This competition comprises club heats followed by a single session final. HBA membership is not necessary. All players must have earned fewer than 5000 masterpoints whether registered or not. This corresponds to a maximum rank of County Master. The note on "Entry Restricted by Master Point Rank" is relevant. Competitiors should not play as a cadet in more than one club heat.

A heat may be played with Cadets in a separate section or mixed with others. In a mixed field the Cadet pairs take their scores from the full competition. Whether the Cadets play in a separate section or not, 50% of the eligible pairs qualify for the final. A club heat should be played as a single winner movement.

The Hitchin Bridge Club holds a heat of this competition in October.

This is a single-session competition for teams made up of four pairs of Intermediate Master Point Category or lower ( i.e. fewer than 50 green points). Competitors must be bona fide members of the Club but not necessarily of the HBA.

No player may be above 5* master. (The note on “Entry restricted by Master Point Rank” is relevant.) The aggregate rank of players in a team is restricted to a maximum of 50 points on the following scale:-

Not above Club Master 2 points

District Master 3 points

County Master 4 points

Master 5 points

Advanced Master 6 points

1* Master or Premier Master 6 points

2* Master or Premier Master 7 points

3* Master or Premier Master 8 points

4* Master or Premier Master 8 points

5* Master or Premier Master 8 points

The competition is organised as 2 sections. The pairs of each team, assessed according to the above scale are assigned:-

Pair 1 to section 1 NS; Pair 2 to section 1 EW; Pair 3 to section 2 NS and Pair 4 to section 2 EW.

The pairs of a team start at the same numbered table. An unswitched Mitchell movement is played in each section with Round 1 omitted so that pairs in the same team do not play against each other. The same boards are used in both sections but each section is scored separately and 4 ranking lists are produced.

A team's position is determined by the sum of the ranks of it's 3 best pairs. A tie is broken by comparing the sum of the ranks of all players in the teams and if necessary the total percentage scores of all pairs. There is no overall winning pair.

Open to players below the rank of Master. Membership of the HBA is not required.

An extended single session event of 28 boards with a short mid-session interval.

Held at the Bridge Centre Welwyn Garden City.

Open to HBA members below the rank of Premier Regional Master.

An extended single session event of 28 boards with a short mid-session break.

Held at the Bridge Centre Welwyn Garden City.

A single session multiple teams event. All players must have earned fewer than 5000 master points whether registered or not. This corresponds to a maximum rank of County Master.The note on “Entry Restricted by Master Point Rank” is relevant.

Held at the Bridge Centre Welwyn Garden City

These HBA competitions specify limits on the rank of competitors. These ranks are based upon the number of master points awarded up to 1st October preceding the competition. It is immaterial for this purpose whether the points have been registered or not. There will be players who have competed with moderate success without registering their master points. It would be improper for them to claim a rank lower than they would have achieved had they registered their master points.