Below is your monthly update from the EBU. Please note there are a number of important topics covered in the below. This email is also available on the EBU website, along with all past EBU Updates, here.
Competitions
A goodbye to Charlie and a hello from Louise. We are pleased to welcome Louise Crisp who joins the staff this week. Louise has joined the Tournament Department and will fill the role previously held by Charlie Bucknell.
National Handicap Pairs Championship
The National Handicap Pairs is scheduled to take place on Sunday 4th September. The event will take place at heats organised by host bridge clubs, either in the club or online. We hope your club or county will want to host a heat, and to confirm this just email sam@ebu.co.uk.
Bridge is a game well suited for handicap competitions. A handicap may benefit the weaker player by giving them a better chance, but it also benefits the better player by producing more of a challenge. If you play against someone each week and beat them each week by the same score, then after a while, whilst there is the joy of the game itself, the competitive element dies away. The handicap score means that this competitive edge remains.
NGS Handicap Events
For an interesting variation to a normal club duplicate session has your club considered running a handicap event? This gives the opportunity for different pairs than normal to finish higher up the rankings! The way this works is that each pair gets an adjustment applied to their score based on the National Grading Scheme (NGS) grades of the two players. This can be easily done in EBUScore and following these instructions. Master Points and NGS for the session will be processed based on the unhandicapped results.
If you have any questions about running a handicap event please contact Jonathan Lillycrop.
EBU Summer Meeting
There are now just 62 days until the big bridge event of the summer the EBU Summer Meeting! We hope this years return to the Floral Gardens will be a roaring success. Please remind your members to book early. Local Eastbourne resident Ros Wolfarth has provided us with three “Wish you were here” blogs:
76 days to go……I had a fortunate escape from torrential rain and managed to bag a couple of photos…
If you have not done so already, please read and share the above with your members via social media.
Reminders to Clubs
As a reminder, please remember to pay club subscription and club insurance before July.
This is the time of year when we ask bridge clubs for up-to-date information for your club. This year we have set it up as an online form instead of the usual paper/email version. Please look out for an email from our Administration Assistant Kay Carter which will be sent to the club’s main contact over the next few weeks.
Offers at Bridge Warehouse
We have two fantastic, limited time offers for you this month.
Club Tables – Only £60 for a pack of 2! Normally £75.00 per pack of 2. When ordering use code EBU126 to take off £15.00. This offer applies to online orders only and excludes the price of postage.
Hurry: This offer is only valid for 1 week – 9am Thursday 9th June until 9am Thursday 16th June.
Box of 10 dozen Superluxe playing cards - Only £120.00 per box (Normally £150.00), not including postage. Limited offer – while stocks last.
For further information and details of no quibble guarantees etc, please see the Bridge Warehouse.
EBED - Message from the National Youth Coordinator
Youth and schools bridge has had a hard time during Covid, along with bridge clubs and all other youth activities.
We are trying to really increase the number of players starting/restarting to play our game. I am hoping that you will add the adverts (Junior Bridge Camp; advert 1 and advert 2) up on your website on the home page, as near to the 'results' as possible to maximise exposure.
Apart from the adverts, there is some additional information for you, in case you are asked, regarding both the events centre and future events. For instance, if someone wants to come, but cannot make the date, there is the Southern counties event in the October half term to which they could come to instead or as well as. I have been to every weekend from 2009 to 2019 inclusive, and EVERYONE has enjoyed themselves and promised to return. Not all do, but it is a great recommendation.
Looking forward to checking how many of you help us.
Club Director Training
EBED has new TD training courses bookable now for this autumn in Nottingham and Carlisle. We will shortly be announcing autumn dates in other areas including Bakewell, Newmarket and Salisbury. Please check our director training calendar for details, or contact Mark on 01296 317 218.
Club Teacher Training
Our teacher training course is being held in Solihull this July and we are scheduling further dates this autumn in York and Sevenoaks. Please check our teacher training calendar for details, or contact Mark on 01296 317 218.
Social Media and Blogs
Please let us know if you would like to suggest a blog article that can then be shared across social media. There is no cost for this, and we welcome your ideas. Examples of blogs include:
- Wish You Were Here series of blogs from Ros Wolfarth with itineraries for Eastbourne and the Summer Meeting
- The fall and rise of the Phoenix Bridge club
- Cafe bridge - bridge with a difference
This is a chance to reinvigorate your Facebook Followers.
Please make suggestions to sam@ebu.co.uk.
Don't forget to like our social media pages, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.