Newsletter 26 April 2024
In our newsletter this week...
- Message from the President
- myABF update
- Tip of the Week
- Tuesday night competition moving to RealBridge
- A Compulsive Pastime
- Mentoring in May
- Free online Course for Young Bridge Players
- Upcoming Events
- Ian Morison
- Lighter Moments
- Reminder
Message from the President
Building Concept Plans
For those members who have not had the chance to view the Concept Plans for the Canberra Bridge Club building, they will be displayed on the table outside the toilets from Monday next week until the end of May for viewing.
House Committee
The House Committee have been diligently working on the priorities from the member survey in conjunction with our maintenance issues with the roof and the solar system. They are currently working through ideas on making the building more energy efficient by investigating whether we need more panels and/or battery. They are also looking at the lighting, and reviewing our main ducted air conditioning and heating system with the view of getting quotes on a new system if needed, and whether we may need to replace our current switchboard.
Along with the above, they will be getting some quotes for new side tables.
There is also a requirement for new chairs, but depending on what comes from their investigations and costings on the above, that may be a project for later.
I would like to thank Nick Vonthethoff, Steve Kyburz and David Kenny for their enthusiasm on all of these projects!
Working Bee
There will be an internal working bee in the Barry Turner Room on Thursday 9 May immediately after the morning session (1:30pm) for a general tidy up of the room -- sorting through the bidding boxes etc. If you would like to help out please contact the Managers so jobs can be allocated.
An external working bee is also being planned for mulching of our garden beds, pruning etc. A date for that has not yet been set, but keep an eye on this space….
For everyone who is off to Adelaide late next week for the ANOT, good luck, safe travels and have FUN!
Mary
myABF update
A huge thank you to everyone for setting up their myABF accounts. We now have 92% of members registered. This makes the managers' work much simpler.
Remember that to recharge your account you need to log on to myABF and top up with your credit or debt card or better still, set your account to auto top up.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Pre-alerting
Play at CBC is controlled by the Tournament Regulations of the ABF
ABF Alerting Regulation 3.1.1 says: At the start of a round or match, pairs should acquaint each other with their basic system, length of one-level openings and the strength and style of their opening 1NT. Subsequent questions about these, whilst legal, may be regarded as unauthorised information.
What this really means is that, for instance: (i) If you play STANDARD, you should pre-alert by saying “We play Standard, with 5-card majors, a 4-card diamond suit and 1 club may be as short as 2; our 1NT is 15-18”. (ii) If you play ACOL, you should pre-alert by saying “We play Acol and open 4-card suits; our 1NT is 12-14”. (iii) If you play PRECISION, you should pre-alert by saying “We play Precision with 5-card majors and diamonds as short as 2; our 1club is 16+ any shape and our 1NT is 12-15”. And so on.
ABF Alerting Regulation 3.1.2 says: This is the stage when the opponents’ attention should be drawn to any unusual agreement which might surprise them or to which they may need to arrange a defence Examples ─ transfer pre-empts, transfer responses to 1 club, unusual two-level openings, canapé-style bidding, very unusual doubles, unusual methods over the opponents’1NT or strong club openings, unusual cue bids of the opponents’ suit, etc. Pay particular attention to unusual self-alerting calls. These should appear on the system card, but should also be verbally alerted.
What this really means is that you should pre-alert conventions that come up quite regularly (once or twice a session), such as multi-twos. Conventions that come up irregularly need not be pre-alerted.
ABF Alerting Regulation 3.1.3 says: Highly unusual carding (e.g. leading low from doubletons) should also be pre-alerted at this stage.
This clause means exactly what it says.
Correction
Two words “or dummy” were omitted from the April 19 TIP OF THE WEEK. The second paragraph should commence: If you become declarer or dummy and before the opening lead is made.
-John Brockwell
Tuesday Night Competition moving to RealBridge
From 25 June 2024 until end of August, Tuesday night competition is moving to RealBridge.
To encourage wider participation in RB on Tuesday nights. Visitors will be charged at the same rate as our members for the duration of the RB winter season. CBC club members will be charged $12 per session.
A two nights Butler Pairs event will be played on 25 June -2 July, as a warm up for ANC participants in Orange.
A Compulsive Pastime
Two of Canberra’s longstanding players have combined to write a book that presents the history of Bridge in the ACT and the surrounding regions
The evolution and development of bridge in Canberra and the surrounding regions is covered.
This includes
- the contributions made by the pioneers of the game ,
- the people and events that have shaped the enjoyment of this great pastime
- the development of new clubs
- the expansion of the array of tournaments
- a comprehensive listing of club and tournament results from the ACT and the surrounding regions
Price: $60 +postage $12
To obtain a copy:
David Hoffman 0407 782 756
or collect from Canberra Bridge Club
Mentoring in May
It’s Mentoring in May time again!
The Mentoring in May program matches mentors and mentees for 2 games during May.
- The mentor and mentee play for 2 sessions during May.
- Mentees pay the table money for their mentors.
- In general, the mentor plays the mentee’s system.
If you are interested in becoming a mentor or mentee (or both!), please email Rob Hurst at
Please refer to the email sent earlier regarding mentoring when replying to Rob, it lists out the information you should provide to assist in the pairing process.
Young Bridge Players Online Course
In May this year, with the support of the ABF, Nevena Djurovic and Paul Marston will present a FREE online course of lessons for kids aged 14 to 24. We will teach them all the important basics of this amazing game.
Please do us the favour of recruiting any kids you know who may be interested.
There are many good reasons why kids should learn bridge.
- Since many of the cards are hidden, bridge is a strategic game. This calls on kids to use critical thinking skills such as reasoning and logic.
- Since bridge is a partnership game, it teaches kids about teamwork and co-operation.
- Since you always have a partner when you play bridge, it is a great way to meet people and make friends.
- We all do a lot of winning and losing when we play bridge. It therefore teaches kids about sportsmanship.
** Please note: this course is a one-off opportunity – it will not be repeated!
The lessons will be on Wednesday 1, 8, 15 and 22 May at 7 pm AEST, with practice sessions on Sunday 5, 12, 19 and 26 May at 11 am AEST. Each session will be a bit under an hour.
Click here for more information : https://bridgelounge.online/youth-bridge-registration/abf/
Upcoming Events
- Autumn Butler Pairs is our next Tuesday night competition running on 23 and 30 April (Swiss Butler Pairs, IMPs scoring) - Click here to Enter
- Two of the club’s Youth members – Zara Chowdhury and Diya Shah will represent Australia in the Under 26 Women’s World Youth championship in Poland in July. A fund raising Red point Congress will be held on Sunday 19 May (Open, Restricted, Novice and Rookie categories) - Click here to Enter
Ian Morison
Lighter Moments
Before the EU, a German tourist was entering France, when the border agent asked:
Agent, “Name?”.
German, “Heinrich Gruber.”.
Agent: “City of residence?”.
German: “Frankfurt.”.
Agent: “Occupation?”.
German: “No, just visiting.”.
Reminder
The F2F Saturday afternoon Bridge at the club has been suspended until further notice. Please join us on RealBridge instead.
Have a great weekend Everyone!
Elizabeth
