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AUSTRALIAN YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS - JAN 2001
INTRODUCTION
AYC2001 was very popularly received by the players. The amount of feedback about the players enjoying themselves was overwhelming, so we can expect them to return next year, age permitting. The introduction of sponsorship of players provides hope for growth in numbers, and the new "Under 16" component has great potential if promoted more fully.
VENUE
Burton and Garran Hall provides an ideal free playing area with cost-effective accommodation, but this year their lack of staff during the university holidays put a lot or pressure on me as Convenor.
The best solution is that before anyone else takes over from me as Convenor, I write a detailed guide to how to overcome B & G's shortcomings (e.g. how to solve their staff not even knowing how to unlock the Playing Area - yes, we were locked out of the Playing Area for much of the 24 hours before play began).
For no cost, I negotiated airconditioned space for up to fifty tables, with toilet, kitchen (free tea/coffee, fridge), urn, whiteboard and suitable partitions to separate the Under 16s from the older players. The special accommodation rate of $18-50 a night was heavily discounted from Burton and Garran's normal rates.
We discovered more nearby shops and eating places than in 2000, and also discovered more potential billeting possibilities this year. Interestingly, this year every single non-local stayed at either Burton and Garran or with friends/billets, so we have overcome 2000's problem of informing everyone that the venue is the place to stay. The large sum which Burton and Garran received for accommodation in 2001 virtually guarantees that in 2002 we can negotiate the same deal of a free venue.
FORMAT
Matthew McManus's Director's Report is available on request to me (Peter Gill) for those who want full details.
The Trans Tasman Challenge proceeded rather well for an event which was adapted to include the Oceania players.
The Pairs (4 sessions, 2 Qualifying and 2 Final/Consolation, then BBQ) was a success, with 12 tables including seven overseas players (4 NZ, 2 French Polynesia and one Tonga).
I wrote in my 2000 AYC Report: "The Teams Format did not attract any negative comment. I am unsure whether we should have a Butler or Teams selection in 2001. There were 9 teams."
With 12 Teams this year, of whom four were "ineligible", a Round Robin of 12 board matches determined the Teams winners. As in 2000, an ineleigible team won, and 2nd and 3rd, being the top ineligible teams, then played a 64 board match to detemrine the Australian Youth Team.
This format for the Teams attracted substantial negative comment in 2001, despite being the same as in 2000 when it attracted support. Now that the field is becoming large enough to support a Butler with second-tier events for non-qualifiers, following consultation between youth players and others, a new method (not dissimilar to the new Open Selection Method) has been distributed to 30 interested people for comment, and will be considered by the ABFYC soon.
The last day of a Speedball and Board-a-Match Teams for non-qualifiers (introduced experimentally in 2000) was even more popular in 2001, and should be retained.
UNDER 16 TEAMS AND PAIRS WEEKEND
Had four tables and went well, given that the Convenor ran very late in promoting this event. Brad Coles was a good volunteer Director and was given a present as thanks. Two players from Sydney, one from Melbourne, rest from Canberra.
Basically the U16 events currently exists due to Dorothy Jesner's success in Canberra, and hopefully the other States will start to catch up to her over the next few years. Dorothy believes that with proper promotion the potential exists for up to 12 tables in the Under 16 events.
SPONSORSHIP
A successful innovation in 2001 was that sponsorship was provided to meet the costs of those who either could not afford to come to Canberra, or could not afford to stay for the NOT. The final accounts of the sponsorship are still being finalised but our thanks go to Avon Wilsmore and John de Ravin for making a positive contribution which boosted the numbers of both the Youth and NOT by a table or two. Such sponsorship is needed more than ever in these days as the bulk of university students are more destitute than ever.
ORGANISATION
Once again there was a lot of last minute preparation, e.g when the on-site Dealing Machine broke down, the Director and the Convenor worked very long hours. Andrew Mill helped out e.g as BBQer on the Tuesday, and Susie Coleman and Jillian Hay helped in a lot of ways. David Lusk assisted for the first three days, but in 2002 we need to consider having a third organiser present for the last four days as well.
Matthew McManus drew praise once again both for his professional direction and relaxed leadership of the socialising afterwards. The latter is becoming particularly important now that the players are a bit younger and more in need of supervision even after the bridge finishes. A number of unusual problems occurred this year (e.g. illness of players); all such problems were adequately solved, but as the ages of the players lowers, the workload on the organisers will continue to increase. The World Junior events have a much higher ratio of staff to players than we do.
Matthew is worth every dollar that he was paid.
Popular services provided to players
included:
(1) The certificates and notices provided by David Stern were most
suitable, and impressed me amongst others.
(2) The prizes, mostly bridge books,
were well-received.
(3) The small personal trophies also went down well. There
were problems tracking down one large trophy from NZ.
(4) The Player's Booklets,
produced by David Stern, were a very popular innovation.
At the Brainstorming Session after the Teams, the players all agreed that an increase of $5 or $10 in the fees was justified, given the high level of services included in the fee.
Matthew posted masses of information during the Teams, including Datums. This year we did not have time to do any Youth Daily Bulletins, but thanks to Earl Dudley and Michael Wilkinson, coverage in NOT News was good.
Food for the lunches and BBQ turned out OK, after we survived some initial chaos on the first weekend. Having two BBQs - one on site on Sunday and the other on Tuesday - blew the budget a little but was most popular. For the overseas visitors some wild kangaroos obliged by skipping past our BBQ/cricket game in Weston Park at sunset on the Tuesday.
We should update our list of full-time students each year so that we can check that the right amounts are paid.
My approach to Prizegiving Ceremonies was very informal, but this seemed to be accepted as OK.
There were significant additional demands on the organisers due to the presence of the French Polynesian and Tongan players. There has been some discussion whether the benefits of pursuing overseas players outweigh the strain placed on our limited resources of both manpower and money.
ACCOUNTS
To be finalised soon. There are still several unresolved items possibly involving payment for some New Zealanders' accommodation. A smallish loss is anticipated.
CONCLUSION
The event was fine, except that feedback indicates that a new Selection Method is appropriate now that the field size is large enough to make other selection methods preferable.
One last point. The first 25 teams to win the AYC Teams have ALL included at least one player who has gone on to represent Australia at Open or Women's bridge. Thus the AYC is important not just as an event but as an event which encourages the players to behave in a manner befitting the future superstars of Australian bridge. I believe that all the organisers of the AYC in the last two years have contributed positively to this aim, while developing the Teams from 4 tables in 1999 to 12 tables of happy young bridge players in 2001.
Peter Gill
March 2001