Newsletter - 25 August 2023
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In this week's newsletter
President's Message I would like to give a big thank you to Chris Lokan for helping with the Weekly Newsletter’s ability to have functional links to different reports we have been including in our weekly communication with members. Hopefully this week you will have a seamless transfer and for that please thank Chris. You may notice we have set up a few small black tables on the East side of the Barry Turner room . We have two small side tables and two larger side tables per playing table and are running a trial to see how they work. Members have been asking me to have 4 side tables per playing table and we do not have enough tables to do this. To solve this problem, we have had a number of people sourcing different sized and constructed tables to find an economic answer. These small tables are our best available and I am conducting a survey to get your opinions. If you have an opinion that differs from “too small” or “I like it”, please let me know through the suggestion box. We are looking for some more volunteers to help with supervised classes. The duties are not onerous, and you sometimes get to play free games of bridge. You will not need to attend more than once a month and will get some very good information to help improve your standard of bidding and play. We get the benefit of your help and so it is a win for everyone. Tim Mather
Vale Stella McLaughlin Stella, one of our long time members of the Canberra Bridge Club, died in Sydney last week. She, and husband Bruce, joined the ACTBC in the 1960s. Not long after joining, she became secretary of the club, a position she held for four years, bringing her strong administrative skills to the organization. As well she was one of the group that set up the club library. Having bought enduring membership when it was offered, her playing days at the club ceased when the club brought in a non smoking rule. In the 1970s she represented the ACT three times in the ANC Women’s Team Championship.
A Word on Governance The Committee minutes from 18 July 2023 are available here or on the noticeboard. Apologies for the incorrect link last week.
Consultation on 2024 Calendar Over the next two months, we will be finalising the Canberra Bridge Club and BFACT Calendars for 2024. If you have any particular changes you would like to see next year, please pass them on to the Tournament Secretary, David Wawn. In particular we have been looking at how we can strengthen the Club’s night-time events. A survey was recently sent to regular event players. The key finding was strong support for moving the events night back to Tuesday. The full findings from the survey are available at this link - https://www.surveymonkey.com/stories/SM-0Hobsotu9hhfa6Z4L8bVkg_3D_3D/
Supervised Lessons These happen on Wednesdays from 7pm, or Fridays from 9.30am.
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 $8 for members and $10 for non-members. The lessons run for 30 minutes. Next Thursday the session is on Defence: Which card should I keeep?
Upcoming Events
Support your Clubs and their Committees BFACT AGM - Saturday 16 September, immediately following the Gala Pairs. CBC AGM - Thursday 5 October, 5.30pm
Saturday Face to Face Bridge - This Saturday You have two options for enjoying bridge on a Saturday afternoon – at the Club or online. Week 2 of the four-week trial of face-to-face bridge occurs tomorrow, in parallel with the existing RealBridge session. This walk-in game will commence at 1pm, followed by RealBridge at 1.15pm.
Wednesday Night Pizzas The next Wednesday night pizzas is on 30 August. 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. The beginners class is most welcome to participate.
Will Jenner-O'Shea Youth Training Days Will is intending on holding some more Youth Days in the coming months of 2023. The focus for the first week - Sunday 3rd September is a “learn to play day” for newer players. But ALL Youth players are invited, and bring along as many of your young friends as possible so they can also enjoy the FUN! The idea is to continue the format from previous Youth days starting at 11am (with a lunch break) and finishing around 3pm. These sessions are available to anyone under 30 for free. If there are “Youth” who are not too far on the other side of 30, they will also be very welcome! Please email Mary Tough if you are attending so we have an idea on numbers. The dates are: Sunday - September 3rd - “learn to play day”. Sunday - October 15th. Sunday - November 26th. Venue: Canberra Bridge Club, 5-7 Duff Place, Deakin. Time: 11am-3pm ~Youth Bridge is Bridge’s future~
Will Jenner-O'Shea Workshops Will is excited to announce 3 more workshops in 2023: The Main Rules of Bridge - When to Follow Them, When to Break Them - Saturday 2 September 10am to 3pm Topics include
How Do Competitive Bids Change at Different Levels - Saturday 14 October 10am to 3pm Topics include
End of Year Summary - Saturday 25 November 10am to 3pm Topics include
Spring Swiss Matchpoint Pairs - 31 August & 7 September - Thursday nights Following the current August Pairs event, we will be holding a two-week Swiss Matchpoint Pairs event on 31 August and 7 September. This event will also incorporate the BFACT Mixed Pairs. There are no restrictions on entries - you are welcome to enter as a mixed pair or a non-mixed pair. The following event will be the two week President’s Teams on 14 and 21 September so start sounding out any potential team-mates. And we are happy to help with team-mates, especially if you are a newer player. Both events will suit any up and coming players looking to challenge themselves on a Thursday night
BFACT GALA "GOLD" Pairs - 16 September The Bridge Federation of the ACT is holding a Gala "Gold" Pairs Day on Saturday, 16 September 2023 at the CBC at 9.45am.
Canberra In Bloom - including Special Novice Event This is the last week for earlybird discounts! 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 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:) If there is no room in your Inn and you have friends or relatives coming to town for Canberra in Bloom (CiB) (or for other events held at CBC) make sure you mention Forrest Hotel and Apartments, 30 National Circuit. They are a proud sponsor of CiB this year, just a short drive or you can get your steps up with a leisurely half hour walk to Deakin. Visitors can quote “Canberra Bridge Club” to receive the member discount rate. Alternatively people can go to the website https://www.forresthotel.com. On their website you then can go to Book Now and sign up to be a member to get the same member discount. For any further enquiries/assistance ask to speak to Yvonne Sun, Front Office Manager, directly. Remember the early bird discount for CiB finishes at the end of August!
Canberra In Bloom - Volunteers needed! Canberra in Bloom Needs You! You can help our very own congress to run smoothly and be a terrific success by making yourself available as a partner for players wanting to enter an event or as a substitute. Regular partner/s may not be available to play in the event for a variety of reasons, so the Partnership Desk tries to match up players of similar skill levels. Substitutes play for free, and are usually called in at short notice, because someone registered to play can no longer play in a particular session or event. Substitutes may be asked to play for a session, or for an entire event, depending on circumstances, including the substitute’s availability and preferences. The events are:
Thank you to everyone who has already volunteered to help out at our very own congress Canberra in Bloom from Friday 29 September to Monday 2 October. Thank you particularly to the rookies who’ve already put their hands up! We need players at all levels available for one or more sessions. You might be playing in a particular event, say the Spider Orchid Pairs on Friday, but you might be available to substitute on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Substitutes might be asked to play just a few hands, a session, or a whole event, depending on whether the person they are subbing for is delayed in traffic, or has fallen ill, for example. And, bonus, substitutes play for free! If you can help out, please contact Bricet Klören. Don’t forget to include your best phone contact number, and which sessions you are or are not available.
Cootamundra Bridge Club - Golden Canola Spring Congress 23/24 September Swiss pairs on the Saturday and Swiss Teams on the Sunday. Details here. Enter https://www.bridgewebs.com/cootamundra/home.html Jenny Bell and Belinda Moss need some teammates for the Sunday, if anyone is interested please email Jenny.
Interested in becoming a bridge director? Or just want to improve your knowledge of the rules? In either case, Sebastian Yuen is an international director who will transport you to new levels of knowledge and learning. Saturday/Sunday 18 & 19 November - for aspiring new or in-training directors.
Results CBC Butler Pairs In this three week competition, the top results were: 1. David Hoffman/ David Wawn 2. Julia Hoffman/Chris Quail 3. Jodi Tutty /Bill Tutty
Wagga Wagga Congress Andrew Spooner and teammates took out the open teams. Janet Kahler and Peter Quach came third EW in the Walk in Pairs Adrienne Stephens and Peter Kahler came third NS in the same event Congratulations to all!
Lighter Moments: Spring cleaning! I'm in the mood for some Spring cleaning. Apparently cabin fever has made me delirious I have tried the Japanese method of decluttering where you hold every object that you own and if it does not bring you joy, you throw it away. So far I have thrown out all of the vegetables, my bra, the electricity bill, the scales, a mirror and my treadmill. Why are waterbeds so springy? They're filled with spring water! Spring cleaning never killed anyone. But why take the chance.... I can't believe it's already time to put off my Spring cleaning until next year.
Be kind in all things Tamara (for Kerry and Tamara) |
