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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

This month I would like to talk about tournaments as there are so many coming up.

Firstly of course I must acknowledge the great recent effort by our Intermediate team. Winners at their level in the Waikato/Bays, they never looked like they would get beaten. Such a fabulous effort and how great to have our club a winner at this level. On the clubs behalf, thanks Lyn, Diane, Rosemary and Stacey for being such awesome representatives. We are so proud of you. 

You will also see in the results about Mike and Rose who had several placings in New Plymouth over the weekend. What an awesome effort from them both, but special mention to Rose, a junior player who is playing at Open level! She now has enough A points to be Intermediate at the beginning of 2027. I’m sure it won’t be long before I am writing about her becoming Open. Well done Rose. 

I could not see final results from the Te Puke Daffodil day but from what I could see Heather Melville and Judy McLeod were first in the East/West Section with John Laugesen and his partner were third in the North/South Section. Our club is doing so well. 

There are several tournaments coming up, not the least of which is our own Novice, Junior and Intermediate tournament. For those who have never entered a tournament this would be a perfect place to start – on your home turf. Tournaments are both lots of fun and good for your bridge, so don’t hesitate to have a go. Enter at the club or online. Having a tournament is a lot of work and we need many helpers. We have the regulars, who we could not do without, but please think about if you might be able to come along and give an hour or more of your time to help out. Every little bit counts and many hands make light work. Please let one of us know if you think you could help. Special thanks to those who are always so willing to do this work. We are stilling looking for a junior pair who could be fill ins if someone pulls out at the last minute. Please think about this – remember it is free if you do get to play. Please see me or Jackie Blue if you are able to do this for us. 

Unfortunately, I will be away the weekend of our tournament so I won’t be able to come and wish you well at the beginning of the day. In advance, I wish you all the best of luck and look forward to hearing the stories and seeing the results. 

Please remember to chat with me if you would like to talk about anything. I’d love to hear from you. Lastly – welcome back to Norm who returns this week. 

Happy bridge everyone

- 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.