Carlton Congress 2019 - Sunday 27^th October

The Booking form for this year’s Carlton Congress is available now. Please click HERE for the paper application form. We also have a web application form for the Carlton Congress this year. Please click HERE for it.

Please note that this year we are not accepting payment on the day. You will need to prebook and prepay for your slot by either using the webform or filling out a paper copy of the form.

This year’s congress is on Sunday the 27^th of October. Registration begins at 12pm. The Pairs begins at 1pm. 

This year we have the Pairs competition (£12 entry) and the Teams competition (£24 per team) as well as a 2 course supper (£12 per person). Alternatively you can enter both competitions plus supper for your team for £88 saving £8!

This year’s Congress Director is Duncan Cursiter and the Congress Convenor is Margo Cursiter. If you have any questions about the Congress you can email them at: dmcursiter@yahoo.co.uk.

Harrower Cup

What is the Harrower Cup? 

The Harrower Cup is a teams competition for lower ranking club members, 

Teams are made up of 4 Carlton members (District Master or below) with up to 6 members per team allowed. 

Teams play in 24 board match's between each team. The team with highest VP total wins.  

When is it played?

The Harrower Cup is played every other Tuesday starting in October. The exact dates are  1/10/2019, 15/10/2019, 29/10/2019, 19/11/2019, 26/11/2019 and 10/12/2019.

All matches must be played by last Tuesday of competition.

How do i sign up?

There is a sign up sheet on the clubs notice board. Alternatively you can email Andrew at Manger@carltonbridge.co.uk and he will happily sign you up if you cant make it into the club.

If you are having problems finding a team there is a second sign up sheet in the club for members looking for a team. 

Learn as you Play

Just finished lessons and not sure how to continue? Want some specific revision with hands to play and practice? Want some help with bidding and/or play and a note of suggested bidding?

If so, Thursday afternoons at 1.30pm is the place to come!

Each lesson will have a theme, followed by a series of hands to play on this theme. You can have as much or little help as you wish, and you will always get suggested bidding sequences as well as a hand record of the cards in each deal.

Topics for the next five weeks are as follows:

Thursday 19 September - Strong balanced hands – 2NT opener

Thursday 26 September - Limit Bids

Thursday 3 October - Strong unbalanced hands -2C opener

Thursday 10 October - Plan your play in no trump contracts

Thursday 17 October - The importance of the 4-4 Major suit fit

This class will run in conjunction with Margo’s second year group. Cost is £5 or £3.50 for members.

Come regularly or just for particular lessons.

Edwin Berry Bowl Swiss Teams - Sunday 22^nd September

The Edwin Berry Bowl Swiss Teams is being held at the Carlton on Sunday 22 September 2019 at 12 noon.

It is the first Swiss Teams event of the new bridge year. It costs £64 per Team and you can enter the event online at https://www.sbu.org.uk/events/entry-information/teams/421-edwin-berry.

This is a red pointed event with a Maximum of 10 National Points awarded (if 24 Teams enter).

If you have any questions you can email Anna at tournament@sbu.org.uk.

Disabled Parking – Wheelchair Users

The Board has decided to designate the space nearest the kitchen as a parking space for members who require a wheelchair to access the club.

To reserve the space please contact the Club Manager who will use a traffic-cone to reserve it. Andrew is very happy to give out his mobile number, please ask him in the club if you need it.  When not required the space will be available to all members.

The Club control the space and therefore are not liable to follow the rules and regulations of Edinburgh City Council Blue Badge holders.

Notes from the recent Board Meeting

Firstly, the Board is keen to get people trained up in its various roles to allow continuity in the event of sickness or people leaving the Board. In most areas this is already in place. However, in the case of the Club's Treasurer position we do not currently have a Board member able to take on the role. As such we are asking if anyone in the club with financial/ excel skills who might be willing to be trained up as a backup Treasurer. Anyone interested should contact Maurice at treasurer@carltonbridge.co.uk.

Secondly, we are are also seeking volunteers to join the team of Jim, Bill, and Malcolm for card dealing who are particularly looking for assistance during busy periods and to cover holidays. Please contact Andrew at Manager@carltonbridge.co.uk if you are interested in helping.

If you have any comments or feedback for the Board, please let one of the Board know in the club or email chair@carltonbridge.co.uk.

Wednesday Evening Tournament

The summer accumulator has drawn to a close. Starting on Wednesday 4 September, the tournament will be run with aggregate scoring

Why aggregate?

In aggregate bridge the most important feature is to make your contract. The overtrick(s) are not of paramount importance, unlike match pointed play. Aggregate scoring is the format used for League Team matches.

You score each board at your table in the normal way. At the end of the evening, all your scores are added together, both plus and minus scores, to give you a simple total. Only the total counts, rather than the score on each individual board.

This total is compared with everyone else playing in your direction and the highest score wins. There are two winners, one North-South and one East-West.

If there are two or more Bronze 1 or Bronze 2 pairs, there will be a prize for the highest placed Bronze 1/2 players.

There will always be a standby pair available, so there will never be a half table. The standby pair for Wednesday the 11th is Duncan and Fiona.

So, please come along, practise for your League team matches, or just take part in a traditionally enjoyable form of bridge.

This format will be the same until at least Christmas time.

The new Board had its first meeting on Thursday 15th of August and elected Duncan Cursiter as the new Chair of the Board.

Some early thoughts from the new Board

Six of last year’s Board have just ‘retired’. Along with the four members who are continuing they have worked hard, particularly over the last six rather difficult months. On top of that, the AGM did not prove to be plain sailing either. The whole club should be grateful to them for their efforts at getting us to the current position.

Edinburgh needs two fully functioning major bridge clubs which need not be completely similar. The Carlton Bridge Club has always had a friendly, welcoming atmosphere and the new Board is keen to try and increase the number of members, especially for the evening tournaments. This is probably the most challenging task and cannot be achieved overnight.

In addition the Board must attempt to

• • Encourage more students to attend classes.
  • Provide a pathway for improvers to practise what they have learnt in a non threatening atmosphere with advice and help.
  • Continue to develop Bronze tournaments, with a view to encouraging progression into full club tournaments.

All of this requires the help of club members. If you have views on how to help us achieve any or all of these aims, please let a Board member know your thoughts. With the assistance, cooperation and regular attendance of club members the Board is confident that the Carlton Bridge Club can continue to thrive.

Duncan Cursiter

Chair

A Notice to all Members.

At the end of the recent financial year, the Carlton Bridge  Club  de-registered for VAT and have decided to pass the savings to the members of the club by reducing the subscription fees. Therefore the  subscription fees have been reduced to:

Town Members £45.00
Country Members £35.00, for Members who reside more than 20 miles from the Club premises as measured by the AA route-finder. or live abroad for more than 6 month of the year.

Renewal letters for annual subscriptions are being sent out by either email or post to members over the next few days.

Please note: If the Carlton is your main club then you will need to pay an addiontal £10 for your SBU membership. If you use another club as your main club you will need to pay your SBU membership through them.

The Bowling Club Season opens on Saturday 20th April

After that date Parking Spaces  1-14 are for the exclusive use of the Goldenacre Bowling Club

Members and Guests of the Carlton Bridge Centre are not permitted to use the spaces allocated to the bowls club

There is parking to the rear and side of the club premises, meter parking on Warriston Gardens [free after 17:30] 

and a limited amount of free parking during the day on Ferry Road

You can get a graph of your scores at the club with different partners and over different periods in Personal Analysis.  It is a sub-menu in Results Calendar, click here.  Select your name to see your scores.

Members are kindly reminded to adhere to the speed limit when driving into the premises and respect the parking restrictions when using the car park.

ADDITIONAL PARKING 

Is available in Warriston Gardens [meter parking until 17:30 then free] and in Ferry Road [free]

Remember that afternoon tournaments will start at 13:15 from 2 April

Please be seated by 13:00. The director may not be able to accommodate you if you arrive later

Please remember that the Tuesday Bronze tournament starts at 6:45pm and you should be seated by 6:30pm.

Please phone the Club if there are traffic problems.

All Club users should be aware that if the fire alarm sounds they should leave the building and go to the the Assembly Point signed at the bottom right hand corner (as you leave) of the car park.  

Telephone: 0131 552 3122