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30th September 2023
The winners for this years GNSP 9-high swiss pairs are
18th September 2023
As we enter our Winter bridge season, we are seeing positive signs for our clubs’ future.
It’s been a slow climb out from the pandemic hiatus but our session levels are now close to pre-covid levels and moving forward. Nationally, 12 months to August 2023 volume is 4% up on the previous 12 months 2022. Our own county has a more substantial 12% growth, so well done our Yorkshire clubs! Partly our above county average growth is due to some of our clubs enthusiastically adopting online bridge to complement their in-club play.
We are now back to f2f competitive inter-club play. Our clubs’ Yorkshire League participation has improved to 56 club teams for this coming season starting end October. Thanks again to Mike Jackson and his team!
The only national laggard is congress play and I ask you to spread the word and participate in our two day Great Northern Swiss Pairs Congress running in Leeds from 30 September to 1st October. There is still time to enter. Click here.
Our Grants to Yorkshire Clubs project is progressing well with seven clubs submitting applications to date and still time for your club to apply.
The first two sessions of our own training of Yorkshire club TD’s are now complete with fifteen candidates enrolled.
We have been busy restructuring our Board to meet the challenge of future growth.
In my January Chair’s Blog we asked for help to fill our Board vacancy. We now have not one but two additional Board Members: Mark Dunkley from York BC and Ruth Kerr from Hull and Sheffield BC’s.
Also, we have re-structured to better manage our workloads. We have split the Chair responsibilities to two co-chairs, myself taking overall responsibility for competitive play and David Guild managing the bridge development initiatives.
It’s going to be an exciting next twelve months!
Best regards
Nick Woolven and David Guild
18th September 2023
Olicana Bridge Club in the centre of the delightful West Yorkshire town of Ilkley is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee in 2023. Every 60 days or so throughout the year we have celebrated a diamond day to enable as many as possible of our over 300 members to take part. Players enjoyed their bridge with a celebration cake and a fun mystery competition with prizes. These have been popular as was our special Sunday Social event on Sunday 30th July when around 40 members enjoyed the bridge accompanied by strawberries and cream, Prosecco and light snacks.
Olicana has a strong commitment to helping people to learn bridge and to improve their game at all levels. We run a series of Saturday seminars for both intermediate and advanced players which are well attended. Our new series of bridge courses starting this autumn (both face to face and online) will have over 80 individuals participating to learn the wonderful game of bridge.
Each week Olicana runs six sessions in our club including weekly guided bridge events plus two online sessions (one on BBO and one on Real Bridge). Ilkley is a popular town and we offer a warm welcome to visiting pairs.
27th August 2023
Could the students doing the Club Directors Course in York starting 9-Sep-2023, send me their email details. It is unlikely that Barrie Partridge will be well enough to take the first part of the course. The course will still go ahead but we need to know who will be attending.
My email is jimedwards.bridge@gmail.com
Thanks
10th August 2023
Club Membership – Open Days
York is the fastest growth club in Yorkshire and has recently held several successful open days. Read more about how York sets these up – see link.
9th August 2023
Yorkshire League expands to 56 teams
The fixtures for the 2023-24 season of the Yorkshire League are now available on the website (click on Leagues on the taskbar above). A total of 56 teams have entered, so this year the League will have seven divisions.
The first match day is on Sunday 8th October, with three more match days before Christmas and the remaining three in February and March next year.
26th July 2023
The winners of the Waddington Cup (Frank Dixon/Tim Prior/Keith Joules/Christine Child) representing York BC.
26th June 2023
Yorkshire have won the 2023 President’s Cup. This long standing inter-counties face to face weekend event was originally for Northern teams with occasional Welsh entrants. While still true today, the online competition this year held on RealBridge included teams from Dublin, Gloucestershire and Sussex.
After 2 days of battle our team of 16 players (8 each day) had won all 7 matches, were 200 IMPs ahead of the second placed team and had scored 114 Victory points out of 140 – that’s over 80% of the possible score. Only our old adversaries from Manchester managed to finish above average with 76 VPs out of 140 so an immense gap between first and second.
On day 1, all 4 Yorkshire pairs were in the top 10 of the pairs rankings (37 pairs took part) and, on day 2, 3 Yorkshire pairs were in the top 8 (36 Pairs took part).
The next set of county events are the 4 Northern League matches. We have never won Division 1. Could this be our year?
The Names of the Yorkshire Team:
Dave Robinson & Tony Sowter, Sandra Penfold & Brian Senior, Alan Brosgill & Robin Jepson, Alan Jarvis & Tom Copeland, Fiona Brown & James Thrower, Keith Joules & David Waxman, Paul Brereton & Frank Dixon, and Mike Ferguson & Nick Woolven
Final Thoughts
Well done to everyone on a stunning performance over the weekend.
We won all of our matches .
It was a great team effort and everyone should be proud of the achievement. To win by 200 IMPS is massive.
Lets hope that this bodes well for the rest of the year
And don’t forgetYOU DID IT FOR YORKSHIRE !!!!
24th June 2023
We have so far awarded five club grants totalling almost £4,000.
Grants are for new equipment and to assist in premises rental for beginners’ teaching.
There is still substantial money still available.
Please contact guildbridge2@gmail.com for enquiry or to submit your grant application.
23rd June 2023
National Inter–County League Finals played last Sunday, 18th June.
In the C final Yorkshire finished in a strong second place, just 3 VPs behind the winners, Northamptonshire.
The Yorkshire team was Peter Camm & Glyn Foley, Rod Hose & David Adams, David Wilson & Mark Ballantine, and Richard Hilton & Pauline Cooper.
Yorkshire qualified for the final by virtue of winning the C division of the Northern Bridge League in 2022.
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