Oliver Cowan Bridge Club
Release 2.19q
Recent Updates
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23rd Dec 2024 09:52 GMT
Bulletin
11th Aug 2024 11:40 BST
WBU Dragon Pairs Dates
27th Jul 2024 15:49 BST
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Bulletin

Membership subscriptions for 2024/25 are due for payment before 1st September. The membership fee is only £10 per person and is used to find admin support and also allows for suitable venues to be checked out in advance of events taking place so please consider joining the club event if you only play in some of the face to face events.

 

Bank details for payment are sort 204895 acct 43186903 acct name Oliver Cowan Bridge Club Virtual Ltd and please use your EBU number as the reference. Please also email ocbridgecomps@gmail.com when you have sent payment.

We are EBU affiliated and accepting members

The Oliver Cowan Bridge Club is affiliated to the EBU and runs virtual club sessions on BBO 6 nights a week.

Club Membership costs just £10 per year and includes membership of the Friendly Online Bridge Club.

The most important rule of this club is best behaviour at the table, on the basis that good manners cost nothing. 

Please email ocbridgecomps@gmail.com to request a membership application form. 

Charity fund raising events

The Oliver Cowan Bridge Club is proud to support

Children in Need (raised £800 in 2021; £500 in 2020)

The Homeless Street Angels (raised £1426 in 2021; £920 in 2020)

Anthony Nolan Trust received £450

Mind received £300

The Zone received £325

Through our volunteer of the month scheme, the following charities have also benefitted:

St John Ambulance

Norwood

The Emma Maltby Foundation

Undos
Undos

The club allows undo requests for genuine bidding mistakes made as a result of a mechanical error, not a lapse of concentration or forgetfulness, and only when the request is made prior to their partner's bid at the latest.  We do not allow undos for playing.
Any awkward exchanges should be referred to the director. 

Members are reminded that you can change your settings to ensure you double click to make a bid.

Calendar
30th December 2024
Friendly Online Bridge Club (FOBC) & Huddersfield BC Online Pairs
Online 7.15pm
Director: OC
Scorer: OC
31st December 2024
Play Without the Experts
Online 7.15pm
Director: OC
Scorer: OC
31st December 2024
Play Without the Experts (Handicap)
Online 7.15pm
Director: OC
Scorer: OC
1st January 2025
Oliver Cowan BC Pairs
Online 7.15pm
Director: Oc
Scorer: OC
2nd January 2025
Oliver Cowan BC Pairs
Online 7.15pm
Director: OC
Scorer: OC
Welcome to Oliver Cowan Bridge Club

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 

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Wishing all our members and visitors a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. All games are running as normal through the holidays except on Christmas Day.

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.

 

 

 

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!

 

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.

 

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.

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.

Adam Hickman Seminar

Adam Hickman will be doing an online seminar on splinter bidding on Sunday 26th January at both 11am & 2pm. Registration list and further details are on the Friendly Online Bridge Club website https://www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwoq/bw.cgi?club=friendlyonline&pid=display_home and spaces are limited so please sign up early to avoid disappointment!

zoom link for Seminars

This is the link for any zoom seminars/discussions run through the club. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86258032446?pwd=VEdHL0o2RHFoYzFxYmxDNjVtYmV4Zz09

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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! 

 

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.

Results
Oliver Cowan BC Pairs
Director: OC
Scorer: Oliver Cowan
Oliver Cowan BC Pairs
Director: OC
Scorer: Oliver Cowan
#740 Oliver Cowan BC Pairs - Visitors Welcome!
Scorer: Oliver Cowan
Friendly Online Bridge Club (FOBC) & Huddersfield BC Online Pairs
Director: OC
Scorer: Oliver Cowan
Friendly Online Bridge Club (FOBC) & Lancashire Online Pairs
Director: OC
Scorer: Oliver Cowan