Please note that subs for 2024/25 are due by 1st September. A mail went out to all players on the database last week advising that fees are £10 per player for everyone. Please email Oliver at ocbridgecomps@gmail.com when you have paid. Account details are: sort 204895 acct 43186903 acct name Oliver Cowan Bridge Club Virtual Limited.
Membership of the of the Oliver Cowan Bridge Club also gives membership of the Friendly Online Bridge Club meaning players have an option of an online game on BBO 6 nights (7:15pm) and 1 morning each week. The membership fees go towards admin support and also allow for congress venues to be checked out prior to being booked so both online and F2F players will benefit.
Oliver
| Dragon Swiss Pairs 5 |
The Dragon Swiss Pairs series returns on Saturday January 18th at 1pm for the normal 6 x 6 board rounds. We will have a break after 3 rounds and finish by 6pm.
Each players best 5 scores will count towards their final total but players can play in as many or as few sessions as they like as each game is a separte tournament where green points are awarded for each round won or drawn and on overall standing.
The game is open to members of ALL home nations and masterpoints won will be transferred to you account from the WBU. The game does not count towards NGS as it is under the WBU.
Please fill out your details on the entry form below. Entry is $16BBO which you pay on the day when regsitering. If you do not use dollars but want to play, please send £13 to sort 204895 acct 43186903 acct name Oliver Cowan Bridge Club Virtual and the dollars will be put in your account prior to the event.
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| Oliver Cowan New Year Congress Featuring The Richard Bowdery Pairs |
The 2025 renewal will take place on the weekend of 11th and 12th January at the usual venue of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nottingham.
The full flyer can be found by clicking on the link on the menu but it is Championship Pairs on Saturday and Swiss Team on Sunday - team mates can be found for any pairs who need.
There are a range of packages available including staying on the Friday night and the option to eat at the fabulous Marco Pierre White Steakhouse.
Dinner on the Saturday night has been moved to accomodate extra tables in the playing room so we can now take up to 50 tables.
Get in touch with Oliver if you want more information!
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| Upcoming Congresses |
Upcoming Congresses being run by Oliver Cowan Bridge
Oliver Cowan New Year Congress 2025 Nottingham 11-12 January
Sunday 18th May Leeds Swiss Pairs - Leeds Bridge Club
Spring Bank Holiday Congress 24-26 May - Hilton Hotel, Reading (EBU)
(Llan)Brighton 13-15 June - Leonardo Royal Hotel Brighton Seafront (LlanBrighton Bridge Union)
28-29 June Yorkshire Congress - Cairn Hotel, Harrogate (YCBA)
17-20 July EBU Summer Festival - Crown Spa Hotel Scarborough (EBU)
1-3 August Llandudno Congress - Craig-y-Don Leisure Centre (North Wales Bridge Association)
26-28 August Northern Midweek Congress - Cairn Hotel, Harrogate (EBU)
12-14 September Isle Of Man Congress - Venue TBC
15-16 November Lancashire Congress - Barton Manor Hotel & Spa, Preston (LCBA)
There are also going to be a number of 1 day events in clubs that will appear here when confirmed!
All details and booking information for the EBU congresses are on the EBU website under 'forthcoming events' and flyers for each will appear in the menu tab once bookings open.
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| Online League Supporting Junior Bridge |
Season 7 of the Online Teams League is starting on 7th October 2025 which will be used to fund a program of helping develop junior bridge.
The event is not designed to compete with any clubs as the 5:45 start time will allow players to get to their clubs to play Face to Face or to play online in their club duplicate sessions.
Teams will play 2 x 8 board matches each week, ideally on a Monday and Friday but captains can agree to play at a different time. Teams of 4 and £36 entry per team to cover a full cycle which will run for 7-10 weeks depending on the number of entries. Email Oliver for more information.
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| EBU Winter Sim Pairs |
We will be running a heat of the EBU Winter Sim Pairs on Tuesday 14th January on BBO at 7pm and will be $8 and will be 24 boards and all are welcome.If this session is well supported then I will look at running other Sim Pairs games through the year. This game will be separate from the normal Tuesday PWTE game which will run as usual at 7:15pm.
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| LlanBrighton 2025 Congress |
Bridge returns to (Llan)Brighton in 2025 - full details on the LlanBrighton Bridge Union page https://www.bridgewebs.com/llanbrightonbridgeunion/
Book early as places are limited! If you enter but qualify for the EBU Pachabo and choose to play in that then your bridge fee will be refunded in full.
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| New Sponsor |
Delighted to announce that the exciting Socially Spirited, a forward thinking producer of small-batch craft spirits has agreed to some sponsorship for Scarborough and the Northern Midweek Congresses. Check out their website on this link https://www.socially-spirited.com/ocbridge and use code BRIDGE10 at the checkout for a 10% discount. Please remember to always drink responsibly.
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| Membership Area and Find a Partner |
I have finally got the Membership Area on the website set up!
To access this for the 1st time, you will need to click on the “membership” tab from the menu on the website then click on “member area”.
If you are using it for the 1st time, when it asks for your username and password, just click “set/reset password” and follow the instructions from there.
I am hoping players will use this area to advertise or look for partners for sessions so do please try this out and see if it works!
You will need to opt in if you wish for your contact number and email address to be displayed.
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| New Games Aimed At Non-Expert Players |
In addition to the existing Tuesday evening Oliver Cowan PWTE game on a Tuesday night at 7.15pm, there is now an additional games solely for non-expert players.
Wednesday Morning at 10:15am - Friendly Online BC Pairs - this is a relaxed 15 board duplicate session on BBO played with the video function in use so you can chat with your opponents. The game is followed by a hand discussion on zoom where you can ask any questions about boards that gave you difficulty.
Both these new sessions are $4 in BBO dollars and are open to members and guests - get in touch with Oliver if you want to play but don't use dollars.
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| Weekly Games |
All games start at 7:15pm, are 20/21 boards and have a $4 BBO dollar entry fee - visitors welcome
Sunday @ 7:15pm Friendly Online BC & LOP Pairs
Monday @ 7:15pm Friendly Online BC & Huddersfield Pairs
Tuesday @ 7:15pm - Oliver Cowan Play Without the Experts (for players no higher than NGS Jack)
Wednesday @ 10:15am - Friendly Online BC Pairs (15 boards followed by hand discussion)
Wednesday @ 7:15pm Oliver Cowan BC Pairs
Thursday @ 7:15pm - Oliver Cowan BC Pairs
Friday @ 7.15pm - Oliver Cowan BC & LOP Pairs
Membership of the club is only £10 per year so please get in touch if you would like to join!
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| Looking To Learn To Play Bridge? |
If you are interested in learning to play bridge, please follow this link https://learnbridgeonline.com/jack-stocken-beginners/ which will take you to Jack Stocken's page. Jack is a very experienced teacher with an excellent reputation in Yorkshire and beyond and is currently offering learners their 1st 2 lessons free of charge.
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Results
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| 19th December 2024 |
| Oliver Cowan BC Pairs |
Director: OC
Scorer: Oliver Cowan |
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| 18th December 2024 |
| Oliver Cowan BC Pairs |
Director: Oc
Scorer: Oliver Cowan |
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| 18th December 2024 |
| #76060 Pairs Friendly Online BC Pairs |
| Scorer: Oliver Cowan |
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| 17th December 2024 |
| Play Without the Experts |
Director: OC
Scorer: Oliver Cowan |
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| 16th December 2024 |
| Friendly Online Bridge Club (FOBC) & Huddersfield BC Online Pairs |
Director: OC
Scorer: Oliver Cowan |
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