End of Season Pairs 2022/23 

For the first time in four years, the annual End of Season Pairs competition will be held as a face-to-face event, taking place on Thursday 1^st June 2023, starting at 7.30pm.  The venue will be Brownlow Hall, Warfield.  RG42 6AB.  The hall is the venue for the Thursday afternoon sessions of Ascot BC and is located next to the Plough and Harrow Pub. There is ample parking at the rear of the hall. The BBL Committee would like to thank Ascot BC for their assistance in organising the event.

Entry is open to all members (and their invited guests) of participating clubs/team, not just those who took part in the League or Pivot Handicap Cup.  There will be cash prizes for the leading pairs, Master Points will be awarded at District level and scores will contribute to your NGS. Entry will be via the BBL website as detailed here.

As usual, trophies for the winning teams in this season’s League and Cup competitions will be presented before the start of the bridge. Players are requested to be seated by 7.15pm for the awards.

The entry fee this year is £5/player. Although cash payment will be accepted on the night, the preferred method of paying the entry fee is via BACS transfer. Account name: Bracknell Bridge League, Account number: 93260461, Sort Code: 20-16-99.  Payment for the pair is preferred if possible, although payment can be made for an individual player. Please use the name of the player(s) as a reference.  It is also possible to pay for a group of players from a team/club. As references on a bank transfer are usually limited in size, it would be helpful if an email could be sent to the organiser (click here) listing the names if you are submitting a payment this way, 

The New Season

For the first time for many years, we welcome a new club to the league, Loddon Vale.  In view of the very high NGS of their team members, Loddon have been fast-tracked to the top division. The 21 teams competing in the new season will be accommodated in an 8-7-6 divisional structure, with Division 1 teams playing 14 matches rather than the usual 12.  Provided the number of teams remains the same, two teams will be relegated from both Division 1 and 2 at the end of the season, allowing the league to get back to a more balanced structure for the following season. The fixture schedule for the new season is now available on LMS.

The Committee’s recommendation that the default for the new season should remain as ‘on-line’ was supported by the clubs at the recent AGM.  There are a couple of small changes in the rules for the new season. Following the survey carried out towards the end of last season, the default for the number of boards played in Division 2 and Division 3 on-line matches has been reduced to 20 but remains at 24 for Division 1 matches.  Team captains should note that the default applies only when there is no agreement on the matter; any (even) number of boards between 18-24 can be played provided there is agreement to do so. When submitting your result to LMS, please remember to use the correct IMPS to VPS conversion, which may be found here

There has also been a change in rule concerning the eligibility of players.  Those competing teams who are non-aligned (i.e. are not part of a club and have no formal membership) are required to register up to 8 players at the start of the season.

The full rules in place for the new season may be found here.

After nearly 30 years of involvement with the BBL in various capacities, Alan Brown has decided to retire from the Committee. Thank you Alan for your contribution in helping to run the league, not to mention the hospitality you and Pam have provided over the years by hosting many of the league’s meetings. John Sheridan (Crowthorne) has agreed to replace Alan as Committee Member.

Revision of League Rules

The move to a ‘hybrid’ league in which both on-line and face-to-face matches can be played has required changes to be made to the overall governance of the league. As a first step, changes to the Constitution were put forward for consideration at the AGM, which were endorsed by the clubs – the updated Constitution maybe found here.  Since the AGM, the Committee has reviewed the changes that need to be made to the League Rules to accommodate the ‘hybrid’ approach and, following feedback on a draft circulated to the clubs, updated the website with the revised rules, which may be found here.  In order to see easily where the changes have been made, a marked-up version of the rules (in which changes from the previous version are highlighted in yellow) is available under ‘quick-links’ on the website. This will remain in place for the early part of the season to give players time to become familiar with the changes.

In the main, the update details the various options that are now available for league matches, the rules governing how matches should be agreed/arranged and how to go about setting up a match on both of the on-line platforms.

On the playing side, there is one very important point to note, relating to the use of 'undos'. Last season these were not permitted under any circumstances, but this season ‘undos’ will be allowed for genuine mis-clicks during the bidding but NOT during the playing of the cards. This change brings the league into line with both EBU and B&B County practice. 

As far as playing face-to-face goes, the rules will be exactly the same way as in the pre-covid days, with one exception. In matches where there is a late start or slow play and captains reach an agreement to play fewer boards, the minimum number that can be played is reduced from twenty to eighteen. This change has been made to provide consistency with on-line matches, where teams can choose to play eighteen boards if they so agree.

Finally, team captains should note that a change has been made to the ‘lead time’ for confirming matches. This has been increased from a minimum of three days to five, primarily to give more time for the exchange of information that is required to set up on-line matches.  Whether it’s BBO names, links for RB or convention cards, these can all take time to sort out when an exchange of emails between the league, team contacts and individual team members may be required.

Please let us know if you have any queries or concerns about the new rules or find any inconsistencies etc – by email via info.bbl@bridgewebs.com

Fixtures for New Season

The BBL fixture schedule for the new season is now live to view and may be found  here.   Although most clubs have indicated their preferred days for their home matches, individual fixtures have again been listed as w/c rather than on specific day - home team captains may update the schedule on LMS once they have been in contact with their opposite number to agree on the day. Full details of contacts etc. for each of the teams have been sent to club contacts, who should forward the information to their team captains. The list includes preferred home days and preferred platforms for on-line (home) matches as well as e-mail addresses and telephone numbers. Please let us know of any updates, omissions etc. by e-mail via info.bbl@bridgewebs.com .

Although many clubs have already made their entries, if you wish to enter a team in the Pivot H/C Cup and have not yet done so please let us know, sending the captain’s name and contact details to pivotsec.bbl@bridgewebs.com by the 31^st August. The draw will be shown on the website shortly after that date. As with the league, matches may be played on-line or face-to-face by agreement and there will be no entry fee to the competition, although there will be a RB charge if you play choose to play on that platform.

The New Season

Thanks to all the clubs who were represented at the AGM, held at the start of July. The meeting endorsed the Committee’s proposal that, from 2021-22 season onwards, BBL will become a ‘hybrid’ league in which matches may be played either face-to-face or on-line, as mutually agreed between the two teams.  In the event of non-agreement on this matter, the ‘default’ in place for the season applies. With the covid situation still very uncertain, the Committee recommended that the ‘default’ for the forthcoming season should be on-line, which was supported by the clubs at the meeting.

The new season will start at the end of September. We are pleased to welcome an extra team from Camberley and, after deferring for one season, the return of Crowthorne. This means a small increase in the number of entries, with 20 teams competing in a 7-7-6 divisional structure. The fixture schedule will be available on LMS in early August.  

On-line matches may be played on either RealBridge or BBO, as agreed between the teams. Each team has nominated a preferred platform for their home matches and the away team must defer to that choice should there be no mutual agreement to do otherwise.  Although the default for matches will be 24 boards, on-line matches of 18 boards will again be permitted provided both teams agree – don’t forget to use the correct IMPS to VP conversion table when entering the result into LMS.  By agreement, matches may also be played in two distinct sessions rather than with the usual short break between two sets of 12 boards.

Of the 20 competing teams, just over half have nominated RB as their preferred platform for any home matches played on-line. A small number of teams have expressed a preference for face-to-face matches if at all possible; as the season progresses and (hopefully) the risks associated with covid diminish we expect more teams to follow suit.

The move to a ‘hybrid’ league requires changes to be made to the overall governance of the league. As a first step, draft changes to the Constitution were put forward for consideration at the AGM, which were endorsed by the clubs. The Committee is now reviewing the changes that need to be made to the League Rules and a draft of the changes will be circulated to the clubs for comment/feedback in the near future.

Provided there are sufficient entries, the pivot-handicap cup will be run in the new season with the same ‘hybrid’ options as the league.

Next Season & the AGM

Plans for next season were discussed at the Committee meeting held Tuesday 1^st June.  Although it is possible that a return to face-to-face matches will be permitted by the time the new season starts, it is accepted that many players may wish to continue playing matches on-line. As a consequence, the Committee has drafted a proposal that, from next season onwards, the BBL becomes a ‘hybrid’ league in which matches may be played either face-to-face or on-line, subject to guidelines laid out by the league and to agreement between teams. Although it is anticipated that the majority of teams will choose to play their on-line matches on RealBridge, one or two clubs have indicated that they would prefer to remain on BBO, so both platforms will be permitted. The league has already opened a RealBridge account and will be happy to help teams arrange friendlies on that platform between now and the start of the season to enable them to become familiar with teams-of-four matches on RealBridge.

Club contacts have been sent the details of the proposed ‘hybrid’ approach, which may be found here. This will be put forward for formal consideration at the AGM, to be held as a Zoom meeting on Thursday 1^stJuly, starting at 3pm - calling notice, agenda etc will be forwarded to club contacts shortly.

EOSP Evening

Under normal circumstances, tonight's event would start off with the award of trophies to the winners of the three divsions and Pivot Handicap cup for the 2020-21 BBL season, along with a few photos of team members for the history page on the website. Sadly, this year's event is online, so the best we can do is announce the winners/team members here.

• Pivot Handicap Winners - Congratulations to the Ascot team of Mike Corfield (captain), Jennie Corfield, Bruce Franklin and Tony Solomons, who beat a team from Yateley BC.in the final
• Division 1 Winners - Ascot L, who have won the Division 1 title for the very first time. Well done to John Fairhurst (captain), Keith Bennett, Andy Fry, Phil Brown, Nick Browne and Madeline Lawson. Runners up were Aerospace
• Division 2 Winners - Congratulations to Yateley A, captained by Alan Brown with Michael Bader, Colin Bailey, Jo Brock, Jill Cook, Ian Lewis and David Steele. Runners up were Bradshaws.
• Division 3 Winners - Camberley B. Well done to David Pinder (captain), Marion Simpson, Barbara & Neil Thomas and Alan Coales. Runners up were Ascot E.

Trophies have already been engraved and we hope to get these to you shortly.

Winners of the event were Andy & Michelle Margetts (Ascot) with an impressive 67.5% followed by Marceli Smialkowski & Andrzej Kwiatkowski (Bracknell Forest) who scored 61.3%. Full details of the hands, scores etc may be found here. Thanks to all 23 pairs who competed in the event and to Mick Green for directing. 

The Committee held its first meeting of 2021 recently, at which a small number of issues on the current BBL on-line rules were discussed following feedback. As a result, two minor changes have been made to the rules.

• If, as the away team, you wish to exercise your choice of seating rights in a match, the away captain should take responsibility for setting up the match on BBO. This has come about after problems arose in a match where the home captain failed to set up as requested by the away captain, causing a delay as the match had to be restarted.
• The up-loading of an on-line system convention card on BBO is only advisory and not mandatory, as stated in the current version of the rules. This change has been made to be consistent with EBU rules on the matter.  Players are also reminded that if they do up-load such a card, reference to it is not an acceptable alternative to alerting in the required manner.

The meeting also confirmed that UNDOs are not permitted either during the auction or the play. The committee acknowledges that this is now out of step with the B&B County Association who allow UNDOs during the auction in their Lo8/Lo4 matches, but felt that for consistency over the season, the BBL rules on this should not change. 

As you will know, the current rules allow on-line matches to be played over 18 boards as well as the usual 24, with the use of the appropriate IMPS-VPS conversion table, as available here. However, our attention has been drawn to the fact that raw IMPS are also used in cases where either a match is not played (and therefore has to be adjudicated) or where there is a tie between teams who finish their season with the same VPS and head-to-head result. In such cases the IMPS score from an 18 board match will be modified to that of an equivalent 24 board match, solely for the purpose of the adjudication or tie-break process.  The method of doing so is also outlined here.

In a normal season, the Committee is usually turning attention at this time of year to sorting out plans for the EOSP.  This year, the question is will the Covid situation be sufficiently over to allow players to meet without risk in a crowded hall for the event in May or June. Despite the fact that progress is being made in the vaccination process, the Committee’s view expressed at the recent meeting is that it is still very unlikely to be the case. The possibility of an on-line event was discussed and it was agreed that this should be looked at in more detail over the next few weeks, primarily to consider the logistics, cost and preferred platform for doing so. Whilst BBO seems the obvious choice because of the familiarity most have with that platform, the Committee felt that RealBridge might prove to be a more popular choice. For those of you who have yet to sample RB, it can simply be thought of as combining BBO (or BCL) with ZOOM, so providing much of the social contact that is very much part of an EOSP evening – without the presentation of trophies unfortunately.  A number of clubs in the area have switched to RB, including Ascot, Bracknell Forest, Oakingham and Woodley. Details may be found on the websites of these clubs to see if it possible for visitors/guests to sample RB.

Another matter not entirely unrelated to this is the position of on-line bridge in BBL for next season. Whilst most anticipate (or at least hope) that, by the time we get to October of this year, the Covid crisis will be sufficiently over to allow F2F matches again, there remains the question as to whether there is a  case for on-line bridge to continue in some form as part of the BBL season. There is little doubt that it has been a success this year and part of the attraction of playing on-line is that it negates the need for lengthy drives in the dark, depths of winter to unknown destinations.   The Committee will consider the role of on-line bridge within BBL for season 21-22 once the current season is over; part of that process will be to seek the views of clubs and players within the league.

If you have any questions or views on the issues raised above, please feel free to contact the league via info.bbl@bridgewebs.com. In the meantime the Committee would like to wish you all a Happy and safe New Year.

The new on-line season got underway w/c 5^th October, with a small number of matches played in each of the three divisions, mostly on BBO. Unfortunately, Bracknell Forest C withdrew from the league shortly after the fixture schedule was drawn up and published on LMS, so each division will contain 6 teams, playing 10 matches in the season.

The draw for the Pivot was made at a recent committee meeting. Details of contacts, handicaps and the draw have been sent to captains, who should note that results should now be entered via the website here  rather than through the EBU Knockout Management System. With only 8 teams entering this season there will one less round than usual and therefore more time to play matches. Advisory completion dates are the end of December, mid-February and the end of March for the three rounds. With the limited entry we are particularly keen to avoid any withdrawals, so please contact the BBL via pivotsec.bbl@bridgewebs.com if your team is having difficulty in raising a four, meeting the completion dates or if you have any other queries about the competition.

It is with great sadness that we have to report that Foy Rees passed away recently. She would have been ninety this coming December. Foy played in the BBL and at several local clubs since the 1970s. She was a member of a very strong Ferranti team that often included her son, Tim, winning the league on more than one occasion in the 80s and 90s. Following the closure of Ferranti and the demise of the old Bracknell Bridge Club, Foy played most of her bridge at St Sebastians or Bracknell Forest, for whom she played in one of their league teams right up to the time of lockdown this March.

She will be sadly missed and we send our condolences to Tim and the rest of the family,

BBL Season 20-21

Although we are still trying to complete the current season, your committee are now considering the best way to proceed for the new season, which we still hope to be able to start around the usual time of October. All team captains and club contacts are invited to take part in a short survey which will help the committee to decide on the best way to go for the next season. The survey has been sent to club contacts who should circulate this to team captains and encourage them to respond.  The club contacts should, if appropriate, also cater for the response of potential new teams or those who merge within the club.  The options open at present range from a full return to face-to-face (F2F) bridge, on-line matches, a combination of on-line and F2F, to a complete suspension of the BBL for an indeterminate period. Which route we go down depends not only on government advice on social distancing, but also on the views of the players who partake in the league. The committee also appreciates that many of the options may not be acceptable to some teams and we can reassure any team that wishes to take a season out that they will be awarded the same positions on re-entry as they (eventually) finish with this season.

Please complete and return the survey by the end of July. There are a number of ways captains can respond to the survey: directly to the secretary Ian Adnams, via your club contact or by downloading the form here, completing and returning it to the committee at info.bbl@bridgewebs.com.

Coronavirus and the BBL

As you would expect the Coronavirus is now impacting on the league matches.

To date a total of 11 matches across the three divisions and the pivot final are still to be played     

Whilst we have the mechanism within the rules to assign a result to unfulfilled fixtures the Committee has decided that we should extend the season to allow all fixtures to be completed - the duration of this extension cannot be predicted so we will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates directly to the Club Contacts and on the website.

Although the EBU now strongly recommends that county events are cancelled, the Committee has decided that a final decision on whether or not the EOSP goes ahead on the 6^th May will be made at a later date. 

Season 19-20: Promotion/Relegation

There appears to be some confusion on the number of teams to be promoted/relegated at the end of the season.   As reported under the 31^st October ‘news’ item on the website (below), the committee decided to reduce the number from 2up/2down to 1up/1down for this season because of the reduction in size of each of the divisions. However, the highlighting on the EBU LMS league tables apparently led some teams to believe there had been no change. LMS has now been updated to be consistent with the new rule.

Update of Rules

Following the reduction in size of the league for this season, the Committee has decided to introduce a more flexible approach to the number of teams to be promoted or relegated each season. The two-up/two-down policy that has been in place for many seasons has now been replaced by one-up/one-down, with the option of a second promotion/relegation at the discretion of the Committee, depending on the size of the division. Club contacts will be advised at the start of the season as to the policy in place for the season - for 2019/20 it will be just one-up/one-down. The League Rules have been modified to cover this and may be found under Rule 17 of  Match Management.

Team captains who regularly fail to submit the names of their players into LMS can be the bane of the Fixture Secretary's life, as failure to do so means a check cannot be made on appearances and Master Points cannot be awarded at the end of the season unless the Secretary chases captains for the information. At the discretion of the Committee, a 2 VP penalty can be imposed on persistent offenders, but the wording of the rule (11.1) meant that this could only be applied to the home team. This has now been modified to cover both the home and away teams.  Don't forget the rule also applies to the submission of the match result as well as the player's names.

An error in the cross-reference under rule 15.2.3 was also corrected. 

These changes were ratified at the recent Committee Meeting, held on 24th October. Minutes from the meeting have been uploaded to the website and may be found on the Minutes page (under League Governance).

2019 / 2020 EoSP

The End-of-Season Pairs event for the forthcoming season will be held on the evening of Wed 6th May 2020. The venue will be St Martin's Church Hall, Chavey Down, North Ascot. Further details on the event and how to enter will be announced later in the season. The BBL Committee would like to express their thanks to Ascot Bridge Club for their help in arranging the evening.

End of Season Pairs 2018/19

Well done Jennie & Bruce!!!

For Photos of the Season's winners, click HERE

BBL Minutes

Committee and AGM Minutes now uploaded to the Minutes page (under League Governance)

BBL End of Season Pairs

A total of 30 Pairs played in the End of Season Pairs event and results can be seen on this website

Well done to Marcelli & Bill for winning and to all those who took part.

Photo's have been uploaded and these are within the history tab

A NEW BRIDGE MAGAZINE is a new, completely FREE, on-line magazine edited by Mark Horton. Contributors include: David Bird, Alan Mould, Larry Cohen, Alex Adamson & Harry Smith, Sally Brock, Julian Pottage, Liz McGowan and Kit Woolsey. It has been recently added to our links page or you can click: www.newbridgemag.com.

There was a Committee Meeting held on 12 October.  A copy of the Minutes is available to view here.