As of 18th July 2022 the release of BridgeWebs being used has moved from version 2.19p to to 2.19q.  Primarily this allows for the results to be shown in a different format.  There is an option to use the updated format or stay with the old.  Have your say, what do you like/dislike about the new format.  Constructive comment is so useful.

To get the best use of the SBC club and EBU websites please check your preferred options from time to time.  In particular the club website offers facilities to "find a partner", to contact, and be contacted by, other club members, the EBU needs to know where to post your magazine!  Both sites offer various privacy settings to restrict what other members can see.

Message from your webmaster: For the Bridge Club Live basic information.for new converts to on line bridge click here.  

Loss of Connection: If you lose your connection to BCL mid game for any reason (could be an internet connection your end, their end or somewhere between) click on “Enter” when the system lets you.  Please report any cases where you find play not in the same place as you left it to the club Captain.

Beware During seating time for the virtual club sessions if anyone leaves the table, for whatever reason, after system has placed opposition pair at the table but prior to play starting that opposition pair may not get a game when the session eventually starts. If you have to leave suddenly during the seating time please keep your oppo informed to give them a chance to get reseated themselves (they could then leave the table and re-enter the tournament). The system will not do reseat the oppo pair automatically, system may assume original player coming back and leaves a towel on their chair!  Communication, communication, communication, table chat, telephone etc!

Reminder about mis-clicked calls:  can be corrected provided that your partner has not yet called see rule 9 in league rules. BCL procedure states that to rectify immediately “Leave table” and straight away return to your seat and explain that you Mis-clicked your call. The players need to click “Ready” again and the auction should re-start as per the original auction up to the point of the mis-clicked call.  If partner has already called not only can you not correct your call but also mustn’t give unauthorised information by revealing that you had made an error.

BCL Membership: Keep an eye on when your BCL membership runs out, sad to miss a game because you have forgotten to renew. Hover over Members tab on BCL home page and click on "Membership summary" at the top of the drop down list of options.  You will also get an email reminder when the date is close.

Retrospective Charges

Charges are made for the league for the full number of matches over the season.  There is a 50p and the virtual club sessions, see 2020 and 2021 records.

Other sources of information are:  

bridge base on line (BBO has a number of existing members from SBC) the County has up a virtual SSCBA group.  Watch over the shoulder of the experts, youtube videos, pick and possibly question, your expert in real time with Zoom.  EBU, EBU Webinar 16/5/2020, Andrew Robson BridgeCast and Bernard Magee.   All ideas/messages for members etc to webmaster@staffordbridgeclub.co.uk. In the real world please look out for one another, check your regular partners on the phone for example.

Since the club reopened after Covid and particularly during the hot spell in July there have been some sessions where the attendance has been low so some improvised team games have been played.  The results have been posted on the website on the "Recent Competitions" page for the sake of completeness.  From mid July 2022 some experimentation with better ways to show the results, not yet perfected as of 24/7/22!   A brief ad hoc result has been posted for these sessions in the normal results calendar, this can be viewed in the "classic" style of BridgeWebs release 2.19q only.

Click link to go on to the members only area.  There are tabs at the top of the member's area for the various options open to members, for example:

Need a Partner?

In addition, to the normal method of phoning round for a partner from the "members only" area list of members, members are encouraged to use the web page facility to find a partner. For BridgeWebs easy to follow steps click here and choose the 4.2.2 option which assumes you are starting from the Calendar Month page.  This feature is still running for online bridge.

To request a partner log on to the "members only" area and follow the instructions.  Please only select the contact details (email, landline or mobile) that you are happy for the world to see, you can opt just to have your name displayed.  If you opt just to have your name displayed then anyone interested in contacting you will need to go themselves to the "members only" page to get a contact phone number or email address for you.  Remember to go through the process again to delete your entry once you have successfully found a partner.

To see who is already looking for a partner look for "partner?" on the calendar page or list of requests.  Please note the requests page found when clicking on partner? show 2 dates, the date when the partner is needed, today or a date in the future (shown in blue above the name), and the date when the request placed on the website, normally a date in the past but could be today (shown in black with no link).  

Mike Sheriff (01889 882296) acts as partner broker on a Thursday evening if given enough time to make arrangements.

A partner is not normally needed on a Friday but watch the Calendar page to check if a "host" is listed for the particular Friday of interest.

Read the Minutes?

Check your EBU number?

Check Rankings?

Membership?

These pages are for club members only who have opted in to the system.  If you, as a member, have difficulty accessing them please contact the webmaster.  When logging in as a member the system will normally bring you into the "Find a Partner" section, the other areas can be seen by clicking the tabs across in the same way that the rankings, scorecards, matrix, travellers, hands appear on a results page.

Thanks to those who have returned their questionnaires and can I encourage those who have not done so to complete and return the questionnaire.

Some returns asked questions about the planned measures taken to reopen the club and I would like to explain how the committee is approaching this issue. We have been discussing the issues of reopening and researching various ideas and now need to start to make formal plans to resume bridge at the club safely.

A) The EBU released a preliminary document this week offering support on how  clubs might proceed with this.  You may like to look at this.https://www.ebu.co.uk/article/planning-face-face-bridge-2021 . We would expect more guidance to come from the EBU as Government guidance for the last stage in the removal of restrictions (possibly June 21st) becomes available.

B) The committee has planned a single item meeting on June 9th to discuss and make plans for reopening the club. This meeting is for the committee only but you can feed into this through C) below. 

C) We would like to invite members to feed into this discussion. Please send me an email, at least a few days before the date of the meeting please, outlining for example;

• any aspects of the clubs facilities/operations that you want to draw our attention to.
• any ideas you may have to resolve any issues. 
• anything that you have heard of or seen from other social or bridge clubs or societies that might be relevant and useful (just send a link/ reference to that club if easier).
• any personal professional experience/support you may be able to give 

D) As we share the use of some of our facilities, we will need to liaise with those other groups.

Hope this helps you understand the scope of what needs to be considered & done to reopen the club safely and how you can contribute to decisions.

thanks
Carol Kane,  Club Secretary 

A number of members sadly have health issues effecting  their immune systems.  Members are politely asked to refrain from playing at the club when suffering from infections. Super clean hands too at all times please to prevent any infection passing via the cards.