Competition summary

A summary of EBU congresses and competitions.

Congresses with an asterisk include Jack High/'Really Easy'/'improvers' elements (see below for more information).

The Summer Meeting

Details of the 2020 Summer Meeting will be available as soon as possible.

Other Congresses

All congresses comprise pairs and teams events, and are open to all, unless otherwise stated.

• Autumn Congress - October, Daventry
• Blackpool Year End Congress - December, Blackpool
• Eastbourne Summer Seniors Congress - July, Eastbourne
For those aged 60 and over only (the eligibility regulations for Senior competitions will change in 2019 - see here for details).
• Easter Festival, London*
• English Riviera Congress - June/July, Torquay
• Great Northern Swiss Pairs * - September/October, Leeds
The event is run by the YCBA on behalf of the EBU. The event is Swiss Pairs only.
• Guernsey Bridge Congress - September
• Harrogate Spring Congress * - February
The event is run by the YCBA on behalf of the EBU.
• Lambourne Jersey Festival - April
• National Point-a-Board Teams - January, London
A full congress scored using only the Point-a-Board (sometimes called Board-a-Match or BAM). See the event webpage for details on the scoring and tactics involved.
• National Swiss Teams Congress - May, Solihull
The event is run by Warwickshire CBA on behalf of the EBU. The event is Swiss Teams only.
• Northern Easter Festival * - Leeds
• Northern Midweek Congress - August, Harrogate
• Ranked Masters Pairs - February, Daventry
A group of pairs championships for which an appropriate EBU Master Point Rank is needed to enter
• Scarborough Summer Festival - July
Includes the Northern Seniors Pairs Championships
• Schapiro Spring Foursomes - April/May, Stratford-upon-Avon
A teams event, run on double-elimination lines, with a secondary event for those eliminated early. Possibly the leading, toughest, and best event on the EBU calendar.
• Seniors Congress - November, Gloucester
For those aged 60 and over only (the eligibility regulations for Senior competitions will change in 2019 - see here for details).
• Spring Bank Holiday Congress - May, Stratford-upon-Avon
• Year End Congress, London * - December

Events with Local/Regional Heats

• Masters Pairs - February
Pairs event for players below the rank of Regional Master. Held at several venues around the country and scored simultaneously across all.
• National Pairs - Regional Finals, March; National Finals, April, venue TBC
The event starts with a number of regional finals which are open to all, with the leading pairs then competing in the national finals.
• Portland Pairs - March
A Mixed Pairs event held at various venues and match pointed over the entire field.

Knockout competitions

• BGB Gold Cup
Open teams of four. Entry permitted from all home nations
• Silver Plate
The consolation competition for those knocked out at an early stage of the Gold Cup. Entry to the Gold Cup is required.
• Crockfords Cup
Open teams of four.
• Gerard Faulkner Salver
Open teams of four. All players must be over 60 (the eligibility regulations for Senior competitions will change in 2019 - see here for details).
• Hubert Phillips Bowl
Mixed pivot teams of four
• National Inter-Club Knockout (NICKO)
Open teams of four. All team members must belong to the same club.
• Online Knockout Teams
A teams of four event played exclusively online. Entry is open to members of all home nation bridge unions
• Portland Bowl
British university teams of four competition.

County representative events

Events open to representatives from each County Association of the EBU

• Corwen Trophy - June, Daventry
For the leading pairs in the current pairs championship of each County Association. The number of pairs permitted from each County depends on the number of members.
• Garden Cities Trophy - May, regional; June - Solihull
Entry is open to the holders of the Inter-Club teams-of-eight championship of each County Association.
• Pachabo Cup - June, Bedford
Entry is open only to the holders of the teams-of-four Championship of each County Association.
• Tollemache Cup - Qualiyfing round, November, Daventry; Final, February, Coventry
The inter-county championships for teams of eight.

Holidays

• Andalucia Congress - October 2018
A week-long congress sponsored by Bridge Overseas near Cadiz in Andalucia, Spain. Attendance at the congress is exclusive to delegates booking their accommodation with Bridge Overseas.
• Athens Congress - January/February 2019
A week-long congress sponsored by Bridge Overseas in Athens, Greece. Attendance at the congress is exclusive to delegates booking their accommodation with Bridge Overseas.
• Sicily Congress - October 2019
A week-long congress sponsored by Bridge Overseas on the Italian island of Sicily. Attendance at the congress is exclusive to delegates booking their accommodation with Bridge Overseas.
• Really Easy Weekend - April 2019 - Wroxton House Hotel;
A weekend ‘house party’ designed for more experienced novice players of up to 5 years experience. The emphasis on this weekend is on play with four bridge sessions and an instructional session on Saturday morning.


Competitions for 'less experienced' players

These events are usually intended for those who are comfortable playing club bridge, but have little or no experience of 'congress bridge'.

• Jack High Swiss Pairs - held during the Easter Festival and Year End Festivals in London. 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.
• Really Easy Weekend - April 2019 - Wroxton House Hotel;
A weekend ‘house party’ designed for more experienced novice players of up to 5 years experience. The emphasis on this weekend is on play with four bridge sessions and an instructional session on Saturday morning.
• Really Easy Congress
Comprises lessons and play session for those who have recently learnt to play, or with little experience of ‘congress bridge’.

Three congresses are run by Yorkshire CBA on behalf of the EBU, and at each of these there is an 'improvers' event. Please see the event webpage for details, and make entries directly to the YCBA.