English Bridge Union
In just a few weeks we will start a new year of Simultaneous Pairs events organised by the EBU. If your club already takes part then thank you, and we hope you will continue to support the EBU, and its members, through your participation.
If your club hasn't taken part in the past, or has but didn't in 2016, we hope you can be encouraged to participate this year.
Thank you in advance for your support of the event - we hope to receive your entries soon.
Every affiliated club which holds a heat of a Sim Pairs is entered in to a prize draw with thirteen prizes available, including a top prize of £1000. The leading pair at each affiliated club, when scored nationally, are also entered in to a draw with a top prize of £1000.
The draw for the 2016 winners took place at the EBU AGM. The top prizes went to:
Club prize draw winners
1st Prize - £1000 Grantham Bridge Club, Lincolnshire
2nd Prize - £500 Horsham Bridge Club, Sussex
3rd Prize - £200 Welwyn Garden City Bridge Club, Hertfordshire
Pairs prize draw winners
1st Prize - £1000 per pair Shiv Datt & Richard Cumming-Bruce, Marylebone Cricket Club Bridge Society
2nd Prize - £500 per pair Brian Smith & Ron Wall, Louth Duplicate Bridge Club
3rd Prize - £200 per pair Gill Gold & Ray Green, Hexham Bridge Club
In addition, runners-up prizes were drawn in each category. A full list of the winners can be seen here.
So, by playing in a sim pairs event in 2017 your club, or a pair from your club, could win up to £1000 – just like these clubs and pairs have done. But you've got to be in it to win it.
All proceeds from Simultaneous Pairs organised by the EBU are used to benefit bridge in England in the following ways...
Monday 8th - Thursday 11th May
Monday 4th - Friday 8th September
The EBED Simultaneous Pairs supports the charity, English Bridge Education and Development, which is working to promote and develop the game in many areas.
In 2017 they are targeting the proceeds on “improving and developing the infrastructure for bridge teaching in England”, which they hope as a club bridge official you will readily identify with. Their particular aims are:
to complete the revision and updating of the Bridge for All materials to introduce an accelerated learning programme that will take people from non-bridge player to being able to start playing in a gentle duplicate with just 25 hours of formal teaching to redesign and rejuvenate EBTA – the English Bridge Teacher’s Association
Without the support of clubs like yours they will struggle to carry out all these activities. We hope you will take part to help support
Tuesday 7th - Wednesday 8th February
The Bridge England Simultaneous Pairs raises funds to help support and develop our national teams. In 2017 the proceeds from the event will go towards supporting our junior squads. A thriving and successful junior international scene is important for the development of the next generation of bridge players, and we hope you will take part to support these youngsters as they work towards participation in the European Championships in Slovakia in July.
9th - 12th January
13th - 16th March (CSSP)
3rd - 6th April
24th - 27th July
2nd - 5th October
These events all support your EBU. The proceeds from these events help us to provide services to the members, clubs and counties. By participating you are enabling the EBU to do more for bridge in England, and your club and members will see the direct benefit.
The Club Stratified Sim Pairs in March is great introductory event for clubs which haven't previously played in a sim pairs. The cost of entry is lower to encourage participation, and the results are stratified in to four categories so less experienced players can still win bonus Master Points based on their position within their stratification. More information is available here.
We believe the results service which is provided is excellent, with a breakdown of all the scores and percentages along with hand records and an expert commentary which is both interesting and educational (but we don't 'rig' the hands to make the commentary more interesting - that's just the talent of the writer). There is also a 'double dummy' feature so you can analyse the possible lines of play. Here is an example. So by participating your members are getting more than just 'an ordinary club night' - and if they do well they can earn lot more Master Points too.
We are pleased to be able to freeze the entry fees for 2017. The cost of entry is an extra £2.70 per player* - except for the Club Stratified Sim Pairs which is a discounted £2.20* to encourage first time participants (see above). So for less than the price of a pint or a coffee at Starbucks you can get more from your evening of bridge, play in a national event, support bridge in England, and possibly win £1000. We think that's not bad value.
* - standard Universal Membership Subscription fees also apply
Information on the benefits of participating in the events, including details of the prize draw, is available here. It also addresses some of the concerns expressed about the hands which are played. We would emphasise that the hands are not 'rigged', and are played exactly as dealt - they are no more unusual than you would expect at any club night with properly shuffled and dealt boards.
Details of how to register, and information on downloading the hands and submitting the results, can be seen here. Whilst you can register right up until the start of the session in question, if you enter in advance we can provide a poster for you to display at your club to promote the event. You can register now for any of the events in 2017, so you can get them in your club calendar now.
All these events are open to all British clubs, including unaffiliated clubs. There is a surcharge for unaffiliated English clubs in most events, but this is waived in the EBED events as the charity supports all bridge players. So if you know someone at an unaffiliated club then please let them know and encourage them to take part - if they do then we all benefit.
