Chairman’s Corner
No. 7, May, 2006
Plans for the first of the regional bridge club workshops is well advanced. The Northern NSW workshop will be held at the Tamworth Bridge club over the October long weekend. That’s somewhat later in the year than originally envisaged but the bridge calendar is so congested that finding a weekend that didn’t clash with a congress in that region nor with a national event proved difficult. The workshop will kick off around 1:00 PM on Saturday with sessions on Masterpoints, Financial Management, Teaching & Promotion. The NSWBA will then host a dinner for all the delegates, followed by a bridge game commencing around 7:30 PM where there will be an opportunity to partner an expert. The Sunday session will commence around 9:30 AM with a presentation on Conflict Resolution and Ethics, then Directing, followed by a lunch break. In the afternoon there will be a session on congresses, as well as the opportunity for those wishing to do so to grab an expert to answer any questions they may still have.
Clubs located in the northern NSW region are invited to send delegates along to the workshop. In the case of affiliated clubs, the travel and accommodation expenses (on a twin-share basis) of up to two delegates will be met by the NSWBA. Non-affiliated clubs are also welcome to send one or two delegates but in that case the NSWBA will only meet half the expenses incurred. Clubs, whether affiliated or not, wishing to send additional delegates are welcome to do so at their own expense. Lorraine Harkness and Peter Gill who are jointly organising the workshop will be contacting all eligible clubs around July.
A Southern NSW workshop, to be staged in Wagga, is scheduled for February next year, with another in March to cater for the Sydney metropolitan clubs.
On a totally different topic, OzOne which aims to make Australia a force in international bridge is a highly commendable project. Unfortunately it is having a most deleterious effect on the NSWBA. The problem is that it has siphoned off many of Sydney’s top players so that they are no longer available to compete in state events. As a consequence not only are our table numbers down but the field for the Interstate Team Finals this year had far fewer luminaries than usual. This is an unfortunate side effect and one I am sure the OzOne organisers never intended. Just as the OzOne players are expected to benefit from exposure to tough competition at the international level, so will those aspiring to state representation benefit from the stiffer competition they will encounter when there are OzOne pairs in the field. This trickle down effect can only benefit the standard of Australian bridge in future and could eventually help OzOne achieve its goals. It is imperative therefore that the OzOne overseas playing schedule and the schedule of major NSW selection events be better synchronized.
Dr Alex Yezerski
Chairman NSWBA
