SCCBA Welcome Pairs at Horsham

The Welcome Pairs at Horsham on Sunday March 2nd was enjoyed by and gave confidence to all, whether they won a prize or not!

Congratulations to the winners of the 3 categories (i.e Beginners, 2-3 years training/experience and 4-5 years training/experience) who are pictured below with director Graham Walker and organiser Sarah Little.

Denise Lincoln (Organiser)

148 pairs (up from 113 pairs last year) took part in this year's Charity Simultaneous Pairs which took place between Monday February 17th and Saturday February 22nd in support of :-

• Eastbourne & District Samaritans and
• Sage House Dementia Support at Tangmere

The amount collected by clubs, topped up with a donation from the county, means that £1,000 will be donated to each of these charities.

Congratulations to overall winners Margaret Parkinson and Chris Robbins who played in the Seaford heat.  The runners-up were Jill Finzi and James Nott who played in the Patcham heat and in 3rd place were Adrian Alexander and Judith Dingle who played in the West Sussex heat.

Congratulations also to David and Andrea Galpin who played in the Patcham heat and who are the winners of the Eric Seldon Salver for being the top pair, both of whom are at least 70 years old.

Many thanks to the clubs (Avenue, Chichester, Crawley, Eastbourne, Patcham, Seaford, West Sussex and Worthing), who held heats.  Special thanks to Neil Watts who selected the hands and wrote the commentary and to organiser Peter Clinch.

This year's David Pavey pairs competition for EBU members with an NGS grade of 7 or lower was a great success with twelve full tables.  We had entries from Horsham, Crawley, Chichester, Bognor and West Worthing as well as from our Worthing club.  It was a relaxed and friendly afternoon of bridge with a delicious afternoon tea.

A big thank-you to Alexa Baxter who directed, all going smoothly, and to the catering team from Worthing who produced the tea.

Congratulations to winners Robert Turvey and Jenny Redman from Horsham Bridge Club and .....

...... well done to runners-up Gordon Briggs and Mark Randall from Crawley Bridge Club.

Eileen Perrigo (Organiser)

19 teams participated in a close-fought New Year Swiss Teams on Sunday 19th January in the intimate surroundings of Patcham Bridge Club.

When the smoke had settled, two teams had tied for first place with 83 VPs.  The trophy went to Mike Keeping, Matts Smith and Read and David Benjamin (pictured) as they won the head-to-head match with Andy Ryder, Mike Allen, David Dickson and Philip Hunt.

In third-equal place were the teams of Nick Goddard (Dudley Edwards, Peter Rowell, Francis Kelly) and Richard Fedrick (Andrew Southwell, Liz Hoskins, Peter Clinch).  The "jack-high" prize was scooped by Andy Osborn, Paul Turton, Rosemary McKinnel and Susan Cook.  Congratulations to them all.

Many thanks to those involved in making the day a success: Joy Mayall (organiser, assisted by Peter Clinch), Stephen Kennedy (director), Mervyn Wotton (various), Martin Pool and John Hardy (boards and finances), Charlotte Setahul and Colette Starr (catering), and Peter Langston (room set-up).

The above competition which is run over 8 sessions from April to November has recently been completed.  Congratulations to the winners Yves Lebrec and Owen Leigh, and to Chris Jepson and David Clifton who finished in second place.

Congratulations also to  Mary Lawrenson and David Park, and Peter Clinch and Julian Mitchell who win a prize for achieving the best score over sessions 7 and 8.

With special thanks to Mervyn Wotton for all his help during the season and to Stephen Kennedy for directing all 8 sessions.

2025 dates will be announced shortly, further information can be obtained from the Competition Organiser, Andrea Galpin.

Worthing Bridge Club held a very successful Hills Trophy at the Angmering Community Centre on Sunday 24th November.  A total of 21 teams took part, the highest for some years, from several clubs around the county with several attending for the first time.

Congratulations to the winners - David Telfer, Neil Watts, Philip Hunt and Peter Burns.  Apart from Philip Hunt replacing Chris Jepson, this was the same team that won this event last year.

The runners-up were R. Jameson, C. Reimoser, G. Coomber and L. Northeast and in third place were J. Handley, P. Rowell, G. Davies and T. Fishlock.  The ascending prize over the last three sessions was awarded to Keith & Maureen Norman, Sue Peters and C Wolf.

My thanks go to Paul Gibbons and Sharon for directing the caterers, other helpers and U3A for use of their tables.

See full results on the Worthing BC web-site.

Ernie Rivett
(Worthing BC)

After playing nearly 100 boards over the weekend of November 9th-10th, the Sussex team of :-

• Gunnar Halberg and Sally Clark
• Ollie Powell and Stephen Kennedy
• Peter Clinch and Julian Mitchell
• Andy Ryder and Mike Allen
• Alan and James Hobden
• David Dickson and Matt Read
• Res: Andy Morris and Chris Phillips.

were qualifying up to the very last board where they lost out on going to the final on a 3-way split tie!

The team did so well and, for those of you watching on RealBridge, I hope you enjoyed it, as it was nail-biting at the end.  You can still have a look on RealBridge Kibitz archives (red section).

Chris Jepson (Chairperson of Selection Committee)

The East Grinstead Basic Bridge Pairs took place at the East Grinstead Rugby Club on Saturday November 2nd.   As intended, there was a wide range of playing experience.

The overall winners were David and Jane Spencer (pictured).  In second place were Gloria Flint and Karina Butler who were followed closely by Brian and Sue Cutler in third place.

Congratulations also to ......

...... Sue and Steve Smith who were the winners of the Non-Expert section.

Thanks are due to Peter Clinch for his preparation beforehand and his directing on the day.  Thanks also to the Meridian Bridge Club for the use of their equipment and to Alison and her team at the Rugby Club for all the catering arrangements.

I hope to see you all again next year.

Helen Kent, Tournament Organiser

Congratulations to Croz Croswell and Faith Holland who won the Swiss Pairs on the Saturday and also to ......

...... Neeraj Tanna & Claire Robinson and Athena Chow & Tom Copeland who won the the Swiss Teams on the Sunday.

Congratulations to overall winners Winnie Perry and Carolyn Maylen who won the SCCBA Ladies’ Pairs Trophy at Patcham Bridge Club on Sunday October 20th.

Many thanks to director Peter Langston (pictured) and organiser Joy Mayall.

Congratulations also to ......

...... 'Masters and below' winners Shelagh Harman and Megan Bibby.

This event on September 4th was captured in convincing style by Liz Senior and Stephen Scott who won all their matches.  They finished twelve points clear of Peter Harbott and Jeremy Harris.  Third place was shared between the pairings of David & Andrea Galpin and Richard Cleminson & Andy Osborne.  Congratulations to everyone!

Many thanks to Stephen Kennedy for directing with panache, to Charlotte Setahul who prepared the lunches, to Martin Pool and John Hardy for dealing the boards, and to Peter Bates for handling the Henfield logistics.

See you next year!

Peter Clinch,
Tournament Organiser

The prestigious Championship Teams competition for 2023/2024 has recently been completed.  Congratulations to the winning team captained by Christine Jepson (Neil Watts, Andrew Southwell, Ian Lancaster, David Clifton) who defeated Dave Franklin's team in the Final played in mid-June.  The Plate Final, for first-match losers in the main competition, was held recently and the Plate was retained by the current holders, Peter Rowell's team (Francis Kelly, Terry Fishlock, David Cairns), who defeated Peter Langston's team in a very close match.

The  competition will start again in a few weeks time and the entry form will be on the County Website in early October.  New teams are always welcome to join the competition and if you require any more information please contact the organiser, David Galpin.

The SCCBA has been working with affiliated clubs to develop plans for the Sussex contributions to the festival.  Currently, we have a total of 19 activities and events with 2 taking place centrally and 17 in clubs or elsewhere.  Details of those activities and events which are open to all are now included in the SCCBA Calendar.

I am referring you to this information for two reasons.  First, it is to make you aware of the opportunities for you to participate in one or more events to play your part in making the festival a great success, particularly in terms of the sums collected in support of Cancer Research UK.

The second reason relates to the other primary objective of the festival, i.e. to spread awareness of the enjoyment we all get from playing bridge and the opportunities there are for newcomers to join our community.  In that context, I seek your help in encouraging any of your family and friends who might be interested in finding out about our wonderful game to consider attending one of the Open Day/Taster Session events being organised by the clubs at Crawley, Patcham and Seaford.

I recognise that the locations of those events will not be convenient for many and I would encourage them to pursue their interest through one of the bridge teachers listed on the Teachers in Sussex page. They will be delighted to tell you about the learning opportunities available.

Many thanks.

Dick Wheeler
SCCBA Hon Sec (tel. 07786 187297)

I would like to thank all those who replied to my email on 'Rekindling Bridge in Schools' sent last month.  We have identified a number of potential schools and interested bridge teachers and our next step is to invite those who are interested to be educated in How to Teach Bridge in Schools.

There will be three sessions (subject to demand), each starting at 9.30 for 10 a.m.  They will be led by Douglas Wright of 3 Counties Bridge and will be at :-

• Eastbourne Bridge Club (18th August),
• Rottingdean Whiteway Centre (17th September),
• Chichester Bridge Club (21st September).

To register for these events, please contact Douglas Wright or go directly to the registration area.

There is more to come here so watch this space!

Peter Clinch.
SCCBA Chairman

The 2024 Sussex Green-Pointed Swiss Pairs on Sunday July 28th at Patcham was very close at the top and was won in sweltering conditions by David Norman and David Dawson of Surrey.  Congratulations and commiserations go to John Austin and Roger Bill who finished second after originally being declared winners - a last-minute scoring alteration reversed the standings . David Benjamin and Mike Keeping finished third.

Many thanks to the director Stephen Kennedy who had to overcome some unwelcome Bridgemate difficulties and did so calmly and with cool.  Thanks are also due to Martin Pool and John Hardy for dealing the boards, to Charlotte Setahul for providing refreshments and to Mervyn Wotton for assisting in diagnosis of some technical issues.  Finally, many thanks to Joy Mayall and Gerry Stanford for their unselfish support to enable the event to run smoothly.

Peter Clinch,
Tournament Organiser

Worthing BC held the 2024 SCCBA Venture Pairs on Sunday 21st July.  We had nine full tables and it produced a competitive session. My thanks go to Alexa Baxter for directing which involved an unusual movement to generate a single winner.

Also, thanks to Eileen Perrigo for organising and to Eileen and helpers for excellent food platters at the half-way break.

Ernie Rivett

Congratulations to winners Chris Robbins and David McLenahan and ..........

...... well done to runners-up Paul Wilson and Richard Earl.

The 2024 Sussex Mixed Pairs Championship for the Eddie Williams Trophy was held at the Patcham Community Centre on Sunday 14^th July.  Congratulations to the winners who were :-

Gunnar Hallberg & Sally Clark.

Well done also to the runners-up who were Oliver Powell and Liz Hoskins (pictured) with Peter Harbott and Gill Southern finishing 3rd.

Many thanks to director Stephen Kennedy and our caterer Charlotte Setahul.  Thanks also to those working unseen - Martin Pool for preparing the boards and Mervyn Wotton for running the web-site.

Gerry Stanford,
Organiser

Once again a great time was had by all at the Blue-Pointed Sussex Candles at Henfield on Sunday 16th June.  The winners were Liz Hoskins, Andrew Southwell, Richard Fedrick and Peter Clinch.  They were six Victory Points clear of second-placed Mike Keeping, David Benjamin, Matt Read and David Dickson.  Surprisingly, the top two teams never faced one another.  One more round....  The Queen-high trophy was captured by sixth-placed Duncan McSorland, Sue Peters, Graham and Rose Walker.

Lunch and cake were again splendidly-provided by Charlotte Setahul and team.  Many thanks are due to the excellent director Stephen Kennedy, Martin Pool and John Hardy (who dealt and transported the boards), to our webmaster Mervyn Wotton and to Peter Bates who coordinated logistics in the Hall.  Our next Henfield event will be the Blue-Pointed Midweek Swiss Pairs on Wednesday 21st August.

Peter Clinch, Tournament Organiser

Sussex had quite a good Teams of 8 weekend.  Unfortunately, the most memorable hand in the Garden Cities Final on Saturday June 1st was when Stephen Kennedy came back to the table having brought home a vulnerable 3NT with an overtrick (it should have gone down).  His joy was short-lived as his teammates had conceded 1960 in 1NT redoubled with three overtricks so that was 16 IMPs away!  The Avenue team was Julian Mitchell (capt) and Peter Clinch, Matt Read and Mike Allen, Stephen Kennedy and Oliver Powell, Gunnar Hallberg and Sally Clark.  We were, in truth, a distant second to Cambridge.

On the following day, the Sussex team came second to Yorkshire in the National Intercounty Teams of 8 (division A) Final by just 2 VPs. This was much closer than the previous day and, for a while (pre-appeal), it seemed that Sussex were the joint-winners with Kent. The Sussex team was Christine Jepson (capt) and Neil Watts, Oliver Powell and Stephen Kennedy, Alan and James Hobden and Peter Clinch and Julian Mitchell.

Peter Clinch