Club Management Focus: Winter 2017

Really Easy Pairs at Easter

On Friday 14th April there will be another Really Easy Afternoon as part of the Easter Festival. This is a duplicate pairs, held at multiple venues, aimed as an introduction to tournament bridge for less experienced players.

The same hands will also be played at multiple locations around the country, with the competition scored across all the venues.

If you have an improvers group, or novice club session which plays on a Friday afternoon, then we hope you will consider hosting a heat – it will give your members a chance to participate in a national competition from the comfort of their own club. See below for details on hosting a heat.

Players should be comfortable playing in a club setting, but should be below the rank of Master, and lower than a Jack on the NGS.

If you are not able to hold your own heat, then please mention the event to the less experienced members of your club, and refer them to the Easter Festival webpage, as there may be a heat in your area – the webpage will be updated when heats are confirmed. And of course we hope the more experienced members of your club will join us to play in the main events at the congress, or at the Northern Easter Congress.

Host a heat at your club

If your club has a large teaching/improvers membership and would be interested in hosting a heat of the event please contact Gordon Rainsford for more information. The event is scored across all the venues and Blue Points are awarded, with extra points available for players who are 6 or below on the NGS. The club organises the heat in co-operation with the EBU, provides a suitable TD and takes half the entry fees. We provide publicity posters, hand records, issue the Blue Points and some modest prizes, as well as certificates to those who do well, both nationally and locally. The cost of entry is £8 for EBU members, and £12 for non-members.

Although the EBU will promote the event as a whole, please note that host clubs are responsible for the promotion of their heat, and we expect each host club to generate enough participants itself for the heat to go ahead.

Looking ahead, Really Easy Afternoons are also held as part of the Spring Bank Holiday Congress, Autumn Congress, and Year End Congress. If you are interested in holding a heat for any of these events please let us know.