Chairman's Corner
No.10, November, 2006
After long and at times passionate debate (see Aug ‘06 Minutes on our web site to gauge its flavour), Council has reached consensus on
three key issues:
-
Preserving the integrity of the state
selection and championship events is paramount, and for that
reason it’s crucial to keep them ‘in-house’;
-
Having the NSWBA and the FABC both
involved in running bridge in this state is undesirable and an
amalgamation of the two bodies should be pursued;
-
It’s time to begin exploring the
feasibility of relocating the NSWBA to other, possibly purpose
built, premises even though no such move is contemplated in the
near future.
In relation to the first policy decision, Council
did not feel confident that the $60K in annual
revenue generated by these events, particularly if it were to
be shared amongst several clubs, was sufficient to engender
the sort of interest and long term commitment that would be required on their
part to sustain the high standard of these events. The other two
policy decisions clear the way for work to commence on initiatives that might
take a year, in the case of the merger, and possibly
three, in the case of the move, to accomplish.
The Northern Roadshow held in Tamworth
over the October long-weekend was a huge success. The response
from the 29 club delegates who attended was overwhelmingly
positive with the sessions on masterpoints, directing and
promotion receiving particularly favourable mention. I would like
to thank all those who so generously gave of their time and, in
particular, Trish Carter for the enormous effort she put into
staging the event.
There has been a reshuffle of
portfolios on Council. The recently elected president of the FABC,
Warren Lazer, has come on board and will take over responsibility
for the Tournament Committee. That will allow Kim Morrison to take
on Promotion, i.e the bums-on-seats portfolio so crucial to our
financial well-being. Even though there is only a month or so to
the AGM, the changes come into effect immediately. And speaking of
the AGM, we would love to get some new blood on Council so why not
throw your hat into the ring. Here’s your chance to stop griping
and actually do something to shape the future of the NSWBA!
Dr Alex Yezerski
Chairman NSWBA
