Membership

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Tom Perry, who was a member of our club for very many years.  Tom was a very popular member of the club.  He served for two separate periods as Chairman of the club, the first starting in 1983 and the second commencing in 1995.  His name appears on two of our trophies - the Criddle Cup in 1977 (for pairs) and the RBL Cup in 1989 (for individuals).  Our condolences go out to his wife Gwen, who is still a member of the club, and their family.

Membership of the club continues to grow and now stands at 115.

Competitions

The winners of competitions since the last newsletter have been: 

There was a tie for second place in the Charlie Hall Trophy between Andrew Billson and Geoff Haywood that required count-back (the number of top scores) to separate them and decide the winner of the trophy for second place.                         

The next competition is:

Kidney Research Simultaneous Pairs                                    Thursday 12 July

The leading scores in this season's Stanley Trophy to date are:

Pat Dunham                            41 points

Joan Benton                            38

Geoff Haywood                      31

Don James                             29

Andy Brown                            27

Shelagh Rumbelow                26.5

Ron Barker                             19

Derek Steeple                         17.5

Teams

The league results for the A team since the last newsletter have been:

                        Grantham                   lost 7-5

                        Golf                            lost 8-4

                        Loughborough Uni      lost 8-4

The A team finished the season in 6th place in Division 2 of the Leicestershire Leagues.  In order to avoid relegation the A team had to do no worse than lose by 8-4 to fellow relegation-contenders Loughborough University in the last game of the season.  This objective was achieved by the smallest of margins. 

The players representing the A team during 2011/12 were Robert Missenden (Captain), Joan Benton, Andrew Billson, Andy Brown, Toni Capewell, Pat Dunham, Geoff Haywood, Don James, Philip Price, George Strang and Ian Woodward. 

The league results for the B team since the last newsletter have been:

                        Glenfield B                  lost 9-3                       

Loughborough B         won10-2

The B team finished the season with a flourish.  A resounding victory in the last match of the season meant that the team finished in 3rd place in Division 4, marginally ahead of the next two teams.

The players representing the B team during 2011/12 were Colin Dobson (Captain), Dean Benton, Belinda Chantler, Mike Coke, Mary Danaher, Malcolm Dawson, Mike Drinkwater*, Ian Grudgings*, Claire Lewis, David Parsons, Ann Potterton, Neil Roberts, Margaret Shadrack, Richard Shadrack, Bob Stokes* and Shirley White (asterisked players played for the team for the first time last season).

We will again be entering two teams for the season 2012/13.  Any members who wish to be considered for the teams should speak to Robert Missenden or Colin Dobson. 

Reflections From The Table

Four issues of Reflections From The Table have been emailed to members since the last newsletter.  All four have been written by Malcolm Dawson on various issues regarding the importance of good defence.   

Master Point Promotions

Since the last newsletter the following Master Point Promotions have been announced by the EBU:

            Pat Dunham                1 Star Master

Trish Gallop                 AreaMaster

Ian Grudgings             AreaMaster

Brian Hick                   AreaMaster

Stuart Rees                 AreaMaster

John Brown                Local Master

Pat's elevation to 1 Star Master is particularly noteworthy as it requires 10,000 Master Points to reach this level.  Our congratulations go to all of the above.

Directors' Courses

The first of a series of director training sessions run by the EBU was held last month at Willesley Park Golf Club.  There were seventeen delegates on the course including four from Ashby Bridge Club.  Further courses will be held at the Golf Club over the next three months. 

National Grading Scheme

The EBU has introduced a National Grading Scheme covering all players who play duplicate bridge on a regular basis.  Each player's grading depends on results achieved over approximately the last 40 sessions with greater weight being given to the most recent results.  Our top-ranked player, Andy Brown, is in the top 300 (out of 40,000) in the country.

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the club will be at the Cottage 7 pm on Monday 16 July and will be followed by bridge.  No partner is required.

Nominations for Officers and committee members must be proposed and seconded (with the consent of the nominee) and submitted to the Secretary at least 14 days in advance of the AGM.  Proposal forms will be put on the noticeboard at the beginning of June.  We welcome the proposals of new members to the committee.

Motions to be put to the AGM must be proposed and seconded and submitted to the Secretary at least 14 days in advance of the AGM.  Forms for the proposal of motions will be put on the noticeboard at the beginning of June.

Miscellaneous

A history of the club has been compiled.  Pat Dunham produced the first draft and I have now edited this to produce the final version.  The history has been published on the club website and hard copies will be available in the Cottage shortly (only for those without internet access).  If you have any anecdotes that should be included please pass them on to me.  

George Strang

Chairman