After ten years, it has been decided that the existing Player of the Year Championship will finish when this season is completed, after the Crockfords final in September.
Instead, it will be replaced with a Pairs Player of the Year Award, which is intended to give a realistic chance of winning to a wider range of members, while still providing a strong ranking.
The award will include all EBU national face-to-face pairs events that have no entry restrictions – ie not NGS-limited, not county-representative, not master-point restricted, not events that require qualification via advance heats.
The main pairs events of the following congresses will be included for the first year:
- Easter Festival – Guardian Trophy
- Eastbourne Summer Meeting – Harold Poster pairs
- Year End Congress
- Scarborough Congress
- Spring Bank Holiday – Two-Stars Pairs
- Jersey Congress
- Guernsey Congress
- Harrogate Spring Congress
- Great Northern Swiss Pairs
- Northern Midweek Congress
- Northern Easter Congress
Place points will be awarded to the top of the field, which will reward success in larger events more than smaller ones. The length of the event will also be taken into account by giving points to the top 20% of the field (rounded up) for one-day events, 30% for one-and-a-half-day events and 40% for two-day events. So, from last week’s championship pairs in Eastbourne, which will be the first event in the new series, the top 58 pairs will get place points with the winners getting 58 and the 58th place getting 1. For the Two-Stars Pairs, points will be based on the size of the original field before qualification.
The winner of the Award will be given free entry for the next year to three events from the list, runner-up will get free entry for two events and the third place will get one. Prizes will be shared if any places are tied – eg winner and runner up tied will each get two free entries and one half-price.
August 19, 2024