We are very sad to report that much loved and respected member Ralph Sellick passed away peacefully at his home on Wednesday 12 February.  

Details of the funeral will be shared in due course. In the meantime, our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time. 

Ralph was one of our most popular members - a true gentleman who always made time for a friendly chat to his opponents. Ralph's kind nature and charming personality at the bridge table was a shining example to all who play the game. He will be greatly missed by all his friends at the Club.

We're also sad to hear that former member Pam Ward passed away during the week, following a lengthy period of illness.  Long-standing members will remember Pam as a fine bridge player and a very active member of the Club. She is survived by husband Geoffrey, who retains his membership of the Club to this day. God bless you both, Pam and Ralph.

GUESTS are very welcome at our friendly club. Our spacious venue has free parking and our table fee is £2 (guests £4). 

Tuesday and Wednesday are our two duplicate nights. Play starts at 6.40pm - please arrive by 6.35pm to be seated for play.  Please note: the Director may start play 5 minutes early, so arrivals after 6.35pm may be too late if play has already commenced. You can however phone your partner to alert the Director if you are running a little late.

Tuesday evening is aimed at intermediate and advanced players - if you need a partner on Tuesday please use "CONTACT US" (2nd tab on left) and we'll find you one.

Wednesday evening is a relaxed game for beginners and intermediates but all members are welcome (please support learning). You can turn up alone on Wednesday evening and be guaranteed a game, as we run a host system.

Our Clubhouse is the Precinct Centre, Church Rd, St Marychurch TQ1 4QY - a modern, spacious venue in the grounds of St Mary’s Church at the top of the shopping precinct. Free parking is on-site, behind the church.  

Directions:  Driving out of Torquay through Babbacombe, go through the traffic lights at St Marychurch. After the shops, the road bends to the right towards Teignmouth. At the next roundabout (by golf club), turn LEFT into PETITOR Road then after 200m turn RIGHT then immediately LEFT into TRUMLANDS Road. At the T junction, go LEFT into CHURCH Road, and next LEFT into the Car Park. The Precinct Centre is at the top-end of the Car Park. 

LESSONS

Our BEGINNER classes cost only £75 for an 8 week course (a £30 deposit is requested 2 weeks before the start date). When the course finishes you can join us for supervised beginner bridge sessions, with mentors available to help you learn.

• The next BEGINNER class will start on Weds 23 April 2025 at 6.30pm - this will run for 8 weeks @ £75
• The next IMPROVER class will take place on Tues 11 March (subject is 1NT) - it will be £6 per head

If you're interested in classes, please let us know via the "CONTACT US" tab at the top left corner of your screen.

2025 KEY DATES

We have six TROPHY EVENTS in 2025 - one every alternate month.  Be sure to put these dates in your diary:

Feb 25:  Mixed Pairs  

April 2:  Handicap Pairs Trophy 

May 13 and 20:  Pairs Championship 

July 16: Margaret Pierce Trophy  (for members with an NGS rank of 9 or below)

September 23:  Championship Teams 

December 16:  Individual Championship + Xmas Party

PROMOTIONS

Congratulations to the following members, who have been promoted in rank by the English Bridge Union in last 12 months:

5 Star Master:  Norah Western

1 Star Master:  Hymie Smith

County Master: Jesper Rundin, David Jones, Bernard Sellick, Josephine White

District Master: Billy Lambert

Area Master:  Claire Carey

Local Master:  Carole Hooper, Neil Downie, Mike Baker, Cathy Woodward, Liz Green, Monique Shephard

Club Master:  John Isaacs, Roger Gough, Pippa Reynolds, Gill Murphy, Joy Praill

Devon Bridge Association will be running the DEVON COUNTY CONGRESS in April 2025

Date:  11-13 April 2025 at the Toorak Hotel in Torquay

Entries are now open for this fully green-pointed congress. Swiss Pairs on Friday evening & Saturday and Swiss Teams on Sunday. 

Click here for Details and Entry Form

Following that, next up will be the Beginners NO FEAR Pairs, especially for those who have recently taken up the game.

Date:   11 May 2025 @ 11am, Meldon Village Hall, Meldon, Near Okehampton, Devon, EX20 4LU.

Click HERE for details

The EBU are running events for NGS payers rated up to 9 or Jack:

Nine-High Corwen is a new county-representative event to which counties can submit entries for pairs where both players have an NGS grade Two to Nine inclusive on 1st January 2025. 

Kent CBA run two weekly Saturday afternoon games on BBO. The first is a beginners 12-board duplicate for players with an NGS 7 and below. The second is an NGS 2-9 game of 18-boards.

Additional online events for players of NGS grades up to 9 or Jack are held regularly, please refer to the EBU website for details.

The Masters Pairs is a two-session one-day competition exclusively for players below the rank of Regional Master, which includes: Local Masters, Club Masters, Area Masters, District Masters, County Masters, Masters, Advanced Masters, Star Masters, Tournament Masters or Premier Masters. This event is intended for less experienced players and highly experienced players cannot play even if they are of a suitable Master Point rank.

It will be held at multiple venues around the country, and scored nationally to give overall results. The competition therefore gives an opportunity for less experienced players to play in a national event within the familiar environment of their own club, and allows them to play against players of their standard rather than entering an event with an ‘open’ field. Any club that wishes will be allowed to run a heat, though smaller clubs might wish to combine with others to ensure a suitably-sized field.  The event may be run either face-to-face or online, at the discretion of each club. 

If you would like TORQUAY to participate please let us know via "CONTACT US" as soon as possible and if we have enough interest (4 tables) we will contact the EBU to arrange a local heat

Notice is hereby given that an AGM will be held on Weds 26 March, 6pm at the Precinct Centre, to be followed by bridge at 7pm. The Agenda will include a review of Annual Accounts for 2024, election of a Committee to serve from 1 April 2025, and approval of a new Club Constitution with effect from 1 April 2025.

Notice is hereby given that TORQUAY BRIDGE CLUB LIMITED is scheduled for closure and will no longer be registered as a limited company with Companies House, as from 1 April 2025.  Existing members have until noon on 31 March 2025 to renew their membership.  To that end, we'd like to remind members yet to renew that your membership fee of £20 is overdue. There's still time to renew but please be aware that table money will be £4 if not paid by 28 February, and your membership will cease if not paid by noon on 31 March. Payment by Cash or Cheque cannot be accepted after 28 February, after which bank transfer is still possible. Please pay by bank transfer to Torquay Bridge Club. Our bank details are included in the NEWSLETTER e-mails sent to you on 9 December and 9 January. They are unchanged from last year.

February 2024 saw the return of the Mixed Pairs Championship, following a three-year sabbatical.  It was held the evening before Valentines Day, just to add a bit of extra spice! 

Ten mixed pairs fought for the honour of lifting the silver trophy and they were joined by a further six pairs in an overall field of sixteen pairs. Director Alan Nicholl ensured that fair play and good etiquette prevailed.

The clear winners with a score of 61% were Norah Western and Billy Lambert, who added the trophy to their ever expanding silverware cabinet having won the Championship Pairs back in September.

Well done Norah and Billy, and also to Margaret and Ian Mundy who finished in second place on 56%.

The Handicap Pairs trophy was held in March 2024, making a return to our list of annual events for the first time since 2019.  A whopping field of 19 pairs turned out to compete in what is clearly a hugely popular event.

The unique feature of the Handicap Pairs is that the the EBU's national grading scheme is used to equalise the field so that everyone starts with an equal chance of winning the event. All you have to do is play better than your expected percentage based on the EBU grading scheme.

We are delighted to report that Ralph and Bernard Sellick lifted the trophy after holding off a close challenge from second placed pair Bobbie and Paul Ainsworth. In third place were Alison Hill and Kim Hinds who put in a great performance to show that our new members were very much in the mix at this event. 

Earlier that evening, the AGM took place and if you'd like to read the AGM minutes you'll find them on the "Member Area" of our website.

The Club Pairs Championship was contested over two weeks in May 2024, with the two scores aggregated to arrive at an overall winner.  An average field of 16 pairs competed over the two weeks.

Congratulations to Sheila Ferguson and Tony Allsworth who are our champions with a combined score over both weeks of 66.6% - this is a record high score in recent times.

Sheila and Tony are pictured here receiving their trophy from last year's winner Norah Western, who won in 2023 playing with Billy Lambert.

The leading pair fought off a close challenge by Margaret and Ian Mundy who finished in second place with a score of 65.2%.  Normally this would have been enough to lift the trophy, so better luck next time to Margaret and Ian!

During July, we held the Margaret Pierce Trophy for our Beginners and Intermediates, specifically those with an NGS grade of 8 or below.

Margaret was a former member who taught beginners and brought many new members into the Club. She made a fine proposal that we should play an event dedicated to such members, who were perhaps less likely to win other events due to their relative inexperience.  Margaret donated the trophy to the Club for this purpose, and we have been contesting it for over 30 years since.

Margaret's trophy, which dates back to the 1990s, was lifted by Monique Shephard and Jeff Cain, pictured here receiving the trophy from Director Steve Rimmer. This pair have forged a strong partnership since Monique joined the Club only 3 months ago - well done to you both! 

The runners-up - for the second year running - were Howard Bradshaw and Phil Giorgetti. Maybe it'll be third time lucky next year for Howard and Phil?

On Tuesday 24 September we held our Teams Championship for the year. It was a highly enjoyable event using IMPS scoring, and to increase the chances of a level playing field a random draw was conducted to determine team-mates. 

The event was run on an all-play-all format, with 10 teams battling it out for the prestigious Silver Trophy which dates back to the 1970s. The trophy was lifted by the team led by Mike Orriel, with Sara Seymour, Terence Treeby and new member Stefan Lindfors.

The winning team won 7 of their 9 matches, finishing ahead of the second placed team of Jeff Cain, Monique Shephard, Margaret Mundy and Ian Mundy.

The winners are pictured here, receiving their trophy from 2023 winner Ralph Sellick (far left). 

On December 10th, our Christmas Party was followed by the Individual Championship, where everyone played with a different partner on each round. 

A total of 36 members battled it out for the honour of lifting the famous old trophy, which is engraved with club champions dating back to 1960.

This somewhat light-hearted event got off to a chaotic start with the complex movement confusing just about everyone, including our brave director Terence. Once the dust settled, much enjoyment was gained from the novelty of playing with friends that would normally be your opponent. Who knows, perhaps some new partnerships might be forged from the event?

In the end it was a close run affair, with the winner John Haynes narrowly edging out Geoff Clements into second place. John is pictured left receiving the trophy from Jeff Cain.

Newton Abbot play on Thursday at 6.45pm at the Recreational Trust on Marsh Road TQ12 2AR. There is free parking on site and table money is £2-50 (£3-50 for visitors). If the car park is full in the evening then Cricketfield Road car park is nearby (5 minute walk) where parking is free after 6-00pm.   Also relaxed bridge meetings on Tuesday afternoons at 1.30pm. 

Further details and a map showing the venue is on Newton Abbot Bridge Club, Devon (bridgewebs.com)