AGM Follow Up

A significant part of the MC meeting was devoted to follow up items from the AGM.

At the AGM there was a query as to whether the present limit of $10m on Management Liability insurance was adequate. TBIB and the ABF Finance Committee have been consulted. They were initially of the view that the present limit of indemnity of $10m is adequate, but we have decided to ask for some further quotes.

Some items were deferred to the next MC meeting because States require more time to give their feedback on Teacher recognition, experiences with Restricted events and managing player suspensions.

1.      Managing Player Suspensions at the National level

The 2016 AGM discussed managing player suspensions. After discussion, Council agreed that all players suspended at National level should be banned at all National and State events and all State level suspensions should be transferred to National events.

The MC was asked to investigate whether the Masterpoint system could be used to support the banning process. This is not feasible. A manual process, probably involving Tournament Organisers and/or NECs, is being considered. This will be supported by changes to the Tournament Regulations.

2.      Affiliation Conditions

We are starting a project to establish and standardise affiliation conditions across all States. Kim Frazer will write to all States to ask for further information.

3.      Review of Committees

The MC meeting reviewed all of the ABF’s current committees looking at efficiency and effectiveness. Several committees, eg the library committee, the Newsletter committee and the Olympic Committee have been disbanded. Other committee changes have been proposed and are being worked through. Details will be published on the web site at https://www.abf.com.au/about-abf/committees/ when finalised. We will also introduce a standardised form for defining the objectives and operation of each committee.

4.      Investigation of Hosting a World Championship in Adelaide

We have provided S.A. representatives John Zollo and Bill Lockwood with access to the documentation we have on World Championships and will follow up with them in time. Bruce Neill will work with Bill on initial planning and report to ABF Council at its November meeting.

Venue for next Playoffs

The Open Playoffs (12-17 November 2016) and the Seniors and Women’s Playoffs (3-8 December 2016) will be held at the Ibis Styles Eaglehawk Canberra, a conference retreat located about 10 minutes from Canberra CBD and airport on the Federal Highway.

Government Relations

MC is delighted to say that David Wawn has agreed to take on the role of Government Relations Officer. David has a very suitable background for this role. He will liaise with our National Marketing Officer, Sandra Mulcahy, in deciding his priorities and plan of attack. His initial focus will include making government more aware of the health benefits of bridge, particularly to aging players; exploring routes to introduce youth organisations to bridge; and access to grants & funding.

International Performance

MC has formed a committee to investigate ways of improving performance of international teams. Members are Kim Frazer (Chair), Marianne Bookallil, Sartaj Hans, Peter Hollands and Liam Milne.

ANC

Congratulations to the winners of the Interstate teams:  NSW in the Open and the Youth; QLD in the Women’s, and SA in the Seniors. The ABF MC thanks the Convenor, Charles Page, and his team on an excellent and enjoyable event, with a healthy increase in numbers for the Butler events.

The ABF has introduced a feedback page at www.abf.com.au/member-services/feedback/ and are now using it to seek player feedback on the format and length of the ANC Open and Women’s Butler Pairs Championships.  All interested parties are invited to comment by email to playoffsdiscussion@abf.com.au by 31 July.

Bridge for Brains

NeuraRA gave the MC an update of the success of 2016 Bridge for Brains. We are delighted that the bridge community has now raised almost half a million dollars for this important research into Alzheimers and other dementias, which are such a burden on sufferers and their carers. We urge as many clubs as possible to support Bridge for Brains in 2017.

Accessing MC Communiques on the ABF website

Several people have asked for the MC Communiques to be more easily searchable so that past announcements are easier to find.

The web-master has added another “Category” called ABF Communiques to the web-site. If you select News from the top menu this category is now the first item in the Categories list in LHS menu.

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The Management Committee welcomes feedback and suggestions on the above or other subjects. The next meeting is on 10^th–11^th September 2016 in Sydney.

ABF Management Committee:
Bruce Neill (President), Allison Stralow (Secretary), Roy Nixon (Treasurer),
Dallas Cooper (MC Member), Kim Frazer (MC Member),
Russel Harms (General Counsel), Keith McDonald (Observer),
Jane Rasmussen (Executive Secretary).