[mtvesuvius]

It is completely wrong to criticize people who have volunteered to help out, just because they are not doing things perfectly. Granted, this person needs more training before he/she can become a good director, but they need to learn by trial and error. We have several directors at our club in Florida who are new, and learning, just recently they mixed the tickets from 2 different rounds, and I went back through with them and sorted it out. Directors learn from doing these things wrong... Give them a chance.

[matmat]

JoAnneM, on Dec 14 2008, 02:07 PM, said:

Are you kidding? My co-director and I have been pleading with our two clubs for 4 YEARS for someone else to step into director shoes. At almost every Unit Board meeting we plead for them to sponsor more directors, I have offerred to give director classes, no one signs up, we have even bought the books.

But you go right ahead and critcize us volunteers who get paid NOTHING to come out twice a week and put up with the children at the game. At least at our club the directors know the rules and we have trained the players to call us.

do you maybe think that's the problem? maybe even a nominal fee would encourage people to think direct. Also, if the director is paid, there could be some accountability (no pun intended). Playing a game with a director who would rather not be there and who shows this, you might as well not have a director.

[JoAnneM]

What makes you think we would rather not be there? I think volunteer directors are probably there for the best reasons, they want to help the club. It would just be nice to have more of them.

Another pet peeve of mine - It would also be nice if players took the time to learn the basic rules, not so they can make their own rulings at the table, but so they can know when to call the director! Some players get away with "murder" because other players are ignorant.

[blackshoe]

We have a game here, a pretty good sized one actually, which has players from beginner to the best in the area. And pretty much everything in between. The game starts at 1230 in the afternoon. At 12, there's a lesson. Usually it's a bidding or play lesson, but occasionally I can persuade the club owners - usually because one is out of town and the other doesn't want to deal with a lesson - to let me give a talk on the laws, or "when to call the director", or etiquette in those situations, or whatever. These talks are always well received - by the beginners who attend them. The better players (including many who imo aren't really all that much better) don't pay attention, because they don't need lessons - they know it all already.