The EBUTA newsletter August 2015 December1 2015 Contents December 2015 Page Editorial 3 Welcome to Sue Maxwell 4 An Apology 4 A Great Deal with VuBridge 5 Are you Covered 7 Communications 8 Education Sim Pairs 2016 10 A Quiz 11 Of Etiquette and Ethics 12 Convention - Contention 15 Teacher Get-Togthers 17 Sur le Pont 18 What Went Wrong...? Avignon Edition 21 Project Updates 22 Friend or Foe 24 Pianola 26 Staying in Touch 27 2 Editorial What does it mean to be an EBUTA Member? As readers of the Accolade would be aware, EBUTA membership can be held at associated, full and professional levels. Anyone can join EBUTA upon simple payment of their annual subscription but only Full and Professional members are entitled to describe themselves as “Qualified Bridge Teachers”. There are currently over 700 EBUTA members – split very roughly between the three categories in the ratio 10:7:2. Membership is growing steadily and we are processing more applications for Full and Pro membership than ever before. “So what’s not to like”, as my children say to me? Behind this encouraging performance, there are two fundamental concerns: First, our “rate of churn”. Although we are creating over 100 new members of EBUTA each year through our Club Teacher Training courses - all delegates on these courses are automatically enrolled into EBUTA for one year – and we get other joiners throughout the year, our annual growth in membership is only about 30 members per year. That means that we are losing – or failing to hold - almost 100 members every year. Relative to our total membership, this percentage is very high, even if one allows for a natural rate of attrition. Why is this? Second, there are several very good bridge teachers who prefer to offer their services “outside the EBUTA tent”. A superficial reading of this might ascribe this situation as being due to a “misunderstanding” of the relationship between EBUTA and Bridge for All. One reason may be that some may have thought that to be an EBUTA member, one has to use Bridge of All methods – but this is not the case: something which we have perhaps not been as good at publicising as we might have been. [Another category of bridge teacher is the dedicated group of people who provide bridge teaching in schools] AEBUTA has been a remarkable success in its thirty years of existence, but the question must be asked: is our “offer” truly relevant to our members in the current bridge teaching environment. What would make it more so? Should we be advertising more strongly to consumers so that they understand the value of choosing an EBUTA qualified teacher? Should we be offering continuous professional development opportunities? Are our testing methods for Full and Pro membership rigorous enough, or too rigorous? Are the other services we offer (including this magazine) of real value to our members? Indeed, do our members really understand the full range of services we do offer – and, if so, are these priced correctly? We know that the secret to having a growing community of bridge players is to have a strong (and growing) community of bridge teachers. Write to us to share your ideas – some of you have already done so, but we need much more – to paraphrase Jerry Maguire “We are out here for you, help us... help you. Help us, help you” Simon Barb 3 Welcome to Sue Maxwell As you may be aware, Simon Barb has finished working as EBED Manager - though he has kindly edited this issue of Accolade. Jon Taylor has also stepped down from his role as EBUTA Manager, though will be continuing to work in a part-time voluntary capacity with the organisation. EBED thanks them both for their contribution, and for the work they have done to develop EBUTA. Permanent appointments will be made in the New Year, but until that time Sue Maxwell will be working as interim EBED Manager, thus ensuring continuity of service to EBUTA members. Sue worked for the EBU for seven years around the turn of the millennium, and was one of the architects of Bridge for All. Since leaving the EBU she has worked as a full time bridge teacher both on cruises, and on dry land, and established Aylesbury Vale Bridge Club, where many of her pupils have made the transition from ‘pupil to player’. When not at the EBU offices in Aylesbury, Sue is trying to complete the purchase of a house in Shrewsbury. Please don’t hesitate to contact Sue with any queries - [email protected]. An Apology We have been delighted at the number of you who have applied for Full and Professional status within EBUTA over the past year. Attaining these marks of recognition really set you apart from the crowd and are a key reassurance for your students (and yourself, perhaps) that your teaching methods are of the highest quality. The process of becoming qualified is not arduous but there are a number of important steps which need to be completed correctly so that we can ensure that standards are maintained. Additionally, qualified members are entitled to certain privileges as explained on our webpages: www.ebedcio.org.uk/ebuta The downside of this rush of requests for qualification is that we have not been able to process all applications as fast we would have liked and, of course, we are unable to compromise the standards or requirements. We apologise to those of you who have been waiting for some time and wish to reassure you that we continue to work hard to clear the (small) backlog. Please bear with us….. And for those who are wavering about applying for these qualifcations –wouldn’t this be a worthwhile challenge to set yourself for 2016? Full information is available through the webpages or send an e-mail indicating your interest to [email protected] and we’ll send you a pack. 4 A Great Deal with VuBridge As you will have read in our recent e-mail, we are delighted to have concluded an agreement with VuBridge which offers a very significant enhancement of our support for EBUTA teachers. Research of our members needs has repeatedly shown that one of the most important benefits of EBUTA membership are our Handbanks, accessible through the EBUTA Teachers Zone. These handbanks developed by Andrew Kambites cover the syllabus for a typical two to three year beginners’ course and are grouped into 50 sets (each of 16 deals): 32 sets cover bidding topics and the balance are centred on play. The popularity of this service is confirmed by the number of downloads which continue to be made from the site (and the correspondence which we receive). Through our new association with VuBridge, we are now able to provide our members with a major extension of this service which, we believe, has the potential to provide a significant enhancement of the learning experience which you can offer your students. The elements of our agreement with VuBridge cover: Significantly discounted membership of VuBridge for your students. FREE membership of VuBridge for EBUTA Teachers Enhanced features of VuBridge, allowing teachers to build VuBridge deals into your teaching program 1. Discounted Membership of VuBridge for students It is a truism that the way to proficiency in bridge (as with many other pursuits) is practice, practice, practice. It is for this very reason that supervised play sessions are one of the keys to students gaining confidence and thereby progressing on their route towards becoming duplicate bridge players. Such sessions are also very popular, although they can be very challenging for the teacher in terms of preparation and providing the supervision. VuBridge offers an excellent solution to this challenge and thereby a valuable resource for us all. The easy to use interface, recently further improved, and excellent lessons (which are structured in the same sequence as a beginners’ course) provide students with a superb opportunity to work (and play) through the themes which they have covered in class. Presented in a fun but challenging blend of deals and quizzes, we believe that use of VuBridge will enhance both the enjoyment and progress of all students. 5 Students can give VuBridge a free trial run by visiting http://vubridge.com/Minibridge.aspx Our special subscription offer for students is at www.vubridge.com/ebu Do encourage your students to give VuBridge a look– we think they’ll soon be hooked! 2. FREE membership of VuBridge for EBUTA Teachers Of such high quality is the material covered in the VuBridge syllabus, we believe that many teachers will want to build VuBridge deals into their lesson plans. Accompanying this strategic alliance between EBUTA and VuBridge, we are therefore providing teachers with free membership to V-Blue (VuBridge for students) so that you can see for yourself just how easy to use the system really is before recommending it to your students. Registering yourself for free use could not be easier: simply log into the EBUTA Teachers Zone (via the link on your EBU Members page) and select the link Sign Up for V-Blue in the right hand margin [By the way, you’ll see that we have moved around the material which we have in the Teachers Zone and added yet more material – do please have a good look around the Zone and let us know what you think of the new layout. Everything is still there and we hope you’ll find it easier than ever to access the information which you need - Ed.] 3. Enhanced features for teachers To help you provide the very best service to your students, we are very grateful to VuBridge for working with us to develop a range of tools which will allow you to work your lessons seamlessly in harmony with the VuBridge program of lessons.