrey, was an example of this, but as many of their members were familiar with RealBridge, they have joined Retford BC. They are a very welcome addition to, mainly, our Tuesday night sessions, which we continue to run as a hybrid session with the F2F players at Hallcroft.  We also have players from the West Midlands, the South of England and from Lincolnshire who regularly play in our online sessions.

As you know, we are committed to the provision of both F2F sessions at Hallcroft, and to online sessions using RealBridge. However, apart from a few players, the club membership is split between those who wish to play F2F and either can’t, or won’t, play online, as opposed to those who play online and can’t or won’t play F2F. Getting as many people as possible to join the sessions is important, as a 5 or 6 table movement is much more enjoyable than a 3 table one.We try to avoid becoming two separate clubs by playing the same boards on a Tuesday and merging the scores.

Players are gradually getting used to this; moaning when their percentage goes down but keeping quiet when it goes up!

Hopefully members enjoy the various competitions that we run. For new members, all the rules are explained on the website. I am conscious of the fact that F2F players are disadvantaged in some competitions as they can only play on Tuesdays. Therefore we will run a new competition, ‘The Tuesday Cup’, on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. This will be an individual trophy, requiring a minimum of 10 entries, with handicaps set by your NGS score at the beginning of the year.

We would like to explore possible future events for the benefit of existing members, and to encourage others to take up the game. The plan is to hold two free afternoon sessions at Hallcroft, one at the time of the AGM in January and the other in the summer, when we would run our charity event. Refreshments would be provided on both occasions.

As you are probably aware, Sandy Fulton and I play in a number of National events, and it is good to see that others are participating in County, Regional and National competitions. Roger and Julia, Steve and Bill play in County matches; Keith and Peter, Ann and Dawn play in Midlands events for example. We would like to encourage others to do likewise, and if opportunities exist to represent Retford BC in competitions then we would consider contributing towards the costs of entry.

If there are any questions I will deal with them after The Secretary’s and The Treasurer’s Reports and the various elections.

            4. Secretary’s Report 2022-23

Under the leadership of John Rolph, the Committee has continued to meet regularly to ensure the club is run efficiently and to respond to the challenges of managing an evolving situation in terms of delivering the club’s main aim: to promote Bridge within the local community. 

My reflections on 2022-23 are set out in the draft Trustees report and I see no need to repeat what I said there.  However since the beginning of October we have welcomed a number of new members from the Busbridge Club in Surrey.  That club decided in the Autumn that it was unable to continue as a viable club and that it would look for a new online venue for players who wished to play RealBridge on a Tuesday night.  Fortunately they decided to try Retford Club and felt immediately welcome amongst us.  Membership forms have been received from seven individuals and one or two more are likely to follow.  This has allowed the club to retain a membership of around 85, offsetting the loss of a small number of local members.  More importantly it has made the online and F2F hybrid sessions on a Tuesday night more viable.  Unfortunately these new members, and other members from different parts of the country, are obviously unable to join us for our AGM today and we need to bear that in mind when we plan next year’s AGM. 

The arrival of members from another club illustrates the changing face of Bridge and coincides with lower table numbers on a Thursday night when on occasions there have been only five or six pairs playing online.  The Committee needs to think carefully why numbers are sometimes so low and

some local members are now playing online at other clubs instead of Retford. 

5. Treasurer’s Report (a) Audited Accounts for year ending 30^th September 2023

                                                  (b) Subscriptions and table money 2024-25          

The audited accounts to the 30th September 2023 have been circulate to all members.

The surplus for 2023 was not that different to 2022 only £25. It’s not easy to see what has changed over the year. Our membership was down from 2022 by 6 people and the number of sessions attended also reduced. In 2022 just less than 3500 people sat down to play Bridge, but in 2023 this figure reduced to just less than 3000.

Whilst this has reduced our income, it has also reduced our expenditure.  If we remove the Children in Need and the Joyce Irving Rose Bowl, both charitable events, from income and expenditure for 2023, you will see both income and expenditure are about £700/£750 down from last year.

Looking forward the committee has not increased membership fees or session fees but is fully aware that costs are rising. EBU pay to play will rise from 44p to 49p per session from April, to include the NCBA levy which is being re-introduced.  The Community Centre rent will rise again in April.  Our running expenses are also rising.

Having said all this, the Club is in a healthy financial position.

            6. Team Secretary’s Report

We did not enter a team for the county league this year because of the platform choices made by other clubs.  We prefer RealBridge but others prefer BBO.  We struggle to get even eight players to play on BBO, so withdrew.  We have looked for other RealBridge leagues but have not yet found one.  Keyworth were approached about a possible match, but did not want to play.  We could perhaps find other clubs who would welcome a match on RealBridge. 

            7. Trustees Report to the members and Charity Commission

            Signed without clarification or modification.

8. Election of Secretary and appointment of Sandy Fulton as Vice Chair

Keith Abel was re-elected as Treasurer unanimously.

Proposer – John Rolph; Seconder  - Julia Staniforth

Sandy Fulton was appointed as a trustee and formally elected as Vice Chair by a unanimous vote.  Proposed – Jane Stock; Seconder - Jim Burnett

            9. Elections to Committee  

Tessa Rolph and David Garside were unanimously re-elected.

Tessa – Proposer - Joan Vessey; Seconder Mary Cook

            David – Proposer Joan Vessey; Seconder Janet Styles

We will seek to co-opt Joan Heagin from Busbridge, as she has expressed a willingness both to direct and serve on the Committee.

            10. Resolutions proposed by members of the Club

Nothing proposed

11. Members items

Joan Vessey thanked Peter Hunt, Keith Abel, Margaret Walker and Vivenne French for being flexible in terms of playing online or F2F on a Tuesday evening as required.   She asked for an email to be sent to all members to seek further volunteers to play F2F to lengthen the list of possible players.  At the same time we need to ensure that the online sessions remain viable.

Tessa spoke about the U3A meeting on a Monday afternoon and the possibility of teaching new players to play.  Anyone who could help with that should speak to Tessa.

12. Trophy winners

            Scratch Cup                                                                          

John Rolph and Sandy Fulton            62.93                                      

Irene Auld and John Auld                   60.33

Hopkinson Cup (handicapped pairs)                                             

Ann Allen and Dawn Ingham             54.80

Norma and Graham Bonson               50.46

Judy Shinner Trophy (master points)                                           

Sandy Fulton                                       1739                                                   

John Rolph                                          1577

AlnSal Trophy (best 20, less than 52% overall in 2022)              

David Garside                                     62.45

Roger Stock                                        59.39

Hallcroft Cup (Competition pts less than 50% overall 2022)                                                               Peter Hunt                                           488                                         

Tessa Rolph                                        359

Haslam Trophy (sessions in 2023 by a member of < 3 years) 

Richard Orme                                     79

Dawn Ingham                                     70

Joyce Irving Rose Bowl (charity evening in April 23)                 

Sandy Fulton and John Rolph            67.86%

Tessa Rolph and Jim Burnett             60.42%

Les Harris Trophy (largest improvement from 2022 to 2023, less than 48% in 2022)           

Sylvia Thompson                                6.55%   (44.98 - 38.43)

Improvers Cup (runner up for the Les Harris Trophy)                                                  

Helen Jones                                         3.77%   (49.52 – 45.88)

The Hedley Hewitt Shield  

To be awarded to the winners of the AGM session January 2024 (see below)

The meeting closed around 2.30 pm and was followed by a duplicate Bridge session and refreshments. 

The winners were John Rolph and Janet Styles. 

Keith Abel, Secretary, 9^th January 2024

RBC TRUSTEES MEETING – 30^th NOVEMBER 2023 @ 3pm on ZOOM

Minutes

Present: R Stock, I Maxwell, T Rolph, J Rolph, S Fulton, J Staniforth, D Garside

Apologies:

1. Approval of Minutes of meeting on 7^th September

Minutes accepted without alteration. 

2. Matters arising not covered later

Sandy wondered whether we could arrange for those who wished to leave at 10pm to have a sit out for the final round on Realbridge.   This has not been explored as yet and it was felt that there were ways round it to allow some players to miss the odd hand at the end of the session.

3. AGM and bridge session Friday 5^th January

Roger was not expecting to receive the Financial Statement from Bill until his return from holiday on 9^th December.   John will email Bill to see if they are already done, so that all information can be sent out within three weeks of the meeting.

Hallcroft Community Centre is booked from 1.30 to 6.30.  The meeting will begin at 1.45 with afternoon tea to follow later.   Refreshments will be bought from club funds by Roger in consultation with Tessa and Julia, although donations of cakes will be gratefully received.   No payment required.   We need to ask for an RSVP to come to the Secretary.

Strong encouragement is needed to get new committee members.   

4. Financial Statement

Roger has nothing further to add, pending the Financial Statement being returned.  His Quarter 4 spreadsheet (circulated) is a pretty accurate picture of the current situation.

Julia wondered if the website gave us the facility to check our personal subs balance.  The ‘Membership’ section is not set up to do that at present, but it could be done if required.  It would add extra work for Roger as this information has to be input manually.  With this in mind we are happy to continue as at present with email reminders as required.   Back up financial information is sent regularly to Dropbox.  However Roger agreed that it might be a good idea to do this more often, eg once a month.

5. Draft Trustees report

We need to delete most of the first paragraph about governance.  Names to be changed to include forename but omit title.  The reference to a ‘free afternoon for members’ under Members Fees and Table Money needs to be clarified to remove the reference to ‘members’.  A’ free afternoon of social bridge’ is the best wording. 

6. Membership update

We have lost some members but gained others from Busbridge.  Our final total is likely to be 80-85. (cf 88 members for 2022-23)  We need to follow up some long standing members, who have not paid or played recently.  David clarified that we should offer a free taster session both online or F2F to anyone who is new to the club, and this was agreed. 

7. ICT issues and website

There is nothing new to report.  Ian assumes the club computer is working well and the website is being kept up to date.   We need to monitor the Find a Partner section to keep it current. 

8. Committee reappointments  - K Abel – Secretary; T Rolph – Committee member

Keith is happy to do a final three-year term and committee members support that, Proposer (JR) and Seconder (JS).   Tessa is prepared to remain on the Committee for a further three years.

9. Competitions – for 2024

There is a feeling that a new competition for Tuesday only would be good as F2F players are disadvantaged in other competitions.   We have two spare trophies, so a handicapped individual competition for 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of the month would work.  This was agreed.  Sandy enquired about the possibility of producing stratified results but this needs to be researched through Realbridge.  John will do this.

10. AOB

Trophies need to be collected before the AGM.  Keith and John to liaise about this.

David wished to discuss a Wednesday afternoon session for beginners, which had been proposed previously.  He feels that this is not viable and in any case there is a F2F Rubber Bridge session on a Monday afternoon through U3A.  Friday afternoon was the only possibility for another afternoon session at Hallcroft, but we cannot pursue this.

The UMS subscription from April will be 45p (previously 44p) and the club subscription £28 (previously 44p). 

It was suggested that we should publicise events such as the Inter County Nine High event on our website.  We need to find a suitable space for that, but it was agreed to do so.

Realbridge directing is getting difficult in terms of personnel.   We need more Directors.  Roger will talk to Busbridge members to see if someone can direct as has already been indicated. 

Roger clarified an issue relating to individual results on Realbridge, which Ian will look into.

The website information on Subscriptions and table money needs to be updated.  Keith will do this in conjunction with Ian. 

11. Date of next meeting:

Thursday 8^th Feb @ 3pm.  Ian to set up the links. 

RBC ZOOM COMMITTEE MEETING 7^th SEPTEMBER 2023 @ 3.00

Minutes

RBC ZOOM COMMITTEE MEETING 8^th JUNE 2023 @ 3.00

Minutes

COMMITTEE MEETING OF RETFORD BRIDGE CLUB

Tuesday 21^ST March, 3pm

Venue: Zoom meeting

Minutes

Present:          J Rolph, R Stock, K Abel, S Fulton, D Garside, T Rolph, J Staniforth,

 I Maxwell

Apologies:      None

1. Welcome and apologies

2. Approval of Minutes 27^th January

Minutes approved and ready for posting to the website.  In future we will not upload Minutes until they have been approved at the next meeting.

3. Matters arising

• Sandy’s Wednesday evening and Thursday am lessons will continue online
• TR will pass on publicity about the club to Jim Burnett for Bawtry Library
• Wednesday pm sessions are working well and experienced players do not usually take part

4. Approval of Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on 2^nd February 2023

These were approved by the Committee and can be posted on the website as draft Minutes, to be formally approved by members at the next AGM. 

5. Matters arising

Sandy was co-opted as a Trustee until the next AGM. He would then have to be re-elected by members.

6. Treasurer’s Report

Two different investment options for our reserves have been circulated – Cambridge and Counties (3.50% interest but no withdrawal within a year) and Nat West (1.95% with 95 days notice of withdrawals).  The NSI Account will be closed.  £10k can be reinvested as we have a further £4k in our current account, which should cover most foreseeable situations, and it was agreed to pursue the Cambridge and Counties account. 

The purpose of our reserves was questioned given that we are a charity and we are making around £1.5K annual profit at present.  We need to look at creative ways of using some of this money, in the next 12 months, to achieve our charitable purposes. 

7. Realbridge directing

Ian proposed that we should try to involve additional members in online directing and has identified a couple of possible candidates.  He feels that a standby Director would be very helpful in case of illness or any other reason.  A substitute online Director might only have to open the session and set up the movement online.   

The directing situation is evolving and currently the problem is with F2F rather than online, in that David is often the only person who can direct at Hallcroft.  However it might be possible to share the main rules with other F2F players, who can then stand in. 

The number of boards played may also be an issue.  27/28 boards is possibly too many for some players.  10.00pm or thereabouts is a good guide as a finishing time. 

Avoiding long sit-outs is also preferable. 

8. Website maintenance

John wanted to clarify who was doing the various jobs needed to keep the website and our online presence up to date and circulated the following information.

Set up competitions                                                                         Ian

Monitor / maintain competitions                                                  John

Links, directing, dealing and F2F roster for each month         David

Calendar                                                                                              John

Hand of the Day                                                                                 John Auld

Upload PBN file                                                                                  Relevant Director

Info on website                                                                                   Ian

Match info                                                                                           John

Membership database - additions and deletions                      Keith (EBU) and Ian

                                                                                                                     (Bridgewebs)

The Hand of the Day needs to be rather more visible and Ian will address this.  The author of the report (John Auld) needs to be identified. 

Ian questioned how widely the website is used and it would be helpful if Directors could highlight the useful information it contains.  This will be routinely done in future.

Membership databases exist on EBU, Bridgewebs and Scorebridge.  The Bridgewebs database has not been recently annotated and Ian is happy to do this, providing he has up to date membership lists.  He can liaise with Keith to do this.

‘Find a Partner’ is not up to date, but Ian will regularly review this.  It may not be the most effective way of matching up players at short notice and an email round robin might be better. 

The Members Section is currently not used and we need good reason to address this and make it ‘live’.  Ian will research it further, as it could be useful for checking payments owing for table money.

9. Teams Report

One more match has been played against Woodborough – win 14-6.  There is one more match to play and then we will review the teams’ situation and the number of teams we can enter in future.  Notts CBA will be reviewing the status of the competitions shortly.  John and Sandy were 3rd in the Grand Masters Pairs recently. 

10.  Future events: Joyce Irving charity event 23^rd April

This event has been publicised on the website.  Directors can create a ‘banner’ for each Realbridge session.  We will not ask for numbers as we intend it to run for whatever number there is.  Scones and cake are suitable refreshments and we will run a raffle.  We can ask for contributions of cakes and scones.  The event will be free but we will ask for a donation for refreshments and of course the raffle.  The club will also organise some prizes for the raffle. John will do this.

We will present as many trophies as possible and take photos.  Engraving has not taken place for some time.  Previously it was done through John Haddon.  We can enquire if that is still possible. 

11. AOB

ICT – the Retford BC domain lapsed and this affects our Dropbox account.  Ian has now reset this at a cost of £17 which restores the Dropbox account.  This largely contains deal files and results.  However account information could be uploaded there as well as meeting minutes.  Ian will share access details so that this can be done.

12.  Date of next meeting

8^th June 3pm

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF RETFORD BRIDGE CLUB HELD ON

 THURSDAY 2nd FEBRUARY COMMENCING AT 6:00PM ON ZOOM

Present:

• S Fulton (Chair), J Rolph (Vice Chair), R Stock (Treasurer), K Abel (Secretary), M and D Coggles, J Sandwell, L Starling, T Rolph, D Garside, I Maxwell, S Mulligan, D Ingham,

J Cornthwaite, V French

Apologies for absence received from the following:

• F Norton, J King, K Crane, A Allen, R Buckle, R Sendall, A Jillott, G and N Bonson, J Stock, M Bradley

2. Minutes of meeting held on 27th January 2022  

The Minutes were approved

            3. Matters arising

            No matters arising

            4. Chairman’s Report 2021-22 – as read

This year has seen a recovery from Covid and gradual return to playing bridge albeit not in the pre Covid form. This is mainly due to our success in introducing Realbridge as a playing platform rather than the rather informal BBO. We have run three duplicate sessions per week which have been generally well attended, Tuesday and Thursday evenings with Wednesday afternoons which have generally been for less experienced players.   However the downside of this success has been the reluctance of members to return to F2F Bridge. In a bid to increase F2F attendance it was decided to make the last Tuesday of the month a F2F duplicate only from October 2022. Unfortunately there was no increase in F2F attendance and it obviously upset our online members, so after further discussion it was decided to abandon this idea. Although not all committee members were in favour it was agreed that it should be tried. Other clubs succeeded in getting back to F2F completely  as BBO was nowhere near as popular or as good as Realbridge.

So we are back to a merged Tuesday session which gives us the best of both worlds and keeping F2F and Realbridge players happy. Unfortunately there are too few people to enable us to open up a Thursday F2F and it would stretch our TD capacity to the limit. Some concern has been raised as to the membership being open to people from outside the Retford area but a substantial number of them are former Retford players. 

I end this report on a more personal note: you may have noticed that I am resigning as Chair of Retford BC. I have been Chair now for 25 years this year and a member for nearly 40 years.

Following Chris’s tragic death from cancer fifteen months ago, my life has changed significantly and I have been lucky enough to have met another wonderful woman, Pami, whom some of you may have met or seen on Realbridge. We are in the process of selling up and moving, possibly to the Harrogate area but not 100% sure as yet but in the mean time I am spending most of my time in Suffolk. I will continue to play at Retford BC on line and occasionally F2F.

Finally, a big thank you to the five secretaries, Doug Smith, Alan Jillott, Helen Jones, Joan Vessey and finally Keith Abel, all of whom have kept me on the straight and narrow all these years. Also to all the committee members with whom I have worked over the years. I have been proud of all the work you have put into helping the club be successful.

Finally to all of you, the players I have played with and against all these years and who have given me so much pleasure, I hope I will continue to play this wonderful, challenging, frustrating game with and against you for many years to come.

Warmest wishes to you all,

Sandy

            5. Secretary’s Report 2021-22 (as read)

Firstly, on behalf of all the membership of Retford Bride Club, I would like to respond to Sandy’s report by thanking him for his wonderful leadership over so many years.  Sandy, we all have mixed emotions I think.  We are sad to see you moving away from the area but delighted to know that you are moving to start a new life with Pami, your new partner.  We may be wondering as well how long it will be before she becomes a Bridge partner too.  

The last few years since 2018, when I took over as Secretary, have been particularly challenging with the arrival of Covid and it is largely thanks to Sandy’s hard work and direction that the club emerges from the Pandemic in a much stronger position than many other clubs.  Not only are we financially stronger with an increased membership, we have managed to become a successful hybrid club, embracing new technology in a positive manner, as well as doing all we can to support and return to the face to face game. 

A good example of this was the Sunday Social Afternoon we organised in July 2022, which was extremely well attended and gave us the chance to meet up with players we had not seen for over two years.  We were also able to meet some of the new members who have joined the club since 2020 to play Realbridge.  A similar event is planned for 23^rd April to raise money for the Bassetlaw Hospice and to compete for the Joyce Irving Rose Bowl.  It should also be noted that Realbridge has allowed us to raise money for charities such as Children in Need, as we have been able to participate in national fund raising events.

Although we continue to enroll new members and have a membership of 85 at present, we have lost

at least ten members in the last year.  Some of these are players from other parts of the country who have gone back to their local clubs, others are local players who sadly do not find the new hybrid structure of the club helpful.  We hope they will feel able to rejoin at some point in the future. 

It is sad to note the death of Bette Dobbie, who died recently.  Bette was a former club member and widow of David Dobbie, who many of you will remember well. 

Although Sandy is leaving us, we are pleased to be able to co-opt him as a Committee member thanks to the wonder of Zoom.   The membership will also not be surprised to learn that the Committee has agreed that Sandy should become an Honorary Life Member of the club in recognition of all that he has done for it.

As we move into a new chapter of the club’s history under John Rolph’s leadership – assuming you approve of him as our new Chair – it is good to know that we will still be able to draw on Sandy’s wisdom and experience.  And hopefully he will carry on playing for the first team too! 

6. Treasurer’s Report (a) Audited Accounts for year ending 30^th September 2022

                                                  (b) Subscriptions and table money 2023-24 (as read)

The Audited account have been sent out prior to this meeting , if anybody has any questions I will take them after this short statement which may answer some of your questions.

This year we have 83 members and 2 life members giving a total of 85 members. This number is down on last year when we had 95 members.

Looking at the number of people sitting down to play in the first 4 months of last year

(2021/22), just over 1100 people played.  Comparing them to the same period this year (2022/23) we have had just under 1000 people who have played.  So our membership and attendance are down approximately 10%

Since our last AGM. HMRC is forcing RealBridge to charge VAT on their invoices and the EBU has increased the pay to play fee from 40p to 42p. This will increase again to 44p on 1^st April.  As a club we are doing our best not to pass these and other increases on to our members.

There were no further questions from members and the Accounts were approved.      

            7. Team Secretary’s Report

Some very mixed results so far this season, resulting in a mid-table scrap. We only have one team entered in the first division, principally due to league matches being played on BBO. Only a few members wish to play on this platform and we struggle to raise a team on some occasions.        

            8.  Trustees Report to the members and Charity Commission

            No questions submitted

9.  Election of Chairman

Nominee                           Proposer                          Seconder 

John Rolph                      Sandy Fulton                   Julia Staniforth

John was elected unanimously.

• Vice Chair – this post was created to support the Chair and is not a requirement of the Constitution.  The Committee will appoint a Vice Chair shortly. 

            10. Resolutions proposed by members of the Club – none received.

11. Members items – none received

12. Trophy winners and plans to award trophies

            Scratch Cup

            John Rolph and Sandy Fulton 65.63

Irene Auld and John Auld 65.21

Hopkinson Cup (handicapped pairs)

Jane Stock and Roger Stock 58.43

Irene Auld and John Auld 55.92

Judy Shinner Trophy (master points)

Sandy Fulton 1715

John Rolph 1427

AlnSal Trophy (best 20, less than 52% overall in 2021)

Gerry Franklin 63.47

Roger Stock 60.66

Hallcroft Cup (handicapped, less than 50% in previous year)

Lynda Starling 472

Tessa Rolph 395.5

Haslam Trophy (sessions in 2022 by a member of < 3 years)

Gerald Bailey 117

Richard Orme 83

Joyce Irving Rose Bowl (charity evening in March 22)

Bernard Plumb and Liz Rothwell 65.45%

Keith Seiles and Frank Norton 64.55%

Hedley Hewitt Shield (Christmas Charity evening)

Not awarded – to be reassigned

Les Harris Trophy (largest improvement from 2021 to 2022, less than 48% in 2021)

Karen Swaine 5.04%

Mike Smith 3.42%

We will try to award trophies at the charity afternoon on Sunday 23^rd April.

John Rolph reiterated that the future of the club will be a hybrid one with every effort made to assure continued face to face Bridge. 

The meeting closed at 6.30pm.

Keith Abel, Secretary, 2^nd February 2023

MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE MEETING OF RETFORD BRIDGE CLUB HELD ON

 THURSDAY 27^TH JANUARY COMMENCING AT 10.00AM ON ZOOM

Present:            J Rolph (Vice-Chairman), R Stock, K Abel, T Rolph, I Maxwell, J Staniforth and D Garside.

Apologies:        S Fulton (Chairman).

1. Welcome and apologies

In Sandy’s absence, John took the Chair and raised the following issues:

Following receipt of Sandy’s resignation as Chairman with effect from the forthcoming AGM it was unanimously agreed that he remain on the committee as he had indicated he was willing to do so but had not clarified his intention to remain as a Trustee.  John will discuss this and encourage him to remain as a Trustee for a further term. 

It was also agreed that he should be granted Honorary Life Membership of the club and an appropriate certificate for life members be sourced if a suitable design or template can be found.  John will write a letter to thank Sandy for his years of service and the award of Life Membership. 

2. Approval of Trustee Meeting Minutes 1st December 2022

These were approved subject to the following amendments:

Item 7 - delete ‘as the previous year’.

Item 8 - delete final sentence

Item 12 – delete reference to house sale and second sentence in paragraph 1. 

3. Matters arising

It was agreed to type names in bold where something is to be actioned.

1. Item 4 – Tuesday evening publicity

No publicity leaflets had been produced but the Notts Help Yourself site contained information and it was agreed a link to the website would be helpful, if not already there.  Keith to check this to ensure information is up to date.  The information on the notice board outside Wilko needs to be updated when it is known if Sandy intends to continue with online lessons.  Tessa will deal with this publicity issue.  Information in Bawtry Library would also be useful, and Tessa will speak to Jim about this.

4. Treasurer’s Financial Statement (circulated)

The circulated Budget for Quarter 1 is at this point for information only; we cannot compare with the previous year at this point.  The surplus includes the annual membership subscription. EBU rates are increasing by 2p but Realbridge rates are not changing.

Sandy is a signatory to the bank account so this also needs to be discussed but as transactions are completed electronically, relocation is not an issue.  Tessa advises that more than one person should have Read Only access to online Bank Statements.  It would make sense for John to replace Sandy as a signatory, and then be given this Read Only online access to the account.  Roger to initiate this.

Money is currently invested with NS & I with an interest rate of 0.6% but could be transferred to a Nat West account offering 1.5.  Accounts which specialize with charities (COIF – offer an account with 3.7% interest) are a possibility but an alternative account with Nat West would be easier as our current account is with them.  Roger will look into the COIF option and provide more information on possible options for discussion at the next meeting. 

5. Children in Need money and back-up data

Online payments for Children in Need had to be made through the club and by individual committee members for certain players.  However we are unable to track payments for these events if other members donate individually online.    There are no legal implications for the club if Roger uses members’ upfront payments with their permission, and he is happy to do this.  This method could also be used for the Joyce Irving event for payments to the Hospice. 

Roger enquired about data back-up e.g. for financial statements and membership lists.  Ian will look into a ‘Drop Box’ account set up by Bernard Moore, and inform the committee how we can use it. 

6. Wednesday afternoon sessions

Keith sought clarity about the nature of the session on a Wednesday afternoon. We advertise it as a ‘session for less experienced players’ on the Retford BC website and a ‘gentler duplicate’ on the Realbridge website.  He felt that it was intended as a session with about 20 boards and a slower rate of play, but it has become a session very similar to the evening sessions, involving pairs of all abilities. It has evolved naturally in this way but could be reset if we so desire. Obviously, as some of the more experienced players direct the sessions, they also play. A return to Face to Face would probably be the only way to change the nature of this session.  The present session is popular with those who support it and around 4/5 tables are achieved.  Perhaps the results should not always be fed into all the competitions or submitted to the EBU.  We need to look into this further at a future date, but conversations with Wednesday regular players would be helpful.  David and Sandy will consult the Wednesday afternoon players.

7. AGM Agenda

Sandy will chair the first part of the Agenda and John will then take over.  John will check what his intentions are as a written report is useful. 

John has a list of winners.  Trophies have mainly been found but two are with Gerald Bailey.  The Hedley Hewitt (Christmas) can be reallocated.  Keith will sort out the recuperation of trophies, which will be awarded in April at the social event where possible.

It is unlikely that any F2F players will join others for the meeting.

8. Competitions 2023

Ian has set up all the competitions but there are some handicap issues to deal with, which John will do.  The Monthly Shields are no longer awarded.  However the calculation can be made and winners notified and recorded on the website.  There are other technicalities which need to be looked at (e.g. number of qualifying scores) but again John will advise on these.

9. Teams Report

Two recent matches have been played but it is difficult to find enough team players who wish to play on BBO.  Gambit will play on Realbridge and also Keyworth.  Most of those not wishing to play on BBO have made an informed decision based on their experience of Realbridge.  We can ask more widely who might be prepared to play on BBO.  We do not wish to be in a position where we have to withdraw the club from the League of Eight, which has links with national competitions.  A joint session with Keyworth might be worth exploring.  John to action the above.

10.  Future events: 23^rd April 2023

This will be the Rose Bowl event; 24 boards with a movement to achieve a single winner.  David suggested a smaller group meeting to discuss this further, which can be arranged at the next Committee meeting.  We have the Centre booked 2-6pm, so there will be time for a raffle and light refreshments.  Keith will send out an email to publicise the date and Ian will update the website based on the information contained on previous posters which David circulated at the meeting.  No match fees will be charged but a donation to the Hospice is requested, either through the raffle or online.  This is not a Members-only event.   Refreshments would be provided at no cost to members.

Retford Swiss Teams?  Could this become an online event?  Or Face to Face subsidised by the club?  There are many other competing events, e.g. Weekend Congresses, but it could be considered after the April event. 

11. Any Other Business

It was felt appropriate to mention any member or former member who had passed away since the last AGM. Bette Dobbie was one, and any others that came to mind would be notified to Keith.

12.        Date of next meeting:

 Tuesday 21^st March @ 3pm

RBC TRUSTEES MEETING – 1^ST DECEMBER @ 3pm on ZOOM

Minutes

Present:              S Fulton, K Abel, R Stock, J Rolph, T Rolph, I Maxwell, J Staniforth, D Garside

Apologies:          Ian apologised for having to leave at 4pm

1.  Welcome and Apologies

Sandy extended a welcome from Suffolk.  There were no Apologies.

2. Approval of Minutes of meeting on 15^th September

The previous meeting was 7^th July not 22^nd July as minuted.  No other alterations were made.

3. Matters arising not covered later

The decision to abandon Tuesday F2F only sessions from 29^th November was made by email and needs to be noted here.  We will revisit this issue at the AGM.

4. Tuesday evening Bridge – 27^th December  and plans to embed a viable hybrid session

27^th December will be a Realbridge only session as Hallcroft Community Centre is closed.  With due warning F2F players can organise a game of social Bridge at home, if they wish.

Some F2F members have asked about Thursday nights and this can be looked at in the New Year if there is sufficient interest, although this seems unlikely.  Providing two Directors for an additional session would be challenging.

There may be other local players in other clubs who might join us on a Tuesday night – we can now cope with additional players arriving on the night.  We can advertise this through NCBA or contact other clubs.  Keith will do this when Tessa has produced publicity.

5. AGM

We discussed whether this should this be F2F or online.  An online meeting is desirable since many members will not come to a F2F event.   Two solutions present themselves to involve the widest possible attendance:  we could invite F2F members to our homes for an online meeting or we could organise a hybrid event.  Ian could theoretically organise a temporary internet connection at Hallcroft.    This would have to be a Thursday meeting. 

It was agreed that an online only meeting would be the best solution for this year, with F2F members invited to committee members homes.  It was agreed that this should be Thursday 2^nd February at 6pm; online session to follow.  Next year we can consider the possibility of a hybrid meeting.

6. F2F Social Bridge event  

It is too late to organise a Christmas event and this cannot coincide with the AGM if now online.  The summer event was very successful and we could aim for two F2F social events in a year.  The Joyce Irving Rose Bowl competition was traditionally in March, but Sunday 2^nd April was proposed for this event.  Arrangements can be discussed at our next meeting.  In the mean time Roger will book the Community Centre.

7. Financial Statement

We have a healthy surplus as the previous year, and money has been moved into the Savings Account.  The hall rental will increase in April but the cost is not known and should not be prohibitive.   We recommended that the Accounts should be approved. 

8. Draft Trustees report