| Bishop's Stortford Bridge Club Newsletter |
| News My request for members' views on the future of the club met with a very limited response. As I do not think there is currently any great interest in a change in the club's arrangements I am not proposing to take this matter further for the moment. Attendance has been quite good over the past few weeks, hopefully this can be maintained and the odd new pair coaxed in. We will see how it goes. Club Events Sunday December 7th sees our annual teams match with the Hatfield Heath Club, to be held this year on our home turf at Parsonage Lane Centre. December 17th is the Christmas party; a more light-hearted evening than usual, with lots of food and drink, and prizes to be won ! Reports Seniors Congress - 7th - 9th November 2003Venue: Hanover International Hotel and Club, Daventry; by Hazel Miles I attended the above congress which took place in Daventry this year - pairs had to have a minimum combined age of 110 with a minimum individual age of 53. Championship Pairs 1. "A" final - Bridge Holidays Abroad Trophy 2. "B" final - Cheltenham Bowl This is a very popular congress that starts on Friday afternoon when around 180 pairs commence a qualifying process over two sessions - (no carry forward score into the finals) - the top 28 pairs proceed through on the Saturday to the Bridge Holidays Abroad "A" final and the next 28 pairs to the Cheltenham Bowl "B" final - all play all of 54 boards. Swiss Pairs Trophy Remaining players go into the Swiss pairs (10 matches of 8 boards) - this year a total of 156 pairs. For those not wishing to qualify for the finals, they join the first Swiss pairs session on the Friday evening together with players that have not succeeded in the first qualifying session. The other unsuccessful players join on Saturday with a score in the range of 36-42 vps in respect of the three matches already played on Friday evening. Swiss Teams - Donnen Trophy Sunday stages the Swiss teams (7 matches of 7 boards) commencing at 11.30 a.m. and finishing around 7.30 p.m. - 109 teams took part. This is a most enjoyable weekend that I have been attending for about the last ten years, partnering Stan Ritter from Essex and joined by Michael Shine and Adrienne Tinn from Hatfield Heath, who are our team mates. I would recommend any of you that qualify in age for this event to participate next year. It is extremely friendly and so popular that players are recommended to book early to guarantee a place both at the hotel and for the congress. There was a very strong turn out from Hertfordshire in all events. As for my partner and I and our friends we ended up equal 20th in the Swiss pairs and in the teams we came 31st. The leading Hertfordshire stars were Celia and Derek Oram who came 3rd and Paddy Dymoke and Mervyn Carlisle who came 12th in the Championship pairs "A" final - may I add this is a great achievement for Mervyn as he is relatively new to bridge and with lots of determination has become a very accomplished player in a very short time. * Thanks to Hazel for writing the above report. Congratulations also to Hazel, Alan, Dorothy and John who placed 4th in the Herts Bridge Association Rose Bowl event of November 13th. Tim Matthews, Secretary. |
| Issue: November 2003 |