CENTRAL AMERICAN & CARIBBEAN BRIDGE FEDERATION

 

 

Board of Governors’ Meeting

Hotel Herradura Golf Resort & Conference Center

San José. Costa Rica

 

 

May 2005

 

 

 

 

The Board of Governors Meeting was held over three sessions, on Friday, May 13, Monday, May 16, and Wednesday, May 18 on the occasion of the 23rd CACBF Zonal Championship hosted by the Asociación Recreativa Nacional de Bridge de Costa Rica.

 

The sessions were variously attended by the following officers and delegates:

 

Jean-Yves Dabreteau (Martinique), President

Lesley Atherley (Barbados), First Vice President

Lillian Morganti (Venezuela), Secretary

Hugh Williams (Trinidad & Tobago), Treasurer

Jean Louis Derivery, delegate to the WBF

John Mac Gregor, Costa Rica, Chief Tournament Director

Tony Watkins, Master Point Registrar

 

Delegates:

Anguilla, Alan Gumbs, Roy Horsford

Barbados, Leslie Atherley

Bermuda, Sheena Rayner

                 Stephen Ball

Costa Rica, Rodrigo Quiros, John Mac Gregor

Dominica, Richard Green

French Guiana, Eric Cellier

Guadeloupe, Jean Louis Derivery

Guatemala, Sergio Spinola

Guyana, Dennis Beepat

Guyane Française, Eric Cellier

Jamaica, Charles Williams

Martinique, Jean-Yves Dabreteau

Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao), Els Maas

República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Eduardo Rosen

Trinidad & Tobago, Nicky Inniss.

 

Meeting of May 13

 

The President welcomed the delegates and thanked Costa Rica for hosting the present championships, underscoring the hard work of the organizing committee and the excellent accommodation rate which they had negotiated.

 

Report from the President: 

 

Mr. Dabreteau then presented the President’s Report, a copy of which is filed with these minutes, and salient topics of which were:

 

     Welcome to Anguilla.  A welcome was extended to this new member of the CACBF, which organized the OECS Championships in 2004.

 

     Review of the traditional tournaments held in our zone since 2003.  The President has attended all of them, and reports that each was very successful.  These are:

          - OECS Championships, Anguila, (as mentioned above) (most recent venue)

          - Sun, Sea and Slams, Barbados (held there annually)

          -  Southern Regional Tournament, Trinidad & Tobago (most recent venue).

 

     Announcement, upcoming OECS Championships, 2005.  These will be in Dominica in July.  As many zonal players as possible are invited to attend.

 

     Evaluation of bridge in Zone 5.  Though attendance at events is good, there is a lack of development, and the recruitment of young players poses considerable difficulties.  To attract young people to the sport, the zonal NCBOs have taken different steps, for example; a program of bridge developed for a local TV station, training courses, promoting the teaching of bridge in schools.

 

    Cuba.  The yearly bridge festival in that country is growing year by year, and now attracts many players from Europe and elsewhere.  It is hoped that Cuba will eventually be able to join the CACBF.

 

    Requirements of the WBF for Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup, Seniors participation: After 2005, the world body will insist that in order to participate, the Zone must have over 2,000 registered players, and that players going to WBF events have to stay in WBF recommended accommodations.

 

    News Magazine:  The President hopes to get a zonal bridge magazine under way.  It would be sent by Internet.

 

Meeting of May 16

 

After greeting the delegates present, the President offered apologies to Venezuela (República Bolivariana de Venezuela) for not having mentioned that country when the participants in this 23rd CACBF Championships were welcomed at the Opening Ceremony.  He had been asked at the very last moment to give an address of welcome, for which he had not formally prepared, and this was an unintentional omission.  The tournament organizers and the CACBF are aware that the large Venezuelan delegation is contributing in a big way to the success of these games.

 

Treasurer’s Report:

 

Hugh Williams gave a rundown of the CACBF financial situation, which presents several countries in arrears, and one or two that have been completely out of touch with the organization for several years.  Of countries that had been behind in paying, the treasurer mentioned that Guyana is now up-to.date, and that Venezuela is paying in full here in Costa Rica.  He called for decisions on the following:

 

     Haiti. The bridge organization there seems to have disappeared, undoubtedly because of that country’s unsettled situation.  Mr. Dabreteau offers to try to contact them on the matter.  It is decided that if, after this, their debt is non-recoverable, they will be suspended.

 

     Panama.  There has been no reply from them to repeated attempts which have been made to contact them.  The board decides for suspension.

 

     Antigua & St. Kitts.  The OECS will contact them regarding payment of outstanding dues.

 

     Surinam.  Dennis Beepat considers that they could make an effort to pay, and he will urge them to do so.  The board agrees that they will be given a leeway ot six months to catch up.  Should they fail to do so within that period, they will be suspended.

 

     Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao).  They are expected to pay up their outstanding.  Mrs. Els Maas, the Curaçao delegate, states that the Curaçao bridge organization has three clubs as its members, and not individual players.  There are only eight players there interested in international competition (of a total of 75 players in Curaçao) and who want to pay the $5 per player charged per annum by the CACBF in addition to the $75 dues for each NBO.

 

Mr. Dabreteau stresses that Curaçao must find a solution to its money problem, at the same time making the point that the CACBF wants Curaçao with us, and that it is an important and respected member.  It is pointed out that Martinique and Bermuda have the same type of situation, as does Guatemala, but they pay their full CACBF yearly dues.  Basically, it is each NBO that pays.

 

A motion is made to support the existing dues structure of the CACBF, namely, $75 per annum for each NBO, and $5 for each player within that NBO.  All present vote aye with the exception of Curaçao.

 

     Aruba.  Aruba has not been heard from lately, and it is urged that contact be re-established.

 

Visit from Jose Damiani, WBF President:

 

Mr. Dabreteau announces that José Damiani, President of the WBF, will be arriving in San José within two days to be present at these championships.  He should meet with the greatest possible number of players.  The CACBF president is calling a meeting for Friday, May 20, at 8:30 a.m., in the playing room, with the maximum number of players to attend for a Question & Answer session.  He is counting on each delegate to get out as many of his/her country’s participants as possible.

 

 

 

NBO Reports:

 

The President now calls for reports from the NBO delegates present on the situation of bridge in their respective countries, on their activities over the past two years and on their future plans.  The reports are presented in the following order:

 

     Trinidad & Tobago.  There are no junior or youth players, and the delegate considers that “we are like dinosaurs.”  The NBO has government funds available for teaching bridge, and is trying to interest schools in this endeavor, “but the youth is more interested in video games” and such.

 

The NBO has regular tournaments throughout the year, and has a membership of 60 players.  The T & T Bridge Association will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2006.  They want to develop an expanded Southern Regional Championship, to be held possibly in May.  In this regard, Mr. Dabreteau urges them to coordinate with the OECS

 

     Jamaica.  A tournament is held twice weekly by the NBO.  They do have some young players joining, and there is plenty of money available.  Attempts have been made to introduce bridge in the schools, “but the young don’t even want to play chess”.

 

     Bermuda.   The climate prevents expansion of the game among the young.  Further, some students work and don’t have the time available for a game such as bridge.  Nonetheless, the average age of Bermuda players is the youngest in the ACBL.

 

There are 187 active members and five games per week of seven to 14 tables.  A regional is held in January.  The directors are voluntary.  A stimulant was a series of lectures given to the Bermuda players by Mike Lawrence.

 

     Guatemala.  The Guatemala NBO wishes to state that it wants to be proposed as the venue for a CACBF Regional Championship.

 

     Venezuela (República Bolivariana de Venezuela).   There are ambitious plans here to make a teaching video in Spanish and English both, explaining what bridge is.  Once the video is shown, particularly to students and young people, the Federación Venezolana de Bridge will offer free classes to interested groups.  This video will be distributed to CACBF members.

 

     Dominica.   There are about 20 players, of whom 16 pay.  It’s a struggle to get three tables together.  The limited number of players is due in part to migration spurred by the economic situation.  A bright spot is that there are eight interested young players, and a number of older people are interested in the NBO’s bridge teaching program.  It is hoped that Dominica’s hosting of the 18th Annual OECS Bridge Tournament this coming July 7-10 will bring in funds.

 

     Guyana.   Dennis Beepat reports that there is no league in operation.  He is going to try to get something going  for bridge in Guyana.  Things have reached a state where “we can only go up”.

 

     Anguilla.   There are 12 players there, and for competition the bridge organization depends on tourists particularly.  Many people play whist in Anguila, and it is hoped that they can be incorporated into bridge.  As regards finances, there has been support from local institutions and, looking to future development, the interest of many young people in video games is a negative factor.

 

     Costa Rica.   There are four games held weekly, and the state of bridge here is considered healthy and very active.  90 per cent of the players are Europeans and Americans, and the NBO is trying to get Costa Rican youngsters interested in the sport.

 

     Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao).  The current situation of bridge there was described by Mrs. Maas when the Treasurer’s Report was discussed at this meeting (see above).

 

     Barbados.    There is an age problem, with a dearth of younger players.  The NBO has approached schools and will have a two-week course during the holidays.  There is an ACBL program.  Barbados has a training program every year, and this year there were 16 participants.  Some players do not join the league.  The NBO has the support of the Barbados Olympic Association.

 

Barbados has been holding a very successful tournament open to players from everywhere since 1990.  It is the Sun, Sea and Slams tournament.  Originally it was a week long, but the period has now been reduced to five days in order to accommodate more players.  Barbadians are encouraged to travel to other international tournaments.

 

         Guadeloupe, Guyane Française (French Guiana) & Martinique.  The state of bridge in the three French territories within the CACBF was described by Jean-Yves Dabreteau.  Bridge is very successful in all three, with over 300 people participating, as follows:  Guadeloupe 113, Guyane Française 71, Martinique 130.   As regards Martinique in particular, one hour of bridge is taught in the schools there; further, Martinique goes to all the CACBF tournaments and to other international competitions.

 

Election of Officers:

 

The president calls for election of a new CACBF board of directors to serve for the next two years.  He asks for nominations from the floor, and also states that the present board, which he considers satisfactorily representative of the zone, would be willing to continue to serve for another period.  A motion is made that this board be maintained for two more years.  Carried.  Those elected are:

 

Jean-Yves Dabreteau (Martinique), President

Leslie Atherley (Barbados),Vice President

Lillian Morganti (Venezuela), Secretary

Hugh Williams (Trinidad & Tobago), Treasurer

 

Also confirmed are :

 

Jean Louis Derivery, delegate to the WBF

John Mac Gregor, Chief Tournament Director

Tony Watkins, Master Point Registrar.

 

 

Venue for 2007:

 

The 2007 venue for the CACBF Championships has to be given priority consideration in order to get things moving.  The following possibilities are presented by the president:

     A cruise in the Caribbean:  This would be an exciting innovation, demanding a great deal of preparation.  It is an intriguing idea, but several delegates point out that in 2007 such a cruise would clash with the World Cricket Championship scheduled to take place all over the Caribbean at the same time.

     Guatemala:  The delegate from Guatemala has indicated great interest in hosting a CACBF championship. 

 

Discussion of the venue will continue at the next session of the Board of Governors meeting two days hence.

 

 

 

 

Meeting of May 18

 

Continuation of discussion re: 2007 venue:

 

Regarding the proposal made by Guatemala, Mr. Dabreteau states that their NBO has the support of the Sports Administration of Guatemala, which ensures their funding.  They also have an appropriate playing site.  The delgates present feel that this offer should be viewed most favorably, as it is being made voluntarily and with enthusiasm.  The CACBF will confirm its interest in the offer.

 

With reference to the zonal competition being held on a seven-day cruise, as proposed by Mr. Dabreteau, it is stressed that all aspects should be investigated in detail, including overall costs.

 

Since the CACBF championship venue must be defined latest by March of next year, it is agreed that all the countries in the zone will be contacted to inquire about their interest in hosting the event in 2006, and to request concrete proposals.  Replies must be in by October 2005.

 

CACBF Simultaneous Pairs:

 

John MacGregor asks whatever became of the CACBF Simultaneous Pairs, which had been held in the zone for several years.  Eduardo Rosen proposes that the contest be renewed.  Approved.  Traditionally, this had been a once-a-year competition, with proceeds to go to the Junior Fund.

 

Several proposals are made as to the time format to be employed, among them: allowing a five-day span during which the Simultaneous Pairs could be played in the various countries; more frequent zonal simultaneous games, possibly every month; on a Saturday; on a Sunday; on one weekend during the year. 

 

The Board opts for the last of these proposals for the re-launching of the Simultaneous Pairs in 2005.  It is decided that it will be held the weekend of November 12/13 next.

 

Letter from Ana Maria Torlontano, President, WBF Ladies Committee:

 

Mr. Dabreteau reports that he has received a letter from Mrs. Torlontano requesting biographies, with photographs, of some of the lady bridge stars in the CACBF zone, to appear in WBF publications.  An effort will be made to comply with her request.  The president mentions one possibility, Janine Moers, who has played a number of times for Guadeloupe internationally.  Of course, there are many other prominent bridge ladies in the other member countries who can be tapped.

 

In closing this 2005 Meeting of the Board of Governors, the president reminds delegates of the meeting Friday, June 18, at 9:00 a.m., in the playing room, of as many as possible of the bridge players present for the current championship with Jose Damiani, WBF President.  Everyone is asked to come.

 

 

The CACBF President wishes all the delegates Godspeed, and looks forward to seeing them again at the next Board of Governors Meeting in 2007.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Lillian Morganti

Secretary

CACBF