EASTER LESSONS 2024/25
Our Venue:  St Andrews Church Hall, Church Road, Hove BN3 2AD (except the accelerated tutorials)

Please get in touch with Tim Hewson, ABC Teaching Coordinator, on avenueLessons@gmail.com to register interest for courses or for details of course content and delivery. There may be some opportunity for you to play some Bridge with Tim Hewson or other supervisors to assess your level if you are unsure on some Wednesday supervised play sessions. 

Easter term classes start in the week commencing Monday 7th April 2025. All classes are continuations from last term and by the same teacher(s). There is also an accelerated short sequence of tutorials for absolute beginners or those with some card play skills. The intention of these tutorials is that students can get up to speed to join term2 with Duddly. 

Contact details and instructions for booking and payment for courses are included below the details of all the courses, near the end of this page. 
Please use the correct code when paying online. In general if you were in a class last term just increment the number by 1. For the standard course book for a term in advance at £120. Ten lessons per term. There is a new offering in this too. If you pay an extra £5 you can enjoy student membership of Avenue Bridge Club. This provides for all the discounts on play such as Wednesday night supervised play and on the new guided play by Julian on Thursday nights. This student membership is available for 12 months for those who are continuously in the teaching programme. If you seek the student membership just pay £125. 

There is a new offering on Thursday nights 7:30 to 9:30 in parallel at the Sacred Heart 'parish rooms', 37 Norton Road in Hove. Wednesday evening supervised play sessions continue every week. Still just £5 per session to the public and £3.50 to members / student members. 

SESSIONS

INTENSIVE / ACCELERATED Tutorials - Thursday in late March and early April. 11:30 - 1:30 (first session, 27th March is noon to 2pm) by Tim Hewson
No previous bridge experience required. £10 per session payable on the day. The Reference is Acc1 You will also be expected to buy a drink at the café. 

Indicative content: getting started, how to evaluate a hand; the 3 roles - defender, declarer and dummy; the essence of bidding at 1-level, balanced and unbalanced hands. Possibly some mini bridge and practice of bidding and play. This shall be an informal session at the coffee shop Symva that is opposite St Andrews Church on Church Road Hove. We shall use bidding boxes and review play. 

GUIDED PLAY in parallel with club play. Thursday nights 7:30 to 9:30 at the Sacred Heart 'parish rooms', 37 Norton Road in Hove. All Welcome. £5 per session (club members / student members £3:50). Please contact avenueBridgeClub@aol.com - Julian, to allow him to organise tables. Maximum of two tables / 8 players. 

TERM2 - Thursday 10th April. 10am - noon by Dudley. The reference is ReS2. £120 for ten-week term payable in advance. 

One term's experience is required. Indicative content: declarer play - develop tricks in long suit, finesses, communications and entry; defence - opening lead in NT or trumps, defender's partner and subsequent play; competitive auction - overcall and use of double, overcall of 1NT and with long suits, whose auction is it? (Term1 was - getting started with 'mini-bridge'; how to evaluate a hand; the 3 roles - defender, declarer and dummy; the essence of bidding at 1-level, balanced and unbalanced hands.)

TERM 3 - Tuesday 7th January 2025, evenings 7 – 9pm with Nick and Dudley. The reference is R3. £120 for ten-week term payable in advance. 

New joiners/re-starters with some basic experience welcome – please email to discuss. Indicative content: Stayman and transfers, Higher level openings, Slams. (last term - Bidding stronger hands, improving results in declarer play and defence, introducing competitive bidding.)

TERM 3 - Lunchtime noon to 2pm Thursday from 10th April 2025 with Ollie Powell. The reference is Z3. £120 for ten-week term payable in advance.

Indicative content: Stayman and transfers, Higher level openings, Slams. More skills in play. 

SUP (or REFL)   All Welcome to Supervised Play - £5 per session (club members £3:50). Every Wednesday evening 7:00 - 9:00pm 

These sessions are supported by more experienced players and/or teachers, who can be asked for assistance during the bidding and play.  The format is relaxed, with no competitive scoring, although potential scores are discussed. Results can be compared with other tables and with club duplicate sessions. They are a “stepping stone” to moving on to club membership, and participation in DupliCake (Wednesday afternoons) or full Duplicate games. The usual rota is: Last Wednesday Kevin, 2nd Wednesday Tim, 3rd Wednesday Sue and Gillian, 1st Wednesday James. 

Term 3/4 - Wednesday evening 7 - 9pm from 9th April 2025 with Andy Osborn. The reference is S3. Ten classes at £120 payable in advance.  

Indicative content: Stayman, Higher level openings, Slams. (last term - Bidding stronger hands, improving results in declarer play and defence, introducing competitive bidding.) . Wider use of double. Danger hands and some discovery play. Raising with three cards and some awkward hands. SWOT, counting, managing danger hand, some ducking, ruffing finesse, loser on loser, lead toward honours; Tidy up - bid to show shape and 6-card suits, when to raise with 3-card support, some awkward hands. 

YEAR 2 AND BEYOND - Tuesday mornings 10:30am-12:30pm from 8th April with Ollie Powell. The reference is A3. Ten classes for £120 payable in advance.

New joiners with previous learning or experience welcome, please email. Indicative content (depending upon the term): defenders play - signals and discards, safe exits; slam bidding - Blackwood,  competitive bidding; declarer play; defenders play; slam bidding, cue bidding before Blackwood, source of tricks such as long powerful 2nd suit. (last term - competitive bidding, declarer play, etc)

YEAR 2 AND BEYOND - Tuesday evenings  7.00 - 9.00pm from 8th April 2025 with Ollie Powell. The Reference is C4. Ten classes for £120 payable in advance. 

Indicative content: comprehensive and integrated bidding system, variety in defender's play when to use each, some more sophisticated declarer play elimination of suits, discovery plays, Jacobi convention and Splinters.

YEAR 2 AND BEYOND - Thursday mornings  10am – 12pm from 10th April with  Oliver Powell. The Reference is F4. Ten classes for £120 payable in advance. 

Possible content: Checkback, Lebenshol, more sophisticated use of Roman Key Card Blackwood - later sequence bids, bidding distributional hands in competition, effective and more frequent penalty doubles, use of redouble, 6-5 hands, honing use of signals and discards, red and green (GG/GR/RG/RR) considerations, pairs versus teams strategies, appreciating the potential score as there is bidding. 

All potential students new to Avenue Bridge Club should contact avenuelessons@gmail.com to correspond with Tim Hewson to identify the best point at which to enter the teaching programme. 

PAYMENT

All fees are payable in advance (but see Beginners below) and should be paid direct to the Club account at Barclays Bank by BACS. The Avenue Bridge Club     Sort Code: 20 88 13     Account: 93986020  . Please ensure there a Payment reference such as CLASS/Ref letter/name e.g. CLASS/C4/JBloggs. There are no tasters this term. 

CONTACT

Any queries should be addressed to either the tutor of your chosen class in class or our Teaching Coordinator, avenuelessons@gmail.com currently Tim Hewson. 

GENERAL

The running of any course is dependent upon enough students being recruited. Avenue reserves the right to substitute teachers if the is illness or other unforeseen circumstance. Lessons may be postponed if there are adverse weather conditions. Some classes may be combined just as the courses begin if this is the case students will be kept informed. And if a substitute course does not fit with the students schedule there would be refund.