MANDURAH BRIDGE CLUB

Two of the world’s best players and teachers – Barry Rigal and Susan Picus will be visiting Western Australia next month on a lecture tour arranged by the Bridge Association of Western Australia. Their Resumes make exciting reading

BARRY RIGAL

Barry Rigal is a former Chartered Accountant and Oil Tax specialist who has lived for the last 15 yrs in New York as a Bridge Professional.

As a Player, Barry has won all the significant UK titles and has two US titles to his credit.
He has been a commentator for the WBF for 20 years and chief commentator for the last 5 years.
He has worked on bulletins a Vu graphs around the world, written for the World Championship book for the last 15 years.
He has published 10 books on bidding and play.
Barry has been married for 12 years to:

SUSAN PICUS

Susan is a five times world champion in the Venice Cup/McConnell
Susan has 1 x silver, 1 x bronze and 1 x gold medal; she is the most successful woman player of the last two decades.
Susan is also a many times national champion and has co-authored books on bidding.

Whilst the original intention was to restrict mid week sessions to metropolitan clubs, your committee has been successful in having Thursday 18th February allocated to the Mandurah Bridge Club.

The format will consist of a morning teaching session covering one their favourite topics – Building a better Mousetrap –Conventions and how to play them. This will be followed by an afternoon duplicate bridge session with hands reflecting these conventions.

The cost is only $ 20 per attendee for the full day and their will also be a raffle with the winner being selected to play with Susan in the afternoon. Tickets will be $2 each or 3 for $5. BYO Lunch.

This is a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to be part of what promises to be a wonderful bridge experience for our members. Numbers will be limited so register now to avoid missing out. The preferred method is via the web site – there will also be a book at the club.

In recent weeks some issues have been raised regarding the planned Bortolo Pavilion extensions as premises for the Bridge Club.

A lot of research was undertaken by the Building Committee prior to making a commitment to proceed with this project. The many other options researched were reported in detail, and presented at the Special meeting held October 2008 and in the annual report presented to the Annual General Meeting in May 2009.

With careful thought and planning this committee believes the final plan provides excellent facilities for the club to enjoy for the years to come. Its success now depends on us, the members. We can make it the happy and enjoyable bridge playing venue we have come to expect.

Here are the responses to the issues recently raised.

1. SHARING: The “key” issue of sharing facilities between a Bridge Club attached to the rooms of a major sporting complex. Unfortunately, unless we could afford to have our own premises on our own land, it is essential we share to some degree. Junior Sporting Groups that play on the field on Friday evening and Saturday Mornings will have no impact on the members.

2. Toilets: The sharing of toilets will only be with non Sporting groups using the Hall facilities. This will include adults attending the Kiosk during sporting events. The Sports groups have access to toilets and change rooms from outside entrances. The City of Mandurah is responsible for the cleaning of the toilets daily.

3. PARKING: The only day on which there is a potential parking conflict is Saturday and this can easily be overcome by starting Bridge at 1.30pm. A landscaping plan is being prepared by Council now.

4. SECURITY: It has again been confirmed by the Mandurah Police that the previous statistical information they provided is still valid. Bortolo is no worse than any other building, and records show that increased use of the building and the clearing of the undergrowth will help deal with this perceived problem.

5. NOISE: Noise disruption will not be an issue. Users of the existing Hall are all passive by nature and the sporting groups only use the facility on Friday evening and Saturday morning, except for Carnivals held a maximum of twice a year. The building has been planned to give the Bridge Club maximum privacy with acoustic operable wall and ceiling tiles.

6. USER GROUPS: All existing groups (including T-Ball and Soccer) were notified, by Mandurah City Council, in March 2008 of the proposed redevelopment of the premises at Bortolo. A further letter is being sent to the non Sporting groups to let them know they will be relocated while the building is under construction. During construction and after completion, representatives from the Mandurah Bridge Club and other user Groups will form a Facility Operations Group to establish an important dialogue for the smooth running of the facility and the prevention of any problems that may arise. This is stipulated in the ‘Heads of Agreement’.

7. LICENCE: The Club will be issued with an annual license to consume alcohol on the premises by the City of Mandurah at a nominal cost of around $35 per annum. This authority is given by the Manager of Recreation Services and will be available to us on application.

8. CONGRESS: The Bridge Club will be able to hire the total building for a Congress. This will be adequate for fifty plus tables. The Golden West Congress is another issue to be considered if requested.

9. LOTTERYWEST: A condition of the lottery funding is that we enter into a lease with Council for the use of our portion of the facility. The lease will be for 21 years and the annual license fee is around $800 per annum plus, a share of the depreciation of plant and equipment in the building. In addition to this we will have to pay our share of cleaning costs and electricity use.

10. FUNDING: The funding from Lotterywest was confirmed on the 18th September, presented by the Minister 0n October 6th2009, and published in our Newsletter which went to all members in early November.

11. HEADS OF AGREEMENT: The Management Committee authorized the signing of the Heads of Agreement negotiated with Council by the Building Sub Committee, by passing a motion at the October 8th2009 meeting of the Management Committee. This was following a clause by clause examination of the document.

12. TENDERS: Mandurah City Council approved the calling of tenders at its Meeting on October 13th 2009. Tenders closed on December 22nd 2009.

13. REPORTS: A building Committee report has been presented to the Management Committee at each monthly meeting which has then been placed on the notice board for all members.

Judith Tuckey
Chair, Mandurah Bridge Club Building Sub Committee

Effective immediately, members will no longer be able to attend Wednesday Sessions without a Partner.

Thursday afternoon will continue to available for players without partners.

Neville Walker
Bridge Convener