Present:

1. Apologies for Absence

None.

2. Confirmation of the Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on 10th April 2017

The minutes of the meeting of 10th April 2017 were agreed and signed by the Chairman.

3. To Report on the Actioning of Items from Previous Meetings

• 17-1Ⓐ1 GW to redesign the Application Form for New Members. Changes drafted (based on EBU Model Form) and distributed to committee for comment. As yet, the new form has not been used. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ
• 17-1Ⓐ2 PH to draft a letter on headed writing paper for DAVID ROTHERHAM to send to the bank to change signatories on the Club's account. PH confirmed this had been done. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ
• 17-1Ⓐ3 GW to send PH the softcopy club logo for headed writing paper. Sent 10-APR-17. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ
• 17-1Ⓐ4 GW to create headed writing paper for the Club. Draft produced in Microsoft Word format and sent to the committee. (12-APR-17) ⓓⓞⓝⓔ
• 17-1Ⓐ5 MH to discover weekly Day Centre hire fee and report to committee. MH reported that it is £77.80 per session. (10-APR-17) PH added that the club does not pay for evenings it does not use the Centre, such as Bank Holidays. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ
• 17-1Ⓐ6 GW to place a notice on the website about the presence of peanut biscuits in the general biscuit tin. Published on Home Page 12-APR-17. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ
• 17-1Ⓐ7 GW to update contact details (of Membership Secretary) on website. Updated on left-hand column of home page 12-APR-17. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ
• 17-1Ⓐ8 GW to update Club Championship rules on website. Updated on www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwok/bw.cgi?club=claygate&pid=display_cups (12-APR-17). ⓓⓞⓝⓔ
• 17-1Ⓐ9 GW to ask WENDY STAINER and/or MIKE MULLIGAN what the Claygate Plate was in the 2016-17 season. Email sent to WS 12-APR-17. WS replied she has no idea. GW forwarded to TONY BAKER. No-one knows. GW decided to remove the Claygate Plate from the calendar. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ
• 17-1Ⓐ10 GW to investigate SIMS events planned for the Autumn and choose an appropriate one for the club calendar. The Surrey SIMS appear to be scheduled for Monday 4th December. We have provisionally put this event on our calendar. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ
• 17-1Ⓐ11 GW to sound out members by email about Calendar card. GW produced draft member list with contact preferences, which he sent to CBCC members (12-APR-17). Email sent out to members, asking for updates. (12-APR-17) Camera-ready copy produced by GW. (17-APR-17) 120 calendar cards printed for £16.80. (18-APR-17) ⓓⓞⓝⓔ
• 17-1Ⓐ12 The Committee agreed to sound out local bridge teachers who might point their alumni towards our Club. This action was deconstructed into several new actions. ⓒⓛⓞⓢⓔⓓ
  • 17-2Ⓐ1 PH agreed to approach KEITH WILLIAMS, of Claygate Lawn Tennis Club, for referrals at the end of his courses. ⓞⓟⓔⓝ
  • 17-2Ⓐ2 GW agreed to ask the council's adult education teachers for referrals. ⓞⓟⓔⓝ
  • 17-2Ⓐ3 GW agreed to ask SUE JACKSON if she could refer her alumni to Claygate. ⓞⓟⓔⓝ
• 17-1Ⓐ13 Committee members to employ Convention Cards in their own play sessions. All committee members agreed to try a bit harder to do so. The key is, having written it down once, not to throw it away — which is the natural tendency when you have recorded your system on the front of a score card. ⓞⓟⓔⓝ
• 17-1Ⓐ14 KW to approach ELIZABETH ADKINS about what she and her mother would like to commemorate JAIME. KW reported that BETTY had told both her daughter and KW that she would prefer not to have a special club commemoration. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ
• 17-1Ⓐ15 Bridgemates to be put on the agenda for the next committee meeting. Bridgemates were on the agenda of the 3rd July meeting. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ

4. Chairman's Report

GW said that, in his opinion, the new committee had achieved its initial goal, which was to establish its competence in running Monday evening sessions. He was happy to adopt a low profile at these sessions, and instead to use the club's website to keep members informed and seek their opinions. Since the last AGM, the club had run 12 Monday sessions, achieving an average of 12.4 tables per evening, or 49.7 members attending. The most poorly attended evenings had been on the 10th April — self-selecting teams — and 19th June — too hot for anything.

5. Treasurer's Report

MH thanked PH for all her accounting and analysis work in support of the treasury function. PH reported that the bank balance had declined a little from £7.0K, when the new committee arrived, to the most recent figure of £6.8K. A couple of debits to the EBU needed further analysis.

• 17-2Ⓐ4 GW to circulate the committee with details of the EBU's P2P debits of this year.
• 17-2Ⓐ5 GW to send PH another copy of the EBU Invoice for the 2017 Law books.

6. Secretary's Report

The Host system survives, despite the odd grumble. YB said it was a good way for members to give something back to the club. The following principles apply to the rota:

1. Each host gets one free session, provided they turn up on their allocated evening. If they get a partner on that evening, they need not pay for that session. If they don't get a partner for that evening and have to return home without playing, they get a free evening at their next session.
2. Current committee members are not scheduled onto the rota.

7. Membership Secretary's Report

Two members have resigned: Sue Allen and Vanessa Relleen. The Club has 100 paid-up members. Three others have not paid their annual fee — Brian Barrow, Ros Harris, and Norman Harris — but no reluctance on their part to do so is implied. They will be reminded at their next appearance.

• 17-2Ⓐ6 The club does not have any contact details for Brian Barrow. GW to ask SANDRA SIMPSON if she can supply them.

8. Refreshment Executive's Report

Biscuits, particularly the peanut cookies, continue to garner adulation. YB thanks KW for doing the refreshments in her absence.

9. Implementing the new 2017 WBF Laws at Claygate

GW expressed some concern about the lack of timely education for directors in the new Laws, which come into effect in all EBU events in August. SCBA had asked clubs to offer a venue for such a course, but all has now gone quiet in Surrey. The EBU has scheduled a few half-day courses around the country, but they may not arrive in time or be convenient for our club's directors.

GW said he was particularly concerned about the status of the current hardback Red Book of 2007 Laws and the accompanying yellow paperback of 2008 written by David Stevenson. Next month both these publications will become obsolete, and if a club has difficult members, they might reject on principle the verdict of a director who approaches their table armed only with either of these books. It is believed that Mr Bridge has not given any publication date for a revised Stevenson book, nor even promised that one will be published.

GW has secured a commitment from Gordon Rainsford — EBU General Manager — that the EBU will make a plea for tolerance in a future edition of English Bridge as these new laws are implemented.

10. Discuss Computerised Real-time Scoring (Bridgemates etc)

PH said that activity at Dittons has increased — from about 6 tables to about 12 — since the club introduced Bridgemates. KW said she believed Bridgemates would help attract younger players to our club. GW read out comments from JAIME BUENO and DAVID ROTHERHAM, then members of the previous committee. GW said he had been encouraged by discussions with a committee member from a club in Kent which uses the much cheaper BridgePal system. It is believed that BridgePal could be implemented for around £1,000, compared to the £3,000 a Bridgemate system might cost. It was agreed that GW should investigate setting up a BridgePal trial at home without spending any money. GW also said he hoped to give a one-off demonstration evening at Claygate of the Bridgemate system owned by the Wyvern, in exchange for our letting the Wyvern use our tablecloths and bidding boxes for the next seven weeks or so.

• 17-2Ⓐ7 GW to test out the BridgePal system at home.

11. Any Other Business

The committee further discussed recruiting new members to the Club, although the present total of 100 is a good population. It was suggested that setting up a stall at the Claygate Flower Show or the Claygate Get Involved! Day would help put the club on the map. But the Club wants new members who have some experience of social and duplicate bridge, rather than absolute novices, so approaches to bridge teachers in the area should be more constructive.

12. Date of Next Meeting

The committee agreed that the next meeting should take place at 10.00 on Monday 20th November at Torrington Close.