Oliver Cowan Bridge Club
Release 2.19q
Recent Updates
Home Page
18th Sep 2024 12:08 BST
Bulletin
11th Aug 2024 11:40 BST
WBU Dragon Pairs Dates
27th Jul 2024 15:49 BST
Manchester Congress
28th Jun 2024 22:23 BST
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Pages viewed in 2024
Bulletin

Membership subscriptions for 2024/25 are due for payment before 1st September. The membership fee is only £10 per person and is used to find admin support and also allows for suitable venues to be checked out in advance of events taking place so please consider joining the club event if you only play in some of the face to face events.

 

Bank details for payment are sort 204895 acct 43186903 acct name Oliver Cowan Bridge Club Virtual Ltd and please use your EBU number as the reference. Please also email ocbridgecomps@gmail.com when you have sent payment.

We are EBU affiliated and accepting members

The Oliver Cowan Bridge Club is affiliated to the EBU and runs virtual club sessions on BBO 6 nights a week.

Club Membership costs just £10 per year and includes membership of the Friendly Online Bridge Club.

The most important rule of this club is best behaviour at the table, on the basis that good manners cost nothing. 

Please email ocbridgecomps@gmail.com to request a membership application form. 

Charity fund raising events

The Oliver Cowan Bridge Club is proud to support

Children in Need (raised £800 in 2021; £500 in 2020)

The Homeless Street Angels (raised £1426 in 2021; £920 in 2020)

Anthony Nolan Trust received £450

Mind received £300

The Zone received £325

Through our volunteer of the month scheme, the following charities have also benefitted:

St John Ambulance

Norwood

The Emma Maltby Foundation

Undos
Undos

The club allows undo requests for genuine bidding mistakes made as a result of a mechanical error, not a lapse of concentration or forgetfulness, and only when the request is made prior to their partner's bid at the latest.  We do not allow undos for playing.
Any awkward exchanges should be referred to the director. 

Members are reminded that you can change your settings to ensure you double click to make a bid.

Calendar
19th September 2024
Oliver Cowan BC Pairs
Online 7.15pm
Director: OC
Scorer: OC
20th September 2024
Oliver Cowan BC Pairs
Online 7.15pm
Director: OC
Scorer: OC
22nd September 2024
Friendly Online Bridge Club (FOBC) & Lancashire Online Pairs
Online 7.15pm
Director: OC
Scorer: OC
23rd September 2024
Friendly Online Bridge Club (FOBC) & Huddersfield BC Online Pairs
Online 7.15pm
Director: OC
Scorer: OC
24th September 2024
Play Without the Experts
Online 7.15pm
Director: OC
Scorer: OC
Welcome to Oliver Cowan Bridge Club

Please note that subs for 2024/25 are due by 1st September. A mail went out to all players on the database last week advising that fees are £10 per player for everyone. Please email Oliver at ocbridgecomps@gmail.com when you have paid. Account details are: sort 204895 acct 43186903 acct name Oliver Cowan Bridge Club Virtual Limited.

Membership of the of the Oliver Cowan Bridge Club also gives membership of the Friendly Online Bridge Club meaning players have an option of an online game on BBO 6 nights (7:15pm) and 1 morning each week. The membership fees go towards admin support and also allow for congress venues to be checked out prior to being booked so both online and F2F players will benefit.

Oliver 

WBU Dragon Green Point Pairs Series (BBO)

Event 2 is on Saturday 28th September.

An exciting collaboration between Oliver Cowan Bridge and the Welsh Bridge Union, the Dragon Pairs Championship will consist of 10 Swiss Pairs events each year on BBO with the overall winners being the pair with the best 5 scores out of a possible 10 and they will receive a trophy. The events are all open to any members of Wales, England, Scotland or Ireland Bridge Unions. 

Each event will run from 1pm-6pm and consist of 6 x 6 board rounds with a short break half way through. The entry for each event will be $16 BBO per player and green points will be awarded for each match won as well as on overall standings. Players who do not use BBO dollars should tick the box on the entry form on the Oliver Cowan website and send £12.50 per player to sort 204895 acct 43186903 acct name Oliver Cowan Bridge Club Virtual and $16 will be placed in your BBO account the day before the event so you will be able register on the day. The entry fee will be taken from your BBO account when you invite your partner to register before the game starts on Saturday.

The winning pair in each event and the pair closest to 60 VPs will be given a free entry to the next event in the series they wish to take part in and the full list of dates will be on the Oliver Cowan Bridge Club website (click the heading in the menu for Dragon Pairs which will be available soon) and the EBU & WBU website calendars in the next couple of days.

The 2nd event in the series is on Saturday 28th September and the entry form for that date is below.  As each session is it's own game you can play in 1 or all 10!

Oliver Cowan New Year Congress Featuring The Richard Bowdery Pairs

The 2025 renewal will take place on the weekend of 11th and 12th January at the usual venue of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nottingham.

The full flyer can be found by clicking on the link on the menu but it is Championship Pairs on Saturday and Swiss Team on Sunday - team mates can be found for any pairs who need.

There are a range of packages available including staying on the Friday night and the option to eat at the fabulous Marco Pierre White Steakhouse.

Dinner on the Saturday night has been moved to accomodate extra tables in the playing room so we can now take up to 50 tables.

Get in touch with Oliver if you want more information!

 

Upcoming Congresses

Upcoming Congresses being run by Oliver Cowan Bridge 

Lancashire Congress, Preston 16-17 November

Manchester Congress, Altrincham 5-6 January

Oliver Cowan New Year Congress 2025 Nottingham 11-12 January

All details and booking information for the EBU congresses are on the EBU website under 'forthcoming events'

Book early to take advantage of the 'early bird' prices and guarantee your place
Events are being held at the same venues as in 2023 except Harrogate which will now be at the Cairn Hotel as the only venue big enough to accomodate our numbers in 1 section!

Online League Supporting Junior Bridge

Season 7 of the Online Teams League is starting on 7th October 2025 which will be used to fund a program of helping develop junior bridge.

The event is not designed to compete with any clubs as the 5:45 start time will allow players to get to their clubs to play Face to Face or to play online in their club duplicate sessions.

Teams will play 2 x 8 board matches each week, ideally on a Monday and Friday but captains can agree to play at a different time. Teams of 4 and £36 entry per team to cover a full cycle which will run for 7-10 weeks depending on the number of entries. Email Oliver for more information.

zoom link for Seminars

This is the link for any zoom seminars/discussions run through the club. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86258032446?pwd=VEdHL0o2RHFoYzFxYmxDNjVtYmV4Zz09

LlanBrighton 2025 Congress

Bridge returns to (Llan)Brighton in 2025 - full details on the LlanBrighton Bridge Union page https://www.bridgewebs.com/llanbrightonbridgeunion/

Book early as places are limited! If you enter but qualify for the EBU Pachabo and choose to play in that then your bridge fee will be refunded in full.

New Sponsor

Delighted to announce that the exciting Socially Spirited, a forward thinking  producer of small-batch craft spirits has agreed to some sponsorship for Scarborough and the Northern Midweek Congresses. Check out their website on this link https://www.socially-spirited.com/ocbridge and use code BRIDGE10 at the checkout for a 10% discount. Please remember to always drink responsibly.

Membership Area and Find a Partner

I have finally got the Membership Area on the website set up!

To access this for the 1st time, you will need to click on the “membership” tab from the menu on the website then click on “member area”.

If you are using it for the 1st time, when it asks for your username and password, just click “set/reset password” and follow the instructions from there.

I am hoping players will use this area to advertise or look for partners for sessions so do please try this out and see if it works!

You will need to opt in if you wish for your contact number and email address to be displayed.

New Games Aimed At Non-Expert Players

In addition to the existing Tuesday evening Oliver Cowan PWTE game on a Tuesday night at 7.15pm, there is now an additional games solely for non-expert players.

Wednesday Morning at 10:15am - Friendly Online BC Pairs - this is a relaxed 15 board duplicate session on BBO played with the video function in use so you can chat with your opponents. The game is followed by a hand discussion on zoom where you can ask any questions about boards that gave you difficulty.

Both these new sessions are $3.50 in BBO dollars and are open to members and guests - get in touch with Oliver if you want to play but don't use dollars.  

Weekly Games

All games start at 7:15pm, are 20/21 boards and have a $3.50 BBO dollar entry fee - visitors welcome

Sunday @ 7:15pm Friendly Online BC & LOP Pairs

Monday @ 7:15pm Friendly Online BC & Huddersfield Pairs

Tuesday @ 7:15pm - Oliver Cowan Play Without the Experts (for players no higher than NGS Jack)

Wednesday @ 10:15am  - Friendly Online BC Pairs (15 boards followed by hand discussion)

Wednesday @ 7:15pm Oliver Cowan BC Pairs

Thursday @ 7:15pm - Oliver Cowan BC Pairs

Friday @ 7.15pm - Oliver Cowan BC & LOP Pairs

Membership of the club is only £10 per year so please get in touch if you would like to join! 

 

Looking To Learn To Play Bridge?

If you are interested in learning to play bridge, please follow this link https://learnbridgeonline.com/jack-stocken-beginners/ which will take you to Jack Stocken's page. Jack is a very experienced teacher with an excellent reputation in Yorkshire and beyond and is currently offering learners their 1st 2 lessons free of charge.

Results
Oliver Cowan BC Pairs
Director: Oc
Scorer: Eddie
#1114 Pairs Friendly Online BC Pairs
Scorer: Oliver Cowan
Play Without the Experts
Director: OC
Scorer: Oliver Cowan
Friendly Online Bridge Club (FOBC) & Huddersfield BC Online Pairs
Director: OC
Scorer: Oliver Cowan
Friendly Online Bridge Club (FOBC) & Lancashire Online Pairs
Director: OC
Scorer: Oliver Cowan