The TBA Committee met at the TBA on Tuesday April 13th from 3.30pm. PARTICIPATING: J Rhodes (Chair), M Gibbs, S Edler, K Marsden, I Bailey, E Gee, R Giles, L Cooke, J Grosvenor APOLOGIES: Sue Falkingham The following matters were discussed:

Tasmanian Gold Swiss Pairs – April 9th – 11th

A big thank you to Katherine Marsden and her organising team for the successful running of this event. The organisation of the event was widely praised and the TBA received a personal thank you from Ron Klinger. For the top two finishing Tasmanian RESTRICTED PAIRS the ABF awarded a $2000 per pair travel subsidy to compete in the Restricted Butler trial in Perth in July. The successful pairs were John Cummings and David Marshall, and John and Mardi Grosvenor. Our congratulations to them, with our best wishes for their performance in Perth. The Committee, as well as many event participants, thought that the flowers provided by Julia Johnson and Sharn Davies added a wonderful touch to the event and we wish to convey special thanks to Julia and Sharn for their efforts with the flowers.

State Team Nominations

The following pairs were recommended by the State Teams Selection Committee to represent Tasmania at the 2021 ANC in Perth. Open Andrew Richman- Sandra Richman John Bailey – Hilton Francis Women Maria Gibbs – Julia Corr Julie Rhodes – Margaret Gibbs Seniors Fiona Hickey – Alaine MacMorran Pam Murphy – Barbara Giizel Following a recommendation from The Ross meeting, it is up to the nominated teams to decide whether or not they wish to select an additional pair from other pairs already nominated to make a team of six.

The Committee decided that one late nomination received could not be considered.

Teams of Three

The inaugural Day Time Teams of Three was confirmed for Sunday August 15th. This will be a two session event and replaces the previous Wednesday night event. Teams of three beginners will be captained by an experienced player, and each member of the team will have a turn at playing with their Captain. There will be a shared lunch, so book this into your diary and organise your Team of Three! Experienced players willing to act as a Captain are also asked to “reserve this date”. Team entries and volunteer captains will be called for in June.

Name Badges

The TBA has decided to look into the provision of Name Badges for its members. There are two reasons for this :

1 We have a large number of new members of the club 2 They can be worn to identify TBA members playing at other clubs.

It was suggested that a Name Badge be provided to new members as part of their initial joining fee, and that existing members could purchase one for themselves at cost price if they wished to. Once costings of the badges are investigated, the Committee will revisit the topic.

Entertainment Book

For many years, TBA Members who enjoy dining out, have purchased the Entertainment Book through the TBA. A proportion of the cost of the purchase has gone to the TBA and useful funds have been raised from that purchase. The Entertainment Book (like many other things!) has now gone digital. A big thank you to Jill Kilburn who has taken over managing our account from Jane Tyson and who has been working with the Entertainment Book to manage this transition on behalf of our members. Jill says that the new product looks good with additional products and services being offered. We will soon be sending an email to all our members about the Entertainment Book which will have links provided to ensure that if you do wish to take out a digital subscription, that the TBA sill receives a proportion of your payment.

COVID-19 Contact Tracing Directive

As we move closer to being able to run at 100% capacity, the Tasmanian Health Department is planning for life with COVID-19 by mandating the use of the Check In TAS App with all “relevant premises" I have today spoken with the Tas Dept of Health to clarify our position with respect to this directive which takes effect from May 1st. As our Bridge Clubs is a purpose built facility, this makes us a “relevant location” for the purposes of the directive. This means that from May 1st, all members spending longer than 15 minutes at the club will required to check in via this app. In order to do this, you will need to down load the Check In Tas app if you have not already done so and use it to scan the TBA QR code prior to the commencement of the session. In order to make this as easy as possible for our members, we plan to place small laminated copies of our QR code on the tables, as well as multiple copies around the walls. This means that you can sit down and then check in at your table if you prefer. The app also makes it easy to check in additional people, such as your partner. Those who are unable to register via the QR code, MUST sign in via a book which will be kept on a table near the entrance. I urge all members to comply with the directive which appears to be “the new normal”. Members of the TBA Committee will assist you to down load or operate the App as you become familiar with it.

Youth Bridge

Youth Bridge lessons will move Friday afternoons from 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm in Term 2. This is due to the large number of extra curricular activities undertaken by the participants.

Building Extensions

Work is about to start on the digging of the “Test Pit” for the Contaminated land report required as part of the process toward the construction of our club extensions. Part of our car park will be cordoned off during this process, and there will be some loud noise from time to time. We ask for patience and co-operation from our members during this process.

TBA Centenary – 2028

2028 is the Centenary of the formation of the TBA. Anyone who would like to join a Centenary Sub-Committee to help plan and implement our Centenary is welcome to make themselves known to the Committee.

Julie Rhodes
President, TBA April 2021