Following the success of our first "special Tuesday" in June, we are eager to repeat the camaraderie, friendly competition and cakes enjoyed by the 26 players who came to play. On Tuesday, 5th July, let's see if we can beat the 6.5 tables we achieved in June. Free entry and chance to win a prize!

Meet our first monthly winners in our new competitions! Our Tuesday evening winners were awarded prizes for best performances in open and handicapped categories based on the best three sessions played during June. Please join us in congratulating:

David Young - 1st place, Open
Karen and Mark Darby - 1st place, Handicapped

Runners-up in the Open category were Chris Jago and Peter Berry, with Chris and David Young also placing in the Handicapped category.

Congratulations also to Eric and Robert Jenner, the winners of our Thursday evening competition. This competition awards prizes for the best performance by a Class C player or players over the best three sessions during the month.

Annual membership for 2022-23 renews on 1st April (new members click here to apply). We look forward to welcoming members back to West Sussex Bridge Club for another year. You may now renew online -- click here or on the Membership option in the main menu. The renewal fee is held at £15 for 2022-23, discounted to £12.50 if paid before the end of June. We hope to see you soon at the bridge table!

Please note that, if you do not renew by the end of June, you will no longer be able to play online at our joint sessions with Avenue and Lewes Bridge Clubs, nor be able to use vouchers at our sessions.

WSBC needs your support to ensure we meet our goal of four tables per session by the end of July in order to keep that session going.

As an incentive, we are offering monthly competitions beginning in June:

• Tuesday evening sessions will have adjusted handicapped results based on NGS rankings in tandem with the regular results, and a monthly prize of a bottle of wine given for the best performances over any three weeks in each section. 

• There will be a monthly prize of a bottle of wine to the Class C member or members with the aggregate best three results on Thursday evenings in the month based on master points after stratification.

On both Tuesday and Thursday evenings, you can play with the same or different partners. To check Tuesday's handicapped results, go to the Results page and click on the Information tab that is shown there.

Members – your bridge club needs YOU!

Following our AGM held on 3rd May at which there were many ideas put forward for trying to encourage a greater attendance at our playing sessions, your Committee met on 11^th May to consider all of them. In summary, this is what we propose to do:

• We hope to broaden the appeal of Tuesday evening sessions by producing handicapped results (if possible, based on NGS rankings) in tandem with the regular results, and award annual prizes for the best performances in each section. 
• We do not think table money or a membership fee is putting off players but visitors will now only be charged £3, the same as members who do not use vouchers (which will continue to be sold only to members).
• Renewal of membership will stay at £12.50 until the end of June.
• We will try to promote the club more by advertising in local publications, village notice boards and libraries.
• We will offer a mentoring service for new players on the first Thursday evening of the month with a booking arrangement for those who wish to participate being provided on the website.
• We have investigated the possibility of providing different chairs for those who find the existing ones too uncomfortable but unfortunately there is nowhere to store them.
• Starting in June there will be a monthly prize of a bottle of wine to the Class C member or members with the aggregate best 3 results on Thursday evenings in the month based on master points after stratification. You can play with the same or different partners.
• We are looking at a catering roster for Thursday evenings.
• Whilst we are open to amalgamating with another club, options for doing so are limited.
• On Tuesday 7th June we will have a special event with a short break for refreshments to mark the Queen’s Jubilee and we hope as many members as possible will come along - there will be free entry and enhanced master point awards. More special Tuesdays to follow if attendance picks up!

Other competitions are being considered but they only work if there is sufficient support so members are encouraged to come along to as many sessions as possible each month. We have set a target of an absolute minimum of 4 tables at each session and if this is not being achieved by the end of July we will have to consider cancelling the session on those days.

After the success of this year’s Break, we are pleased to announce that the event will be held again from 5th to 8th February 2023 with Graham Hedley as Director. Full information is being sent to everyone who went this year but, if you are interested in attending for the first time, please email Chris Jago via secretary@westsussexbc.co.uk.