ALTRINCHAM BRDGE CLUB
INFORMATION TO
December 2011
1. For
the third year in succession we have held a series of about 14 coaching sessions on a Wednesday
afternoon. These start in September and run to early December each
year. The players attending are very
enthusiastic and both the club and the players are very grateful to the coaches
for their voluntary work in giving up their time each Wednesday afternoon.
2. Attendances
on Wednesday evening duplicate sessions seem to have taken a turn for the
better. Several organisers have been
in charge over the last few years and have striven to both make it attractive
and to draw in more numbers. In the last 4 months, attendances have still fluctuated somewhat
but there has been an average of 6 tables and once it reached 10 tables.
3. Last
year, your committee allowed members to join until we had over 295 paid up
members. I think hindsight has shown
that this was a mistake because several times on a Tuesday and a Monday, we had
19 tables and although we can accommodate this number, it is not desirable
because not only is it crowded but we have to have 4 tables in the small
connecting room . Also, it is not easy
to split into two groups.
Your
committee has agreed to limit the membership to 250 members, so we cannot have any more members
joining for what may be a considerable
period of time. However, guests are
welcome and should have no trouble finding a game on a Wednesday and Thursday
evening. They may also come on a Monday
or Tuesday evening but will be asked to leave if the number of tables becomes
excessive in the view of the Director.
4. Our
County ( MCBA ) held its Intermediate County Competition at our HQ in October
and had a full house of 16 tables. In January, the County will again be at our
HQ when our club hosts the County Gazette Cup for teams of eight.
MCBA
will also hold its two prestigious green pointed competitions at our HQ in
March and July. Finally, our club is
to host the
5. Several
of our members suffering illness or
hospitalisation have been brought to my notice. I will not name them but on behalf of
everyone, I wish them all a speedy recovery
and note that nearly all involved are already back in action at our
bridge club.
6. Over
the last 6 months, table attendance has varied greatly between our 4 nights of
play but over the week as a whole, our evening sessions have averaged a minimum
of 42 tables and a maximum
of 61 tables.
Monday
and Tuesday have consistently been the best evenings for attendance and as I
mentioned earlier, numbers have sometimes been excessive and there is a fear
that members may be turned away.
Allowing our membership to reduce to
250 should gradually alleviate this problem .
7 The
English Bridge
8. The
table money at each of our club sessions, which may often be in excess of £150.00 in banknotes and cash, has to be
counted, reconciled and then
banked.. It would be a great help if
players presented nothing below a 50p coin as part of the table money. All our
“ counters “ and “ bank payers” do this work voluntarily and it is much
easier to do if there are no small coins of
1p, 2p 5p 10p and 20p
which some of you are presenting.
9. I
feel I must once again mention my perennial
reminder ! Will all players
please not return any bidding cards back into the bidding box until the player on lead places his lead face
down & any questions have been
answered. This is still being done
and again I ask that if it occurs at your table, you politely request the
player to put the bidding cards back onto the table. Please do this because it looks as if it is
the only way that this can be effective.
The fact that it is illegal and has been mentioned by me several times
seems to have little affect.
10. Finally,
I draw your attention to the forthcoming sessions at our club over Xmas and the
New Year. Please make sure you check,
nearer the time, on the notice board in
case there is any alteration of dates.
The dates when we are open are on the notice board and on our web site.
Peter
Dawson ( 3rd December 2011 )