Bingo Basics

 Our club is very fortunate to have a Bingo time slot at the Dolphin Bingo Hall every Tuesday evening. It is a major source of revenue of our club, enabling us to provide the swimmers with opportunities and subsidies we could not otherwise afford without significant fee increases.  Because the bingo is such a valuable fund-raiser for the club, all families are strongly encouraged to participate. There will be some families who will opt out of doing bingo entirely, and for these families the buyout cost will be set annually. We hope that many families will choose to participate in Bingo as each bingo earns the club up to $1000.00, and we require our bona fide members to run these sessions, or we risk losing the bingo slot at Dolphin Bingo.  The bingo year runs from October – September. Families are scheduled 5 bingos per fall/winter session (Oct-Mar) and 5 bingos per spring/summer session (April-Sept). The bingo schedule is posted on the website. It is the responsibility of each family to check the schedule regularly for updates.  Four members of the club must be present to run the bingo effectively, one leader and up to three assistants. There may be additional members present to train. After one year of Bingo, members must participate in Bingo leader training.  There may be some families who would like to earn extra volunteer points by participating in the Bingo Plus program: do 5 extra Bingo sessions in a swim season and earn all 7 volunteer points.  Husband and wife with a minimum of one year Bingo experience may sign up for Couples Bingo in which they work a session together.  Each bingo team consists of a leader and a number of members. The leader is responsible for rotating the members of their team through the positions and sessions on a fair and equitable basis.  The leader must also ensure that the float money is brought to the bingo hall.  The leader is required to arrive at the bingo hall with sufficient time to pick up the paper work. The paper count must be completed and reconciled with the bingo hall figures half an hour before selling so there is time to do recounts prior to selling. If this is not done before selling begins and there is a discrepancy between our numbers and the hall’s numbers, the hall’s numbers must be used.  All other members who are working that session should show up at the designated time to help with counting paper. It is a legal requirement to have at least 3 bona fide members of the charity present throughout the entire session. The session is not over until the last number is called and all paperwork and accounting has been reconciled with the bingo hall.  Each member who is scheduled to work must work their session. If they cannot fulfill their obligation it is up to that member to find an alternate and to make the bingo scheduler and leader aware of who this alternate will be prior to the session.  Families who fail to show up for their bingo session without providing an alternate will be fined a penalty of $250.  Thank you to all members who have worked responsibly to make the bingo sessions a success. The continued teamwork of the parents in maintaining this source of revenue will enable our children’s team to enjoy improved equipment and opportunities in their quest for excellence.