Winners being presented with their prizes by the president Grainne Courtney

1st Patricia Quigley and Patricia Cronin 

2nd Dan O'Mahony and Finn Ryan

3rd Larry Breheny and Donal Heney

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 

A great night in St. Anne's Golf Club

Vernon Bridge Club - Secretary’s Report as at 29th May 2023

The first thing to say is that our last AGM was held on Monday 27th May 2019 and the following committee was elected

President - Rona Booth

Vice President - Michael Hyland

Secretary - Dan O’Mahony

Treasurer - Patricia Quigley

Other members - Frances Gill, Grainne Courtney, Rose Collins, Catherine Murphy, Carol Coughlan, Phillip Dowling.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend on the night of the AGM and I don’t have a copy of the minutes from then.

As you are aware some major events happened in the intervening period 

1. CRC requested us to formalize our relationship with them and to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. This necessitated the following changes to our constitution which were passed at an EGM on 21st October 2019

Item 1. The Club will be known as Vernon Bridge Club

Item 2. The objective of the club is to play and promote bridge under the rules, guidance and objectives of the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland

Item 4. If there is a surplus above operating expenses in the Annual Accounts of the club as presented at the AGM, this surplus or a portion of the surplus may be provided as a Charity Donation to the Central Remedial Clinic subject to ratification at the AGM of the club. The ratification process will be as follows:

A proposal will be included in the AGM “To make a Charitable Donation of X euro to “Named Charity” by 30th June following the AGM” and the proposal must be approved by more than 50% of members attending the AGM.

Item 32 which stated that “In the event of the winding up or dissolution of the club, all funds will be given to the Central Remedial Clinic” was removed from the constitution

2. And then In March 2020 everything changed. We managed to keep bridge alive in the Clontarf Area with the cooperation of the other clubs and a large number of us began to play online bridge on BBO. There were weekly meetings with representatives from the other clubs throughout the height of COVID where we agreed a schedule of nightly games, training, novel competitions, TD’s etc. The highlight for me was the two charity events that we held on BBO over that period. We raised over 10,000 euro for St Frances Hospice in 2021 in our “Battle of the Bay” event and we also raised over 10,000 euro for the Irish Red Cross Appeal for the War in Ukraine in 2022. I want to thank Patricia, Grainne and Rona for their huge contribution during this time. We did not hold AGM’s over this period as our total focus was on making sure that the online process worked efficiently.

3. When it came to returning to face to face bridge, we found this particularly challenging as we could not get confirmation from CRC that it was ok to return there to play bridge on a Monday. Of course their priority had to be the children that they looked after and we were not surprised when they advised us that CRC was no longer available to us.

4. In September 2022 we were lucky enough to find a new home on Monday night in St Paul’s. However as you are well aware this has meant that we can no longer facilitate the number of tables that we previously had on a Monday night and has resulted in a reduction in members playing on a Monday. Raheny and Clontarf Bridge Clubs have been very generous and allowed us to use their boards, tables etc. while ours are currently being stored in Denis and Frances Gill’s garage. Thank you to them and Raheny and Clontarf Bridge Clubs.

5. We have not held any club competitions, xmas party, president’s prize or our annual mass for deceased members since our return to face to face bridge due to the small numbers playing, however we hope to address this in the coming year.

6. In the summer of 2022, representatives of Vernon, Raheny, Clontarf, St Anthony’s and St Gabriel’s took part in a number of workshops to discuss the future of Bridge in the Clontarf area. The representatives agreed that the following option was worthy of further consideration

“Clubs join forces to create one Bridge Club in the Clontarf Area with an online offering”

As you are aware we are bringing the following motion to the AGM which is a follow up from these workshops

“That Vernon Bridge Club moves to amalgamate with one or more of the other Clontarf Area Bridge Clubs (Vernon, Clontarf, St Anthony’s, St Gabriel’s) if any of those clubs decide that such a process is in the best interests of their members and the bridge playing community in the Clontarf area”

7. Since returning to face to face bridge we have tried to emulate one of the better features of the online game which allows members to review the bidding and the play of the Monday night boards on Bridgewebs. This is being facilitated by the use of pre dealt boards and bridgemate software. Section 1 is fully operational and while we have introduced the bridgemates to Section 2, we hope to shortly bring the predealt boards there as well. Again I can only give a huge thanks to Patricia for making this happen.

8. Over that period the following committee members resigned

   1. Rose Collins

   2. Catherine Murphy

   3. Carol Coughlan

   4. Michael Hyland

   5. Phillip Dowling

Thank you all for your work with the club over many years. 

9. In September 2019, we had 123 members of which 77 were home members. This fluctuated over the period and the current state is that we now have 97 members, 59 of whom are home members.

10. Some of our members have died over the period and some members have lost family members. We extend our sympathies to all who have experienced such loss.

We have received the following apologies from members who are unable to attend the AGM

Catherine Cagney, Carmel Garvey, Annette Billings, Paula Oliver, Frances Ryan, Peter Flynn, Mary Gilligan, Ciara Finucane, Grainne Courtney, Kathleen Briody, Frances and Denis Gill, Laura Durkin,Marian Dennany,

I want to thank the remainder of the committee for all that they have done since being elected 4 years ago in ensuring that we have continued to facilitate bridge for our members

Dan O’ Mahony (Hon Secretary)

Notice of Annual General Meeting

Vernon Bridge Club

29th May 2023 at 6.30pm

AGENDA
 

1. Minutes of 2018/2019 AGM

2. Secretary’s Report

3. Treasurer’s Report

4. President’s Address

5. Election of Committee

6. Motion

“That Vernon Bridge Club moves to amalgamate with one or more of the other Clontarf Area Bridge Clubs (Vernon, Clontarf, St Anthony’s, St Gabriel’s) if any of those clubs decide that such a process is in the best interests of their members and the bridge playing community in the Clontarf area

     7. Any other business

As you are aware, Vernon BC AGM is at 18.30 on Monday next the 29th May. It has been 4 years since our last AGM and a lot has happened in that time. Unfortunately we lost our home in CRC, because of their need to adhere to strict COVID protocols to protect the children attending the school. However we were very lucky to find a new home in St Paul’s which is also used by both Raheny and Clontarf Bridge Clubs and they have kindly shared their tables, boards etc. with us as we have had to put ours in storage. Like all clubs post COVID our membership is down by about 30% and the numbers playing each Monday night are also significantly less than what we were used to in the pre COVID days. Our committee was also decimated over the last four years with only 5 active members at this stage. This has put a huge burden on the committee members and in particular Patricia, who has been running all our Monday night games.

The committee are bringing the following proposal to the AGM

“That Vernon Bridge Club moves to amalgamate with one or more of the other Clontarf Area Bridge Clubs (Vernon, Clontarf, St Anthony’s, St Gabriel’s) if any of those clubs decide that such a process is in the best interests of their members and the bridge playing community in the Clontarf area”

The committee believe that an amalgamation will be a positive move and will result in more people playing bridge on a Monday, give our members options to play on other week nights without having to pay additional club membership fees, spread the burden of committee members and build further on the excellent relationships we have with the other clubs in Clontarf. I have included details which summarizes the outcome of a series of workshops that we held with the other Clontarf clubs which hopefully will address some questions that you may have

We hope you will support this motion and allow us to begin a journey with one or more of the other clubs. If we do find another club that also wishes to go on this journey, there will be a lot of work to do to set up the new club and we will need your help to do that. We really need members to volunteer for our committee so please let me know if you feel you can help us.

Dan O’Mahony

Secretary Vernon Bridge Club.

Background

In the summer of 2022, representatives of Vernon, Raheny, Clontarf, St Anthony’s and St Gabriel’s took part in a number of workshops to discuss the future of bridge in the Clontarf area. The representative agreed that the following option was worthy of further consideration

“Clubs join forces to create one Bridge Club in the Clontarf Area with an online offering”

What would a “One Clontarf Bridge Club” look like initially?

1. The primary focus would be to rebuild “face to face” bridge in the Clontarf area and to supplement this with a Clontarf online bridge offering if required.

2. Where possible we would look to initially use the existing premises that the Clontarf Bridge Clubs currently use. In the longer term, we would explore opportunities to have a single location for the club

3. The schedule would be decided by the Club Committee and will include the following:

   1. Novice Only Game

   2. Novice/B Game

   3. Inter A/Master Game

   4. Social Game

   5. Open Game

4. The Club would have one committee made up of members who are dedicated to providing bridge in the Clontarf Area

5. There will be a requirement for the committee to have a number of supporting working groups

   1. Face to Face Administration in each of the club locations

   2. Service for Novice Members

   3. Training

      1. TD Skills

      2. Bridge Etiquette

      3. Improving members bridge skills

6. All Committee and working group members would serve on a voluntary basis

7. Each of the existing clubs would be required to contribute to an initial fund for the new club. However, it will be up to each club to agree what to do with their own funds. The initial fund will be required to cover expenses such as:

   1. Supplement face to face location rental costs if necessary

   2. Invest in equipment such as dealing machines, cards, laptops and bring up the standard of playing facilities in each of the face to face locations

   3. Invest in training of TD’s

   4. Invest in Improving Member Skills including support for Novices

   5. Development of a new Club Web Site to include a history of the constituent clubs

   6. CO2 monitors to help mitigate COVID risk in the Face to Face environment

   7. Option to ring fence funds for any future initiative relating to a Bridge premises

8. Members will be required to pay one annual membership fee. This fee will include their CBAI Registration Fee. This will allow members to play in all scheduled face to face and online games offered by the club

9. The membership fee will be determined by the committee of the new club.

10. Members will pay entry fees to participate in face to face and online games.These fees will be determined by the committee of the new club

How might a “One Clontarf Bridge Club” improve a member’s bridge experience in the Clontarf area?

1. We will partner with one or more Bridge Teachers to work with them to bring Novices through from bridge lessons to the bridge table.

2. We will run specific games for Novices both face to face and online and provide them with feedback to help them improve their game

3. We will partner with online bridge teachers to provide improver  lessons for existing member.

4. We will show members how to use game results to review their bidding and play

5. We will provide short refresher  courses on the etiquette of face to face bridge

6. We will provide ongoing training for both Face to Face and Online TD’s and administrators

7. We will continue to provide online bridge for those members who do not wish to play face to face

8. We will introduce an automated facility to collect and distribute funds

9. We will invest in a dealing machine to provide pre dealt boards which will allow for improved analysis of bidding and play of boards

What will happen to the resources of an existing club

1. Each existing club will need to determine what to do with their surplus funds after making a contribution to set up the new club.

2. Each existing club will need to agree whether to transfer their equipment to the new club or not

3. Each existing club will need to agree whether to transfer their trophies to the new club or not. The new club would endeavour to create an annual competition schedule which would use the trophies transferred by the clubs

4. The new club will undertake to capture the history of each of the existing clubs and publish it online on the new club website

The committee and members extend deepest sympathy to Catherine Murphy and the family of the late John McEvoy. John was a long standing member of Vernon BC and will be sadly missed.

As we progress through this “virtual” bridge season, the spectre of SLOW PLAY has risen its head. To ensure the enjoyment of the whole field, it is expected that everyone plays at a reasonable pace. It is unfortunate, but the slower players, who make up a very small minority it must be said, are able to dictate the pace of play of the whole tournament.

We currently allow 7 mins per board in CAVBC BBO competitions, which is allocated as 14 mins in 2 boards-per-round events, and 21 mins in 3 boards-per-round events. This is regarded as ample time to bid and play a board, yet we are seeing many boards going unfinished, as the clock runs out. This may be frustrating for the slower players and also for their opponents, who are forced to play at a slower than usual pace.

It is acknowledged that some boards may be trickier than others, particularly the bidding, but we would encourage members to try and play a little quicker overall.

One additional way of speeding up the pace of play is to utilise the BBO “Claim” facility, whereby you can either claim or concede those remaining tricks which are guaranteed. Playing out the final few tricks, card by card, when they are all winners anyway, is simply using up time that might be better utilised on your next board. Claiming, and accepting or rejecting a claim, is a normal feature of the BBO game. Click here for a video which shows how this facility works. 

It is not necessary to use the full seven minutes. If all the tables finish and there are minutes remaining, the system will reset the clock and move everyone on to the next round.

Our online TDs will be monitoring pace of play and may, by private BBO chat, request certain players to pick up their pace. Please don’t feel slighted if this happens to you - we are simply trying to improve the playing experience for everyone.

Thank you.

The clubs associated with CAVBC, Foxbay and GRVBC are running a charity online bridge event on BBO on Saturday 26th March to raise funds for the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal. We will run 5 online games on that day; two of the games will be in the afternoon and three in the evening. You decide which games best suit you and just register normally as you would do for any of our other games. The only difference is that the fee for each game will be 10BBO$’s rather than the normal 3BBO$’s. Both CBAI and BBO have agreed to waive their charges, so your full 10BBO$’s will go to the Irish Red Cross.

The game details are as follows:

With this timeline, you may play in up to 2 games on the day to satisfy your “bridge lust”. Just remember to have enough BBO$’s in your account! Needless to say, there will be BBO points on offer for all the games and CBAI have agreed that each of the games will have double CBAI points for those of you who end up in the winner’s enclosure.  Also, if you would like to invite friends who are not members of the CAVBC/Foxbay/GRVBC clubs to take part, please do so as the games are open to all members of CBAI.

We know many of you have already made donations to various charities associated with the Ukrainian crisis.  However, for those of you who are unable to play on the day and would like to make a donation or if you are playing and you would like to top up your donation, there are a number of options open to you.

We have set up an iDonate option, just like we did for our Battle of the Bay Charity Event last September. Just click on this link, iDonate.ie | Support CAVBC/Foxbay/GRVBC Ukraine Crisis Appeal and follow the instructions. Remember if you want to make an anonymous donation, you can tick the “Hide my donation from public page” and then nobody will know your business. Also, if you don’t want to cover the service and payment fees that iDonate take out of your donation, just untick the “Ensure the cause get 100% of the donation amount”, and CAVBC/Foxbay/GRVBC will look after this cost. You can make donations through iDonate anytime up to the 2nd April.

You can also donate directly to the Red Cross through their own site Ukraine Crisis Appeal | Irish Red Cross. This will not be logged against our event.

Finally, for those of you who don’t want to have anything to do with this online ballyhoo, you can contact your Club Secretary or Treasurer and arrange to send a cheque or cash to them, and they will make sure that it gets to the Irish Red Cross and is tagged against our event. Remember to make any cheques payable to the “Irish Red Cross”.

And the really good news is that the CAVBC/Foxbay/GRVBC clubs will also be making contributions to the event, so this should help us greatly to get to our target of €5,000.

Thank you in advance.

Clubs of CAVBC/Foxbay/GRVBC

Presentation of funds raised from The Battle Of The Bay Competition to St. Francis Hospice €9325.00

Congratulations to everyone who contributed in any way.

♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️♠️♥️♣️♦️

CAVBC are hosting a Graded Team of Four Tournament on Saturday 30th October at 19:30. This competition is open to all members of CAVBC and Foxbay.

This will be a Swiss Teams event. You will need to pre enter for this tournament and we hope to see as many of you as possible playing. Entry form and details on CAVBC website.

Winter online bridge recommenced on Wednesday 1^st September. 

There is a new weekly Novice/B game. That means we will have a Novice/B game every weekday evening except Tuesday. Of course, we will continue to have an Open game every weekday evening.

And don’t forget the other features of “Winter” online bridge

1. Spot Prizes are back. One pair in each of our games will receive 10BBO$’s
2. Player of the Month is also back. We will have two competitions – the Open Player of the Month and the Novice/B Player of the Month.
3. Our games are for members of the constituent clubs of CAVBC and Foxbay only. However if you want to play with a non member, just contact Dan O’Mahony (danjomahony@gmail.com)

It has been almost two years since most of us played bridge in our clubs. Since then, BBO has been our lifeline, allowing members to play regularly and stay in contact with each other. A lovely community of online players from all seven clubs in the area has developed in that time as members worked together to find innovative ways to play online and raise funds for St. Francis Hospice. If members are aware of other members not playing, please reach out to them. You know how easy it is to play and some words of encouragement might help others to overcome any reluctance to playing online. 

We have some people to thank for their exceptional efforts in building and sustaining this community:

• Firstly our dedicated group of TDs without whom the games could not take place. 
• We also recognise the commitment by Orla, Aidan, Dan, and Dick, who set up and continue to manage the system, organise and run our tournaments, and maintain our website. We recently made a presentation to them on behalf of CAVBC and Foxbay members. They can be seen here getting into the Christmas spirit! 

We wish all our members a Happy and Healthy Christmas and hope to see you in 2022.

With sadness we have learnt of the death of May Grills a long standing member of our club. We extend our sympathy to her family. RIP

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new EU regulation which came into effect on 25th May 2018. GDPR updated existing data protection laws and places greater accountability and transparency obligations on organisations when using a member's personal information.  It gives the individual greater control over their personal information.

Your club will require you to complete a Membership Form where you will consent to them and CBAI,  holding personal information relating to you and using it in specific relation to bridge;  this will include permission to reproduce photographs of members to record their winning of a prize or prizes for bridge and promotion of bridge.

If you are a member of more than one club, you will have to complete a form for each club, as each club has responsibilities in this area.

If you need further information on GDPR in relation to Bridge - check www.cbai.ie

CRC Bridge Club will be handing out the new forms starting Monday 3rd September 2018 and ALL members must complete the form so that we can get them back to CBAI as soon as possible.

The National Confined Pairs Championships - The Lambert Cup took  place in Ennis on Saturday. There were 95 pairs taking part. CRC was represented by six players. Well done to Grainne Courtney who finished 9th overall.

The National Confined Teams Championships- The Cooper Cup took place in Ennis on Sunday. There were 36 teams taking part. CRC had five participants. Congratulations to Mairead NiOistin who was on the winning team along with three players from the bankers bridge club. The team of Patricia Quigley, Anne Duffy, Frances Gill and Denis Gill finished 2nd.

At the Start of a Round

1. Greet your opponents in a warm and friendly manner. Check that you have the correct boards. Announce the basics of your system – e.g. “forcing club, strength of No Trump opening card, 4 or 5 card majors”
2. Check that you have 13 cards then look at your hand and sort it into suits. Don’t shift your cards from one hand to the other or shift suits around after sorting. Keep it fanned and don’t shut it up or put it down on the table.

During the Auction

3. Pause a moment before making any call (which includes a Pass). If the opponent on your right has opened with more than one of any denomination or has made a jump bid, do not make any call until 10 seconds have elapsed.
4. Remember if you pause for an unduly long time in normal circumstances, you may silence your partner if you then pass.
5. Don’t bid after partner has made a pause before passing which was of significant length, unless the bid you make is clearly permissible on your own hand without anything but the minimum your opponents’ bidding would suggest may be in your partner’s hand. The onus will be on you to show that partner’s pause did not influence your bid.
6. Bid and play without emphasis. Don’t vary the tone of your bidding – it should always be flat and unemphatic.
7. Transfer bids over an opening 1NT are made by announcing “transfer” after your partner makes the bid
8. Remember to alert your opponents to any call which is conventional below the level of 3NT. You only need to alert conventional calls above the level of 3NT on the first round of bidding e.g. 1♠ : P : 4♣ (needs to be alerted)

IF USING BIDDING BOXES

Do not allow your hand to hover over or fidget with the bidding cards in the bidding box while you are considering the bid you will make. Perceived uncertainty can convey unauthorised information. 

Whenever an alert is required to draw attention to a conventional call made by partner, the ALERT card should be taken from the box and shown to both opponents (making sure it is seen by both), before being replaced in the box. The next opponent to bid has the option to ask for the meaning of the bid.

If making a jump bid, before you take out the bid you intend to make, place the “Stop” card on the table to alert your next opponent that a jump bid is about to be made e.g a pre-emptive 3 ♥ bid. Once you place your jump bid on the table, wait 10 seconds before returning the “Stop” card to the bidding box. This allows your opponent to bid “in tempo”, without undue hesitation that could convey information unfairly. When your right hand opponent employs a stop card, wait for it to be removed before you make your next bid.

At the end of the auction, make sure the bidding is completed by having 3 passes on the table. Leave the bidding cards on the table until the opening lead is made. This allows declarer and both defenders to review and analyse the bidding. The opponent on lead has the opportunity to ask for clarification of the bidding e.g. the meaning of a bid etc.  It also may help to prevent a lead out of turn.

Opening Lead

9. Place the opening lead face down on the table. This prevents you leading out of turn. Your partner now has the opportunity to ask questions about the bidding. If they have none, they should say “Thank you” or “No questions” and you can turn your lead face up. Dummy can then be placed on the table. Keep the board on the table, with North pointed in the correct direction, to ensure there will be no misboarding.

As Dummy

10. When placing Dummy’s hand on the table and a suit contract is being played, the trump suit should be placed on Dummy’s right, Declarer’s left. When Dummy, don’t play any card, however obvious, until asked by partner. When Dummy, don’t look at opponent’s or partner’s hands or shift around on your seat. As Dummy, you may alert Declarer if it appears that he/she may be about to play from the wrong hand BUT if you are not quick enough to prevent Declarer from playing from the wrong hand, you cannot intervene at all (Rule 42. b).

At the End of play

11. Agree the result before entering the score and lifting the cards that have been played from the table – this allows you to check the cards in the correct order, if there should be a problem. During play, it is common practice to place the card vertically if your side has won the trick and horizontally if won by your opponents. Don’t take the cards from the board after they have been returned to it after play. Penalties will be incurred if cards are misboarded. Only move to the next table when the TD has moved the boards and asked you to move.

Calling the Director

12. If anything should go wrong at the table, agree with your opponents to call the Tournament Director. Let one player explain the facts to the TD and avoid raised voices that may distract other players at nearby tables. Make the Tournament Director your friend – he/she is there to ensure everyone has a fair and enjoyable game. More details are available in the annual CBAI Diary or from the rule Book – “The Laws of Duplicate Bridge”

Body Language

13. Be aware of your own mannerisms and try to remain impassive so that you do not convey any unauthorised information about your hand.
14. Be courteous to opponents and to your partner.

ENJOY YOUR GAME