COMPETITION RULES

The competition is a Pairs event with scores adjusted by handicaps to give players of all standards an equal chance.

1. The 2018/19 competition will be played on Monday 5th August and Thursday 8th August.  Play will be as normal in the two sessions – scores will be calculated and Master Points will be awarded in the usual way.  An additional handicap score will be calculated for each pair.  The adjusted scores will be used to determine the winners of the handicap competition.

2. The handicap assigned to each partnership will be based on individual performances at Bookham in the current year, 1 September 2018 to 31 July 2019.  Stronger players will have a negative handicap, reducing the score they achieve on the competition days; less strong players will have a positive handicap, increasing their score.  The method of calculating handicaps is explained in the example at the end of these Rules.

3. To be eligible for the competition you must have played a minimum of 15 sessions at Bookham between 1 September 2018 and 31 July 2019.  This qualification period is necessary to determine a fair handicap.  Full members and Waiting List members are eligible, provided that both players in the partnership have played a sufficient number of sessions.

4. There will be a single winning pair.  Handicap scores will be calculated for both North-South and East-West partnerships, ignoring the direction of play.

5.  If the same pair play on Monday and Thursday, both scores will be included in the competition. If a player plays on Monday and plays again on Thursday with a different partner, the scores of the two different partnerships will be included in the competition.

6. The handicap results will be calculated after Thursday’s play.  A trophy will be awarded to the winning pair at the AGM in October.

CALCULATING HANDICAPS

Handicaps will be calculated from members' playing records at Bookham. 

Example

Player A has an average score for the qualifying period of 56%, His/her partner B has an average score of 60%.  The partnership average is 58%, and their handicap is therefore 50 – 58 = -8. A and B are strong players.  Their competition score will be reduced by 8%.

Player X has an average score for the qualifying period of 42%, Her/his partner Y has an average score of 46%.  The partnership average is 44%, and their handicap is therefore 50 – 44 = 6.  X and Y are less strong players.  Their competition score will be increased by 6%.

If on competition day partnership AB scores 60%, their handicap score for the competition will be 60-8 = 52%.  If partnership XY scores 48%, their competition score will be 48 + 6 = 54%.  XY will beat the stronger AB partnership on their handicapped scores.