On Wednesday September 25th, the Men were victorious for the 6th time in a row!

Huge thanks are due to Mervyn for his incomparable organisation beforehand and directing during the event - we couldn’t do it without him!

Many thanks also to Kate and Mark for organising the teams and to Coral and Sam for turning up as reserves although they weren’t needed.

Helen

Congratulations to the following who received an EBU Master Point promotion during September :-

Congratulations to the following who received an EBU Master Point promotion during August :-

Congratulations to Leon and George who came 3rd out of 322 pairs overall!

A good time was had by all at the inaugural Summer Individual on Friday August 16th with only 2% separating the top three.  Many thanks to Gordon who directed and to Kate who coordinated the attendance list.

Congratulations to Susie who won and well done to ......

..... John C who was 2nd and to ......

...... Lynne who was 3rd.

Congratulations to the following who received EBU Master Point promotions during July :-

Mark is pictured presenting Leon with a card which contained best wishes from club members to commemorate Leon's 90th birthday.  Plenty of cakes were eaten too!

Richard is pictured giving well-deserved thanks (and alcohol, no doubt!) to Susie for hosting this year's club barbecue.

Doreen was surprised and delighted that we celebrated her birthday recently.

Best wishes from all at the club.

We enjoyed a closely-contested Handicap Pairs event on Wednesday April 17th.

Congratulations to Yuriko and Sumi who were clear winners with a bunched field behind them.

Many thanks to Mervyn for directing, sorting out the handicaps and producing the result so promptly.

Richard

10 teams took part in the closely-contested Spring Compensated Teams on Wednesday March 13th.

Congratulations to winners David & Cecile and Claire & Patricia.

Many thanks to Kate for organising the pairings. 

Congratulations to the following who received EBU Master Point promotions during March :-

Many Congratulations to Richard and his team of Sam, Carol R, Helen, Gordon, Alistair and Betty who have won Division 4 of the Sussex League.  Richard is pictured being presented with the trophy by the Sussex League organiser David Galpin.

Congratulations to Gordon and Claire who won this year's Valentine Pairs on Wednesday February 14th.

Well done also to ......

...... Jeanne and Anthony who finished 2nd and to ......

...... Mark and Susie who were 3rd.

Congratulations to the following club members who received EBU Master Point promotions during January :-

We had a good turn-out for the annual Club Individual when eight tables enjoyed a lively and sociable session on Friday January 12th.

Many congratulations to Helen who won and well done to .....

..... Sue who was second and .....
 

...... George who was third.

Congratulations to the following club members who received EBU Master Point promotions during December :-

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during November :-

Everybody seemed to have a good time at the 2023 Christmas Party which attracted a record 15 tables!

Congratulations to winners Susie and Richard and well done to .....

..... runners-up Dave F and Christine N and ......

..... third-placed Lin and Nigel.

To no-one's surprise, Alex won the prize for the Best Christmas Costume!

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during Octpber :-

Read the expert commentary on this year's Children in Need Simultaneous Pairs on Wednesday November 8th to see what you should have done!  See the overall results on the eCats web-site.

The £151 that was collected on the night was trebled by the club to make a £453 contribution to Children in Need.  Well done, everyone.

Congratulations to Richard, Betty, Doreen and Steve who won the Compensated Teams on Friday October 20th.

Many thanks to Helen who organised 6 teams despite many people being unavailable.

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during September :-

Congratulations to the Men's team who retained the Sheila Becarevic Cup against the Ladies on Wednesday September 20th.  Many thanks to team captains Sylvia S and Sam for raising teams of 22 - with special thanks to Sam after Sylvia had to drop out.

There are two sets of results on this site.  The main one uses Aggregate scoring (because that's what decided the winning team) but only the travellers are really meaningful.  To determine the winners, all the positive and negative scores on all of a team's scorecards are aggregated to determine which team has a positive total.  Aggregate scoring works because each board is played the same number of times with the Ladies North/South as with the Men North/South.  The Men's team won with a total of +9210.  The pair ranking list in the Aggregate results is not very meaningful since it's very dependent on which pairs were lucky enough to get most of the big hands.

The other set of results uses Match Point scoring, just like on the average club night.  This pair ranking list is more meaningful than the Aggregate version as regards how well individual pairs did but it is based on an invalid pairs movement so it's not that meaningful.  Also, since it was Aggregate scoring that decided the winners and not Match Points, this pair ranking list is pretty irrelevant too.  Again, only the travellers can be relied upon.

Because there are only 2 teams, no Master Points are awarded.

Mervyn

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during August :-

Many congratulations to Helen, pictured about to attack the traditional cake to celebrate her August 26th big birthday!

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during July :-

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during June :-

Every year, the Sussex county bridge association awards the Gladys Hakki Trophy to a Sussex member who has given outstanding service to county and/or club over a number of years.

Many congratulations to Richard who is this year's very deserving winner!  Richard is pictured receiving the trophy from SCCBA President Martin Pool at the club AGM on May 5th (see full article on the Sussex home page).  The attendees, the most that have been seen at a CBC AGM for many a year!, were quick to show their approval of the award for Richard's efforts for the club.

Martin also congratulated Mervyn on his recent re-appointment as a Vice-President of the county bridge association and thanked him for the large amount of work that he continues to do for it.

Congratulations to Susie, Sylvia, Dave and Debbie who won the Compensated Teams on Weds June 14th and well done to ......

.....runners-up Nigel, Barbara, Lin and John.

Congratulations to the following club members who received EBU Master Point promotions during May :-

Congratulations to the following club members who received Master Point promotions during March :-

Maurice Dobb - Area Master
Gordon Briggs - Master

and April :-

Yuriko Woodcock - Area Master
Alastair Wells - Area Master

Wednesday 26th April was a great evening for 2 reasons.  Firstly, we were able to wish Doreen a very happy 90th Birthday.  We presented her with a cake and a card signed by all our members.

This was followed by the Draude Handicap Pairs event supported by an amazing 24 pairs!   A great night was had by all.

Congratulations go to Leon and George who came out on top both before and after the handicap had been applied.

Pam (missing from the photo) and Peter were the runners-up.

Huge thanks go to Mervyn, as usual, without whose skills we would not be able to run such a full competition calendar.

Helen

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during February :-

Congratulations to Barbara and Nigel who won this year's Valentine Pairs on February 15th.

Ralph and Betty were runners-up and Helen and George were 3rd.

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during January :-

52 members enoyed a spectacular Christmas Party.  A special mention goes to Sylvia Smith who prepared a sumptuous buffet for us.  The charity collection raised £300 on the night which was increased to £1200 from club funds and contributed to two Altzheimer charities.  We played 18 boards and the winning pairs looked very pleased!

Many thanks also to Richard for organising and Sam who directed.

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during December :-

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during November :-

Many congratulations to Mary, pictured with the traditional cake which was presented to her on November 9th to celebrate her landmark birthday.

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during October :-

There was a close result in the Autumn Compensated Teams on Wednesday October 19th.

Many congratulations to George, Leon, Christime & Philip (pictured with their prizes) who finished 3 IMPs ahead of Sylvia, Tricia, David M & Cecile.

Many thanks to Sue N for providing refreshments in the form of flapjacks!

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during September :-

Congratulations to the Men's team who retained the Sheila Becarevic Cup against the Ladies on Wednesday September 28th.  Many thanks to team captains Richard and Helen for raising teams of 24 which is the most we've ever had in this event.

P.S.  I've uploaded two sets of results to this site.  The main one uses Aggregate scoring (because that's what decided the winning team) but only the travellers are really meaningful.  The Aggregate results are used to determine the winning team by aggregating either the Men's or Ladies scores to find that the Men won with +8120.  The movement enabled each board to be played 6 times with the Ladies North/South and 6 times with the Men North/South.  The pair ranking list in this set of results is not very meaningful since it's very dependent on which pairs were lucky enough to get most of the big hands.

The other set of results uses Match Point scoring, just like on the average club night.  This pair ranking list is more meaningful than the Aggregate version as regards how well individual pairs did but it is based on an invalid pairs movement so it's not that meaningful.  Also, since it was Aggregate scoring that decided the winners and not Match Points, this pair ranking list is pretty irrelevant too.  Again, only the travellers can be relied upon.

Because there are only 2 teams, no Master Points are awarded.

Mervyn

Congratulations to all at Crawley BC who held a party on Aug 10^th 2022 to celebrate our golden jubilee.  We couldn’t let the queen have all the fun! With our inaugural meeting on 17th March 1972, this year marks 50 years of bridge for our little club and we are still going strong.  We even have a founding member (Tad) who still plays every week!

We celebrated with cake and Prosecco and lots of both! Special thanks to Sylvia S and Caroline for making all the cakes, Richard and Gordon for helping to organise the event, Helen for arranging the Prizes and Mervyn for directing the evening.

Congratulations to Christine N and Tad for winning North/South and to .....

....... Richard and Ann for winning East/West.

Our doors are always open to anyone who enjoys a game of bridge and we welcome new members and guests alike.

Cheers all,
Sam

Many congratulations to Sylvia for her landmark birthday on September 9th, 2022.

There was a close result in the club's first Compensated Teams event since before the pandemic on Wednesday June 15th.

Many congratulations to Claire, Patricia, Barbara & Nigel (pictured with their prizes) who finished 3 IMPs ahead of Debbie, Carolyn, Tim & John.

A further 8 IMPs behind were Stewart, Doreen, Frank & Steve and Christine, David, Ken & Terry in joint 3rd place.

There was a good turn-out for this year's AGM which took place before bridge on Wednesday May 11th - see draft minutes.

Many congratulations to Linda and Christine who were this year's winners of the Iris Draude Handicap Pairs in which handicaps were based on NGS ratings.

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during August :-

Read the expert commentary to see what you should have done!  See the overall results on the eCats web-site.

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during July :-

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during June :-

June & Kris took the trophy for having been playing for more than 2 years but less than 4 and ..... 

..... Phil & Christine and Sue N also did extremely well as you can see from the results on the Sussex web-site.

Congratulations to Sam and Tricia who won this year's Valentine Pairs on February 16th.

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during May :-

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during March :-

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during February :-

Congratulations to the following club members who received an EBU Master Point promotion during January :-

Tim Lane - Area Master
Philip Nash - Area Master
Linda Hawkins - Club Master
Ralph Plastow - Advanced Master
Sylvia Smith - County Master
Ken Player - Area Master
Dave Foster - County Master
Yuriko Woodcock - Club Master
Christine Nash - Local Master
June Carr - Club Master
Trish Robson - Club Master

On Friday 10th December, we had our Christmas party.  There was a nice turnout despite new COVID regulations.  A big thank-you goes to Kate and Sylvia S for organising the event and to Richard for directing.  Catering was provided by Costas at Grattons Indoor Bowls Club.

This year, our chosen charity was Crawley Open House, who help out those in need around the area, and we managed to raise over £260 for them for which they supplied us with a certificate.

A big congratulations to our winners and runners-up who are pictured below.

A massive thanks to everyone involved and everyone who helped to make it possible! 

Sam

Betty and Gordon were 1st North/South and .....

Frank and Wendy were 1st East/West and .....

Sylvia W and Steve were second North/South and .....

Yuriko and Mark were 2nd East/West.

Congratulations to the following club member who received an EBU Master Point promotion during November :-

Paul Brantom - Local Master

Congratulations to the Men's team who had a narrow win over the Ladies on Wednesday September 29th.  Many thanks to team captains Sam and Sylvia S for conjuring up 44 people to take part this year.  The most we'd ever had previously was 36.

P.S.  I've uploaded two sets of results to this site.  The main one uses Aggregate scoring (because that's what decided the winning team) but only the travellers are really meaningful.  These results are used to determine the winning team by aggregating either the Men's or Ladies scores to find that the Men won with +1300.  The pair ranking list in this set of results is not very meaningful since it's very dependent on which pairs were lucky enough to get most of the big hands.

The other set of results uses Match Point scoring, just like on the average club night.  This pair ranking list is more meaningful than the Aggregate version as regards how well individual pairs did but it is based on an invalid pairs movement so it's not that meaningful.  Also, since it was Aggregate scoring that decided the winners and not Match Points, this pair ranking list is pretty irrelevant too.  Again, only the travellers can be relied upon.

Because there are only 2 teams, no Master Points are awarded.

Mervyn

With the influx of new blood, Betty Lecky-Thompson and Alan Litchfield have decided to take the opportunity to stand down.  They have both put in many years of valuable service and the remaining committee members expressed their thanks on behalf of the club.

Welcome and good luck to those who are new to specific responsibilities on the committee - Sam (Chairman), Carol (Vice Chair), Gordon (Treasurer), Carolyn (Competitions Secretary) and Sylvia (Accounts Reviewer).  A full list of committee members can be seen on the Committee page.

Congratulations to the following club members who received EBU Master Point promotions during October :-

Mark Randall - County Master
Paul Collins - Club Master
Barbara Budd - District Master

The largest attendance for a long time turned up to see Richard present Helen with a much-signed card and gifts which marked Helen's retirement as Chairperson of CBC after nearly 20 years.  Prior to this, Mervyn had spoken about his 30-year partnership with Helen, having met her in an evening class in the late 1980's, and also her work for the county.  Richard had followed up by describing the enormous contributions that Helen had made to CBC as Chairperson, Teacher and Director and in making CBC a friendly, welcoming and happy club.

I’m sitting here at 1.00am with a pint of Mild in my hand wanting to say thank-you to you all for the unexpected ceremony last night.  I have loved absorbing all the kind words in my card as well as appreciating the very generous retirement gifts.  Thank you so much.  The memento of my time as chair is already on my mantlepiece and I will certainly enjoy choosing how to spend my vouchers.  Watch this space!!  I still maintain that we would not have grown as we have, without the work and support of the full committee and, of course, Mervyn.

I consider myself to have been lucky to make so many friends during such a successful time for Crawley Bridge Club.  I have no doubt that the club will continue to flourish with Sam as your new Chair and I look forward to the future with great excitement.

Helen

Congratulations to the following club members who received EBU Master Point promotions during September :-

Gordon Briggs - County Master
Terence Rook - Club Master
David Allday - Club Master
Jane Allday - Club Master

72 pairs, NGS graded 5 or less, competed in the Horsham Stepping Stones tournament, played on BBO on Sunday April 18th.  Congratulations to three Crawley pairs who achieved top third results: Patricia Kollinsky and Claire Hoelters (9th place, 57%), Sue Noblett and Maurice Dobbs (11th place, 56%), Stuart and Philip Nash (20th place 53%).

Congratulations to club members Derek Ryan and Sue Best.  Their 59% performance over 36 boards at the KCBA / EBU Easter Improvers Pairs Competition, played on BBO on April 3rd, earned them 6th place out of 106 pairs.

Well done to Hazel & Mervyn who finished 2nd and to Sam & Leon who finished 4th in February's SCCBA Open Sims - see SCCBA web-site for the confirmed results.  The article contains a link to the commentary for the convenience of those who failed to pick up a copy on the night.

Well done to Stewart and Frank who are the highest-placed Crawley pair in this year's county Charity Sims - see SCCBA web-site for the confirmed results.

Our party on Friday 6th December was a very enjoyable affair.  We had interesting hands to play and a fantastic buffet provided by Mitchells Catering.

Our chosen charity collection this year was for St. Catherine’s Hospice.  We raised just under £280 which the club rounded up to £300 - see acknowledgment letter.  Thanks again to everyone for their generosity.

Big thanks are also due to Mervyn for his preparation beforehand and directing on the night, to Richard for all his hard work preparing the pairings - this has become a mammoth task as the club is now so large.  Thanks also to Betty for her negotiation of the food choices for the buffet and managing the drinks tickets, Peter for managing the collection and paying of bills and finally to Gordon for directing the cadet section.  We were also very fortunate to have a lot of help setting up and tidying at the end - many hands make light work!

Congratulations to the winners in the main section (10 tables) who were Alan & Hazel (East/West) and Elizabeth & Ralph (North/South) and to .....

..... the winners in the cadet section (5 tables) who were Sumi & Beryl (North/South) and Sue and the early-departing Penny (East/West).

And we’ll do it all again next year!!  Merry Christmas everyone.

Helen

On Friday 18^th October, we held the Club Individual event.  Although the movement was rather chaotic, I think most, if not all, enjoyed it.  The clear winner was Cecile – so congratulations to her - very well done.  Thanks are due to Richard for his loud voice calling out the end of round movement!  Next time, we’ll have table cards explaining everything!!

Helen

Congratulations are, once again, due to the Men who comprehensively beat the Ladies on Wednesday 9th October.  We tried our best.  But it wasn’t good enough!  Thanks again to Mervyn for all his preparation in advance and his organisation on the night.

Better luck next year, ladies!

Helen

P.S.  I've uploaded two sets of results to this site.  The main one uses Aggregate scoring (because that's what decided the winning team) but only the travellers are really meaningful.  These results are used to determine the winning team by aggregating either the Men's or Ladies scores to find that the Men won with +5480.  The pair ranking list in this set of results is not very meaningful since it's very dependent on which pairs were lucky enough to get most of the big hands.

The other set of results uses Match Point scoring, just like on the average club night.  This pair ranking list is more meaningful than the Aggregate version as regards how well individual pairs played but it is based on an invalid pairs movement so it's not that meaningful.  Also, since it was Aggregate scoring that decided the winners and not Match Points, this pair ranking list is pretty irrelevant too.  Again, only the travellers can be relied upon.

Because there are only 2 teams, no Master Points are awarded.

Mervyn

Friday 20^th September was the date for our biannual Compensated Teams event.  This is always very well supported and this time, even on a Friday, we had 11 teams!  The winners were Sam, Shirley, Tim and Hazel.  Sylvia S, Beryl, Sally and Ralph were 2nd and Helen, Mervyn, Delsia and Penny were 3rd.  Huge thanks are due as usual to Mervyn for planning and running the evening and to all the Randalls for organising the teams.  Thanks are also due to all the club members for supporting this event.

The next special event is the Ladies v Gents match on Wednesday October 9th – put it in your diary now!!

Helen

P.S.  If you want to see how individual pairs did in this teams event, click on the “X-Imps” tab on the BridgeWebs results screen.  Pairs are listed in order - roughly equivalent to the ranking list order in a pairs event.

Mervyn.

On Wednesday July 10th 2019, Crawley Bridge Club held their first Anniversary Lunch - a new event for our growing club.  It was to celebrate 47 years since the club was formed.

We had 15 full tables and our Guests of Honour were Tad Jasko and Peter Rowell who were founder members and are pictured with the cup they received for winning the Sussex Pairs in 1973.  They continue to play together once a month and, to prove that they are still a force to be reckoned with at the bridge table, they achieved over 70% to win the N/S position.

Thanks are due to all the committee, especially Betty, to Mervyn for directing, to Stacey, Michael and their team for a fantastic lunch and to Dave for manning the bar!!

Helen

Several of us were able to attend the service to say goodbye to Cecil on June 27th, 2019.  We were privileged to be  there and to learn more about his early years as described by his brother Ivan and then to spend time with his family afterwards.  He first joined us in 2011 and we learnt just how important bridge was to him – along with horse racing – and, of course, his love for his family.  His kind nature shone through at the club and he is very much missed at the table that was always saved for him.

In honour of Cecil, club members raised £150 for Diabetes UK - see acknowledgment letter.

The annual handicap pairs competition (held on April 12th) was renamed this year as the Iris Draude Memorial Pairs, in memory of Bill's wife who was a long standing member of Crawley Bridge Club.

The winners of this first (and hotly contested!) event were Cecile and Cheryl - pictured holding their trophies along with Bill.  Well done to them both.

Thanks are due to Mervyn for his help supplying everyone's NGS ranking and to Richard for running the event so smoothly.  Also, thanks to you all for supporting this special event - the last competition of our current year.

Helen

Most members will remember Iain Climie, who played at the club for a while 4-5 years ago, and they will be interested to know that he played in the 2019 Corn Cairdis recently.  The Corn Cardis is an annual match between England and Ireland - or more specifically teams representing the English Bridge Union (EBU) and the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland (CBAI).  Three teams of four - representing the County, Club, and Officials elements of the organisations - from both national bodies compete to win the Corn Cairdis - the Cup of Friendship.

This year's event was held at Basingstoke and Iain played in the Hampshire team.  See report and result.

You all know that Helen recently won the Gladys Hakki Trophy for making an 'outstanding contribution to bridge in Sussex'.  Well, the presentation was at the county AGM on Sunday April 7th.  Helen is pictured with a replica of the original trophy which she gets to keep.

Congratulations again, Helen, from everybody at CBC.

After a very enjoyable evening of Compensated Teams bridge consisting of 11 teams, many congratulations go to the winners who are pictured with their well-deserved prizes -  Mervyn, Tricia, Jane and Hazel.  Thanks are due to Mark and Carol who organised the teams in advance and to Mervyn who ran the evening in his customary efficient way.

Helen

Peter and Bill have now received the Joe Gibson Cup (like Tad, Joe Gibson was a founder member of Crawley Bridge Club) as winners of the SCCBA Charity Sims in January and .....

..... Hazel and Mervyn have now received the Eric Seldon Salver as winners of the SCCBA Open Sims in February.

Congratulations to Bill & Peter who are the confirmed winners of the county Charity Sims played in the week beginning January 7th - see SCCBA web-site for the results.

Our Valentine Pairs event was well attended with 19 pairs taking part - 14 of which were mixed pairs.  Congratulations go to the winners Bill and Carolyn, pictured with their well-deserved prizes.  Thanks to everyone who took part and made it such an enjoyable evening.

It was also the first time that we had used our new Duplimate machine which, as expected, produced some very interesting hands.

Helen
 

Our party on Friday December 7th was the busiest that we have ever held!  We had 15 tables in 2 sections - 12 in the main section and 3 in the cadets!  A good time was had by all with excellent directing from Mervyn, a very tasty buffet provided by Mitchells catering and an enjoyable bridge session.  We also collected £200 for Outreach 3 Way!

We also congratulated Mark on his big birthday!

A big thank-you goes to all who made the evening such a success.  We will do more of the same next year!!

Helen
 

The first 3 places in the Club Individual were taken by winner Ralph (photographed receiving his prize from organiser Helen), Bill (2nd) and Mervyn (3rd).

Thanks to Richard who had the unenviable task of shouting out the movements for every round as the bridgemates didn't give complete instructions!

A good time was had by all and we will definitely keep it as an annual fun evening in our calendar.

Helen

It's an excellent result for Carol and Mark who won the Welcome Pairs at the county Autumn Congress on Saturday October 13th.  Congratulations to them both.  See county web-site for the full results.

Congratulations to the victorious Men’s team!  In spite of the best efforts of all the Ladies, there was no getting away from the fact that the Men's team (all but Sisir and Bill pictured) were the better team on the night!

Thanks to everyone who took part for playing in such a good humoured way.  And particular thanks to Mervyn once again, without whom we would not have been able to have such an event.

Helen

P.S.  Two sets of results for this event can be seen here.  The main one uses Aggregate scoring (because that's what decided the winning team) but only the travellers are really meaningful.  These results are used to determine the winning team by aggregating either the Men's or Ladies scores to find that the Men won by 3030.  The pair ranking list is quite dependent on which pairs were lucky enough to get most of the big hands.

The other set of results uses Match Point scoring, i.e. just like on the average club night but using an invalid pairs movement.  This pair ranking list is more meaningful than the Aggregate version as regards how well individual pairs played.  However, since Aggregate scoring decided the winners and not Match Points, this pair ranking list is pretty irrelevant too.  Again, only the travellers can be relied upon.

Mervyn

Crawley members are invited to joint the Horley club's weekend at the Hydro Hotel in Eastbourne from Friday April 26 to Sunday April 28th, 2019.  See invite and application form.

Congratulations to Bill & Peter and Doreen & Stuart who won the Autumn Drawn Teams on Friday September 14th.  The runners-up were Shirley & Sumi, Carol & Mervyn.

Many thanks to Richard for collecting names and making up the teams.

We were very pleased to welcome 3 members of the Sussex County Bridge Association to our Wednesday bridge session on June 13th.  They were Richard Newton, Andy Ryder and Neil Watts who are currently walking to every bridge club in Sussex to raise money for Junior Bridge in Sussex and the Alzheimers Society.

After an enjoyable game of bridge, the highest-placed pair from our club were Bill Draude and Cecil de Araujo.  Many congratulations to them both.  We were also able to raise over £100 for the good causes.  So, many thanks to those who felt able to contribute.

Helen

P.S.  See also article on SCCBA web-site.

A good time was had by everyone at our Spring Drawn Teams event.  Hard canvassing by Richard in advance of the night ensured we had 9 tables.  Lots of preparation by Mervyn before the start coupled with his usual efficiency on the night, ensured the results were available within minutes of the end of play.  So thanks to them both.

Congratulations to Team 1 - Leon, Tad, Stuart and Kate on being first with the runners-up being Team 7 - Stewart, Frank, Sylvia W and Cecile.

Helen

The confirmed results for the SCCBA Open Sims are now on the county web-site.  Bert and Dave were the best-placed Crawley pair in 11th place.  If you're wondering why the finishing order of Crawley pairs in the county results differs from that in the club results, try reading this ECats FAQ.

Congratulations to Helen and Alan for winning the Valentine Pairs!  Unfortunately, there were only 6 mixed pairs playing.  Next year, this event will be on Wednesday 13th February.  For those of you with an EBU diary, make a note and arrange a mixed pairing!

P.S. Apart from chocolate hearts for everyone, Cecil very kindly donated a big box of Black Magic which was very much enjoyed by all!

The confirmed results for the Charity Sims are now on the county web-site.  Tad & Leon did excellently to finish overall runners-up out of 134 pairs!  If you're wondering why the finishing order of Crawley pairs in the county results differs from that in the club results, try reading this ECats FAQ.

Our party was held on December 8^th and we had 12 full tables.  The food was provided by the new caterers at Grattons and was delicious.  Alan organised the game to find a partner which produced some fun outcomes.  But a good time was had by all.  We also managed to raise just over £200 for the Chestnut Hospice – our chosen charity.  Mervyn sat out for the whole evening watching over the laptop so that we had results almost immediately. So special thanks to him.

Prize-winners were Kerry & Carol who were 1st North/South (after Christina and myself withdrew) and ....

.... Carol & Betty who were 1st East/West and ....

.... Cecile and Wendy who were second North/South and ....

.... Russell and Tricia who were second East/West.

The committee and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2018.

Helen

Hot off the press and before it gets into the EBU magazine! (but not before it's put onto the EBU web-site), Mervyn is seen being presented with his Dimmie Fleming Award by Jeremy Dhondy (Chairman of the EBU) at The Imperial Hotel, Russell Square on Wednesday 22nd November.  We are all very proud of him!

Helen
 

Congratulations to the victorious Ladies team that managed to sneak a victory over the Men again on Wednesday October 11th.

The general euphoria over the result, meant that there was no opportunity to thank Mervyn once again for all his long hours of work that were needed to make the event run so smoothly. The preparation done at home is essential to making the event as enjoyable as it was. I cannot imagine how long it would have taken to do the mental arithmetic need to produce a result! So, Mervyn, thank you once again. We could not run such a full and varied programme without you.

Cheers,

Helen

P.S.  Two sets of results for this event can be seen here.  The main one uses Aggregate scoring (because that's what decided the winning team) but only the travellers are really meaningful.  It's not possible to use these results to determine the winning team without doing the same calculations that I did.  The pair ranking list is quite dependent on which pairs were lucky enough to get most of the big hands.

The other set of results uses Match Point scoring, i.e. just like on the average club night but using an invalid pairs movement.  This pair ranking list is more meaningful than the Aggregate version as regards how well individual pairs played.  However, since Aggregate scoring decided the winners and not Match Points, this pair ranking list is pretty irrelevant too.  Again, only the travellers can be relied upon.

Mervyn

The weekend organised by Debbie and shared with Church Hill bridge club was a great success. And members of the Crawley club did very well at the competitions too. We all hope same time same place next year??

Helen
 

We were delighted to have 8 teams entered into our drawn teams event including 10 players from Cadet nights. Thanks go to Richard for arranging the teams and to Mervyn without whom we would not be able to run such an enjoyable event.

Helen

Please turn up and play in the SCCBA Charity Sims on Friday January 12th.  This year's charities are :-

• St Peter & St James Hospice, North Chailey which provides care to patients at the end stages of incurable illnesses, and
• Impetus, Hove which provides support to isolated and lonely people in Brighton and Hove.

Please note that, since the same boards will be used in this event in different Sussex clubs during the week, individual players may only play in one heat.

Congratulations to Cecil who received the Saeed Salver for being the club's most improved player over the past 12 months.

Congratulations to Hazel and Mervyn who won the Liliane Massingale Cup (handicapped pairs) on Wednesday May 17th. 

Well done everyone. You did Crawley proud!

Congratulations to Carol and Mark who, although they weren't the highest-placed pair of the weekend (April 7th-9th), were the highest-placed Crawley pair.

Starting with a FREE! introductory session on Monday September 18th, Crawley Bridge Club will be running a course which is suitable for complete beginners.  This course will consist of three terms of ten two-hour sessions.  If you need more details, please email Helen Kent or ring Helen on 01342 719779.

Helen (behind the camera), Carol, Mark, Richard and Maureen looked for new bridge players for CBC at the Turners Hill Fete on July 16th.

"A very happy afternoon spent encouraging more beginners!" - Helen

A very enjoyable evening was had by all for our first "drawn teams" event.  Congratulations to the winning team of Cecil, Bill, Maureen and Sumi.

Thanks are due to Richard for forming the teams and to Mervyn for running the event and managing the Bridgemates.  What a very worthwhile investment they are proving to be!

Helen

Well done to the Crawley team who went one better this year in the 'Mid-Sussex Challenge Friendly - Inter-Clubs Teams of Eight' at Cuckfield on February 12th by finishing 2nd of 7 teams, having finished 3rd last year.

See Sussex web-site for report.

Congratulations to Richard and Sylvia who won the Valentine Pairs on February 10th.

Carol celebrated no longer being a junior member of CBC recently by cutting a birthday cake (sorry about the blurring - no alcohol was involved!) as did .....

..... what's 'is name a few weeks earlier!

Richard, Cecil, Mark and Carol did excellently at their first attempt in the county New Year Swiss Teams at Henfield on January 8th, winning 5 of their 7 matches! - see county web-site for details.

Our Christmas party held on December 9th was a great success!  There were 9 and a half tables in the club section and 4 in the cadet section.  There was some very exciting card-play and ....

.... a fantastic buffet - the best we have ever had.

Thanks are due to the committee of Helen, Richard, Alan, Betty, Sylvia and Mark for all their work beforehand, during and following the event.  But special thanks to Mervyn who managed the Bridgemates under some duress and ensured we had a result at the end of the evening.

Thanks to everyone for coming along and supporting the club and for your generous donations to Macmillan Care which totalled an amazing £270!!

Helen

Congratulations to Carol & Mark, Debbie & Susie who won the Autumn Compensated Teams on September 7th.

We all had a lovely evening celebrating the special birthdays of Cecile and Sylvia. They charged our glasses for us and filled us with delicious cake, made and appropriately decorated for bridge players by Clare. Thanks to all.

Helen

Congratulations to Stewart who is pictured being presented with the Saeed Salver by Richard for being the club's most improved player over the past 12 months.

There was a very disappointing turn-out of only 3 tables for the Liliane Massingale Cup (handicapped pairs) on Wednesday May 18th but congratulations to the winners Helen & Christina.

Congratulations to Sylvia S., Stewart, Doreen and Janet who won the Spring Compensated Teams on March 23rd.

The provisional combined results for the SCCBA Open Simultaneous Pairs are now on the county web-site.  The highest-placed Crawley pairs are Veronica & David (12th), Hazel & Meryyn (13th) and Betty & Ralph (15th).  If you're wondering why the finishing order of Crawley pairs in the county results differs from that in the club results, try reading this ECats FAQ.

Despite the best efforts of Helen's sat nav, all 8 members of the Crawley BC team (Hazel, Christine, Betty, Helen, Shirley, Howard, Mervyn and Doreen) made it to Thakeham and 'played their socks off' to finish a very creditable 3rd (out of 7) in this friendly event.

The runaway winners were West Sussex BC, who put a very strong team out.  Lewes BC were 2nd.  There was also a delicious tea provided by the hosts who earnt that dubious right by winning the event last year.  Well done to all our team.

Are you a prominent club member?  Are you off to Thailand shortly?  Then, obviously, you're up to no good!!  See Daily Telegraph article.

You might remember that we held a heat of the county's David Pavey Trophy competition back in November.  Well, Veronica and David have only gone and won the final at Worthing!!!  Many congratulations to them.

Howard and his partner, David Pickford, and Richard and Debbie also did well, finishing 6th and 7th= respectively, although Richard and Debbie were playing 'without standing' which means that they weren't eligible to win the competition since they hadn't played together in the heat.

See the county web-site for an article and the full results.

Can you spot a young (well young-ish!) Tad in this picture?  Tad and other members of Crawley Bridge Club made headlines in local newspapers in October 1983 because of their exploits in the Bridge Bridge League Congress in the Isle of Man.

Not only did Tad's team (himself plus David Clifton, Frank Cooper and David Rowe) win the Teams event but a second Crawley team (Martin & Pauline Pool, John Wallace and David Ginn) finished as runners-up!  Not content with that, Tad and David Clifton also won the Open Pairs event!

See transcripts of all 3 articles.

Our Sussex Charity Sims heat on Friday January 15th raised the splendid sum of £96 to be shared by this year's county charities - Pericles and The Oyster Project.

The confirmed combined results are now on the county web-site with Wendy and Hazel (16th) and Sally and Ralph (18th) doing best of the Crawley pairs.

Happy Birthday Hazel. We hope you’ve had a lovely day! Thanks for the chocolates and sweets that all disappeared!
 

A good time was had by all at this year's Christmas Party on December 11th.  Many thanks to organisers Helen, Richard, Alan and Betty for putting in so much effort.

Congratulations to Susie and mum Pat who won the intermediate stratification class and finished 3rd overall at Turners Hill on Saturday November 21st in the Sussex Basic Bridge Pairs event that Helen runs.  Cecile & Sumi and Shirley & Carolyn also did very well, finishing 4th and 5th overall respectively.  See results, article and pictures on the SCCBA web-site.

Congratulations to Stuart, Tad, Stewart and the absent Sylvia B who won the Autumn Compensated Teams on September 2nd.

Congratulations to Janet and Kerry who are pictured receiving the Liliane Massingale Cup from Richard.  Janet and Kerry won the annual handicapped pairs event on Wednesday May 20th, just hours after joining the club!  Close runners-up were Richard & Sue who were leading before handicaps were applied.

• 

  A group of members ignoring the camera!
• 

  Some members trying to hide from the camera!
• 

  Some winners!

In a first for Crawley Bridge Club, 11 members spent a very enjoyable weekend (March 27-29th) of friendly bridge and fantastic food in the very comfortable Ardington Hotel in Worthing along with 29 other players from other clubs.  Tricia and Christine were our stars as they won the Saturday evening session and were presented with chocolates at the end of the final session on Sunday.  A good time was had by all and we would hope to do something similar next year!

Congratulations to Frank who is pictured being presented with the Saeed Salver by Helen for being the club's most improved player over the past 12 months.

Congratulations to the winners of the Spring 2015 Compensated Teams - Tad, Veronica, David and Betty.

Several learners from the Improvers Class bravely turned up to play at a club evening on Wednesday March 18th.

Congratulations to the Ladies Team (pictured minus Wendy, Cecile, Sylvia W. and Christina) who, after a recount, are this year's winners of the Sheila Becarevic Cup by 14 IMPs.  The match was a 14-a-side match played over 24 boards.  See full results.

The next 'event' at Crawley BC is a Compensated Teams on Wednesday March 25th.  You wouldn't want to miss it, would you?

Congratulations to Helen & Mervyn who won the the Valentine Pairs prize for being the highest-placed mixed pair CBC members on Friday February 13th.

Very well done to visitors Alan and Mick who finished an excellent second overall in the SCCBA Seniors Simultaneous Pairs.  See results on the SCCBA web-site.

They may have only finished 3rd in the Crawley heat of the SCCBA Charity Simultaneous Pairs but Susie and Debbie also finished 3rd overall!!   Very well done to them.  See results on the SCCBA web-site.

Following a very enjoyable party on Friday 12^th December, there are a lot of people for me to thank.

Firstly, thanks go to Mervyn for his sterling work organising the movement and for scoring the Club section so quickly.  Thanks also to Richard for running the improvers section.  It was lovely to see so many from our class and we hope to see them at a club night in the not too distant future!  Judging by the noise that came from that end of the room, it certainly sounded as if they were having a good time!

Thanks to Betty for running the raffle and for planning the food with the Grattons caterers.  They certainly gave us a splendid spread!  Finally, thank you to our very efficient treasurer for organising the pairings and the prizes for the Club section and for ensuring that the £125 raised by the raffle will go to Last Chance (our chosen charity for this year).

Thanks to all who attended, contributed to the raffle prizes and bought tickets.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Helen

(Helen and Tad are pictured with their prizes for winning the bridge in the Club section. - Ed.)

P.S.  The Improvers Section was won by .....

..... Sue Snelling and Gwendoline Berry who were presented with their awards at the start of the new term.

One of Santa's not-so-little helpers dropped in to run the Improvers class recently!

Congratulations to the winners of the Autumn 2014 Compensated Teams - Betty, John, Sylvia B. and Veronica.

Congratulations to Peter and Cecile who won the Liliane Massingale Cup (handicapped pairs) on Friday May 23rd.

Congratulations to Sumi for being the club's most improved player over the past 12 months and so becoming the 6th winner of the Saeed Salver.

Congratulations to the winners of the Spring 2014 Compensated Teams - Debbie, Susie, Tricia and Christine.

On February 26th, the Gents team won the Sheila Becarevic Cup for the third successive year - this time by the fairly comfortable margin of 115 IMPs.  See full results.

Commiserations to ........

........ the Ladies team.  Better luck(-ish!) next year.

The club's next special event will be a Compensated Teams event on Friday March 21st.

Attendance was down at this year's Christmas Party but 30 members still enjoyed 18 hands of bridge and a first-class buffet.

Congratulations to ......

..... the winners and runners-up in the bridge  - Jean & Bert and Jim & Doreen respectively.

Many thanks to organisers Betty, Alan and Richard and that other chap who did the directing and scoring.

Crawley pairs did very well on Saturday November 23rd in the Sussex Basic Bridge Pairs event that Helen runs.  Hazel and Betty won the event overall and Christine and Tricia won the intermediate section.  Congratulations to them all.  For full details, see the Sussex web-site.

Congratulations to the winners of the Autumn 2013 Compensated Teams - Helen, Carol, Betty and Tricia.

Are you aware of the August 1st 2013 changes to Announcements and Alerts?  The main change is that the No Trump strength, Stayman and red-suit transfer Announcements now apply to 2NT as well as to 1NT.  Please read the full summary to see if you are affected.   You can find more details of these and other changes (e.g. replacing the Orange Book with the Blue Book) on the county web-site and in the August edition of English Bridge.

After this year's AGM on Friday May 3rd run by Officers Alan, Richard and Helen, presentations were made to .........

.....  Liliane Massingale Cup winners, Mike & Tom.......

........ Best Improver for 2012-13, Tim ......

....... and to a representative of March's Compensated Teams winners, Tim, without the rest of the team (Alan B, Frank and Bill).

The Ladies team did their best but ......

..... as the full results show, the Gents team retained the cup by a margin of 49 IMPs.

38 people attended the Christmas Party on December 14th.  A very good time was had by all!  18 boards were played with a break for an excellent buffet.  This year's winner of the John Wallace Cup is .....

You just might recognize the two people on the left of this picture.  Richard and Helen have been attending a two-day SCCBA teacher training course this month at Shoreham in preparation for the beginners classes that they intend to start on behalf of our club in February.  If you know of anybody who might be interested in attending these classes or would even like to attend them yourself, please let Richard or Helen (see attached for contact details) know ASAP.

Congratulations to Iris who won the club Individual competition on Friday October 12th.  Organiser Helen was 2nd and Alastair was 3rd.

Congratulations to this year's winner Bryan who was presented with the trophy by Chairman Helen at the AGM.   The full list of 'honours' for 2011-2012 can be seen in the Competition Secretary's Report.

Congratulations to Frank who won the SCCBA Survey draw and so receives free entry into a pairs or teams county event of his choice for himself and a partner.

Congratulations to this year's winners Richard and Betty who were presented with the cup at this year's AGM on May 4th.

The players eagerly await the announcement of the results of this year's Compensated Teams event on Wednesday March 21st before hearing that ......  

....... the clear winners are Sonia Lee, Alan Bailey, Sylvia Webb and Tim Kirkup.  Congratulations to them all.   In second place, 46 IMPs behind, were Jenny & Hilary Breeden, Frank Sansom and Bill Draude.

Many thanks to Alan Litchfield who brought in the prizes and didn't even get to play!

The scorers are hard at work before eventually agreeing that ........

.... this year's winners are the Gents team (including guest player Sue!).  The full results show that, like last year when the Ladies won, the winning margin was quite small at just 13 IMPs.

Thanks to all who took part in this 'Teams of 12' event played over 24 boards.  No doubt everybody will now be eager to take part in the club's next special event which is the Compensated Teams event on Wednesday March 21st.  You can just turn up as a pair as normal but it would be appreciated if you could put your names on the sheet on the noticeboard or tell Betty that you'd like to play in this event.

The winning team in full was Richard (captain) & Cecil, Jim & Barrie, Alan & Tim, Frank & Bill, Bryan & Sue, John & Mervyn.

...... the North/South winners were Mervyn and Wendy.

The prize winners for Steve's puzzles were :-

• Pascal's pyramid: Christina, Richard, Bill, Iris, Alan L, Angela I.
• Card challenge: Christina

The weekend organised by Debbie and shared with Church Hill bridge club was a great success. And members of the Crawley club did very well at the competitions too.  We all hope same time same place next year??

Sadly, George Calvert has died.

George was born in N. Ireland in 1914.  He trained as a dentist and practised in Holywood, N. Ireland and also served in the Middle East during the Second World War.   He came to England after retirement to be near his son.