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RICHARD'S THOUGHTS
Well done, Whakatane.
I am going to cheat a little this month and give my typing finger a rest(it’s the most well- worn finger in New Zealand!)and give the floor to one of our smaller bridge clubs which has something important to say.
For several years, Whakatane Bridge Club has had about 70-80 members. As at 30th June this year, they reported as having 109. That’s a very significant increase. Let’s see how they achieved this increase. News, then, from Whakatane.
Following an outstandingly successful membership drive earlier in the year, Whakatane Bridge Club has accepted 33 new members into its Club with another 7 already on the waiting list for lessons next year.
Having attended last year’s Regional Conference and seen the well- presented flyer put together by the Morrinsville Bridge Club, the Whakatane Committee decided to invest some funds and print a flyer to promote the game.
“It was something of a risk for us because it did cost money,” said President Riet Jansen. “However, the whole Club got behind the initiative and members, together with family and friends, stuffed flyers into letterboxes around the district. “It was a wonderful team effort,” Riet said.
The Club also made use of the new cinema advertisement made by New Zealand Bridge, running it in conjunction with the flyer drop for one month.
40 people signed up for lessons which is unprecedented for Whakatane Bridge Club and it soon became clear that the teacher Jenny Morris was going to need help!
Once again Club members offered their support so that every table had a dedicated person to assist. For “students” who were struggling, extra tuition was offered either at the Club or in members’ homes. The result is a group of happy new members who feel welcome and are thoroughly enjoying their new hobby.
A sight to make all Whakatane Bridge Club members feel very proud: a room full of new players learning from Jenny Morris the basics of our game.
Improvers’ lessons are now being planned as well as a Novice Tournament. Five pairs from Whakatane played in a Novice Tournament in Mt Maunganui recently and thoroughly enjoyed it, with one couple being placed 4th.
“It’s wonderful to see our Club regain an exciting buzz. While we understand that we need to continue to attract new people to the game, this has shown us that if we all pull together it can be done,” said Riet.
"Welcome to bridge at Whakatane. "
Food for thought for all our clubs who might be struggling a little. The short solution is “do something”. The resources are there to help all bridge clubs as Whakatane have demonstrated. Whakatane are very appreciative of the initial help it received from the Morrinsville Bridge Club. Involve your club members both in the getting new players to the classes and then as assistants in the classes themselves (but only your nice friendly members…and only members who want to help rather than teach. Teaching is “the teacher’s” role. Significantly, Jenny Morris came to the Bridge Teachers National Conference last month. This club is doing all the right things. It deserves to succeed.
As Reit has said, maintaining the interest, making the new players feel welcome is the hard part which Whakatane has still to achieve. It would be neat to be able to report that at 31st March 2017, Whakatane still has 100+ members. As they say,”watch this space”.
Richard Solomon
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