CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - 2001-2002
| No one was more surprised than I when, at
the first Executive Committee meeting in
June last year, Mike Hill announced that
he would like to stand down as Chairman of
the Association but remain an active member
of the Executive Committee. He considered
that it was undesirable for the role to be
held by the same person indefinitely and,
as he had been Chairman for the past five
years, he felt that it was now time for someone
else to take over. I would like to formally
thank Mike on behalf of the Association for
the work that he carried out as Chairman
and also personally thank him for the assistance
that he has given to me while I have been
learning the ropes this year. It is with great sadness that I have to report the death of Dr George Baracs last Autumn after a short illness. George had served on both the Tournament and Executive Committees since June 1995 providing much helpful legal advice. He always had a friendly and charming manner and was well liked by all. His funeral was held on what was probably the wettest day last year but was well attended. The Association was represented by Mike Hill as immediate past Chairman and myself. The Lederer Memorial Trophy was successfully held in November. I was fortunate enough to be able to play in this year's event and so was particularly grateful to Nigel Freake who managed the event over the weekend whilst Christine Duckworth was unavailable. I would also like to thank the army of volunteers and Committee members who gave up their time to run the event so professionally. In particular, Sati McKenzie and James Smith who organised the catering and Peter Burrows who single-handedly did the hand analysis. I would also, of course, like to thank our President, Bernard Teltscher and Warwick Pitch of the Young Chelsea for their generous sponsorship without which the event could not take place on anything like its current scale. Queen's Club kindly hosted the final of the 2001-2002 London Trophy for which we are very grateful. Roger Morton and Steve Eginton have done an excellent job organising our one day green-pointed events and the remaining competitions in our calendar also took place successfully. Particular thanks is due to Gerald James and Ned Paul whose marketing activities ensured that high entry levels were achieved at events held at the Young Chelsea. A successful competition year combined with stable membership income has ensured that the Association's finances are in a good state. The Executive Committee reviewed our financial strategy in March and confirmed that the objective was not to make a profit from our operational activities but merely to ensure that they cover our costs and maintain the value of our capital when allowing for inflation. Any increase in our capital should come from advertising revenue or sponsorship and our target level of reserves is a minimum of £5,000. Superficially, the accounts for 2001 show a sizable profit but when non-recurring exceptional items and contingent liabilities are taken into account, we made a very small loss from our operations. As a result, with a very small number of exceptions, most of our competition entry fees will remain at current levels. Our reserves are only slightly below our target but Investec Private Bank has agreed to sponsor the Investec London Trophy for the 2002-2003 season and the inflow of sponsorship income from this will result in a significant growth in our reserves over the next year and possibly beyond. David Muller has worked very hard as our Youth Officer and his efforts are at last beginning to bear fruit. He has just taken over the running of the schools league from John Probst and we also have two new schools teaching bridge this year. We had the highest entry in the Junior Inter-County teams that we have ever had, including a team from Ireland, and Richard Probst was selected to play for the English juniors. At senior international level a number of London members have distinguished themselves including our own Treasurer, Steve Eginton, who won a silver medal in the recent European Mixed Pairs. Others who have done particularly well are David Burn, Brian Callaghan, Tony Priday, Nick Sandqvist and Rob Sheehan. Unfortunately, this international glory was not mirrored by the Committee who, for the first time, lost the annual match against the Surrey Committee. News of member's successes can be found on our website, www.metrobridge.co.uk. which is well managed and maintained by Roger Morton. At EBU Headquarters in Aylesbury, there have been a number of staff changes with the appointment of a new General Manager, Terry Collier, and the departure of Sue Maxwell. The range of services offered by Aylesbury to individual members, clubs and counties is set to expand as new software and systems are put in place and also as the needs of a wider spectrum of bridge players are taken into account. London has always been innovative and forward thinking and we are well placed to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise. Overall, I believe that the outlook for London is favourable. However, I must sound one or two cautionary notes. Without Bridge for All members; our total membership would have declined. One of our challenges in the short term is to ensure that we retain these members if possible. We will also have to do our utmost to ensure that our London Trophy sponsor benefits from their relationship with us. Finally, the outlook for county bridge over the medium term is that we are likely to have to operate within an increasingly onerous legislative framework, for example, the Data Protection Act, the Disability Discrimination Act and in relation to the supervision and care of young persons. All of these factors are likely to make increasing demands of the Committee but I have no doubt that we will rise to the challenge. David Martin Chairman |