Be sure not to miss our final - and best - event of the year. On Wednesday 17 December we'll hold our CHRISTMAS PARTY followed by the much awaited INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP where everyone swaps partners for each hand.  It's free - no table money or entry fee.

You don't need a partner to play, so just turn up with a small buffet snack (a sandwich, snack or desert) and enjoy the evening!  The Club will provide free drinks.  Doors open at 6pm.

Last year a total of 36 members battled it out for the honour of lifting the famous old trophy, which is engraved with club champions dating back to 1960. 

In the end it was a close run affair, with the winner John Haynes narrowly edging out Geoff Clements into second place. John is pictured left receiving the trophy from Jeff Cain.

Guests are welcome at our friendly club. Our spacious venue has free parking and it's only £2 to play (guests pay £4). 

Tuesday and Wednesday are our two duplicate nights. Play starts at 6.40pm - please arrive by 6.30pm to be seated for play.  Please note: the Director may start play 5 minutes early, so arrivals after 6.35pm may be too late if play has already commenced. You can however phone your partner to alert the Director if you are running a bit late.

Tuesday evening is aimed at 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 (we're at top of 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 Weds 28 January, 6.30pm - for 8 weeks, with a half-term break in Feb (cost is £75)
• The next IMPROVER class (for members) is in January (date TBA) - the topic is defence and signals (£6 per lesson)

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

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.

2025 KEY DATES

We run eight TROPHY EVENTS in 2025.  Be sure to put these dates in your diary:

Feb 25:  Mixed Pairs  Winners: Margaret and Ian Mundy

April 9:  Handicap Pairs Trophy  Winners: Mary Nicolle and Tricia Powe

May 13 and 20:  Pairs Championship   Winners: Sheila Ferguson and Tony Allsworth

June, July, August:  Europa Summer League (members with NGS rank of 8 or below)   Winner: Pippa Reynolds

September 23:  Championship Teams  Winners: Margaret and Ian Mundy, Alex Maddocks and Mike Orriel

Sept, Oct, Nov:  Autumn Ladder on Tuesday evening   Winner: George Triantafyllidis

October 15: Margaret Pearce Trophy (NGS rank of 8 or below)   Winners: Sara Marshall and Jenny Carter

December 17:  Individual Championship + Xmas Party

PROMOTIONS

Congratulations to the following members, who have been promoted in rank by the English Bridge Union in 2025:

5 Star Master:  Norah Western

1 Star Master:  Hymie Smith

County Master: Jesper Rundin, David Jones, Bernard Sellick, Josephine White

District Master: Billy Lambert

Area Master:  Claire Carey

Local Master:  Gill Murphy, Carole Hooper, Neil Downie, Mike Baker, Cathy Woodward, Liz Green, Monique Shephard

Club Master:  John Isaacs, Roger Gough, Pippa Reynolds, Joy Praill

The Mixed Pairs Championship was held on Tuesday 25 February.

Eight mixed pairs fought for the honour of lifting the silver trophy and they were joined by a further nine pairs in an overall field of seventeen pairs.

The winners with a score of 60.5% were Margaret and Ian Mundy, who finished two percent clear of second-placed pair Sara Seymour and Pete Van Praag.

Well done to Margaret and Ian who fully deserve their win after missing out last year when finishing in second place to Norah and Billy. Expert players Margaret and Ian have enjoyed a successful season at the Club after also finishing second in the Pairs Championship to Sheila and Tony, so it came as no surprise when they lifted the trophy this time around.

The Handicap Pairs trophy was held on Wednesday 9 April, attracting a nine-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 was Mary Nicolle and Tricia Powe pictured receiving the trophy from Carol Roylance, with a score of 69.7% (+21.7% above expected)

It turned out to be a close call at the finish, with second-placed pair Ruth and David Rogers finishing 20.8% above their expected score on 75.8%. In third place were Carol Roylance and Ken Everleigh (+13%) and fourth were Sarah Thomas and Andy Goreing (+9%), who showed that our beginners can challenge in this unique event - very well done to these pairs and to all who made the event so enjoyable on the night.

The Club Pairs Championship was contested over two weeks on Tuesday 13 and 20 May.  The two scores were aggregated to arrive at the overall winners.

Congratulations to Sheila Ferguson and Tony Allsworth, who retained the trophy with a combined score of 63%, having also won in 2024.  Finishing in second place were Billy Lambert and George Triantafyllidis.

It has been decided to widen the qualifying criteria for this event next year, as several pairs were not available to play on both weeks this year. In 2026, we'll designate all four Tuesday's in May as qualifying sessions, with pairs able to utilise their best two scores to count towards the final result.

Sheila and Tony are pictured here receiving their trophy from Tricia Powe, who won the handicap pairs last month playing with Mary Nicolle.

Congratulations to PIPPA REYNOLDS who won the Europa Summer League 🥳.

After 3 months of battling away, Pippa fought off a late challenge from a cluster of players for a well deserved victory, securing the trophy plus first prize. Finishing in second place and also winning a prize was Geoff Ward, who edged out partner Christine Piper into third place due to his lower EBU grade.

FINAL LEADERBOARD 

Pippa 80   - trophy and first prize

Geoff 70   - second prize

Christine 70

Larisa, Steve 69

Mark, Richard 68

Laura  67

Gill  66

Mary, Andy 65

Your EBU grade (NGS)

This is calculated by the EBU based on your results, and listed on our website - to find out your EBU grade, please see the "EBU NGS grades" tab on the left hand side of this website.

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.

Devon Bridge Association 

No Fear Event

The third DBA No Fear Bridge event will take place on Sunday, November 30, 2025 at the Old Heathcoat School Community Centre in Tiverton.

These events are aimed at players at the beginning of their Bridge journey, who have completed a beginners course and may already be playing in supported sessions.

There's more information about the event HERE including an entry form.

Devon County Congress

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 6.45pm 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). If the car park is full in the evening then Cricketfield Road car park is nearby (5 minute walk) where parking is free after 6-00pm.   Also relaxed bridge meetings on Tuesday afternoons at 1.30pm. 

Further details and a map showing the venue is on Newton Abbot Bridge Club, Devon (bridgewebs.com)