Thank-you to everyone who participated in the Spring Congress over the weekend of April 20th and 21st.  I think everyone will agree that this is a Congress for all!

The Swiss Pairs was won by Julian Mitchell and Peter Clinch who finished 15 VPs clear of Sally Clark and Gunnar Hallberg in second place.  Will Adler and Mike Keeping were a little further back in third place.  The Jack-high prize was won by Sue Howley and Lynne Spooner.  Gunnar Hallberg won the bidding competition, despite failing to answer one of the questions!  All the prizewinners are pictured here.

On Sunday, the Swiss Teams was captured by David Benjamin, Matt Read, Mike Keeping and Matt Smith (pictured).  Second were Peter and Marit Langston, Will Adler and Robert Lowe.  The Jack-high winners were Keith and Maureen Norman, Sue Peters and Sylvia Clark.  Liz Bornecrantz scooped the bidding competition.

Many thanks to Stephen Kennedy for his excellent directing, Charlotte Setahul for her overstuffed Ploughman's lunches, Martin Pool and John Hardy for dealing the boards and Mervyn Wotton for helping with results uploads.

Peter Clinch,
Tournament Organiser

The Gladys Hakki Trophy is awarded annually to a Sussex member who has given outstanding service to county and/or club over a number of years.  This year's very deserving winner is Peter Langston who was presented with the award by SCCBA Chairman Peter Clinch at the SCCBA Spring Congress.  Peter L's nomination by Patcham Bridge Club was as follows :-

Peter has been a stalwart of Sussex bridge for well over 20 years, previously serving on the County committee.  He has directed many county events and is still doing a few now.

With many other clubs floundering during the pandemic, Peter worked tirelessly to ensure that Patcham not only survived as a club but thrived.  He set up many online sessions on BBO, often attracting over 30 tables and he has arranged and run many online matches against other clubs to ensure members maintained their interest and contact with other members.

His unstinting work has ensured that Patcham Bridge Club has not only survived but has come back stronger after the pandemic.  Among his many other roles, he serves on the Club Committee, maintains and improves the club website, is a regular director and is one of the club's IT experts.

Patcham BC is now, not only the busiest in the County, but it is also the 18th busiest club in the Country and this is in no small part due to Peter's unstinting and excellent work.

We believe Peter Langston would be a worthy winner of the Gladys Hakki award for 2023/24.  To the best of our knowledge, Patcham BC has never had a previous winner of the award.

Seven SCCBA clubs played in this year's Inter-Club Teams of Eight at Patcham Community Centre on 23rd March in their attempts to qualify for the Garden Cities Regional Final on 11th May.

Congratulations to the winners who were the Avenue Bridge Club - Stephen Kennedy & Peter Clinch, Andy Ryder & Mike Allen, Gunnar Hallberg & Sally Clark and Matthew Read & David Dickson.  The home club, Patcham, were the runners up.

Thank-you to our event Director, Keith Norman.

Gerry Stanford (Organiser)

First, a big thank-you to the Sussex clubs Chichester, The Avenue, Thakeham, Worthing, Eastbourne and Horsham for running heats for this competition.  22 pairs qualified for the final on Sunday 17^th March, playing at the Patcham Community Centre.  Leading pairs from this final qualify to play in the EBU’s Corwen Trophy which is to be held at Stone, Staffordshire on the 15th/16^th June.

Congratulations to the winners Alan and James Hobden  (pictured).  The runners-up were Roger Poulter and Mark Denny and in third place were David Nastaszczuk and Phil Roxburgh.

Finally, a thank-you to the Director, your County Chairman, Peter Clinch, your County President, Martin Pool, for preparing the hands and to Mervyn Wotton for setting up the web-site files for the event.

Please join us again next year.

Gerry Stanford (Organiser)

113 pairs took part in this year's Charity Simultaneous Pairs which was played between Monday February 19th and Saturday February 24th.  A total of £2,100 will be shared equally between this year's three charities which are:-

• Guildcare,
• Demelza Hospice,
• Crawley Open House.

Congratulations to David and Andrea Galpin who played in the Patcham heat and are the confirmed winners.  The runners-up are Nick Goddard and Milli Fawssett who also played in the Patcham heat and in 3rd place are Gill Gallagher and Ron Munro who played in the Crawley heat.

Congratulations also to Alan and Carol Hughes who played in the Seaford heat and who are the winners of the Eric Seldon Salver for being the top pair, both of whom are at least 70 years old.

Many thanks to all the clubs who took part in this event.  Many thanks also to Neil Watts who selected the hands and wrote the commentary and to organiser Peter Clinch.

Many congratulations to Sussex members Alan & James Hobden and Ros Wolfarth who formed three-quarters of the team who won the EBU Online Swiss Teams on Sunday January 28th.

20 pairs competed for the 2024 David Pavey Trophy which was held at Worthing Bridge Club on Sunday January 28th.    It was a relaxed and very friendly day enjoyed by everyone.  Thanks must go to Alexa Baxter who directed and the ladies at Worthing Bridge Club for providing a delicious afternoon tea.

Congratulations to winners Robert Turvey and Jenny Redman from Horsham Bridge Club and .....

...... well done to runners-up Annamarie Beresford and Ann Mackown from Worthing Bridge Club.

Eileen Perrigo (Organiser)

Congratulations to winners David Ould, David Dickson, Andy Ryder and Mike Allen and well done to ......

...... runners-up David Benjamin, Mike Keeping, Matthew Read and Matthew Smith and to ......

...... Jack-High winning team Tilly Hennings, John Hardy, Laurence Chiswell and David Hughes.

Congratulations to the team captained by Francis Kelly who's pictured (right) receiving the Championship Teams Plate from organiser David Galpin.

Team Kelly (Peter Rowell, Terry Fishlock & David Cairns) won the September final on BBO by 12 IMPs from another Horsham team: Peter Harbott (c), Sue Peters, Jo & Roger Waddingham.

Affiliated clubs and members of the county management committee have been invited to make nominations (via the attached form) by Wednesday February 28th for the Gladys Hakki Trophy.  The intent of the trophy is annually to recognise a member of the County who has given unstintingly of their time and service, and contributed exceptionally to the success of contract bridge in the County.  If you know of someone whom you believe meets these criteria, please contact one of your local club officers or a member of the county management committee to convey your views.

The ever-popular Sussex League competition has now been completed.

Congratulations to the winning team in Division 1 captained by Mike Allen (Andy Ryder, David Dickson, Matt Read, Ian Swanson, and David Ould).  Also well done to the winning teams in the other 3 Divisions, captained by David Galpin, Martin Greeley, and Richard Jameson.

The Hill's trophy, in attracting 20 teams (a total not seen for many years), was successfully held at the spacious Angmering Community Centre on Sunday November 26th.  The winners, Neil Watts, Christine Jepson, David Telfer and Peter Burns, finished comfortably ahead of the runners-up.

It's worth mentioning that Neil Watts, part of this year's winning team, has now won this event five times in 1988, 2004, 2005, 2018 and 2023 - a 37-year span.  Well done, Neil.

My thanks go to Kathy & Eddie Williams who directed the event, U3A for the use of their tables and to all the other helpers whose efforts before and after the event went towards making it a success.

The runners-up were Nigel Utting, Denise Ireland, Jean Meneely and Avril Strong.

See full results on the Worthing BC web-site.

Ernie Rivett
(Worthing BC)

We recently were saddened to lose one of the EBU's best-loved directors, Jim Proctor.  David Dickson writes:- 

Following his retirement from the EBU, Jim frequently boarded a train from Scarborough to Brighton.  Invariably, a woolly hat, sweater and Covid mask (worn round the chin) would arrive at The Avenue Bridge Club in Hove and underneath was Jim - a polite likeable friendly gentleman, ready for action at the rubber bridge table. 

Jim will be remembered for a few of his bridge eccentricities – he invariably led a trump at trick 1; he invariably commented after a failure to protect ‘no protection’ in a broad Scarborough accent; latterly he frequently ‘made a claim’ by throwing all 13 of his cards on the table and left it to others to gauge the validity of the claim.

Following the rubber bridge, Jim would eat the same dish, at the same Curry house, at the same table.

For as long as we play Rubber Bridge, Jim will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by all his friends at The Avenue Bridge Club.

On October 28th and 29th, Sussex and Kent again combined to hold a Green-Pointed weekend at Tunbridge Wells Bridge Club.

Congratulations to Frances Connell & Gerald Soper who won the Swiss Pairs on the Saturday.

The runners-up were Susan Parkins & David Stern.

Congratulations also to the Sussex team of Matthew Smith, Mike Keeping, David Benjamin and Matthew Read who won the Swiss Teams on the Sunday.

The runners-up were David Norman, Peter Lee, Mike Scoltock and Richard Fedrick.

Many thanks to directors Stephen Brown, Rob Sassoon and John Oakland and to Tunbridge Wells Bridge Club for hosting the event.

The Autumn JBC was held at Tunbridge Wells BC on 21st and 22nd October with 36 juniors aged 8 to 17 attending.  The winners of the Priday Cup were junior internationals Lucy Norman and Tom Furness.  Tom also won the Saturday Pairs with Nia Hencken.   A special mention to Lottie Sutton of the Bronze group, who came 2nd in the Saturday Pairs.  Thank you to TWBC and all who helped make the event successful.

See more pictures.

William Bourne

Congratulations to overall winners Andrea Galpin & Joan Hootman pictured with the coveted SCCBA Ladies’ Pairs Trophy at Patcham Bridge Club on Sunday October 15th.  After a break of a couple of years, this friendly event was once again very efficiently directed by Peter Langston.

The runners-up were Vivian Priday & Rosemary McKinnel, ......

..... the Stratification Level B winners (the highest-ranked pair below Premier Master) were Lesley Clark and Audrey Stallard and .....

..... the Stratification Level C winners (the highest-ranked pair below Master) were Judith Cooper & Joanna Norcross.

A delicious tea was provided by Charlotte Setahul.   Many thanks to organiser Joy Mayall.

Congratulations to Ann Field & Carol Duckett who won the EBU National Handicap Pairs Championship on September 10th.  Ann and Carol played in this event at Worthing Bridge Club which was one of 15 clubs to hold a heat.

The Swiss Pairs at the Sussex Autumn Congress (September 23rd and 24th) at Patcham was won by a decent margin by the brother-and-sister pair of Brenda Linfield and Brian Gould, pictured trying to hold the impressive Noel Mobbs trophy.

Brenda and Brian were eight VPs clear of two pairs in second place - Jill Hassan & Ken Ford and Mike Keeping & David Benjamin (all pictured).

Kevin McGrath and Nic Misoulis won the 10-high prize and Giles Faulkner scored an impressive 54 out of 60 in the bidding competition.

We have no photos of the Sunday Swiss teams but the shy and retiring winners were David Dickson & Matt Read, Christine Jepson & Peter Clinch.  They headed the second-placed team of Nick Goddard & Millie Fawssett, Ollie Powell & Charlie Bucknell by seven VPs.  Two players (Christine Jepson and Matt Read) managed to score full marks on the bidding competition which may help explain their overall win.

Many thanks to Charlotte Setahul for the catering, Eddie Williams for directing on Sunday, Martin Pool for dealing the boards, Peter Langston and Andy Osborn for helping with the venue logistics and Mervyn Wotton and John Hardy for managing the finances and the website uploads.

I hope to see you back at Patcham next year for the Spring Congress!

Peter Clinch.
Tournament Organiser

This year's Midweek Swiss Pairs on Wednesday August 23rd was a close-fought affair, ending in a tie!

After six matches, the leading pairs (Roger & Margaret Chaplin, Stephen Scott & Liz Senior) could not be separated.

John Austin and Roger Bill made a late run to finish third, three VPs behind the joint-winners.

All are pictured with their prize booty.

It was another excellent day at Henfield, and thanks are due to all who made it possible.  Martin Pool dealt the boards,  Peter Bates arranged the Henfield logistics,  Andrew Southwell helped with the board distribution, and Charlotte Setahul prepared the ploughman's lunches.  Our thanks to them all, as well as to Mervyn Wotton and John Hardy, who managed the entries and the website in the background.  We hope to see everyone (and more!) again next year.

Peter Clinch.
Organiser

We held our first solo-County Green-pointed Swiss Pairs at Patcham on Sunday July 30th, attended by 28 pairs.

Mike Allen and Andy Ryder emerged victorious, beating ......

...... their nearest rivals Norman Selway and Kay Preddy in their final match.  Norman and Kay were second.

The Jack-high prize was won by Frances Wallace and Mike O'Brien and a good time was had by all.

Thanks to Eddie Williams for directing, to Martin Pool and John Hardy for dealing the boards, to Charlotte Setahul for providing refreshments and to Andy Osborn and Peter Langston for assisting with logistics.

Our next Green-pointed event will be a joint-weekend with Kent at Tunbridge Wells on the last weekend of October.  Bookings for this event are open now! 

The SCCBA Venture Pairs was held at Worthing BC on Sunday July 30th.  Thanks go to Alexa Baxter for directing and to Eileen Perrigo for organising the event.  Thanks also to Eileen and her catering team for an excellent tea at halfway.  Apart from Worthing pairs, pairs also came from Bognor and West Worthing clubs.

The bridge was conducted in a friendly but competitive manner which made for a very enjoyable afternoon for everyone, especially the less experienced players.

Congratulations to winners Chris Constable and Dawn Sullings and ......

...... well done to runners-up Michael Percik and Alice Louis.

Twenty teams battled it out for the Sussex Candles on Sunday 18th June at Henfield with ......

...... Alan Setchell's Horsham-based squad (Jane Handley, Guy Davies, Terry Fishlock) emerging victorious.

Second placed was shared by the teams of Peter Harbott (Jeremy Harris, Roger and Jo Waddingham) and Valerie Benson (Mike Percik, John Austin and Roger Bill), the former team (pictured) taking the Non-Expert shield.

Congratulations to them all.

Many thanks to the director, David Galpin, and to Peter Bates and family for setting up and taking down the bridge furniture in the room.  Charlotte Setahul and team once again provided splendid food.  In the back office, thank-you to Martin Pool and John Hardy for dealing the boards and to Mervyn Wotton for consolidating and uploading the results.

See you all next year!

Peter Clinch
Organiser.

We were saddened to learn of the death of Philip Poulter in June.  Philip was one of the most distinguished players in the county for over half a century, during which time he and his partner, Duncan Quibell, won the Championship teams a record twenty times.  Despite his success, Phil was the most modest and genial of players and he will be sorely missed.

The final of the 2023 Championship Teams competition, the County's premier teams competition for teams of 4-6 players, has recently been played.  The winners were Julian Mitchell's team, comprising himself, Peter Clinch, Mike Allen, Andy Ryder, David Dickson, and Matt Read.  They defeated Dave Franklin's team by 90 imps, after being slightly behind at the end of the first of the 2 days over which the 64-board final was played.

Julian's team now goes on to play in the Pachabo Cup this weekend (10/11 June), the EBU's inter county competition for winning teams from similar events held in other counties.  We wish them all the best in this prestigious event.

Well done to Julian Mitchell and Peter Clinch who finished 6th in the National Pairs Final played on April 15th/16th - see results.

On behalf of the Sussex Officers and Management Committee, I would like to offer hearty congratulations to William Bourne for his 2022 Tom Bradley Award for contributions to youth bridge.  I cannot imagine that there has ever been a more deserving recipient.  William's efforts in keeping the Bowles Rocks Junior Bridge Camp alive and thriving through the recent challenging years has been prodigious and enviable in its energy.

Tom Bradley himself was a long-time Chairman of SCCBA and I am sure he would have been enormously proud of William's achievements.  I know William now lives in Kent (just), but we still consider him as "one of our own".

Peter Clinch
(SCCBA Chairman)

APRIL 2ND, 2022, EVENTS - UKRAINE HUMANITARIAN APPEAL

On April 2nd, Sussex, Surrey and Kent combined to hold :-

• a Green-Pointed Swiss Pairs on RealBridge (see results), and 
• a 9(NGS)-High Pairs on BBO for less-experienced players ( see results).

The proceeds of approximately £11,000 have been donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal at the Disasters Emergency Committee.

Twenty pairs who learned to play in the last 6 years competed for the SCCBA Stepping Stones which was directed by Oliver Cowan.  Entries came from as far afield as Manchester, Hampshire and Kent.  Tim Lane and John Prior from Crawley BC were the overall winners with ......

..... June Carr and Kris Noble, also from CBC, taking the trophy for having been playing for more than 2 years but less than 4.

The 3rd category for those who started less than 2 years ago was won by another Sussex pair, Christine and Philip Nash.

Jane Handley (Organiser)