| EBU COUNTIES MEETING |
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'20%+ of clubs unlikely to re-open' - EBU survey
A significant number - possibly 20% or more - of bridge clubs are not expected to re-open post-pandemic, according to a survey of counties carried out by the English Bridge Union.
While Suffolk is one of only two counties (the other is Kent) who expects players numbers to increase, it is one of nine counties who is expecting more than a fifth of affiliated clubs will not re-open in 2021. Suffolk currently has 21 clubs affiliated to the EBU.
Details of the highly informative survey of counties were presented to the annual meeting of county chairmen by the EBU. To see the key points click on SURVEY.
To counter the expected decline in membership, the EBU has devised a marketing strategy which focuses on a country-wide drive to attract new players and new bridge teachers - based on collaboration between the EBU, counties and clubs. Click on MARKETING to see more.
After dire warnings 12 months ago about the state of EBU finances, a combination of government support and increased income from online bridge - particularly during the first quarter of 2021 - has rasied the hope the game's governing body will be close to break even over 2020/1 and 2021/2.
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| EAST ANGLIAN BRIDGE WEEKEND |
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| Jeff Orton & David Morran, the top Suffolk pair and, below, the Swiss Teams winners, Franklin To, Paul Darby, Steven Dannell and Gabriel Ip. |
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The East Anglian Bridge Weekend attracted players from far and wide with the Swiss Pairs having 44 entrants and following a late tie up with Kent the Swiss Teams had 30 sides.
The Swiss Pairs was won by Nick Sandqvist & Nathalie Shashou from London. The top Suffolk pair were Jeff Orton & David Morran who tied for fourth spot.
Suffolk players did not trouble the judge in the Swiss Teams on Sunday but neighbouring Norfolk had much to cheer as Gabriel Ip & Franklin To and Paul Darby & Steve Dannell finished first.
The event was hosted by RealBridge. Jeff Orton, the event manager, performed miracles to ensure there was a decent turn out for the weekend - and thanks to Jacks Morcombe for directiing on Saturday.
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| CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS |
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The 2021 Suffolk Championship Teams has been won by David and Jenny Price, Chris Chambers and Chris Green. They played a 48 board final on BBO over two days against Team Moore (Andrew Moore, Tony Philpott, Jane Moore, Cleopatra Hensby). It was an incredibly close match!
They were just 1 imp up after eight boards, then they lost 4 imps on each of the next two stanzas, leaving them 7 imps down at the half way stage. They won 18 imps in the fourth stanza putting them 11 ahead, but then lost 10 imps in the 5th, giving them a lead of just 1 imp going into the last 8 boards. With three boards to go they were losing the match, but pulled back to win by 3 imps overall (80-77). See how you would have got on with some of the very interesting decisions from the match by clicking FINAL. To see the results for all teams in the competition click on CHAMPTEAMS2021
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| PHILLIP & ANNE WIN THE 'CLARET JUG' |
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Phillip & Anne Edwards are the first winners of the Bushby-Morecombe Trophy, named after the two Suffolk members who did so much to get online bridge going during the pandemic,
Their best 10 scores average of 62.86% was sufficient to narrowly beat the pairings of David Mathews & Helen Mason and Andy Higginson & Chris Kennedy who also averaged more than 62% during the competition staged online.
Click on CLARET to see the final table.for the period to end of March 2021.
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| STANSFIELD QUARTET LANDS TEAMS |
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Some 'Reserves'!
Four regulars at Stansfield bridge club who dubbed themselves the 'Stansfield Reserves' proved to be anything but when winning the Suffolk Club Teams of Four on Sunday.
Jayne Hunnable & Susan Nisbett and Caelia Chandler & Paddy Lockwood saw off the best in the county to finish first ahead of sides from Bury St Edmunds and Colchester.
The event on RealBridge attracted 12 teams.
Click on TEAMS to see all the scores
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| BAH HUMBUG WINNERS |
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An online version of the Bah Humbug Pairs - complete with a stream of Christmas cracker 'jokes' - helped raise the spirits of bridge players around the county on Sunday.
The event attracted 42 pairs and the size of the field meant the number of prizes was doubled for what is intended to be one of Suffolk's more light hearted occasions.
The overall winners of the North-South section were Cathy Rowland & Din Gudka (top left) while May Li & John Gan (bottom left) topped the EW section.
Just as important, there were Handicap prizes for each section, based on a partnership's EBU NGS ratings.
Barbara & Geoff Marcoolyn (bottom right) were the top NS Handicap pair while Hugh & Jen Godfrey (top right) headed the EW group.
Click on SCORES to see the results (and then click on Handicap tab to see Hcp scores).
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| PLAYING BRIDGE ONLINE |
 Never played bridge on-line - and intimidated by what's involved? Don't be!
An A-B-C guide to playing bridge at BridgeBaseOnline (BBO) which covers the most basic points - how to get started, how to join a game - has been created for Suffolk Bridge by Peter Bushby, and even includes some very fancy film clips.
The big advantage of playing on BBO is that you can partner a real person (for example, your regular partner) - rather than a robot - and it's free.
So with no prospect of any club bridge for at least three months and probably longer don't feel left out...just click on HOW TO PLAY BRIDGE ON LINE.
In addition to the basics, the comprehensive guide also shows how you can enter Suffolk's regular Sunday evening duplicate, how to play a match between two teams of four, and much more besides.
The EBU has also produced a guide on how to play on BBO. Click on EBU to see.
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| WEEKLY SUFFOLK CHALLENGE ON WEDNESDAYS |
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A 28-board Suffolk FunBridge Pairs Challenge is taking place every week.
The competition will be open from 10am to 10pm every Wednesday to any FunBridge player in Suffolk. As usual on FunBridge a (very good!) robot will be your partner.
The event will be password protected. Click on PAIRS and a password will be sent to you.
To find the challenge, click on the Get Started/Practise tab, then click Exclusive Tournaments. Type Suffolk FunBridge Pairs into the View all Tournaments space.
Daily five board competiton for FunBridge players in Suffolk
The event is aimed at the growing FunBridge community in the county - and those who would like to give it a try.
Amanda Roberts who plays at Stansfield, Abbeygate, Stowmarket and Bury St Edmunds, came up with the idea.
The name of the competition is Suffolk Bridge Clubs, which can be found in Exclusive Tournaments via the orange Get started/Practise tab.
If you are interested but have not played on the site before go to https://www.funbridge.com
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| BRIDGE CLUB LIVE |
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In addition to BBO and FunBridge, Bridge Club Live is an online favourite with many players. To find out more click on https://www.bridgeclublive.com
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