Committee Newsletter 17-June-2021

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June 17, 2021

Committee Newsletter 17-June-2021

Despite the fact that the shortest day is nearly upon us, last Sunday was fine and sunny for our club Working Bee. Thank you to all those who helped with weeding, pruning, spreading fertiliser and woodchips, rubbish removal, furniture staining, and exterior light cleaning. Particular thanks must go to Steve Renall and his team for the repair of the main gate whose electrical components were damaged in the recent heavy rains. New cement and track replacement have also been required to restore the gate to a safe working condition. All going well it should be usable again by the end of next week.

The interior of the club also received attention. Thank you to those who cleaned windows and hung pictures, and to Myra Samuels, who in her usual quiet and efficient way, organised the substantial and much-appreciated morning tea provided by yet more volunteers.

An often unseen army of volunteers is vital to the running of our club. Countless hours are given by those who operate the dealing machines, arrange flowers, maintain the gardens, act as helpers at the lessons for beginners and run the bar. Our Convenors and their helpers also do a great job and it has been gratifying to see a recent increased awareness among players to lessen the load by tidying up tables at the end of sessions.

Our thanks also go to David Stephen for his ongoing training and support of new directors. David has recently updated and strengthened the appraisal system for directors and has submitted a proposal for the provision of dedicated scorers for future large tournaments. This would take the pressure off directors who have a multitude of tasks to perform at such events.

Thank you to players from Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evening sessions for participating in the recent survey regarding starting times. The status quo of a 7.30pm start has been retained with results as follows:

Monday: 7pm (30.2%), 7.15pm (19.8%), 7.30pm (50%)
Tuesday: 7pm (28%), 7.15pm (20%), 7.30 (52%)
Thursday 7pm (33.5%), 7.15pm (21%), 7.30pm (45.5%).

Our retention rate from recent beginners’ classes has continued to be very good and our membership currently stands at 808. In this regard we seem to be bucking the nation-wide trend of declining player numbers as relayed to us by John Skipper after his latest attendance at New Zealand Bridge. Club-only events such as this weekend’s Julian Cup give us all the opportunity to mix with existing and new members and to foster our club identity.

Many thanks everyone,

Marilyn Copland,

Club President.

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