To enter on-line, please click on relevant event

SWISS PAIRS (Sat 12noon start)

SWISS TEAMS (Sun 11am start)

RELAXED TEAMS (Sun 3pm start)

Separate entries required for separate events

NORFOLK CONGRESS

FRIDAY 13 to SUNDAY 15 MARCH

Wensum Valley hotel, Taversham NR8 6HP

Friday: Ladies, Mens, Mixed Pairs; Really Easy Pairs, Open Pairs, Teams

Saturday: Green Pointed Swiss Pairs

Sunday: Green Pointed Swiss Teams

Click on NORFOLK for full details and to download an entry form

LITTLE CLACTON BLUE-POINTED WEEKEND

SATURDAY 18 APRIL (11am start) - Teams

SUNDAY 19 APRIL  (11am start) - Swiss Pairs

Weeley village hall CO16 9DH

To enter on line click LITTLE CLACTON To download a paper entry form click on WEEKEND

David & Rick follow up Bah Humbug success with Mid Anglia victory

Rick Hanley will need a new trophy cabinet if his run of success in county events carries on at the current rate.

The county captain added the Mid Anglia Pairs to his tally at Woodbridge on Sunday where he partnered David Willson. The same pair won the inaugural Bah Humbug Pairs over the festive holiday. Rick was a member of the team which won the Club Teams of Four and he also picked up the the trophy which goes to the winners of the Felixstowe Congress Consolation Pairs.

In yesterday's event, the winning pair finished comfortably clear of Simon Riley & David Walker, Conor Bignell & Jo Harpur and Richard Evans & Nick Farr. To see all the scores, click on MID ANGLIA

Calling all County Pairs qualifiers...

The semi-final of the SCBA county pairs takes place at Elmswell on Friday 14 February, 7.00pm.

PLEASE PUT IN YOUR ENTRY TO THE SEMI-FINAL NOW IF YOU HAVE QUALIFIED FOR IT and have a shot at emulating last year’s SCBA county pairs winners Debby Sutcliffe and Maria Allnutt (pictured).

Heats were held at clubs in October. To qualify for the semi-final players needed to score 50% or more at their club and have primary allegiance to Suffolk. If you have qualified for the semi-final and have not yet entered click on SEMI-FINAL to enter the next stage.

Successful pairs at the semi-final will then qualify for the final at Nayland on 5 April.

If you weren’t able to play in a club Heat in October all is not lost, you still have one more opportunity to qualify for the semi-final, there is an Open Heat at Ipswich & Kesgrave on 9 January.

For all the details about the competition click on CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS

	Above:Mary Evans, Rick Hanley, Eric Newman, Diane Whitley, Richard Evans and David Willson; and (left) Jacks Morcombe, Suffolk's chief tournament director

BAH HUMBUG is a festive cracker!

The gamble by Suffolk Bridge to organise a county wide event over the festive holiday paid off handsomely on Sunday with 80 players enjoying the Bah Humbug pairs.

The idea was to fill the void created by Christmas and the New Year decimating bridge club sessions and given the response it will be repeated next year on Sunday 27 December.

Not only did Bah Humbug attract a maximum field, but there were a sizeable number of players who are not regulars at county events. The winners were county captain Rick Hanley and David Willson, ahead of Eric Newman and Diane Whitley. while third placed Mary & Richard Evans won the Handicap prize.

The half-time snack of a sausage roll and mince pie, advertised as 'Suffolk's best,' lived up to their billing with several people asking for details of the baker. He is Mark Proctor, an artisan baker, who runs The Friendly Loaf on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds - www.the friendlyloaf.co.uk 07884 163542

To see all the scores, click on BAH

Top: 'Team Riley' pose for photos after finishing top on Sunday, while 'Team Rowland' celebrate winning the Plate

'Team Riley' in pole positon after Championship qualifying rounds

Fourteen teams took part in the Teams of Four Championship at Nayland on Sunday - with four going through to the knock out stages.

Stage 1, comprising 26 boards, ended with the top seven teams - headed by Roger & Jill Tattersfield, Mike Sherer & David Moran - playing against each other while the bottom seven teams contested the Plate.

After another 24 boards, the leading four teams qualified for the knock out stages:

• Simon Riley, David Willson, Diane Whitley and Eric Newman (top photo)
• Rick Hanley, Peter Sutcliffe, Jeff Orton and Chris Green
• Mike O'Reilly, Peter Warren, Patsi Barnes and Joan Watson
• Richard Evans, Andre Gray, John Bloomfield and Celia Jeal

The Plate was won by Din Gudka, Phillip & Anne Edwards, and Cathy Rowland (bottom photo). Click on Stage 1, Stage 2 and Plate to see the results.

Suffolk bridge-golf day next year

A county wide bridge-golf day will be staged for the first time in 2020.

Date and venue are still to be decided but the event will be handicap pairs - in contrast to the golf-bridge teams matches which have taken place between various bridge clubs in recent years.

The idea was floated by two golfers at Abbeygate bridge club and enthusiastically endorsed by the Suffolk bridge association at a recent meeting.

The format is expected to be 18 holes of golf, with Stableford points scoring, followed by lunch and bridge. A conversion scale will enable the golf score to converted to a percentage which will be added to a pair’s bridge score - and thereby result in an overall winning pair.

EBU Score software means the afternoon bridge score, like the golf score, can be handicapped.

Richard Evans, vice chairman of the SCBA, said: “Every bridge club has keen golfers among the membership and we hope this event will appeal to players of both games throughout Suffolk.”

The best entry from clubs for years in the annual Suffolk Club Teams of 8 ended with Ipswich & Kesgrave winning for the fifth year running on Sunday.

Colchester were runners-up ahead of Ipswich Hospitals while Stansfield finished fourth.

A maximum field was guaranteed when 13 clubs fielded a team in the event staged at Colchester. One of the attractions of the competition is the excellent tea provided by the local sea scouts and, once again, they did not disappoint. To see all the scores click on CLUBTEAMSOF8

Can you emulate Debby & Maria?

Qualifying heats for the 2019-20 Suffolk Championship Pairs took place at most clubs last month.

For those who have not taken part, there is a final qualifying heat at Ipswich & Kesgrave on 9 January.

All players attempting to qualify must be bona fide members of the club and have primary allegiance to Suffolk. A score of 50% or more will qualfiy a pair for the semi-finals at Elmswell on Friday 14 February. The final takes place at Nayland on 5 April.

For all the details about the competiton, won last year by Debby Sutcliffe & Maria Allnutt,  click on CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS

If you qualify for the semi-finals click on SEMI-FINAL to enter the next stage.

Local club director training courses available

Every sport and game needs someone to run the event, whether it be an umpire, referee - or director.

A well run bridge session adds to everyone's enjoyment. One that is poorly run...well, let's not go there!

In a bid to guarantee the former and eliminate the latter, the Suffolk Contract Bridge Association is offering affiliated and non-affiliated clubs some local courses on directing.

The courses are one day only and designed for small groups. They can be tailored to specific requirements, such as:

• club director training - the basics
• refresher course for existing directors
• scorer training: EBU Score/Score Bridge/Bridgemates/Arc scorer
• the Laws of Duplicate bridge - a presentation for players

The club director training is very much aimed at allowing participants to support their local club. It is not a replacement for a full (four day) EBU directors course. The cost is £20 per person for affiliated clubs, £40 for non-affiliated clubs.

For more details, email Jacks Morcombe, Suffolk's chief tournament director, by clicking on JACKS or Peter Bushby by clicking on PETER

GOOD MANNERS: Is it too much to ask?

Loosely interpreted, the EBUs 'Best Behaviour at Bridge' owes much to Manners Makyth Man, the motto of William of Wykeham - and Winchester College and New College, Oxford - both of which he founded in the 14th Century.

Indeed, the EBUs CODE, which asks players to be pleasant to each other and the director, might be better named Best Manners at Bridge.

The Suffolk bridge committee is taking a particularly strong line on 'bad behaviour/manners' and cracking down on anyone found to be in breach of the code. As with most counties, the culprits in Suffolk can be counted on the fingers of one hand - but that is a handful too many.

To highlight the issue, this website is running a series of cartoon strips devised by Peter Bushby (see below), and an article (click on 2½ No Trumps) by Glyn Button, the chairman of Framlingham bridge club, whose regular blog has delighted so many readers.

To see older items please click on NEWS ARCHIVE