MIT/DL BRIDGE CLUB ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES - 15 JANUARY 2002 Meeting presided over by club manager Gary Schwartz. Approx 40 members in attendance. Treasurer's report (Jennie Edeburn) The club is sound financial condition. Membership committee report: (Gary Schwartz) Club membership increased to 114 members - a new record!!! Table count was 801 tables in 50 games - an average of 15.4 tables/week Player of the year: Sheila Gabay, with 29.65 POTY points (a new record) Club Championship winners: Sheila Gabay and Paul Kinney Newcomer Report (David Metcalf) Bridge Plus game last year was very successful - 160 tables in 43 games!!! Many of the players will be coming to the Tues game this year Club Series class has 37 students this year Slate of officers proposed and accepted by white ballot: President: Jonathan Weinstein Treasurer: Walter Lee VP Publicity: Peter Wong VP Membership: Brad Mampe Secretary: David Metcalf Club Manager: Gary Schwartz --------------------- OLD BUSINESS --------------------- Computer-generated hands: Last year we agreed to use computer generated hands for approximately 12 games/year, and to reconsider at years end. The issues: Pros: It is nice to have hand records to go over the hands after the game Cons: The hands take time to set up - we end up starting the game after 6:45. The problem is made worse by last minute and late arrivals New players sometimes have trouble making the hands (an aware director can solve this by not seating 4 newcomers at the same table). Difficulty in adding late pairs PROPOSED: That we continue to use computer generated hands for 12 games/year, with the director having discretion not to use such hands PASSED BY VOICE VOTE --------------------- NEW BUSINESS --------------------- DISCUSSION Gary brought up the issue that the club was becoming too large for the space we have. The room in the student center 3rd floor can only hold 20 tables, max. What do we do if >40 pairs show up? Gary suggested three options, and asked for the sense of the club on the options: 1. Close entries when we run out of room (refuse to sell >40 entries) 2. Find space at Draper lab 3. Move to three adjacent classrooms in building 4 Option (1): The sense of the club was that, as an open community, we dont want to turn people away if we could possibly avoid it. Some asked if the problem might not be self-correcting - people turned away wouldnt come back, and the club would stabilize at 40 pairs. However, this was not seen as an acceptable solution. PROPOSED: That the option to cut off entries is not an acceptable option PASSED BY VOICE VOTE Option (2): There exists some large space at Draper Labs. The problems: 1. The club would need to purchase tables and chairs 2. Students prefer the club to be on campus 3. Nearby food in student center is appreciated 4. There is no guarantee that the space in question will be available in the future, though Gary claims that there are other rooms we could get at the lab. 5. If we left the student center, we might well not be able to return in the future -reserving a large room every Tues is hard Option (3): The problems: No food nearby, and no food allowed in the rooms Setting up the tables and resetting the room every week is a pain. No formal poll was taken, but the sense was that we should stay in the Student center if at all possible, building 4 was a 2nd choice, and Draper Lab a 3rd choice. DISCUSSION Gary suggested that we review the formula used for selecting the Player of the Year (POTY). The current formula treats every game as if it were a "regular game," and awards POTY points equal to the # of masterpoints which would have been awarded (i.e., special games receive no bonus). More specifically, the formula is: Each table is worth .10 POTY points. 1st place gets 100% of the points, 2nd place gets 70%, 3rd place gets 50% etc. The top 40% get points The award is capped at 1.5, even for games with >15 tables Some issues: 1. Should special games count more? 2. When there are multiple sections, the award is for your section only 3. Games with sections with >15 tables don't get full awards, because of cap PROPOSED: That we use masterpoints awarded to compute POTY FAILED, BY VOICE VOTE PROPOSED: That the 1.50-point maximum cap be removed for computing POTY points PASSED, BY VOICE VOTE PROPOSED: To increase the number of boards to 24 for all games ACCEPTED AS FRIENDLY AMENDMENT: To increase the number of boards to 24 for any game with 3 board rounds, and which does not have hand records. PASSED, BY VOICE VOTE PROPOSED: To increase director fees slightly. PASSED, BY VOTE OF 11-6 PROPOSED: That IMP pair events always be scored by cross-IMPing, rather than by using a datum table of two expert pairs This was voted down last year, but reproposed this year. PASSED, BY VOICE VOTE PROPOSED: For the 2-session Club Championship, if an individual playing with two different partners compiles the highest combined percentage score, then that individual wins the Club Championship (solo). PASSED, BY VOICE VOTE PROPOSED: That Brian Lee and Walter Lee, in appreciation for services rendered to the club, are awarded the honor of Life Membership to the MIT/Draper Lab Bridge Club. PASSED, BY VOICE VOTE Meeting adjourned, sometime around 10:30 PM dcm: 15.1.02 5