Congratulations to three of our directors-in-training, Nerida Gillies, Annegrete Kolding and Bruce Kleem, who have received advice of their successful ABF club director accreditation during the past month.
They will now complete their hands-on training in conjunction with some of our experienced member directors before running club sessions on their own.
Members may have noticed that at times, particularly when a major national congress is being held, that our member director body is stretched thin. Our club is very fortunate to have so many members prepared to direct, and we welcome these additional accredited directors.
To serve or supply alcohol in NSW typically requires a liquor licence.
Our club is a not for profit organisation and an exemption has been granted to allow us to supply/serve alcohol for up to six functions in a year without paying a license fee.
This means that the club can continue to offer alcohol as a contribution to the enjoyment of our key social events such as Melbourne Cup, the Christmas Party and our large congresses. We will still have the same number of bridge events throughout the year but will serve an alternative to alcohol at some of the smaller ones.
It is not too early to get your team together for our major Peninsula Swiss Teams Congress on Sunday 28 April. This is a chance to play some of the state's best players at our convenient home.
The day is traditionally a popular success and furthersPeninsula's reputation for hosting such events, a testimony to the large number of volunteers who assisted in diverse ways.
Can we beat last year's 33 teams? You can check last year's details and photos from the day.
Led by Ron Klinger, 7 renowned bridge players will each contribute a column one day a week for the new ABF Daily Column, which started on 1 March.
As bridge columns are being cut from printed newspapers that are suffering reduced advertising, this option from the ABF provides an easy and convenient way to get your daily two minute bridge fix by email. I have received a week's worth so far, one from each of the seven experts, and recommend it for any competitive player. Based on the first week the standard is more accessible and probably a little easier than Ron Klinger's columns in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The cost is only $52 a year - find out all the details and subscribe on the ABF site.
Most members will be aware that the red section on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons has often been "full" 40 minutes before session start. In some ways related the green sections on Wednesday and Fridays have also been "full" as those green members ready to move out have seen limited alternatives available to them. This in turn has made the green section less attuned to its primary purpose of meeting the needs of those new players graduating from beginner classes and supervised sessions.
We are a volunteer-run not-for-profit club. Some volunteer needs we currently have are:
- Event Support - helping our event conveners prepare fliers and other communications - some comfort with email, computers and word processors would be useful - talk to David Farmer in the first instance
- Fill-in Players - being happy to be called to see if you are available to come in for a free game with an unpartnered player - helps us avoid sending home players whose partner is unexpectedly unavailable - ask any director to add you to the noticeboard list
Thirty or more Peninsula members travelled to the Gold Coast in February for the premier bridge event in the country. Great bridge and a great location for a social bridge getaway.
For those who have not been to one of these major congresses, you need to understand that there is a wide range of events from the tough open competitions to those restricted to much lower masterpoint ranges - something for everyone and a number of our novice players will have great stories to share.
I have tried to list our club members' successes over the various events - if I have missed one please let me know so I can add it in for the record.
This long story is relevant to the concept of enjoying the foibles of oldies playing bridge, rather than being irritated by the unusual nature of the overlap between club bridge and aged care.
Fifteen years ago I directed at a bridge club where Norma played. Norma found 28 husbands and relatives who wanted to learn bridge. Norma asked the legendary Sydneysider John Roberts to teach them. For this unusual group where about 20 had played social bridge and only 8 were relatively new to the game, John's method of teaching was that all the 7 tables simply played bridge (duplicate style, to some extent) with John attending to the 2 tables of newbies, with the other 20 players instructed to put their hand up and ask questions whenever they liked, learning bridge from John's answers.
