MEETING OF WBF CONGRESS

WEDNESDAY, 30 AUGUST 2000 IN MAASTRICHT, THE NETHERLANDS

The meeting was called to order at 10.30 a.m. by the President, Mr Damiani, and the meeting proceeded as follows:

1. Roll Call to Determine Quorum

Mr Jean-Louis Derivery, Secretary, called the roll. The following member NBOs were represented by the President or his accredited representative, or by that representative's proxy:

The President declared the meeting open, a quorum having been obtained, there being 75 NBOs represented.

2. Approval of the Minutes of the 1998 Meeting

The minutes of the 1998 meeting of Congress, held on 26th August 1998 in Lille, France, which had previously been circulated to all NBOs, were approved and ordered filed with the official records of the Federation.

3. President's Report

Mr Damiani, as President, read his report and a copy is filed with the minutes of this meeting as Exhibit 3. The President reported on his activities and visits over the last two years and the achievements of the WBF during that time. He noted that the recognition of the WBF as an International Sports Federation had enabled a number of countries to join their National Olympic Committee and said that he hoped that more would be able to join in the future. He reminded the Congress that the WBF was still working towards joining the Winter Olympic Games in Turin 2006 and that there was still a slight chance of staging an exhibition match in Salt Lake City in 2002.

The President reminded the Congress meeting that the revised Constitution and By-Laws of the WBF that had been circulated to all NBOs, would need to be approved and said that he would be asking for a vote later in the meeting. The President proposed also that the Executive Council would review the new Constitution and By-Laws over the next two years, with a view to making further revisions to bring them completely into conformity with IOC requirements.

He informed them that, as he had mentioned at the last two meetings of Congress, the new dues structure had been approved by the Executive Council to take effect from 1st January 2000 but that, as a matter of courtesy, he was also asking for this to be approved by Congress after they had heard the Treasurer's report. He noted that the new scale of fees was $0.50 per member, with the minimum amount payable by an NBO being $200. However, he strongly recommended that each NBO should endeavour to collect $1 per member in order to have some resources available to continue the promotion of bridge, in particular the teaching and promotion for juniors, within their own country.

He said that the WBF had developed a teaching programme, available free of charge on the Internet and in the form of CD-ROMs, for teaching teachers, a demonstration of which would be given at the end of the meeting. He also informed the Congress of the new Code of Practice regarding the hearing and judging of appeals that had been elaborated by a sub-committee of the WBF Laws Committee in Lausanne in 1999 and that was being used here in Maastricht.

Finally, the President asked the Congress to approve the new Constitution and By-Laws which they did unanimously.

4. Treasurer's Report

Mr Retek, WBF Treasurer, presented his report which summarized the financial position of the WBF at this time and is attached as Exhibit 4. He explained the new dues structure and then asked if there were any questions.

Mr Ortiz-Patiño, President Emeritus, addressed the Congress and urged them to stand behind the President and the WBF. He said that the NBOs owed a great deal to the President for his ceaseless efforts to promote bridge throughout the world.

Mr David Harris from England said that the NBOs needed to help take the WBF forward. He was slightly worried that the new dues structure of $0.50 per member might lead some countries to declare a lower figure of members so as not to have to pay so much and this was his only reservation. However, he said that the federations would have to collect the money from their real members and it was obvious that they could not fund the dues from their own budget. He also noted that although the WBF had been willing to help with the promotion of bridge, the original reason for asking for $1 per members, the federations would now have to do this themselves.

Mr Micke Melander of Sweden said that when he came into the Congress meeting he had intended to go against the dues structure but said that he had changed his mind as he now knew what the WBF intended to do with the money. He also asked whether it would be possible to receive the papers concerning the meeting earlier, as he had had no idea of what would be discussed during the meeting.

The President responded by pointing out that the agenda for the Congress meeting was stated in the Constitution and By-Laws, and that he had presaged the new dues structures at last two Congress meetings in Rhodes and Lille. However, he said that whenever feasible, he would let NBOs have as much information as possible in advance.

Mr Aziz Haque from Bangladesh asked whether it would be possible to obtain a copy of the letter of IOC recognition. The President said that a colour copy of this had been sent to every NBO but that he would be happy to give Mr Haque another copy.

Mr Patrick Jourdain of Wales asked for a list of the countries that had achieved recognition by their NOCs and the President said that he would provide this.

The Congress meeting was then asked whether anyone was against the new dues structure or whether there were any abstentions. There were none of either.

5. Unfinished Business

There was no unfinished business.

6. New Business

The President then announced that Mrs Anna Gudge was going to give a demonstration of the new teaching programme. This was very well received by delegates, many of whom subsequently requested further information thereon.

Finally, the President introduced Mr Roy Tirtadaji, Chairman of the 2001 Bali Organizing Committee and Mr Arafin Halim, Secretary General of the Organizing Committee, who made a brief presentation of the promotional video they were going to show to the delegates. They assured the Congress that they were looking forward to hosting this event and promised a very warm welcome for all participants.

There being no further business, the meeting was terminated at 12:30 and all delegates were invited to join the President for cocktails.