A congress for all levels of novice players.

The format

Monday

Monday will be an introductory day. This day is free!

It is aimed at those who may be a little trepidatious about taking part and want to find their feet before the main events begin on Tuesday. It is therefore ideal for those who have been taking lessons and want a more gentle introduction, or who have not played bridge in a few years and may feel they need to knock off some rust.

There will be a supervised play session in the afternoon - you will play bridge 'normally' but you will be allowed to ask for help if you feel you need help with a particular hand.

There will be a lesson in the evening, targeted to the standard of the players in the group.

If you are unsure whether you want to take part in the main Really Easy Congress you can register at the conclusion of play on Monday.

Tuesday and Wednesday

In the morning there will be lessons, and in the afternoon and evening there will be competitions.

The group will split in two, with the content of the lessons and competitions being targeted at those in each specific group. You will therefore be learning and playing with those of roughly a similar standard.

You will be able to move between the groups if you misjudge at the start, and subsequently find that the activities of one group are not appropriate for your ability.

You do not need to play in all sessions, but it would be helpful for the organisers to know in advance (even if it is just at the end of the session before) if you intend missing a session.

Thursday

The whole group will play a single, longer, Swiss Pairs competition. This will start in the morning, and finish mid-afternoon, with a short break in the middle.

In a Swiss Pairs competition you play a match against a pair chosen at random. In the next match you play a pair on the same cumulative score, and likewise in the third match, and so on. You will therefore likely play against pairs of a similar standard for most of the competition.

What happened to the 'First Step' and 'Next Step' groups?

Rather than separating the two aspects of the Really Easy Congress, as we had done in recent years, we have instead opted to keep everyone together. This gives the participants the flexibility to find the level which suits them best - previously you had to commit before the event started, and if you misjudged then the congress may not have been as much fun. Now you can just come along, and find your level when you start.

It also allows for more flexibility for those running the congress, and ensures that we can best tailor the content to the ability and interests of the participants.

We hope this change makes the congress bigger and better for everyone.

So whether you are just a beginner, someone who hasn't played in many years and wants to start again, or a novice club player, all you need to do is sign up and come along.

The standard

The Really Easy Congress is aimed at all levels of 'less experienced' players. The content of the lessons, and speed of play, will be geared towards the ability of the participants in each session.

There is no lower limit on ability, other than we would expect that all participants will have recently started to learn to play, or have played in the past. Please note that there are no lessons for those starting completely from scratch - you should therefore have an understanding of the rudiments of the game, and the mechanics of playing. In some sessions, however, assistance can be provided to novice players.

At the upper end of the spectrum, we would expect that the stronger players would still be 'inexperienced', with little/no experience of green-point events, and they are below the rank of Master and lower than a Jack on the NGS.

We hope that those who have taken part in Green Point events, or participated in the 'Next Step' events at the Really Easy Congress in the past, will take part in the main congress events - either the One Day Events or the Weekend Challenge Events.

All Really Easy Events ares restricted to level 2 conventions. If you regularly play any level 4 conventions you should play in the main congress events.

We reserve the right to restrict entry to the Really Easy Congress to those we consider to be of the right playing level. Please do not think you are being modest by underestimating your ability - if you are too strong a player you may spoil the event for other participants.

Other Really Easy Events

Anyone who has enjoyed the Really Easy events in the past, or who is thinking of joining us this year, may be interested in our Really Easy Weekends - a full weekend of bridge, in great hotels and with a fun atmosphere, for 'experienced novices'.

We also hold Really Easy Afternoons at four congresses - Easter Festival, London; Spring Bank Holiday Congress; Autumn Congress; Year End Congress, London.