The EUROPA SUMMER LEAGUE will kick-off next Wednesday 1 July, and will run for 9 weeks ending Weds 26 August.  You don't need to enter - turn up and play as normal.

To be eligible to win the trophy you must have an NGS rating of 8 or less, i.e. with an expected score of 50% or less as calculated by the EBU.

To win the trophy you must play at least 5 times on a Weds over the 9 week period. You don't have to play with the same partner - the winner is an individual (not a pair). Your best 5 scores will be used to work out an average over the 9 weeks. If your partner has an NGS of 9 or above, the score will not count. The person with the highest average score will lift the trophy and a special prize. In the event of a tie, the member with the lower NGS rating on 26 August will be declared the winner.

In 2025 it was PIPPA REYNOLDS who won the first ever Europa Summer League. Could it be you this time around, or will Pippa prevail again?

Pippa fought off a late challenge from a cluster of players securing the trophy and prize. In second place was Geoff Ward, and his partner Christine Piper finished in third.

Guests are welcome, or you can join our friendly club for only £20.  Our spacious venue has free parking and it costs £2 to play (guests pay £4). Here's some feedback from guests who visited the Club in February 2026:

"Thank you to everyone for making us visitors feel very welcome at Wednesday night's bridge. Thank you also to Gina for partnering me & making it an enjoyable, fun session. Everyone was extremely friendly."

Monday and Wednesday are our two duplicate nights. Play starts at 6.40pm - please arrive by 6.30pm to be seated for play.  The Director may start play 5 minutes early, so please arrive promptly or if you're running a bit late do phone your partner to alert the Director.

Monday evening is aimed at both intermediate and advanced players - we run a host system so you're guaranteed to get a game!  Please arrive by 6.30pm and notify the Director you need a partner.

Wednesday evening is a relaxed game for beginners and intermediates but all members are welcome (please support learning). You can turn up alone and be guaranteed a game, as we run a host system.

Our Clubhouse is the Precinct Centre, Church Rd, St Marychurch TQ1 4QY - a modern, spacious venue in the grounds of St Mary’s Church at the top of the shopping precinct. Free parking is on-site, in Church Road.  

Directions: Go through the lights at St Marychurch (Post Office on right) and the road bends round towards Teignmouth. At the next roundabout (by golf club), go LEFT into Petitor Road. At T-junction go RIGHT then immediately LEFT into Trumlands Road. At the junction, LEFT into Church Road and LEFT into the Car Park.

LESSONS

Our BEGINNER classes consist of an 8 week course (class size is 12) where you will receive tuition from one of Devon's leading teachers. You'll also receive a full set of course notes to accompany the lessons. It's an evening class commencing 6.30pm at Torquay Bridge Club - see directions above.  To register a £40 deposit is requested two weeks in advance.

When the course finishes you can join us for supervised beginner bridge sessions, with mentors available to help you learn.

• The next BEGINNER class starts 29 July on Wednesdays at 6.30pm - lasting for 8 weeks (cost is £80)
• The next IMPROVER class (for members) is Wednesday 8 July at 6.30pm - the topic is doubling (£6 per class)

If you're interested in classes, please let us know via the "CONTACT US" tab at the top left corner of your screen.

2026 KEY DATES

We'll run eight TROPHY EVENTS in 2026.  Be sure to put these dates in your diary:

Feb 18:  Mixed Pairs    Holders: Margaret and Ian Mundy

April 8:  Handicap Pairs Trophy    Holders: Margaret Carswell and Carol Harwood

May 4,11,18 and 25:  Pairs Championship     Holders: Margaret and Ian Mundy

July, August:  Europa Summer League (NGS rank of 8 or below)   Holder: Pippa Reynolds

September 22: Championship Teams  Holders: Margaret and Ian Mundy, Alex Maddocks and Mike Orriel

October, November:  Autumn Ladder on Tuesday evening     Holder: George Triantafyllidis

October 14: Margaret Pearce Trophy (NGS rank of 8 or below)     Holders: Sara Marshall and Jenny Carter

December 16:  Individual Championship + Xmas Party      Holder: Stewart Stapleton

The Mixed Pairs Championship was held on Wednesday 18 February.

Ten mixed pairs fought for the honour of lifting the silver trophy and they were joined by a further four pairs in an overall field of fourteen pairs.

The winners with a score of 66% were Margaret and Ian Mundy, who finished two percent clear of second-placed pair Carol Roylance and Ken Eveleigh

Well done to Margaret and Ian who have retained their trophy having also won it in 2025. Since lockdown, Margaret and Ian have established themselves as one of the leading partnerships at the Club, having now won three trophies in the past two years, as well as finishing second in other events. They represented the Club in consecutive years at the EBU Garden Cities teams-of-eight. We're fortunate to have skilled competitors like Margaret and Ian as members of our Club.

The Handicap Pairs trophy was held on Wednesday 8 April, attracting a eight-table field.

The unique feature of the Handicap Pairs is that the EBU's national grading scheme (NGS) is used to equalise the field so that everyone starts with an equal chance of winning the event. All you have to do is play better than your expected percentage based on the EBU grading scheme. The pair that finished the most ahead of their expected percentage (+15%) was Margaret Carswell and Carol Harwood pictured here with their trophy.

It was a close finish, with second-placed pair Angie Hickey and Rod Salmon finishing 12% above their expected score and third placed pair Liz Green and Jo White 11% above. Very well done to these pairs and to all who made the event so enjoyable on the night.

We announced on our website and in April's Newsletter that the Club Pairs Championship would be contested in May. We designated all four Tuesday's in May as qualifying sessions, with pairs able to utilise two scores over the four-week period to reach a final aggregate result (the first two weeks count for those playing 3 or 4 times).

In a last-gasp finish, Margaret and Ian Mundy lifted the trophy after scoring an amazing 79.5% in the final qualifying session. They overhauled Alan Nicholl and Hymie Smith, who had one hand on the trophy up until the final evening. It just goes to show that you can never be sure of anything in this game! 

Well done to all who competed - here are the top five pairs:

1. Margaret and Ian Mundy 70.3%  (61.1% and 79.5)

2. Alan Nicholl and Hymie Smith  69.3%  (71.1 and 67.5)

3. Mike Anderson and Mike Orriel  63.5%  (60.7 and 66.3)

4. Alex Maddocks and Martin Read 59.9% (65 and 54.8)

5. Jacek Pietryzcki and George Triantafyllidis 58.3% (59.5 and 57.1)

Our Autumn Ladder has now finished after 12 weeks of competition.  The winner of the ladder is the individual who has accumulated the most master points at the Club on a Tuesday night, over the 12 week period.

Congratulations to George Triantafyllidis, who has won the trophy and first prize after climbing to the top of the ladder in week two and staying there for the remainder of the 12 weeks. 

George is seen here receiving his prize from Mary Nicolle.

Finishing in second place was George's regular partner Mike Anderson, and joint third place went to Sheila Ferguson and Tony Allsworth.

Well done to everyone who competed in the ladder, we'll run it again in the autumn of 2026.

On Tuesday 23 September we held our Teams Championship for the year. The event was run using aggregate imps scoring, and to increase the chances of a level playing field a random draw was conducted to determine team-mates. 

Five teams competed for the prestigious Silver Trophy which dates back to the 1970s, and it was lifted by the team of Margaret Mundy, Ian Mundy, Alex Maddocks and Mike Orriel.

The winning team won all four matches with a score of +99 imps, finishing ahead of the second placed team of Richard Back, Geoff Ward, Mike Anderson and George Triantafyllidis.

The winners are pictured here, receiving their trophy.

During October we held the Margaret Pearce Trophy for our Beginners and Intermediates, specifically those with an EBU grade of 8 or below (having an expected score of 50% or less).

Margaret was a former member who taught beginners and brought many new members into the Club. She made a proposal that we should play an event dedicated to such members, who were perhaps less likely to win other events due to their relative inexperience.  Margaret donated the trophy to the Club for this purpose, and we have been contesting it for over 30 years since.

Margaret's trophy, which dates back to the 1990s, was lifted by Sara Marshall and Jenny Carter, pictured here receiving the trophy from last year's winner Jeff Cain. This is the third time that Jenny has won the trophy, each time with a gap of 8-10 years before winning it again - well done to you both! 

The runners-up were Alison Hill and Jean Whitehead, who put in a brave fight to finish just behind the winners.

On Wednesday 17 December we held our CHRISTMAS PARTY followed by the much awaited INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP where everyone swapped partners for each hand. 

A whopping 44 members battled it out for the honour of lifting the famous old trophy, which is engraved with club champions dating back to 1960. The winner with a score of 63.3% was Stewart Stapleton, who edged out Robert Malia and Jenny Carter into second and third place respectively.  Well done to Stewart and to all who played in this great event.

Stewart is pictured left receiving the trophy from our special guest Lisa Harding who joined us for a game whilst visiting Torquay from her native Canada.

Devon Bridge Association 

The EBU are running events for NGS payers rated up to 9 or Jack:

Nine-High Corwen is a new county-representative event to which counties can submit entries for pairs where both players have an NGS grade Two to Nine inclusive.

Kent CBA run two weekly Saturday afternoon games on BBO. The first is a beginners 12-board duplicate for players with an NGS 7 and below. The second is an NGS 2-9 game of 18-boards.

Additional online events for players of NGS grades up to 9 or Jack are held regularly, please refer to the EBU website for details.

Newton Abbot play on Thursday at 6.30pm at the Recreational Trust on Marsh Road TQ12 2AR. There is free parking on site and table money is £2-50 (£3-50 for visitors).  Also relaxed bridge meetings on Tuesday afternoons at 1.30pm.  Full details are here: Newton Abbot Bridge Club, Devon (bridgewebs.com)