Please note that subs for 2024/25 are due by 1st September. A mail went out to all players on the database last week advising that fees are £10 per player for everyone. Please email Oliver at ocbridgecomps@gmail.com when you have paid. Account details are: sort 204895 acct 43186903 acct name Oliver Cowan Bridge Club Virtual Limited.
Membership of the of the Oliver Cowan Bridge Club also gives membership of the Friendly Online Bridge Club meaning players have an option of an online game on BBO 6 nights (7:15pm) and 1 morning each week. The membership fees go towards admin support and also allow for congress venues to be checked out prior to being booked so both online and F2F players will benefit.
Oliver
| WBU Dragon Green Point Pairs Series (BBO) |
Event 4 is on Saturday 23rd November.
An exciting collaboration between Oliver Cowan Bridge and the Welsh Bridge Union, the Dragon Pairs Championship will consist of 10 Swiss Pairs events each year on BBO with the overall winners being the pair with the best 5 scores out of a possible 10 and they will receive a trophy. The events are all open to any members of Wales, England, Scotland or Ireland Bridge Unions.
Each event will run from 1pm-6pm and consist of 6 x 6 board rounds with a short break half way through. The entry for each event will be $16 BBO per player and green points will be awarded for each match won as well as on overall standings. Players who do not use BBO dollars should tick the box on the entry form on the Oliver Cowan website and send £12.50 per player to sort 204895 acct 43186903 acct name Oliver Cowan Bridge Club Virtual and $16 will be placed in your BBO account the day before the event so you will be able register on the day. The entry fee will be taken from your BBO account when you invite your partner to register before the game starts on Saturday.
The winning pair in each event and the pair closest to 60 VPs will be given a free entry to the next event in the series they wish to take part in and the full list of dates will be on the Oliver Cowan Bridge Club website (click the heading in the menu for Dragon Pairs which will be available soon) and the EBU & WBU website calendars in the next couple of days.
The 4th event in the series is on Saturday 23rd November and the entry form for that date is below. As each session is it's own game you can play in 1 or all 10!
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| Oliver Cowan New Year Congress Featuring The Richard Bowdery Pairs |
The 2025 renewal will take place on the weekend of 11th and 12th January at the usual venue of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nottingham.
The full flyer can be found by clicking on the link on the menu but it is Championship Pairs on Saturday and Swiss Team on Sunday - team mates can be found for any pairs who need.
There are a range of packages available including staying on the Friday night and the option to eat at the fabulous Marco Pierre White Steakhouse.
Dinner on the Saturday night has been moved to accomodate extra tables in the playing room so we can now take up to 50 tables.
Get in touch with Oliver if you want more information!
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| Upcoming Congresses |
Upcoming Congresses being run by Oliver Cowan Bridge
Lancashire Congress, Preston 16-17 November
Oliver Cowan New Year Congress 2025 Nottingham 11-12 January
All details and booking information for the EBU congresses are on the EBU website under 'forthcoming events'
Book early to take advantage of the 'early bird' prices and guarantee your place.
Events are being held at the same venues as in 2023 except Harrogate which will now be at the Cairn Hotel as the only venue big enough to accomodate our numbers in 1 section!
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| Online League Supporting Junior Bridge |
Season 7 of the Online Teams League is starting on 7th October 2025 which will be used to fund a program of helping develop junior bridge.
The event is not designed to compete with any clubs as the 5:45 start time will allow players to get to their clubs to play Face to Face or to play online in their club duplicate sessions.
Teams will play 2 x 8 board matches each week, ideally on a Monday and Friday but captains can agree to play at a different time. Teams of 4 and £36 entry per team to cover a full cycle which will run for 7-10 weeks depending on the number of entries. Email Oliver for more information.
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| Prizes on offer this week! |
As the weather is so cold, I have made the decision to open up games this week to anyone who wants to play as people may not be able to get to their regular club games. Since I am also feeling in the festive spririt, there are also a number of free games being given out in each session and there will be some other novelty prizes through the week. Winners of a free game on Tuesday were:
Gordon & Eleanor Senior
Rosemary Page & Mike Hainsworth
Anne Mackman & Ruth Roope
Les Smith & Sue Stone
Marian Rudd & Madeleine Lawson
Alan Birch & Colin Lyne
BBO dollars have been added to your accounts!
Take part in Oliver Cowan Pairs games at 7:15 all week for your chance to win a free game!
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| Relaxed Pairs on RealBridge |
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| LlanBrighton 2025 Congress |
Bridge returns to (Llan)Brighton in 2025 - full details on the LlanBrighton Bridge Union page https://www.bridgewebs.com/llanbrightonbridgeunion/
Book early as places are limited! If you enter but qualify for the EBU Pachabo and choose to play in that then your bridge fee will be refunded in full.
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| New Sponsor |
Delighted to announce that the exciting Socially Spirited, a forward thinking producer of small-batch craft spirits has agreed to some sponsorship for Scarborough and the Northern Midweek Congresses. Check out their website on this link https://www.socially-spirited.com/ocbridge and use code BRIDGE10 at the checkout for a 10% discount. Please remember to always drink responsibly.
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| Membership Area and Find a Partner |
I have finally got the Membership Area on the website set up!
To access this for the 1st time, you will need to click on the “membership” tab from the menu on the website then click on “member area”.
If you are using it for the 1st time, when it asks for your username and password, just click “set/reset password” and follow the instructions from there.
I am hoping players will use this area to advertise or look for partners for sessions so do please try this out and see if it works!
You will need to opt in if you wish for your contact number and email address to be displayed.
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| New Games Aimed At Non-Expert Players |
In addition to the existing Tuesday evening Oliver Cowan PWTE game on a Tuesday night at 7.15pm, there is now an additional games solely for non-expert players.
Wednesday Morning at 10:15am - Friendly Online BC Pairs - this is a relaxed 15 board duplicate session on BBO played with the video function in use so you can chat with your opponents. The game is followed by a hand discussion on zoom where you can ask any questions about boards that gave you difficulty.
Both these new sessions are $4 in BBO dollars and are open to members and guests - get in touch with Oliver if you want to play but don't use dollars.
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| Weekly Games |
All games start at 7:15pm, are 20/21 boards and have a $4 BBO dollar entry fee - visitors welcome
Sunday @ 7:15pm Friendly Online BC & LOP Pairs
Monday @ 7:15pm Friendly Online BC & Huddersfield Pairs
Tuesday @ 7:15pm - Oliver Cowan Play Without the Experts (for players no higher than NGS Jack)
Wednesday @ 10:15am - Friendly Online BC Pairs (15 boards followed by hand discussion)
Wednesday @ 7:15pm Oliver Cowan BC Pairs
Thursday @ 7:15pm - Oliver Cowan BC Pairs
Friday @ 7.15pm - Oliver Cowan BC & LOP Pairs
Membership of the club is only £10 per year so please get in touch if you would like to join!
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| Looking To Learn To Play Bridge? |
If you are interested in learning to play bridge, please follow this link https://learnbridgeonline.com/jack-stocken-beginners/ which will take you to Jack Stocken's page. Jack is a very experienced teacher with an excellent reputation in Yorkshire and beyond and is currently offering learners their 1st 2 lessons free of charge.
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Results
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| 20th November 2024 |
| Oliver Cowan BC Pairs |
Director: Oc
Scorer: Oliver Cowan |
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| 20th November 2024 |
| #67615 Pairs Friendly Online BC Pairs |
| Scorer: Oliver Cowan |
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| 19th November 2024 |
| Play Without the Experts |
Director: OC
Scorer: Oliver Cowan |
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| 18th November 2024 |
| Friendly Online Bridge Club (FOBC) & Huddersfield BC Online Pairs |
Director: OC
Scorer: Oliver Cowan |
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| 17th November 2024 |
| Lancashire Congress GP Swiss Teams |
| Director: Jonathan Lillycrop |
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