Minutes of a meeting of the Council of the Yorkshire
Contract Bridge Association held on Friday 30
November 2007 at Bradford Bridge Club
Present: P. G. Mason (Chair); G W Jepson
(Vice Chair); J Latham (Secretary);
S Davies (Bradford); A Bond & E Bond (Garforth) A
Blewitt, E Crebbin & N Mayo (Harrogate); C Close & M Rattenbury
(Keighley); A Pearson (Olicana); T Jacobs (Sheffield); B Huntley (Wakefield)
and A Best & G Shaw (Wetherby)
In Attendance: P Stocken (EBU Chair)
1. Apologies for absence
R Turner (Assistant Secretary); I Rodger (Bramhope
and Management Committee)); P Foster (Doncaster and Management Committee); J
Biles (Keighley and Management Committee); R Grossman (Sheffield); P Godfrey
(York and Management Committee) and D Waxman (Management Committee)
2. Minutes of the Council meeting held on 15 June 2007
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved
and signed.
3. Matters arising
Re
Item 6 B Huntley (Wakefield) felt that the minute on the discussion about EBU
Strategy should have reflected the diversity of the attitudes expressed rather
than suggesting that the views were generally positive.
4.
Chairman’s half-yearly report
The Chairman began by reporting his disappointment in the lack of interest
shown in the
Handicapped Teams of 4 in July which lead to its cancellation as well as
in the fact, that for the second successive, a team had withdrawn from the
Yorkshire League after the fixtures had been published. He requested that clubs
did not over-commit in the future.
More positively he stated his pleasure at the increased numbers
participating in the 2007 Nelson Rose Bowl, the success of the David Boston
Simultaneous Pairs with two Yorkshire children’s hospices (Bluebell Wood and
Martin House) each receiving £520, and the fact that duplimated boards are
working well in Yorkshire League Division 1.
He continued by notifying Council that John Digby (Thirsk) will shortly
take up the position of YCBA Treasurer and by congratulating the Yorkshire team
on winning the Presidents Cup with a side that contained several young players.
However, the Chairman indicated that Yorkshire’s performance in the Tollemache
Cup Qualifier had been disappointing.
The Chairman concluded by commenting on the excellent job carried out by
Ted Bond as Secretary of the Yorkshire League with Stuart Davies taking over
this role next year and by congratulating Sandy Davies and Tom Gisborne on
their recent success in winning the EBU Seniors Pairs.
5. Secretary’s report
The
Secretary had nothing to report.
6. Treasurer’s report
A short report was tabled showing current balances of £18622.11. The
Membership Secretary said that he was holding a further £750 in membership
subscriptions.
7. Tournament Secretary’s report
A report was circulated which
pointed to similar entry levels so far this year as compared to last. The
Chairman provided information about two programme changes:
·
The YCBA Flitch will now be held at
Wetherby BC
·
The date of the 2008 Malton Swiss
Teams has been altered from 15 to 22
June
8. Membership Secretary’s report
In
speaking to a tabled paper of membership statistics, the Membership Secretary
gave the information that although the number of YCBA members is declining; it
is doing so more slowly than across the average for other counties.
9. Revised constitution-progress report
9.1 A report from a specific
sub-committee, set up at the 2007 AGM, was distributed. The main
recommendations were:
·
A radical re-write is untimely given
the likely impending strategic changes in the EBU.
·
There is potential for incorporating
greater democracy with the YCBA constitution with promoting involvement of
smaller clubs in the election of officials notably by using postal ballots.
A
suggestion that Officers and Management Committee tenures should be
time-limited was considered impractical.
9.2 Delegates were requested to
take the report back to their individual clubs for further discussion and it
was stated that a copy of the current Constitution is being posted on the YCBA
website along with the sub-committee report.
10 Report on Northern Counties League
The Vice Chair reported that:
10.1 Yorkshire teams commendable positions in 2007 were: A 2nd B 2nd C (South/East) 1st
and Juniors 1st. Yorkshire C (South/East) will compete in the
national final.
10.2 The agreed dates for 2008 are 28 June, 30 August, 27 September and 25
October.
10.3 C Close (Keighley) praised
the advent of the Northern Counties League declaring particular appreciation
for the establishment of a C Division and T Jacobs (Sheffield) thanked the Vice
Chair for his work in this respect.
11. Proposed Yorkshire League dates for 2008 - 09
The dates proposed are: 26 October; 23
November; 07 December; 4 January; 01 February; 22 February and 15 March.
N.B.
Please note that the January date is the 4th not the11th as
previously stated.
G
Shaw raised the question of the idea of eliminating or reducing the “teas”
element but the Chair and Vice Chair asserted that this is regarded as an
integral part of the event.
13. EBU strategy proposals
13.1 The Chair introduced the item by referring to the EBU Chair’s report to
the AGM which had stressed the need for radical change in the EBU and the
response of creating a Working Party to consider how to enlarge and strengthen
EBU membership. The considerations of the Working Party had given a major focus
to achieving universal membership within EBU affiliated clubs.
13.2 A lively discussion followed with the EBU Chair, along with the YCBA
Chair, answering questions and responding to points raised. The main issues
arising were:
·
A suggestion from A Blewitt
(Harrogate) that every affiliated club should be responsible for providing the
equivalent extra revenue to the EBU that would emanate from the “pay to play”
proposal and be able to choose their own ways of raising the sums involved.
·
A request from M Rattenbury
(Keighley) for more formal consultation with YCBA clubs.
·
A query from A Best (Wetherby) as to
the sufficiency of the “grass roots” consultation and a concern about the
equity of the “pay to play” proposal given the variations in EBU services
received by different members.
·
The contention by G Shaw (Wetherby)
that the universal membership concept must bring with it better value and
support for clubs and that attracting new players demands improved packages
both for clubs and for individual members. These, he added, could include the
“scoring and dealing” systems offered at discounted rates and he emphasised the
need for more innovative and tangible membership benefits.
13.3 In summary, the EBU Chair endorsed the general tenor of improved
benefits for increased income while T Jacobs (Sheffield) expressed disquiet at
his perception of negative attitudes to the changes under discussion.
13.4 The YCBA Chair thanked Peter
Stocken, the EBU Chair, for attending the meeting.
14. Date and venue of next meeting
It
was agreed that the next Council
meeting will be held on 13 June 2008 at Doncaster Bridge Club following the AGM
15. Any Other Business
15.1 A Blewitt (Harrogate)
expressed concerns that professional classes in Harrogate are advertised as
“Yorkshire Bridge” while having no connection to the YCBA.
15.2 Thanks were expressed to Bradford Bridge Club for hosting this meeting
and for providing hospitality.