First major Ballyroan competition 2022 Colaiste Eanna Trophy will take place October 11th & 18th

Pairs competition run over two weeks with pre entry required over next two Tuesdays Sept. 27th and Oct. 4th. Please note late entries on the night of the 11th will not be accepted.

Looking forward to a big entry. 

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of Patricia Tyrrell.

Patricia was a former president of Ballyroan bridge club and a long standing committee member.

Patricia was also a valued and respected bridge teacher encouraging many new members with her knowledge, energy and sense of fun. 

She was a member of Ballyroan, Cypress and Templeogue bridge clubs for many years.

Her experience and willingness to share her expertise in bridge was invaluable and will be greatly missed.

Our thoughts are with Conor and their family and friends at this time of sorrow.  

https://rip.ie/death-notice/patricia-tyrrell-dublin-24-dublin/507774

           The increase in members returning to play bridge at the centre means we can plan to commence 4 sections from Tuesday September 6th.

Sections may need to be merged on the night if the number of tables are too low to allow for a good competition. Hopefully this will be rare but your patience is greatly appreciated as we return to a regular playing format.

Ballyroan membership annual subs will be retained at €15 with their collection commencing from Tuesday 13th September at 7pm.

                               Subs will be collected each Tuesday throughout September to reduce any queue congestion.

Annual membership to the TCCBC is also due. Details on paying this sub is outlined below for those who have not arranged payment yet.

• The recent increased numbers returning to the centre are very welcome. We now have 3 sections running each night and the goal is to increase this to 4 sections as soon as the numbers allow.
• Pre-dealt boards will continue for the present with ongoing review as the situation changes. The benefit of pre-dealt boards allows players to view the hands on bridgewebs each week by clicking on your name in the results column. You can then use this information as a learning tool to improve your game.
• The committee has decided to suspend the Joker system in favour of the whatsapp groups as a means of sourcing a partner to play. There are 2 active whatsapp groups, Top group and A/B/Novice group. You can give your details any Tuesday night for inclusion.
• Many thanks to Breda Kavanagh for acting as Joker Coordinator over the years.
• Forms will be distributed over the next few weeks to update the membership list across each section. Your assistance in this is appreciated.  

A donation of €2,400 was transferred to UNICEF Ireland to support Ukraine.  

€600 raised at live bridge and a further €600 on BBO. The total was matched by the club to give a donation of €2,400 to the charity. Your support for this worthwhile is greatly appreciated.

Return to Live Bridge

From May 10th Ballyroan Bridge club will only be playing in the Templeogue Centre.

There will be NO BBO bridge (last BBO session is May 3rd)

Bridge will start at 7.30 and it is important that everyone is seated by 7.15. All sections will be catered for so there is a place for all levels.

Please ensure that you adhere to the following guidelines;

Masks are now optional but we encourage people to use them

You must be vaccinated and will need to show Covid cert on arrival

€5 entry fee - no change will be given

Please do not attend if you have ANY Covid-like symptoms

Please note that the centre has been equipped an additional air purification system to reduce the overall risk against Covid.

Change to paying annual membership to the TCCBC

The system for collecting annual membership subscriptions for the TCCBC has changed. Direct debits are no longer used – they haven’t been used since 2019, no subscriptions have been collected since then.

The centre will now use a software system called SmartClub to collect annual subscriptions. This system allows members to pay their subscription online in a completely secure environment using a debit/credit card.

To access this system online, Centre members will need to register on the SmartClub system once, using their email address and then pay the invoice that will be visible there.  

All members will get 2 emails from the SmartClub system on Thursday 7th April. These emails may go to your Spam or Updates folder so check for them please. When you get the emails please look at the instructions for completing the registration process and paying your annual membership.

(LINK TO INSTRUCTIONS)

The annual subscription will be 40 euro for the year 1^st April 2022 until March 31^st 2023.

If you think the TCCBC don’t have an up to date email address for you, please send it to the secretary at: sec.tccbc@gmail.com or text it to 0871618988. Please remember to include your name and centre number. Youu should also send your email to ballyroanbridgeclub@gmail.com so the club can keep your details up to date.

Ballyroan Bridge club will be paying club membership fees and CBAI affiliation fees for all active members. An active member will be any 2020/2021 member that has played on BBO at least once since September. Any members that fall outside of this criteria will have their fees paid for once they return to playing in the club - either online or in the centre.

Ballyroan will be hosting online competitions on Bridge Base Online (BBO).  The competitions will take place at 7.20 sharp.  Please note the start time!  Latecomers cannot be accommodated.  Below I have listed exactly how you will find and register to play in the tournaments.  You will need to have registered on the BBO site already.  When you register on the BBO site, you will be asked to pick a nickname or username that you will use in competitions.  You will also need to purchase BBO$s using either your credit card or PayPal.  It will cost you 3$ to play in a competition and that money will be deducted from your purse when you register for the competition.  You will need to let us know your details by emailing onlinebridgeballyroan@gmail.com and giving your bbo username, mobile and email address.  These details are needed by the TD for the smooth running of the competitions.

The tournament will be listed on the BBO site when you login under Virtual Club-Other clubs-other countries. It will only be visible 1.5 hours before start time so from 6.00 on Tuesday The host will be CBAI125519. The tournaments will be called Ballyroan Competitive and Ballyroan Relaxed.  The relaxed competition will be a game aimed at Beginners, and B/Novice players. You can also search for Ballyroan in the search box beside running/pending/complete, that will find it quicker.

Only one of the pair playing needs to register so decide among yourselves who that is. Both of you need to be logged in though at the time you are registering!  Click on the tournament. On the Partner section, enter the BBO name of your partner (you can pay for them if you wish, just tick that box) and click Invite. Your partner must be logged in as well, they will get your invitation, they click Accept. Then you’re both registered! If they aren’t online, you might need to text them to login.

Then you do nothing. At 7.20, the cards will just appear and you will be at a table with your partner and 2 others. NB: You must be logged in at start time, even if you have registered earlier. BBO automatically logs you out if you aren’t active on the site so make sure you login again at 7.10

When you are playing there will be a time limit for each round (7 minutes for each board, 8 in the "relaxed" competition).  The bidding and play must be completed within the time limit. Hands not completed are averaged.   Keep an eye on the clock!  This is to make sure everyone is ready to move at the same time.  BBO is easy to use but I recommend playing a few practice hands between now and Tuesday if you are not very familiar with it. 

We want this to be a pleasant game and the priority will be to support people to enjoy their evening's bridge.  Our competition will be friendly and relaxed.  There well may be hiccups as this is our first online competition.  If things go awry the TD may need to restart the competition.  If you get accidentally logged out due to a drop in your wifi or whatever, just log back in again.  The TD has your email addresses and mobile numbers and for individual problems she may contact you directly.

The Ballyroan Bridge Club meet every Tuesday at 19.30 for Duplicate Bridge at the Templeogue Bridge Centre. Visitors welcome with a member except on major competition nights. Please sign the Visitors' Book