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Message from our Club President

As promised, I will this month be going into further detail around the changes to the Club Captain's role that were approved at our July committee meeting. First I must start by thanking Rebecca Osborne for her time as Club Captain. When we first convinced her to take on the role there was some reluctance from her because she couldn't play daytime bridge.We made it work by making sure I was playing Friday afternoons and Karyl, Rebecca and myself would have weekly catch-ups to keep Rebecca in the loop about the happenings during our daytime sessions.

Rebecca has never been keen on playing Monday nights due to having a late night at the start of the working week and with the demise of Thursday nights this year it has meant Rebecca was rarely playing at the club. Understandably she felt she could nolonger do the Club Captain role justice and so offered her resignation.

Rebecca did a fantastic job with this demanding role despite a busy work life. She has put her organisational skills to excellent use and leaves us with great tools around sponsorship and our calendar of events that will continue to improve the running of the club for years to come. After an excellent 4th place at the recent Matamata Swiss Pairs tournament she is now less than 9 masterpoints from Grand Master so you can be sure we'll be talking about her very soon! 

With Rebecca stepping out of the role we started tobrainstorm possible replacements while at the sametime exploring more significant changes to the role. One question was whether we really needed a Club Captain but the feeling was that without one many oftheir tasks would naturally fall to the President and overburden them. Then the suggestion was made asto whether the role could be split to make it more palatable to those who we would be shoulder tapping. This certainly seemed an idea worth exploring and so we created a new "Technical Manager" role and set about seeing what responsibilities could be shifted from the Club Captain to this new role. 

What we landed on was the Technical Manager overseeing all those aspects of the club that happen behind the scenes to actually facilitate the playing of the game of Bridge. This includes dealing, directing, scoring, event calendar, handicapping and ensuring workable numbers and format for Swiss Pairs and teams events. Some of those aspects relate not just to club play but also tournament play including events like Fun over the Bridge.

Fortunately for us we already have an expert inall of these aspects in Norm Silcock and when we approached him he was thrilled to accept the role! Of course he has plenty of support in all aspects of his role and it is important to the club that we continue to train and upskill others to also become proficient in those areas that Norm has such foundational knowledge.

Taking all those technical responsibilities out of the Club Captain's role leaves them to focus on the members, in particular ensuring that everyone who wants to play is able to and that everyone is enjoying their bridge. Naturally we needed somebody who had great rapport with players of all levels and was present at club sessions as much as possible. Who better to approach than Shirley Bain, who regularly plays three days a week and would play four if she could! We are thrilled that Shirley has agreed to step into this new member-focused Club Captain position and she has already hit the ground running in the past couple of weeks. Shirley has great support from club members both on and off committee, in particular Hugh McAlister who was himself Club Captain not too long ago. 

You won't see Norm at the club for a few weeks while he's touring the top of the world but please do congratulate and thank Norm and Shirley next time you see them for their service to ourwonderful club.

- Mike

Message from our Club Vice-President

Thanks to the diligent fund seeking efforts of Cathy Parker we are replacing the linoleum in our Club kitchen Monday 10th – Wednesday 12th August. Consequently the kitchen will be CLOSED for those three days (and possibly Thursday).

- There will be absolutely NO access to boiling water, dishwasher or sterilizer over this time period.

- If you would like a hot drink, please bring your thermos.

- Cold water will be available as always however no glasses hence we would appreciate you bringing your drink bottle or cup with you.  There will be limited disposable cups. 

We appreciate your cooperation during this time period.  Tuesday 11th August there will be no after play Chit Chat.

- Karyl Anderson.

Message from out Club Captain

Firstly, a big thank you to Rebecca Osbourne for all the hard work she did as Club Captain. I hear on the grapevine that Rebecca is only a few points away from being a Grand Master and I will look forward to being able to share that fabulous news. We are so lucky in our club to have a number of Grand and Silver Grand Masters. Even more lucky that they are all so willing to help those of us yet to reach those lofty hights.

A brief introduction for those who don’t know me. I am married to Robert and have two daughters and two grandsons with a third grandchild about three weeks away. I work two and a half days a week for NZQA as a National Assessment Advisor in Languages (in the past I was a French teacher). My passion is of course, after family, playing bridge! I am sharing the club captain role with Norm who will look after the technical aspects. My role is to be there for members.

Please feel free at any time to come up and have a chat, or contact me – my number is in the book. I’d love to hear thoughts on anything you think the club could be doing for its members and please let me know if there is anything you would like me to take to the committee. 

I’d also love to share member’s news.I’d just like to finish by congratulating those that are mentioned in the weekends successes and to wish those playing next weekend their own success.

- Shirley Bain.

Message from our Club Manager

I often get asked:

          When am I in the office?
          How can I pay money to he club?
          Hopefully the information below answers these questions for you:

USUAL OFFICE HOURS:

          TUESDAY:        11am      to   1pm
          FRIDAY:            11am      to   1pm
          WEDNESDAY:   5.45pm  to   7pm
          Other times - if I am there!

HOW CAN I TOP UP MY HELLO CLUB ONLINE?  

Option 1)

Direct bank transfer into our bank account, just as you would pay any bill. Please use the internet banking details below:

          Acct no.:   03-1549-0006295-000Acct Name:   
          Tauranga Bridge Club Incorporated
          Reference:  your name and bridge number

Option 2)

Via Hello Club Using either Poli or StripePlease note:
- POLI uses your NZ bank details- bank to bank transfer and there is no charge to you
- STRIPE uses your credit card- the club does not cover the processing fee of 3-4%, you do.

To get to STRIPE or POLI...
Step 1: Log in to your Hello Club, then from your Home page select Account-> Credit Account->
Step 2: Put in the amount you wish to pay -> Next and select your option.

Option 3)

Of course, you can use EFTPOS or CASH deposits via the Office.

- David Fornusek.