Play in the 2020 Sim Pairs and support bridge in England
As 2019's Simultaneous Pairs events organised by the EBU have come to an end, we're looking ahead to a new year of competitions. If your club already takes part then thank you, and we hope you will continue to support the EBU, EBED, and all bridge players, through your participation.
If your club hasn't taken part in the past, or has but didn't in 2019, we hope you can be encouraged to participate this year.
Following changes to the prize structure in 2019, the prize structure for the 2020 Sim Pairs remains unchanged. More information on these is below. The prize draw for 2019 took place at the EBU AGM on 27th November, and details of the winners are below.
Why you should take part
Help to support bridge in England
All proceeds from Simultaneous Pairs organised by the EBU are used to benefit bridge in England in the following ways...
Bridge England Simultaneous Pairs
Monday 3rd/Tuesday 4th & Wednesday 5th/Thursday 6th February
The Bridge England Simultaneous Pairs has been renamed the "Junior Squad Sim Pairs" to celebrate and promote junior bridge in England, with funds raised from the event going directly into the junior squad budgets. The event remains in the familiar fun format and we know we can count on your support and love of bridge to play in this nationwide event.
We hope that you can encourage your club and their members to take part and host a heat and bring as many friends as you can for what promises to be a brilliant Simultaneous Pairs!
Same format for 2020: In 2019, we amended the format to give you a choice of days on which to play. As this format worked well, we will use the same details for the 2020 Junior Squad Sim Pairs events. The first set of deals can be played on Monday or Tuesday. The second set can be played on Wednesday or Thursday. This means a larger field in each competition, making it more interesting and enjoyable for those who take part. To register: To play on Monday, enter for Tuesday but play the boards a day earlier; for Wednesday enter Thursday's competition and play early. Players can participate on only one of Mon/Tues and one of Wed/Thu.
EBED Simultaneous Pairs
Monday 11th - Thursday 14th May
Monday 7th - Friday 11th September
The EBED Simultaneous Pairs supports the charity, English Bridge Education & Development, which is working to promote and develop the game in many areas. It work is funded, in part, by the proceeds from these Sim Pairs events, so your participation helps it undertake activities which help the game to grow, such as organising and supporting junior activities, or holding teachers' courses. We hope you will take part in 2020 and help them to continue their efforts.
British Simultaneous Pairs & Club Stratified Sim Pairs
Monday 13th - Thursday 16th January
Monday 9th - Thursday 12th March (Club Stratified Sim Pairs)
Monday 6th - Thursday 9th April
Monday 20th - Thursday 23rd July
Monday 5th - Thursday 8th October
These events all support your EBU. The proceeds from these events help us to provide services to the members, clubs and counties. By participating you are enabling the EBU to do more for bridge in England, and your club and members will see the direct benefit. The Club Stratified Sim Pairs in March is great introductory event for clubs which haven't previously played in a sim pairs. The cost of entry is lower to encourage participation, and the results are stratified in to four categories so less experienced players can still win bonus Master Points based on their position within their stratification. More information is available here.
Prizes in 2020
Heat winners: Following changes in 2019 there will no longer be a prize draw for the heat winners from each club. The budget for these prizes has been added to that for the overall winners.
Overall winners: The overall winners of all Simultaneous Pairs events hosted by the English Bridge Union will each receive a cash prize of £100 per pair.
The winners of the Junior Squad Sims and the Club Stratified Sims will receive this prize – these events were previously excluded from the prizes.
Host clubs: Every club which enters a heat of any EBU organised event, excluding any participating unaffiliated English clubs, will be included in a random draw. One ‘entry’ in the draw is awarded for every ten tables (or part thereof) which take part in any single heat. The draw will be made at the AGM in November.
This allows the EBU to redistribute some of the proceeds back to the clubs which have participated. The club can then decide to invest it in providing services and activities for its members, or to support a local cause of its choosing.
3 clubs will be drawn from those which have entered the EBED Sims, and 7 from those entering the other sims. Each receive £250. There is a no longer a larger first prize and smaller second, third and runners-up prizes – the prize fund has been evenly distributed across all prizes.
A great results service
We believe the results service which is provided is excellent, with a breakdown of all the scores and percentages along with hand records and an expert commentary which is both interesting and educational (but we don't 'rig' the hands to make the commentary more interesting - that's just the talent of the writer). There is also a 'double dummy' feature so you can analyse the possible lines of play. Here is an example (https://www.ebu.co.uk/sim-pairs/000179/boards/1). So by participating your members are getting more than just 'an ordinary club night' - and if they do well they can earn lots more Master Points too...
Win Blue Points
Not all members are interested in their Master Point status - but many are, and for them Sim Pairs are an excellent way to earn points which can help them to rise through the rankings, without needing to leave their club. Blue Points are awarded based on the national results and can make all the difference (as your author can confirm - his 31st place in a Sim this year earned him enough Blue Points to gain a landmark promotion).
How to take part
Your club can quickly and easily register through the club's account on My EBU. Full details of how to register, and information on downloading the hands and submitting the results, can be seen here. Whilst you can register right up until the start of the session in question, if you want to be sent commentary booklets you will need to enter in sufficient time for them to be posted. We can also email a poster for you to display at your club to promote the event if you enter in advance. You can register now for any of the events in 2020, so you can get them on your club calendar well in advance.
For the Junior Squad Sims: As the same hands are played on two days, to play on Monday, enter for Tuesday but play the boards a day earlier; for Wednesday enter Thursday's competition and play early.
All these events are open to all British clubs, including unaffiliated clubs. There is a surcharge for unaffiliated English clubs in most events, but this is waived in the EBED events as the charity supports all bridge players. So if you know someone at an unaffiliated club then please let them know and encourage them to take part - if they do then we all benefit. To enter, unaffiliated clubs should get in touch with Richard Banbury at EBED - richard@ebedcio.org.uk.
Your participation, and contribution towards ensuring bridge has a bright future, is greatly appreciated.
2020 Prices
The entry price for 2020 will be an extra £2.90 per player* - except for the Club Stratified Sim Pairs which is a discounted £2.40* to encourage first time participants (see above). So for less than the price of a pint, or a large coffee at Starbucks, you can get more from your evening of bridge, play in a national event, support bridge in England, and possibly win cash for your club. We think that's not bad value.
* Please note that standard Universal Membership Subscription fees also apply.
2019 Prize Winners
At the AGM the recipients of the prizes for the clubs hosting heats, were drawn.
Club prize draw winners:
EBU Sims Club winners
Prestbury Duplicate BC
Bordon BC
Caterham BC
Reading BC
Patcham BC
Matlock BC
Milton Keynes BC
EBED Sims Club winners
Towcester BC
Noverre BC
Tyler Hill BC
In addition, runners-up prizes have been drawn in both categories. A full list of the winners can be seen here.