Christchurch Bridge Club members have had outstanding success in recent local and national tournaments. Of particular note is the gaining of Gold Grand Master Status (which requires 4,000 A plus B points, including at least 2,500 A points) by Jane Skipper after her recent success in the Auckland/Northland Pairs and Teams in Whangarei. Jane is the first woman in our club’s history to gain this distinction and we congratulate her for dedication to the game and her outstanding performance over many years.
The top positions in the Crockford’s All Grade Pairs, the Christchurch Mid-Winter teams and the Ashburton All Grades Pairs were dominated by Christchurch Club players , with impressive results being achieved by many of our Intermediate players. Well done to all these members and also to Leon Meier who continues his meteoric rise with a third place in the North Island Pairs last weekend.
Pivotal to the running of these events is the service provided by a network of Directors. Nation-wide there is a shortage of people willing to take on this challenging role, particularly at the national level. We are fortunate at our club to have eleven Directors, with various levels of certification and training, who are absolutely essential for our core business of delivering club programmes and administering various events which members from other clubs are able to attend.
The job of Directors is complex and demanding. Those who undertake the challenge must possess a multitude of skills; the ability to work under time-pressure, to multi-task, to utilise the IT component, to manage staff, to trouble-shoot and to meet the expectations of the players who wish to play their best under optimum conditions. It is not a job for the faint-hearted, and although it is a paid position, the remuneration is modest and Directors tend to do the job for the love of the game rather than financial gain. As playing members we need to ensure that we preserve our pool of Directors by showing appreciation, support and respect. If we are unhappy with a ruling, we have recourse to an appeal at the end of any given session. We need also to be aware that the role of Directors is to direct; they are not to act as partner-finders or to substitute for partners who fail to arrive. The partner-finder system for each grade is available to meet these needs. In addition, the grade Convenors are responsible for ensuring that we all tidy the room at the end of a session so that the Director is not left with that task and can focus on posting results, charging bridge-pads and so on.
Our maintenance work around the club is progressing, albeit rather slowly. The installation of the new LED lights has halted while new materials are sourced. The repainting of the lines in the carpark has been delayed by the recent wet weather but is scheduled to start in the middle of next week. Talks with the Williams Group currently working in Nova Place have resulted in less congestion but we are all looking forward to the day when the army of orange cones disappears. Thank you to those who carried out a mini-working bee in the garden last week. The mountains of woodchips have now been distributed around the grounds and we hope to do a few more jobs as the weather improves.
Thank you also to all those volunteers who continue to beaver away at various tasks around the club-be it card-dealing, flower-arranging, helping out in the kitchen at tournaments or assisting at lessons for the beginners. Your efforts are very much appreciated by the committee.
Take care everyone,
Marilyn Copland,
Club President.