Welcome to the website of Bridge on the Edge, based in St. John's, NL, Canada.  In 2016 we became a player owned bridge club.  We support a respectful culture, both at the bridge table and in all BOTE communications, for the enjoyment and growth of all members.  

Please contact info@bridgeontheedge.ca if you need additional information.

Members who want to use the member's functions (ie bookings etc), please ensure you've accessed the site using the bridgeweb link bridgewebs.com/onedge/.

Seasons greetings from your Executive Board. We hope you had a bright and peaceful Christmas Day wherever you are and we wish you good health and much happiness for the year to come. Exciting things lie ahead for 2026!

When I  travel to any part of the world, one of the first things I do is check out to see if there is a local bridge club. Over the years I have been privileged to play in Italy, Norway,  France and of course the US. When our daughter moved to Qatar, however, I was uncertain if there would be any duplicate bridge in town. Fortunately  a quick Google search found a local contact, Mohammad Akhtar, whom I emailed inquiring if it would be possible to play during my visit. I was warmly welcomed and added to the WhatsApp group that is used for communication in the Qatar Bridge Association. 

From the WhatsApp chat, I worked out that bridge is held on Tuesday evening and, if you want to play, you sign up on Sunday after Mohammad sends out an invite. So the first week that I arrived in Qatar I signed up. Mohammad assured me he would find me a partner so at 6:15pm I left the hotel, jumped in an Uber and headed to the Tche Tche restaurant in The Pearl, a mostly residential area that is part of Doha. 

At the restaurant I was greeted by the host and shown into the bridge room, which is actually the smoking section of the restaurant. The big screen TV was on sports and four tables were set up for bridge, I was in the right place! Hooray. I was introduced to everyone and met my partner Howard and bridge began. There is a wide mixture of nationalities, English, Scottish, South African, Egyptian, Jordanian and Lebanese. All the players are still working, it’s just about impossible to retire to Qatar, if you’re not Qatari you can’t live here unless you're working. 

The restaurant lets us play there for free so during the game people often show their appreciation and order (non-alcoholic) drinks and some snack type food or dessert. There are also hookahs available should one want to use those and, as it is the smoking section of the restaurant, players also smoke regular cigarettes. The air can get a little hazy! The hands often invoke heated post hand discussions between partners, usually in Arabic, but everyone, without exception, is friendly, welcoming and happy to talk to the Canadian visitor. 

There is no clock, computer or formal director, so when a table is finished everyone just chats until their next opponents are finished.  It is always a Howell movement, maximum tables so far has been four, ( though a sit out is a good time for that dessert) the first evening there was another female player, but she hasn’t been back. Our results are hand recorded on travellers and someone takes them home and enters them in a spreadsheet. We get the results a few days later. If we get a passed hand on the first round we just re-deal and hope for better ones. 

So no matter where you go, always check for the local bridge club. You will instantly have a circle of new friends and people who share a common interest. Thank you to the Qatar bridge club for welcoming me. Can’t wait for next Tuesday!

Mohammad (the Boss) is in the foreground and my partner Howard on the right.

Good for us! There was a great turnout at our AGM on Monday past, thanks to all who attended. There are no changes to the Board that was in place prior to the AGM and your executive for the next year is Roy Perry, President; Pramila Paddock, Vice President; Regina Clarke, Treasurer; Judith McIntyre, Secretary; Nina Power, Michelle Walsh and Kevin Hogan as members at large. Thanks to all for volunteering their time and energy to run our club.  As always you can contact all members of the Board at allboardmembers@bridgeontheedge.ca with any suggestions or comments. 

Following the AGM approximately eighty members enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner served by the Blackmarsh Legion ladies before heading over to the Club for a fun afternoon of bridge. Congratulations to Raye and Brian for coming out top of the pack with a 66% score. 

Your new old executive hope all members enjoy the festive season and we also are thinking of those whose who perhaps cannot enjoy the season as much as previously. 

See you at the club!

Bridge Canada, the national online bridge magazine published by the Canadian Bridge Federation, has run a full-page spread with photos covering BOTE's creation of a Bridge Hall of Fame and the induction of its first three honorees, Randy Bennett, John Clouston and Edward (Ted) Power.

A link to the online magazine appears below. The story was carried on page 22.

 https://cbf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/BCCanadaEnglishDecember2025.pdf

Just a few things to take note of for this month as 2025 winds down.  Our AGM and turkey dinner is next Monday the 15th, the AGM starts at 11:00am and the turkey dinner at noon. Come and hear how the club has fared in the past year and voice any opinions you may wish to share. Following the business side of things, the turkey dinner should be just the thing! Apparently we have a record number signed up for the dinner so it should be a really fun event. 

Don’t forget we are supporting the Community Food Sharing Association again this year. Bring your donations to any game. Final date for donations will be December 19th. Thanks to Michelle for facilitating this. 

Our Open Games and Duplicate Light will be ongoing apart from Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. So take a break from the turkey and come to the club! There will be Stardust points (partial gold) on Monday 15th and Thursday 18th. 

Supervised play is on Christmas break and will resume in January. 

Finally best wishes to all members and their families for the festive season and looking forward to new experiences and bridge related fun in 2026! 

See you at the club! 
 

After a lot of research, discussion, consultation and consideration your Board has decided unanimously to move our club operations to St. James church on Elizabeth Ave effective early February. We would like to thank all members who took the time to visit St James and send feedback to the Board. We considered each and every email carefully before making our decision. Our Search Committee also has had numerous discussions with the St James property manager based on your suggestions and has had very positive feedback. We feel this is the right move for our club and look forward to welcoming everyone to the new facility. 

We will keep you updated as the transition moves forward.