English Bridge Union
The Summer Meeting, in its new home in Eastbourne, is now under three months away. It takes place at the Winter Garden on 4th to 13th August.
We hope that all clubs will help us to promote the event to EBU members, but in particular we hope that clubs in the southern counties will encourage their members to attend.
The venue, and Eastbourne itself, was well received by the majority of participants. Even amongst those who still pined for Brighton, the lower cost – of entry fees, parking, hotels and meals – was a significant fillip. We hope that those who, for whatever reason, were absent in 2016 will join us in 2017.
We have a few features of the Summer Meeting which we hope you will be particularly keen to promote to your members.
Monday: A free introductory day for those who want to find their feet, or knock off any rust.
Tuesday – Thursday: The main events, with a mixture of lessons, and competitions.
There is no lower limit on ability, other than we would expect that all participants will have reached a level where they can play unassisted. Please note that there are no lessons for those starting completely from scratch – participants should therefore have an understanding of the rudiments of the game, and the mechanics of playing. In some sessions, however, assistance can be provided to the least experienced players.
At the upper end of the spectrum, we would expect that the stronger players would still be 'inexperienced', with little/no experience of green-point events, and they are below the rank of Master and lower than a Jack on the NGS.
We have found in recent years that there have not been sufficient players of a lower ranking/NGS to make it feasible to run a separate group. We will therefore run the congress with everyone in a single group, and the congress hosts will try to accommodate all standards of plyers within each lesson or competition. Less experienced players may therefore wish to come to the introductory day on Monday, to find their feet, before committing to attending the full congress.
We hope the event will appeal to all the less experienced members of your club who are wanting to try playing at a bigger event. Please encourage them to take part.
Also, if you know any bridge teachers in your area, please pass on this information to them.
A promotional poster for the Really Easy Congress is available.
More information is available on the Really Easy Congress webpage.
For a payment of £100 a club can secure places for up to ten pairs in the following events:
Monday 22nd August 2pm Open Pairs
Tuesday 23rd August 2pm Open Pairs
Wednesday 24th August 2pm Open Pairs
Thursday 25th August 2pm Open Pairs
Friday 26th August 1pm Open Pairs or Point-a-Board Teams
These events are all single-sessions and blue points will be awarded.
An eleventh pair, or above, will also be allowed half-price entry (£5 per person). The offer applies when all club members take part in the same afternoon session (so the entry can be split across the two events on Friday afternoon if preferred). Not all ten places need be filled, so you can still make a saving if only coming as a group of six to nine pairs.
To take advantage of the offer, please see this entry form.
Download a poster. Our current advert in English Bridge magazine is available for download as a pdf which can be printed to use as a poster on your club noticeboard, or circulated to members by email.
Thank you for your support of the event, and we hope to see you and your club members (perhaps as a group booking) in Eastbourne.
