Newsletter - 23 June 2023

In this week’s newsletter...

• President's Message
• Upcoming Sessions and Events
• Pizza Night - Wednesday 28 June, from 6.30pm 
• Will Jenner-O'Shea Workshop - Bidding Strong Hands and Slams - 1 July 
• Interhemispheric RealBridge Challenge - 4 July at 6pm
• BFACT InterClub Teams -16 July - entries close 30 June 
• Canberra In Bloom - including Special Novice event - 29 September to 2 October 
• Competitive Bidding and Play  - 4 week course with Barb Toohey from 8 August
• Director's Course with Sebastian Yuen - this Saturday from 10am 
• Larapinta Expedition
  
• Lighter Moments 

President's Message

At its meeting in April, the committee discussed the ongoing impact of inflation on the Club's operating costs and considered the need to increase table fees as a result. As you can imagine there was some very useful feedback from our members and as a result the committee decided the increase in fees for concession holders would be decreased by 50%. Thank you to everyone who took part in the debate. The secret to resolving conflict is always to have a free and open discussion and communicate honestly. The new fee structure is summarised below.

Earlier this month I put in a request for the tables to be left in a tidy state with chairs pushed in and bidding boxes closed and placed neatly. I have noticed a significantly better look to the Barry Turner room following our sessions, and would like to thank you all for keeping this happening. It really makes such a difference.

We are looking for a volunteer to manage sponsorship next financial year. Please advise me if you are interested.

Tim Mather

Our weekly sessions are the same as last week.

Supervised Lessons

 These happen on Wednesdays from 7pm, or Fridays from 9.30am.  

• 28/30 June: Preemptive openings
• 5/7 July: Weak 2D/2H/2S openings
• 12/14 July: Strong 2C opening
• 19/21 July:  Slam bidding & Blackwood
• 26/28 July:  Negative and other doubles

Master the Basics 

Master the Basics virtual lessons are on Thursdays at 9.00am. Please email Barb Toohey if you want to be added to the Zoom class. It's $6 for members and $8 for non-members. The lessons run for 30 minutes.  

Next Thursday the session is on Bidding - The Reverse Bid.  A full list of MTB topics for 2023 is available here. 

Upcoming Events 

Wednesday Night Pizzas

The next Wednesday night pizzas will be on 28 June. For those unfamiliar with the activity, 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. The pizzas will be available from 6:30, which provides ample time to enjoy your pizzas before supervised and walk-in play begins.

The cost of the pizzas is a nominal $5 payable on the day. This entitles you to half a pizza. A variety of toppings will be available and participants can pick and choose. Vegan pizzas can be made available for those who want them. No drinks are provided, so if you want liquid refreshment you will need to bring your own. 

Attendance is voluntary and those wishing to partake should place their name on a list on the noticeboard or contact Jon Pike directly.

Will Jenner O'Shea Workshop - Saturday 1 July 2023 

Bidding Strong Hands and Slams (for all standards) 10am - 3pm

Time to commit so final catering can be put in place!  Topics include

• Practice your strong opening bids of 2C, 2NT and strong jump bids
• Decide when to look for slams and who should ask for aces
• Some skills to help you bid good slams and avoid bad ones
• Lots of high-level bidding practice

Play around 20 boards. Each hand has an interesting play and/or defence tip, and all hands will be discussed in detail, both bidding and playing.  An excellent booklet of the lesson content is included.  

Will Jenner-O’Shea has been teaching bridge for over 10 years. He has taught hundreds of Beginners, and thousands of Intermediate and Advanced players. He has taught at most of the largest Clubs in Sydney and around Australia, as well as presented bridge lessons at several National Events. He last taught at the Canberra Bridge Club in November and his lesson was very well received. Will has represented Australia and won several National events. 

The event includes a delicious morning tea, a light lunch and a booklet of notes; let us know of dietary requirements on registration. Partnerships and singles are welcome. If coming as a partnership or table of four please indicate in your entry.

Cost: $50 per player

To make a booking please email Will and transfer funds via CBC pay with the reference your ABF number WJOW  

Interhemispheric RealBridge Challenge - 4 July 

You are invited to take part in a huge contest, spanning vast expanses of land and sea. It all happens on Tuesday 4 July, at 6 pm.

This event charge is normal table fees in the usual manner.

There will be three pools of players. The top 20 tables will comprise the expert pool. Club players will be in the middle pool. Newcomers to the game and learners (having played more than 6 months) will be in their own pool. In the newcomers pool we will play 2 fewer boards, so that we all end at the same time.

Jennifer Yeats, our Treasurer said "I played in the last one and it was a lot of fun."

Please enter by online form and the earlier the better so the organisers can balance teams.  There will a limit to the number of pairs and early entry will mean you won't be disappointed.  

BFACT InterClub Teams - 16 July 

CBC Is hosting the InterClub Teams here at CBC on 16 July.

There are Novice, Restricted, Intermediate and Senior categories.  There is no limit on the number of teams playing.  

To enter as a pair or team please use the online booking form or email the office before 30 June 2023.  

We are looking for players willing to reserve for the InterClub Team events on 16 July, in case players are sick or otherwise unable to play on the day. Players of any standard are welcome, and if you are needed, you play for free. We are also looking for players who might be able to make up a fourth player for some of the regional teams. If you are available, please email the tournament convener, Roger Brake.

Canberra In Bloom - including Special Novice Event

Starting Friday 29 September, right here at Canberra Bridge Club! A national Gold point event with Pairs & Teams events for players of all abilities! See MyABF for more detail (or entries) and direct enquiries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Note this year has the inaugural Butterfly Orchid Novice Pairs event on the Friday afternoon for beginners with less than 5 masterpoints -  it lets you put your toe in the water to see what a congress is like:)

Encouragement from Jenny Bell who filled in at the Summer Festival of Bridge in January.  "The Director at our Wednesday game mentioned that volunteers were needed to come in at short notice if someone was unable to play.  My regular partner was the coast, so I put my name down on the spur of the moment.  

I'm a novice and really didn't expect to be called in.  I was surprised, and thrilled to play four full days of bridge.  One man's partner hadn't arrived, and I played with him.  On the other days there were odd numbers of entries in the novice pairs, so two volunteers were called in so there would be no sit outs.  Everyone was grateful to the volunteers for coming in, and we had a lot of fun.  We even got some gold master points!

I learned a lot about how a bridge congress is organised, and was really impressed by the very smooth organisation of such a large event.  I would certainly volunteer, or enter, again.  

So if you're a novice, and thought that events like this were not for you, I say 'think again'.  Volunteers are needed at all levels, you'll play in your appropriate level of competition, you'll learn a lot, and you'll have fun.  And you'll be exhausted at the end.  Give it a go next year"....

Thanks Jenny - give it a go - or better yet - enter - the inaugural Butterfly Orchid Novice Pairs event on the Friday afternoon for beginners with less than 5 masterpoints.  

Beginners Lessons - Coming soon

The next beginners lessons start on Wednesday 7pm on 2 August or Friday 10am on 4 August. There are 40 registered already so plenty of room for more takers. If you have family or friends that would like to learn, get them to register online here. 

Competitive Bidding and Play

Competitive Bidding and Play Training with Barb Toohey is coming soon on 8 August.  The course will run for  4-weeks from 10am to noon. This is the next step after the beginners lessons, and suitable for Novice & Supervised Players.  Topics covered include 

• Week 1: Doubles
• Week 2: Overcalls
• Week 3: Leads
• Week 4: Signals

Please register using the online form.  The cost is $55 for four weeks or $15 per week.  

BFACT Upcoming Director's Courses 

Saturday 24 June focused on existing directors - covering judgment rulings from 10am to 5pm.

Saturday/Sunday 18 & 19 November - for aspiring new or in-training directors.

Larapinta Expedition 

Some members have been asking Tim Mather about the charity walk he did along the Larapinta. He has written a story about what he did, with a few photos. It's a good read and is available on the Club Noticeboard.  

While we are yearning for warmer weather, spare a thought for anaesthestist and club member Nicola Meares on assignment in the Solomon Islands for a fortnight. Tomorrow she heads to the island Malaita where she will work next week. They think it is unlikely to have internet there (her offspring Cam and Jacques are cooking and playing for themselves). Dr Elizabeth Gallagher - who has also done beginner lessons at Canberra Bridge Club and is keen to play more though fitting it in around her work as an obstetrician and gynecologist is tricky - has organised the trip with the John James Foundation.

Lighter Moments

Turns out that being a "senior" is mostly just googling how to do stuff.

I want to be 18 again and ruin my life differently.  I have new ideas.

If you are feeling useless, remember it took 20 years, trillions of dollars, and four U.S. presidents to replace the Taliban with the Taliban.  

There is no such thing as a grouchy old person. The truth is, once you get old, you lose your filter and start being honest.  

Finally just a reminder that the Tuggeranong Repair Cafe is on this Sunday from 1-4pm at the Tuggeranong Community Centre in Greenway. They have repairers on hand for household electrical, jewellery, Apple and PCs fixing and advice, bikes, lawnmowers, clothing repairs and general tinkerers too. A Justice of the Peace will be there. Plus there is a new local business running the Cafe - Joss from Miss Mustard's Cookies will be cooking up homemade treats and light refreshments, so come on down and say 'hi' to Joss and support her at her first event.  Don't forget the Recycling Hub too for all of your hard to recycle items, and all Lids4Kids plastic 2's, 4's and 5's lids washed and dried please. 

Thanks to Bill Tutty for all his help with the photocopier and internet connectivity.  

Be kind in all things

Tamara (for Kerry and Tamara)