I have read with great interest several recent notes on this web site regarding NCBC priorities, and while I usually prefer to let my actions speak louder than my words, I feel compelled to enter that dialog.

For example, Jim Somma concludes, from “...reading reading two articles on the Daily-Recap website” that “...the main objective of the Nature Coast Bridge Club is to make money.” 

After reading two articles on the Daily-Recap website, it is abundantly clear that the main objective of the Nature Coast Bridge Club is to make money. This is clearly stipulated in the table count essay and the article dealing with having a separate 299er game. The year-end figures bear this out: a 6.2% increase in total tables in 2011 over 2010 and a whopping 97.2% increase in the Wednesday game thanks to the 299ers.

Running a bridge club is a business and should be managed according to good business practices.  When our clubs merged in 2009 and started paying almost $2000 per month rent and table set up, it became a bigger business.  We rented the clubhouse for 265 days a year which works out to be about $92 per day.  From Jan through Dec. that year, we averaged:  Tues: 7.88 tables; Wed: 6.3 tables and Thurs: 4.46 tables per game.  The table count dropped during the last quarter.  Faced with diminishing revenue from the Tues, Wed, and very low revenue from Thursday, the board tried to find ways to increase income on those days.

As originally envisioned, a separate beginner's game would allow newcomers to become familiar with the mechanics of Duplicate Bridge, without the stress of strict rules and director calls interfering with their learning. But now it seems to have become a separate club and is destroying the parent.

As Lee and I reflect on our Crystal Cruise, we had a great time.  The Symphony was lovely, the food and entertainment great, and the bridge players were abundant.

We both taught bridge on the two cruises.  Lee taught beginning bridge, doing a terrific job, averaging 24+ students.  At the end of his course I offered a supervised play for the beginners.  I averaged about 40+ students in my intermediate class; they loved the Doubles course material and the “hands on” approach.  We had a card room full of enthusiastic players on all seadays on both cruises, averaging 11+ tables of bridge.  It was very satisfying to us to have such great participation.

In anticipating the changes in procedures that will be necessary in our new quarters, some "player effects" came to mind.  No longer will we have to hurry away after a game -- we can sit and socialize, discuss hands, or just wait for results.  No more standing around, shuffling back and forth, with no place to relax.  This should result in a more convivial and quiet atmosphere at the end of games.

This is probably the finest Bridge Club Web-Site in the State. It is about Local Bridge Players, written by Local Bridge Players, and intended for Local Bridge Players. What can I do to support it?