If the number of members in a club is a measure of its success,
then we are a most successful club!
We cannot cater for more than 260 members; anything above this and we
are in danger of having too many full tables and having to turn away members.
Over the last 18 months, we have had no fewer than 3 waiting lists of players wishing to join our club. At the time of writing, we have maximum numbers and a waiting list of 8 players.
We allow guests to attend, but only in the knowledge that they will be asked to leave if, on the night, we exceed 17 tables. I know this is regrettable, but at least we are not turning members away.
COMMEMORATIVE
PLATE COMPETITION.
The Club has introduced a new, yearly handicap competition and the winners will have their names engraved on the Plate. The plinth has small shields on it and players’ names of those who have died whilst members of the Club and permission has been given by the next of kin.
The competition will be held this year on Wednesday evening, 21st March.
SIMULTANEOUS
PAIRS.
The Club holds four of these each year & I am always exhorting members to support the two Wednesday events. I do not know if players have listened to me, but I do know that that we are now getting about 9 tables on a Wednesday and this is eminently viable.
The last sim pairs winners came via our own Club; Alec Stoll and Tracy Capel were first in a national field of about 2,500 pairs. Well done!
DIRECTING.
As a result of the recent in-house simple course for Directors, we now have 4 more active Directors, regularly directing at the Club. This is most pleasing and will help to spread the load for our more senior Directors. Lindsey Barnes, overseeing the Directors’ rota, will certainly find it easier to manage.
COMPULSORY MEMBERSHIP OF THE EBU.
The general manager of the EBU is advocating on the EBU web site for compulsory membership of the EBU for all players in a club affiliated to the EBU. Altrincham Bridge Club is affiliated to the EBU & if this measure is introduced, then over 200 of our members would have to pay another £21 EBU subs per year.
This could have an enormous effect on our Club. Please read the two notices on our Club notice board. Speculation by the EBU could become a reality, hence we need to be prepared.
COMPUTER SCORING PROGRAM.
There are now 5 members who are capable of setting up the system in the bridge hall, copying & taking the relevant file home and transferring it to the Club web site. Most players will have no idea of the enormous time saved by this computer scorer. Not only that, but there are far more details available about the hands on the web site.
There is room for at least one more scorer on a Tuesday evening. How about it, Tuesday players? Just approach Mike Trenholme or Mieke Sykes in the first instance - we will teach you all you need to know about it.
Apropos of nothing at all and a complete piece of useless information, I realised the other day that since we started computer scoring (and as one of the scorers) I have now issued 5,000 Master points ! I suppose that a small fraction of these have found their way to the EBU.
COUNTY GAZETTE CUP - Teams of 8 annual competition.
For the first time in many years, our Club did not field a
team in this County competition.
There was a deliberate decision by the players in our Club who would
normally participate, not to take part. In the event, the County had 5
entries, 4 of which were from
Bramhall bridge club has introduced a teams of 8 competition
which is open to all clubs except
WEDNESDAY EVENING
Support for Wednesday afternoon
Your committee decided to start duplicate bridge on a Wednesday evening and this has been running for the last few months. It has attracted about 7 tables, which is quite respectable, but there is room for more pairs, so please come along and support it. We award both prize vouchers and master points.
Thanks are due to Terry Wild, who has carefully nurtured it and built it up.
I have three groans to make! - two of them made in previous newsletters, but still relevant. Please:-
Number 1 take your cups/saucers back to the kitchen.
Number 2 at the close of play on a Thursday evening, do not walk away & leave all the equipment on the bridge table.
Number 3 now that we have wrapped chocolate biscuits, always place the wrapper in a waste bin.
should
it be necessary for me to state the above?
No, of course it should not.
It is with sadness that, since the last newsletter, I
have to report the deaths of Alan Warren,
Colin Fox, Dorothy Bee, Wilber Lawson-Turner and George
Battersby. They were all Club
members at the time of their death.
Peter Dawson ( March 2007)