 Westmorland |
Westmorland County Bridge Association was formed in 1966 and became affiliated to the EBU in 1967 with Kendal Bridge Club as its only club. The first AGM was held on 20th April 1967. In 1990 Windermere was formed and joined Westmorland. In 1992 headed notepaper referred to it as Westmorland County Contract Bridge Association.
Westmorland ceased to exist in June 2026. Its two clubs, Kendal and Windermere, transferred to Cumbria. The WCCBA funds have been used to refund £1000 to Kendal Bridge Club and £500 to Windermere as a UMS (Universal Membership Scheme) refund. The remaining £5,128.92 will be given to Kendal Bridge Club for the continued development and expansion of their bridge teaching program, benefitting all bridge players and potential players in the Kendal and Windermere area.
Westmorland final accounts
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| Officers |
Until Windermere joined the county in 1990 the officers for Westmorland were the same as Kendal.
A few details are missing for the early years.
Click here for a list of officers (chair, secretary and treasurer) from 1966
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| Competition winners |
There were six major county competitions:
Pairs Championship for the Holloway Cup
Teams Championship for the Eva Wilde Trophy, which was presented by Betty Limb in 1995 in memory of her sister
Teams Plate for the Philip Wraight Plate
Pivot Teams for the Bramhall Trophy
Individual for the Westmorland Cup
Grand Prix
Westmorland also ran a green-pointed Swiss Pairs competition from 2010 to 2013. It then was incorporated into the Cumbria/Westmorland joint weekend.
Click for a list of competition winners
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| Northern Bridge League |
Formed in 2006, the NBL is a teams-of-eight competition between the County Bridge Associations of Northern England and North Wales. The League is divided into three Divisions. The A Division is for teams consisting of players of the highest standard, the B Division is for regular County standard players, whilst the C Division is aimed at those who do not yet fall into the other categories. Since 2021 matches have been played on RealBridge. Westmorland started playing in the league in 2008. From 2010 there were two Westmorland teams, one in the B division and on in the C division. In 2011, for one year only, there were combined Westmorland/Cumbria team in divisions A and B and a Westmorland team in division C. In 2025 the C division team was a combined Westmorland/Cumbria team.
Click here to go to the NBL website.
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| EBU Awards |
Two Westmorland members have received EBU awards:
Philip Wraight received the Dimmie Fleming award in 2008
Mike Rothwell received the EBU Silver Award in 2017
Click here for the details
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| Westmorland Leagues |
In 2020, the Covid Pandemic lockdown prevented face to face bridge. Brian Smith therefore set up the Westmorland Pairs League and the Westmorland Teams League.
Matches were played on Bridge Base Online, which was new to many bridge players. It was open to all bridge players in Cumbria and ran successfully until 2025.
Click here for the results
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| Murray League |
The Murray League was a friendly teams of four competition for players in Cumbria. It was independent of, but received support from, Westmorland. It was open to all bridge players in the county, whether or not they were members of bridge clubs. There were several leagues which, after the initial few years, were arranged geographically to reduce travelling. Individual matches were generally hosted by somebody from the home team, who usually supplied some light refreshment. The leading teams from each league went forward to a final.
In later years players were handicapped according to their NGS or are assessed based on experience and status so less experienced players could compete on equal terms with more experienced players.
The Murray League came to end with the Covid Pandemic lockdown in 2020.
Winners:
2018-19 Arnside 1
2017-18 Keswick Vulnerable Four
2016-17 Kendal Upstarts
2015-16 Arnside 2
2014-15 Fit Jumps
2013-14 Fit Jumps
2012-13 Fawlty Bower
2011-12 Keswick Codlings
2010-11 Fantastic Four
2009-10 Arnside
2008-09 Four Square
2007-08 Arnside 2
2006-07 Chemical Dali
2005-06 Workington Wonders
2004-05
2003-04 Barrow Precision
2002-03 Keswick Kestrels
2001-02 Barrow Precision
2000-01 Barrow Precision
1999-00 The Charlatans
1998-99 Keswick Phoenix
1997-98 Windermere X
1996-97 GF of Carlisle
1995-96 Keswick Knaves
1994-95 Kendal
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