Since the introduction of Universal Membership the English Bridge Union Board has been working hard to make sure that it supports its new membership and its clubs. One of the ways it has been doing this is by introducing a brand new sub committee of the Board, the National Club Committee (NCC). The overriding objective of the NCC is to help develop EBU affiliated clubs, to ensure that all EBU members receive an excellent experience playing bridge in a pleasant environment with value added services. The new structure of the club committee should involve every club member in the country, so that each individual club and its members has the opportunity to vote on the county representative for their club who then meets with the other county representatives in their region who in turn elect a regional representative who comes to contribute ideas and views to the national meeting. Each region has two meetings per year, which feed in to the two national club meetings per year.
I am delighted to say that I am the new Chairman of the NCC and will be supported by five members from the East, Midlands, North, South East and South West. Names of those representatives and the county representatives that make up the Regional Club Committees (RCCs) are in a separate item here. Our first meeting was at the end of November, and we discussed a number of topics I know are important to you including simultaneous pairs, English Bridge and the teacher/TD programme.
It feels a really exciting point to be at. Trevor Ward, our representative from the North, said; I see this as a great opportunity to focus the EBUs attention on the most important people in the organisation, the club players. They are the lifeblood of the EBU and require nurturing and their voices heard. The NCC is in place to provide the link required to ensure this happens.
So, we have some committed people in place, a Board that wants to hear and a structure to make it work. The remaining piece of the jigsaw for me is great communications from clubs. We will continue to use Club Focus to keep you informed. Please make sure that it gets to all the committee members in your club. I and the NCC want to hear from you you can do this by providing your views and questions to your county club rep who will attend your Regional Club Committee meeting if you have trouble making contact with your county rep you can contact your regional rep for assistance. Please do keep in touch. In the next issue of Club Focus we will be discussing stratification and including a letters page which I am hoping will be a lively one. Please write in and let us know your views.