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Players are requested to be seated at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start of play at 7:15pm.  Help provided by players arriving earlier than this to arrange the room is much appreciated.

If you've got any comments or questions on this web-site, please contact the WebMaster.

Club News
EBU Master Point promotion - December 2023

Congratulations to the following club members who received EBU Master Point promotions during December :-

Tim Lane - District Master
Sam Randall - Advanced Master
David Allday - District Master
Jeanne Leadbetter - District Master
George Stars - County Master
Claire Weller - District Master
Pat Comer - Local Master

Acknowledgement from Crawley Open House

Pictured below is the certificate received from Crawley Open House which acknowledges CBC members' generous donation of £850 which was based on the Christmas Party collection, with additional contributions from our 2023 novice class and last Spring's Compensated Teams sweepstake - the total being doubled up by the club.

 

EBU Master Point promotion - November 2023

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during November :-

John Cobbett - 3 Star Master
Steve Sudall - County Master
Kate Massie - Area Master
Barbara Budd - County Master
Alex Clayden - Club Master 

Christmas Party

Everybody seemed to have a good time at the 2023 Christmas Party which attracted a record 15 tables!

Congratulations to winners Susie and Richard and well done to .....

..... runners-up Dave F and Christine N and ......

..... third-placed Lin and Nigel.

To no-one's surprise, Alex won the prize for the Best Christmas Costume!

2023 East Grinstead Basic Bridge Pairs
2023 East Grinstead Basic Bridge Pairs
Many congratulations to Lin and Barbara who won the SCCBA's East Grinstead Basic Bridge Pairs on Saturday November 25th.  Pam and Peter also did extremely well in finishing as runners-up and being the leading Non-Expert pair.  For the full results and an article, please see the Sussex web-site.
EBU Master Point promotion - October 2023

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during Octpber :-

Brenda Edge - Club Master

2023 Children in Need Simultaneous Pairs

Read the expert commentary on this year's Children in Need Simultaneous Pairs on Wednesday November 8th to see what you should have done!  See the overall results on the eCats web-site.

The £151 that was collected on the night was trebled by the club to make a £453 contribution to Children in Need.  Well done, everyone.

2023 Autumn Compensated Teams
2023 Autumn Compensated Teams

Congratulations to Richard, Betty, Doreen and Steve who won the Compensated Teams on Friday October 20th.

Many thanks to Helen who organised 6 teams despite many people being unavailable.

EBU Master Point promotion - September 2023

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during September :-

Gwen Berry - Area Master
Paul Brantom - Area Master

2023 Sheila Becarevic Cup
2023 Sheila Becarevic Cup

Congratulations to the Men's team who retained the Sheila Becarevic Cup against the Ladies on Wednesday September 20th.  Many thanks to team captains Sylvia S and Sam for raising teams of 22 - with special thanks to Sam after Sylvia had to drop out.

There are two sets of results on this site.  The main one uses Aggregate scoring (because that's what decided the winning team) but only the travellers are really meaningful.  To determine the winners, all the positive and negative scores on all of a team's scorecards are aggregated to determine which team has a positive total.  Aggregate scoring works because each board is played the same number of times with the Ladies North/South as with the Men North/South.  The Men's team won with a total of +9210.  The pair ranking list in the Aggregate results is not very meaningful since it's very dependent on which pairs were lucky enough to get most of the big hands.

The other set of results uses Match Point scoring, just like on the average club night.  This pair ranking list is more meaningful than the Aggregate version as regards how well individual pairs did but it is based on an invalid pairs movement so it's not that meaningful.  Also, since it was Aggregate scoring that decided the winners and not Match Points, this pair ranking list is pretty irrelevant too.  Again, only the travellers can be relied upon.

Because there are only 2 teams, no Master Points are awarded.

Mervyn

EBU Master Point promotion - August 2023

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during August :-

Ralph Plastow - 1 Star Master
John Prior - District Master

Helen's Landmark Birthday
Helen's Landmark Birthday

Many congratulations to Helen, pictured about to attack the traditional cake to celebrate her August 26th big birthday!

EBU Master Point promotion - July 2023

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during July :-

Richard Jameson  - 3 Star Master
Delsia Dosen - Area Master
June Carr - County Master

EBU Master Point promotion - June 2023

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during June :-

Alex Clayden - Local  Master

The 2022/23 SCCBA Gladys Hakki Trophy Winner is Richard!
The 2022/23 SCCBA Gladys Hakki Trophy Winner is Richard!

Every year, the Sussex county bridge association awards the Gladys Hakki Trophy to a Sussex member who has given outstanding service to county and/or club over a number of years.

Many congratulations to Richard who is this year's very deserving winner!  Richard is pictured receiving the trophy from SCCBA President Martin Pool at the club AGM on May 5th (see full article on the Sussex home page).  The attendees, the most that have been seen at a CBC AGM for many a year!, were quick to show their approval of the award for Richard's efforts for the club.

Martin also congratulated Mervyn on his recent re-appointment as a Vice-President of the county bridge association and thanked him for the large amount of work that he continues to do for it.

2023 Spring Compensated Teams
2023 Spring Compensated Teams

Congratulations to Susie, Sylvia, Dave and Debbie who won the Compensated Teams on Weds June 14th and well done to ......

.....runners-up Nigel, Barbara, Lin and John.

 

The idea is that everyone has a chance to win this thing and, judging by the narrow spread of results, it works.  Thanks to everybody who played for making it such a lively and enjoyable evening.

The two particular heroes are Mervyn for sorting out the movement and directing in his customary calm and efficient manner and Sam for sorting out the teams.

Thanks also to the Randalls for running the sweepstake.  This proved popular once again and the charity contribution raised was £41 which the club will double up.

Richard

EBU Master Point promotions - May 2023

Congratulations to the following club members who received EBU Master Point promotions during May :-

Maureen Rooney - District  Master
Jeanne Leadbetter  Area Master

EBU Master Point promotions - March and April 2023

Congratulations to the following club members who received Master Point promotions during March :-

Maurice Dobb - Area Master
Gordon Briggs - Master

and April :-

Yuriko Woodcock - Area Master
Alastair Wells - Area Master

Draude Handicap Pairs and Doreen's 90th
Draude Handicap Pairs and Doreen's 90th

Wednesday 26th April was a great evening for 2 reasons.  Firstly, we were able to wish Doreen a very happy 90th Birthday.  We presented her with a cake and a card signed by all our members.

This was followed by the Draude Handicap Pairs event supported by an amazing 24 pairs!   A great night was had by all.

Congratulations go to Leon and George who came out on top both before and after the handicap had been applied.

Pam (missing from the photo) and Peter were the runners-up.

Huge thanks go to Mervyn, as usual, without whose skills we would not be able to run such a full competition calendar.

Helen

EBU Master Point promotions - February 2023

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during February :-

Mark Randall - Master

SCCBA Charity Sim Pairs on Wednesday February 22nd

Read the expert commentary to see what you should have done in the recent Charity Sims.  The amalgamated confirmed results and an article are now on the Sussex web-site.

Well done to Ralph and Betty who were the best-placed Crawley pair, finishing in 5th place.

Valentine Pairs
Valentine Pairs

Congratulations to Barbara and Nigel who won this year's Valentine Pairs on February 15th.

Ralph and Betty were runners-up and Helen and George were 3rd.

EBU Master Point promotions - January 2023

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during January :-

Kristine Noble - District Master

2022 Christmas Party

52 members enoyed a spectacular Christmas Party.  A special mention goes to Sylvia Smith who prepared a sumptuous buffet for us.  The charity collection raised £300 on the night which was increased to £1200 from club funds and contributed to two Altzheimer charities.  We played 18 boards and the winning pairs looked very pleased!

Many thanks also to Richard for organising and Sam who directed.

  • 1st E/W - Ralph & Carol
  • 1st N/S - Barbara & Alastair
  • 2nd E/W - Maurice & Lin
  • 2nd N/S - Tim & Betty
  • Best costume (by a mile!) - Claire
EBU Master Point promotions - December 2022

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during December :-

Paul Collins - Area Master
Janet Anderson - Local Master
Alastair Wells - Club Master

EBU Master Point promotions - November 2022

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during November :-

Gloria Flint – 3 Star Master
Carolyn Braithwaite – Advanced Master
Anthony Mitchell – Master
Debbie Doran – Master
Sam Randall – Master
Patricia Kollinsky – District Master
Ric Davey – District Master
Alastair Wells – Local Master
Brenda Edge – Local Master

Mary's Big Birthday!
Mary's Big Birthday!

Many congratulations to Mary, pictured with the traditional cake which was presented to her on November 9th to celebrate her landmark birthday.

EBU Master Point promotions - October 2022

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during October :-

Maureen Milne - Local Master

2022 Autumn Compensated Teams
2022 Autumn Compensated Teams

There was a close result in the Autumn Compensated Teams on Wednesday October 19th.

Many congratulations to George, Leon, Christime & Philip (pictured with their prizes) who finished 3 IMPs ahead of Sylvia, Tricia, David M & Cecile.

Many thanks to Sue N for providing refreshments in the form of flapjacks!

EBU Master Point promotions - September 2022

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during September :-

Sue Noblett - County Master
Linda Maynard-Springall - Area Master

2022 Sheila Becarevic Cup
2022 Sheila Becarevic Cup

Congratulations to the Men's team who retained the Sheila Becarevic Cup against the Ladies on Wednesday September 28th.  Many thanks to team captains Richard and Helen for raising teams of 24 which is the most we've ever had in this event.

P.S.  I've uploaded two sets of results to this site.  The main one uses Aggregate scoring (because that's what decided the winning team) but only the travellers are really meaningful.  The Aggregate results are used to determine the winning team by aggregating either the Men's or Ladies scores to find that the Men won with +8120.  The movement enabled each board to be played 6 times with the Ladies North/South and 6 times with the Men North/South.  The pair ranking list in this set of results is not very meaningful since it's very dependent on which pairs were lucky enough to get most of the big hands.

The other set of results uses Match Point scoring, just like on the average club night.  This pair ranking list is more meaningful than the Aggregate version as regards how well individual pairs did but it is based on an invalid pairs movement so it's not that meaningful.  Also, since it was Aggregate scoring that decided the winners and not Match Points, this pair ranking list is pretty irrelevant too.  Again, only the travellers can be relied upon.

Because there are only 2 teams, no Master Points are awarded.

Mervyn

Crawley's 50th Anniversary Party!
Crawley's 50th Anniversary Party!

Congratulations to all at Crawley BC who held a party on Aug 10th to celebrate our golden jubilee.  We couldn’t let the queen have all the fun! With our inaugural meeting on 17th March 1972, this year marks 50 years of bridge for our little club and we are still going strong.  We even have a founding member (Tad) who still plays every week!

We celebrated with cake and Prosecco and lots of both! Special thanks to Sylvia S and Caroline for making all the cakes, Richard and Gordon for helping to organise the event, Helen for arranging the Prizes and Mervyn for directing the evening.

Congratulations to Christine N and Tad for winning North/South and to .....

....... Richard and Ann for winning East/West.

Our doors are always open to anyone who enjoys a game of bridge and we welcome new members and guests alike.

Cheers all,
Sam

Sylvia's ??th Birthday!
Sylvia's ??th Birthday!

Many congratulations to Sylvia for her landmark birthday on September 9th, 2022.

2022 Spring Compensated Teams
2022 Spring Compensated Teams

There was a close result in the club's first Compensated Teams event since before the pandemic on Wednesday June 15th.

Many congratulations to Claire, Patricia, Barbara & Nigel (pictured with their prizes) who finished 3 IMPs ahead of Debbie, Carolyn, Tim & John.

A further 8 IMPs behind were Stewart, Doreen, Frank & Steve and Christine, David, Ken & Terry in joint 3rd place.

2022 AGM on May 11th
2022 AGM on May 11th

There was a good turn-out for this year's AGM which took place before bridge on Wednesday May 11th - see draft minutes.

2022 Iris Draude Handicap Pairs
2022 Iris Draude Handicap Pairs

Many congratulations to Linda and Christine who were this year's winners of the Iris Draude Handicap Pairs in which handicaps were based on NGS ratings.

EBU Master Point promotions - August 2022

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during August :-

Mervyn Wotton - Premier Tournament Master
Nigel Budd - District Master

Charity Night on March 16th, 2022
Charity Night on March 16th, 2022

The event was a spectacular success all round. We raised £120 for cancer charities and £660 for the Ukraine DEC.

The bridge was also a triumph.  We participated in the ECATS Charity Challenge national simultaneous pairs competition and CBC supplied four of the top fifteen pairs.  Pride of place goes to Hazel and Mervyn who finished in first place but congratulations also to Betty and Ralph (4th), Carol and Mark (6th), and Leon and George (15th).  This was from a field of 204 pairs altogether.

Read the expert commentary to see what you should have done!  See the overall results on the eCats web-site.

EBU Master Point promotions - July 2022

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during July :-

June Carr - District Master
Terence Rook - Area Master

EBU Master Point promotions - June 2022

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during June :-

Peter Watkins - Area Master
Patriciua Kollinsky - Area Master

2022 SCCBA Stepping Stone Pairs - March 13th on BBO
2022 SCCBA Stepping Stone Pairs - March 13th on BBO

Many congratulations to John and Tim who won the Sussex Stepping Stone Pairs held on BBO on Sunday March 13th and organised by Jane Handley of Horsham Bridge Club.

This event is specifically held for those new to bridge and who have fewer than 6 years playing experience.

June & Kris took the trophy for having been playing for more than 2 years but less than 4 and ..... 

..... Phil & Christine and Sue N also did extremely well as you can see from the results on the Sussex web-site.

2022 Valentine Pairs
2022 Valentine Pairs

Congratulations to Sam and Tricia who won this year's Valentine Pairs on February 16th.

EBU Master Point promotions - May 2022

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during May :-

Rob Hawkins -  Area Master
Pamela Watkins - Area Master
David Allday - Area Master
Jane Allday - Area Master
Claire Hoelters - Area Master

EBU Master Point promotions - March 2022

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during March :-

Linda Maynard-Springall - Club Master
Sue Best - 3 Star Regional Master

Club Individual

For the second year in a row, our annual Individual tournament took place online instead of at Grattons because of Covid.  32 club members logged onto BBO on 29th December and played 10 two board rounds, each with a randomly selected partner.  The Gold medal winner was Carolyn with an excellent 66.8% performance.  The Silver medal went to David Allday with 58.2%, closely followed by Pam in the Bronze medal position with 57.9%.  Well done everyone!

Gordon

EBU Master Point promotions - February 2022

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during February :-

Linda Maynard-Springall - Local Master
Delsia Dosen - Club Master
Gwen Berry - Club Master
Paul Brantom - Club Master
Stuart Nash - Club Master
Trish Robson - Club Master
Kristine Noble - Area Master
Carol Randall - County Master

EBU Master Point promotions - January 2022

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during January :-

Tim Lane - Area Master
Philip Nash - Area Master
Linda Hawkins - Club Master
Ralph Plastow - Advanced Master
Sylvia Smith - County Master
Ken Player - Area Master
Dave Foster - County Master
Yuriko Woodcock - Club Master
Christine Nash - Local Master
June Carr - Club Master
Trish Robson - Club Master

2021 Christmas Party
2021 Christmas Party

On Friday 10th December, we had our Christmas party.  There was a nice turnout despite new COVID regulations.  A big thank-you goes to Kate and Sylvia S for organising the event and to Richard for directing.  Catering was provided by Costas at Grattons Indoor Bowls Club.

This year, our chosen charity was Crawley Open House, who help out those in need around the area, and we managed to raise over £260 for them for which they supplied us with a certificate.

A big congratulations to our winners and runners-up who are pictured below.

A massive thanks to everyone involved and everyone who helped to make it possible! 

Sam

Betty and Gordon were 1st North/South and .....

Frank and Wendy were 1st East/West and .....

Sylvia W and Steve were second North/South and .....

Yuriko and Mark were 2nd East/West.

2021 SCCBA Online East Grinstead Basic Bridge Pairs

What a fantastic day it was at the EG BB event on November 27th with 4 of our players taking prizes.  Huge congratulations go to Christine and Philip Nash who were the E/W winners as well as the highest 'under NGS 7' partnership.  As they could only win one prize, it was June Carr and Trish Robson who then took the honours in the 'under NGS 7' section.  The full results are on the county website.

Thanks to everyone who supported the event. It will run again next November either on BBO or F2F.

Helen

EBU Master Point promotion - November 2021

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during November :-

Paul Brantom - Local Master

2021 Sheila Becarevic Cup
2021 Sheila Becarevic Cup

Congratulations to the Men's team who had a narrow win over the Ladies on Wednesday September 29th.  Many thanks to team captains Sam and Sylvia S for conjuring up 44 people to take part this year.  The most we'd ever had previously was 36.

P.S.  I've uploaded two sets of results to this site.  The main one uses Aggregate scoring (because that's what decided the winning team) but only the travellers are really meaningful.  These results are used to determine the winning team by aggregating either the Men's or Ladies scores to find that the Men won with +1300.  The pair ranking list in this set of results is not very meaningful since it's very dependent on which pairs were lucky enough to get most of the big hands.

The other set of results uses Match Point scoring, just like on the average club night.  This pair ranking list is more meaningful than the Aggregate version as regards how well individual pairs did but it is based on an invalid pairs movement so it's not that meaningful.  Also, since it was Aggregate scoring that decided the winners and not Match Points, this pair ranking list is pretty irrelevant too.  Again, only the travellers can be relied upon.

Because there are only 2 teams, no Master Points are awarded.

Mervyn

2021 AGM - the new CBC Committee

With the influx of new blood, Betty Lecky-Thompson and Alan Litchfield have decided to take the opportunity to stand down.  They have both put in many years of valuable service and the remaining committee members expressed their thanks on behalf of the club.

Welcome and good luck to those who are new to specific responsibilities on the committee - Sam (Chairman), Carol (Vice Chair), Gordon (Treasurer), Carolyn (Competitions Secretary) and Sylvia (Accounts Reviewer).  A full list of committee members can be seen on the Committee page.

EBU Master Point promotions

Congratulations to the following club members who received EBU Master Point promotions during October :-

Mark Randall - County Master
Paul Collins - Club Master
Barbara Budd - District Master

Helen's Retirement as Chairperson
Helen's Retirement as Chairperson

The largest attendance for a long time turned up to see Richard present Helen with a much-signed card and gifts which marked Helen's retirement as Chairperson of CBC after nearly 20 years.  Prior to this, Mervyn had spoken about his 30-year partnership with Helen, having met her in an evening class in the late 1980's, and also her work for the county.  Richard had followed up by describing the enormous contributions that Helen had made to CBC as Chairperson, Teacher and Director and in making CBC a friendly, welcoming and happy club.

Helen's Thanks

I’m sitting here at 1.00am with a pint of Mild in my hand wanting to say thank-you to you all for the unexpected ceremony last night.  I have loved absorbing all the kind words in my card as well as appreciating the very generous retirement gifts.  Thank you so much.  The memento of my time as chair is already on my mantlepiece and I will certainly enjoy choosing how to spend my vouchers.  Watch this space!!  I still maintain that we would not have grown as we have, without the work and support of the full committee and, of course, Mervyn.

I consider myself to have been lucky to make so many friends during such a successful time for Crawley Bridge Club.  I have no doubt that the club will continue to flourish with Sam as your new Chair and I look forward to the future with great excitement.

Helen

EBU Master Point promotions

Congratulations to the following club members who received EBU Master Point promotions during September :-

Gordon Briggs - County Master
Terence Rook - Club Master
David Allday - Club Master
Jane Allday - Club Master

2021 Horsham Stepping Stone Pairs

72 pairs, NGS graded 5 or less, competed in the Horsham Stepping Stones tournament, played on BBO on Sunday April 18th.  Congratulations to three Crawley pairs who achieved top third results: Patricia Kollinsky and Claire Hoelters (9th place, 57%), Sue Noblett and Maurice Dobbs (11th place, 56%), Stuart and Philip Nash (20th place 53%).

EBU Master Point promotions: April - June 2021

Congratulations to the following club members on their EBU Master Point promotions :-

Success at 2021 KCBA / EBU Easter Improvers Pairs!

Congratulations to club members Derek Ryan and Sue Best.  Their 59% performance over 36 boards at the KCBA / EBU Easter Improvers Pairs Competition, played on BBO on April 3rd, earned them 6th place out of 106 pairs.

2021 SCCBA Stepping Stone Pairs

Many congratulations to Kriss and June who won the county Stepping Stone Pairs event held online on Sunday March 7th and organised by Jane Handley of Horsham Bridge Club. This event was specifically held for those new to bridge and with fewer than 5 years playing experience.  There were 44 pairs playing but only 3 from Crawley.  So, more congratulations go to David and Jane who were 5th and to Phil and Stuart Nash who were a very respectable 15th.  What a fantastic showing from Crawley Bridge Club!

You can see the full results on the Sussex web-site.

Betty's Big Birthday
Betty's Big Birthday
Covid may be here but that was no reason not to celebrate Betty's 90th birthday on Sunday Dec 27th!
 
The signing of Betty's birthday card was organised by the 'Randall Sorting Office' and delivered by Richard who took the (socially-distanced, of course) picture and organised a well-attended Zoom session which contained a Betty-related quiz!!
2020 SCCBA Open Simultaneous Pairs - CONFIRMED Results

Well done to Hazel & Mervyn who finished 2nd and to Sam & Leon who finished 4th in February's SCCBA Open Sims - see SCCBA web-site for the confirmed results.  The article contains a link to the commentary for the convenience of those who failed to pick up a copy on the night.

2020 Valentine Pairs
2020 Valentine Pairs

Congratulations to Tad and Shirley who were the worthy winners of the Valentine Pairs competition on February 14th.

Although they were not the top scoring pair, they were the qualifying pair with the highest percentage. Congratulations to them both. And a big thank you to all 12 pairs who managed to arrange to partner someone of the opposite sex!!

Helen

2020 SCCBA Charity Simultaneous Pairs - CONFIRMED Results

Well done to Stewart and Frank who are the highest-placed Crawley pair in this year's county Charity Sims - see SCCBA web-site for the confirmed results.

A First for Crawley Bridge Club?

Many congratulations to Mike and Paola Codd who had a baby boy, Jack, on Thursday!!  Mother and baby are doing well.

This is thought to be the first time that a baby has been born to 2 CBC members!

2019 Christmas Party

Our party on Friday 6th December was a very enjoyable affair.  We had interesting hands to play and a fantastic buffet provided by Mitchells Catering.

Our chosen charity collection this year was for St. Catherine’s Hospice.  We raised just under £280 which the club rounded up to £300 - see acknowledgment letter.  Thanks again to everyone for their generosity.

Big thanks are also due to Mervyn for his preparation beforehand and directing on the night, to Richard for all his hard work preparing the pairings - this has become a mammoth task as the club is now so large.  Thanks also to Betty for her negotiation of the food choices for the buffet and managing the drinks tickets, Peter for managing the collection and paying of bills and finally to Gordon for directing the cadet section.  We were also very fortunate to have a lot of help setting up and tidying at the end - many hands make light work!

Congratulations to the winners in the main section (10 tables) who were Alan & Hazel (East/West) and Elizabeth & Ralph (North/South) and to .....

..... the winners in the cadet section (5 tables) who were Sumi & Beryl (North/South) and Sue and the early-departing Penny (East/West).

And we’ll do it all again next year!!  Merry Christmas everyone.

Helen

2019 East Grinstead Basic Bridge Pairs
Congratulations to Pam & Peter and Sylvia S & Dave who did extremely well at the East Grinstead Basic Bridge Pairs (run by Helen) on November 16th - see Sussex web-site for details.
2019 Club Individual
2019 Club Individual

On Friday 18th October, we held the Club Individual event.  Although the movement was rather chaotic, I think most, if not all, enjoyed it.  The clear winner was Cecile – so congratulations to her - very well done.  Thanks are due to Richard for his loud voice calling out the end of round movement!  Next time, we’ll have table cards explaining everything!!

Helen

2019 Sheila Becarevic Cup
2019 Sheila Becarevic Cup

Congratulations are, once again, due to the Men who comprehensively beat the Ladies on Wednesday 9th October.  We tried our best.  But it wasn’t good enough!  Thanks again to Mervyn for all his preparation in advance and his organisation on the night.

Better luck next year, ladies!

Helen

P.S.  I've uploaded two sets of results to this site.  The main one uses Aggregate scoring (because that's what decided the winning team) but only the travellers are really meaningful.  These results are used to determine the winning team by aggregating either the Men's or Ladies scores to find that the Men won with +5480.  The pair ranking list in this set of results is not very meaningful since it's very dependent on which pairs were lucky enough to get most of the big hands.

The other set of results uses Match Point scoring, just like on the average club night.  This pair ranking list is more meaningful than the Aggregate version as regards how well individual pairs played but it is based on an invalid pairs movement so it's not that meaningful.  Also, since it was Aggregate scoring that decided the winners and not Match Points, this pair ranking list is pretty irrelevant too.  Again, only the travellers can be relied upon.

Because there are only 2 teams, no Master Points are awarded.

Mervyn

2019 Autumn Compensated Teams
2019 Autumn Compensated Teams

Friday 20th September was the date for our biannual Compensated Teams event.  This is always very well supported and this time, even on a Friday, we had 11 teams!  The winners were Sam, Shirley, Tim and Hazel.  Sylvia S, Beryl, Sally and Ralph were 2nd and Helen, Mervyn, Delsia and Penny were 3rd.  Huge thanks are due as usual to Mervyn for planning and running the evening and to all the Randalls for organising the teams.  Thanks are also due to all the club members for supporting this event.

The next special event is the Ladies v Gents match on Wednesday October 9th – put it in your diary now!!

Helen

P.S.  If you want to see how individual pairs did in this teams event, click on the “X-Imps” tab on the BridgeWebs results screen.  Pairs are listed in order - roughly equivalent to the ranking list order in a pairs event.

Mervyn.

CBC 47th Anniversary Lunch
CBC 47th Anniversary Lunch

On Wednesday July 10th 2019, Crawley Bridge Club held their first Anniversary Lunch - a new event for our growing club.  It was to celebrate 47 years since the club was formed.

We had 15 full tables and our Guests of Honour were Tad Jasko and Peter Rowell who were founder members and are pictured with the cup they received for winning the Sussex Pairs in 1973.  They continue to play together once a month and, to prove that they are still a force to be reckoned with at the bridge table, they achieved over 70% to win the N/S position.

Thanks are due to all the committee, especially Betty, to Mervyn for directing, to Stacey, Michael and their team for a fantastic lunch and to Dave for manning the bar!!

Helen

Cecil’s Farewell
Cecil’s Farewell

Several of us were able to attend the service to say goodbye to Cecil on June 27th, 2019.  We were privileged to be  there and to learn more about his early years as described by his brother Ivan and then to spend time with his family afterwards.  He first joined us in 2011 and we learnt just how important bridge was to him – along with horse racing – and, of course, his love for his family.  His kind nature shone through at the club and he is very much missed at the table that was always saved for him.

In honour of Cecil, club members raised £150 for Diabetes UK - see acknowledgment letter.

2019 Iris Draude Memorial Pairs
2019 Iris Draude Memorial Pairs

The annual handicap pairs competition (held on April 12th) was renamed this year as the Iris Draude Memorial Pairs, in memory of Bill's wife who was a long standing member of Crawley Bridge Club.

The winners of this first (and hotly contested!) event were Cecile and Cheryl - pictured holding their trophies along with Bill.  Well done to them both.

Thanks are due to Mervyn for his help supplying everyone's NGS ranking and to Richard for running the event so smoothly.  Also, thanks to you all for supporting this special event - the last competition of our current year.

Helen

Iain Climie in Corn Cardis

Most members will remember Iain Climie, who played at the club for a while 4-5 years ago, and they will be interested to know that he played in the 2019 Corn Cairdis recently.  The Corn Cardis is an annual match between England and Ireland - or more specifically teams representing the English Bridge Union (EBU) and the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland (CBAI).  Three teams of four - representing the County, Club, and Officials elements of the organisations - from both national bodies compete to win the Corn Cairdis - the Cup of Friendship.

This year's event was held at Basingstoke and Iain played in the Hampshire team.  See report and result.

CBC 47th Anniversary Lunch
CBC 47th Anniversary Lunch

The club has passed the 40 year milestone and to celebrate we will be holding an Anniversary Lunch.

The date is Wednesday 10th July, 2019.  The venue is the restaurant at GIBC.  We will start with lunch and then play our customary 24-board duplicate session.  Cost £5/head to include 2-course meal and play session.

Guest of Honour - Tad Jasko (Tad is a founder member and has kept copies of the minutes of the inaugural meeting on March 17th, 1972 and the first committee meeting on April 5th, 1972)

Could all those who would like to attend let Betty know as soon as possible, preferably by email (address as above).  We hope to have a good turnout.  Please respond on an individual basis and we can sort out partnerships as the event approaches.  If you have special dietary requirements, particularly gluten-free or vegetarian, it would be helpful if you could point that out.

With the club going from strength to strength it's well worth celebrating and it should be great fun.

All the best,
Richard

Helen's presentation of the 2018-19 SCCBA Gladys Hakki Trophy
Helen's presentation of the 2018-19 SCCBA Gladys Hakki Trophy

You all know that Helen recently won the Gladys Hakki Trophy for making an 'outstanding contribution to bridge in Sussex'.  Well, the presentation was at the county AGM on Sunday April 7th.  Helen is pictured with a replica of the original trophy which she gets to keep.

Congratulations again, Helen, from everybody at CBC.

2019 Spring Compensated Teams
2019 Spring Compensated Teams

After a very enjoyable evening of Compensated Teams bridge consisting of 11 teams, many congratulations go to the winners who are pictured with their well-deserved prizes -  Mervyn, Tricia, Jane and Hazel.  Thanks are due to Mark and Carol who organised the teams in advance and to Mervyn who ran the evening in his customary efficient way.

Helen

2019 Two winners of SCCBA Simultaneous Pairs events!
2019 Two winners of SCCBA Simultaneous Pairs events!

Peter and Bill have now received the Joe Gibson Cup (like Tad, Joe Gibson was a founder member of Crawley Bridge Club) as winners of the SCCBA Charity Sims in January and .....

..... Hazel and Mervyn have now received the Eric Seldon Salver as winners of the SCCBA Open Sims in February.

2019 SCCBA Charity Simultaneous Pairs

Congratulations to Bill & Peter who are the confirmed winners of the county Charity Sims played in the week beginning January 7th - see SCCBA web-site for the results.

2019 Valentine Pairs
2019 Valentine Pairs

Our Valentine Pairs event was well attended with 19 pairs taking part - 14 of which were mixed pairs.  Congratulations go to the winners Bill and Carolyn, pictured with their well-deserved prizes.  Thanks to everyone who took part and made it such an enjoyable evening.

It was also the first time that we had used our new Duplimate machine which, as expected, produced some very interesting hands.

Helen
 

2018 Christmas Charity - Outreach 3 Way
2018 Christmas Charity - Outreach 3 Way

This year's Xmas charity, Outreach 3 Way, provides support for people with learning disabilities and autism in East and West Sussex. 

As a core part of that, every day, around 45 people from a pool of 100 attend the Day Centre at Outreach Ifield.  They participate in a range of activities including arts and crafts, cookery, music, dance and drama.  The donation from CBC will be put towards arts and crafts projects.

There is no doubt that the people at Outreach do outstanding work in their field and I am grateful for everyone at the party for donating so generously so that we can give them a helping hand.

Pictured receiving the cheque is Bob Leeves, Outreach's Sports and Leisure Manager.

Richard
2018 Christmas Party
2018 Christmas Party

Our party on Friday December 7th was the busiest that we have ever held!  We had 15 tables in 2 sections - 12 in the main section and 3 in the cadets!  A good time was had by all with excellent directing from Mervyn, a very tasty buffet provided by Mitchells catering and an enjoyable bridge session.  We also collected £200 for Outreach 3 Way!

We also congratulated Mark on his big birthday!

A big thank-you goes to all who made the evening such a success.  We will do more of the same next year!!

Helen
 

Club Individual
Club Individual

The first 3 places in the Club Individual were taken by winner Ralph (photographed receiving his prize from organiser Helen), Bill (2nd) and Mervyn (3rd).

Thanks to Richard who had the unenviable task of shouting out the movements for every round as the bridgemates didn't give complete instructions!

A good time was had by all and we will definitely keep it as an annual fun evening in our calendar.

Helen

SCCBA Autumn Congress success!
SCCBA Autumn Congress success!

It's an excellent result for Carol and Mark who won the Welcome Pairs at the county Autumn Congress on Saturday October 13th.  Congratulations to them both.  See county web-site for the full results.

2018 Sheila Becarevic Cup
2018 Sheila Becarevic Cup

Congratulations to the victorious Men’s team!  In spite of the best efforts of all the Ladies, there was no getting away from the fact that the Men's team (all but Sisir and Bill pictured) were the better team on the night!

Thanks to everyone who took part for playing in such a good humoured way.  And particular thanks to Mervyn once again, without whom we would not have been able to have such an event.

Helen

P.S.  Two sets of results for this event can be seen here.  The main one uses Aggregate scoring (because that's what decided the winning team) but only the travellers are really meaningful.  These results are used to determine the winning team by aggregating either the Men's or Ladies scores to find that the Men won by 3030.  The pair ranking list is quite dependent on which pairs were lucky enough to get most of the big hands.

The other set of results uses Match Point scoring, i.e. just like on the average club night but using an invalid pairs movement.  This pair ranking list is more meaningful than the Aggregate version as regards how well individual pairs played.  However, since Aggregate scoring decided the winners and not Match Points, this pair ranking list is pretty irrelevant too.  Again, only the travellers can be relied upon.

Mervyn

Horley BC bridge weekend - April 2019

Crawley members are invited to joint the Horley club's weekend at the Hydro Hotel in Eastbourne from Friday April 26 to Sunday April 28th, 2019.  See invite and application form.

Autumn Drawn Teams
Autumn Drawn Teams

Congratulations to Bill & Peter and Doreen & Stuart who won the Autumn Drawn Teams on Friday September 14th.  The runners-up were Shirley & Sumi, Carol & Mervyn.

Many thanks to Richard for collecting names and making up the teams.

Our Prestigious Visitors!
Our Prestigious Visitors!

We were very pleased to welcome 3 members of the Sussex County Bridge Association to our Wednesday bridge session on June 13th.  They were Richard Newton, Andy Ryder and Neil Watts who are currently walking to every bridge club in Sussex to raise money for Junior Bridge in Sussex and the Alzheimers Society.

After an enjoyable game of bridge, the highest-placed pair from our club were Bill Draude and Cecil de Araujo.  Many congratulations to them both.  We were also able to raise over £100 for the good causes.  So, many thanks to those who felt able to contribute.

Helen

P.S.  See also article on SCCBA web-site.

2018 Spring Compensated Teams
2018 Spring Compensated Teams

A good time was had by everyone at our Spring Drawn Teams event.  Hard canvassing by Richard in advance of the night ensured we had 9 tables.  Lots of preparation by Mervyn before the start coupled with his usual efficiency on the night, ensured the results were available within minutes of the end of play.  So thanks to them both.

Congratulations to Team 1 - Leon, Tad, Stuart and Kate on being first with the runners-up being Team 7 - Stewart, Frank, Sylvia W and Cecile.

Helen

2018 SCCBA Open Simultaneous Pairs

The confirmed results for the SCCBA Open Sims are now on the county web-site.  Bert and Dave were the best-placed Crawley pair in 11th place.  If you're wondering why the finishing order of Crawley pairs in the county results differs from that in the club results, try reading this ECats FAQ.

2018 Valentine Pairs
2018 Valentine Pairs

Congratulations to Helen and Alan for winning the Valentine Pairs!  Unfortunately, there were only 6 mixed pairs playing.  Next year, this event will be on Wednesday 13th February.  For those of you with an EBU diary, make a note and arrange a mixed pairing!

P.S. Apart from chocolate hearts for everyone, Cecil very kindly donated a big box of Black Magic which was very much enjoyed by all!

2018 Sussex Charity Simultaneous Pairs

The confirmed results for the Charity Sims are now on the county web-site.  Tad & Leon did excellently to finish overall runners-up out of 134 pairs!  If you're wondering why the finishing order of Crawley pairs in the county results differs from that in the club results, try reading this ECats FAQ.

Christmas Party 2017
Christmas Party 2017

Our party was held on December 8th and we had 12 full tables.  The food was provided by the new caterers at Grattons and was delicious.  Alan organised the game to find a partner which produced some fun outcomes.  But a good time was had by all.  We also managed to raise just over £200 for the Chestnut Hospice – our chosen charity.  Mervyn sat out for the whole evening watching over the laptop so that we had results almost immediately. So special thanks to him.

Prize-winners were Kerry & Carol who were 1st North/South (after Christina and myself withdrew) and ....

.... Carol & Betty who were 1st East/West and ....

.... Cecile and Wendy who were second North/South and ....

.... Russell and Tricia who were second East/West.

The committee and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2018.

Helen

Mervyn's presentation at the EBU AGM
Mervyn's presentation at the EBU AGM

Hot off the press and before it gets into the EBU magazine! (but not before it's put onto the EBU web-site), Mervyn is seen being presented with his Dimmie Fleming Award by Jeremy Dhondy (Chairman of the EBU) at The Imperial Hotel, Russell Square on Wednesday 22nd November.  We are all very proud of him!

Helen
 

Sheila Becarevic Cup
Sheila Becarevic Cup

Congratulations to the victorious Ladies team that managed to sneak a victory over the Men again on Wednesday October 11th.

The general euphoria over the result, meant that there was no opportunity to thank Mervyn once again for all his long hours of work that were needed to make the event run so smoothly. The preparation done at home is essential to making the event as enjoyable as it was. I cannot imagine how long it would have taken to do the mental arithmetic need to produce a result! So, Mervyn, thank you once again. We could not run such a full and varied programme without you.

Cheers,

Helen

P.S.  Two sets of results for this event can be seen here.  The main one uses Aggregate scoring (because that's what decided the winning team) but only the travellers are really meaningful.  It's not possible to use these results to determine the winning team without doing the same calculations that I did.  The pair ranking list is quite dependent on which pairs were lucky enough to get most of the big hands.

The other set of results uses Match Point scoring, i.e. just like on the average club night but using an invalid pairs movement.  This pair ranking list is more meaningful than the Aggregate version as regards how well individual pairs played.  However, since Aggregate scoring decided the winners and not Match Points, this pair ranking list is pretty irrelevant too.  Again, only the travellers can be relied upon.

Mervyn

Eastbourne Weekend
Eastbourne Weekend

The weekend organised by Debbie and shared with Church Hill bridge club was a great success. And members of the Crawley club did very well at the competitions too. We all hope same time same place next year??

Helen
 

Autumn Drawn Teams
Autumn Drawn Teams

We were delighted to have 8 teams entered into our drawn teams event including 10 players from Cadet nights. Thanks go to Richard for arranging the teams and to Mervyn without whom we would not be able to run such an enjoyable event.

Helen

SCCBA Charity Simultaneous Pairs

Please turn up and play in the SCCBA Charity Sims on Friday January 12th.  This year's charities are :-

Please note that, since the same boards will be used in this event in different Sussex clubs during the week, individual players may only play in one heat.

Best Improver - 2016-17
Best Improver - 2016-17

Congratulations to Cecil who received the Saeed Salver for being the club's most improved player over the past 12 months.

2017 Liliane Massingale Cup (handicapped pairs)
2017 Liliane Massingale Cup (handicapped pairs)

Congratulations to Hazel and Mervyn who won the Liliane Massingale Cup (handicapped pairs) on Wednesday May 17th. 

First visit to the Spring Congress!
First visit to the Spring Congress!

Well done everyone. You did Crawley proud!

Worthing Weekend!
Worthing Weekend!

Congratulations to Carol and Mark who, although they weren't the highest-placed pair of the weekend (April 7th-9th), were the highest-placed Crawley pair.

Do You Want to Learn to Play Bridge?

Starting with a FREE! introductory session on Monday September 18th, Crawley Bridge Club will be running a course which is suitable for complete beginners.  This course will consist of three terms of ten two-hour sessions.  If you need more details, please email Helen Kent or ring Helen on 01342 719779.

Helen (behind the camera), Carol, Mark, Richard and Maureen looked for new bridge players for CBC at the Turners Hill Fete on July 16th.

"A very happy afternoon spent encouraging more beginners!" - Helen

Spring Drawn Teams
Spring Drawn Teams

A very enjoyable evening was had by all for our first "drawn teams" event.  Congratulations to the winning team of Cecil, Bill, Maureen and Sumi.

Thanks are due to Richard for forming the teams and to Mervyn for running the event and managing the Bridgemates.  What a very worthwhile investment they are proving to be!

Helen

Mid-Sussex Challenge Friendly
Mid-Sussex Challenge Friendly

Well done to the Crawley team who went one better this year in the 'Mid-Sussex Challenge Friendly - Inter-Clubs Teams of Eight' at Cuckfield on February 12th by finishing 2nd of 7 teams, having finished 3rd last year.

See Sussex web-site for report.

Valentine Pairs
Valentine Pairs

Congratulations to Richard and Sylvia who won the Valentine Pairs on February 10th.

Congratulations!!
Congratulations!!

Carol celebrated no longer being a junior member of CBC recently by cutting a birthday cake (sorry about the blurring - no alcohol was involved!) as did .....

..... what's 'is name a few weeks earlier!

SCCBA New Year Swiss Teams

Richard, Cecil, Mark and Carol did excellently at their first attempt in the county New Year Swiss Teams at Henfield on January 8th, winning 5 of their 7 matches! - see county web-site for details.

Christmas Party
Christmas Party

Our Christmas party held on December 9th was a great success!  There were 9 and a half tables in the club section and 4 in the cadet section.  There was some very exciting card-play and ....

.... a fantastic buffet - the best we have ever had.

Thanks are due to the committee of Helen, Richard, Alan, Betty, Sylvia and Mark for all their work beforehand, during and following the event.  But special thanks to Mervyn who managed the Bridgemates under some duress and ensured we had a result at the end of the evening.

Thanks to everyone for coming along and supporting the club and for your generous donations to Macmillan Care which totalled an amazing £270!!

Helen

2016 Autumn Compensated Teams
2016 Autumn Compensated Teams

Congratulations to Carol & Mark, Debbie & Susie who won the Autumn Compensated Teams on September 7th.

Birthday Girls!
Birthday Girls!

We all had a lovely evening celebrating the special birthdays of Cecile and Sylvia. They charged our glasses for us and filled us with delicious cake, made and appropriately decorated for bridge players by Clare. Thanks to all.

Helen

Best Improver 2015-16
Best Improver 2015-16

Congratulations to Stewart who is pictured being presented with the Saeed Salver by Richard for being the club's most improved player over the past 12 months.

Liliane Massingale Cup (handicapped pairs)

There was a very disappointing turn-out of only 3 tables for the Liliane Massingale Cup (handicapped pairs) on Wednesday May 18th but congratulations to the winners Helen & Christina.

2016 Spring Compensated Teams
2016 Spring Compensated Teams

Congratulations to Sylvia S., Stewart, Doreen and Janet who won the Spring Compensated Teams on March 23rd.

SCCBA Open Simultaneous Pairs

The provisional combined results for the SCCBA Open Simultaneous Pairs are now on the county web-site.  The highest-placed Crawley pairs are Veronica & David (12th), Hazel & Meryyn (13th) and Betty & Ralph (15th).  If you're wondering why the finishing order of Crawley pairs in the county results differs from that in the club results, try reading this ECats FAQ.

Mid-Sussex Teams of Eight
Mid-Sussex Teams of Eight

Despite the best efforts of Helen's sat nav, all 8 members of the Crawley BC team (Hazel, Christine, Betty, Helen, Shirley, Howard, Mervyn and Doreen) made it to Thakeham and 'played their socks off' to finish a very creditable 3rd (out of 7) in this friendly event.

The runaway winners were West Sussex BC, who put a very strong team out.  Lewes BC were 2nd.  There was also a delicious tea provided by the hosts who earnt that dubious right by winning the event last year.  Well done to all our team.

Breaking The Law!!

Are you a prominent club member?  Are you off to Thailand shortly?  Then, obviously, you're up to no good!!  See Daily Telegraph article.

Crawley Pair win County Final!!!
Crawley Pair win County Final!!!

You might remember that we held a heat of the county's David Pavey Trophy competition back in November.  Well, Veronica and David have only gone and won the final at Worthing!!!  Many congratulations to them.

Howard and his partner, David Pickford, and Richard and Debbie also did well, finishing 6th and 7th= respectively, although Richard and Debbie were playing 'without standing' which means that they weren't eligible to win the competition since they hadn't played together in the heat.

See the county web-site for an article and the full results.

 

Spot the Tad!
Spot the Tad!

Can you spot a young (well young-ish!) Tad in this picture?  Tad and other members of Crawley Bridge Club made headlines in local newspapers in October 1983 because of their exploits in the Bridge Bridge League Congress in the Isle of Man.

Not only did Tad's team (himself plus David Clifton, Frank Cooper and David Rowe) win the Teams event but a second Crawley team (Martin & Pauline Pool, John Wallace and David Ginn) finished as runners-up!  Not content with that, Tad and David Clifton also won the Open Pairs event!

See transcripts of all 3 articles.

2016 Sussex Charity Simultaneous Pairs

Our Sussex Charity Sims heat on Friday January 15th raised the splendid sum of £96 to be shared by this year's county charities - Pericles and The Oyster Project.

The confirmed combined results are now on the county web-site with Wendy and Hazel (16th) and Sally and Ralph (18th) doing best of the Crawley pairs.

Hazel’s Big Birthday!
Hazel’s Big Birthday!

Happy Birthday Hazel. We hope you’ve had a lovely day! Thanks for the chocolates and sweets that all disappeared!
 

2015 Christmas Party

A good time was had by all at this year's Christmas Party on December 11th.  Many thanks to organisers Helen, Richard, Alan and Betty for putting in so much effort.

  • .... but everything stopped for food!
  • ... 4 tables in the Cadet section ....
  • There were 9 1/2 tables in the main section ....
East Grinstead Basic Bridge Pairs at Turners Hill

Congratulations to Susie and mum Pat who won the intermediate stratification class and finished 3rd overall at Turners Hill on Saturday November 21st in the Sussex Basic Bridge Pairs event that Helen runs.  Cecile & Sumi and Shirley & Carolyn also did very well, finishing 4th and 5th overall respectively.  See results, article and pictures on the SCCBA web-site.

2015 Autumn Compensated Teams
2015 Autumn Compensated Teams

Congratulations to Stuart, Tad, Stewart and the absent Sylvia B who won the Autumn Compensated Teams on September 2nd.

2015 Liliane Massingale Cup
2015 Liliane Massingale Cup

Congratulations to Janet and Kerry who are pictured receiving the Liliane Massingale Cup from Richard.  Janet and Kerry won the annual handicapped pairs event on Wednesday May 20th, just hours after joining the club!  Close runners-up were Richard & Sue who were leading before handicaps were applied.

CBC Weekend at Worthing
  • A group of members ignoring the camera!
  • Some members trying to hide from the camera!
  • Some winners!

In a first for Crawley Bridge Club, 11 members spent a very enjoyable weekend (March 27-29th) of friendly bridge and fantastic food in the very comfortable Ardington Hotel in Worthing along with 29 other players from other clubs.  Tricia and Christine were our stars as they won the Saturday evening session and were presented with chocolates at the end of the final session on Sunday.  A good time was had by all and we would hope to do something similar next year!

Best Improver 2014-15
Best Improver 2014-15

Congratulations to Frank who is pictured being presented with the Saeed Salver by Helen for being the club's most improved player over the past 12 months.

2015 Spring Compensated Teams
2015 Spring Compensated Teams

Congratulations to the winners of the Spring 2015 Compensated Teams - Tad, Veronica, David and Betty.

A Club Evening With a Difference!
A Club Evening With a Difference!

Several learners from the Improvers Class bravely turned up to play at a club evening on Wednesday March 18th.

2015 Sheila Becarevic Cup - Ladies v Gents
2015 Sheila Becarevic Cup - Ladies v Gents

Congratulations to the Ladies Team (pictured minus Wendy, Cecile, Sylvia W. and Christina) who, after a recount, are this year's winners of the Sheila Becarevic Cup by 14 IMPs.  The match was a 14-a-side match played over 24 boards.  See full results.

The next 'event' at Crawley BC is a Compensated Teams on Wednesday March 25th.  You wouldn't want to miss it, would you?

Valentine Pairs

Congratulations to Helen & Mervyn who won the the Valentine Pairs prize for being the highest-placed mixed pair CBC members on Friday February 13th.

SCCBA Seniors Simultaneous Pairs

Very well done to visitors Alan and Mick who finished an excellent second overall in the SCCBA Seniors Simultaneous Pairs.  See results on the SCCBA web-site.

SCCBA Charity Simultaneous Pairs

They may have only finished 3rd in the Crawley heat of the SCCBA Charity Simultaneous Pairs but Susie and Debbie also finished 3rd overall!!   Very well done to them.  See results on the SCCBA web-site.

Christmas Party
Christmas Party

Following a very enjoyable party on Friday 12th December, there are a lot of people for me to thank.

Firstly, thanks go to Mervyn for his sterling work organising the movement and for scoring the Club section so quickly.  Thanks also to Richard for running the improvers section.  It was lovely to see so many from our class and we hope to see them at a club night in the not too distant future!  Judging by the noise that came from that end of the room, it certainly sounded as if they were having a good time!

Thanks to Betty for running the raffle and for planning the food with the Grattons caterers.  They certainly gave us a splendid spread!  Finally, thank you to our very efficient treasurer for organising the pairings and the prizes for the Club section and for ensuring that the £125 raised by the raffle will go to Last Chance (our chosen charity for this year).

Thanks to all who attended, contributed to the raffle prizes and bought tickets.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Helen

(Helen and Tad are pictured with their prizes for winning the bridge in the Club section. - Ed.)

P.S.  The Improvers Section was won by .....

..... Sue Snelling and Gwendoline Berry who were presented with their awards at the start of the new term.

Christmas is Coming!
Christmas is Coming!

One of Santa's not-so-little helpers dropped in to run the Improvers class recently!

2014 Autumn Compensated Teams
2014 Autumn Compensated Teams

Congratulations to the winners of the Autumn 2014 Compensated Teams - Betty, John, Sylvia B. and Veronica.

Crawley Bridge Club Village Fete Roadshow
Crawley Bridge Club Village Fete Roadshow
Fresh from our efforts at Copthorne (see picture), we next set up shop at Turners Hill (Sunday 20th July).  This is a beautiful venue and the weather was very kind.  The event was well attended and we had a steady stream of contacts and enquiries.  Keen as we were to get on and play, we had to keep stopping to talk to people and hand out leaflets!  It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and the level of interest in the Club and our teaching programmes was most encouraging.  We complete this year's tour at Crawley Down in September and plan a similar tour next year.
Liliane Massingale Cup
Liliane Massingale Cup

Congratulations to Peter and Cecile who won the Liliane Massingale Cup (handicapped pairs) on Friday May 23rd.

Best Improver 2013-2014
Best Improver 2013-2014

Congratulations to Sumi for being the club's most improved player over the past 12 months and so becoming the 6th winner of the Saeed Salver.

2014 Spring Compensated Teams
2014 Spring Compensated Teams

Congratulations to the winners of the Spring 2014 Compensated Teams - Debbie, Susie, Tricia and Christine.

2014 Sheila Becarevic Cup - Ladies v Gents
2014 Sheila Becarevic Cup - Ladies v Gents

On February 26th, the Gents team won the Sheila Becarevic Cup for the third successive year - this time by the fairly comfortable margin of 115 IMPs.  See full results.

Commiserations to ........

........ the Ladies team.  Better luck(-ish!) next year.

The club's next special event will be a Compensated Teams event on Friday March 21st.

Christmas Party
Christmas Party

Attendance was down at this year's Christmas Party but 30 members still enjoyed 18 hands of bridge and a first-class buffet.

Congratulations to ......

 

..... the winners and runners-up in the bridge  - Jean & Bert and Jim & Doreen respectively.

Many thanks to organisers Betty, Alan and Richard and that other chap who did the directing and scoring.

SCCBA East Grinstead Basic Bridge Pairs
SCCBA East Grinstead Basic Bridge Pairs

Crawley pairs did very well on Saturday November 23rd in the Sussex Basic Bridge Pairs event that Helen runs.  Hazel and Betty won the event overall and Christine and Tricia won the intermediate section.  Congratulations to them all.  For full details, see the Sussex web-site.

2013 Autumn Compensated Teams
2013 Autumn Compensated Teams

Congratulations to the winners of the Autumn 2013 Compensated Teams - Helen, Carol, Betty and Tricia.

Attention!! - Announcement and Alert Changes

Are you aware of the August 1st 2013 changes to Announcements and Alerts?  The main change is that the No Trump strength, Stayman and red-suit transfer Announcements now apply to 2NT as well as to 1NT.  Please read the full summary to see if you are affected.   You can find more details of these and other changes (e.g. replacing the Orange Book with the Blue Book) on the county web-site and in the August edition of English Bridge.

2013 AGM
2013 AGM

After this year's AGM on Friday May 3rd run by Officers Alan, Richard and Helen, presentations were made to .........

.....  Liliane Massingale Cup winners, Mike & Tom.......

........ Best Improver for 2012-13, Tim ......

....... and to a representative of March's Compensated Teams winners, Tim, without the rest of the team (Alan B, Frank and Bill).

Sheila Becarevic Cup - Ladies v Gents
Sheila Becarevic Cup - Ladies v GentsThe Ladies team did their best but ......

..... as the full results show, the Gents team retained the cup by a margin of 49 IMPs.

Christmas Party
Christmas Party

38 people attended the Christmas Party on December 14th.  A very good time was had by all!  18 boards were played with a break for an excellent buffet.  This year's winner of the John Wallace Cup is .....

.... John Tugwell who was presented with the trophy by Richard.  Many congratulations to John.   See final ranking list.
Beginners Classes
Beginners Classes

You just might recognize the two people on the left of this picture.  Richard and Helen have been attending a two-day SCCBA teacher training course this month at Shoreham in preparation for the beginners classes that they intend to start on behalf of our club in February.  If you know of anybody who might be interested in attending these classes or would even like to attend them yourself, please let Richard or Helen (see attached for contact details) know ASAP.

Display in Crawley Library - December 2012
Display in Crawley Library - December 2012Two people (who just happened to be passing by!) are pictured showing interest in the County and club display which is in a prominent position at Crawley Library.  The display is only there until this Saturday - Dec 15th.  If you know of anybody who might be interested in learning to play bridge or play bridge already and are looking for a club locally, please ask them to drop by and, hopefully, leave their contact details. 
If you didn't pick up a booklet, the hands can now be seen with the travellers in the results on this (Crawley) site.
Crawley Individual
Crawley IndividualCongratulations to Iris who won the club Individual competition on Friday October 12th.  Organiser Helen was 2nd and Alastair was 3rd.
Best Improver 2011-2012
Best Improver 2011-2012

Congratulations to this year's winner Bryan who was presented with the trophy by Chairman Helen at the AGM.   The full list of 'honours' for 2011-2012 can be seen in the Competition Secretary's Report.

Sussex Survey prize winner

Congratulations to Frank who won the SCCBA Survey draw and so receives free entry into a pairs or teams county event of his choice for himself and a partner.

Liliane Massingale Cup
Liliane Massingale Cup

Congratulations to this year's winners Richard and Betty who were presented with the cup at this year's AGM on May 4th.

2012 Compensated Teams
2012 Compensated Teams

The players eagerly await the announcement of the results of this year's Compensated Teams event on Wednesday March 21st before hearing that ......  

....... the clear winners are Sonia Lee, Alan Bailey, Sylvia Webb and Tim Kirkup.  Congratulations to them all.   In second place, 46 IMPs behind, were Jenny & Hilary Breeden, Frank Sansom and Bill Draude.

Many thanks to Alan Litchfield who brought in the prizes and didn't even get to play!

Sheila Becarevic Cup - 2012
Sheila Becarevic Cup - 2012

The scorers are hard at work before eventually agreeing that ........

.... this year's winners are the Gents team (including guest player Sue!).  The full results show that, like last year when the Ladies won, the winning margin was quite small at just 13 IMPs.

Thanks to all who took part in this 'Teams of 12' event played over 24 boards.  No doubt everybody will now be eager to take part in the club's next special event which is the Compensated Teams event on Wednesday March 21st.  You can just turn up as a pair as normal but it would be appreciated if you could put your names on the sheet on the noticeboard or tell Betty that you'd like to play in this event.

The winning team in full was Richard (captain) & Cecil, Jim & Barrie, Alan & Tim, Frank & Bill, Bryan & Sue, John & Mervyn.

Christmas Party - 2011
Christmas Party - 201140 people attended the Christmas Party on Friday December 16th.  All appeared to have a good time.  18 boards were played with a break for an excellent buffet.  The East/West winners were Cecile and Christine and .........

...... the North/South winners were Mervyn and Wendy.

The prize winners for Steve's puzzles were :-

  • Pascal's pyramid: Christina, Richard, Bill, Iris, Alan L, Angela I.
  • Card challenge: Christina
Eastbourne Weekend

The weekend organised by Debbie and shared with Church Hill bridge club was a great success. And members of the Crawley club did very well at the competitions too.  We all hope same time same place next year??

GEORGE CALVERT 1914-2011
GEORGE CALVERT 1914-2011

Sadly, George Calvert has died.

George was born in N. Ireland in 1914.  He trained as a dentist and practised in Holywood, N. Ireland and also served in the Middle East during the Second World War.   He came to England after retirement to be near his son.

 

George was a keen bridge player and joined the club in 1999.  He was a regular and popular player until 2010 when he became immobile after breaking his hip.

 

George also loved his golf and was still playing at 93 years.