Podcast 7 – BridgePlay.uk – Supporting Teachers
11th November 2026
Jim Edwards and David Guild in conversation with Lesley Millet
Yorkshire Contract Bridge Association
YCBA services offer to our clubs and members click here.
YCBA services offer to our clubs and members click here.
11th November 2026
Jim Edwards and David Guild in conversation with Lesley Millet
10th November 2026
Yorkshire finish sixth in Tollemache qualifying group
Yorkshire’s bridge team did not succeed in their quest to qualify for the final of the EBU’s Tollemache Cup for the second successive year.
The qualifying competition was played over the weekend of 7th and 8th November, online using RealBridge. 32 counties took part divided into two sections with all-play-all matches of 7 boards each in each section. This meant a challenging programme of 105 boards over two days for anyone who played throughput. Four teams from each section would qualify for the eight team final, which will be played next January.
Yorkshire played in the Green section, and spent most of the competition in a pack of teams chasing fourth place. On a couple of occasions they did get to fourth in the table but could not sustain a consistent run of good results. In the end we finished sixth, 20 points behind fourth, but 15 points ahead of seventh. It was a very strong field and all the teams qualifying from the Green section were southern. In the Red section, Manchester was the only northern county to qualify, and last year’s winners, Warwickshire, didn’t make it.
Yorkshire’s team comprised five pairs – Dave Robinson (capt) & Tony Sowter, Alan Hayward & Steve Raine, Geooff Kenyon & Richard Winter, Oscar Selby & Daniel Winter, and Paul Brereton & Frank Dixon, In the cross-imps table all performed creditably. Four of the five were in the top 40 out of 116 pairings and the fifth was only just below average.
Yorkshire can now look forward to competing in the final of the National Inter-Counties League for which their A and C teams qualified as winners of their respective divisions in the Northern Bridge League.
Thanks to all the players and to the selectors.
7th November 2026
Topic: YCBA MEMBERS MEETING 2026
Time: Nov 14, 2026 11:00 AM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3618861270?pwd=NmN2RkE2eTNxUndibnU3RVdaOG5yUT09&omn=87601192422
2nd November 2026
Watch Yorkshire’s bridge team in action this weekend
On 7th and 8th November, Yorkshire’s bridge team will be playing in the qualifying competition of the EBU’s Tollemache Cup. About 31 counties will be taking part. Last year Yorkshire qualified for the final for the first time in ten years, and we have a strong team that is well capable of repeating this achievement. The match is to be played online on RealBridge starting at 11.05 on both days and you can follow play on RealBridge Kibitz from about 11.25 as, for reasons of security, there is a delay of about 20 minutes.
Yorkshire have selected five pairs for the qualifying competition – Dave Robinson (capt) & Tony Sowter, Alan Hayward & Steve Raine, Paul Brereton & Frank Dixon, Geooff Kenyon & Richard Winter, and Oscar Selby & Daniel Winter.
31st October 2026
1st: Christopher Roberts & Susan Roberts
2nd: Christopher Dale & Irene Dale
3rd: Carole Aldred & Carole Harper
28th October 2026
Handicapped SIM Pairs
YCBA are running a handicapped SIM Pairs competition on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th November.
Nine Yorkshire bridge clubs are participating – Doncaster, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull, Olicana, Sheffield. Wakefield, Wetherby and York.
Please check out arrangements on your local bridge club website.
All players will play the same boards and YCBA will produce a county-wide handicapped ranking. The pairs with the highest handicapped
ranking will share a prize fund of £200, to be donated to a charity of their choice.
Visitors are welcome to play at any of the above participating bridge clubs. We encourage ALL players, whatever your standard of play, to
participate in this event.
18th October 2026
Yorkshire A and C teams win 2026 NBL
Yorkshire’s A and C teams completed a highly successful Northern Bridge League season by winning the final round of matches, played on Saturday 17th October, and finishing top of their respective league tables. The NBL is played online using RealBridge – the season comprises four rounds of matches played monthly from July to October.
In the final round of matches Yorkshire A finished five points ahead of Manchester and extended their margin over their rivals in the league table to a whopping 56 points.
In the C division Yorkshire convincingly won the final round by ten points, and this was enough for them to leapfrog Manchester and win the division by the narrow margin of just six points.
The Yorkshire B team placed third in the final round of matches and, overall, were fourth in their division of the League.
Yorkshire’s A and C teams thus qualify for the finals of the National Inter-County League competition, which will take place in summer next year.
Congratulations and thanks to all who represented the county in this year’s NBL, and also to the selectors – Alan Brosgill, Dave Robinson, Nichola Cockerill-Smith, Bob Marchbank and Catherine Thompson. The Yorkshire bridge team will soon be in action again in the Tollemache Cup qualifying competition, which will be played online over the weekend of 7th and 8th November.
You can find more information about the final round of matches, including the team members, by clicking on the Inter-County tab above and navigating from there.
4th October 2026
Barry Copley (left) Pauline Stout (center) Janet Walker (right)
1st: Janet Walker & Barry Copley
2nd: Jeanette Teare & Rosie Brown
3rd: Fiona Roberts & Stephen Sparham
Scores have been updated.
4th October 2026
1st: Alan Jarvis & Alan Hayward
2nd: Andy Cope & Clive Owen
3rd: Stuart Davies & Nichola Cockerill-Smith
14th September 2026
Yorkshire A extend their lead in 2026 NBL
The third round of matches took place on 12th September, online using RealBridge.
Yorkshire A comfortably won this series and now have a lead of 51 points over their nearest challengers, Manchester, so they are well placed to regain the NBL A Division title.
In the B division the county team lie fourth and are out of contention, but in the C division Yorkshire are second, just four points behind Manchester.
So all to play for in the final round of matches on 17th October!
A fuller report on the third round of matches, including details of the Yorkshire players, will be posted in the Inter-County page of the website within the next few days.
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