Draft Minutes of a Meeting of the NEBA Council held at St Georges Bridge Centre Darlington
on Friday 11 January 2008 at 7.30 pm

Present:
Pauline Durie (Chairman) Mike Baker (Secretary) Dai Bryson, Josephine Finney, Catherine Longley, & Margaret Owen.

Apologies:
Ken Pattison, Ian Rankin, Anne Hauxwell, Dave Dansie, Ian Spoors, Ken Spragg, John McCourt, Jocelyn Gordon, Elaine Purvis, Clive Owen, & Jill Harrison.

1. Minutes of the last meeting.
   Dai Bryson proposed, and Catherine Longley seconded that the minutes be accepted as a true record. This was agreed. The Chairman thanked the secretary for the detailed annex summarising each clubs’ views on the EBU proposals. Of the 16 clubs who copied the EBU questionnaire to the secretary, 2 expected to cease affiliation, one was undecided, and the remainder expected to remain within the EBU.
    
2. Matters arising from the minutes.
   Item 4b. Dai Bryson pointed out that the results of the final round of the NBL were still not on the web.
    
3. Chairman’s remarks.

              a.  The Chairman paid tribute to the brilliant job done by the Treasurer, Sue Caygill,
                   who had recently resigned after a number of years in post.
                   Pauline said she would miss her, both as an efficient treasurer and as a strong voice in the Executive.

2. Pauline addressed the issue of visitors, and stressed that they should always be welcome – we are an open county and encourage players to play wherever they wish, and all our clubs should be aware of this. No one, not even novices, should be excluded. The website link from the main EBU site shows that two of our clubs specifically do not welcome juniors. The Chairman hoped this was an oversight, and would write to the two clubs concerned. Juniors are up to the age of 25, and they are tomorrow’s stars! She further stressed that visitors should acquaint themselves with the location and start time of any club they intend visiting, and have a responsibility to arrive in time. She was aware that the use of Bridgemates made accommodating late arrivals tricky, but suggested a little leeway should be allowed if visitors were expected.
3. Pauline said that she had originally expected to serve 2 years in the post, but would like to remain for a third year to see the changes proposed by the EBU implemented. This received general approbation.
4. The Chairman had enjoyed the Congress, and thought it had gone smoothly. She had particularly enjoyed seeing the young players on Saturday morning, as had all to whom she had spoken. She thanked the Congress Secretary, the Director, the County Youth Officer and their respective teams for their work in making the weekend a success. The 2008 Congress is 14-16 November.
5. She pointed out if a club representative was unable to attend a Council meeting another member could attend instead. She urged representatives unable to attend to notify their club in time for a replacement to be arranged.

4.   Secretary’s Report.
The Secretary drew attention to the new EBU “Focus” which is available on line, and will be published bi-monthly. It was suggested that club secretaries print a copy for their club notice board for the benefit of those without Internet access. He mentioned the newly overhauled website, and said he thought Neil Aiston had done a first rate job. Neil had also spent the Saturday morning of the Congress photographing the youth events, and subsequently submitting suitable pictures to the EBU for the magazine. The February issue will feature the event on the front cover. All agreed, and Council wished their appreciation to be recorded. The secretary finished by saying no further information had been received from the EBU appertaining to their draft proposals.

5. Treasurer’s Position.
   The treasurer had recently resigned, and discussions concerning a replacement were continuing.
    
6. Any Other Business.
   1. On behalf of the Tollemache team Margaret Owen thanked the Council for its support, and said the team had played well in the hardest pool, and were in a good qualifying position going into the last match. This was against the a Welsh team, and we lost, thus finishing 3^rd in the pool, with the top two qualifying. Hinckley was a much-improved venue.
   2. Several comments were made on the timing of the Gazette cup final, so close to the semi-finals of the Chronicles. The Chief Tournament secretary had intimated that he would be preparing some changes to the regulations to present to the Executive. This would include timing. The secretary pointed out that the draft calendar had been available for 3 months before printing, and no relevant comments had been received during that consultative period.
   3. Ian Rankin had asked via e-mail that council and executive meetings should not clash with NEBA events.

     7  Next Meeting.
There is no requirement for another Council meeting before the AGM, but when the revised EBU proposals have been received and discussed by the Executive, a further meeting may be called if deemed desirable.

     There being no further business, members thanked St Georges Bridge Centre for their hospitality,
                 and the meeting closed at 8.20pm

(M Baker)   Hon Sec