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The Nottingham Bridge Club
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9th May 2025 17:20 BST
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Trustees

Next Trustees Meeting
Saturday 6th September 2025 2pm

Membership Form

Click here to download a Membership Form.

Table Etiquette

Club Table Etiquette

We all come to play Bridge in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere so -

Please

  • Be a good host or guest at the table
  • Stop discussing previous hands in order to greet your opponents at the start of the round
  • Give credit for good play or defence
  • Avoid criticism of other’s play
  • Give credit for good declarer play or defence
  • Don’t give unasked for tuition or triumphant explanation
  • Remember calling “Director Please” is a helpful, not critical action
  • Try not to let adjacent tables hear details of cards or play
  • Move promptly when the Director calls for the move
  • Silence your mobile (use vibrate)

We hope you enjoy your time at the club

Competition Eligibility

 

To qualify for the following closed competitions:

An individual (in an individual competition) or both individuals (competing as a pair if a pairs competition)

  • Must be a club member in the year the event is held
  • AND
  • At least one of the following:
    • Must have played at least 6 times in the 12 months leading up to the event in a drive organised by NBC (which may include online drives)
    • OR be a life or honorary member of NBC
    • OR contribute to the club regularly in some other way e.g. teaching, coaching
    • OR have contributed to the club regularly in recent years yet be unable currently to do so through some personal circumstance, e.g. illness, work, childcare, etc.
  • Drives do not include teams, matches or one-off events.  They may include drives in the which the member plays in a coaching capacity (i.e. non-competitively)

Competitions covered by these rules:

  • Mixed pairs (Eric Nunn)
  • Female pairs (Poyser Cup)
  • Male pairs (Max Radford Bowl)
  • Broadhead Bowl
  • Jordan Cup
  • Carrington Cup (novices - additional restrictions apply)
  • The Scott/Brindley Cup (additional restrictions on NGS grade apply)
  • City Cup (best of x events - Thursday evenings)
  • Cullen Cup (best of x events - Friday evenings)
  • Jack Hammond Trophy (best of x events Tuesday afternoons)
  • Derek West Trophy (best average of all year events - Monday afternoons, additional restrictions apply (novices only) 

Different rules

  • Representing the Nottingham Bridge Club in the Garden Cities inter-club competition - rules agreed 2024

Exceptions - the above rules do not apply to events declared to be open to players outside NBC membership (typically non-members are charged a playing fee):

Crantock Bowl (teams of 4)

Teams or Swiss pairs events, or other special events (as decreed by the Trustees)

Welcome to The Nottingham Bridge Club
Registered Charity Number: 1170537

Based in Carrington, The Nottingham Bridge Club has approx 300 members.

We organise lessons for beginners, intermediate and advanced players 

with Club and County players as tutors.

Dave Nattrass - Summer School 2025 - all welcome

All drives and tournaments are shown in our Calendar.

Please arrive 15 minutes before the start time. Ring 0115 960 7992 if you are delayed whilst on your way

Monday Afternoons at 1:00 pm (finish 3.45 - 4.00pm) at the Club
18/24 boards, with
Master Points but no NGS

A sociable/newcomer afternoon for those happy to play against more experienced players

Tuesday Afternoons at 1:00 pm at the Club
21/24 boards, with Master Points and NGS

 

 Tuesday Evenings at 7:30 pm on BBO
18 boards, with Master Points and NGS
Please be registered and ready to play by 7.20.

Wednesday Evenings at 7:00pm at the Club
14-16 boards

Use crib sheets and get advice
(so no Master Points or NGS)

A gentle evening suitable for less experienced players
Everyone playing Acol with 12-14 NT, three weak twos,
and 1 of a suit opening has 4+ cards in the suit

For more details email
Wednesday@NottinghamBridge.Club

Thursday Evenings at 7:00 pm at the Club
Master Points and NGS, EBU Level 4

 Friday Evenings at 7:00 pm at the Club
Master Points and NGS, EBU Level 4

NGS and the EBU

This article explains the EBU (English Bridge Union) website, how to access it

and

your NGS grade (National Grading System),

what it means and what other information is available when you investigate it.

 

EBU Website

The EBU website (www.ebu.co.uk) contains a wealth of information, and every member of the EBU has their own private area in it.

To access it you need your membership number and your password.

How Do I Set or remind myself of Receive my Password?

If you are a new member, you will receive a welcome letter advising you of your EBU number and password. Once you have logged in for the first time you can change the password that they sent you to something more memorable.  Existing members will already have been advised of their password, but if you have forgotten it you can receive a reminder of the password by clicking on the ‘forgotten password’ button on the login page.

If all else fails, ring them, and have your EBU number ready when you do.

National Grading Scheme

Amongst other things, you can check your grade in the National Grading Scheme (NGS). To do so, go to the EBU website, click on the Menu at the top right of the page, select My EBU and log in. Click on NGS at the top of the screen that then appears, and you will see a graph of your progress, your current grade, and grades of all the partnerships you have had.

The National Grading Scheme (NGS) aims to give a measure of an individual’s current level of performance when playing duplicate bridge.

Unlike the Master Point Scheme, which reflects lifetime achievement, the NGS reflects an individual’s current standard of play, and can go down as well as up.

Your grade is calculated automatically based on the results submitted to the EBU, and is updated each time you play.

You will see both a percentage score (like you get at the end of a drive) and a playing card.

 EBU grades have been divided into 13 playing card bands, ranging from ‘Ace’ at the top to ‘Two’ at the beginners’ end. Each band covers a 2% range of grade values, with ‘Eight’ having a range of 49‐51%.

Some competitions will be advertised as 7-high or 9-high etc. so it is important that you know your NGS “card” if you want to enter.

There is a lot more detail about Bridge in general and NGS and  Masterpoints in particular on the EBU website.

Congratulations

  Congratulations to ...  recently promoted  

David Flacks - Grand Master

Fay Staton -  2 Star Premier Master

Clare Batten -  3 Star Regional Master

Paul Sweet - 3 Star Master

Paul Morris -  2 Star Master

Iris Foweather - Advanced Master

Paula Foulds -  Master

Carolyn Akers, Nigel Akers, Sue Matthews - Area Master

Christine Simpson, Gordon Todd - Club Master

Janet Baker, Elizabeth Bluett, Valerie Lees - Local Master

 

 

Competiton Eligibility

Your Trustees have amended competition eligibility rules in response to requests from members -  effective from Jan 2026, (trialled 1/5/25 onwards)

 

To qualify for the following closed competitions:

An individual (in an individual competition) or both individuals (competing as a pair if a pairs competition)

  • Must be a club member in the year the event is held
  • AND
  • At least one of the following:
    • Must have played at least 6 times in the 12 months leading up to the event in a drive organised by NBC (which may include online drives)
    • OR be a life or honorary member of NBC
    • OR contribute to the club regularly in some other way e.g. teaching, coaching
    • OR have contributed to the club regularly in recent years yet be unable currently to do so through some personal circumstance, e.g. illness, work, childcare, etc.
  • Drives do not include teams, matches or one-off events.  They may include drives in the which the member plays in a coaching capacity (i.e. non-competitively)

Competitions covered by these rules:

  • Mixed pairs (Eric Nunn)
  • Female pairs (Poyser Cup)
  • Male pairs (Max Radford Bowl)
  • Broadhead Bowl
  • Jordan Cup
  • Carrington Cup (novices - additional restrictions apply)
  • The Scott/Brindley Cup (additional restrictions on NGS grade apply)
  • City Cup (Thursday evenings)
  • Cullen Cup (Friday evenings)
  • Jack Hammond Trophy (Tuesday afternoons)
  • Derek West Trophy (best average of all year events - Monday afternoons, additional restrictions apply (novices only) 

Different rules

  • Representing the Nottingham Bridge Club in the Garden Cities inter-club competition - rules agreed 2024

Exceptions - the above rules do not apply to events declared to be open to players outside NBC membership (typically non-members are charged a playing fee):

Crantock Bowl (teams of 4)

Teams or Swiss pairs events, or other special events (as decreed by the Trustees)

Want to learn how to play bridge?

   WE TEACH BRIDGE   

Do you want to learn to play bridge
or improve your game
or just gain more confidence?

Andrew Scott has been teaching beginners
at the club for many years
to read about him > click here.

In addition, we also offer teaching and drives for post-beginners
and more experienced players.

To learn more, email learn@nottinghambridge.club

Members Area and

Partner finding service 

Click on the Title above

Please place request by noon the previous day

FAQ sheet - How to use the Members Area

Click below (will download a file,

look at the bottom left corner

of the screen,  - which you need to open)

access members.docx

COUNTY EVENTS

For county events
click here.

Calendar
20th May 2025
Tuesday face-to-face
At the Club 1pm
Director: Phil Ottewell
Scorer: Lesley Forman
20th May 2025
Tuesday 18 boards - 3 BB$
7:30pm
Director: Clare Batten
21st May 2025
Wednesday gentle ACOL face-to-face
At the Club 7:00pm
Director: Dan Zimsek
22nd May 2025
Thursday face-to-face
At the Club 7.00 pm
Director: Kevin Holden
Scorer: Ann Atkin
23rd May 2025
Friday face-to-face
At the Club 7:00 pm
Director: David Dunford
26th May 2025
Monday face-to-face
At the Club 1pm
Director: Phil Gross
Results
Monday face-to-face
Director: Paul Sweet
Scorer: Lesley Sweet
Teams
Friday face-to-face
Director: David Dunford