- A new venue for 2019
- A lower price for early bookings
- A new schedule for the Championship Pairs on Friday & Saturday - still with two start options on Friday
- A new competition on Monday for lower ranked players
Our usual venue for the Easter Festival - the Royal National at Russell Square - has been double booked for one day of the 2019 Easter weekend, so we have taken the opportunity to look for a new venue. We have found one which we think will be great so we will be moving the congress there in 2019.
We apologise for any inconvenience this change of venue may cause any of you who have already made bookings closer to Russell Square - but we hope you can appreciate that is a good opportunity to move to a venue which appears to have many advantages.
ILEC Conference Centre
The congress in 2019 will be at the ILEC Conference Centre near Earls Court. It is just a short stroll from West Brompton station, which has both underground and national rail services.
It has an excellent playing room, and better 'break-out' areas for between sessions.
There is onsite accommodation (the Ibis London Earls Court), and unlike at the Royal National (or more specifically the nearby Imperial) the negotiated rates for bridge players include double and twin rooms as well as singles - giving couples, and those willing to share, a cheaper option. Booking information will follow shortly.
And it's cheaper for us - so we have frozen the prices
The prices are frozen at the 2018 rates for those booking before the end of February. See below for details.
Event format
New Championship Pairs format for 2019
The Championship Pairs is a ‘stratified’ event scored across the field. Each pair will play in five sessions of 18 boards - making a total of 90 boards, which is an increase on previous years at no extra cost.
On Friday each pair can choose whether to play in sessions 1&2 or 2&3. This change from 2018 allows for greater security as at no point are the two different groups playing different boards.
You can still choose on Friday whether to start early-afternoon (if you want the evening free), or mid-afternoon (if you have lunchtime commitments) - though please notify us in advance at what time you will be starting (if you don't we will assume the later start).
On Saturday all players will play in all three sessions.
See below for the session times.
Prizes and Master Points awarded in three categories: below Premier Regional Master, below Premier Life Master & Open.
The Championships Pairs is part of the Championship Series, in which points can be earned towards the Player of the Year Championship.
The Swiss Teams on Sunday is a two-session event with seven 7-board matches in all. The event is now also a stratified event.
Under 21 Pairs Championship
The Under 21 Pairs Championships will not take place at the Easter Festival in 2019, but will be held at another time later in the year.Monday
Monday offers two options:
Swiss Pairs - open to all with seven 7-board matches.
Jack High Swiss Pairs.
This competition is aimed at club players who are interested in taking the first steps into congress bridge but who may have found it daunting to jump straight into a major congress event.
In order to qualify to play in this event, you must have an NGS of no higher than ‘Jack’ at the time of entering. We envisage that at the lower end, players will be ‘7’ or higher. The event will be stratified too so that there are extra Master Points and an extra prize available for pairs of players both ranked ‘9’ or lower.
We reserve the right to decline entries from those who may meet the NGS requirements, but have significant tournament experience and are not among the 'congress-novices' at whom the event is aimed.
The format will be six 6-board matches with a break after three matches.
This competition is priced at a discounted rated to encourage new participants to congress bridge.
To enter
Entries fees frozen for a limited time:
As the new venue is a little cheaper than the Royal National, we are able to freeze the prices for 2019 at the 2018 rates* for a limited time.
As having early bookings greatly helps us in our planning, those booking before the close of business on Thursday 28th February will pay the lower prices outlined in the entry fees section of the webpage below.
* - this excludes the Jack High Swiss Pairs as this is already a reduced entry fee
The easiest way to enter is online through My EBU. Log-in and select 'Book Events' from the Utilities menu.
You can also call 01296 317203/19 or email comps@ebu.co.uk.
Holders
2018
Championships Pairs - Michael Gromoller & Helmet Hausler
Swiss Teams - Michael Gromoller, Helmet Hausler, Barbara Hackett, Anne Gladiator
Swiss Pairs - Peter Taylor & Richard Hillman
Jack High Swiss Pairs - Michael Carson & Jivan Patel
Under 21 Pairs - Liam Fegarty & Jamie Fegarty
Timetable
Day | Description | |
|---|---|---|
Friday | 1.00pm - 3.15pm | Championship Pairs, session 1 * (see below) |
3.30pm - 5.45pm | Championship Pairs, session 2 | |
6.00pm - 8.15pm | Championship Pairs, session 3 * (see below) | |
* - You choose whether to play sessions 1&2, or 2&3 | ||
Saturday | 11.30am - 1.45pm | Championship Pairs, session 4 |
3.00pm - 5.15pm | Championship Pairs, session 5 | |
5.30pm - 7.45pm | Championship Pairs, session 6 | |
Sunday | 11.30am - 2.30pm | Stratified Swiss Teams 1 (three x 7-board matches) |
3.30pm - 7.30pm | Stratified Swiss Teams 2 (four x 7-board matches) | |
Monday | 11.30am - 2.30pm | Swiss Pairs 1 (three x 7-board matches) |
11.30am - 2.15pm | Jack High Swiss Pairs 1 (three x 6-board matches) | |
3.15pm - 6.00pm | Jack High Swiss Pairs 2 (three x 6-board matches) | |
3.30pm - 7.30pm | Swiss Pairs 2 (four x 7-board matches) |
Entry Fees
(A) | Full Congress |
|
(B) | Championship Pairs |
|
(C) | Swiss Teams |
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(D) | Swiss Pairs |
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(E) | Jack High Swiss Pairs |
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(F) | Championship Pairs plus Teams |
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(G) | Both Pairs |
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(H) | Both Swiss |
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Master Points
Championship Pairs: Green Points to the top half of the field within each stratification.
Swiss Pairs, Jack High Swiss Pairs and Swiss Teams: fully Green Pointed.
Agreements
Level 4 agreements are permitted in all of the main congress events.
Level 2 agreements are permitted in the Jack High Swiss Pairs.
Venue and Tariff
The congress will take place at the ILEC Conference Centre near Earls Court.
- ILEC Conference Centre, 47 Lillie Road, London, SW6 1UD
2019 rates
Accommodation is available at the adjacent Ibis hotel
- £89.00 Bed and Breakfast for single occupancy
- £99.00 Bed and Breakfast for double occupancy (double and twin rooms available)
Rates per room, per night.
Rooms will be released for booking by the general public on 19th March 2019.
Please book directly with the hotel using this online booking page. Prices, dates, etc are shown once you have created an account and/or signed-in.
A number of rooms are reserved for booking at this negotiated rate for a limited period of time. Any unbooked rooms are usually released for booking by the general public a few weeks before the event. Thereafter rooms may still be available, but at the hotel’s current rate. Likewise if all allocated rooms are booked then rooms may still be available, but at the hotel’s current rate. To ensure rooms are available at the negotiated rate please book as early as possible.