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The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
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Kelvin Malone Bridge Centre

  • Status

    Received: on time

  • Income

    £26.4K

  • Spending

    £22.6K

Charity no. 101823 Date registered. 03/04/2015

Public benefits

The Objects of the Kelvin Malone Bridge Centre are exclusively for charitable purpose for the benefit of the public through: 1. The advancement of amateur sport by promoting the game of bridge for the benefit of the residents of the Greater Belfast area. Bridge involves logical and lateral thinking skills, planning, memory, sequencing, initiation

and other higher order functions. Research points to the potential health benefits of playing bridge in lowering the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia by as much as 75%. 2. The provision of facilities for the learning, teaching and playing of bridge for the benefit of the residents of the Greater Belfast area with the object of improving conditions of life. The Association provides facilities for learning and improving bridge playing. These facilities are advertised in the local press and club website. They include: • Premises, tables, boards and bidding boxes; • Courses are run for beginners on Friday mornings with partners provided where required so as to encourage participation. Partners are also provided at the Wednesday and Friday afternoon sessions. • Classes to improve skills and enjoyment of the game are organised every Thursday morning and afternoon; • Club competitions are held on five occasions in the year – one in the winter, one in spring and three in the summer; • A working group has been established to bring forward options for the introduction of bridge to children/young people in the school setting. This year lessons have been established on a weekly basis in two local primary schools and a further two schools will be added next year. Research which has assessed the impact of learning to play bridge on primary school children has indicated significant benefits which include enhanced numeracy, problem solving and logical thinking skills along with improved social interactions. While open to all, participants predominantly tend to be those nearing retirement age who may wish to take up a new activity involving mental exercise rather than physical exercise. Benefit also arises from the social contact among older people, reducing isolation, creating opportunity to establish new friendships and for establishing playing partners. Overall, the facilities and activities provided by the Kelvin Malone Bridge Centre offer both mental stimulus and social contact, providing identifiable benefits for the participants. A membership structure has been adopted purely for administrative purposes and for the better delivery of benefits. Membership in practice is cross community, open to all, with fees set at the affordable level of £30. Any potential harms are outweighed by the service benefits and alleviated through a formal process of regular risk assessments alongside health and safety procedures. There are no private benefits to any individuals connected with the organisation other than the payment of salaries to staff where this is a necessary requirement in order to provide our services and therefore incidental to the carrying out of the purposes.

What your organisation does

Kelvin Malone Bridge Centre is a bridge club which promotes the playing of bridge through: - organising games for those who can play the game - providing coaching for those who wish to take up the sport - providing game partners so that individuals are not prevented from playing either as experienced players or new comers. - teaching the game as

an extra curricular activity at local primary schools - organising competitions Kelvin Malone Bridge Centre also provides premises, tables, boards and bidding boxes to play the game. In the financial year to March 2014: MEMBERSHIP • Net overall increase in membership from 173 @ 31/03/13 to 190 @ 31/03/14 BRIDGE SESSIONS • Tuesday evenings (Open and Inter A/B) • Wednesday afternoon • Friday morning and afternoon • Saturday evening (attendance increased Significantly) BRIDE LESSONS • Intermediate: Thursday mornings and afternoons • Beginners: Friday mornings COMPETITIONS • Increased number of competitions entered and offered by KMBC has resulted in appointment of Competitions' Secretary. • KMBC members have been successful in winning prizes at several of the open competitions including the Inter-Club Teams (Helm Cup). This has resulted in the acquisition of a display cabinet for holding KM trophies as well as other trophies won by club members. SCHOOLS' BRIDGE PROJECT • Mini bridge introduced to two primary schools as a pilot project mid-January for 10 weeks. • Received extremely positively and to be continued again next year starting in October with a view to running it for the entire school year. SOCIAL EVENTS Summer BBQ:1stJune 2013 Xmas event:10th Dec 2013 Children in Need:Nov 2013 Spring event:18th March 2014

The charity’s classifications

  • The advancement of amateur sport
  • Other charitable purposes

Who the charity helps

  • General public
  • Older people

How the charity works

  • Education/training
  • Sport/recreation

Charity accounts & reports for financial year end 31 March 2024

Independent examiners report Charity accounts Trustee annual report

Charity accounts & reports for financial year end 31 March 2023

Independent examiners report Charity accounts Trustee annual report

Charity accounts & reports for financial year end 31 March 2022

Independent examiners report Charity accounts Trustee annual report

Charitable purposes

1. The advancement of amateur sport by promoting the game of bridge for the benefit of the residents of the Greater Belfast Area. 2. The provision of facilities for the learning, teaching and playing of bridge for the benefit of the residents of the Greater Belfast area with the object of improving conditions of life.

Governing document

Memorandum and Articles

Other name

  • 13 Trustees
  • 0 Employees
  • 13 Volunteers

Contact details

Public address

  • Kevin Malone Bridge Centre, Unit A1, 20 Heron Road, Belfast, BT3 9LE

Trustee board

Trustee
Ms Joan Christine Baird
Ms Joan Norma Irwin
Ms Rosemary Kilpatrick
Diane Greenwood
Ms Diana Patterson
Mary Johnston
Jean White
Alan Mckay
John Forsythe
Rosemary Whittley
Alan Hill
Mr Robert Blair
Mrs Elizabeth Ann Scott

List of regions

  • Belfast City Council