Peter Pennington-Smith

Dimmie Fleming Award citation - 2020 (nomination from Norfolk)

For nearly 10 years Peter, initially with his late wife, Margaret, and then on his own was the Norfolk County Competition Secretary. At the time this required an extraordinary degree of dedication. Planning the annual schedule, booking venues and preparing the annual Fixture Card was only the start of the process. He attended every event, organising the venue, directing, scoring, preparing Master Point forms, then with advances in technology, updating the results to the website and the EBU.

In Peter’s days the duties of Competition Secretary involved not only a dozen or so Sunday events throughout the year but also for four months every summer running weekly Friday evening sessions when the main Norwich club closed for its summer break.

In 2015/16 he was President of the County Association, visiting all clubs in the County, both affiliated and non-affiliated as well as giving the opening and closing address to the annual Congress. Visiting clubs in Norfolk – which includes clubs physically in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk - involved long distances often late at night and sometimes in inclement weather.

Peter is a member of a number of clubs in Norfolk. He was one of the early members of the Wymondham and District Bridge Club, serving continuously on the Committee for 25 years and is now Chief Tournament Director and the lynchpin of its Find-a-partner service. He is also on the Director’s rota at the ABC club, directing their regular afternoon sessions and their All-Day events.