In this competition, the handicap assigned to players/pairs is set using players' NGS grades.  This 'National Grading System' is managed by the EBU.  Players' grades are based on the results we upload to the EBU after each bridge session.  The weighted average of the last 2000 sessions gives an accurate 'grade' of a player's performance.

On the 1st of each month, the EBU automatically provides the latest NGS grades to the club website, so players and pairs handicaps for the competition will be set on October 1st and will remain at the same grade for the whole competition.  Handicaps based on the NGS grades are shown in the following table.

Average %	Grade	Handicap
67+	Ace Spade	-17
65-67	Ace Heart	-16
63-65	Ace Diamond	-14
61-63	Ace Club	-12
59-61	King	-10
57-59	Queen	-8
55-57	Jack	-6
53-55	Ten	-4
51-53	Nine	-2
49-51	Eight	0
47-49	Seven	+2
45-47	Six	+4
43-45	Five	+6
41-43	Four	+8
39-41	Three	+10
Under 39	Two	+12

The handicapping is designed to raise or lower a player's NGS to 50%.  A player with an NGS of 8 has no handicap applied because they average 50%.

For each result in the competition, the result is taken and the handicap for each player is added together and averaged and applied to the result.

To participate in the competition, your NGS grade must be made public on the EBU website.  If it is set to 'private' then you will not be able to participate in the club handicap competition.

If anyone has any questions regarding the competition, please speak to Steve Quinn.