Newsletter 20 March 2025
In our newsletter this week...
- Vale Avi Kanetkar
- President's Message
- Message from the Committee
- Kieser Exercise Class
- Wednesday Night Pizzas
- Etiquette Month
- New Members
- BFACT ANC Seniors Selection Event
- Looking for help, advice, commiserations about a difficult hand?
- Upcoming Events
- Results
- Tales from Batemans Bay
- Lighter Moments
Vale Avi Kanetkar
Below is an invitation to the wake for one of Australia leading bridge players who would be well known to many of Canberra's leading players, Avi Kanetkar.
His obituary was featured on the ABF website.
President's Message
Congratulations to all who travelled to Batemans Bay for their Congress last weekend. As always it was well attended by our members with many coming home with some “cash”!
We are so very proud of you all.
Please find the results (below) from the Batemans Bay Congress.
https://nsw.bridgeaustralia.org/resultslistbyheadevent.asp?umbid=976
Open Swiss Pairs:
3rd - David Hoffman & Peter Grant
Novice/Restricted Swiss Pairs:
Novice
2nd - Lyndall Kennedy & Kate Latimer
Restricted
1st - Julie McPhail & Kate Ward
2nd - Maxwell Ashurst & Josh Schwartz
3rd - Lucy Stevenson & Caitlyn McKenzie
TEAMS RESULTS
Open Teams:
1st - George Kozakos, Stephen Fischer, Andrew Spooner & John Yoon
2nd - Andrew Struik & Brian Thorpe (in the Bolt Team)
Restricted Teams:
2nd - Maxwell Ashurst, Josh Schwartz, Jade Wilkinson & Alexis Wilsmore
Novice Teams:
1st - Lyndall Kennedy & Kate Latimer (in the Sellick Team)
- Mary
Message from the Committee
The Committee is in the process of updating its bylaws and invites CBC member consultation. The latest version can be found on our website. Please provide any feedback by 31 March to the CBC manager via email at
Kieser Exercise Class
Following the success of the first Balance and Bone Loading class back in November 2024, Kieser will be running a second complimentary exercise class for our members in the Olive Lott Room.
- Thursday April 3 at 2pm
More details will be available later, but if you are interested in attending please RSVP by letting the office know or emailing to
Wednesday Night Pizzas
The Wednesday night pizzas provide the opportunity for social interaction while enjoying a pizza sampling. It provides a great opportunity to talk to and socialise with your fellow players, which is not always the case when engaged in playing bridge.
o 26 March - 6:30pm
o $5 payable on the day for half a pizza
Those wishing to partake should place their name on a list on the noticeboard or contact Jon Pike directly. His email is
March is Etiquette month
Some simple guidance on general bridge etiquette will be included in the Newsletters for the month of March. This will give players some helpful tips on ensuring enjoyable bridge play.
Table Talk Etiquette
When East and West arrive at the table, North and South should cut short any conversation they may have been having and look up and greet their new opponents with a friendly “hello” . Introduce yourselves if you haven’t met before. This leads into a nice friendly game of bridge. Avoid postmortems at the table. Especially refrain from comments such as “That will be a good board for us partner” “They had game on” etc. Keep it friendly. We are all here for a pleasant game of bridge. It can be nice to say to an opponent “well played” or “good lead” etc. But not to partner. Keep partnership conversations until after the bridge session when you can go over the hand records together.
New Members
Canberra Bridge Club welcomes the following new and returning member to the club:
- Prue Watters
- Annabel Wallace
- Tony Wallace
- Anne Archer
BFACT ANC Senior Team Selection
On weekend of 29/30 March an event to select the ACT Seniors team for 2025 will be held. Details and entry in MyABF (in Calendar view select State=ACT).
All senior pairs (both born before 1/1/1962) in a BFACT affiliated club are encouraged to enter.
Looking for help, advice, commiserations about a difficult hand?
The club has recently revamped its teaching program and part of our new approach includes provision of teaching/mentoring/discussion for the intermediate or advanced club player as well as our ongoing program for beginners.
Do you have a hand you found difficult? An auction you and your partner disagree on? A situation that comes up again and again which you find yourselves guessing about? You may wish to email us at:
and our friendly teaching staff will provide their suggestions, critique or sympathy for difficult hands you have had to bid, play or defend. Some of those hands may appear in future newsletters (with the names changed to protect the innocent) as if you’re having trouble with them there is a good chance other club members will too.
Any queries are accepted – how should I bid this hand? How should I play this hand? How should I play multi-twos? Is a short club better than better minor?.....Any and all questions will be answered (usually within a day, although sometimes it can take up to a week if things are busy).
In addition, if you have not yet attended any of the weekend workshops run by Will Jenner-O’Shea, why not consider trying those? His workshops are always fun, friendly and extremely informative. The next one is on: Sunday the 18th of May.
RESULTS
The Grand Slam Pairs RED masterpoint event has concluded and the Winners are:
- Kathleen Kenny - David Kenny
Upcoming Events
Tuesday night Competition - Matchpoint Pairs ( incl Ted Crichton Mixed Pairs)
- 1, 8 and 15 April - 7:15pm
- Click here to Enter
Tales from Bateman's Bay
This very well played hand, as recounted by Steve Geddes, was held by Vanessa Brown one of many Canberra players who made the trip over the mountains to Bateman’s Bay last weekend for their annual congress.
Lighter Moments
To my intense surprise today I opened a package addressed to Canberra Bridge Club (with no mention of the sender) which contained two items: one had the picture of a Witch sitting in a toilet and the other was a Skeleton also doing the same thing.
Now for those who had to read that sentence again, I tell you that I also did pause and look at the address on that package again. Yes it was addressed to the managers at Canberra Bridge Club!
Now I am sure that there isn't anything here for me to be offended about.. surely this isn't some subtle message to the managers... Surely somebody is just making an early contribution towards our Halloween efforts..
Whoever sent this puzzling gift to our club please contact the office, your package has been delivered.
Have a great day everyone!
Elizabeth
