SpadeHeart 
 DiamondClub
Release 2.19q
0 0 0 0 0 0
Pages viewed in 2024
RECENT MEMBERSHIP SUCCESSES

REGIONAL
& NATIONAL
EVENTS

NEBA Summer Pairs
2023
 Winners

Frank Bouweraerts
Irina Hendrickx

EBU Northern Easter Congress
2023 Third Place

Brian Myers
Denise Barham-Hall

CLUB EVENTS

Latner Trophy 2023 Winners
Dave Thompson
John Gray

Carpenter Cup 2023 Winners
Denise Barham-Hall
John Bernard Portwood

Anniversary Trophy 2023 Winners
John Bernard Portwood
Denise Barham-Hall

Walker Bowl 2023 Winners
Ann Squires
Alison Young

Godfrey Award 2023

Frank Bouweraerts & Irina Hendrickx

Masterpoints Trophy 2023
Audrey Bainbridge


 

 

NEWS PAGE 2018 >>>

Death of Gordon Jefferson

Sadly we hear the news that Gordon Jefferson has passed away. Gordon has been a member of Bishop Auckland Bridge Club for many years and will be much missed. 
Many condolences to his family at this sad time.
His funeral will be at Wear Valley Crematorium, Coundon, on the 1st September at 10.30 a.m.

Published 26/08/2022


 


At the Annual General Meeting held on 3rd March 2022, members expressed great pleasure in unanimously electing John Little as President of the Club.  John is only the third distiguished Member to hold this honorary office, following in the footsteps of David Latner and Godfrey Young.   He has served on Committee for more than 20 years, being Club Chairman for 6 years (2005-2010) and acting as Assistant Scorer for more than 10 years.  He has a wealth of experience in the management of the Club and will be a tremendous support to the ongoing Committee.

Chairman's Message - Christmas 2021

Dear All,

Last year I wrote to you lamenting the lack of face-to-face bridge and describing the vicarious delights of online bridge. I looked forward to the time when we could all meet again and enjoy our favourite pastime in each other’s company. It was with great delight, (notwithstanding a little trepidation) that this momentous occasion happened on the 9th September. Acquaintances and friendships were renewed, as well as the fact  that we were able to indulge in the competiveness of bridge across an actual table (don’t mention the fact that I revoked on the very first hand played - something that can never happen with online bridge!). I have been extremely pleased with the number of people who have supported Bishop Auckland Bridge Club and continued to play regularly at the Golf Club, displaying a consistently high standard of bridge. It is a great consolation that the club continues to remain viable in these troubled times.

It was also a real pleasure to once more hold our Annual Dinner and Presentation Evening, which so many of you attended. The year came to a memorable end when at our final session of the year we enjoyed a mince pie and a glass of wine/orange juice, convivially enjoying each other’s company and looking forward to the resumption of bridge in the New Year.

Many thanks to the Club Secretary, Treasurer, Team Captain, Webmaster, Scorers and all those who have helped to ensure the smooth running of the Club.

I wish all members and their families a very happy Christmas and a successful and healthy New Year. We’ll meet again (hopefully) on the 6th January.

Brian

Death of Margaret Wiles

Sadly we hear the news that Margaret Wiles has passed away.  She has been a long standing member of Bishop Auckland Bridge Club and has always been fully supportive of the Club.  Her cardplay and bridge skills were an inspiration to many of us.  She won the Walker Rose Bowl and also the Latner Trophy on three separate occasions.  Margaret will be much missed.  Her funeral will be held at Wear Valley Crematorium on Monday 20th December at 3.30 pm.
-  Brian Myers

Death of Ray Potter

Regretfully I have heard that a long standing member, Ray Potter, passed away last week.  Ray partnered Richard Cottrell for many years and was always a pleasure to play against.  Together they won the Walker Rose Bowl in 2009.  I had many delightful discussions with him about the merits of Kippford in Dumfries and Galloway, where he took his children and then grandchildren on holiday every year.  Many condolences to his family at this sad time.
- -  Brian Myers

 

Planned Re-Opening of Club - 9th September 2021

Dear Everybody

I trust that you are all keeping well and enjoying the sunshine?

You have already received minutes of the Committee Meeting held on the 1st July re the re-opening of Bishop Auckland Bridge Club. It is unbelievable that we last met on the 12th March 2020, a mere sixteen months ago! I’m sure that we cannot wait to renew friendships (and competition) by playing bridge face to face once more. Those of us who have played online bridge have at least ensured that we have been able to play regularly but it can never replace the intimacy of meeting friends at our local club. Bridge is as much a social occasion as a competitive one and I know that many of you have missed that social interaction.

We did anticipate re-opening on the 5th August but in light of the increase in transmission nationally, and in the north east in particular, the Committee has decided to postpone that happy occasion until Thursday the 9th September. We feel that that is the most prudent course of action as safety is paramount for our members. A September date seems to be most popular option in bridge clubs around the country. St. George’s opened its doors last week but attendances have been extremely low!

When we do re-open, precautions will be taken to ensure our members’ safety – we’ll keep you fully informed of such practical arrangements nearer the time.
I hope to see as many of you as possible in September and look forward to that happy day when we can renew acquaintances.

Look after yourselves and others,

Brian

Death of Irene Heslop

Sadly we record the death on 31st May 2021 of Irene Heslop at the age of 95 years.  Irene had not played bridge for many years but with late husband Joe she was a staunch member of our Club in the 1980s and 1990s, Joe being Club Chairman from 1985-87.  Irene's funeral (held under Covid restrictions) took place at the Wear Valley Crematorium on Friday 25th June 2021.  We pass our thoughts and condolences to Irene's family.

Death of Grace Spence

Obituary courtesy of Brian Myers, Club Chairman
It is with much sadness that I have to let you know that one of our members of many years standing, Grace Spence, has sadly passed away. Grace moved to Appleby to live a number of years ago but many of you will remember her as a stalwart of Bishop Auckland Bridge Club. She represented the club in the inter-club league on many occasions and won the Walker Bowl with Clarice Barker. She will be remembered not only for her skill at the bridge table but also for her cheerful and kindly nature. She encouraged me in my early (naive!) years at the Bridge Club and I found her advice always helpful. We send Grace’s family our condolences at this sad time.
Brian

Chairman's Christmas Message

I hope that you are all keeping well, safe and occupied during this strange year that is like no other! Although we have not met face-to-face, many of us have managed to maintain contact through numerous sessions of online bridge. My wife tells me that I am playing more often now than I did before the various lockdowns! So welcome to the world of online bridge.

I began with great trepidation and was bemused by the abbreviations commonly used on the chat lines. My partner fondly typed lol and I wondered if I’d ventured onto some sort of dating site, assuming it meant “lots of love”, rather than “laughing out loud”. The term rofl (“roll on floor laughing”) conjured up images of a puzzled spouse wondering why his partner was maniacally rolling about on the floor in a paroxysm of spontaneous laughter. I usually assume glp is short hand for “gulp” meaning what crazy contract have you put me into partner, rather than the infinitely more harmless “good luck partner”. My favourite, which I have never dared used, is twerp (“that was extremely rash partner”). Another source of puzzlement regarding online bridge is when you have finished playing a hand as declarer there may be no sign of your partner ready for the next hand – they appear to have vanished into the ether. Apologies then appear – “I was just taking in the Sainsbury delivery”; “I was just bringing in the washing”; “I was just doing some ironing”; “I was chatting to a neighbour at the door”; “I was getting a coffee”. I’ve also been known to have disappeared myself, not realising that I was actually playing the hand and not my partner!

Of course there are also pluses to online bridge. You can no longer make a bid or lead out of turn, revoke, or make an insufficient bid, so no penalty cards! There are also no inhibitions as to how to react to your own or your partner’s bad bidding or poor play. You can leap up and down, gesticulate at the screen and shout all you like, disturbing no one but your own household. However even this dubious pleasure may soon be taken away as the new website “Real Bridge” allows you to see and talk to the rest of the table, so back to “Best Behaviour at Bridge”!

Getting away from this dystopian view of online bridge, I look forward to the time when we can all meet again and enjoy our favourite pastime in each other’s company. I have made so many friends at the bridge table over the years and take comfort in the knowledge that you are my bridge “family” and I can’t wait to renew acquaintances, hopefully, some time soon.

In the meantime continue to enjoy online bridge and I wish you and yours a very happy Christmas and a healthy New Year. Once again I raise a toast to Bishop Auckland Bridge Club and all its members.

Brian

Captain's InterClub League Report
Captain's InterClub League Report

NEBA InterClub league 2020/21

Like most things in 2020 the NEBA interclub competition took on a very different form. In October Graham Cox contacted Clubs to see if they would like to participate in an Interclub competition. The aim was to have teams of mixed abilities and so following some discussions by email it was decided that each team should comprise no more than 2 players with NGS rating Q and above and must contain at least 2 players of NGS 10 or below. In total 15 teams entered each comprising 8 players with some clubs being able to raise 2 teams. We had 12 people willing to play in the fortnightly competition so entered only 1 team.

The format was that each team played each of the other teams in its division and then the top team in each would play each other in a “final”. A draw was made and the teams split into Red(heart) and Blue (spade)divisions. We were in the larger Heart division. Since we had 12 players I have been able to ring the changes in partnerships and team selection so that everyone has been able to play several matches and at the same time being able to cope with members not being able to play at certain times.

So far we have played 5 of our 7 matches, losing our first match to Brunton red team but winning the four subsequent ones against Wearside red, Castle Morpeth red, Durham red and Whitley Bay/Tynemouth. Consequently we lie 2nd in the table some 8 VP behind Brunton red team. We play Darlington on 17th January and finish with Morpeth red on 31st January.

I would like to express my thanks to everyone who is taking part:-
               Audrey, Brian, John Portwood, Wojtek, John Gray, Alison, Lou, Mike, Malcolm, Allan, Roger and myself

They have all made my job easy by being willing to play and turning up on time and coping with the complexities of BBO online.
I would also like to thank John Dobson for uploading the results for all to peruse
So thank you all very much.

God Bless and A Happy Healthy New Year
Denise

__________________

Chairman’s Letter.

Dear All,

I trust you are all keeping well, safe and active during the present hiatus? Here the house and garden have never seen such frenetic activity. We now have the opportunity to do all those (domestic) tasks that we have been putting off and to indulge in hobbies and interests that have been on the backburner. I am currently declining nouns and subjugating verbs in an effort to brush up on my Latin (ah well, we all have our idiosyncrasies)!

On the bridge front there is no need to despair. Our Secretary, John, has fed us with information as to where and how we can indulge in our hobby/obsession. The online bridge sites “Bridge Club Live” and “Bridge Base Online” offer both social and competitive bridge twenty four hours a day and are quite easy to use (after an initial panic!). “Bridge Base Online” does have a free element for social bridge. If you wish to play club bridge against friends then opportunities are there. John Blackett has very kindly invited us to play at the Ripon Bridge Club sessions and Dave and Maggie are currently setting up the chance to play under the auspices of Durham Bridge Club. The website “FunBridge” also gives you the chance to play solo bridge against computers.

Another way to enjoy bridge is via “Bernard Magee’s Bridge” on You Tube, where Bernard (of Mr Bridge fame) provides a thrice weekly broadcast consisting of a combination of seminars, quizzes, chat and information (search You Tube for “Bernard Magee Bridge”). Andrew Robson also offers a daily lesson via his website.

Looking at the calendar for Bishop Auckland Bridge Club it is our Spring Dinner on the 7th May (obviously postponed!). In lieu of that I ask you to raise a glass and drink a toast to Bishop Auckland Bridge Club and its members. I hope to see you all soon.

Look after yourselves and others,

Brian

Death of Club President
Death of Club President

Sadly we Report the Death of Club President Godfrey Young

It is with great regret that I pass on to you the sad news that Godfrey Young passed away on Thursday 14th May 2020 at the age of 82 years.  He was a stalwart of our club for many years and held with distinction the posts of Treasurer, Chairman and currently Club President. Along with Alison he also won at various times all the major club trophies comprising the Latner Trophy, the Carpenter Trophy and the Walker Rose Bowl. He will be remembered for his warmth, humour and generosity of spirit.  Without his contribution the club would undoubtedly be the poorer. Our condolences to Alison, Barbara and all family members.

Brian Myers
Club Chairman

A restricted funeral was held at Durham Crematorium on Thursday 28th May 2020.  A service to celebrate the life of Godfrey will be arranged at Brancepeth Church at the end of the conoravirus crisis.

 

Annual Total Master Point Awards

BABC Members feature in a number of the top positions within NEBA for the award of total Master Points during 2019.   The Overall and Category Listings include the following entries within top ten placings :-

            2019                 Position             Player                       Master Points
NEBA Overall
     (All Ranks)
                                        2nd               John Dobson                  10,141
                                        6th                Audrey Bainbridge           6,766

NEBA Category 1
    (Life Masters & above)
                                              No BABC Players in Top 10 Positions
NEBA Category 2
    (National & Premier National Masters)
                                       1st                Audrey Bainbridge            6,766
NEBA Category 3
    (Regional & Premier Regional Masters)
 
                                     1st                 John Dobson                   10,141
                                 
     2nd                Margaret Thompson          5,605
                                       4th                 David Thompson              5,262
                                       7th                 Louise Badcock                4,889
                                       8th                 Denise Barham-Hall          4,564
                                       9th                 Brian Myers                      4,091

NEBA Category 4
     (Star, Tournament, Premier & Premier Tournament Masters)
                                       5th                 John Portwood                  3,920

NEBA Category 5
 
   (County Masters, Masters, & Advanced Masters)
                                          
No BABC Players in Top 10 Positions
NEBA Category 6
    (District Masters & below)
                                          
No BABC Players in Top 10 Positions
        (Full details of awards to all players can be accessed via the EBU Website)

InterClub 2019-20

The Club Team endured a tough time in Match 4 at home to Stockton on Sunday 19th January 2020 and eventually went down to 3-17 defeat.  The current league positions for League B are:-

     InterClub League B
          53     Wearsode A
          47     Durham A
          45     South Shields
          45     Stockton A
          31     Bishop Auckland
          19     Darlington B

Winter Simultaneous Pairs 2020

Bishop Auckland pairs scored well in the national rankings of the EBU 2020 Winter Simultaneous Pairs held on Thursday 16th January 2020.  Iain Gordon & John McCourt were the leading pair finishing in 5th position (national field 355 pairs) with a score of 65.32 %.   Top scoring pairs:-
     National
     Ranking           %
          5               65.32          Iain Gordon & John McCourt
         16              62.17          Audrey Bainbridge & Brian Myers
         33              59.65          Denise Barham-Hall & Michael Crowe

Death of Barbara Taylor

We record the sad news of the death after a short illness of Barbabara Taylor on 8th December 2019.  Barbara who visited our Club regularly (formerly a member for many years) was an accomplished player and won a number of trophies including the DBC Sykes Cup and the NEBA Gazette ShieldThe funeral, attended by many family and friends, took place at 10.00 am on Friday 3rd January 2020 at the North Durham Crematorium.

Chair's Christmas Message 2019

I would like to take this opportunity to look back at a successful year in 2019

During the past year we have continued to run Duplicate Bridge nights on Thursdays. We use duplimated boards at least twice a month and I would again like to thank those people who go to Darlington for picking them up. This coming year we will continue to be running heats for the NEBA competitions. We also compete in several SIM pairs.  We do try to ensure that bridge at the club is played in accordance with the Laws of Duplicate Bridge, while promoting Best Behaviour at Bridge.  

Numbers playing have generally been maintained and although a few have retired we are very pleased to welcome some new members.  I would like to feel that all members do their best to help beginners across the threshold into club duplicate bridge. 
The year has seen many great results.

The 2018-19 InterClub League Season finished with Bishop Auckland coming top in league C.  Throughout the year our members have competed successfully in many of the NEBA and National competitions and in the SIM pairs.

I would like to thank the Secretary, Treasurer, Team Captain and Scorers who have contributed to the smooth running of the club. I would also like to give a special thank you to the large number of members who do a wonderful job behind the scenes.  I am also grateful that we have so many excellent qualified Directors to make the Thursday evenings enjoyable for all.  The club continues to benefit from the facilities at the Golf Club.
On behalf of Bishop Auckland Bridge Club, I would like to wish all members a very Happy Christmas and a successful and healthy New Year.  Finally may 2020 bring lots of luck at the bridge table.
Louise Badcock
Chairman

Excellent Christmas Party

22 people attended this year’s Christmas Party at Kirk Merrington.  Numbers were limited by assorted illnesses and competing commitments (such as visiting relatives) but a good time was had by all who were there, with some really excellent food to break the bridge into two halves. 

Using aggregate scoring, no EW pair managed a plus score and no NS managed a minus score.  (Pre-dealt hands would surely have given a more balanced distribution?!)  EW winners were Clive Nichols and Ian Mordue.  NS winners were Denise Barham-Hall and Michael Crowe. 

Denise also won a spot prize for winning a trick with the 9 of Diamonds (no ill effects recovering from the new hip then).  Maggie and Dave Thompson made a part score with 2 over-tricks for another spot prize and Peter Lisle and Roger Carpenter won a third for defeating a slam bid by Clive and Ian.  No-one made a doubled contract with over-tricks and no-one completed a line on the bingo card, so a couple of prizes live to another competition (if the Director hasn’t eaten them by then).

The bingo card stated that Director’s decisions would be “arbitrary, biassed and final”.  Everyone obviously took that to heart because he wasn’t called upon for anything significant.

          Report Courtesy of John Gray

Club Quiz Team Finish Fifth

           ( Report Courtesy of Team Captain Brian Myers )

     The Club Quiz Team finished in a very creditable fifth place (out of 25 teams) in the Bishop Auckland Civic Quiz held on Wednesday 4th December 2019.  It is reported that the questions and the opposition were very tough. The team scored well on topics as diverse as 'Food and Drink' and 'Books' though the combined brains of five historians struggled on the 'History and Politics' round.  Other successes involved identifying a series of photographs of 'Yorkshire Landmarks/Places' and naming a number of 'Popular Music Songs'.  The team comprised Brian & Pauline Myers. Roger & Madelaine Carpenter, Ann Squires and Malcolm Dawson.

David & John - Clear Winners on Presentation Night

David Thompson and John Gray were clear winners at the Annual Presentation Dinner duplicate played at Bishop Auckland Golf Club on Thursday 7th November 2019.  Following a superb carvery meal David and John attained the fine score of 69.05%, 1.64% clear of the second place taken by Roger Carpenter amd Peter Lisle.  From a field of 17 pairs the leading scores were:-

          1       69.05 %       David Thompson & John Gray
          2       67.41 %       Roger Carpenter & Peter Lisle
          3       64.73 %       Audrey Bainbridge & Brian Myers
          4       62.30 %       Godfrey Young & CAlison Young
          5       56.75 %       John Portwood & Wojtek Zakrzewski
          6       56.35 %       Pat Robbins & John Dobson

Chair Louise Badcock presented the tropies won over the season as follows  :-

          LatnerTrophy                -     Iain Gordon & John Dobson
          Walker Bowl                 -     Audrey Bainbridge & Brian Myers
          Anniversary Trophy       -     John Portwood & Wojtek Zakrzewski
          Master Points Salver      -     Audrey Bainbrdge
          Carpenter Trophy          -     Iain Gordon & John Dobson

 

David & John - Clear Winners on Presentation Night
NEBA 2019 Congress Report

None of our experienced players managed to achieve a notable result during the 2019 NEBA Congress held at the Marriot Hotel, Gateshead 1-3 November 2019.  However, our shining light was Keith Richardson who achieved a commendable 4th place finish in the Newcomers Pairs with a fine score of 56.88%.  The team of Brian Myers, Denise Barham-Hall, Audrey Bainbridge and John Dobson achieved a reasonable 14th place in the Sunday Swiss Teams finishing strongly to win the Fastest Risers Prize (judged on the scores over the final three matches).   

Gazette Cup & Shield Finals

Congratulations go to Wojtek Zakrzewski and John Portwood for an excellent second place finish in the Final of the NEBA Gazette Cup played at Darlington on Sunday 20th October 2019.  In the subsidiary final playing for the Gazette Shield, Audrey Bainbridge and Brian Myers also finished in the runners-up position.  Details of the leading positions :-

       GAZETTE CUP
       1       69.10       Frank Springett & Brenda Osborne
       2       65.14       Wojtek Zakrzewski & John Portwood
       3       60.07       Charles Waine & David Rossiter
       4       53.34       Liz Reese & Robert Watts
       5       52.01       Mark Stanners & David Gold
       6       51.39       Adrian Darnell & Niall Keaney

       GAZETTE SHIELD
       1       62.78       George Jackson & Catherine Farrell
       2       57.55       Audrey Bainbridge & Brian Myers
       3       54.95       Pamela Niven & Jocelyn Gordon
       4       54.43       Monica Vaughan & Diane Rutherford
       5       52.84       Eric Bell & Anne Bell
       6       52.60       George Farman & Christopher Patrick

Club Team recovers to gain unlikely victory

Sunday 13th October 2019  -  Kirk Merrington

In the first match of the new 2019-20 season at home to Darlington B (and playing back up in Division B) the Club Team recovered from a dreadful start to gain a convincing victory.   The first stanza resulted in a deficit of 5 IMPs but worse was to follow when the second stanza was scored at a deficit of 36 IMPs.  An incredible fight back in the third stanza saw a massive gain of 61 IMPs giving the team an overall lead of 20 IMPs at the tea interval.   Further good scoring in the fourth stanza saw a gain of 18 IMPs giving a final score of +38 IMPs.  This converted to a victory points match score of :-

          Bishop Auckland     16 - 4     Darlington B 

This was also the first match in the reign of new Match Captain Denise Barham-Hall  - Congratulations Denise on an impressive start.

Team :-
Denise Barham-Hall (Capt) & Michael Crowe
Audrey Bainbridge & Brian Myers
Tony Mawston & Roger Carpenter
Louise Badcock & John Dobson

Walker Bowl 2019 won by Brian & Audrey

The Walker Bowl 2019 (c0mpetition inaugurated in 1986) took place on Thursday 19th September 2019 and was won in a close finish by Brian Myers and Audrey Bainbridge.   The leading scores were :-

          1       57.50 %     Brian Myers & Audrey Bainbridge
          2       57.08 %      John Portwood & Wojtek Zakrzewski
          3       54.17 %      Roger Carpenter & Peter Lisle

Full scores are set out in the 'Results' section.
Audrey Bainbridge has an excellent record in this competition having won the event on seven occasions with five different partners.

New Website for NEBA

Following the retirement of Neil Aiston as Association Webmaster, a new website is in course of development by Pauline Durie and this may be accessed at :-

https://www.bridgewebs.com/neba/home.html

It will be some time before this work can be completed but all items of news and competition results will now appear on this site.

Club Players Successful
Club Players Successful

Congratulations go to Joan Crompton and Irene Burns for their success in winning the NEBA Swiss Pairs Triophy held on Wednesday 4th September 2019.   The pair won all of their six matches and finished well clear of the field, winning by the emphatic margin of 19 VPs.  The leading scores from the event were :-

                                                                        Victory
                                                                         Points

          1       Joan Crompton & Irene Burns       100
          2       Stella Findlay & Desmond Dunleavy     81
          3       Tony Watson & John Armstrong           78
          4       Steve Ray & Georgia Ray                    71
          5=     Michael P & Mike Bowden                   69
          5=     David Armstrong & Jill Armstrong        69
          7       Stephen Lovely & Christopher Patrick   66
          8       Margaret McCabe & Marion Curran       65
                          (Total Field = 22 Pairs)

Audrey wins Margaret Watts Memorial Trophy

Well done to Audrey Bainbridge (playing with Pauline Durie in a strong field at Darlington) for winning the Margaret Watts Memorial Trophy on Sunday 4th August 2019 with a score of 59.33%.  This annual charity event is played at St George’s, this year in aid of St Teresa’s Hospice.

NEBA Swiss Pairs at Durham

This popular friendly event is again likely to be fully subscribed.  Early entry (to Ann Squires) is advised to avoid disappointment.

NEBA Swiss Pairs at Durham
Latner Salver 2019 taken by John & Iain

The 2019 edition of the interesting annual handicap competition for the Latner Salver was won by John and Iain.  The full scores listing was as follows :-

                   Club          H'Cap        Latner
                  Score                           Score

                 _____        ______       ______
 1       -       68.57          2.35           70.92         John Dobson & Iain Gordon
 2       -       58.33          6.85           65.18         Allan Blackett & Louise Badcock
 3       -       46.19        18.06           64.25         Margaret Wiles & Maureen Hook
 4       -       52.86        10.56           63.42         David Wilkinson & Mary Winter
 5       -       49.58        13.21           62.79         Peter Whitton & Claudette Whitton
 6       -       61.90          0.20           62.10         Audrey Bainbridge & Brian Myers
 7       -       37.14        22.86           60.00         Jean Milne & Joan Burrell
 8       -       46.25          8.63           54.88         John Little & Godfrey Young  
 9       -       50.48          3.77           54.25         Ann Squires & Richard Cottrell
10      -       45.24          4.89           50.13         Denise Barham-Hall & Michael Crowe
11      -       47.92          0.90           48.82         Grace Hunter & John Portwood         
12      -       41.67          5.71           47.38         John Gray & David Thompson
13      -       44.76            0              44.76         Greta Hamilton & Joyce Coxon

 

Note : As usual Handicaps have been computed based on average performance since the start of the Club Year on 1st November 2018.  Handicaps relate to the differential against the best performing player over that period which this year was Audrey Bainbridge.  Unfortunately it was not possible to provide handicaps on this occasion for the new players to the Club - Grace Hunter, Greta Hamilton and Joyce Coxon.

Wojtek & John Win Anniversary Trophy 2019

Following the tightest of finishes congratulations go to Wojtek Zakrzewski and John Portwood who took the fourth annual running of the Anniversary Trophy.  The pair closed just 1.04% ahead of three pairs in joint second place.

Leading Scores :-
          1          58.68 %         Wojtek Zakrzewski & John Portwood
          2=        57.64 %          John Dobson & Iain Gordon
          2=        57.64 %          Ann Squires & Richard Cottrell
          2=        57.64 %          Brian Myers & Audrey Bainbridge

CLUB TEAM WIN LEAGUE

The Club Team finished the season with a 100% record in defeating St. George's BC in the final match of the season at Darlington on 7th April 2019.  A fast start with a lead of 42 Imps in the first stanza was countered by a deficit of 9 Imps in the second.   Gains of 8 Imps and 6 Imps in the final two stanzas resulted in a total lead of 47 Imps this converting to a match result of :-

          St Georges's  3  Bisho Auckland  17.

     Team :-
          Denise Barham Hall (Capt) & Michael Crowe
          Louise Badcock & John Dobson
          Brian Myers & Audrey Bainbridge
          Roger Carpenter & Tony Mawston

The team won all five league games during the season amassing a creditable 84 points out of a possible 100.

     Season at a glance :-
          Match 1   (H)    -     Bishop Auckland   18 - 2   Chester-le-Street 'A'
          Match 2   (H)    -     Bishop Auckland   20 - 0   Ryton
          Match 3   (A)    -     Bishop Auckland   14 - 6   Whitley Bay/Tynemouth 'B'
          Match 4   (H)    -     Bishop Auckland   15 - 5   Stockton 'A'
          Match 5   (A)    -     Bishop Auckland   17 - 3   St George's

     Final Table :-
          1        84       Bishop Auckland
          2        61        Stockton A
          3        47        Ryton
          4        39        Whitley Bay/Tynemouth B
          5        37        Chester-le-Street A
          6        32        St George's

Club President Godfrey Young - AGM News
Club President Godfrey Young - AGM News

 

 

 

 

At the 2019 AGM held on 7th March 2019, Members had great pleasure in electing Godfrey Young as the new Club President.  Godfrey, a long standing member, has given a great deal of service to the Club having held the position of Club Treasuer for 9 years (2002-2010) and that of Club Chairman for 4 years (2011-2014).  Godfrey is our second Club President, succeeding David Latner who sadly passed away in September 2018.

 

 

 

 

 

 

AGM 2019

     Election of Officers :-

          President                        Godfrey Young
          Chairman                        Louise Badcock
          Treasurer                        Peter Whitton
          Secretary                        John Gray
          Scorer/Webmaster           John Dobson
          Team Captain                  Denise Barham-Hall

     Committee Members :-

          John Little
          Brian Myers
          David Wilkinson
          Jane Pringle
          Audrey Bainbridge

Special Resolution

Following a proposal by Michael Crowe it was resolved that a record of all sit-outs be kept and a system introduced to ensure parity over time between NS and EW.

(Details of the full meeting can be accessed from the draft minutes set out under 'Club Information' in the Main Left Hand Menu). 
 

Team Win League Title

The Club Team won league match No 4 to take the Division C title with one match still to play.  Playing against second placed Stockton at home (at Kirk Merrington) an early lead of 10 Imps was established in the first stanza.  The second stanza saw a major gain of 22 Imps before a reverse of 6 Imps in the third.  After the tea interval a closely contested stanza resulted in a gain of 1 imp giving a final score of plus 27 Imps.  This converted to victory point score of :-

                    Bishop Auckland     15 - 5     Stockton

     Team :-
          Roger Carpenter (Capt) & Tony Mawston
          Denise Barham-Hall & Michael Crowe
          Audrey Bainbridge & Brian Myers
          John Gray & John Dobson

     Division C Table after 4 Matches
            Points
               67      Bishop Auckland
               45      Stockton 'A'
               33      Ryton
               33      Whitley Bay/Tynemouth
               33      Chester-le-Street
               29      St George's

BABC Well Represented in 2018 Master Point Awards

BABC Members feature in a number of the top positions within NEBA for the award of total Master Points during 2018.   The Overall and Category Listings include the following entries :-

            2018                 Position             Player                       Master Points
NEBA Overall
     (All Ranks)
                                        2nd               John Dobson                    9,048
                                        6th                Audrey Bainbridge           6,798
                                        9th                Margaret Thompson         6,351
                                       11rh               Brian Myers                     6,270

NEBA Category 1
    (Life Masters & above)
                                              No BABC Players in Top 10 Positions
NEBA Category 2
    (National & Premier National Masters)
                                       2nd                Audrey Bainbridge            6,798
NEBA Category 3
    (Regional & Premier Regional Masters)
 
                                     1st                 John Dobson                    9,048
                                 
     2nd                Margaret Thompson          6,351
                                       5th                 David Thompson              5,796
                                       8th                 Iain Gordon                     5,014
                                       9th                 Denise Barham-Hall         4,661
                                      10th                Louise Badcock                4,570

NEBA Category 4
     (Star, Tournament, Premier & Premier Tournament Masters)
                                     
2nd                 Brian Myers                     6,270
                                      9th                 John Portwood                  3,920

NEBA Category 5
 
   (County Masters, Masters, & Advanced Masters)
                                          
No BABC Players in Top 10 Positions
NEBA Category 6
    (District Masters & below)
                                   
  10th                Ian Mordue                     1,207
                                      11th                Clive Nichols                   1,108

        (Full details of awards to all players can be accessed via the EBU Website)

Dom and Charlie win for England

Well done to Dominic Price and Charlie Bucknell (occasional visitors to BABC and members of Durham BC), members of the winning England Junior Camrose Trophy Team 2019 (Players under 26 years).  The series of matches was played at La Mon Hotel and Country Club at Castlereagh, Belfast from 15-17 February 2019.  The team representing England were Charles Bucknell, Dominic Price, Ben Norton, Shahzead Natt, Ian Robson and Eshan Einghal.
     Final Scores :-
          England          152.04
          Scotland         145.58
          Ireland           127 .49
          N Ireland        88.34
          Wales             56.07
          CBAI              29.48

Lou & Audrey Score Well

Congratulations go to Louise Badcock and Audrey Bainbridge who had a good weekend scoring well at the Harrogate Congress (8th-10th February 2019).  The pair started off on the Friday evening with a 3rd place in the Open Pairs and followed this with 17th place (100 pairs) in the Saturday Swiss Pairs and 26th place (50 teams) in the Sunday Swiss Teams (teaming up here with Brian Myers and Denise Barham-Hall).

Club Team Move Clear At Top

The Club Team maintained a 100% record with a third victory of the season away to Whitley Bay ‘B’ on Sunday 20th January 2019.  Winning stanzas 1 and 2 by 7 IMPs and 12 IMPs respectively, a reverse of 14 IMPs in stanza 3 gave a lead of just 5 IMPs at the tea interval.  Favourable game swings on the penultimate board of stanza 4 led to it being won by 20 IMPs and a final match score of +25 IMPs.  This converted to a Victory Point score of :-

          Whitley Bay B.      6  -  14       Bishop Auckland

       Team :-
       Roger Carpenter (Capt) & John Gray
       Brian Myers & Denise Barham-Hall
       Louise Badcock & Allan Blackett
       Audrey Bainbridge & Michael Crowe

      

Jane Plays in World Croquet Championships
Jane Plays in World Croquet Championships

Many congratulations go to Jane Pringle who has qualified to play in the World Croquet Federation Women's World Championship to be held in New Zealand from 2-9 February 2019.   The matches will take place at the Heretaunga and Marewa Croquet Clubs in Hawkes Bay. Jane, a member of Bishop Auckland Bridge Club for more than 35 years is also a member of both the Bishop Auckland and Ripon Spa Hotel Croquet Clubs.  An accomplished player, she previously played in the World Championships in Cairo (2005) and Dublin (2007).

2019 Programme Changes

Significant changes have been made to the 2019 Programme, particularly affecting the dates of some Simultaneous Pairs events. 
The Calendar section of this website has been updated.

     The British Simultaneous Pairs is to be held on 17th January (and not 10th January).
               Normal Duplicate Paors will take place on 10th January.
     The EBU Stratified Simultaneous Pairs is to be held on 14th March (and not 21st March).
               Round 5 of the Carpenter Cup will now take place on 21st Match.
     The British Spring Simultaneous Pairs will be held on 4th April.
               The Anniversary Trophy will move to 11th April.
     The EBED Simultaneous Pairs will take place on 16th May (and noy 2nd May).

               Normal Duplicate Pairs will take place on 2nd May.
     The British Summer Simultaneoue Pairs continues to take place on 25th July.

 

Chair's Christmas Message
Chair's Christmas Message

I would like to take this opportunity to look back at a successful year in 2018. 

During the past year we have continued to run Duplicate Bridge nights on Thursdays. We use duplimated boards at least twice a month and I would again like to thank those people who go to Darlington for picking them up. This coming year we will continue to be running heats for the NEBA competitions. We also compete in several SIM pairs.  
We do try to ensure that bridge at the club is played in accordance with the Laws of Duplicate Bridge, while promoting Best Behaviour at Bridge.  Numbers playing have generally been maintained and although a few have retired we are very pleased to welcome some new members.  I would like to feel that all members do their best to help beginners across the threshold into club duplicate bridge. 
The year has seen many great results.

The 2017-18 InterClub League Season finished with Bishop Auckland in third position in League C. Currently we are lying top in this league.  Throughout the year our members have competed successfully in many of the NEBA and National competitions and in the SIM pairs.

Club President David Latner, died peacefully at home on 12th September 2018 at the age of 98 years.  David made a tremendous contribution to bridge in the Wear Valley.  He was a founder member of our Club in 1976. He served as our Chairman for five years (1988,1989, 2001,2002,2003),  as Secretary also for five years (1980-1984) and was a Tournament Director on club nights until the age of 89.   Mary Brown also passed away in 2018.

I would like to thank the Secretary,Treasurer,Team Captain and Scorers who have contributed to the smooth running of the club. I would also like to give a special thank you to the large number of members who do a wonderful job behind the scenes.  I am also grateful that we have so many excellent qualified Directors to make the Thursday evenings enjoyable for all.  The club continues to benefit from the facilities at the Golf Club.
On behalf of Bishop Auckland Bridge Club, I would like to wish all members a very Happy Christmas and a successful and healthy New Year.  Finally may 2019 bring lots of luck at the bridge table.
Louise Badcock
Chairman

 

 

 

 

Eating but still have the cards at the ready.

 

 

 

 

Denise & Paul  - "Food is better than cards"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Splendid buffet enjoyed by all.

Fun Christmas Party
Fun Christmas Party

The annual Christmas Party was held at Kirk Merrington on Thursday 20th December 2018.    25 members enjoyed splendid food and drink together with 18 boards of duplicate fun bridge with a twist. 

Bridge Winners N/S   -  David Thompson & Roger Carpenter
Bridge Winners E/W  -  Gordon Jefferson & Tony Mawston
Bridge Bingo Winners  -  Margaret Thompson & John Dobson

Several other prizes were awarded for particular card playing achievements.

 

Quiz Team in 4th Place

The Club Quiz Team finished in fourth place in the Bishop Auckland Civic Siciety Town Quiz held on Wednesday 4th December 2018.  The team came up with a series of impressive answers including Diarmaid MacCulloch (Ecclesiastical writer), Gorecki (symphany composer) and England (birth country of Rod Stewart).  A commendable effort by our cardplaying friends and it is confirmed that they was no drink involved.
Team :-
Brian Myers, Ann Squires, David & Christine Wilkinson, Claudette Whitton and friend Margaret (standing in for Peter).

Club Team Consolidate Top Position

Round 2 of the 2018-19 InterClub League matches took place on Sunday 2nd December 2018.  The Bishop Auckland team consolidated its top position with an emphatic 20-0 home victory over the Ryton visiting team.  The first stanza developed a lead of 35 Imps and this was followed by significant gains in each of the following three stanzas resulting in a final total of 89 Imps.   This converted to a Victory Point score of :-

                    Bishop Auckland     20     Ryton     0
   
        Team:-
        Roger Carpenter (Capt) & John Gray
        Audrey Bainbridge & Michael Crowe
        Brian Myers & Denise Barham-Hall
        Louise Badcock & Allan Blackett

              InterClub Positions
                     Division C

          38     Bishop Auckland
          31     Stockton A
          18     Whitley Bay/Tynemouth B
          15     St George's
          14     Chester-le-Street A
           6      Ryton

 

Presentation Dinner 2018

A fabulous carvery followed by 16 boards of exciting duplicate (splits that could have been computer dealt) were the order of the evening at the Annual Presentation Dinner on Thursday 8th November 2018.  The golf club provided a comfortable setting and the caterers pulled out all the stops.  The clear winners of the duplicate were Pat Robbins and Paul Beard with a magnificent 64.58%, the runners-up with anoter good score were Maureen hook and Margaret Wiles (61.31%).  Club Chair Louise Badcock welcomed everyone to the evening and presented trophies to the various winners of the annual competitions. 

          Masterpoints Trophy    -   Audrey Bainbridge
          Latner Salver              -   Maureen Hook & Margaret Wiles
          Carpenter Trophy        -   John Dobson & Iain Gordon
          Walker Bowl               -   Brian Myers & Audrey Bainbridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Latner Salver Winners 2018
Maureen Hook & Margaret Wiles

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walker Bowl Winners 2018
Brian Myers & Audrey Bainbridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Masterpoints Salver Winner 2018
Audrey Bainbridge

Club Year 2017-2018 Ends

The Club Year 2017-18 ended on 31st October 2018 with Audrey Bainbridge retaining her hold on the Masterpoints Trophy.  Final positions were :-
  Masterpoints
          657     -     Audrey Bainbridge
          627     -     John Dobson
          609     -     Iain Gordon

The winners of other trophy events played during the year were :-
          Carpenter Trophy        -     Iain Gordon & John Dobson
          Latner Salver              -     Maureen Hook & Margaret Wiles
          Walker Bowl                -     Brian Myers & Audrey Bainbridge
          Anniversary Trophy      -     Iain Gordon & John Dobson

Leading the statistics for the entire year were :-
          Pair with Highest Average               -     57.47 %     Michael Crowe & Denise Barham-Hall
          Individual with Highest Average       -     58.35 %     Michael Crowe

Full details for most of the above competitions may accessed via the 'Competitions Archive' section of  the Main Menu.  In the cases of the single session competitions (Latner, Walker, Anniversary) details can be accessed via 'Results' in the Main Menu.

 

Members Score Well in Gazette Finals

The NEBA Finals of the Gazette Cup and Gazette Plate took place at Darlington on Sunday 14th October 2018.  Whilst our Club did not manage to produce the winners, several members performed well to finish in the leading places.  Leading scores for each event :-

     Gazette Cup

                        %
          1=       61.67        Jacqui taylor & Geoff Parker
          1=       61.67        Phil Gibson & Dave Pentland
          3         61.25        John Gladdes & Liz Muir

          4         56.60        Phyllis Hands & Lesley Milner
          5         55.76        Neil Aiston & Inga Aiston
          6         54.65        Iain Gordon & John McCourt
                                                ( Total 14 Pairs )

     Gazette Plate

                        %
          1         58.59        Pat Barton & Alleyn Erskine

          2         55.47        David Thompson & Margaret Thompson
          3         54.43        Ann Squires & Richard Cottrell
          4         54.17        Brenda Osborne & Frank Springett
          5         53.65       
Brian Myers & Denise Barham-Hall
          6         53.39        Adrian Darnell & Niall Keaney
                                               ( Total 18 Pairs )

Club Team gains first match victory

Sunday 7th October 2018 saw the start of the 2018-19 League Season with the Club Team gaining a clear victory in the first match at home to Chester-le-Street.   A steady start was made with the first two sets won by  8  and  4  IMPs respectively and a large gain by  27  IMPs in set 3 established a lead of  39  IMPs at the tea interval.  Set 4 gave a further gain of  12  IMPs and a final total of  +51  IMPs, this converting to a match score of :-

          BISHOP AUCKLAND     18     -  CHESER-LE-STREET     2

          Team :-

          Roger Carpenter (Capt) & Tony Mawston
          Mike Crowe & Audrey Bainbridge
          Louise Badcock & Allan Blackett
          John Gray & John Dobson

 

l

Death of Mary Brown
Death of Mary Brown

We have received the sad news of the death of Mary Brown on 29th September 2018 at the age of 87 years.  Mary, with husband Oswald who passed away July 2017,  was a member of our Club for many years although in recent tmes health problems had prevented her attendance.  She will be remembered as a jolly and friendly personality who supported all club activities.  We pass sincere condolences to her family.
The funeral took place at 12.30 pm on Friday 5th October 2018 at the Wear Valley Crematorium.

Death of David Latner
Death of David Latner

We record the sad news of the death of our Club President David Latner, peacefully at home on 12th September 2018 at the age of 98 years.  David made a tremendous contribution to bridge in the Wear Valley.  He was a founder member of our Club in 1976 and also established the Hamsterly Bridge Club, giving weekly lessons in his own home.  He served as our Chairman for five years (1988,1989, 2001,2002,2003),  as Secretary also for five years (1980-1984) and was a Tournament Director on club nights until the age of 89.  He and his wife Mary presented the club with one of our long established trophies, the Latner Salver, which he himself actually went on to win on two occasions.  David will be sadly missed by many and we send our sincere condolences to his family.

The funeral, attended by many family and friends, took place at 1.30 pm on Thursday 20th September 2018 at the Wear Valley Crematorium.

Louise and Michael are Club Best

Well done to Louise Badcock and Michael Crowe for finishing as Bishop Auckland's top pair in the British Summer Simultaneous Pairs held on Thursdau 26th July 2018.  Louise and Michael finished 16th in a field of 493 pairs from 32 clubs.  The leading scorers from Bishop Auckland were :-

                                                                             National     National 
                                                                             Position           %

          Louise Badcock & Michael Crowe                        16            63.39
          Alison Young & Godfrey Young                           78            58.37
          Allan Blackett & John Blackett                           125           55.09
          Wojtek Zajrzewski & Barbara Stott                    127           54.98
          John Gray & David Thompson                           158           53.74

Full national results may be accessed on the EBU Website
 

Club Players do well in Northern Open Pairs

Four Club Members gained placings among the top positions at the North Eastern Bridge Association Northern Open Pairs held at Castle Morpeth BC on Sunday 8th July 2018.   Simon Hedley and Stephen Reay were clear of the field in winning the event but the top placings from a total of 23 pairs were as follows  (Bishop Auckland members marked in bold font) :-

        Pos                                        Pairs
          1          64.41          Simon Hedley & Stephen Reay
          2          60.00          Mary Page & Sue Green
          3          57.35          Audrey Bainbridge & Denise Barham-Hall
          4          56.94          Marion Curran & Margaret McCabe
          5          55.14          Joan Crompton & David Thompson
          6          53.33          Anne Bell & Norman Gray
                                                    >>
                                          ( Total 23 Pairs )

Charity Open Garden Weekend

Under the National Open Garden Scheme, club members Alison & Godfrey Young held an Open Garden Weekend at their home in Crook (6th & 7th July 2018).  They wosh to thank all those who supported the event which was successful in raising £854 for a number of worthy charities. 

Margaret & Maureen win Latner Salver 2018

Congratulations go to Margaret Wiles and Maureen Hook for winning the Latner Salver 2018 on Thursday 28th June 2018.  The recorded scores were as follows:-

                                                                                 Club     H'Cap     Latner 
                                                                                Score                  Score
                                                                               -------     -------     -------
     1     Margaret Wiles & Maureen Hook                 53.13    16.54    69.67
     2     Tony Mawston & Richard Cottrell                     55.95       9.86     65.81
     3     Allan Blackett & louise Badcock                       55.36       6.55     61.91
     4     John Little & Barbara Stott                              50.00     11.17     61.17
     5     Clive Nichols & Ian Mordue                              48.44     12.18     60.62
     6     Joy Pallister & Denise Barham-Hall                   51.79       6.99     58.78
     7     Jean Milne & Joan Burrell                                 35.12     22.60     57.72
     8     John Dobson & Iain Gordon                              52.98      2.49     55.47
     9     Roger Carpenter & Peter Lisle                           50.00      3.77     53.77
    10    David Wooff & Wojtec Zakrzewski                     50.00       3.70     53.70
    11    Audrey Bainbridge & Brian Myers                      47.40       2.67     50.07

 

Club Ranked Sixth in John Clarke Salver

At the end of the 2017-18 Season Bishop Auckland finished in a creditable sixth place in the NEBA John Clarke Salver.   This competition reflects the performances of Club Members in three of the major NEBA events with a significant weighting to the awards given for the InterClub League where awards are greater the higher the Division in which matches are played.  The lower four clubs within the top eight listed here all suffer in this regard.
The top eight placeings are set out below:-

 

                                          InterClub          Championship           Championship            Total
                                            League                  Teams                       Pairs                   Award
          Brunton                          72                          38                            23                        133
          Hurworth                        76                          36                            14                        126
          Wearside                        52                          34                            20                        106
          Morpeth                         60                           24                             8                          92
          St George's                    28                           32                            17                         77
          Bishop Auckland          32                           26                            16                         76
          Hexham                          4                           30                            13                          47
          Chester-le-Street            20                          20                              0                          40

 

 

 

Close Finish to Carpenter Trophy 2018

Winners of the Carpenter Trophy for the past two years, Bran Myers and Audrey Bainbridge, were edged out by Iain Gordon and John dobson in a close finish to the 2018 competition.  Nether pair scored well in the sixth and final round with the top final overall placings being :-

1          62.00          Iain Gordon & John Dobson
2          60.60          Brian Myers & Audrey Bainbridge
3          56.20          Ann Aquires & Richard Cottrell
4          53.55          Alison Young & Godfrey Young

Full final placings can be accessed under 'Competitions Current' - 'Carpenter Trophy 2018' in the main left hand menu.

Club Team Finish Third

The 2017-18 InterClub League Season finished with Bishop Auckland in third position in League C.  A number of significant swings in the results of the final round matches saw the closely cintested second promotion place go to Darlington 'B' with St George's finishing fourth.  Newcastle 'A' and Morpeth 'B' were the teams relegated to Division D.   The final league placings were as follows :-

                                          2017-18 
                            NEBA InterClub Division C

                                        5   Matches
                                   
______________

                        1          Durham 'B'                70
                        2          Darlington 'B'             58
                        3          Bishop Auckland      54
                        4          St George's                52
                        5          Newcastle 'A'              41
                        6          Morpeth 'B'                 25
                                   _______________

Close Finish to Anniversary Trophy 2018

A very close finish saw Iain & John pip Audrey & Michael to the Anniversary Trophy 2018 with little more than 1% separating the pairs.  This was the third annual playing for the trophy inaugurated by the Committee on the occasion of the Club's 40th Anniversary in 2016.   Full results are given in the Results Section but the leading scores were :-

          1          65.77 %         Iain Gordon & John Dobson
          2          64.29 %          Audrey bainbridge & Michael Crowe
          3          59.23 %          John Gray & David Thompson
          4          57.14 %          Margaret Wiles & Maureen Hook
          5          53.87 %          David Wilkinson & Mary Winter

Members Score Well in Cumbria Congress
Members Score Well in Cumbria Congress

Four Club members played well over the weekend of 9th-11th March in the Cumbria Congress held at Grange-Over-Sands.   Lou Badcock & Audrey Bainbridge finished a creditable 2nd in the Ladies' Pairs and along with David & Margaret Thompson finished 5th in the Swiss Teams.  Well done all.  (Aplogies for picture quality but it is the best one passed to the webmaster).

Audrey is Leading Master Point Earner

Two-fold congratulations go to Audrey Baibridge for her Master Point earning performance during 2017.   Audrey finished first in NEBA Category 2 (for National Masters & Premier National Masters) but more impressively finished runner up in the NEBA for All Categories.  A number of club members finished in the NEBA Top Ten for their respective categories and these are set out below :-

                                                                       2017
NEBA Listngs                                             Master Pts
                                                                           
Category 2     Audrey Bainbridge         1st          8,424         National Masters & 
                                                                                                        Premier National Masters

Categary 3     John Dobson                 3rd          7,461         Regional Masters & 
                                                                                                        Premier Regional Masters
                     Margaret Thompson      7th          5,171        
                     David Thompson           8th          4,936

Category 4     Joan Crompton              8th          4,416         Star Masters & Tournament Masters
                                                                                                        & Premier Masters & Premier
                                                                                                        Tournament Masters
                     Brian Myers                  10th        4,051          

Category 5     Ann Squires                  4th          2,478         County Masters & Masters & 
                                                                                                         Advanced Masters
                     Richard Cottrell             7th          1,865       

NEBA 2018 Arnold Deane Salver Results

In an extremely strong field of 30 experienced pairs, there was good play from all our Club pairs in the NEBA 2018 Arnold Deane Salver (for mixed pairs) held at Stannington on Sunday 4th February 2018.  Sadly none quite managed a top three finish.  Runaway winners, clear of the field by almost 12%, were Liz Mur and John Gladders.   Ann Squires and Richard Cottrell, in a commendable 11th place, led home the Bishop Auckland representatives.  Summary results :-

          Position         %.           Pair

               1             72.17         Liz Muir & John Gladders
               2             60.47         Chris Stenning & Aileen Cunningham
               3             57.64         Mary Page & Mark Stanners
                 ------------------
              11            52.28         Ann Squires & Richard Cottrell

              12            51.33         Godfrey Young & Alison Young
              13            51.23         David Thompson & Margaret Thompson
              14            50.34         David Emerson & Louise Badcock
              25            43.27         Joan Crompton & John Gray

 

Michael & Louise are Leading Club Pair

Well done to Michael Crowe and Louise Badcock for finishing as the leading pair from Bishop Auckland in the EBU 2018 Winter Simulataneous Pairs.  In a field of 454 pairs from 30 clubs they finished in 12th position nationally on a score of 65.05%.   Leading club scorers were :-
          National     Score
          Position         %
         -----------    ---------        ------------------------------------------
             12            65.05          Michael Crowe & Louise Badcock
             45            59.73          Allan Blackett & John Blackett
             68            58.18          Brian Myers & Audrey Bainbridge

Club Team Gain Victory

In the third match of the league season, the Club Team defeated Newcastle 'A' in an away fixture on Sunday 21st January 2018.  A crazy start saw the first set won by 30 Imps followed by a second set loss by the same amount.  Steadier play thereafter led to a lead on 12 Imps at the tea interval.  The final set saw a further gain of 6 Imps and a final overall lead of 18 Imps.  This converted to a Victory Point score of :-

          Newcastle 'A'     7   -   13     Bishop Auckland

     Team :-
          Roger Carpenter (Capt) & John Gray
          Brian Myers & Denise Barham-Hall
          Michael Crowe & Audrey Bainbridge
          Louise Badcock & John Dobson