Deputy Director(s)
I need a Deputy Director – how do I get there?
I’ve been the TD of my small Bridge Club for over 10 years qualifying (EBU) as such in 2016. Up until recently, when I was on holiday etc., our previously retired TD would stand in. He has now moved on and I now have nobody and I need to recruit one (or more) of the members to learn the job.
I don’t want to put out an email all the members in case argumentative Jim volunteers as he will lose us members. I could ask helpful John but do I then also have to also ask his wife? How do I get to where I need to be?
Next: Do I write up my own training manual or is there something out there? Do I teach him/her just how to run a movement or a movement and some simple rulings or what?
Comments
I'm sure it's not deliberate, but you seem to have discounted at least half of your club's membership from consideration! I would just start by thinking who might be suitable and interested, and approach them. All clubs have some members who have more interest in the laws and movements than the majority (and they aren't all men!)
Get the volunteer to shadow you for a while and then get the club to sponsor them on an EBED Club TD course.
Hi Pont. I understand where you are coming from and agree with your final sentence "" Do I teach him/her just how to run a movement or a movement and some simple rulings or what?"". It is, for a number of people, a very big step going from being a bridge player to a club director. I have asked members in the club whether they are interested and most have said that it is a big responsibility to take it on. Even getting a scorer isn't an easy task. My wife, as club chair, has also put out gentle feelers but with similar reactions. I have come to the conclusion that it is better to split down all the basic tasks and get different people to do them for a period and then swop the tasks around. We have allocated out the board duplimating (we have no club premises) and several people help with setting up the room. I have almost "conned" one member into uploading the scores (to Bridgewebs and EBU) at the end of the session. I have one member that is starting to get interested in setting up the computer so I will "nurture" that in the coming weeks.
As far as TD is concerned I think that we (that is all of us in the EBU) need to consider how we help members move from being a bridge player to either a scorer, or Director or both. Yes some will not need a "formal" introduction and will be able to jump in, but to be honest, we need help in getting those people that don't normally jump in to participate in these very valuable positions.
So what do others do? Does your club have a "programme" for interested parties to follow through? If so are they willing to share it?
Having a shadow is fine but then you might have two or four people that have their evenings' bridge interrupted. I think to some the interruption of the Auction or play (never mind the chat at the end of the round) is something that they can't deal with. I know that on several occassions I have mucked up a hand after dealing with a problem at another table. That is to be expected, brain fade comes in.
I suspect Pont, you are like me and a volunteer. Definition of a volunteer - person who didn't stand back fast enough. If we don't get enough volunteers then we wont have to worry too much about getting more members back to face to face.
Thanks Dibbler . . . I've got one willing volunteer. I searched for a guide to the basics of doing the (TD) job and couldn't find anything. I've created a a guide (my guide from my expereince) on choosing a movement and reasons for choice and how ro run it and the potential pitfalls. If that proves to be of value/worth I post it on our (Bridgewebs) web site for any future others. If he can get running the movements sorted that's the easy bit done; the scoring is simple enough, the Laws and Rulings will then be down to how much time he's prepared to put in.
There is information about movements on the EBU website, as well as many other articles for TDs which, although perhaps too involved for a starter TD, may be of interest to him in time, as well as to other readers of this forum.
Thanks Gordon for the links.
I've read that and I've read it before (or a previous version). I'm sure we all have our priroties and I'm sure that having 12+ tables brings it's own set of problems (I could count on one hand the number of times in my 40 year Bridge life when I have played with more than 8 tables). As a player and now TD (in a Club that averages 5 tables) my choice of movement starts with the question "is it perfectly balanced" and as I prefer to play less or more boards than desired to get that 'balance' that's what they get. The doc in the link seems more focused on getting the right number of boards to fit in with a given time rather than the 'balance' and consequent fairness and true result in what is (IMO) a test of skill competition. I the guide I have prepared for my voluteer deputy I go into some length on why he should choose this movemnet because it is balanced and NOT that movement because it is not balance. All that said, I often take a look at what other Bridge Clubs near me deliver and it does look like many of them put board numbers and time before balance.
The players are the ones who matter and for most of them it's more important to have a game of the expected number of boards, with sufficient accommodation of those who have difficulty moving, than one that is theoretically more balanced. This is especially so as there are plenty of other factors that will randomise the results in most club games.
Great post - getting volunteers is difficult, especially when people are not seeing the issue. Normally the volunteer process begins when a previous volunteer stops being able to perform that role for whatever reason. Normally someone begrudgingly step up at that point. So making those people aware of the issue - that bridge might need to be cancelled when you are on holiday/sick or whatever, may be the first step to getting a volunteer.
For me as a club director, the single most important thing is to have players enjoy themselves well enough to come back and play next week. Getting judgement calls/laws correct, selecting a movement that pleases people and keeping a friendly atmosphere are all part of that process. However, one trick I have used is to make a preliminary judgement and offer to look at it again at the end of the night and after you (as a playing director) have played the hand. For example, with a revoke, the standard trick correction applies, unless there should be more tricks given to the NOS - so give that with an offer to look at it again later. Normally this pleases everyone at that point in time and any ill feelings of being 'cheated' dissipate by the end of the evening. So, my tip for a new director with more contentious claims (say a break in tempo) is to just make a preliminary call now, with an intent to review the situation later - normally by that time tempers calm down enough to discuss sensibly.
Regarding movements - fairness is important, however, I have noticed that there is no real difference in reality between running a Full Howell, 3/4 Howell, Hesitation Mitchell or whatever - the better players end up towards the top etc. More important for most clubs seems to be the number of boards played - people want to finish by a certain time (you can hear people saying they are tired and grumbling over time once you get past 10pm, in my experience). However, we also have some people travelling quite a distance, so playing too few boards is not great either. So an absolute minimum of 21 played boards (with a preference for more) and a maximum of about 27 boards is about right for us. If playing as few as 19 boards or as many as 30 boards for the sake of fairness is best for your group, then go for it. For us, finishing by 10-10.15pm and playing around 24-27 boards are the required parameters.