Update: Our landlord has asked that we all wear masks in the common areas – so entering and leaving the building and anytime you are out in the hallway. Once in our playing room, wearing a mask is your choice. If you have not brought proof of your double  vaccination please do prior to playing so you will not be turned away.

 Thanks to everyone for their cooperation as we get comfortable with “Green”

GREEN IS HERE!

On Friday Premier Higgs announced that effective midnight on July 30, New Brunswick will move to the Green Phase of recovery – all travel restrictions will be removed, no limits on indoor gatherings, no required social distancing and no required masks indoors. As the Government is opening without meeting the target of 75% of New Brunswickers 12 and over having had their 2nd dose of vaccine, your Board of Directors wants to be cautious at least initially about opening our doors completely.

Effective August 2nd everyone who has had 2 doses of the vaccines will be eligible to play provided they can show proof of vaccinations with a government issued (given with vaccinations) document. It will be up to each member whether they wish to continue to wear a mask, however it will not be required. We want to provide the safest environment as possible to all our members and hope that those who have not returned yet will feel safe to do so. The Board will monitor the progress of the province to determine if the 2-vaccination requirement can be relaxed at a future date.

A Board member will greet you at the door to check your document and check you off our membership list, so that you don’t have to bring your document with you every time you play. You can bring your document any time this coming week as well, although it will not be required to play, but could save time on Monday August 2nd. Water will now be able to be consumed at the table. We will wait until August 9th for the tea, coffee and cookies to return. 

In order to be ready for full play on Monday August 2nd we need some help to get the room ready. After the game on Thursday July 29th, we need at least 6 volunteers to stay behind to move tables, put out chairs, put tablecloths back on tables, attach drink caddies, etc. A couple of Board members will be there to help organize the group. If your partner does not have email or does not want his/her email shared on our website, please be sure he/she is aware of the double dose requirement to play starting August 2nd. It will be a great New Brunswick Day, come out to play!

Sharon Nussey President

Several people have commented that its hard to find the "find a partner" feature on our web site. Here is a way that works.

Sign in to the Fiddlehead web site

Click on "Membership" on the left side

A New page pops up with a tab near the top left labelled "Find a partner"

Scroll down in the lower section to find the date(s) you are interested in

Check the "PR" Box for the dates you wish to play and check other boxes above with your contact information

Finally remember to click the "Confirm" button to update your wishes

Only the Wednesday evening game at the club requires pre-registration for a place for you and your partner to ensure a minimum of 4 tables arrive.

The tab Bookings gives a list of all players registered at the moment for each date. At the top left is a note to use Calendar to make a booking. There are actually two Calendar tabs "Calendar" and "Calendar Month".

You must now use "Calendar Month" to make a booking.

1. Use the left and right arrows at the top of the monthly calendar to get to the month you want

2. Mouse over the date you are interested in and a box saying "Booking Required" will pop up for games not already played

3. Click on the little calendar in the box and a listing of those registered will appear along with a space for your Fiddlehead sign in credentials

4. Fill in your credentials and click "check" at the bottom of the box.

5. Your name will appear and space to add your partner's name and an option to choose a preferred direction 

6. Click on the appropriate tab at the bottom to add or remove a booking, to remember your login or to cancel if nothing needs changing

7. We have removed the wait -listing option. Please keep checking to see if you can register within the max of 22 pairs.

Fiddlehead Bridge Studio has been asked by our Unit to host the 2023 CANAT Tournament for 6 days at the end of June, beginning of July. Fredericton hosted this tournament on a regular basis a number of years ago, then it was transferred to Moncton.  New Brunswick and Nova Scotia host in alternate years.  Hosting can provide an opportunity for our members to earn Red and Gold points without having to travel and incur all the associated costs.  It will also give us the spotlight to promote duplicate bridge in our area, which could turn into new members for  us. However it is quite a bit of work, so we need volunteers to form an organizing committee. ACBL has an extensive planning guide the committee can use.  Does the club want to do this?  If you are interested in helping to organize please send me your name by October 1^st.  I will need to have a number of  people volunteer to move forward. Have a look on the ACBL website under Tournaments, Planning Guides, Regional Tournaments to see what is involved. We need to give the Unit an answer so they can move on to another club if we decline.

Other Fiddlehead news:   It’s nice to see some of our members who have not been with us for a while slowly returning to the bridge table.  Welcome Back!!  We now have a Special Games Calendar on the Website and posted at the club. Thanks to George Mitchell for picking up this task again. We are bringing back the Flash Mob one Saturday a month beginning in October. Suzanne Leonfellner and her committee are organizing our first luncheon since December of 2019 as part of the Ed Griffin Memorial Game on October 28^th. Marilyn Jennings has volunteered to take on the role of purchaser of our goodies and kitchen supplies, thanks Marilyn!

Eileen Tranquilla has resumed her Play and Learn back at the club on Tuesday afternoon beginning at 1PM.  It’s a great way to brush up on your skills and practice some new techniques while playing hands that Eileen has created. $5.00 per session, just like a regular game.  Then October 1^st Eileen will be starting lessons once again – Bridge in the 21^st Century – a 8 weeks entry level course for $80.00 or $12.00 per lesson. Please contact Eileen at 463-2385 if you are interested or know of anyone else who might want to take part.

As you know our Covid-19 cases are rising.  While the Province has not reintroduced a mask mandate for indoor spaces, the Board is watching closely and will adhere to any new directives.  In the meantime wear a mask if you wish and we encourage everyone to sanitize periodically during the games.  Please reach out to any Board Member or our Manager if you have any questions or concerns.

As always thanks for your support and cooperation.

Sharon Nussey