Last year at this time I wrote...
"We are fast approaching that time of year when we look back on the current one and forward to the next. For the EBU and me it has been a year of discovery….".
I also wrote...
"After seventy seven years it was no surprise that there is resistance to change from some, especially the noisy minority. Whatever happens next year our members should remember that this is the first time EVER that the EBU has consulted its membership, has listened to what they have said and absorbed as many of their suggestions as possible".
So here we are – another twelve months on and what is going on the real world rather dwarfs the changes that are anticipated in the EBU, following the democratic decision making process which resulted in the Shareholders voting for change in June. Since then large numbers of people, most of them volunteers, have started working on the largest changes to affect our organisation since its inception. As predicted, there are some who do not wish to see these changes go through but, for the most part, I sense that most members are prepared to see the changes in, to see how it works and to contribute to the development of bridge in England. The setting up of two key committees – the Club Committee and the Universal Membership Project Board – within two months of the vote being taken, show our commitment to putting our clubs and their players at the hub of our activities.
The next year or two around the world are likely to be very difficult for many of us whatever our situations. What we are fortunate to have in common is the ability to participate in an activity that is relatively inexpensive and is extremely good for those that play, whatever the age of the player. Even during these tough times, the Board of the Union is working hard to develop bridge in England, both now and in the future. Our new Chairman has already begun to promote the benefits that bridge can bring to society to people in Parliament, including the programme we now have in place to try and get bridge on the school curriculum, and to try to gain investment in promoting learning and playing bridge for the over 50s to protect against dementia. We are hopeful that we can get the right people to consider what we are proposing.
In the week in which the "Sports Personality of 2008" was on TV, it is appropriate to remind ourselves that three of our teams arrived back from the Mind Sport Games in Bejiing with well deserved medals. They never got a mention on the BBC’s programme because few people outside of bridge, let alone inside our community, register international success in our chosen activity. Huge credit must go to the players but also, as ever, to the many people who give up their time at all levels to ensure that our players got a chance to shine.
On behalf of the staff at the EBU I would like to wish all of our members and volunteers seasons greetings and a happy new year for 2009.
Friday, 19 December 2008
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Blog 31 - Technology
These days there are bigger gaps between my blogging efforts. One of the reasons for this is that other people within the EBU are quite rightly communicating much more by using blogs and I see less need to write myself.
We are trying hard to keep ourselves up to date with our use of technology, especially as we have had a number of email issues recently. In a very short while we are moving towards the use of "cloud computing" where much of our data will reside on highly secure servers (indeed, far more secure than the Aylesbury office) remote from our office and available to be accessed by our authorised users from any location with internet access. This means that our staff will have much better access while at EBU events, improving the services we can offer members.
At the same time we are working hard on improving our web site and our internal use of information technology, always for our members benefit, not just for the sake of it!
Some of the clubs I go to are now embarking on the technology ladder, using tabletop technology to improve the bridge experience at club level, something that we certainly wish to encourage. In these internet times, we believe that technology will become central to the bridge playing population in the future, much more so than today, and I fully expect that the EBU will play its part in helping clubs move forward with technology.
Meanwhile, our own move forward may result in a blip or two as we all get to grips with the new facilities. If this affects our services to you, I apologise in advance, although we believe that these changes will benefit all members very quickly.
We are trying hard to keep ourselves up to date with our use of technology, especially as we have had a number of email issues recently. In a very short while we are moving towards the use of "cloud computing" where much of our data will reside on highly secure servers (indeed, far more secure than the Aylesbury office) remote from our office and available to be accessed by our authorised users from any location with internet access. This means that our staff will have much better access while at EBU events, improving the services we can offer members.
At the same time we are working hard on improving our web site and our internal use of information technology, always for our members benefit, not just for the sake of it!
Some of the clubs I go to are now embarking on the technology ladder, using tabletop technology to improve the bridge experience at club level, something that we certainly wish to encourage. In these internet times, we believe that technology will become central to the bridge playing population in the future, much more so than today, and I fully expect that the EBU will play its part in helping clubs move forward with technology.
Meanwhile, our own move forward may result in a blip or two as we all get to grips with the new facilities. If this affects our services to you, I apologise in advance, although we believe that these changes will benefit all members very quickly.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Blog 30 - Things just keep on changing
At the AGM on October 2nd the EBU voted in its first female Chairman. Sally Bugden takes over after being Vice-Chairman to Peter Stocken for the last two years. Her Vice-Chairman will be Andrew Petrie. By the way, Sally wishes to be known as Chairman, not "Chair" or Chairlady!
I have, naturally, got to know both of them really well. What the Shareholders have wisely done is to put in place two very talented and incredibly hard working volunteers; people that will use their professionalism and dynamism to move our organisation forward.
Peter remains on the Board so as to continue to provide his inimitable depth of knowledge and experience of the EBU. I very much enjoyed having Peter as my "boss" and I have learned a lot from him. At least he will now have more time to devote to his puzzle making!
Sally unveiled the Board's business strategy roadmap to the Shareholders at the AGM. Rather amusingly called "Bidding for the future" the document (which can be accessed here) provides details of the Board's plans for the next five years and how it intends to move these plans forward. This will involve a a great deal of consultation with the membership and research. A number of working groups will be set up to work on areas in great detail so as to cost the development and implementation of the business strategy.
Among the things that are coming along are our plans to turn the Union into a charity. As is typical with most Government changes (except nationalising banks) the new legislation that we have been waiting for has been delayed again until Spring 2009. We are waiting for a new style of charitable company called a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) to be placed on the statute book. This new style of organisation will be the catalyst for the 21st Century governance procedures that we need to have. I will be learning more about the eventual introduction of the CIO next week at a seminar.
Last weekend we tried something new at one of our events (Great Northern Pairs). The Tournament Committee will review the comments made after this event at its meeting in a couple of weeks.
Our teams are presently in China at the Mindsports Olympiad and doing very well at the time of writing. For those of you that cannot sleep, BBO coverage starts in the early hours - details here.
I have, naturally, got to know both of them really well. What the Shareholders have wisely done is to put in place two very talented and incredibly hard working volunteers; people that will use their professionalism and dynamism to move our organisation forward.
Peter remains on the Board so as to continue to provide his inimitable depth of knowledge and experience of the EBU. I very much enjoyed having Peter as my "boss" and I have learned a lot from him. At least he will now have more time to devote to his puzzle making!
Sally unveiled the Board's business strategy roadmap to the Shareholders at the AGM. Rather amusingly called "Bidding for the future" the document (which can be accessed here) provides details of the Board's plans for the next five years and how it intends to move these plans forward. This will involve a a great deal of consultation with the membership and research. A number of working groups will be set up to work on areas in great detail so as to cost the development and implementation of the business strategy.
Among the things that are coming along are our plans to turn the Union into a charity. As is typical with most Government changes (except nationalising banks) the new legislation that we have been waiting for has been delayed again until Spring 2009. We are waiting for a new style of charitable company called a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) to be placed on the statute book. This new style of organisation will be the catalyst for the 21st Century governance procedures that we need to have. I will be learning more about the eventual introduction of the CIO next week at a seminar.
Last weekend we tried something new at one of our events (Great Northern Pairs). The Tournament Committee will review the comments made after this event at its meeting in a couple of weeks.
Our teams are presently in China at the Mindsports Olympiad and doing very well at the time of writing. For those of you that cannot sleep, BBO coverage starts in the early hours - details here.
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Blog 29 - It's all over now..
The Brighton Summer Congress is over for another year. On the bridge front, all went very well. We had larger numbers of top European players coming to the events than for a long time, which shows that the prestige of the events is growing. Some of the events are among the largest of their types in Europe and the World. I am advised that our first weekend event, the fourteen round Swiss Pairs is the largest single field event in the World.
In which case, it is now the largest single field event to be scored electronically, as this year we scored the event with the aid of Bridgemates and some new software developed by one of our members; the fact that this huge event went off without the slightest (apparent!) technical hitch is a testament to the background thinking and rigorous testing by our Competitions staff and the on-site support of Jeff Smith, the software’s author. Many thanks to all involved.
Of course, the event had its logistical problems. Despite a whole year of assurances from the hotel, we still had air conditioning difficulties. Peter Jordan (our Congress Manager) spent hours every day with the staff and management trying to ensure that things were as good as they could be.
Despite that effort, problems still ensued. We will, of course, be taking these problems up with the hotel. Which leaves us with the usual dilemma? The Brighton Summer Congress is now a traditional feature enjoyed by many of our regular tournament players and now, by quite a few members new to our tournaments, as we had 25 midweek tables playing in our Really Easy Congress, an increase of around 20% on 2007. The cost of moving the event to another venue in the city may be prohibitive. Would you like to pay more to stay in Brighton? Or should we attempt to move the congress from Brighton? Or are you happy to pay a similar price and stay at the Metropole, despite the problems because you love the ambience of that City?
Please let me know any ideas you may have.
In which case, it is now the largest single field event to be scored electronically, as this year we scored the event with the aid of Bridgemates and some new software developed by one of our members; the fact that this huge event went off without the slightest (apparent!) technical hitch is a testament to the background thinking and rigorous testing by our Competitions staff and the on-site support of Jeff Smith, the software’s author. Many thanks to all involved.
Of course, the event had its logistical problems. Despite a whole year of assurances from the hotel, we still had air conditioning difficulties. Peter Jordan (our Congress Manager) spent hours every day with the staff and management trying to ensure that things were as good as they could be.
Despite that effort, problems still ensued. We will, of course, be taking these problems up with the hotel. Which leaves us with the usual dilemma? The Brighton Summer Congress is now a traditional feature enjoyed by many of our regular tournament players and now, by quite a few members new to our tournaments, as we had 25 midweek tables playing in our Really Easy Congress, an increase of around 20% on 2007. The cost of moving the event to another venue in the city may be prohibitive. Would you like to pay more to stay in Brighton? Or should we attempt to move the congress from Brighton? Or are you happy to pay a similar price and stay at the Metropole, despite the problems because you love the ambience of that City?
Please let me know any ideas you may have.
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Blog 28 - Here it comes again...and new things are coming..
It is that time of year again when many EBU members' minds turn to our major Congress in Brighton. We have the usual events for our more experienced players, ranging from the 14 round Swiss pairs on the first weekend, a variety of mid week events and the final weekends' Swiss Teams.
In addition, following on from the success of last year, the midweek programme features our "Really Easy Congress", for (much) less experienced players! Numbers last year were a record for this event and we have almost overtaken that record already, which is great news.
Other important news; following on from the vote at the EGM in June the Board are setting up a new group to consult with and advise them. The Club Committee, a sub-Committee of the Board, will meet for the first time in early September. This group consists of eight club representatives drawn from different parts of the country and from differing club backgrounds, small, large, members and proprietor owned clubs. This is a radical departure for the EBU; this group will be able to consider and contribute directly to the Board their views on new proposals, regulations and everything else that affects club players. The Chairman of this new committee is Graham Jepson, a Board director who is well known to many as a bridge holiday operator and the founder of a successful bridge club in the Sheffield area.
Our annual Junior Teach-In takes place over the last weekend in August. This is a great fun event for all junior players, whether it is for minibridge, bridge or just youngsters wanting to learn. We normally get over 100 youngsters and I am sure this year will be no different.
I hope to see many of you in Brighton!
In addition, following on from the success of last year, the midweek programme features our "Really Easy Congress", for (much) less experienced players! Numbers last year were a record for this event and we have almost overtaken that record already, which is great news.
Other important news; following on from the vote at the EGM in June the Board are setting up a new group to consult with and advise them. The Club Committee, a sub-Committee of the Board, will meet for the first time in early September. This group consists of eight club representatives drawn from different parts of the country and from differing club backgrounds, small, large, members and proprietor owned clubs. This is a radical departure for the EBU; this group will be able to consider and contribute directly to the Board their views on new proposals, regulations and everything else that affects club players. The Chairman of this new committee is Graham Jepson, a Board director who is well known to many as a bridge holiday operator and the founder of a successful bridge club in the Sheffield area.
Our annual Junior Teach-In takes place over the last weekend in August. This is a great fun event for all junior players, whether it is for minibridge, bridge or just youngsters wanting to learn. We normally get over 100 youngsters and I am sure this year will be no different.
I hope to see many of you in Brighton!
Monday, 16 June 2008
Blog 27 - How the game is run...
I have been involved in two things during the past couple of weeks which have rammed home to me the importance of how our game is run.
A few weeks ago I was at the special meeting of the Union that determined whether or not the Board’s plans for Universal Membership were to be accepted or rejected. I had previously been to six shareholders' meetings in my two years in post (already!) and most of them had been well attended. You may ask who attends. Well, it is full of volunteers, people who give of their time freely for the good of the game they all love; the only people there who are not volunteers being myself and one or two of my staff. The Board are all volunteers who take on onerous legal responsibilities as well as give up days, weeks and months of their lives for the English Bridge Union; the County representatives also spend a great deal of time managing Bridge in their areas.
Unsurprisingly, this particular meeting was the best attended of all of those that I had been at, so full we had to find extra chairs. Remember everyone who was there to vote on the proposals was a volunteer; they all have their perception of the best interests of the game foremost in their minds. Each County was given a brief period to make their views known and then the vote was taken. At the end the vote was not too far short of 2-1 in favour of the Board’s proposals. The meeting resumed its normal agenda and it was delightful to see that its normal good humour was retained throughout the proceedings.
At the end of that meeting the various groups of volunteers went their own way – each to worry about their specific volunteering areas of concern.
Although all our shareholders are club members, the prolific club volunteer group is not specifically represented at the meetings. I very recently was invited to one of the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of the Bristol Bridge Club. Their volunteer committee had quite rightly decided to make this milestone a major celebration of their longevity and success – and successful it is! They have a superb club building, owned now without a mortgage, deep in the heart of Bristol. They have an active membership of over 400 people and teachers who help bring people into the game. My wife and I stayed for two sessions of bridge and we met a lot of friendly and enthused people; a very enjoyable day! This club did not get where it is today without a lot of problems, some disagreements and a lot of hard work; but they reached their current situation anyway and are benefiting from the fruits of many hard days of volunteer effort .
Which brings me back to the first group of volunteers I was discussing; the membership has voted to support the Board’s vision for the future. It will take a lot of hard work and some ups and downs along the way before this vision is achieved. What is needed now is for each group of volunteers to knuckle down and work together to improve the future for all. Every volunteer needs to remember why they are doing what they do – because that is the very reason the other person is doing it as well!
A few weeks ago I was at the special meeting of the Union that determined whether or not the Board’s plans for Universal Membership were to be accepted or rejected. I had previously been to six shareholders' meetings in my two years in post (already!) and most of them had been well attended. You may ask who attends. Well, it is full of volunteers, people who give of their time freely for the good of the game they all love; the only people there who are not volunteers being myself and one or two of my staff. The Board are all volunteers who take on onerous legal responsibilities as well as give up days, weeks and months of their lives for the English Bridge Union; the County representatives also spend a great deal of time managing Bridge in their areas.
Unsurprisingly, this particular meeting was the best attended of all of those that I had been at, so full we had to find extra chairs. Remember everyone who was there to vote on the proposals was a volunteer; they all have their perception of the best interests of the game foremost in their minds. Each County was given a brief period to make their views known and then the vote was taken. At the end the vote was not too far short of 2-1 in favour of the Board’s proposals. The meeting resumed its normal agenda and it was delightful to see that its normal good humour was retained throughout the proceedings.
At the end of that meeting the various groups of volunteers went their own way – each to worry about their specific volunteering areas of concern.
Although all our shareholders are club members, the prolific club volunteer group is not specifically represented at the meetings. I very recently was invited to one of the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of the Bristol Bridge Club. Their volunteer committee had quite rightly decided to make this milestone a major celebration of their longevity and success – and successful it is! They have a superb club building, owned now without a mortgage, deep in the heart of Bristol. They have an active membership of over 400 people and teachers who help bring people into the game. My wife and I stayed for two sessions of bridge and we met a lot of friendly and enthused people; a very enjoyable day! This club did not get where it is today without a lot of problems, some disagreements and a lot of hard work; but they reached their current situation anyway and are benefiting from the fruits of many hard days of volunteer effort .
Which brings me back to the first group of volunteers I was discussing; the membership has voted to support the Board’s vision for the future. It will take a lot of hard work and some ups and downs along the way before this vision is achieved. What is needed now is for each group of volunteers to knuckle down and work together to improve the future for all. Every volunteer needs to remember why they are doing what they do – because that is the very reason the other person is doing it as well!
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
Blog 26 - Duplicate Bridge can't be a sport - can it?
This seems to be one of the questions of the moment. Most of you probably would conclude in a flash that duplicate bridge is not a sport. However, according to the International Olympic Committee it absolutely IS a sport. I quote here directly from the World Bridge Federation’s web site:-
WBF: a 'Recognized Organization'
In June 1995, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) admitted the World Bridge Federation (WBF) as 'part of the Olympic Movement', awarding it the status of a 'Recognized Sport Organization'. This recognition was accorded under Rule 4 of the Olympic Charter".
The list of recognized sports also includes Chess and Boules! Again, taken from the current WBF website, no less than 44 countries' (e.g. Italy, The Netherlands, Russia, China and many others) own Olympic Committees have recognized their national bridge federation and used this to offer them grant money. For example, the Polish Bridge Federation receives their equivalent of many hundreds of thousands of Euros each year as a result of the recognition they are granted. (By the way, it was 37 countries the last time I looked)!
So, you may ask what difference it makes. A lot! If bridge was recognized by the British Olympic Committee we, as the national governing body for England, would have access to finance that is closed to us, money that would be invested straight back into the game at all levels to develop it for the future. Lottery money that is very hard to get at the moment would be easier for us – basically it would help a lot.
We know that the barriers are dropping in this country; the Charities Act 2006 gave Mind Sports the status it needs to apply for charitable status, for which we have started the process. We need to do as much as we can and so we have joined together with the English governing bodies for Chess, Go and Draughts to form the Mind Sports Council; that group will lobby everyone it can to try to obtain for our respective sports the same rights and privileges now available to others.
Finally, the first World Mind Sports Games are to be held in Beijing from October 3rd to October 18th, using the Olympic facilities. Take a look at the brochure. It is hoped that this will be a step towards eventual inclusion in a future Olympic Games.
WBF: a 'Recognized Organization'
In June 1995, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) admitted the World Bridge Federation (WBF) as 'part of the Olympic Movement', awarding it the status of a 'Recognized Sport Organization'. This recognition was accorded under Rule 4 of the Olympic Charter".
The list of recognized sports also includes Chess and Boules! Again, taken from the current WBF website, no less than 44 countries' (e.g. Italy, The Netherlands, Russia, China and many others) own Olympic Committees have recognized their national bridge federation and used this to offer them grant money. For example, the Polish Bridge Federation receives their equivalent of many hundreds of thousands of Euros each year as a result of the recognition they are granted. (By the way, it was 37 countries the last time I looked)!
So, you may ask what difference it makes. A lot! If bridge was recognized by the British Olympic Committee we, as the national governing body for England, would have access to finance that is closed to us, money that would be invested straight back into the game at all levels to develop it for the future. Lottery money that is very hard to get at the moment would be easier for us – basically it would help a lot.
We know that the barriers are dropping in this country; the Charities Act 2006 gave Mind Sports the status it needs to apply for charitable status, for which we have started the process. We need to do as much as we can and so we have joined together with the English governing bodies for Chess, Go and Draughts to form the Mind Sports Council; that group will lobby everyone it can to try to obtain for our respective sports the same rights and privileges now available to others.
Finally, the first World Mind Sports Games are to be held in Beijing from October 3rd to October 18th, using the Olympic facilities. Take a look at the brochure. It is hoped that this will be a step towards eventual inclusion in a future Olympic Games.
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