Minutes of YCBA Management Committee meeting

held at the Garforth Hilton Hotel on Tuesday 18 September 2007

 

Present: Philip Mason (Chair), Graham Jepson (Vice Chair), Janet Latham (Secretary), Rob Turner (Assistant Secretary), Stuart Davies (Tournament Secretary), Judith Biles, Peter Foster, Phil Godfrey, Ian Rodger and David Waxman

 

Prior to the start of the meeting the intention to co-opt Phil Godfrey, as indicated at the 2007 AGM, was confirmed.

 

1.     Apologies for absence                             None

 

2.     Minutes of the meeting held on 28 Feb 2007     These were accepted as a true record

 

3.     Matters Arising

 

3.1 Re Item 11. 1 The sub-committee set up to review remuneration and recompense for YCBA Tournament Directors recommended that fees should remain unaltered but that a meal allowance of up to £10.00 a day should be introduced and that the mileage allowance be brought in line with EBU rates. This was agreed.

 

ACTION - Helen Barr (as acting Treasurer)

 

3.2  Re Item 12 It was noted that the Affiliated clubs teams of four handicap competition arranged for 15 July 2007 did not take place due to lack of entries.

 

3.3 Re Item 16 The issue of YCBA purchase of Bridgemates remains unresolved. The Assistant Secretary and the Tournament Secretary were authorised to investigate the issue further and bring recommendations to the next Management Committee meeting.

 

ACTION – RT and SVD (Follow up;  JL (Agenda)

 

4.     Secretary’s report

 

4.1 The Secretary raised the question of 2 missing trophies; the John Colley Trophy (Congress) and the Winnie Pattison Salver (Division 6). It was agreed that further efforts will be made to locate the trophies but that if they are found by 31 October 2007, replacements should be purchased. It was also agreed that existing trophies in need of new plinths should have them provided.

 

The whole issue of effective recording of the hand out of all YCBA trophies was discussed with strong feelings that current systems are inadequate.

 

ACTION - All (Trophy location); JB (replacements if necessary; JL and IR (plinths); JB and IR (recording systems)

 

4.2 Instances of rude and aggressive behaviour at the 2007 YCBA Congress were noted with dismay though it was recognised that no further action will be taken as these were not formally reported at the time.

 

4.3 It was agreed to offer the annual EBU Voucher for free entry to a competition to Roy Garthwaite in view of his long service as Auditor along with his support for all YCBA activity over many years.

 

ACTION- JL

 

4.4 An invitation has been received for the YCBA to provide an entry to the MacFarlane Cup but given the clash with the first Yorkshire League fixture date, this will have to be turned down.

 

ACTION- JL

 

5.     Treasurer’s report

 

5.1 A paper had been distributed by the Acting Treasurer which indicated a current balance of £17834.96, a figure approximately £2000 lower than a year earlier. As agreed at the 2007 AGM the YCBA annual membership fee will be increased from £2.00 to £3.00 per year with effect from 01 April 2008.

 

5.2 It was agreed that financial support should be provided to junior players attending the EBU September Teach-In.

 

5.3 The Chair outlined the steps being taken to identify a possible new Treasurer.

 

6.     Tournament Secretary’s report

 

6.1 The Tournament Secretary circulated a report detailing numbers for the whole 2006 – 2007 season which reflected roughly similar participation in events to that in 2005-2006.

 

6.2 The need to resolve the precise entry/eligibility mechanisms for the Individual and the Mixed Pairs finals was noted. The Chair agreed to deal with this matter.

 

ACTION - PGM

 

7.     Membership Secretary’s report

 

A tabular and a written report was tabled indicating broadly stable membership numbers in overall terms.

 

 

 

8.     Matters arising from YCBA Council Meeting 15/06/07

 

The matters raised regarding the conduct of the Yorkshire League, changes to the points system and a condensed programme for Division 1 matches, had been placed on the website for consultation and no responses had been elicited. Consequently the two issues are not being pursued.

 

9.     Y.C.B.A. Constitution

 

The main potential issues were identified as:

 

-      Voting rights at the AGM

-      Restrictions to the length of service as officers or Management Committee members.

 

It was agreed that a sub-committee is set up to scrutinise the whole Constitution with a view to making providing an Interim Report to the November Council meeting and recommendations to the next AGM. The sub-committee will comprise the Vice Chair (Convenor), Ted Bond and Raphael Grossman. Any comments and views should be forwarded to Graham Jepson by 20 October 2008.

 

ACTION - GWJ

 

10.  Yorkshire Congress 2008

 

It was agreed that Helen Barr and Judith Biles will again act as Congress organisers. The format of the programme was confirmed as identical to that in 2007. The fee structure was reviewed. Fees for the two Friday sessions were set at £9.00 each, for the Saturday and Sunday events at £22.00 each and for the whole Congress at £54.00. The responsibility for the design of the entry form was delegated to Helen Barr.

 

ACTION - Helen Barr

 

11.  Reports on Northern Counties League and Presidents Cup

 

11.1 The Vice Chair outlined the current standings of Yorkshire teams after 2 matches and referred to on-going problems with respect to the Butler scoring and arising out of late and non-arrival of players. An end-of-season meeting of all participant counties will consider these issues.

 

11.2 The success of the Yorkshire team in retaining the Presidents Cup was noted with pleasure. All of the team were congratulated with particular praise expressed for the very positive contribution of the 4 younger players.

 

 

 

12.  Yorkshire League

 

12.1 The late withdrawal of Hull D from Division 9, and the knock-on effects that lead to 1 team being relegated from that division and 3 teams being promoted from Division 11 at the end of the current season were noted.

 

ACTION - PGM

 

12.2 The process for managing the creation and distribution of duplimated boards for Division 1 matches for the forthcoming season was outlined. Phil Godfrey was requested to act as the coordinator for the system.

 

It was also noted that team captains are to be asked to provide individual pairs score details to the Tournament Director for an overall analysis.

 

ACTION - PG (Boards); SVD (Butler scoring)

 

12.3 The suggestion for central venues for Division 1 matches had been posted on the website and in view of the complete lack of ensuing response the idea was not being pursued.

 

13.  Licence levels of YCBA events

 

A paper produced by the Assistant Secretary had been circulated in advance. The scheme was adopted for the 2007/2008 season as proposed with the modifications that Seniors events and the Castle Swiss Pairs should be set at Level 3.

 

ACTION - RT (website); JL (Agenda)

 

14.  Yorkshire Masters Pairs

 

A letter from C Close (Keighley), suggesting a re-categorisation of the eligibility bands, had been distributed previously.   It was agreed that the letter is posted on the website with an encouragement for members to express views and to consider the matter fully at the next meeting.

 

ACTION - RT (website); JL (Agenda)

 

15.  EBU Strategy Proposals  -- Update

 

The current strategic proposals being developed by the EBU which entail the principle of finding appropriate mechanisms to introduce “universal membership” for all members of affiliated clubs was discussed in detail. The main likely effects were noted as the removal of the annual subscription and the advent of a levy on table money to cover the consequent financial effects.

 

It was felt that the EBU has to address the issue of falling membership levels and the Management Committee therefore endorsed the principle of moving to “universal membership” while expressing serious concerns about the effects of how such a scheme will be manifested in practice.

 

It was agreed that an explanatory letter, drafted by the Vice Chair, will be placed on the website in an attempt to gather wider views from individual Clubs though it was acknowledged that time for this to be done is short. The Management Committee apologised to Clubs for not taking such action earlier.

 

It was noted that initial feedback from a limited number of Clubs that have considered the matter reflects negative views regarding table money levies. 

 

ACTION - RT (website); PGM, GWJ, JL and IR - YCBA EBU Shareholders (to receive views)

 

16.  Date and venue of next meeting

 

The next meting was arranged for Tuesday 26 February 2008 starting at 7.15 pm at the Garforth Hilton.

 

ACTION - GWJ

 

17.  Any Other Business

 

The need to contemporise the Website support facility was accepted.

 

ACTION - RT and PG