English Bridge Union
We are delighted to announce that on each of the Club Teacher Training Courses organized in 2019 by English Bridge Education & Development there will be places available for free to affiliated clubs.
EBED’s Club Teaching Training Course provides the skills for someone at your club to teach bridge to a group of beginners. The clubs which have bridge teachers amongst their membership, and offer lessons and then ‘novice sessions’ or ‘assisted play’, are the clubs which are flourishing. Without someone in your club who can teach new players, and therefore create new members, your club will inevitably decline – we can’t all keep playing bridge for ever.
The EBU has employed a Membership Development Officer to work with counties in assisting clubs in recruiting new players, and helping to convert them from ‘beginners’ in to ‘club players’ – read more about Tim’s work here. We believe there are many people who will be keen to learn to play – they just need to be given the opportunity and there is little point in filling a classroom, or supervised play session, if there is nobody to teach them. The Club Teacher Training Course is your club’s way to ensure you can put someone in front of these students.
So, if your club doesn’t already have a teaching programme, make it a priority for 2019 to consider how it is going to generate new members. The first step may be for someone to attend this course.
EBED has made every effort to find suitable venues for these courses around the country. If there is not a course local to you, and you wish to attend one, then please let EBED know. If you can also suggest a potential venue, that would be very helpful too. Please contact claire@ebedcio.org.uk and she will make a note of this for when arranging further courses for 2019, and while compiling the 2020 calendar.
The courses arranged to date are:
Stretford BC, Manchester - Tuesday 12th & Wednesday 13th February
Faversham BC, Kent - Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February
Wetherby BC, Yorkshire - Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th March
Aylesbury (EBU) - Wednesday 13th & Thursday 14th March
Horsham BC, W Sussex - Thursday 11th & Friday 12th April
Chalfont BC, Bucks - Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd June
West Midlands BC, Solihull - Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th June
Watford, Camelot HQ - Wednesday 17th & Thursday 18th July
Welwyn Garden City BC - Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th August
Young Chelsea BC, London - Thursday 17th & Friday 18th October
Aylesbury (EBU) - Wednesday 27th & Thursday 28th November
You will be asked to pay for the place on the course at the time of making the booking. Once the place has been booked, the club should apply to make this a 'free place'. A club official should email the EBU's Club Liaison Officer - bev@ebu.co.uk - and advise her of the details of the club member who is attending the course, and confirm that the club has approved their attendance on its behalf. Please only apply for a free place if it will be used in the spirit for which it is intended – to help a member provide lessons to bring new players in to the club as part of a club-wide effort to grow the membership and help the club thrive. Upon the member's completion of the course, the cost will be refunded to the club via its EBU account. Each club may only apply for one free place every two years, and if receiving a free place (unless in exceptional circumstances) it must remain affiliated for the following two years.
