d s NORTHERN IRELAND BRIDGE UNION h c
G P Committee

 

A MEETING OF THE GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE WILL BE HELD IN KELVIN AND MALONE ON THURSDAY 28 APRIL 2011 AT 7.30PM

AGENDA

13.                  Announcements Update

  1.               AOB
  2.               To confirm date and place of next meeting as Wednesday, 22 June 2011 at Kelvin and Malone at 7.30pm.
    Liz Scott
    Hon Secretary
    NORTHERN IRELAND BRIDGE UNION
    General Purposes Committee

             

A meeting was held at Kelvin & Malone on Thursday 24 February 2011 at 7.30pm.

                   Present: T O’Gallagher (Chairperson), S Millership (Vice-Chair/Int Match Mgr), L Scott (Secretary), R Burns (Masterpoint Secretary), B Scott (Comp Sec), D Cannell (Magazine Editor), A Hassan (Congress Organiser), G Mackenzie (Website Manager).
1                Apologies: A Sharp, A Hill, N Irwin.
2                Minutes
                   The minutes of the meeting held on 25th November 2010 were passed on a proposal by D Cannell, seconded by R Burns and signed by the Chairman.
3                Matters Arising                                                                                                                                                            
There were no matters arising.
4                Report of Chair/Vice Chair – T O’Gallagher/S Millership
                   The Chairman said that he had visited the following affiliated clubs:  Derryvolgie, Spa, Killyleagh, Downshire Hospital, Newcastle, Downpatrick and Teconnaught and had been made to feel very welcome.  He added that he had been invited to play bridge with a party from CIYMS at the Slieve Donard Hotel which he had enjoyed very much and had promised to visit them at their home club premises.
                  
5                Secretary’s Report – L Scott
L Scott said that she had quite a lot of correspondence but most of it was advertising from hotels wishing to hold bridge weeks/weekends.  She said she had been contacted, at the end of January, by a gentleman by the name of Brian McCabe inviting the NIBU to participate in a workshop called “Over 50 Show” to be held in the Ramada Hotel on 26th and 27th February.  She added that the views of the Officers of the Union were very positive and she contacted P Porteous of the CBAI to ascertain how they went about promoting themselves in this show in the South of Ireland.  After discussion with Mr Porteous it was decided that we didn’t have enough time to organise such an event.  The GP meeting agreed that we should begin to prepare for next year’s event.  Discussion then took place as to what was perhaps required and it was agreed with our Website Manager, G Mackenzie, that we should place a link on our website for all bridge teachers and the teaching venue, without our recommending any particular teacher.  The NIBU require each club to inform us of the relevant teachers in their area and the venue used.
6                Competition Secretary’s report
                   The Competitions Secretary said that the competition entry had largely stood up and it was good to see so many A&B pairs participating.  He thanked A Hill, S Millership, S Jones and T O’Gallagher for TDing the various competitions and D Cannell, R Johnston, A Burns & T Young for arranging the venues.  The various competitions are listed below:
                   NI Pairs – won by Ian Hamilton & John Ferguson – 21 pairs, down 1 on last year
                   Mid Ulster A&B Pairs – won by Marie O’Neill & Eileen Keville – 20 pairs, down 7 on last year
                   North Down Pairs – won by Toni Sproule & Dymphna Friel – 29 pairs, up 4 on last year
                   Down & District A&B Pairs – won by Ros Young & Joan Baird – 20 pairs, down 3 on last year
                   Alan Mixed Teams – won by Greer & Moyna Mackenzie, John Murchan & Ciara Burns – 9 teams. This was a re-introduction of a competition which had lain dormant for a number of years.
                   East Down Pairs – won by Sam Jones & William Dukelow – 21 pairs, same as last year
                   North Down A&B – won by Louise Miller & Raye McClurg – 20 pairs, up 4 on last year
                   Provincial Mixed Pairs – won by Ronnie Morrow & Anne Gibson – 14 pairs, up 1 on last year.
                   B Scott said that the Leagues & Cups were progressing satisfactorily, however the extreme weather conditions had resulted in some players being snowed in or otherwise unable to reach K&M for league matches.  He added that there was no allowance in the rules for these conditions and said that provision needed to be made for possible similar situations in the future.  B Scott said that rules also need to be set up for privately played/Cup matches as at these venues there is no TD and that any perceived irregularities were difficult to settle after the event.  He also added that he had received an email from I Lindsay suggesting that Monday night matches were not proving popular.  B Scott concluded thanking A Hassan for doing all the fliers for him and stated that he would no longer be Competitions Secretary from June as he had done this job for 2 years and he thought that this was sufficient for such a time consuming job.  He asked for volunteers.
7                Treasurer’s Report – N Irwin
                   The Treasurer was unable to attend, however she sent a comprehensive report with the Hon Sec distributed at the meeting.  In her report she asked that TDs make a note of who collects the silverware and asks that she be informed as soon as possible. She also added that K&M are charging £50 for a single session event and she has written to appeal the cost as at some events we would have less than 8 tables.  The Treasurer said that the Ulster Bank were now really strict about moving money or getting a Banker’s draft without a second signature.  The Secretary and Treasurer had discussed this and had agreed to ask A Hill to be the third signatory as he and the Treasurer live closer together and his signature would be easier to obtain.
8                Masterpoint Secretary’s Report – R Burns
                   R Burns said that he had nothing new to report.
9                Schools Bridge Report
The Hon Secretary said that J Murchan was trying to promote and develop Schools Bridge, with the help of      all the bridge teachers in the various schools.    
10              Congress Organiser’s Report – A Hassan
                    A Hassan reported that she was progressing with the organising of the event in Armagh and she gave out fliers to be put on tables at all future events.
12              Report of Sister Unions – IBU/BGB
                    IBU – L Scott said that P Porteous of the CBAI had had complaints from Donegal and Monaghan/Cavan about representation in the Interpros.  A meeting was held at Bewley’s Hotel in Dublin, Chaired by M O’Connor and present were R Plunkett (Chair of Selectors), S Millership (Vice Chairperson) and L Scott (Hon Secretary) from the NIBU and M Doherty (Donegal Regional Development Officer) and K McSherry (Secretary, Monaghan/Cavan).  M Doherty said that Donegal Region were disappointed at the quality of the teams entered for these competitions and suggested that our ‘best players’ should participate in these events and until that was done these regions were reluctant to produce any of their ‘best players’.  M McSherry concurred.  The NIBU representatives argued that we were not in a position to ‘force’ our members to play. It was agreed that Donegal would produce 1 team and that Monaghan/Cavan would produce half a team.
                   BGB – S Millership said that the next BGB meeting was on 26th April.  She said that the Junior Camrose team and the Peggy Bayer team had both come 3rd in the recent competitions.  She said that the Peggy Bayer team had been the strongest we had produced for a long time.  She congratulated J Reid for the good job he had done with the Carrickfergus School. S Millership and G Mackenzie are to begin coaching with these teams.   
13              Report of Inter Sub-Committee
                   T O’Gallagher said that this committee had not met so there was nothing to report.
14              Magazine
                   D Cannell said that there was a poor response for the magazine, so there probably wouldn’t be a winter edition.  He asked that some material should be forthcoming from the members.
15              Announcements
                   With effect from 1st September 2011 the NIBU will be introducing announcements, thus doing away with some of the ‘alerting etc’.  A copy will be attached to these minutes for each club.  We would ask the club Secretaries to encourage their members to adopt these.
16              AOB
L Scott said that she had been asked to invite our Website Manager to attend this meeting, which he had    done.  She said that she had had complaints about the Website not being updated quickly enough.  R Burns said that he had never had anything to complain about.  G Mackenzie said that the website was only as good as the information given to him.  This was agreed by all present.  G Mackenzie agreed to archive some of the long standing information on the site and to add the names and email addresses of the various teachers around the province.
D Cannell asked again about thee TDs course and S Millership agreed that this should be done in the not too distant future.
S Millership reminded the Secretary that the Sub-Committee should be set up to recommend nominations for the Vice President of the IBU.  A Sharp, A Hill and S Millership were nominated to this sub-committee with A Hill being asked to be convenor.
17              Date of next meeting was confirmed as Thursday 28 April 2011 at Kelvin and Malone at 7.30pm.
              Signed_____________________________Dated_________________

 

 

 

AGENDA 

Liz Scott
Hon Secretary

 

NORTHERN IRELAND BRIDGE UNION
General Purposes Committee

  A meeting was held at Kelvin & Malone on Thursday 25 November 2010 at 7.30pm.

                   Present: T O’Gallagher (Chairperson), S Millership (Vice-Chair/Int Match Mgr), A Sharp (President), L Scott (Secretary), R Burns (Masterpoint Secretary), D Cannell (Magazine Editor), A Hassan (Congress Organiser).
1                Apologies: A Hill, B Scott, N Irwin.
2                Minutes
                   The minutes of the meeting held on 8th September 2010 were passed on a proposal by R Burns, seconded by D Cannell and signed by the Chairman.
3                Matters Arising                                                                                                                                                            
There were no matters arising.
4                Report of Chair/Vice Chair – T O’Gallagher/S Millership
                   The Chairman said that he had attended the Donegal Congress which was very enjoyable.  He added that he had visited Lisburn GC, Armagh, Shandon GC, St Malachy’s and Breffni and had been made to feel very welcome.
                   A Sharp said that all written correspondence should be addressed to either the Hon Secretary or the Chair of the various sub-committees. Whilst it was acceptable that other members of the appropriate committees should receive a copy of that correspondence, any response must come from, or be authorised by, the Chair of the appropriate committee.
5                Secretary’s Report – L Scott
L Scott said that she had little to report other than that she had received correspondence from Adrian Thomas                                      of the Welsh Bridge Union re one of their possible Camrose players who has Cerebral Palsy and would need assistance to play his matches.  We all agreed that we wouldn’t have any objection to this.  S Millership added that one of our team was hearing impaired and that she and L Scott were going to ROI to assist him when he was dummy.  The Secretary also said that there may be a problem with our TD at the Lady Milne Competition as he wife was playing. L Scott suggested that perhaps one of our Selectors would rule if necessary.  S Millership said that that wasn’t possible as none of them was a national TD.  S Millership to contact other Unions to seek their opinions.  L Scott said that she had had complaints about the website not being updated quickly enough.  R Burns said that perhaps we should invite G Mackenzie, our website Manager to come to the next GP meeting where all views could be addressed.  L Scott agreed to contact G Mackenzie and invite him along.
6                Competition Secretary’s report
                   The Competitions Secretary was unable to attend the meeting but sent along a comprehensive report which was read out by the Secretary.  The various competitions are listed below:
                   NI Mixed Pairs – won by Ciara & Hugh Burns – 18 pairs participated, up 13 on last year
                   Inter B/Senior Pairs – won by Alan Hill & Eleanor Jones – 9 pairs participated, down 17 on last year
                   Belfast Pairs – won by John Murchan & Ciara Burns – 30 pairs participated, up 16 on last year
                   Mr Monty Handicap Pairs – won by Diane Greenwood & Ruth Connolly – 25 pairs participated – up 10 on last year
                   East Down Teams – won by Ian Hamilton, John Ferguson, Moya Kelly & H Ferguson – 12 teams.
                   The TDs for the above were A Hill, J Lavery & S Millership
                   The Leagues began on 13/14 October with 8 teams in Prem 1, Prem 2 and Inter B but only 4 teams in Senior and Inter A which is very disappointing.  A Hill & I Lindsay acting as organisers/TDs.  He added that the situation in Prem 2 is not ideal as A Hill in now playing in that division but no other TD could be found.  B Scott said that there is a shortage of TDs and this is placing a great burden on A Hill and S Millership.  He added that the draws for the knockout cups have been made; there were 6 entries for the Millership Cup, 10 for the Mackinnon Cup and 10 for the Kelvin Cup.  Mackinnon and Kelvin Cups had one more entry this year from last year.
7                Treasurer’s Report – N Irwin
                   The Treasurer is on holiday; however she had asked the Hon Sec to say that our financial position wasn’t changed.

8                Masterpoint Secretary’s Report – R Burns

                   R Burns said that he had nothing new to report.

9                Schools Bridge Report

              S Millership said that a competition had been held in Derryvolgie which had been run by P Johnston.  She added that 3 of our Junior Camrose team would be ineligible next year so we would perhaps have to dig deep to find a team.  The Secretary said that J Murchan had offered to teach/coach junior players and schoolchildren at a neutral venue.  The Committee unanimously thanked John for his offer.

10              Congress Organiser’s Report – A Hassan

                    A Hassan reported that the Congress in Derry had been successful but that two of the sponsors had pulled out.  She added that she was in the process of applying to Armagh City Council for a grant.

12              Report of Sister Unions – IBU/BGB

                    IBU – T O’Gallagher said that he and A Hill had received complaints re selections for Interpro.  He said that Connaught and Munster took the competition seriously, holding trials and that the Leinster team were not as undistinguished as Ulster.  He suggested that our leading players might think about representing Ulster and also the NIBU in the Sonya Britton.  R Burns said that the better players didn’t have as much interest in bridge.  A Sharp suggested that perhaps the venue was a factor but he was assured that this was not the case.  T O’Gallagher said that he had heard complaints that Ulster were the only province that didn’t pay for their members to play in competitions although he didn’t think this was a major factor.  It was stated that the NIBU have never paid for any of their teams be it Camrose or Lady Milne, the players pay for the privilege of representing the Union.
                   BGB – S Millership said that she nothing to report.  R Burns said that the results of the Camrose Trials were as follows: 
                   (1) Ian Lindsay & Robin Burns; (2) Ian & Willie Hamilton; (3) Rex Anderson & David Greenwood and that these three pairs would represent the NIBU in the Camrose matches in Dublin and Wales.  The NPC would be R Plunkett with John Lavery and Mick Coffey as substitutes if needed.  He added that the results of the Lady Milne Trials were:
                   (1) Rosarie Heatherington & Shirlie Browne; (2) Heather Hill & Ann Bergin; (3) Sandie Millership & Norma Franklin; (5) Hilary Ferguson & Moya Kelly; (6) Clare Watson & Nuala Mooney.  R Burns also said that Ruth Connolly & Kerry Nash (two of our Junior Camrose team) had done extremely well and along with Diane Greenwood & Ciara Burns (who were exempt from the trials) would also be on a team.  The NPC has not been determined yet.
                   S Millership our International Match Manager said that she had asked A Hassan who had been her assistant for many years to act as International Match Manager as she would be playing on a team.  Northern Ireland field 2 teams because we are playing at home.  A Hassan has agreed and an assistant will be found to help her.  S Millership added that she would do all of the booklets and that L Scott would deal all the boards.
13              Report of Inter Sub-Committee
                   T O’Gallagher said that this committee had met and suggested that a competition could be held for Inter B Teams.  The NIBU used to run such a competition, the Hyman Cup, but that no interest had been shown for some time.
14              Magazine
                   D Cannell said that there was a poor response for the magazine, so there probably wouldn’t be a winter edition.  He then asked the Chairman to draw the winner of the crossword competition from the entries. Judy Gallagher was successful.
15              AOB
                   S Millership asked that consideration be given to introducing announcements at the table as is done in USA, EBU and CBAI.  She handed to all present a copy of these taken from the EBU website.  She was asked to draw up a draft scheme for our next meeting.
                   L Scott said she had been contacted re holding a TDs course which we had said we would try to set up for autumn past.  Apologies were made for not having held a course but S Millership said that both she and A Hill had been so busy they had not had a chance to arrange same but would endeavour to do so in the near future.

16              Date of next meeting was confirmed as Thursday 24 February 2011 at Kelvin and Malone at 7.30pm.

MINUTES OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

NORTHERN IRELAND BRIDGE UNION – KELVIN & MALONE ON           9th JUNE 2010

PRESENT: -                  Chairperson                                                          T McKeever
                                                Vice-Chairperson                                                 T O’Gallagher      
Hon Secretary                                                      L Scott
Hon Treasurer                                                      N Irwin
Hon Masterpoints Sec                                        R Burns
Hon Competitions Sec                                       B Scott
                                              President                                                                A Hill
                                              Past President                                                       I Hamilton
                                              Past President                                                       I Lindsay
                                             
                                                                                                                                                             
Present – A Hassan (Congress Organiser), D Cannell (Hon Magazine Editor & Bangor), S Millership (Brunswick), J Millership (Brunswick),  F Boyd (Boat Club) , J Lavery (SMCOBA), P McGill (SMCOBA), J Murchan (SMCOBA), A Anderson (K&M), M Warnock (K&M), A Fitzpatrick (K&M), M Murray (Brunswick), P Johnston (Derryvolgie), C Burns (Downpatrick), J Spiers (Holywood), S Cairns (St Michael’s), A Sharp (UUC), E McNicholl (Maghera), S McCaughan (Selection Committee)

Apologies                           R Johnston, E Devlin, T Sproule, J Ferguson, H Ferguson

Minutes

The Minutes of the 2009 AGM were adopted on the proposal of S Millership, seconded by D Cannell, and signed by the chairperson, T McKeever.

Matters arising from the minutes.
None.

Reports

The Hon Secretary’s Report - was presented by L Scott who said that this was her fifth year as Hon Secretary and as usual it had been a busy year for her.  She said that recently we were saddened by the death of  D Johnston, who had represented the Union at various levels and indeed along with I Lindsay had won the Moylan.  She also said that our representative teams had not fared too well in either the Camrose or the Lady Milne and, in the Peggy Bayer and Junior Camrose, our teams had finished fourth but the good news was that in the Interprovincials our Intermediate  team had been successful.    L Scott then said that the Autumn and Spring Congresses were successful and she thanked A Hassan, our Honorary Congress Organiser, for all her hard work in making them a success. The Secretary informed the meeting that one club had not re-affiliated this year, Lurgan, and this was due to decline in membership.  She said that the clubs overall seemed to have a decline in membership however a few were thriving.  The Secretary then thanked all those who had assisted her throughout the year and mentioned in particular A Hill, S Millership, N Irwin, R Burns, B Scott and T O’Gallagher.  L Scott said that the final touches were being put to the diary and that it would be available at the Autumn Congress.  Finally she said  T McKeever had been a pleasure to work with and, if re-elected, she looked forward to working with T O’Gallagher.
The report was adopted,  proposed by J Millership and seconded by M Warnock.
  The Hon Competitions Secretary’s Report – was presented by B Scott who explained  that a list of  the winners of all 2009/2010 competitions had been distributed to all present.  He congratulated all those had been successful.  He explained that the Competitions sub-committee had tried to encourage as many players as possible to participate in the various competitions by way of personal contact, distributing posters and fliers, circularising by email and posting on the NIBU website.  He was pleased to report that entries had increased in most events and made particular mention of the fact that, with the re-introduction of the Inter A league after an absence of several years, there had been a full complement of 5 divisions.  This included 8 teams at Inter B level.  He hoped that those new to teams bridge had enjoyed the experience and would be back next season.  B Scott expressed gratitude to regular TD’s, A Hill and S Millership, without whom it would have been impossible to arrange a programme of competitions, and to I Lindsay who, despite being new to the role, had proved a very competent league organiser of  the Premier II, Inter A and Inter B divisions.  He also thanked S Jones, T O’Gallagher, A Anderson and J Lavery for acting as TD’s on an occasional  basis; L Scott for dealing the boards throughout the season; G Mackenzie for including details of competitions and subsequent results on the website; S Jones and T Casey for continued press coverage of events; I Hamilton for “hands discussion” at the Robb Cup; R Johnston, T Young, G Fitzgerald and D Cannell, for their helpful involvement in the competitions held in their areas.  B Scott expressed appreciation for the efforts of his sub-committee, A Anderson, D Cannell, T O’Gallagher and, especially, A Hassan who had prepared all the posters and fliers.  He thanked all those who had taken part in the various competitions during the season and hoped that even more would get involved in the future.      

The Hon Masterpoints Secretary’s Report – R Burns reported that another year of master pointing had reached a successful conclusion.  He took the opportunity to thank all those who sent him master points from the clubs, Ian Hamilton for the Inter-Club points and particularly A Hill and S Millership who were very efficient in getting the results of all competitions to him generally the day after the competition has been played.  R Burns said that there was one promotion to Grand Master this year, M Mackenzie, and he congratulated all those who were promoted and also I Hamilton on winning the Billy Kelso Trophy.  The report was adopted on a proposal by E McNicholl and seconded by D Cannell.

 

The Hon Treasurer’s Report was presented by N Irwin who thanked A Fitzpatrick for her excellent work auditing the books.  She said that a huge source of our income comes from the Interclub competitions and thanked I Hamilton for organising them all. N Irwin said that the expenses might seem high this year but that the Union had bought a computer.  She said that the Autumn Congress had been very successful and that a small profit had been made, however the Spring Congress had not been as profitable. N Irwin also thanked all the Tournament directors, S Millership, A Hill, A Anderson, J Lavery and S Jones for so promptly forwarding all entry money and results to her and asked that we encourage more players to play in competitions.  N Irwin also thanked A Hill and L Scott who had lodged money for her when she was out of the country.   She then presented copies of the Financial Report, explained details of the accounts and said that she was glad A Fitzpatrick was at the meeting to answer any difficult queries.  The accounts were passed and the report was adopted on a proposal by R Burns and seconded by J Spiers. 

The Report of the Selection Committee was presented by L Scott on behalf of the Selection Committee.  (See copy attached). The report was adopted on the proposal of  I Lindsay and seconded by F Boyd.
 
Chairperson’s Address

The outgoing chairperson, TMcKeever related a short anecdote.

He then handed over to the incoming Chairperson, T O’Gallagher.

 T O’Gallagher then thanked the outgoing Chairman and the Union for giving him the privilege of being Chairman and he hoped he could justify this worthy role.    He went on to say that the Union was blessed by having officers who are both diligent and efficient and he looked forward to working with them.  He added that he saw his duties as being (a) turn up; (b) say a few words; (c) don’t offend anyone; however he said he was not  infallible nor the perfect diplomat and asked that, if anyone felt offended by what he said, then they should come up and tell him. The Chairman said that he hoped to visit many clubs this year and invitations were welcome.  He concluded by saying that he wished to follow a long established custom and adopt a motto for his term in office;  he said that his chosen motto was, “Bridge with a smile”.

 

Election of officers                            The following officers were elected:-

 

Vice-Chairperson:                               S Millership - General Purposes Committee recommendation.

President:                                              A Sharp – proposed by A Hill, seconded by I Hamilton.

Hon Secretary:                                     L Scott re-elected proposed by J Millership, seconded by M Murray.

Hon Treasurer:                                     N Irwin re-elected proposed by L Scott, seconded by R Burns.

Hon Competition Secretary:             B Scott re-elected proposed by S Millership, seconded by I Hamilton

Hon Master Points Secretary:           R Burns re-elected proposed by J Millership, seconded by A Fitzpatrick.

Hon Congress Organiser:                   A Hassan  re-elected proposed by L Scott, seconded by T McKeever.

Hon International Match Manager:                S Millership re-elected proposed by A Hill, seconded by B Scott.
                                                               
Hon Auditor:                                        A Fitzpatrick re-elected proposed by B Scott, seconded by N Irwin.

Hon Solicitor:                                       C Burns re-elected proposed by A Hill, seconded by I Lindsay.
                               
Delegate to Bridge Great                    S Millership re-elected proposed by I Lindsay, seconded by M Murray.
Britain                                   

Delegates to IBU                                 The following were elected:  T McKeever. T O’Gallagher, L Scott, N Irwin, S Millership, I Lindsay, F Boyd and A Hill, on a proposal by J Millership, seconded by R Burns.
                                                               
Selection Committee                          S McCaughan, G Mackenzie and M O’Kane are due to retire this year. S McCaughan and G Mackenzie  are prepared to stand again for election.

                                                                J Millership proposed by M Murray, seconded by B Scott
                                                                R Plunkett proposed by R Burns, seconded by A Fitzpatrick
                                                                J Murchan proposed by A Anderson, seconded by J Lavery
                                                                G Mackenzie proposed by P Johnston, seconded by A Fitzpatrick
                                                                S McCaughan proposed by N Irwin, seconded by I Hamilton  

                                                                Convenor for first meeting, R Burns, appointed by the chairman.

AOB                                                       S Cairns asked if there could be a system whereby masterpointing throughout Ireland could be unified as problems had arisen at the Fermanagh Congress with regard to cross-border players.  R Burns said that each member was supplied with a registration card indicating their ranking and that this should be carried at all competitions.  He went on to say that as the Fermanagh Congress did not come under the banner of the NIBU it was up to the organisers to decide who could or could not play where.  He advised that if a player didn’t produce this card, if and when queried, then that person had to play up at Senior level.

                                                                I Hamilton asked the Secretary about the Commonwealth Games in India.  L Scott said she had had no communication about it.  S Millership said that she had received email communication about it and had forwarded it to the Selection Committee.  I Hamilton then asked if a team was going to Sri Lanka.  He was advised that the organiser, Siva, would be at the Bangor Congress in July and things could be clarified then.

                                                                C Burns told the meeting that J Lavery and M Coffey had not been informed by the Selection Committee of their non selection for the 2nd Camrose weekend, in fact they had been informed by another member of the team.  L Scott referred to the minutes of a previous GP Meeting where this had been discussed and it had been agreed to advise the Selection Committee that decorum dictates that those not selected should be informed at the time those selected were informed.  S McCaughan on behalf of the Selection Committee said that this would be taken on board.

                                                                C Burns asked about all competitions being held at K&M.  She said that half an hour was insufficient for tea and that a lot of people didn’t want soup and sandwiches.  She preferred to go and have a full meal and have a much longer interval.  B Scott said that most players wanted a short break and as a result finish early in the evening.  Some discussion then took place about the meal at the Interclub teams competition. It was suggested that too much was charged and not even tea or coffee let alone dessert offered.  B Scott said he would consider this issue  

                                                                E McNicholl asked about the possibility of having competitions spread around and said that, for example, the Lodge Hotel in Coleraine may be willing to host one.  E McNicholl was asked to look into the costs, bearing in mind the number of participants and the cost of hiring rooms etc.

                                                                M Warnock said that Maghera were holding a charity night and encouraged attendance.

Presentation of Prizes -                   
Players of the Year -                   Intermediate ‘B’             M McIlroy
                                                Intermediate ‘A’          T O’Gallagher
                                                Senior                          I Lindsay
                                                                                                                            
                                   
Trophies for NIBU Major Competitions were then presented by the Chairman

The Chairman then said a special bit thank you to our Honorary Magazine Editor, D Cannell, and asked that all those present endeavour to assist him by supplying copy.

The meeting was then declared closed at 9.05pm by the Chairperson, T O’Gallagher who thanked all those in attendance.

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NIBU Alerting and Systems Policy

 

Alerting
As from 16th September 2004 the Alerting policy of the NIBU has changed. The new policy is as set out in the diary. Your attention

At the start of every round each pair must inform their opponents of their basic system (e.g. forcing club, strength of no trump opening, 4 or 5 card majors) and their carding methods and in particular any unusual openings for which opponents may need to prepare.

During the bidding no call above the level of 3NT is to be alerted unless it occurs on the first round of the bidding. Calls above the level of 3NT after the first round of the auction are to be alerted at the end of the bidding. The dummy or declarer alerts the defenders before the opening lead. The defenders alert after the opening lead has been made but before it is faced.

Alertable calls

The following bids are considered natural and do not require an alert:

Any offer to play in a suit for the first time, which shows
•  Three or more cards in a minor suit
•  Four or more cards in a major suit
And says nothing about any other suit

The following conventional bids in common use need not be alerted:

Stayman 2 club response to 1NT (provided it guarantees a 4 card major)

Strong Acol 2 club opening bid

 

Doubles

Any double of a one level suit opening or response at the one level by an opponent is deemed to be a TAKE OUT DOUBLE. All other doubles are deemed to be PENALTY DOUBLES. Any variation from this rule must be alerted.

 

Systems

The NIBU has adopted the English Bridge Union Orange Book as far as Systems and conventions approval is concerned. Copies of this can be downloaded from the EBU website at www.ebu.co.uk on the Internet. The following levels apply to NIBU events:

Open non-handicap NIBU competitions Level 4

Junior, Intermediate and Handicap competitions Level 3

Any system may be played in the Premier League 1 and the Kelvin cup, provided 1 weeks notice in writing has been given to the opposing Captain, of any systems not allowable at level 4 with full description and a suitable defence. The opposing team shall have sole seating rights whenever such systems are played and may consult a written defence during bidding.

It is the duty of each player to check whether the system/convention they are using is allowed in the competition in which they are participating.

If Clubs wish to adopt the Orange Book the NIBU recommends that they use Level 3. This allows all the usual conventions while protecting club players by banning odd bids with the exception of Multi.

EBU Permitted Conventions Broad Descriptions

What follows is merely a broad guide and should not be relied upon.

Level 1

System Old fashioned simple Acol

Conventions Only Stayman, Baron, Blackwood, Gerber, 5NT Grand Slam Force

No sputnik double

Level 2

System Natural systems, Strong Club, Canapé

Conventions Snap, Support bids, Bergen raises, fit jumps, Complete freedom to FG from strength, and following a FG bid and from openers rebid. Two suited overcalls if 1 specified. Texas . 2NT may be a weak minor two-suiter 5 Hcp range. All continuations after a 1NT opening.

Two in a suit openings may not mix weak and strong options

Three in a suit must be natural or pre-emptive.

Level 3

Systems

Conventions Except for a slightly restricted Multi 2 ¨ two in suit openings may not mix weak and strong options. 3 level opening bids must have 4 in bid suit. Transfer overcalls.

Level 4

Systems

Conventions Light opening bids. Transfer and Relay responses. Wide variety of opening two bids but if a weak variety then at least 1 suit specified.

Variety of 3 level bids. 2NT may be weak 1 of 2 suits.

Level 5 Details to be decided by sponsoring organisation

Systems

Conventions

Note on levels 1-4

Multi is illegal at level 2, slightly restricted at level 3

In practice odd 3 level bids are only permitted at level 4

2 ¨ 0-11 and 2 unspecified 5 cards suits are not permitted

2NT both minors is permitted at level s 2 and 3 with a 5 point range, unrestricted at 4

2NT one unspecified minor is only permitted at level 4

HUM (e.g. forcing pass) systems are not permitted at any level