Trustees report to the members year end 31/03/2021 Our charitable aims are:
For the public benefit
The advancement of amateur sport by promoting the game of bridge for the benefits of the residents of Preston and the surrounding area; the provision of facilities for the learning, teaching and playing of bridge for the benefit of the residents of Preston and the surrounding area with the object of improving conditions of life.
During the year we have carried out the following in accordance with our aims:
Continued our assisted play programme online unfortunately with very limited attendance we hope to improve on this when the club re-opens for face to face bridge
Unfortunately, we have been unable to continue with lessons because of lack of interest and lack of teachers wanting to or able to work online. This is an area of great concern to the trustees and we urgently need:
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1) someone with the skills to undertake a recruitment of students programme.
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2) people to deliver online training if we decide that is the route to go down
In the past we have made our facilities available to the Lancashire Contract Bridge Association
No face to face tournaments have taken place this year so LCBA has not used our premises.
Online Bridge
Preston have continued to participate in the BPS project providing online bridge to all Preston members who wish to play online. In the region of 100 members have used this facility
This year we have promoted our services to the people of Preston by:
We have a Facebook page which is regularly updated by Dave Parkin.
Along with our website this promotes our facilities, lessons and novice sessions to all who might want to learn more about Contract Bridge and to experienced players who may want to join us.
Financials
Accounts are at the end of this report all is self explanatory performance has been good due to all the work put in to online bridge and generous grants from Preston City Council.
Note to members
We are currently planning on a return to face to face bridge please watch our website, newsletters and emails for updates.
A message from the Chair
I would like to thank all members who have been working in very difficult circumstances, for all their time and considerable efforts. The Trustees and Committee have put their best endeavours into securing grants, when available, to help secure the future of the club. This together with support from members, playing in BPS and Realbridge has seen our financial position hold steady at a level we did not think we would achieve in the circumstances.
We look forward to a limited return to F2F bridge together with continuing sessions online for the next year, when we hope the situation going forward may be clearer. I look forward to seeing more of you in person in the very near future.
Christine
AGM
It is a while since we had a AGM. It was our intention to hold one in September but the decision has been made to postpone this and it will now take place in January 2022.
The Effect of Covid 19
The club closed due to the Covid-19 epidemic on 12 March 2020 and is not due to re-open until September 2021. Preston BC members have been able to play online throughout most of this period through BPS Online, which is a partnership with Bolton and Southport clubs. This has enabled the club to remain cash positive throughout this period. The club has also introduced a Friday online session for Preston members only, which has proved very popular as it uses an online platform, with video and audio, enabling people to see and speak to the other players.
It is generally accepted that the bridge environment has changed permanently, with the future being a mixture of face-to-face and online bridge. This will clearly have a big impact on Preston Bridge Club, but with our excellent premises and online partnerships, the club is confident that it will be able to thrive whatever changes the future brings.
Appendix 1
Accounts Preston Contract Bridge Club Y.E 31/03/2021
| 2019/20 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income | |||
| Membership | £2,544.00 | Online Bridge and Membership |
£18,658.00 |
| Table Money & Tokens |
£15,271.00 | Bank Interest | £5.00 |
| Competions Net | £1,679.00 | Events | £338.00 |
| Room Hire | £90.00 | Grants | £3,000.00 |
| Teaching Course | £479.00 | ||
| HostingEvents | £1,553.00 | ||
| Misc Income | £350.00 | ||
| Lessons and Supervised Play |
£2,483.00 | ||
| Bank Interest | £9.00 | ||
| Teaching books | £126.00 | ||
| Total | £24,584.00 | £22,001.00 | |
| Expenditure | |||
| Repairs and Improvements |
£3,387.00 | Repairs and Improvements |
£26.00 |
| Housekeeping | £1,379.00 | Housekeeping | £75.00 |
| Internet Telephone | £563.00 | Online Bridge Costs | £5,162.00 |
| Insurance | £399.00 | Donations | £413.00 |
| Equipment | £723.00 | Internet Telephone | £433.00 |
| Furniture and Furnishings |
£75.00 | Accounts System | £280.00 |
| Electronics Consumables | £153.00 | Competition Entries | £40.00 |
| EBU and LCBA | £3,006.00 | EBU & LCBA | £2,020.00 |
| TeachingCosts | £742.00 | TeachingCosts | £70.00 |
| Refreshments | £829.00 | Bridgewebs | £73.00 |
| Prizes | £513.00 | ||
| PPS | £98.00 | ||
| Software and Web | £73.00 | ||
| Handbooks | £149.00 | ||
| Cards | £144.00 | ||
| Fylde League and other comps |
£75.00 | ||
| Misc | £280.00 | ||
| Publicity | £15.00 | ||
| Membership refunds | £30.00 | ||
| Total Expenditure | £12,633.00 | £8,592.00 | |
| Surplus | £11,951.00 | £13,409.00 |
Notes
Events
The items for events is a late banking from the previous year
Rent
We are currently paying no rent or service charge due to the money we have spent on the building this will commence on the 1[st] November 2022 at a rate of £10,000 per annum including service charge.
Methods and Consequences
We currently work on a strict receivables basis so no accruals or prepayments. Whilst this is simple it may not always accurately reflect the true situation. This is particularly true where there are changes to system. This year has been a unique year all our bridge income has come from online bridge the costs of which we pay the following month. These costs for March 2021 are £678 to be paid in April
We now also have a members account which at the end of March showed we were owed £641 This includes some BPS and membership charges which may not be renewed.
Bank Balances
Brought forward £ 16898 profit £ 13409 Carried Forward £ 30307
Bill Alston April 2021
Note on Independent examination
In view of the smaller number of transactions, the restricted activity due to covid and the difficulties with meeting with the independent examiner it has been decided to forgo the independent examination this year.