Yorkshire Pairs 2026 Winners
11th January 2026
1st: Nick Woolven & Geoff Kenyon
2nd: Bob Marchbank & Kevin Higgins
3rd: Rachel O’Brien & James Carpenter
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 January 2026
1st: Nick Woolven & Geoff Kenyon
2nd: Bob Marchbank & Kevin Higgins
3rd: Rachel O’Brien & James Carpenter
11th January 2026
1st: Lis Jackson & Rosemary Page
2nd: David Guild & Louise Johnson
3rd: Mollie Temple & Linda Holroyde
16th December 2025
“Podcast 3 – Competitions and Tournaments
In this 12 minute podcast, Leley and Nick give a run through on the importance of competitions and how our annual YCBA competitions calendar is structured to benefit all of our members.”
16th December 2025
News from the York Bridge Club Youth Academy
The Youth Academy is proud to announce that 2 of their former students, Sophie Morris and Bertie Mittra have been selected to play for the Under 16 England team in the EBL (European Bridge League) Online Teams event. Only 4 pairs have been chosen to play for England so this is a remarkable achievement. Qualifying rounds will begin in late January. Many of the international players will be at next year’s Junior European Championships and this will be an ideal opportunity to experience bridge at an international level without having to travel. We wish both Sophie and Bertie the best of luck for the event.
4th December 2025
Click here for a flyer for the Yorkshire Schools Cup/Osborn Trophy Sunday 25th January at York Bridge Club. We have had to modify the tournament a little to accommodate the number of beginners attending.
The format will be:
There will be 2 levels of competition:
which will run from 12.30 – 4.00 (with break)
29th November 2025
Click for Overall Handicapped Scores
Click for Overall Scratch Scores
This competition held on 26 th / 27 th November as competed by 150 pairs
in 9 Yorkshire bridge clubs.
The winners of the handicapped event (5 th in scratch rankings) were
Andrew Suter and Catherine Laverack from York bridge club. They are
donating their £125 prize money to St Leonard’s Hospice in York.
The second placed pair were Penny White and Angela Roberts from
Doncaster bridge club. They are donating their £75 prize money to the
Alzheimer’s Society. Achieving a scratch score of 54.2%, their high
handicap took them from 37 th to 2 nd in the rankings.
Very well done to both pairs.
22nd November 2025
Thank You Stuart Davies
Stuart has announced he is retiring from his distinguished role as a Tournament Director having directed his last event on 28th September 2025 at this year’s Great Northern Swiss Pairs, at the Weetwood Hall, Leeds.
Stuart has had a long and distinguished career, covering the best part of 40 years both as a player and a tournament director at a most senior level.
His first event was for the EBU on 13th January 1984 in the Swiss Teams at the Queen’s Hotel, Leeds. Thereafter he started directing for the YCBA. As a national tournament director there are not many events he has not directed both in Yorkshire and nationally.
As a player he has won most of the Yorkshire events but a national event has eluded him. Perhaps now that he has stopped directing there will be one to be won.
Stuart has also acted for many years as tournament secretary for the YCBA. He continues to take entries for our tournaments and congresses and has recently made space in his home by getting rid of the tables/boards etc that the YCBA use at congresses! His knowledge of who has entered what and managing to keep track of the monies associated with those entries is second to none, long may it continue.
He has already been recognised for all his work with a Dimmie Fleming award from the EBU and as recognition of his service to the YCBA, he has received free entries in congresses/competitions for a year.
Stuart, we hope you enjoy your retirement from directing but look forward to your continuing contributions on the tournament committee.
15th November 2025
The YCBA Members’ Meeting on Nov 15 2025 consisted of presentations on bridge technology.
The meeting was recorded as a morning video and an afternoon video.
Morning Video
0 mins to 28.30 mins Presentation of new developments on Pianola by James Ward.
28.31mins to 55.29 mins Discussion from two Yorkshire Clubs on their experiences with each introducing a tablets system for bridge result scoring.
Afternoon Video
0 mins to 18.30 mins Victor Lesk from BriAn Bridge discussing Cafe Bridge and ad hoc bridge scoring .
18.34 mins to 69.0 mins Nigel Lancaster, UK sales Manager of Bridgemate UK discussing their Bridgemate 111 UK launch.
15th November 2025
Once again, by popular demand, the YCBA are running a Club Tournament Director Training Course
This is supported by the YCBA Bridge Development so the entry is FREE.
The Wetherby course will be run by Jim Edwards to be held at Wetherby Bridge Club.
This is a 3-day course which will run on 3 Mondays, the 2nd, 16th & 23th February, starting at 10.30am and finishing at 5.00pm with a break for lunch.
Tea and coffee will be provided but attendees will be responsible for their own food.
If you wish to attend please contact:
Jim Edwards at TD@ycba.co.uk
10th November 2025
Yorkshire qualify for Tolle Final
For the first time since 2016, Yorkshire have reached the final of the Tollemache Cup, the EBU’s premier competition for teams of eight representing counties. Congratulations to the players and selectors.
30 counties entered the qualifying competition played online on RealBridge over the weekend of 8th and 9th November. The teams were divided into two groups of 15 with each playing a round robin of seven board matches against all the others in the group, with four from each group to qualify for the final. Yorkshire were off to a fast start defeating one of the strongest teams, Kent by 18-2, and they went on to win seven of the eight matches played on Saturday, the only reverse being a 0-20 defeat by the eventual group winners, Surrey. At the end of the day Yorkshire were second and 32 points clear of the fifth placed team.
Things didn’t go so well on Sunday with only one win and two 10-10 draws from six matches. However, there was only one heavy defeat against a strong London team, and Yorkshire never looked in danger of losing their second place, eventually finishing 14 points ahead of third.
Yorkshire’s team comprised five pairs, who all played well – Dave Robinson (captain) & Tony Sowter, Alan Hayward & Steve Raine, Paul Brereton & Frank Dixon, Alan Brosgill & Robin Jepson, and Richard Pike and David Waxman. Steve, a native Scarborough lad, made a welcome return to the Yorkshire fold. Dave Robinson and Richard Pike were also members of the 2016 finalist team. The selectors are Alan Brosgill, Dave Robinson and Nichola Cockerill-Smith.
The final will be played face-to-face in Cambridge over the weekend of 31st January and 1st February. Good luck!
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