2025/26 Gladys Hakki Trophy Winner - Thea Sydenham

The Gladys Hakki Trophy is awarded annually to a Sussex member who has given outstanding service to county and/or club over a number of years.

Hearty congratulations are due to this year's winner, Thea Sydenham.  Thea's outstanding service as Secretary, Teacher, Director and Dealer over more than ten years illustrates the huge contribution she has made not only to the success of Chichester BC but also more widely, including her support for a flourishing Minibridge club at a local junior school, regular card sessions at a local nursing home and a cafe bridge event highlighting the social benefits of bridge.

SCCBA Management Committee

2026 SCCBA Teams of Eight

aka EBU Garden Cities Trophy Heat

Seven SCCBA clubs played in this year's Inter-Club Teams of 8 at Patcham Community Centre on 28th March in their attempts to qualify for the Garden Cities Regional Final on 9th May with West Sussex BC and Eastbourne BC joining the five clubs who played last year.

Congratulations to the winners who were the Avenue Bridge Club - Julian Mitchell & Peter Clinch, Andy Ryder & Mike Allen, Gunnar Hallberg & Sally Clark, Matthew Read & David Dickson.  There were joint runners-up in Patcham and Horsham.

Thank-you to our playing Directors, Peter Clinch, Andy Osborn and Julian Mitchell.

I also have to thank our President Martin Pool for preparing the boards and the hand copies and also Mervyn Wotton for dealing with the website and technical issues.

Gerry Stanford (Organiser)

The Avenue Bridge Club, Hove is inviting SCCBA members to attend an eight-week course (led by Ollie Powell) to address the mysteries of

Five Card Majors and a Strong No Trump

See details

ENTER NOW! - Sussex Nine-High Championship

on BBO on Sunday April 26th!

Once again we will be staging this competition exclusively for Sussex players with an NGS no higher than 9 (on 1st January 2026), leading to a National final where you and your partner could represent Sussex and maybe be crowned the Nine-High champions of England!  

The first step to National glory is the Sussex 9-High Championship which will be held on BBO at 1 p.m. on Sunday 26th April - playing 24 boards against your peers.  The winners will be awarded the Newton Nine-High trophy, kindly donated to the County by Lord Richard Newton.  The top 4 qualifying pairs will be invited to represent Sussex in the EBU National final which will be held online (a choice of BBO and RealBridge) on Saturday 30st May.

If you are unsure whether you are eligible or if you have any other questions, please email me or ring me on at 0751 533 3539.

Register for the Sussex Nine-High Championship here (£4 per player) - by Saturday 25th April.

I hope you'll take up this opportunity and I look forward to seeing you on BBO in April!

Peter Clinch (Organiser)

2025/26 Sussex Pairs Final

Congratulations to this year's winners of the Sussex Pairs on Sunday March 15th, Peter Clinch and Julian Mitchell (pictured).

Mike Allen and Andy Ryder finished second with Katie Duncanson and Tom Eckersley-Waites completing the podium in third place.

Up to five pairs have now qualified to represent Sussex in the Corwen Trophy in Telford on the weekend of 30th-31st May. Good luck to those who go forward.

Many thanks to Stephen Kennedy who directed and scored*, Charlotte Setahul who catered and to Mervyn Wotton and Martin Pool who provided extra technical assistance and additional dealing as we had a couple of withdrawals on the day.

Peter Clinch (Organiser)

* Note to competitors: Because the results were uploaded to the EBU with the final session percentages on both sessions, we have had some queries.  Having consulted with the EBU, we can confirm that the NGS adjustments are correct.

Horsham Welcome Pairs

Everybody had an enjoyable time at the SCCBA Welcome Pairs event held at Horsham Bridge Club on Sunday 1st March.

Very well done to the winners of the 3 categories.  On the right Mark Tresler & Jacqueline Goel; on the left Adrian Kernot & Richard Brinley Codd; in the middle Stella Blackburn and Suzie Byrne: accompanied on the extreme right by fellow-Organiser Sarah Little.

Denise Lincoln (Organiser)

2026 SCCBA AGM
Sunday April 26th at 11am

All members wishing to attend the SCCBA AGM (see agenda) should register with the Hon. Sec. Dick Wheeler by April 19th to receive the supporting papers and the Zoom invitation.

2025 EBU Dimmie Fleming Award Winner - Eddie Williams

Many congratulations to Eddie Williams who has received the prestigious Dimmie Fleming Award for services to bridge!

Eddie has been involved in the administration of Sussex bridge in multiple roles over more than two decades, including Vice Chairman, Management Committee member, Tournament Manager, Tournament Committee member, Membership Secretary, Calendar Editor and Competition Organiser.  Eddie has also spent much of that time as the Sussex Chief Tournament Director, maintaining the directory of Sussex directors and running the major county seasonal and green-pointed congresses in addition to his paid directorial duties.

Since his semi-retirement from County directing in 2019, Eddie has continued to give generously of his time, preparing schedules for bridge teachers, mentoring Sussex’s current County Chief TD, running courses for and supporting aspiring County directors, and taking charge of updating the County’s technical equipment.

Eddie is, of course, well-known as a (now-retired) EBU director, as the director-incharge at St. Leonards BC and as an organiser of bridge holidays and cruises but his contributions extend far beyond the commercial.  He continues to provide ad hoc advice and support and he is the epitome of a person who is always happy to help and offer his expertise.

See also Eddie's "biography" on the EBU web-site.

Other County News