Royston (Herts) Bridge Club
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Competition Details
Competition Details

The club currently runs four competitions, following a review in 2022. The standings in each competition are automatically updated after each event and can be seen by clicking on Competitions. Note that only results from the Thursday sessions are currently eligible for inclusion in the club competitions, though all events played contribute to the Master Points total.

1. Match-Pointed Pairs Championship

Held from 1st January to 31st December. All duplicate sessions count towards the championship (with the exception of the Christmas Party) provided they are scored as Match Point (MP) events. The winner is the pair with the highest average percentage MP score for all their attendances provided they have played a minimum of 10 qualifying sessions.

2. Slam Champion of the Year

Held from 1st January to 31st December with all sessions (except the Christmas party) counting. The winner is the individual who, with any partner, bids and makes the most slams with Grand Slams counting 10 points and Small Slams 1 point each. In the event of a tie, the individual who has the lower number of attendances during the qualifying period will be the winner. If the tie cannot be resolved the award will be joint.

3. Third Thursday Competition

This is the most recent club competition (started in May 2015) and takes place on the Third Thursday of each month (*), running from January to December. It is a handicap competition designed to level out different player's standards, so all members have a reasonable chance of winning. The results from Third Thursdays are used for both this and other competitions (eg Pairs and Slams) which are thus unaffected by this competition.

Pairs must compete in at least 6 Third Thursday events to qualify for the final ranking list. The winners are the pair with highest score, calculated from the average of the pair's best 6 handicap scores. A handicap for each player (the BridgeWebs Rolling Monthly 12 Month handicap) is applied to the scores of each Third Thursday event, based on their results over the previous 52 weeks. 

For those who are interested, a full explanation of BridgeWebs handicapping can be found in the Competition section of the BridgeWebs Guide.

(*) The third Thursday is the default, but If this Thursday is unsuitable for any reason, an alternative Thursday will be identified in advance on the club calendar.

4. Improver of the Year

Held from 1st January to 31st December and related to the previous year, qualifying sessions being identical to those for the Match Pointed Pairs Championship (see 1 above). The winner is the individual whose average percentage score has increased over their previous year's average percentage score by the greatest amount (expressed as a percentage).

To qualify they must have a minimum of 10 scores in each year. In the [unlikely] event of there being no improver who meets this specification, the attendance requirement will be reduced progressively by 1 attendance per annum (ie 9 and 9, then 8 and 8, etc.) until a winner is found. In the event of a tie between two persons the award will be joint.

The following competition has not been reinstated following lockdown in 2020.

5. Butler Pairs Championship

Held on the first available (*) Thursday of each month from May to April. These events are scored (**) as Butler Pairs (IMPs as opposed to MPs). Pairs must compete in at least 6 Butler Pairs events to qualify for the final ranking list. The winner is the pair with the highest net aggregate IMPs total from their best 6 scores. (A guide to Butler scoring is available under Documents.)

(*) Occasionally the club may be closed on the first Thursday of the calendar month (eg elections or Bank Holiday). In July and October the Butler sessions are replaced by Teams events, the latter acting as a heat for the HBA Humble Cup.

(**) When there are 5 full tables (or more), the Butler scoring option "2 drops" will be used, otherwise "1/8 drops" will be used.

The following two teams events were reinstated in 2023.

6. Teams events

The club held two teams events a year before lockdown in 2020, with the second event doubling up as the club heat of the HBA Humble Cup (which is no longer required):

► The Mavis Drake Challenge Trophy is awarded to the winners of the team event with the two pairs for each team being selected by ballot on the night. This event will be held regularly on the first Thursday of July each year.
► 
A second teams event is held in October each year, for which teams will be pre-arranged by agreement between pairs.  Mavis Drake has also donated a trophy for this event, the Mavis Drake Challenge Shield.