Welcome to Knocklyon's first online tournament.  The competition will take place at 7.20 sharp on Monday 25th May.  Please note the start time!  Latecomers cannot be accommodated.  Below I have listed exactly how you will find and register to play in the tournament.  You will need to have registered on the BBO site already.  When you register on the BBO site, you will be asked to pick a nickname or username that you will use in competitions.  You wiull also need to purchase BBO$s using either your credit card or PayPal.  It will cost you 3$ to play in a competition and that money will be deducted from your purse when you register for the competition.  You will need to let us know your details by emailing knocklyonbridgeonline@gmail.com and giving your bbo username, mobile and email address.  These details are needed by the TD for the smooth running of the competitions.

The tournament will be listed on the BBO site when you login under Virtual Club-Other clubs-other countries. It will only be visible 2 hours before start time so from 5.30 on Monday The host will be CBAI125509. The tournament will be called Knocklyon…….  You can also search for Knocklyon in the search box beside running/pending/complete, that will find it quicker.

Only one of the pair playing needs to register so decide among yourselves who that is. Click on the tournament. On the Partner section, enter the BBO name of your partner (you can pay for them if you wish, just tick that box) and click Invite. Your partner must be logged in as well, they will get your invitation, they click Accept. Then you’re both registered! If they aren’t online, you might need to text them to login.

Then you do nothing. At 7.20, the cards will just appear and you will be at a table with your partner and 2 others. NB: You must be logged in at start time, even if you have registered earlier. BBO automatically logs you out if you aren’t active on the site so make sure you login again at 7.15

When you are playing there will be a time limit for each round (8 minutes for each board).  The bidding and play must be completed within the time limit.  Keep an eye o the clock!  This is to make sure everyone is ready to move at the same time.  BBO is easy to use but I recommend playing a few practice hands between now and Monday if you are not very familiar with it.

We want this to be a pleasant game and the priority will be to support people to enjoy their evening's bridge.  Our competition will be friendly and relaxed.  There well may be hiccups as this is our first online competition.  If things go awry the TD may need to restart the competition.  If you get accidentally logged out due to a drop in your wifi or whatever, just log back in again.  The TD has your email addresses and mobile numbers and for individual problems he may contact you directly.

I have placed a list of current usernames on the site.  If you registered your username with us please check that it is on the list.  If your name has been omitted please resend it with the details as listed below!  The list continues to remail open for new names.  If you want to play with Knocklyon online please register with Bridge Base Online (BBO), purchase bbo $ and then send the following information to knocklyonbridgeonline@gmail.com with the following information: Your email address, mobile No and bbo username.  Please don't send information after 5pm on a Monday evening as any information reveived after that time will not be processed in time for that evening's competition.  We also welcome members from all the clubs in the Bridge Centre.  Please pass this information to your friends.

Good news!  Knocklyon has now established an online presence on BBO.  Our first game will take place this coming Monday night beginning at 7.20 p.m. sharp.  In order to be eligible to play in this, or future online games organised by Knocklyon Club you will need to have registerred with BBO.  Registration is free.  YOu will also need to purchase BBO dollars by pruchasing same on the BBO site.  It will cost you €3 to play in the compewtition on Monday night.  You will also have to send your details - email address, mobile No and BBO nickname (username) to the following email address: knocklyonbridgeonline@gmail.com.  We need this information because in the event that gremlins creep into the system, it may be necessary to shut down and restart and this information will be communicated to you by the TD using email or mobile to communicate.  

As Monday night will be our first go at "trialling" the system, we may experience some difficulties!  But please bear with us.  We are all on a learning curve, not to mention adventure!

I will give you an update later on how to log into the competition so please keep an eye on the website. 

It appears increasingly unlikely that the Bridge Centre will open in July given the nature of the bridge game that makes social distancing impossible and public hygiene is also a problem with so many people handling cards and money.  Online appears to be the only way to keep in touch with the game.

The BBO & Funbridge platform is available 24 hours a day and it is being extensively used. However, the free element of play on BBO is limited to “off-peak” times.

A number of clubs from across the country are already availing of this resource

If we want to play in the evening, starting at say 7.30,  a small payment is required to ensure we can get our game when we want it.

An amount of this – after set-up month - 50%, will be returned to CBAI to do with as they like. This can be done by setting up Virtual Clubs on the platform and the structure can be established definitively and circulated when an agreement is reached. Our costs will probably include organising a TD to set up each game / session

I am unsure of what element of our playing population would be interested, and this is where you, the members come in!.

We would really like to hear from all of you on whether you would be interested in the concept for our club.  Please respond "yes" or "no" by email .

On teaching - There are some teachers already conducting classes on line – via Zoom or similar and you can contact them directly - details below

Peter Pigot – peterpigotbridge@gmail.com

Thomas MacCormac – tmaccormac@gmail.com

Our Charity Night on December 16th raised €2,212 for the President's charity, Sophia Housing.  This was a great fundraiser and we thank most sincerely our members for their great generosity and also we owe a huge debt of gratitude to all the members who donated prizes for the raffle.  Thank you to one and all.  Pictured is John McEvoy from Sophia receiving the cheque from President Matt Reville

We are trialling a Joker System for the summer months.  If you know that your partner will not be available for play on a particular Monday evening and you would like to play, please volunteer to act as Joker and  put your name, section and mobile number in the Joker Book, which will be left at the top of the room.  Members who wish to play and who don't have a partner for a particular evening are invited to let Committee know by submitting an email note to the website.  Please click on the link Membership.  Fill in your name and in the message area indicate that you need a partner and a date.  You will receive an acknowledgement by return.  This action needs to be taken in good time for us to act, i.e. not a half hour before play!  If it is possible to match you up with a Joker you will be notified by email or mobile.  This system will only work with the full co-operation of members, in entering their names to volunteer as Joker and in using the email system to contact the website.

Members, who offer their services and play as Joker, will have a "free" game that evening, i.e. they will not be charged table money.  If the system works during the summer months we shall continue it into the new year commencing in September.

• 

  Donnelly Cup Presentation
• 

  OBoyle Cup Presentation
• 

  Stephenson Cup Presentation

The First major competition of the year took place over two weeks in October.  Every grade in the club took part.  Prizes were awarded in every category.  I wish to particularly commend our Beginners who participated in large numbers in the O'Boyle Cup.  They acquitted themselves very well.  Already we can discern the emergence of a few future Master players in that group.  Congratulations to all the winners and our thanks too to Brian Lalor and Bernard Higgins, our Tournament Directors.

Winners

Stephenson Cup 2019: Ailbhe Mealy & Ann O'Connell

Donnelly Cup 2019:  Rosaleen Carvill & Nuala Nally

O'Boyle Cup:  Deirdre Murray & Joe O'Rourke

Knocklyon Bridge Club was founded in 1977.  In 2000 we moved into the newly purpose-built TCCBC.  Many of our founding members still play in our Club.

We run 3 major competitions throughout the year.  These are 2-week events and restricted to paid up members of Knocklyon Bridge Club.

Knocklyon Bridge Club is affiliated to the CBAI