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NCBA Committee Meeting

The next County Committee Meeting will be held,
Wednesday 6 March 2024 at 5 pm via ZOOM.

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March 2022

NOTTINGHAM COUNTY BRIDGE ASSOCIATION

 

NEWSLETTER MARCH 2022

 

Hello to all members.

It’s been a while since the last newsletter, NCBA hopes you are all keeping well. 

The dreadful events in Ukraine unfolding before our eyes fill us all , I'm sure with horror and unease and our thoughts are with the Ukrainians and their families. Nottingham Bridge club is holding two events next Friday in aid of Ukraine. Please attend if at all possible see the Nottingham Bridge Club website for details.

Face-to-Face Bridge has taken off again and most Nottinghamshire clubs have restarted at least one FTF session, which is great news. Don’t forget we are here to assist should any club need help with the return to FTF.

On-line Bridge is also very healthy and popular, and many EBU events are being held on-line. Going forward, a combination of the two would be ideal.

The league teams of eight has been successful in the most part, and will be drawing to a close very soon.

There are two upcoming competitions both in April:

Firstly The Journal Cup. This will be held on Sunday 10th April, on realbridge with a start time of 1pm. There will be a minimum of 36 boards. 

There will be a break halfway through. 

This competition is open to all NCBA members. 

The winners will be paid for by and will represent NCBA at the Corwen Cup which will be held on realbridge on 5th and 6th of June 2022. 

The top three pairs are entitled to enter the Corwen Cup but NCBA will only pay for the top NCBA pair.

The entry fee for the Journal Cup is £5.00 per person, this is payable in advance by bank transfer.you will need to register. Please see NCBA website for all details.

 

Secondly Teams of Four . This will be held on Sunday 24th April 2022. On realbridge with a start time of 1pm.

The amount of boards to be played will depend on how many teams enter.

There will be a break halfway through.

This competition is open to all.

The winners, unlike previous years where there have been subsequent playoffs, will be the  winners on the day. The top NCBA team will qualify for entry to the Pachabo Cup, which will be held on realbridge 11th and 12th June. NCBA will pay for their entry..

The entry fee for the Teams of Four is £20.00 per team, this is payable in advance by bank transfer. You will need to assign a captain and register. Please see NCBA website for details.

 

Regards NCBA

September 2021

Hello to all Members

It has been a while since our last newsletter, apologies. 

The EGM which took place on June 12th was quorate and so business was able to take place. Thank you to everyone who attended. Mark Goddard was re-elected as Chair, unfortunately the NCBA committee is light on numbers and as such light on representation. The committee has the power to co-opt members and would welcome newcomers particularly from clubs that have no representation on the NCBA committee at the moment.  Whilst ideally we would want committee members who will actively participate in NCBA affairs, the reality is that we are close to being not quorate, so more passive members who act as a conduit for their clubs would be acceptable. If you feel you are able to contribute please email either:

 Mark Goddard at kramdradog@hotmail.com or 

Shirley Ashtari at shirleyashtari@gmail.com

Joan Burgess

It is with great sadness and regret that we have to notify you of the death of Joan Burgess. Joan was a much respected long serving officer of NCBA. She was a  team player and member of Keyworth Bridge Club. She will be greatly missed by her Husband David , family and friends. Her funeral will take place at Tollerton Methodist Church at around 13.00 hrs. on Tuesday 31 Aug. It will be preceded by her cremation at Wilford Crematorium at 12.30 that day.

 

Face to Face

Clubs are gradually re-opening their doors which is heartening. Nottingham BC, West Bridgford BC, Mansfield Mechanics and Newark BC are all open for FTF bridge. Other clubs are looking to open in the near future. Please see respective websites for details.

County matches

The new season is due to start on September 12th. The platform will be “realbridge”

We are always looking for interested people to join our teams. So if you feel you would like to put your name forward for selection then please email shirleyashtari@gmail.com
 

Teams of Eight

The 2021/22 season starts in September. We have 14 teams in two divisions of 7 teams playing each other once. The default  platform will be BBO. 

Good Luck in the new season of Bridge in Nottingham.

 

NCBA

 

June 2021

County Teams of 8

So we have come to an end of another season of county matches. The first thing I would like to say is a big thank you for all of you who have played. I also especially want to thank Shirley who has helped out on the admin side.

In terms of results, I think we could do better, but we are up against counties with more player resource than us and the first team was depleted this year (compared to previous years) which had a knock-on effect. That being said, all the teams won matches and there were definite positives. 

The league tables can be found here: EBU Results | Midland Counties Online League 2020-21 Division 1, but the short version is:

A team: 6th – won 3, lost 4, drew 1
B team: 8th – won 2, lost 6
C team: 7th – won 2, lost 6

End of season awards

Star performers:

 

Average cross-imp (min 3 matches)

Stan Zygadlo

12.3

Lloyd Eagling

10.7

Mark Goddard

7.7

Richard Page

4.7

Pravin Tailor

4.3

Clare Batten

1.5

Graham Brindley

1.5

Keith Spencer

0.8

Michael Bleaney

0.8

 

Ever present:

Stan Zygadlo
Graham Lee
Patrick Gaudart
Steve Mulligan
Bill Milligan
Keith Spencer
Michael Bleaney
Clare Batten
Graham Brindley

 

Match day organisers (we really couldn’t have done this without you):

Keith Spencer
Sandy Fulton
Clare Batten
Jane Hall
Shirley Ashtari
Mark Goddard
Patrick Gaudart
Andrew Scott
Phil Gross

 

Most versatile – these people all played with four different partners:

Mark Goddard
Keith Rodgers
Jane Hall

Honourable mention – Patrick Gaudart (3 partners) 

Top performances:

Sandy Fulton and John Rolph v Staffs & Shrops          +52
Jane Hall and Richard Page v Lincs                           +41
Clare Batten and Graham Brindley v Derbyshire        +40

April 2021

NCBA NEWSLETTER 19/04/2021

This month we need to concern ourselves with the AGM and a new committee so this newsletter is dedicated to that, and has been written by the current Chairman.

The NCBA AGM is rapidly approaching (15 May) and we are in need of volunteers to stand for the committee. This year getting recruits is especially difficult as there are no face-to-face interactions and as such, I thought I would set out what I believe the county association is about (or should be about with a thriving committee), to try and inspire some volunteers.

So what should the county association be doing:

Covid

The way that clubs have responded to the pandemic has differed greatly. Some have gone online and thrived, others have gone dormant. However, when it comes time to reopen the doors, all clubs are going to face challenges. These challenges could take many different forms – financial pressures; getting people to come back to physical bridge; reconnecting with members who did not go online; how to deal with any restrictions imposed by Covid guidelines (and there are probably more). I believe that NCBA can and should help affiliated clubs with the above. This can take several forms including:

  • Financial assistance – NCBA have reserves which the committee have agreed can be applied for on a case-by-case basis to help get clubs back on their feet (e.g. if numbers are likely to be low in early weeks post reopening, clubs may need short term assistance with rent)
  • Advertising drives and reopening
  • Connecting clubs so they can share knowledge re risk assessments etc.

I am sure there is more we can do - if clubs ask (they generally know what they need better than us) we will do what we can.

Linking clubs

Whilst cubs all have their own members and offering (and in some cases are ‘competing’ for players), there is a lot of common ground. NCBA should have regular meetings of Club Chairs where key themes are discussed and where (more importantly), clubs can feed in what they want from NCBA.

‘Bridge’ to wider EBU (excuse the pun)

NCBA has links into various wider bodies such as the EBU and the Midlands Counties Working Group, where we can get insight into what is happening around the country (and take and share best practice where appropriate), as well as feed into key discussions.

Promote bridge in Nottinghamshire

NCBA should be promoting bridge in Nottinghamshire, in any way it can. This could be through various media platforms, representation on bodies, charity events, learner events, reaching out to unaffiliated clubs, or any other way that may be appropriate.

Competitions

NCBA should organise competitions. These will include competitions aimed at the higher end of the playing spectrum, as well as the likes of 8 high competitions.

County representation

NCBA should field teams to represent the county in the Midlands Counties leagues, as well as EBU competitions

Teaching

Whilst I strongly believe that clubs should take responsibility for beginner lessons (having a connection to a club at that stage of development is vital), I do believe that there is a place for NCBA with regards to development of players at different levels of the spectrum (e.g. experienced club players, aspiring/existing county players)

Communications

Regular communications with NCBA members and clubs around what is happening in respect of bridge in Nottinghamshire.

The above is only my views on the role of NCBA (and does exclude some of the more procedural aspects which do exist). Different people will have different interpretations and that is absolutely fine. My aim with the above was to show some of the things NCBA could/should do – if that gets people thinking and other ideas come out – brilliant!

Of course, the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noted that, whilst the above all sounds laudable, some of it does not really happen. The reason (in recent months at least) for that is simple – it is me. Whilst I can come up with ideas and know what I would like to do, I simply do not have time to do the role. This is not because being Chair of NCBA has to be massively time consuming, but my actual job most certainly is, and my young family also take up a lot of my time (plus I am county captain, which also takes up time). The committee help where possible, but unfortunately we have not replaced some departures in the last few years and so are thin on the ground, which also means they are stretched. As such my main contribution as Chair has been to keep things ticking over. I took on the role simply because no-one else was willing, however I have no desire to continue in the role at this stage in my life (maybe when the kids are older…). As such, I am hoping that someone who reads this will step forward and take on the role!

Even if you do not wish to be Chair, if you have read this far, you have an interest in NCBA and what it does. I hope therefore I have opened your eyes to what NCBA could achieve, but will only achieve if we have active volunteers. As such, I do hope that some of you will stand for the committee this year. If we can get an active and thriving committee going (just getting more numbers would help significantly with this) then I truly believe we can achieve something good in the next year.

If you are interested in standing, please drop Shirley a line. If anyone wants to discuss any aspects of the above, feel free to contact me.

Mark Goddard

Chair, NCBA

March 2021

NCBA

Newsletter 27th March 2021

Hello once again to all our members.

I’m sure you spotted the deliberate spelling error in last month’s newsletter; I wonder if you can find the one in this month’s.

The NCBA Bridge Drive held on a Wednesday evening is now cancelled until further notice. This is due to lack of support.

There is another Swiss Teams event running today this time for people with a NGS rating of 9 or less, so if you haven’t decided to play already you’d better make your mind up quickly. Also an event aimed at people with an NGS rating of 5 or under, is scheduled for 18th April. All info for both these events is on the NCBA website.

The Journal Cup was won by Sandy Fulton and John Rolph. They will go on to represent Nottinghamshire, along with last year’s winners Mark Goddard and Patrick Gaudart in the Corwen Cup, which will be held in June.

BBO continues to facilitate most of the bridge in Nottinghamshire with drives running almost every day. Check the individual websites for times. There are however quite a few Nottinghamshire clubs running drives on “realbridge” If you haven’t tried this platform which has sound and video yet then check out the times at Retford, Phoenix and Keyworth.

The County match against Lincolnshire was won by all three teams. Well done to them! The next match is against Derbyshire on 11th April   we wish the teams good luck.

The AGM for Notts County Bridge association will be held on BBO on 15th May 2021 at 5pm. Notices and the agenda will soon be distributed to all members. New committee members are essential and there are vacancies to be filled. The NCBA is yours and there is no better way to ensure your views and opinions are considered than to be a part of it.

Don’t forget:

If you would like to be considered for County team selection please email Shirley Ashtari at  shirleyashtari@gmail.com  Everyone is welcome to put themselves forward to play . At the moment it is on BBO and is free, you just need to provide your own refreshments.

Happy Bridging and Take Care

NCBA

Newsletter May 2020

2020 May NCBA newsletter .pdf

CORONAVIRUS 11 March 2020

From the EBU - 20200309 Letter to County Chairmen.pdf

Master Points

Any player can obtain points from success in duplicate bridge competition, on a scale which varies according to the success itself, the size of the competition and its status. About the top one-third of players in a competition will be entitled to Master Points. The register of Master Points is kept at the offices of the English Bridge Union. Only members of the EBU may register their points and have their records maintained. A lapsed member may have valid Master Points registered on renewal of membership of the EBU.

Landmark promotions in the Master Point scheme are printed in every second issue of English Bridge, and a list of all promotions (sorted by county) can be seen on our the EBU website with a new list posted every month

Local Points are awarded at normal club events and most county events.

Blue Points are awarded at some special club and county events, and at Regional and National events that are not of sufficient status to merit Green Points.

Green Points are awarded for County Major Championships, and at Regional and National events of sufficiently high status.

Master Point Ranks may be seen at www.ebu.co.uk/masterpoints/ranks

Landmark promotions in the Master Point scheme are printed in every second issue of English Bridge, and a list of all promotions (sorted by county) can be seen on the EBU website (here) with a new list posted every month.

Four Landmark promotions
These are Master, Regional Master, Life Master and Grand Master.
Promotions will be processed three times a year in line with English Bridge issues: April, August and December. The landmark promotions will be recorded in these issues of English Bridge. Members who have achieved one of the landmark promotions will receive a congratulation letter from the EBU Chairman and a certificate of rank attained, by post.
No pens are sent out anymore.

Winter Newsletter

2019 January Newsletter.pdf

Summer Newsletter 2018

June's issue is a pdf

2018 Summer County newsletter.pdf

Newsletter Spring 2018

May's issue is a pdf

2018 May Newsletter.pdf

December Newsletter

December's issue is a pdf, please note this is a large document

2017 December Newsletter.pdf

September 2017

September's issue is a pdf, please note this is a large document

2017 Newletter September.pdf

The recent County Newsletter contains an article on Trial Bids.

At the end of the Newsletter, there is a Prize Quiz, based on this

article. Two prizes, one of £20 and one of £10, are on offer.

Why not have a go?

Question 1  (5 marks)   

You open 1H and partner responds 2H. What should you rebid, holding each of the following hands :
 
 (i)       A42   AK63   QJ9   KJ6 
 
(ii)      42   AK632   Q92   AJ6 

(iii)      AK53   AK964   K63   5      

(iv)      A54   AKJ76   K84   K5

(v)       64    AKJ7532   74   KQ2?
 
 
Question 2.  (2 marks)  

Partner opens 1S and you respond 2S. If partner rebids 3C , what should you bid holding each of the following hands:       
 
(a)   J642   J853   K932   7         

(b)   J642   7   K932   J853 ?  
 
 
Question 3.  (2 marks)
 
Partner opens 1S and you respond 2S. If partner rebids 3D, what should you bid holding each of the following hands:      
 
(a)   J642  KQ75   753   Q9        

(b)   J642    Q9    753   KQ75  ?
 
 
Question 4.  (1 mark) 
 
Partner is dealer and the auction starts    1S   2D   2S   3D 3H    P             
 
What should  you bid holding     K642   753   742   AQ8 ?
 
 
Question 5.  (2 marks)  

Partner is dealer and the auction starts    1S   2H   2S   3H     X      P                

What should you bid holding the following hands  

(a)   10642   943   J6   KQ75   

(b)   10642   943   J6   AK75 ?   

 

Question 6.  (3 marks)
 
North is dealer and the North/South hands are as shown:                                 

N    6   KJ42   K83   AJ753,       S    752   AQ753   QJ4   Q6.
 
Describe a sensible auction.
 
The winner was LLOYD EAGLING and the runner up PAUL ROYLE

 

                                          Quiz Answers

Q1. (i)   2NT    You have only 4 Hearts, but have 18 HCPs.

       (ii)    P        You have 7 losers, so your hand is too weak to make a trial bid.

       (iii)  4H      You have 5 losers, so should bid 4H directly.

       (iv)  2S      Your hand contains 5 Hearts and 6 losers, so you should make a trial bid.

                         There are 2 suits in which you can make such a bid, namely Spades and

                         Diamonds, each containing 2 losers. You should make the cheaper bid.

                        (This improves partner’s chance of making a counter trial bid.)

       (v)   3H    This hand is not covered in the article. It gives you an opportunity to display

                        your judgement. The hand has 6 losers, but no suit in which to make a trial bid.

                        Also it contains little defence against a Spade or Diamond contract by your

                        opponents. So you should make the pre-emptive bid of 3H, designed to

                        make it more difficult for your opponents to protect.

Q2. (i)   4S      You have a poor hand, but have a singleton in Clubs, the trial suit.

      (ii)    3S     You have a poor hand and 3 losers in Clubs.

Q3.  (i)   3H    This hand has 3 losers in Diamonds, an TPC of 9 and a good holding in Hearts.

              So you should make this counter trial bid. The fate of a 4S contract probably depends

              on partner’s holding in Hearts. It is always a sound idea to inform and consult partner.

        (ii)   3S   As above. You would like to bid 3C, but partner has already bid 3D. 

Q4.   4S    Partner has made a trial bid in Hearts, the only suit in which he can make such  

                  a bid. So he is just asking me if I have, or have not, a good raise to 2S. My

                  hand has a TPC of 9. (That my hand has 3 losers in Hearts is not relevant.)

Q5. (i)   3S    Partner could not make a trial bid, so his double is just asking me if I have,

                      or have not, a good raise to 2S. The first hand has a TPC of 7, and the

                      second a TPC  of 9.

       (ii)   4S

Q6.     Auction    1C   1H   2H   2S   4H   (assuming East/West are silent throughout)                   

The first 3 bids are obvious. At this stage, South knows that North has an opening hand and

a Heart fit. S has an 8 loser hand, which is fewer than it might have been, so wonders if he

might make 4H. But how should he investigate that possibility? Ah – of course. He should consult

partner by making the trial bid of 2S. Although N is minimum for his bids, he has just 1 loser in

Spades, so is happy to bid 4H.(S will make 4H, and will even make an overtrick if West holds CK.)

(In the article, only trial bids by opener were discussed. But there is no reason why responder

should not make such bids.)

May 2017

May's issue is a pdf, please note this is a large document

2017 Newsletter May.pdf

February 2017

February's issue is a pdf, please note this is a large document

NCBA newsletter issue 5.pdf

December 2016

Decembers issue is a pdf, please note this is a large document

2016 December Issue 4.pdf

2016/7 COUNTY MATCHES

Keith Rodgers Needs YOU!

Keith Rodgers is Nottinghamshire County Team Captain. He is currently arranging teams for the County matches. There are 3 Divisions and Keith is aware that there may be some players who would like to be included but he does not have their details. Can anyone wishing to be considered email Keith with their contact details. Keith tries to get people a game where possible and the season goes on into 2017. Dates for these Sunday events are on the NCBA website, the first few are:

11 September Worcs. Home                                10 October Oxford Away

13 November Derby Home                                 11 December Leics. Away

Summer Teams of Four Summer 2016 marked a fresh approach to the Teams of Four League. In the attempt to attract more teams, it was felt that running the T04 and the T08 in separate seasons might reduce the time commitment for folk and entice more people to enter. At this point the T04 competition is coming towards completion and things are getting close. Current results can be found on the NCBA website.  Its close and nearing the end of the competition.  Exciting!!  Unfortunately some teams missed the start date; it was indeed a short deadline to announce the start of the new League and our apologies for that. BUT make a note for next summer- the DEADLINE TO ENTER THE 2017 SUMMER To4 is 1st May 2017 T04 are a great social way to enter into competitive Bridge- games can be played at any venue and time to suit - even in the afternoons and all standards are welcomed. If we get a few more teams entering we could run two Divisions. For more information contact me, Keith, the T04 Convenor: keith.m.spencer@btinternet.com

New Rules for NCBA Teams of Eight League - 2016

A new version of the Rules has been produced and has been distributed to all team captains within the League.

The main changes to the Rules were required because of the elimination of squads from the League. It was necessary to remove the concept of squads (groups of players from non-affiliated clubs) to comply with EBU legislation which requires that all teams competing in a County League must be playing on behalf of an EBU Affiliated Club. There have, therefore, been some changes and clarifications under the "Eligibility" section of the Rules to reflect these requirements.

Also under the "Eligibility" section of the Rules (item 9) there have been some clarifications to the Rules covering multiple teams from a single club and the usage of nominated players - often referred to as "starred" players.

Various clarifications have been added and grouped together under a "General" section at the beginning of the Rules (items 1 to 5).

An additional section has been incorporated at the end of the Rules entitled "Rules of Play" with two paragraphs (items 22 & 23) covering computer generated hands and the requirement for pairs to have convention cards.

No significant changes have been made to the section entitled "Matches and Results".

The Rules are available for viewing on the County's website:- https://www.bridgewebs.com/nottinghamshire

 and are available for downloading if required.

Chris Clark

Secretary, NCBA Teams of Eight League

 

TRAINING AND COACHING

Here is a list of developmental opportunities for this season.

EBU led Training for Directors.

3 formal comprehensive sessions with an assessment day leads to qualification with EBU as a Tournament Director (TD).  Hosted in Nottingham Bridge Club. Dates:

Nov 19 Essentials

Dec 17 Book Rulings

Jan 14 Judgement rulings

Jan 28 Assessment

These Saturday sessions are stand alone- you can opt out of the assessment for example or complete them at a different venue if a particular date doesn’t suit you. Open to anyone including out of County players. Book via EBU website.

EBU led TD Refreshers.

A must day for T Directors (no assessment for this- just fun!) to refresh your knowledge and ask those pesky technical questions that you have always wrestled with.   This is the first time such a session has been secured in our County and as it is so valuable to have competent and confident directors it is being generously subsidized by NBC, NCBA and EBU. Thank you all. Also open to non qualified TD’s who direct at clubs but don’t want/haven’t taken the EBU assessment. Date: 30 October 2016 Venue: Nottingham Bridge Club. Bookings and further details contact Toni at tonitsmith@tiscali.co.uk

Do NOT turn up without booking as places are limited. See agenda below.

STOP PRESS:  A great opportunity for all bridge players (not just EBU registered players) to get a short crash course (no assessment) summarizing the basic bridge rules and etiquette.

As it is being generously subsidized by NCBA, NBC and EBU, this is a great investment to help further your enjoyment and understanding of this great game. In what other sport (sic) can you play and not make the effort to learn the Rules??  Come and get an insight into what your TD does. This course will benefit everyone- its not threatening but illuminating! (NB: this crash course is the start of the TD refreshers day referred to above)

 

This is an EBU delivered seminar. Date: 30 October. Venue: Nottingham Bridge Club. For more details or to book contact Toni at tonitsmith@tiscali.co.uk.

 

♥ ♣ ♦ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♣ ♦ ♠ ♥ ♣ ♦ ♠

CRASH COURSE AND TD REFRESHERS AGENDA

9.30 for 9.45 Welcome refreshments

9.45- 11.15  Session 1:  Introduction to the Role of the TD and the key ‘Bridge Rules’ concepts  FREE BUT MUST BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE DUE TO LIMIT ON NUMBERS (FIRE REGS). (TD’s must attend the full day).

11.15-11.30 Tea break (refreshments included: people may depart or remain for session 2)

11.45 – 1.30 Session 2: Review of the main Book Rulings (£5)

1.30- 2.00 lunch – not included  (all non TD’s/directors depart)

2.00- 5.00 Session 3:TD’s/Directors remain for in depth review of the more complicated TD calls e.g. Judgments/hesitations etc £25 full day

TO BOOK CONTACT Toni: tonitsmith@tiscali.co.uk  

 

WILLIE CROOK’S MASTER CLASS FOR ISSUE 3

HOW DID YOU FARE?

 

Graham Kirby found a scintillating defence in the semi-final of the Notts Teams Championship He reasoned that as they hadn’t bid 3NT and partner hadn’t doubled 3C for the lead then partner was suggesting an alternative so he led the H5 !!!! which went to the King and a heart to the Queen and Ace and the Jack cashed on which partner discarded the spade 4 - he now found the heart 3 and when dummy ruffed with the D5 his partner over ruffed with the Jack which promoted  his Queen for one down.
What’s this about leading away from an Ace? Never say Never in Bridge!!

 

The full hand:

SPOTLIGHT ON:     EAST BRIDGFORD

Like many Clubs, East Bridgford BC prides itself on being a ‘friendly’ club. Nestling in the heart of this beautiful village, in the East of Nottinghamshire, EB Bridge Club attracts beginners as well as County players.

 Secretary Lisa Toohey informed me that it was a typical ‘village club’, very jolly with a great Xmas party and regular pub visits after club night open to all! How often do you get that?

 It has a varied membership of about 60, and probably has the record for the Nottinghamshire club with the most qualified TD’s!

East Bridgford are currently looking to expand their membership and are researching types of dealing machines and scoring software as a further attraction. With teams in the To4 and To8 Leagues for many years EB BC has lots to offer. BUT the best bit quips Lisa, ‘….is the tea break. We all stop for tea and very special biscuits- Waitrose, no less!’ . 

EB BC has a sister unaffiliated club on a Monday.  Look on the EB BC website for more details.

 And who is this Man? The Chair of East Bridgford BC Steve Crawford, no less, showing off his winnings, sadly not in Bridge, but in Vegetable Growing!!   One of the prestige band of Qualified TD’s in EB BC, Steve regularly directs and takes his Bridge marginally less seriously than his veggies! (I don’t think!!)

Editor

 

 

2016 NCBA Committee members and Officers (and their home club)

President Gordon Fullerton (Keyworth)

Chair John Auld  (Nottingham)

Secretary Clare Batten (Nottingham & Keyworth )

Treasurer Ian Dovey (West Bridgford & Keyworth)

To4 convenor Keith Spencer (Woodborough & Nottingham)

T08 convenor Chris Clarke (  )   

County Captain Keith Rodger (Nottingham)

Communications & Promotions Toni Smith (Woodborough & Nottingham)

Website Keith Spencer (Woodborough & Nottingham)

County TD Tim Anderson(West Bridgeford)

Other committee members: Anthony Pettengell (Phoenix & Nottingham & Woodborough) Jane Hall (Woodborough)

 

          Any comments on this newsletter or related issues are welcome.  Please contact Editor Toni or Secretary Clare or any NCBA Committee member.

Any articles or bridge information for inclusion in future Issues happily received. Editor: tonitsmith@tiscali.co,uk

September 2016

Newsletter September 2016 Issue 3

As Summer moves towards Autumn we find Team Captains thinking about their fixtures for the coming season.  In this Newsletter you can find details/links to forthcoming competitions/events including AMENDED ‘teams of 8’ Rules.  Jane Hall and Chris Clark (NCBA Committee) worked tirelessly to grapple with necessary changes, which covers convention cards, dealing machines, nominated players and ‘squads’. Please take a look.

Remember that there are various events and competitions in the yearly programme and there is something for everyone. It is true that not everyone likes raising the competitive stakes. A gentle game at a club or a social/charity drive suits many just fine. But others like to test their mettle! Its horses for courses!   Have a think about joining in some of these events- once you’ve attended one you will find it is ‘NO FEAR BRIDGE’ and it’s a fun way to improve your game! Look at the calendar on the NCBA website.

We also focus in this issue on Training opportunities for Nottinghamshire Bridge Players.  Many of us have been playing for many (too many to remember??) years and may not recall our first fumblings at the table. It can be traumatic but with experience and knowledge comes confidence and enjoyment. As part of the aims of NCBA are to promote Bridge across Nottinghamshire, we want to help raise standards and levels of enjoyment in the game through increasing knowledge and confidence via a range of development opportunities. Some of these are subsidised by your County Association and by EBU, and by local clubs too.  Why not ask your club if they are subsidising these courses? 

We have arranged them to be delivered locally at the excellent Nottingham Bridge Club (NBC) venue for your convenience and thank NBC for thus supporting these initiatives. So folks, do take up the offer to join in on these events- they need to be supported to justify our investment in putting them on for everyone’s benefit. 

Remember if your club runs activities such as training events, or social/Charity drives etc let us know so we can publicise it for you. In particular there is a new initiative: we are creating a NOTTINGHAMSHIRE CLUBS PAGE on our NCBA website to help signpost people to Nottinghamshire clubs. This will be updated quarterly.  Any club information you’d like sharing, whether lessons, social activities, celebrating great results, please just email them into the Editor by 31 October for the first posting.

 

Editor

Enjoy your bridge in 2016-17

MASTER CLASS FOR ISSUE 3

Here is a hand for this issue by courtesy of the famous Willie Crook, one of Nottinghamshire’s premier players.

The bidding has gone like this and as West you are now on lead. Your hand is below. WHAT DO YOU LEAD? Willie’s answer is show later in this months Newsletter but don’t look until you have made your own decision!!

July 2016

Dear all

 Since I have the role of ‘Communications/Promotions’ with Notts CBA Committee, I now have the pleasure (sic) of being the link to EBU to draft any information we wish to be included in the EBU magazine.

Apparently there are 3 headings we could place information- County Results, County/Local News and Obituaries. 

There are word limits so I can’t put everything in, but I think it would be nice if any Club has an event or a club member success somewhere that we could celebrate it as well as our County results.

 

Can you all please note this and share with your committees so it is widely known and so if you are on holiday say, another member can forward any useful information on as it happens- I will retain until the next edition. 

 

Keep it as an on-going invite for you to email me any information you think is worthy of inclusion- advance notice or results in retrospect.  Of course I can’t guarantee it is included- EBU do edit and I guess it’s about what space they have but I will happily draft or use your wording if you prefer anything that is of interest and value to Nottinghamshire bridge players.

 

For the Oct issue I need to respond by early August. So any information/articles can you let me have them asap.

 

Kind regards and I trust this on-going way of progressing, avoiding the need for a reminder, will be time saving for all of us!

 

Toni

 

PS: you will have seen from the Bulletin sent out previously that some training is to be arranged. There is a half/one day gentle session to introduce people to Rules and Regs. Useful for newcomers as well as experienced folk.  This will be in November.  Can you share and give me numbers so I can see what the cost will be per head- (trying to keep to the minimum)- and where best to place the venue & date to capture the majority.   EBU are costing it out now and will offer dates.   Also we have half a dozen folk wanting to do the TD course pretty quickly so I will push for that to be held in Nottinghamshire asap but again likely to be Nov onwards as EBU are pretty booked.  Any more takers to make this a viable event - please share widely and let me know asap.  Any other ideas welcome- want a dialogue!

PPS.  If anyone is missed off this cc list please let me know and I will add them on- 

June 2016

Dear Club Secretaries

In line with our remit to promote and support Bridge for all in our County, we are writing to inform you of 2 new events for our Improving Bridge players, and also some Training which we will attempt to organize if there is sufficient interest.  Please see the attached flyer and the information below and if you are interested, contact either the named person, Clare Batten NCBA Secretary or myself.

Regards

Toni

NCBA Communications & Promotions

 

Improvers’ events:

 

1. Aimed at the developing bridge player, a Wednesday afternoon drive is being arranged, hosted by Graham Brindley at the Nottingham Bridge Club. You do not need to be an EBU or Club member, nor come as a pair. No Fear Fun with Support to help you make the transition from beginners lessons to joining a club. Please see the attached flyer- this starts from 22 July. Just turn up!

 

2. Midland Improvers Competition

If you have been playing bridge for less than five years and have less than 5000 master points then you can enter this completion.  It is a new regional event across national venues and the EBU have donated the trophies.

NCBA has agreed to PAY the entry fee for one pair from each of its affiliated clubs to go to the event at Spondon on 3rd July.  Of course more couples can attend. We would like Nottingham to be well represented at this new event. 

Further details can be found on the NCBA website which has a link to the event webpage.  The results from all the venues taking part will be merged to provide overall winners but each venue will award a pair of the trophies above.  There will also be a detailed commentary on the hands played similar to that provided at a SIMS event.

Each club is invited to determine which pair they will pay for but hopefully support other pairs to attend. If Clubs wish to split the payment NCBA will make across pairs that is down to them. Please contact Clare for more details and the payment.

 

Training/Coaching

We know from the NCBA survey last year that there about 5 clubs in the County who do not use qualified directors. It is always useful for players to know and understand the Rules of our exacting game, whether they wish to continue developing their knowledge and become a qualified Tournament Director (TD) or not. EBU put on TD courses but the closest ones we have found are Sheffield and Solihull which is not attractive to many due to the distance. This may be putting people off attending these useful courses. Accordingly:

 

1.                          We will seek to put on TD courses hosted by EBU in Nottingham if there is sufficient interest.

2.                         We will put on a day or evening bespoke course for players of all levels to enhance their understanding of the basic rules & Regulations.  Open to all including developing players.

3.                          We will secure a refresher course for qualified TD’s in Nottinghamshire- there are about 30 TD’s in our County although not all of these currently undertake TD duties. This refresher course is a good precursor for attempting the County TD course as well as just a knowledge top up.

4.                          We will support a few more qualified TD’s attempt the next level EBU qualification, the County TD’s course. This is only held once a year and is costly, but the County is prepared to support this if there is interest.

 

For all of these events, please contact Toni by 31 July for further details or to lodge an interest in one of the events.

 

 

And finally….

Nottingham University Bridge Club

 NCBA has agreed to support a foray into Nottingham University. The aim is to support the set up of a Bridge Club with some teaching , mentoring and playing with the hope that more young people can be supported  to learn and play bridge in Nottinghamshire. We already have some players willing to support this venture but need more. We want to have a small working group meeting shortly to take this forward- time is of the essence-we need to have this organized before the new University Term commences. If you can spare some time to help, even irregularly, at a Uni club drive or with mentoring/teaching, please contact Toni.