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Rugby Bridge Club
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Pay to Play Communication to EBU Affiliated Clubs QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR CLUBS ON UNIVERSAL MEMBERSHIP THROUGH PAY TO PLAY What are your plans for development? Since the EGM on 4 June we have been working hard on developing a Business Strategy Plan for the next five years. At the AGM in October this plan will be outlined and then published on the website for the membership as a whole. How will Pay to Play stabilise the organisation as a base for these future developments? We cannot build on quicksand. We need a strong foundation to build on and universal membership provides us with that. Pay to Play is the mechanism that we feel is the most effective and fair way of achieving it. Why haven't you considered any other forms of universal membership? We have. Our findings show that there would be administration overload, not only for the EBU but also for clubs if we run a subscription system or a hybrid system of subscription and Pay to Play levy, or two levels of subscription, one for tournament players and one for non-tournament players. This last system brings another level of administration and checking for tournament entry. · The Universal Membership Project Board is currently looking at the simplest way for clubs to exchange membership data with the EBU. We are dedicated to making the process as easy as possible for our affiliated clubs. We are also looking for clubs who will help us test the new system in the 2009. Yes but club membership is diminishing so how can this provide stability? The whole philosophy of this first stage of the strategy is to develop our existing clubs, grow new clubs, attract unaffiliated clubs and invest in education which, in turn, will provide new players for our clubs. This strategy will be club driven to ensure a healthy climate for duplicate bridge in England. · One of the first things that the EBU has done since Pay to Play was approved on 4 June is to set up a club sub committee of the Board. Importantly, clubs are also represented on the Pay to Play implementation committee to ensure a smooth transition for all clubs, large and small, in the next 18 months. This Universal Membership Project Board has already met and has four independent members of clubs on it. The Club Committee will meet for the first time on September 17th.
How much will the Pay to Play fee be in April 2010? It will be 29p increased by no more than the Retail Price Index over 2 years. How will counties raise their funds? This will be up to the counties to decide. It is expected that the majority will ask the EBU to add a county Pay to Play element to the national fee. What about the club contract? The new Club Committee will help develop the club contract · The national Pay to Play fee will be in the contract that goes out to clubs in July 2009 along with any county Pay to Play component. · The Pay to Play fee will be put before the EBU's AGM every year for approval by the shareholders, just as the annual subscription is now. · The club/EBU contract will be the same as any contract between a service supplier and its client. The EBU agrees to provide services and the affiliated club will agree to pay for them. Clubs will remain sovereign in every respect. The contract will be "evergreen" and a club will be able to opt out at the end of any financial year by giving three months notice. · Each year clubs will know the cost of the next year's Pay to Play fee in October (AGM as stated above). The financial year will run from 1 April to 31 March, so if clubs are not happy with the level of the fee they can give three months notice of resignation on 31 December and will not incur any payments they do not wish to make. This is the timeline for the Club Contract over a period of 18 months from June 2009: · At the shareholders meeting in June 2009 the Pay to Play fee will be agreed so that it can be inserted in to the Club Contract that will be circulated in July 2009. · July 2009 -first contracts go out to clubs with the national Pay to Play fee and county Pay to Play component. · October 2009 - shareholders ratify Pay to Play fee for financial year 1/4/2010 - 31/3/2011 · April 2010 - Pay to Play system is launched · October 2010 - Pay to Play fee for financial year 1/4/2011 -31/3/1012 is announced · 31 December 2010 - Cut off date for clubs who wish to give three months notice if they do not approve of the next year's fee. · April 2011 - new Pay to Play fee charged What is the real VAT situation? We currently pay a reduced rate of VAT (roughly half the standard 17.5%) on our membership subscription income because English Bridge is a zero rated service. This reduces our VAT bill by about £35,000 per annum. Pay to Play is a different method of collecting membership subscriptions and, as such, should not alter the VAT position, although it will be necessary for us to make sure things are set up correctly. Our auditor is satisfied that this can be done and will advise us. Now Pay to Play is approved, we have begun discussions to obtain formal clearance from HMRC, however, it is likely to be many months before we get an answer. Note that the subscription amounts the EBU now collects on behalf of some counties (and any similar amounts it would collect for them in future under Pay to Play) are merely their cash passing through the EBU's hands. That money is not part of the EBU's profit and loss so is and will remain outside the EBU VAT net. What about a detailed risk assessment? The Board decided that the most appropriate way to mitigate the risks at this stage was to adopt a macro financial approach and to make a financial contingency that would cover all risks. This is explained in detail on page 22 of our proposals published in April 2008. Because of the importance of this project, the Board will insist that during the implementation phase, detailed risks are comprehensively identified and operational solutions proposed. There has been some concern expressed that we are moving from two sources of income - Master Points and Membership Subscriptions - to just one, Pay to Play. However, Master Points and Membership Subscriptions are so interlinked and overlap that merging them has little effect in terms of changing risk. Democratic representation Pay to Play allows all members of all our affiliated clubs to have a stake in the EBU enabling them to determine the way the organisation develops bridge in clubs and meets the needs of its clubs. You will note that the EBU has pledged to investigate one member one vote, but even without that the democratic process does exist for all to have a say through their county representation. |
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ª©§¨ª©§¨ª©§¨ª©§¨ª©§¨ª©§¨ For general enquiries contact the Secretary: Chris Rowles on 01788 576943 © Peter Augustus 2006-08 Views expressed on this site are those of the webmaster, not of the Officers of Rugby Bridge Club |