After the Summer recess, the Bridge season will shortly be getting into full swing, with the beginning of the County and National competitions. Your new Management Committee would like to wish all of you every success (and good luck,) in the coming year's competitions.

For those of you who were not at the Annual General Meeting in May, there are now a lot of new faces on the Committee. As most of you will know, Mr & Mrs. Freddie Edwards have moved to the South of England, and at the Annual General Meeting were presented with a silver salver to mark their very valuable contribution to County Bridge over recent years. With their parting the posts of County Captain, Secretary and Bulletin Editor became vacant. Another stalwart of the County Bridge scene over many years Freddie Dumbleton also finished his duties as Treasurer, together with the retiring Chairman, Richard Trounce.

At the Annual General Meeting the following were appointed to the vacancies arising:-

In addition, yours truly, Geoff Davies, was later appointed as the new Bulletin Editor. I am sure that we will all want to wish the new Committee every success in their year of office. However, for all the enthusiasm the new Committee shows the real success of the County Association rests with the rank and file. So, let us pull together and firstly support the new Committee in its effort to promote Bridge in the County. You can do this in many ways, but perhaps one of the most important is to make every effort to enter the County Competitions which are listed separately in this Bulletin. In addition, if you have any criticisms or suggestions, don't keep them to yourself and do nothing, but bring them to the attention of your County representative or one of the members of the Management Committee. It is also a useful opportunity to ask any defaulters to pay their 1974/75 subscriptions in the near future.

Since the last Bulletin there has not been a lot happening on the local bridge front. Three Dawes matches have been played with mixed fortune:

The following pairs played in one or more of these fixtures:-
1st Team Bieganski and Monckton (Wolverhampton); Mrs. Dash and Ballham (Stafford); Davies and Downs (Stafford); Mr & Mrs Edwards (Wolverhampton), Heywood and Seymour (Wolverhampton); Mallett and Trounce (Stafford); Clayton and Hartley (Alsager).
2nd Team Cooke and Moss (Stafford); Dash and Perry (Stafford); Day and Mrs. Glover (Basford); Dumbleton and Stubbs (Newcastle); Goodwin and Young (Newcastle); Keene and Shaw (Wolverhampton); Meredith and Williams (Alsager)

As you will know one of the purposes of this Bulletin is to keep members posted on the success or otherwise of their fellow bridge players in various events. I am not aware of any recent Staffordshire successes in National Congresses, and I trust that in future county representatives will keep me informed of county member successes. And so to the new season, with a full list of County Competitions and other events below, I would like to draw your particular attention to the Swiss teams event to be held at Wolverhampton on Sunday, 15th September. The County is running this event in aid of the EBU's fund for the European Championships next Summer. It is hoped that the Competition will become an annual event on the County calendar. If you haven't entered a team, it may still be possible to do so - see your County Representative as soon as possible.

COUNTY COMPETITIONS 1974/75

STAFFORDSHIRE LEAGUE FOR THE ERIC JAMEISON TROPHY
League teams of four competition, for which the closing date for entries is Tuesday, 10th September, 1974. Matches are normally played at Stafford Bridge Club on the third Thursday of each month, starting on 19th September.

Staffordshire Cup (Knock-out teams of four)
The winners of this event represent the County in the Pachabo Cup. The draw for this event takes place after the Coronation Cup on October 13th, 1974. See your County Representative about your entry in the near future.

County Pairs Championship for the Bearn Trophy
Individual clubs organise qualifying rounds, from which a certain percentage go forward to a 28 pair semi-final on 6th April, 1975. The top half proceed to the final on 27th April, 1975. Your County Representatives will shortly be advising you of the format of the qualifying rounds at your Club.

Newcastle County Pairs
This competition will be held on the 2nd and 4th Fridays, September to March inclusive. Since its inception two years ago, this has proved a popular event, although it would perhaps be fair to say the competitors have been rather Newcastle Bridge Club orientated. It is an excellent competition which gives players the opportunity of meeting new faces and enjoying the friendly experience of playing at someone else's Club. I m sure it would be good for County Bridge if pairs from Clubs other than Newcastle joined in - so how's about it? For your information, pairs take their best 5 results from the qualifying rounds, and the top ten pairs play off in a 5 table Howell-movement final. There is a prize of at least £10 for the winners of the final, and up to a maximum of £10 for the best qualifiers. See your County Representative if you are interested in playing. If you are unable to play in each of the qualifying rounds, merely pop along for the occasional evening.

Other Championships

Swiss Teams
A new event to be held at Wolverhampton Bridge Club on Sunday 15th September. If you wish to enter a team, see your County Representative as soon as possible to ascertain whether the event is yet fully booked up. It is hoped that there will be sixteen teams in all.

Coronation Cup
A multiple teams-of-four event to be held at Wolverhampton on Sunday, October 13th. Your County Representative should already have a notice on your Club notice-board inviting entries.

Finally, I have set out below a calendar of the County events, together with a number of National Competitions of interest to County members.

Main events still to be fitted in: The Field Cup and two BBL events, The Gold Cup Finals and The Lady Milne Cup.