Cath Fox has asked all ECBA clubs to display an advertisement for a new website and initiative for Youth Bridge. Click here for what it has to say, and follow the onward links, including those detailing local activities. While not of direct relevance to members, this is an important initiative, and members may have children or - more likely - grandchildren, who might enjoy the game. Or friends with the same. If the game is to survive, it needs new blood.  

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Message for Club Members

Please add ...

members@bridgewebsemail.com

to your email address book to ensure receipt of any messages sent to you from this website.

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Search this site

Please click here

to open a 'Search' box.

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'Play it again'

Have you yet tried the 'Play it Again' feature available on this website via the Results Pages?  Click on your name in the Rankings List to view your Scorecard. Then in the board list on the right of the screen, select the board of interest and click on 'Play it Again'.  From the comfort of your own home, you can see how you could / should have made that slam!

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Old News Snippets

This page lists old news items in reverse date sequence. 'Old' is defined as 'prior to the re-opening of the Club post-Covid'. Clicking on an item in the list takes you to the 'snippet' itself.   

 
 
  CLUB RE-OPENING!

We are delighted to advise you that the Club will reopen at Mountnessing Village Hall on Thursday 2nd September 2021 in a 'face-to-face' setting. The first session will be preceded by the delayed 2021 AGM, at 7.10 p.m. Please do attend the AGM if at all possible.

Clearly, Covid 19 will remain a feature in our lives for the foreseeable future, and we need to continue to be cautious and manage the risk to ourselves and to others, recognising that no situation is risk free. There are actions we can take to mitigate risks to ensure a safe environment, including new 'conditions of use' set by the Mountnessing Village Hall Management Committee; these conditions can be viewed by scrolling to the foot of this web page. All players will be expected to agree to comply.

PLEASE NOTE: some of the current committee members will be stepping down at the AGM, and nominations for replacements are invited. In particular, the Club is looking for a new Secretary, and also for non-officer committee members. Please send any Agenda items for the AGM, and any new nominations for the Committee, to Alaric Cundy, the Retiring Secretary, preferably by email, by August 14th if possible.

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  Coronavirus

FOLLOWING THE GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FROM HM GOVERNMENT, THE CLUB WILL BE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. A GREAT SHAME, BUT NECESSARY AS PART OF OUR COLLECTIVE FIGHT AGAINST THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. 

The Committee has considered instituting on-line bridge, but - as previously reported to members - consider that most members attend the Club at least in part for the social interaction. There are, of course, Essex clubs, and the EBU itself, who offer on-line bridge. The opportunities are listed on the Essex and EBU websites. 

Club member Cath Fox has had an excellent article on bridge during Covid-19, naturally focusing on the blossoming of the on-line game, published on 26th July in the Sunday Express magazine: Read it here!

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  Annual Ladder Awards 2019/20

The "season" finished a couple of weeks early, so the two year-long ladder awards are now decided:

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who supported the Club throughout the year. 

Click on the Trophy names to see the detailed ladders. 

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  An Outstanding Achievement!!!

Many Congratulations to the team representing Mountnessing in the NICKO this year (David Tennet, Theo Todman, Peter Oake & Colin Scott) who have had an outstanding result in Round 2 of the NICKO in January 2020, beating the NICKO holders - a team of top internationals, including Andrew McIntosh (who is currently fourth in the overall national NGS gradings, with a score of 70.04), Neil Rosen (66th), James Thrower (25th) and  Ali Ahmed - by 4 IMPS. A truly fantastic achievement!!!!

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  PLASTIC CUPS AT MOUNTNESSING

It has always been the case that the Club has purchased stocks of single-use cups in bulk. The current stocks are running low, and that situation has led to a renewed discussion within the committee as to whether their use should be continued.

A decision has been reached not to purchase any more plastic cups, but instead to ask members to bring their own ceramic cups / mugs – a practice that is already followed by other clubs and some individual players.

The motives are three-fold:

Convenience: it takes a small amount of time at the start of the evening to set out the the cups and holders, but, worse, it takes much more time to clear away the cups that are often left ‘scattered’ all around the hall at the end of the evening. Additionally, quite often we fill the waste sack in the kitchen with used cups, and we are then expected to take it round to the disposal bin at the back of the hall.

Cost: even buying in bulk, the cost adds up, and those costs increase over time.

The ‘Green Agenda’: in fairness, this is something of a token effort, but ‘every little helps’ as one of the Supermarket chains proclaims

Current stocks of single-use cups have now virtually expired entirely, so please get into the habit of bringing your own with immediate effect. Some members already do so. Please remember to wash your cup and take it home afterwards.

Thanks for your co-operation.

 

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  Windmill Trophy, 28/11/2019

Congratulations to the winners of the Windmill Trophy for 2019 - Paul Mollison & Simon Moorman.

Please note that there has been a re-score on Board 16; previously the score at table 7 was showing as 'not played'. An adjusted score has now been applied following the Director's ruling. Scores achieved at table 8 were also impacted.

Though the top overall rankings were / are very close, the relative positions remain unchanged.

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The latest Player of the Month - for the sadly-coronavirus-truncated March 2020 - is Peter Oake. Click the box heading for the results. A complete historical record of past winners can be found here.

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  Fletcher Trophy - October 27th 2019

Congratulations to the Mountnessing Team that finished 2nd in the Essex Invitational Teams of Eight event:

  • David Piper (captain) & Graham Beeton
  • John Sutcliffe & Chris Megahey
  • Jivan Patel & Michael Carson
  • Jill & Roger Tattersfield
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  Results October 24th 2019 - corrected

One board was played at the wrong table by the wrong pairs so some adjustments have been made to the original results.  More by luck than judgement, the net effects are miniscule, though all scores will have gone up or down by a fraction of a percent. The results now show one artificial score on board 5, and two on board 11.

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  New Entry in 'The Seventy Club'

There was another new entry into the 'Seventy Club' on April 25th 2019 - Chris Megahey & Alaric Cundy with a score of 71.06%

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  Annual Ladder Awards 2018/19

The two year-long ladder awards are now decided:

Faye Wernick Trophy (Ladies): Helen McVeigh just pipped last year's winner, Sue French, on the last session of the year

Lionel Wernick Trophy (Men): Chris Megahey retained his title, with Alaric Cundy finishing second

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  Scam prevention measure - Committee List

The Mountnessing Bridge Club website is based on the Bridgewebs facility - an approach that has been adopted by the vast majority of Clubs nationally.  Unfortunately, scammers have spotted an opportunity whereby they masquerade as one committee member and attempt to get a second committee member to authorise a fraudulent payment from Club funds.  We wish to assure all members that the committee is 'on the ball' and that no such payments have ever been made by this Club. However, we have been the target of an attempted fraud.

To make life a bit more difficult for would-be scammers, the 'Committee' page on this website is now set as 'Members only', so to access it you will be asked for your Members' Area username (typically your email address) and your personalised password.  If you have not already registered for access to the Members' area, please follow the instructions that you will be given when you try to access a "members only" page.

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  On-line Social Bridge

What is this facility?

The comment that many people make about on-line Duplicate Bridge is that they feel that one of the key reasons for going to the Bridge Club is to meet and chat with other players. - and that element is missing when participating in a Duplicate event hosted by, for example, BBO.

 

The Unique Selling Points of this brand new approach is that firstly, it requires video links – so you can see, hear, and chat to the three other people at your table, and secondly, you will be holding real physical cards in your hands! It is completely free – providing that you already have all the necessary hardware at home. The system is reliant on a large degree of trust and honesty – but, hey, it’s fun social Bridge! Open the bottle of wine and set out a bowl of nibbles! For these reasons, there are no Local Points or NGS grading points to play for – but for those who want to, there is an optional streak of competition.

 

System Requirements

In order to play on-line Social Bridge, each of the four players involved in the session will need:

 

Hardware:

  1. A home broadband service, supporting Wifi connections.

  2. Any laptop, desktop PC, or Tablet Computer that will support Video Conferencing services, such as Skype or Zoom.

    1. All modern laptops and Tablet computers will have necessary hardware capability built-in.

    2. If you use a desktop computer you will either need a monitor that incorporates a web camera / microphone / speakers OR a headset and a camera. There are now very few options for USB-connected PC webcams available. Logitech offer several models, and a viable option is the C270 that can be purchased from https://www.logitech.com/en-gb, for £36.05, including delivery

  3. An Android smartphone or Tablet Computer. The dealing software that lies at the heart of this scheme will only run on Android devices. If necessary, second-hand unlocked Android phones can be purchased on EBay for around £40; you do NOT need a Sim Card, but it must support wifi.

  4. At least one deck of 52 playing cards in reasonable condition; more would be better. Even better if you have your own complete board set, e.g., for home matches.

 

Software:

 

  1. The Laptop/PC/Tablet needs to have a basic teleconferencing system installed; all four players in the session must be running the same system. Skype is the best choice for this application, though it needs to be an up-to-date version that includes the ‘Meet Now’ video chat feature.

  2. The BridgeDealer application needs to be downloaded and installed onto the Android device (Hardware point 3). The current version of it can be downloaded from https://mirgo2.co.uk/bridgepal/index.php?section=25 . This application, which is an extension to the ‘BridgePals’ scoring system as used at Mountnessing Bridge Club, has been made available for free by its author, John Goacher, and it provides the vital ‘missing link’ that makes this Social Bridge scheme viable. We are extremely indebted to John Goacher.

 

Preliminaries

 

  1. Clearly, you need two pairs / four players, who need to agree on a date and time for the session. It is entirely your choice when you play and for how long. It would be advisable to agree the number of boards you plan to play, which can be anything from 1 to 24 (or beyond), and, indeed, agree which boards you plan to play – you don’t have to start at board 1. You will probably play about six or seven boards an hour in practice. If you want to, you can split the session and reconvene later.

  2. If Alice & Bob are to play against Mary & John, then Alice, Bob, Mary & John can chat to each other throughout the session and refer to each other by name. However, each player will need to be assigned a compass point - agree in advance who will be North, etc. You will retain your compass point for the whole session .

  3. Alice, Bob, Mary and John all need to check that they are able to communicate with each other via Skype (or Zoom, or whatever facility you agree to use). Nominate any one of the four players as the Session Convenor, who should then initiate a test connect with the other three players.

  4. Prior to the agreed start time, all four players need to download the deal file onto the Android dealing device. To do this step, open the BridgeDealer app on the Android phone, and choose the ‘Browse Web’ option. From the list of options, choose ‘BridgeWebs Club Index’, then ‘England’, then ‘Essex’, then swipe up to choose ‘Mountnessing BC’. The club’s website’s homepage will open; swipe down to reveal the usual menu list and choose menu item ‘Lockdown Reprieve?’ Swipe up to reveal a table headed ‘Deal Files and Answer Sheets’. You can choose any of the listed deal files – all four players choosing the same one of course! [Note that all the Deal Files will be real files that have been played at a Bridge Session in the past, though not necessarily at Mountnessing Bridge Club.] When you select a specific deal file, some gobbledegook will appear; select the red underlined message – that will cause the selected deal file to be loaded into the BridgeDealer App, and you will be returned to the App. Do check that the name of the file in the title bar corresponds to the deal file that you thought you were going to choose! Do not close the App or reboot your Android device until after you have finished the session.

  5. All four players need to deal their own copy of the board(s) using the BridgeDealer app. Ideally, several / all the boards will be dealt in advance if all four players can ‘rustle up’ sufficient serviceable decks, but if not, they can be dealt one at a time during play, though that will slow down proceedings.

  6. By default, the top line will be showing board 1 as the next board to deal. Use the < > keys as necessary to revolve around the available hands. With the correct board number showing, choose ‘Deal’.

  7. There is a very good demonstration as to how to use BridgeDealer to deal the cards on YouTube here. It is very easy to use, but there is a bit of a ‘knack’. My own tip: don’t pass the cards over too close to the Android device’s front camera aperture: I found a height of about 20 cm / 8 inches to be best.

  8. The system relies on a lot of trust; the only two hands from each deal that you should look at are your own, and once the bidding has subsided and the opening lead had been made, Dummy. Once you have all dealt at least one hand, the session can be started.

  9. Don’t forget the glass of wine! Or beer. Plus a bowl of nibbles!

 

Start the session!

  1. The Convenor initiates the session at the appointed time, by starting the Skype “Meet Now” session (or whatever other means you have agreed on). If you have a personal scorecard it will tell you about the dealer and vulnerability on the Board you are due to play. If not, you can access a mock scorecard from the Lockdown Reprieve? menu on the website.

  2. Bid and play the first board. OK, it’s a bit surreal until you get used to it! There are, of course, no bidding boxes, so you’ll have to speak the bids. You will also have to speak the cards that you play. All four players will need to play their own copy of Dummy, in accordance with the spoken instructions from Declarer. Note there is no ‘Tournament Director’; this facility is intended to be a friendly, social game – so if a mishap happens, sort yourselves out, please!

  3. At the conclusion of the first board, you need to agree the score, of course. Though this is all intended for fun, if you can’t resist a slightly competitive streak, then keep a record of your scores. Approximately a week after the Deal File is made available on the website, an associated ‘Answer Sheet’ will appear, showing the results when these hands were played in a real Club Session, so you can retrospectively check how you did against the rest of the “field”.

  4. If one or more of the players is constrained to a “deal as you go” approach, there will be a short delay until all four players have the next board available. Repeat steps 11 and 12 until the wine runs out!

 

If needed - a Scorecard

 

Please do share your experiences, ideally through the Mountnessing BC WhatsApp group, but by email otherwise.

 

Deal Files and Answer Sheets [Answer sheets are published approximately one week after Deal files are posted.]
Deal File Name No of Boards "Answer Sheets"
Lockdown01 32  
     
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  SIM Pairs - Thursday 5th March 2020

Well done to Lorraine Butler and Maureen Vede who ran away with the RNLI SIMs this Thursday with a stonking 73.15% locally, their best score ever and their 2nd appearance in the The Seventy Club.  They stonked slightly less well nationally, but are currently lying an excellent 11th.

The full results, with a commentary, appear here on ECATS

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  Ray Cornell Trophy, February 16th 2020

The teams representing Mountnessing in the 2020 Ray Cornell Trophy were as below. We didn't match last year's achievement when we qualified to represent Essex in the Regional Finals of the Garden Cities Trophy. The Mountnessing Teams finished 9th and 15th out of the 19 teams competing. For full results, please click here.

  • David Piper (Capt.) & Graham Beeton
  • Alaric Cundy & Dennis Valtisiaris

and

  • Jill & Roger Tattersfield
  • Jivan Patel & Michael Carson
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  Results July 4th

Apologies for the late posting of the results.  This delay has been caused by a mis-board on board 11.  The board has been scored as a split board, with 4 scores in each half - one half being tables 7, 6, 5, and 4, the other half being tables 3, 2, 1 and 8, for which the North and East hands had been inter-changed.  Resolution of the problem has consumed a lot of extra time, especially by the Director, but also by the scorer. The calculation has had to be carried out manually, following a formula set out by the EBU.

LESSONS TO BE LEARNT:

  1. if the scoring device produces a message to the effect that the lead card or Declarer may be incorrect, please do not ignore it as it may mean that there has been a misboard.
  2. always leave the board in play in the centre of the table and after the play please ensure that all four hands are returned to their correct pocket.

Thanks

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  The Ray Cornell Prize, 2019

We are pleased to report that the two teams of four entered by Mountnessing in the Ray Cornell Trophy on February 17th - one of the Essex Invitational Teams competitions run by the Essex Contract Bridge Association - did the Club proud by finishing 2nd and 3rd, thus, in combination, qualifying to represent Essex in the Regional Finals of the prestigious Garden Cities Competition on April 27th and winning the Ray Cornell Prize. The teams were:

Mountnessing 'A': (finished 2nd) - Peter Franklin, Frank Morrison, Graham Beeton, David Piper

Mountnessing 'B': (finished 3rd) - Jill & Roger Tattersfield, John Sutcliffe, Alaric Cundy

The Team to play in the Regional Final will be slightly different: John Sutcliffe, Dennis Valtisiaris, Jill & Roger Tattersfield, Frank Morrison, Steve Cade-Bowyer, Graham Beeton, David Piper.  We wish our team Good Luck!

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  New Entry in 'The Seventy Club'

There was a new entry in the 'Seventy Club' on March 14th when Chris Megahey & Alaric Cundy scored 74.11%.  For a complete list of scores over 70% scored at the Club since September 2006, please see the sub-menu item under the 'Current Ladder Tables' link to the left.

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  Mary Rogers Trophy, March 21st 2019

Congratulations to John Sutcliffe & Dennis Valtisiaris who won the Mary Rogers Trophy on March 21st.

For those who are unaware: this Trophy was introduced into the Club's calendar by former owner Lionel Wernick.  Mary Rogers was a long-standing member of the Club, who also had successes in County events.  Her husband, Jack Rogers, was also a very regular player at the club until terminal ill-health prevented him from so doing in 2008.

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  Summer Ladder Trophies: Final Ranking

The two Summer Ladder Trophies are contested from the beginning of June to the end of August.  The 2019 winners were:

Margaret Curtis Cup (2018 holder: Sue French): Catriona Lovett

Peter Seaton Trophy (2018 holder: Graham Beeton): David Piper

For the full final rankings, please expand the 'Current Ladder Tables' menu to the left..

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  New Entry in 'The Seventy Club'

There was a new entry into the 'Seventy Club' on September 12th 2019 - Paul Mollison & Simon Moorman with a score of 74.72%

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  ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Club's Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday February 21st 2019 starting at 7.10 p.m., with a normal Bridge Session afterwards at 7.30.  We encourage all members to attend to have the chance to have a say about the future direction of the club. Members can access the Agenda and associated papers through the 'Membership' link to the left.

One of the key functions of the AGM is to elect the Club's Officers and other Committee Members. This year, we are making a special plea to members to consider taking on one of the lead roles, because two of the current four Officers are not seeking re-election. These roles are not as onerous as they may sound - but without them the club may struggle to run smoothly.  We therefore are asking all members to think carefully as to whether you could offer yourself to be nominated for one of the roles.

Chair: the core responsibilities are:

  • to chair any General meetings of the Club, including the AGM;

  • to chair any committee meetings. [Physical committee meetings are rare, and, when they happen, usually short. Most committee business is conducted by phone and / or email];

  • to act as the front-person / spokesperson for the club as and when necessary;

  • to assure himself / herself that all other roles are being appropriately carried out;

  • to act as a cheque signatory;

  • note that it is not a requirement for the Chair to be on the Club’s Director’s rota.

Secretary: the core responsibilities are: :

  • to provide papers and prepare minutes for all General Meetings and Committee Meetings. (Virtually all committee business is handled via email);

  • to act as the primary channel for communication between the Club and the ECBA / EBU; (almost all communication is via email);

  • to hold the file of completed membership application and renewal forms;

  • to act as the primary channel for communication with Club members (almost all communication is via email, using the Bridgewebs website’s email facility);

  • to circulate requests for partners to all members, using the Bridgewebs website’s email facility;

  • to act as a cheque signatory;

  • note that it is not a requirement for the Secretary to be on the Club’s Director’s rota.

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  New Entries in 'The Seventy Club'

Congratulations to Paul Mollison & Simon Moorman who achieved a score of 71.59% at the club session on January 24th 2019, thus gaining an entry into 'The Seventy Club'.

Amazingly, there was another new 'Seventy Club' entry on January 31st - Chris Megahey & Alaric Cundy, with a score of 70.45%

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  The Seventy Club

Chris Megahey & Alaric Cundy became the newest members of 'The Seventy Club' with a score of 71.53% on the final session of 2018, on December 20th.

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  Wireless Scoring at Mountnessing

We are now using the 'BridgePals' wireless scoring system, which was originally developed by John and Mirna Goacher for use at the Chiselhurst Club.  We are now able to get the results loaded onto this website within about 3 minutes of the entry of the last score

Players need to identify themselves to the system by using the Mountnessing-specific "short-code", which is just 1 - 3 figures long.   There are lists of 'short-codes' available at the club, covering all members and most of our past visitors. To access your short-code, then either follow the instructions above to access the club membership list, or look on the list at the club, or otherwise please contact Alaric.

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  New Entry in 'The Seventy Club'

Congratulations to John Sutcliffe & Peter Franklin who achieved a score of 70.32% at the club session on September 20th 2018, thus gaining an entry into 'The Seventy Club'.

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  Summer Ladder Trophies, 2018

The two Summer ladder trophies, which run from June 1st to August 31st, have now been completed, and the winners were:

Margaret Curtis Trophy: Sue French

Peter Seaton Trophy: Graham Beeton

For the full rankings, please see the Margaret Curtis (2018) and Peter Seaton (2018) tabs beneath the 'Current Ladder Tables' menu to the left.

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  Happy New Year from Mountnessing Bridge Club

Now that the planned refurbishment of the floor at the Hall has  been successfully completed,  for those who kindly help with setting out or putting away please note that we have had a reminder not to drag chairs or tables across the floor, but instead to use the trollies provided.

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  Results 31/05/2018

Please check the results for any 'typos' or other issues, and if you find any, please let Alaric know.  Assuming there are no issues, then many, many congratulations are due to Helen McVeigh and Graham Allen, who won the session with a score of over 71%!!  As a result, they become the newest entry to 'the Seventy Club' - a record of all scores of 70% or higher recorded at the club since September 2006.

The problems with the scoring equipment this evening are believed to have been caused by the recent major 'Spring Update' to Windows 10, which appears to have disabled the 'Apache Server' software that lies at the heart of the scoring system.  There is a known solution to this issue, which, it is anticipated, will be resolved by next week.

 

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  Annual Ladder Awards for the Faye Wernick Trophy and Lionel Wernick trophy

Both events are only open to club members, though any sessions played partnering non-members also count.  To qualify for an award, a minimum of 20 sessions must be played during the year.  There are separate awards for Women (Faye Wernick Trophy) and Men (Lionel Wernick Trophy).  The ladder score will be the simple arithmetic average of all qualifying scores, without, for example, any weighting to take account of the number of contestants in each session.  A maximum of (best) 40 scores will count in the final calculation at the end of the membership year.  As the year progresses, the cut-off for inclusion within the displayed tables will roll forward on a pro rata basis, starting from 1 session, and gradually increasing to 20 as the year progresses.  Full statistics for an individual player's scores during the year are accessible through secondary menu items associated with the two Ladders.


The winner of the Faye Wernick Trophy, 2017/18 was Sue French, who squeaked ahead of reigning champion, Lorraine Butler, on the last session of the year on March 29th.

The winner of the Lionel Wernick Trophy,2017/18 was Chris Megahey, followed by last year's winner, Alaric Cundy.

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  Mary Rogers Trophy, March 22nd 2018

The winners of the trophy were Chris Megahey & Alaric Cundy.  Full results and analyses are available via the 'Results' menu.

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  The Windmill Trophy, November 29th 2018

Congratulations to Peter Oake & Frank Morrison, who won the trophy by a tiny margin from Helen McVeigh & Graham Allen.

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  The Cornell Trophy, February 18th 2018

Mountnessing entered two teams in this Essex Invitational event.

'A' Team (Finished 3rd out of 18 Teams): Peter Franklin, Frank Morrison, Chris Megahey and Alaric Cundy
'B' Team (Finished 8th out of 18 Teams): Graham Allen, Helen McVeigh, John Sutcliffe, and Ray Clarke

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  Summer Ladder Trophies June to August 2017

The finalised tables for the two Summer Ladder Trophies - the Margaret Curtis Cup and the Peter Seaton Trophy - can now be viewed from the Current Ladder Tables link to the left. 

The final rankings are:

The Margaret Curtis Cup (for ladies): Winner Catriona Lovett, second Lorraine Butler, third Angela Fenton.
The Peter Seaton Trophy (for men): Winner  Chris Megahey, second Alaric Cundy, third John Sutcliffe.

2016 Winners: Catriona Lovett and Dave Piper / Les Curtis

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  Annual Ladder Awards 2016/17

The top three places in the year long ladder awards were as follows:

Faye Wernick Trophy (Ladies' Ladder): 1 Lorraine Butler; 2 Catriona Lovett; 3 Joan McGuffin.
Lionel Wernick Trophy (Men's Ladder): 1 Alaric Cundy; 2 Chris Megahey; 3 (Jointly) Les Curtis & David Piper.

See the full final standings under the 'Old Ladder Tables' menu item to the left.

 

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  Mary Rogers Trophy, March 23rd 2017

Congratulations to Les Curtis & Dave Piper, who narrowly beat the reigning holders Keith Nicholl & Graham Allen to win the Mary Rogers Trophy on March 23rd.  For the full results please see the Results Index to the left of this panel.

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  Ray Cornell Mountnessing Teams February 12th 2017

The Mountnessing teams for the Ray Cornell Trophy on February 12th 2017 finished (out of 23 teams):
'A': Dave Piper & John Sutcliffe; Frank Morrison & Peter Franklin (4th)
'B': Chris Megahey & Alaric Cundy; Jill & Roger Tattersfield (11th)

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  Windmill Trophy - October 20th 2016

The club contested the Windmill Trophy - The Autumn Pairs Championship - on October 20th 2016.  Congratulations to Alan Eames & John Sutcliffe, who retained the Trophy, with Les Curtis & Dave Piper finishing second.  For rthe full results listing please see the Results link on the left.

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  2015-16 Ladder Awards: Final Standings

Please click on the 'Final Ladder' link on the left for the full final standings.

  • Faye Wernick Trophy (For Ladies): Winner: Val Mollison; runner-up: Catriona Lovett; third Lorraine Butler
  • Lionel Wernick Trophy (For Men): Winner: Peter Oake; runner-up David Piper; third  Les Curtis
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  Windmill Trophy October 15th 2015

♠   Congratulations to Alan Eames & John Sutcliffe, the 2015 winners of the Windmill Trophy.  For the full results listing, see the results page for October 15th.  ♣ 

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  Fletcher Trophy, October 25th 2015

The team representing Mountnessing was:
Frank Morrison & Peter Franklin
Margaret Curtis & Dave Piper
Jill & Roger Tattersfield
Chris Megahey & Alaric Cundy

Unfortunately, someone who prefers to remain anonymous admitted to a 'very bad day at the office' and contributed to the rather disappointing final position of 8th out of 12 teams.

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  Summer Ladder For Ladies, 2015

Congratulations to Lorraine Butler - the inaugural winner of the Margaret Curtis Trophy for the Summer Ladies Ladder

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  Mountnessing Club Rules and Procedures DRAFT

Draft

Mountnessing Club Rules and Procedures

Club Preparation

Aim to arrive by 07.15pm, and certainly no later than 07.25 as after that time you are not guaranteed a game. 
If you are not seated at your table ready to start at 7.30 you may incur a penalty at the discretion of the director.
On arrival, all able-bodied players should help to set up the room, i.e., Tables Chairs Cloths, Bidding Boxes, and Stationery, as required by the Director.

The Play

For the collective enjoyment of all please:
Keep up a good speed of play.  Be aware if you are behind time and make every effort to catch up; do not spend time on inquests until you have finished all your boards and have time left to do so. 
Remember it is only necessary to check the score entry on the traveller not a study of all the other results - only do this if you have time. 
Considerable time can be saved by making the opening lead and displaying Dummy as soon as the last pass is made, all before filling in scorecards. If you are at a table where this is not happening then tell the offenders. 
Only leave the table at times when you can do so without causing delay. - i.e., when dummy, or sitting out, or at the end of a round if you have finished early 

Conclusion of Play

Clear away your own cups / holders.
All able-bodied players should assist to clear away the tables and chairs and to pack away all the equipment, particularly if you arrived late and have not helped in the set up of the room. 

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  Members News

 

NEW CLUB MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS: EFFECTIVE FROM 01/04/2015

Summary of decisions made at the inaugural meeting of the Shadow Committee 04/02/15
held at Kennel Lane, Billericay

All these decisions will be put to the full club for ratification at the Inaugural General Meeting of the Club, 7 p.m., April 9th 2015, Mountnessing Village Hall.

All these comments are important, but attention is drawn especially to those highlighted.

Officers and Committee

  1. Graham Allen was elected as Chair
  2. Nick Hagan was elected as Vice Chair
  3. John Sutcliffe was elected as Secretary, and also as Membership Secretary
  4. Alaric Cundy was elected as Treasurer
  5. Bill West will take on the role of Webmaster; we will switch to BridgeWebs.
  6. Other committee member - Sheena Millins

Other Key Roles

  1. The four directors will be Val Mollison, Bill West, Graham Allen, Alaric Cundy.
  2. Val Mollison will organise the Directors Rota.
  3. Roger Hayward will act in the role of Honorary Auditor, though the Accounts will be endorsed as 'Scrutinised by........' rather than 'Audited by.....'
  4. Sheena Millins will manage the kitchen and the refreshments. It was suggested that members could be asked to bring their own mugs to save costs on the plastic cups.
  5. The four designated cheque signatories will be: The Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer
  6. The wireless scoring equipment (when installed) will be managed by Alaric Cundy (other than on nights when he is directing, or is absent); Sheena Millins will assist / deputise
  7. Alaric Cundy will provide back-up / assistance to the Webmaster
  8. Carol McCue will operate a 'Find a Partner' scheme - shared with other local clubs
  9. Julie Lake will be the Club's 'Education Officer'
  10. The overall Ladder winner at the end of the year will earn the accolade 'Club Captain' for the following year, which honour bestows the privilege of selecting the teams to represent Mountnessing in the annual Essex Invitational Teams events - that is the Fletcher Trophy / Cup for Clubs (usually held in October) and the Ray Cornell Trophy (previously known as the Helliar Trophy) (usually held in February)
  11. Committee members will share responsibility for collecting the table money on the night.
  12. Permission will be sought for all four directors and Sheena Millins to become registered key-holders.
  13. The boards will be delivered to / collected from Barleylands by players visiting both Clubs.

Timelines

  1. The Club Accounting Period will run from January 1st to December 31st each year; in the inaugural year of 2015 the first accounting period will run from April 1st to December 31st.
  2. The Membership Year will run from April 1st to March 31st.
  3. An Annual General Meeting will take place in late February each year - timed to allow for the accounts for the preceding year to be presented, and any operational issues that affect the up-and-coming new Membership year to be voted on as necessary. In the inaugural year of operation under these new management arrangements (2015), a General Meeting will be held on Thursday April 9th at 7 p.m.

Constitution

The constitution will take effect from April 1st 2015 and will remain in force until such time as it may be amended by a vote at a General Meeting in accordance with the procedure set out in section 16 of the constitution. The adopted version is available here.

Prizes

  1. The practice of awarding wine as prizes will cease after the last club session in March 2015. Any wine won prior to March 31st 2015 must be collected by 30th April 2015, else it will be forfeited.
  2. There will be a new 'spot prize' awarded at the Christmas Party. [The method of determining the winner is yet to be determined; options under consideration include a free-to-enter raffle, with one ticket offered to each player on the night, or closest pair to a randomly pre-selected score.]
  3. The current 'Player of the Month' scheme will continue, but there will be no prizes - merely 'the glory'
  4. There will be a new additional more open 'handicapped monthly ladder' that will be accessible to all regular players at the club, and for which prizes will be awarded. [The method of determining the winner is yet to be determined; options under consideration include a handicap system based on NGS gradings as at the start of the month, or on the basis of a random draw from the pool of players who played at the Club every week in the month. Either way, all players who play at the club every week for a month will have a chance of winning the monthly prize.]
  5. ALL prizes will take the form of 'Mountnessing Bridge Club Tokens' - two tokens per winner, each to the value of £2.50. These tokens can then be offered as table money either for two separate 'ordinary' club sessions or for one single Simultaneous Pairs event at the Club
  6. The net savings are expected to be £500 in a full year, and will be used to fund a wireless scoring system.

Special Events Programme 2015/16

  1. Two Simultaneous Pairs events will be held - both Charity-related - e.g., Kidney Research in July and WBF in January.
  2. The monthly teams of four events will be discontinued due to falling viability.
  3. The Club Championship events will be restricted to two per year: the Mary Rogers Trophy (January) and the Summer Club Championship (August)
  4. The annual ladder scheme will continue as now, and the two winners (Ladies, Men) will each hold a trophy for a year.

On-the-night Operational issues

  1. It was agreed in principle to adopt wireless scoring.
  2. It was also agreed NOT to put the club into debt - the system could only be purchased using cash in hand.
  3. It was agreed to pursue the possibility of hiring a system from another club.
  4. It was agreed to run a one-table trial of the Jannersten Scoring system on February 12th to help to assess the viability of this much cheaper option
  5. It was agreed to continue to deploy computer-dealt boards.
  6. As an alternative option to 'find a partner', the Membership is to be asked whether they would be prepared to act as a Host on a regular basis - perhaps once a month or quarter.
  7. The Club will become reliant on support from all the players on the night to ensure continued smooth running. In particular, players' attention is drawn to the points below:
  • Pairs should be at the club by 7.15 (or at the very least, advise of a late arrival) to enable a prompt start - e.g., to avoid late changes to the tables / movement / boards / etc. This point will be even more critical after wireless scoring is introduced. Pairs arriving after 7.25 without any prior warning cannot be guaranteed a game.
  • All fit and able-bodied players should contribute to setting out the Hall and to clearing away
  • All players should ensure that their used cups and cup-holders are returned to the kitchen by the end of the evening
  • All players should endeavour to play in good 'tempo' so as not to cause inconvenience to others

Financial Considerations

  1. (At least) one more set of Duplimate boards will be purchased to ease the logistics of picking up / dropping off the boards for computer-dealing.
  2. Bill West has been authorised to purchase the Licence for BridgeWebs
  3. It was agreed to explore whether multiple copies of the computer hand sheets could be provided directly, and if so, what the additional charge would be.
  4. Both the Director and the Director's partner will be exempt from table money.
  5. It was agreed to invite Dorothy & Alaric Cundy to be Honorary Members.
  6. There will be no changes to the core charges for the year starting April 1st 2015, other than as at 'Financial Considerations' point 4. So: Club membership - £15 for the full year; table money for club members - £2.50 (normal), £5 (Sim pairs), Free (Christmas Party); for non members, respectively £4, £7, £5.
  7. Collection of membership renewals will commence in the immediate future
  8. The Treasurer will explore options for a suitable bank account. Free banking is a 'must'; on-line banking, at least for inspection actions, is highly desirable.
  9. Any two of the four designated cheque signatories will be required to sign each individual cheque or mandate.
  10. If a 'Host System' is adopted, then a financial incentive will be offered for the 'duty host' - based on the 'Mountnessing Bridge Club Tokens'.
  11. The financial assets as at 01/04/2015 will be all membership renewal subscriptions for 2015/16, less any expenses for 2015/16 paid in advance, such as, anticipated, the hall hire for April.
  12. A projected Budget Statement for the 9-month period April to December 2015 will be presented to the General Meeting in April 2015. It will reflect projected membership and table money, and also the financial implications of all the intentions as set out in this document.

 

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  Future Events

PROGRAMME OF SPECIAL EVENTS APRIL 2015 TO MARCH 2016

The club meets every Thursday at  Mountnessing Village Hall - apart from any Thursday in December between Christmas and New Year, when it will be closed. In most weeks - other than those listed below as "Special Events" we run an "Ordinary Club Night". 

Please arrive by 7.15 to help to set out the room and be seated by 7.25 to enable a prompt start at 7.30.

The timetable of Special Events listed below represents our intentions as at the time of publication (March 28th 2015). They are subject to change if circumstances dictate. 

Compared with previous years, the programme will be greatly changed. Please note the following:

TEAMS OF FOUR events - these events will be discontinued because table numbers have dropped such that it is no longer viable to run both Teams and Pairs on the same night.
SIMULTANEOUS PAIRS events - there will be just two such events, both Charity-oriented. The club has been running EBU events at a slight loss, which it can no longer sustain.
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS - in the future there will be TWO such events per year- the Autumn Pairs Championship for the Windmill Trophy in late October, and the Mary Rogers Trophy, which in future will be held in March.

We do hope that you will enjoy not only these special events, but also our 'ordinary club nights' in the intervening weeks. All these events are open to non-members, though special considerations apply to the Christmas Party for non-members - see the membership page for details. 

09/07/2015 Kidney Research Simultaneous Pairs
15/10/2015 The Windmill Trophy.
17/12/2015 CHRISTMAS PARTY

24/12/2015 CLUB CLOSED
31/12/2015 CLUB CLOSED
28/01/2016 WBF Charity Simultaneous Pairs: (Beneficiary to be announced)
24/03/2016 The Mary Rogers Trophy

See also the Essex Contract Bridge Association Calendar of Events

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