The National Pairs Championship starts with a qualifying round, organised locally, with many heats. It is an enjoyable event, enabling players to participate in a local heat, with the opportunity to qualify for the Regional and ultimately the National Finals.
Clubs intending to run heats are requested to contact Michael at the EBU (click to email) as soon as possible with the details so that we can add you to the list of participating clubs.
Players need not be EBU members in order to play in the club qualifying stage, but must become members in order to proceed to the Regional Finals or beyond.
Entry
Fees are at the discretion of the heat organisers, who are required to remit £5 per competing pair to EBU. Table money of £37 per pair will be charged at the Regional Finals, and £37 per pair will also be charged at the National Final.
County or Club Secretaries should send entry fees and detailed results for their heat to the EBU Competitions Department as soon as possible after the heat, and in any event by 23 February 2009.
Regional Finals 22nd March 2009
The regional finals will start at 1pm and will end at approximately 8.30pm. There are five venues:
- Bradford Bridge Club - Northern Regional Final
- West Midlands Bridge Club - Midlands Regional Final
- Leatherhead Leisure Centre - South East Regional Final
- Jurys Hotel, Bristol - South West Regional Final
- Cresset Centre, Peterborough - Eastern Counties Regional Final
The number of pairs qualifying for the final from each of the Regional Finals will be in accordance with a scale designed to qualify 50 pairs overall to an all-play-all final.
National Final 25th - 26th April 2009
The final will be held at the Hinckley Island Hotel. Play starts at 2pm on the Saturday and finishes at approximately 5.30pm on the Sunday. It is an all-play-all event consisting of 49 two-board rounds.
National Green Points are awarded at all stages, including the initial
club qualifying stage:
Master Points |
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| Club Heats | Local Points at Regional Scale (i.e. Club scale x 3). | |
| Additionally, Green Point awards as follows: | 1-5 pairs: No green point award | |
| 6-11 pairs: One award of 0.25 | ||
| 12-19 pairs : Two awards of 0.5 and 0.25 | ||
| 20-29 pairs: Three awards of 0.75, 0.5 and 0.25 | ||
| 30+ pairs: Four awards of 1, 0.75, 0.5 and 0.25 | ||
| Local Points for these top places to be reduced by the corresponding Green Point award (1 Green Point is the equivalent of 100 Local Points). All awards for the club heats to be issued by the Club Master Points Secretary. | ||
| Regional Finals | Combination of Local Points (halfway) and Green Points (to the top 30%) | |
| National Final | Green Points to halfway (winners 20) | |
List of winning pairs since 1932 when the competiton started
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