Congratulations to Steve Preston & Fred Hotchen, 2024-25 winners of the Pottage Cup, making them 2024-25 Hampshire Pairs champions. (Full results here). Congratulations also to Steve Lee & Andrew Doye, Kim Beazley & David Craggs, Gabriel Hearst & James Bond, who finished 2nd to 4th respectively and therefore also qualify for the Corwen Trophy - the national competition for the top county pairs. The competition was close throughout, enjoyed by all, and well directed by Keith Bennett (thank you from the HIWCBA committee).

Congratulations to Steve Preston & Fred Hotchen, 2024-25 winners of the Pottage Cup, making them 2024-25 Hampshire Pairs champions. ..........

The victors in all three HIWCBA County Leagues are already known, although its only mid April; The full set of final positions will not be known until the remaining matches are played. (More details here.) Thank you to all those who arranged to play their matches promptly and we hope all, and perhaps more, will re-enter next year. Congratulations to the winners:

Division 1 : Team Preston (Steve Preston, Dave Huggett, Andy Hughes, & Jeremy Dhondy), And good luck in the Pachabo Cup for County Team champions..
Division 2 : Team Van der Kolk (Ivor Jones, Madeline Lawson, Peter Toghill, Sula Turpin, Maarten van der Kolk, David Walton),
Division 3:  Team Battisson (Michael Battisson, Georgina Bovill, Chris Diston, Malcolm Green) 

The victors in all three HIWCBA County Leagues are already known, although its only mid April; The full set of final positions will not be known until the remaining matches are played. ..........

Steve Scott and Simon Taylor were absent form the Bloxsom Swiss pairs at Hursley park (see below), because they were playing hard and well online all weekend- competing in the 2024-2025 National Pairs Final. They eventually finished 3rd; Well done to them (full results here) 

Steve Scott and Simon Taylor were absent form the Bloxsom Swiss pairs at Hursley park (see below), because they were playing hard and well online all weekend- competing in the 2024-2025 National Pairs Final. ..........

Congratulations to Steve Preston & Fred Hotchen  - winners of the Bloxsom Swiss Pairs on Sunday 13th April . Tlheir last round 12-8 victory over Richard Poulton & Fraser McLeod (who finished 3rd) was easily enough to stay ahead of fast finishing Colin Bailey & David Pinder who finished second.(Full results here).
The event, at a new venue for HIWCBA - the Hursley Sports and Social Club, was a great success. Many thanks to Karen Dewar for organising the event, Mike Kinsey for directing and Peter Crouch for  leading an interesting discussion post event in the clubhouse - perhaps something similar should happen after all HIWCBA events.

Congratulations to Steve Preston & Fred Hotchen  - winners of the Bloxsom Swiss Pairs on Sunday 13th April . ..........

Congratulations to Hampshire Congress Prizewinners:
James Clark & Steve Preston (pictured above) winners of the Green Point Swiss Pairs on 8th March (full results here) with Bob McRobert & Geoff Oldfield 2^nd, and Guy Lawrenson (presenting prizes above) & Michael Yeo, Andrew Doye & Stephen Lee equal 3^rd.
Also, Owen Leigh, Colin Jones,  James Clark & Steve Preston (pictured above) winners of the Green Point Teams on 9th March (full results here).
In the pairs, James & Steve won all their six matches but had to wait until their 5th round win against Bob & Geoff before they took the lead.
In the teams, congratulations also to Andrew & Mary E Ferguson, Alan & Sue Oliver winners of the Catherine Howell Trophy for the best all HIWCBA registered team performance at the Hampshire Congress. They started poorly but had the best second half performance to rise to joint 2nd (with Tim Rees & Ceri Pierce, Tim Smith & Stephen Scott).. Owen Leigh, Colin Jones,  James Clark & Steve Preston only had a single VP lead at half time but had the second best second half performance to win handsomely.
Winchester Racquets & Fitness Club provided fine half time food and the event was smoothly directed by Colin Simcox.

Congratulations to Hampshire Congress Prizewinners:
James Clark & Steve Preston (pictured above) winners of the Green Point Swiss Pairs on 8th March (full results here) with Bob McRobert & Geoff Oldfield 2^nd, and Guy Lawrenson (presenting prizes above) & Michael Yeo, Andrew Doye & Stephen Lee equal 3^rd.
Also, Owen Leigh, Colin Jones,  James Clark & Steve Preston (pictured above) winners of the Green Point Teams on 9th March (full results here). ..........

Congratulations to  Tracy Sherman & Ian Walsh (Basingstoke Bridge Club)  (1st of 83 pairs in 6 clubs), overall winners of the IBM Cup  played in clubs in the week of the 10th to 14th February  (Full results here)   Congratulations also to the top pairs from the other five clubs in the county results - 
Hayling Island Bridge Club : Aubrey Welterveden & Ron Pearson (3^rd Overall)
Newbury Bridge Club : Bill Wells & John Foster (5^th Overall)
Winchester Bridge Club : Louise Toghill & Peter Toghill (6^th Overall)
Petersfield Bridge Club : John Clayton & Mike Kinsey (8^th Overall)
Titchfield Bridge Club : Sylvia Sleeman & Molly Winkless (9^th Overall)

 Thank you to all clubs who entered and helped raise money for Hampshire Air Ambulance.

In addition all are encouraged to enter pairs AND TEAMS in the Hampshire Green Point congress on 8th and 9th March (Enter Here)

Congratulations to  Tracy Sherman & Ian Walsh (Basingstoke Bridge Club)  (1st of 83 pairs in 6 clubs), overall winners of the IBM Cup  played in clubs in the week of the 10th to 14th February  (Full results here)   Congratulations also to the top pairs from the other five clubs in the county results - 
Hayling Island Bridge Club : Aubrey Welterveden & Ron Pearson (3^rd Overall)
Newbury Bridge Club : Bill Wells & John Foster (5^th Overall)
Winchester Bridge Club : Louise Toghill & Peter Toghill (6^th Overall)
Petersfield Bridge Club : John Clayton & Mike Kinsey (8^th Overall)
Titchfield Bridge Club : Sylvia Sleeman & Molly Winkless (9^th Overall)

 Thank you to all clubs who entered and helped raise money for Hampshire Air Ambulance.

In addition all are encouraged to enter pairs AND TEAMS in the Hampshire Green Point congress on 8th and 9th March (Enter Here)

Basingstoke Bridge Club has unveiled its newly expanded and upgraded premises on Richmond Road, Basingstoke, as it marked a new chapter for the long-standing community group. The club, which has been based at the site since 1973, celebrated the culmination of five months of construction work with a members’ open day on Sunday, January 19. The ambitious renovation project was funded through a combination of the club’s own reserves and a grant from ourselves at HIWCBA. Full report from the Basingstoke Gazette here.

All this made Basingstoke Bridge Club a fitting venue for the Pottage Cup Semi-final on 16th February, run well by Keith Bennett & John Fairhurst - Full details of qualifiers here. Congratulations to Karen Dewar & Adrian Fontes, Fred Hotchen & Steve Preston (1st and 2nd) and the next 14 pairs who all qualify for the final in Winchester on 27th April. Will qualifiers please inform Mike Kinsey if they do not intend to turn up for the final so that they can be replaced by the the reserves from the semi-final.. Thank you.

Basingstoke Bridge Club has unveiled its newly expanded and upgraded premises on Richmond Road, Basingstoke, as it marked a new chapter for the long-standing community group. ..........

Congratulations to Richard Hyde & Jeremy Baker (pictured above) winners of the 20 table joint Essex and HIWCBA blue point swiss pairs on 12th January - also, therefore,  winners of the HIWCBA Candlestick Pairs trophy for contestants who entered via the HIWCBA website. In second place for the Candlestick Pairs were Roland Gronau & Diane Richmond (7th/40) with the top two all HIWCBA pairings joint 3rd (8th=/40) :  Steve Preston & Fred Hotchen and Tim Smith & Mike Kinsey. Thank you to Rob Sassoon (pictured) for directing and to Mike Kinsey (also pictured)  for instigating the change of format to a very successful joint county event. Full results here. 

Congratulations to Richard Hyde & Jeremy Baker (pictured above) winners of the 20 table joint Essex and HIWCBA blue point swiss pairs on 12th January - also, therefore,  winners of the HIWCBA Candlestick Pairs trophy for contestants who entered via the HIWCBA website. ..........

The HIWCBA Solent Trophy / Jubillee Cup Teams of 8 on 26^th January was a 6 team affair. After 9 of the 10 three board rounds it was clear that HIW Allstars would win the jubilee cup (for the top team of eight not winning the solent trophy) and Petersfield Red would win the Solent trophy (for the top HIWCBA club team of 8), but it was not clear who would win overall. Going into that last round Petersfield Red had a 8 imp lead; Going into the last board the tables had turned and the Allstars had a 13 imp lead; On that last board, where game was borderline so the match was not over, Petersfield Blue gave their Red clubmates a chance by holding the Allstars to a flat board; So Petersfield Red A Team of 4 and Petersfield Red B Team Of 4  ‘only’ needed moderate pluses against Newbury A and Newbury B; The result of Basingstoke Red vs Basingstoke Blue was immaterial. Petersfield Red  only achieved +3 overall and the HIW Allstars became overall winners by 10.

So, congratulations to HIW Allstars (Charlotte & Steve Bedford, Nigel Dent & Paul Cockayne, Guy Malcolm & Hugh Merry. Gareth & Aleks Birdsall ) on winning the event and the Jubilee Cup, Petersfield Red (Steve Preston & James Clark, Gabriel Hearst & James Bond, Owen Leigh & Mike Kinsey, Richard Ray & Simon Taylor) on coming second and winning the Solent Trophy, Mike Kinsey for ensuring that 6 teams were there to enjoy the event and to all for taking part.  Full results here.

The HIWCBA Solent Trophy / Jubillee Cup Teams of 8 on 26^th January was a 6 team affair. ..........

First congratulations to those who took part in HIWCBA events in December 2024 especially to those that did well, i.e.

Garry Towns & Evelyne Thomas, Stuart Strachan & Eleanor Rice on winning the Yule Tide teams with Tony Truluck & Stuart Burnett,James Clark & Steve Preston second (full results here)

and Stuart Strachan & Eleanor RIce  (Newbury Bridge Club) overall winners of the Chidwick Cup  (full results here) - 1st of 85 pairs in 6 clubs)  Congratulations also to the top pairs from the other five clubs in the country results - Judy Ames & David Toombes (Winchester Bridge Club),  Jan Hunter & Carol Parkes (Island (IOW Bridge Club) , Aubrey Wetherverden & Dinos Theophanous (Hayling Island Bridge Club) , Lorraine Mohamed & Barabara Seymour (Basingstoke Bridge Club) , Lilias Lamont & Mike KInsey (Petersfield Bridge Club.).  Thank you to all clubs who entered and helped raise money for Hampshire Air Ambulance.

Also going well are the heats of the Pottage Cup (HIWCBA Pairs championship) despite the webmaster's tardiness in advertising all heats - if you havent yet entered then there is still time - for details of future pottage heats see here

You can next enter the candlestick pair on sunday 12th january (enter here) and the solent trophy teams of eight on the 26th January (enter here) . Then dont forget to get your club to enter a heat of the IBM cup in the week beginning 10th feriuary, Plus please also enter the HIWCBA green point pairs & teams on 8th and 9th March. Happy New Year indeed.

First congratulations to those who took part in HIWCBA events in December 2024 especially to those that did well, i. ..........

Enormous congratulations to Petersfield  A  ( Mike Kinsey, Owen Leigh, Steve Preston & James Clark.) who are National Inter Club Knockout Champions!. They played the final in two halves and were leading throughout although they had  to survive a couple of scares in the last quarter of the match.

Also congratulations to the HIWCBA pairs Tony Truluck & Stuart Burnett and Liz Senior & Mike Kinsey who were winners and runners up of the Wessex Swiss Pairs on Sunday 17th November. Its great to see local pairs triumphing against out of county opposition - Perhaps the out of county pairs will return in even greater numbers next year to topple the locals. Full Results here.

Next well done to the HIWCBA Tollemache Qualifier Team (Steve Preston & David Huggett, Geoff Oldfield & Peter Crouch, James Clark & Owen Leigh, Andrew Doye & Stephen Lee, Jeremy Dhondy & Andy Hughes, Bob McRobert & Fred Hotchen) for almost qualifying for the Tollemache final - only failing on a split tie. Full results here.

Finally thank you all who turned up to our quorate AGM on 19th November.  Thank you also to Winchester Bridge Club for hosting us and for the  enjoyable game afterwards. Draft minutes available here.

Enormous congratulations to Petersfield  A  ( Mike Kinsey, Owen Leigh, Steve Preston & James Clark.) who are National Inter Club Knockout Champions!. ..........

Congratulations to Angela James & Ann Tranter (Pictured above), Jill & Alan Hickson, Pauline Forrest & Gill Flexon on coming 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the HIWCBA Jack High Pairs at Colden Common on 20^th October 2024. Full results here. Well done to all for maintaining the numbers compared to last year and enjoying yourselves.

Congratulations to Angela James & Ann Tranter (Pictured above), Jill & Alan Hickson, Pauline Forrest & Gill Flexon on coming 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the HIWCBA Jack High Pairs at Colden Common on 20^th October 2024. ..........

Congratulations to Petersfield A  on reaching the NICKO final.  They took an early lead in the semi-final against a strong Young Chelsea team, and were 36 Imps up at halftime. A few lapses of concentration in the third set and YC regained most of those Imps. The final set was mainly a quiet affair - until the last board!

North opened 1S at both tables and both Souths responded 2H. In the open room after a lengthy sequence (Mike ran out of Pass cards), Ben Norton located the 6-2 H fit, but missing one key-card and QH settled for 5H, 450. In the closed room the bidding was less esoteric, but more exuberant. James Clark loved his 6 card Spade suit and bid on to 7S! The defence didn't lead a D, the spades behaved, and James could easily set up the hearts for 13 (or 15) tricks. So Petersfield chalked up 1510 for a 14 Imps swing and a fine victory.  It certainly made crawling through early evening traffic in SW London more bearable. Congratulations to Mike Kinsey, Owen Leigh, Steve Preston & James Clark. An excellent Result. (As first reported on the Petersfield Bridge Club Website).

Congratulations to Petersfield A  on reaching the NICKO final. ..........

On 14^th Septenber 2024, HIWCBA entered a team of 8 into each of the 3 divisions of the Metropolitan Cup – and all 3 teams finished in the top 3 of their divisions. Special congratulations to the B team (Stephen Scott & Mike Kinsey, Lilias Lamont & Tim Smith, Stuart Burnett & Dominic Cooke, Michael Yeo & Stevie Parker) who won the B division. The A team (James Bond & Gabriel Hearst, Nigel Dent & Chun Yin Kam, Eleanor Rice & Stuart Strachan, Karen Dewar & Adrian Fontes) and the C team (Guy Malcolm & Hugh Merry, Rick Assad & Dennis Adams, Andrew & Mary Ferguson, Andrew Fry & Phil Brown) finished third in their divisions. In the B division, with only one result outstanding (board 49 Kent vs Sussex), HIWCBA were tied first with Kent – and board 49 was only a part score board. However this was teams of 8, not teams of 4, and Kent managed to lose 10 imps on that board to drop a VP and leave HIWCBA B clear winners. Click on team names to see  full results for each division

On 14^th Septenber 2024, HIWCBA entered a team of 8 into each of the 3 divisions of the Metropolitan Cup – and all 3 teams finished in the top 3 of their divisions. ..........