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18th March 2026
Many congratulations to Bertie from The York Bridge Club Youth Academy who has been selected for the Under 16 England Team to compete in the European Face to Face Championships in Latvia this April. Bertie will be joined by Sophie who attended the Youth Academy in 2022.
12th March 2026
8th March 2026
Agnes Baxter, Carole Kelly and Sandra Penfold
I am sorry to announce that in the last fortnight three lady Grand Masters who all actively represented Yorkshire during their playing careers have passed away.
The clubs where they most played are:
Agnes – Wetherby, Harrogate and Olicana
Carole – Keighley, Olicana and Bradford
Sandra – York, Harrogate and Leeds
Details of the funeral arrangements for Agnes and Carole have been placed on club websites.
They are all sadly missed.
Our thoughts are with their family and friends.
David Guild, Joint Chair, YCBA
20th February 2026
Café Bridge in Easingwold
YCBA are running a café bridge event in Easingwold on Wednesday 20th May (11am to 4pm). The promotional flier is attached HERE.
Easingwold is 12 miles north of York, just off the A19. It is a vibrant market town with a surprising number of cafes centred around the market square. Parking is free and unrestricted.
The cost of the event is £25, which includes a good lunch and £5 to be donated to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance
What is Café Bridge?
It is duplicate pairs set up in multiple cafes, pubs or restaurants. Pairs move to a new venue after each round, guided by a map and movement card. Boards remain at their starting tables throughout. Scoring is with the BriAn Bridge app which is free to download on your smartphone (only 1 phone required per table).
How to Register your Entry
Email Pauline at Events@ycba.co.uk, providing the name of you & your partner. Please also provide: –
Payment of £50 for your partnership to be made by bank transfer to
Yorkshire Contract Bridge Association,
Sort code 09-02-22
Account number 10861509
Quote Ref CBE26 and please add your surname.
8th February 2026
Yorkshire Mixed Pairs
10th May 2026 Wakefield BC
8th February 2026
Winners of the 9-High Swiss Pairs
1st: Julia Waring & Jenny Cobden
2nd: Jim Brydon & Frances Herschel
3rd: Sue Boden & Lynda Aldous
Winners of the Swiss Pairs
1st: Martin Edge & Nick Woolven
2nd=: Ryan Stephenson & Jackie Davies
2nd=: Liam Fegarty & Jamie Fegarty
Winners of the Swiss Teams
1st: Dave Robinson, Tony McNiff, Martin Edge, Nick Woolven
2nd: John Sansom, Jason Hackett, Damian Hassan, Clive Owen
3rd: Oscar Selby, Antonia Zeman Espinosa, Dan McIntosh, Claire Robinson
5th February 2026
Leeds, Sheffield & Scarborough win Winter OYL
Congratulations to the winners of the Winter 2026 season of the Online Yorkshire League:
Division 1 – Leeds B
Division 2 – Sheffield Falcons
Division 3 – Scarborough.
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The next season of the Online Yorkshire League will be in the summer, with a compact programme of match days on 7th and 21st June and 5th July. Make a note in your diaries now!
3rd February 2026
Northallerton BC session for Girl Guides 19.01.2026
In January 2026 Northallerton BC arranged a Taster session of MiniBridge for a group of Girl Guides – we
use their HQ every week for Gentle Duplicate and Teaching sessions. The Guide Leader was keen for us to
give the Guides an introduction to Bridge, so 9 empathetic Club Members facilitated a session for 20
Guides, aged 10 to 14.
After a very brief explanation on the basic features of a card deck, point counting and card play we set up 5
tables, using prepared hands to make sure every Guide became Declarer in a NT contract.
The tutors helped patiently throughout, and emphasised the importance of partnership, analysis and
planning in Bridge. The evening was a resounding success, and several Guides were heard to say, “This is
fun”. One tutor reported back, slightly incredulously, “they’ve only played 3 hands, but have got all the
concepts already”.
Steve Wilson, Club Secretary and organiser said, “The feedback was that everyone enjoyed the session, and
it was great to see the Guides rise to an unfamiliar challenge. Additionally, it was very pleasing to see the
high level of inter-generational co-operation – the Guides and Club Members clearly enjoyed each other’s
company, so both groups had a fun time. The Guides were interested in learning, on task, and polite
throughout”.
The Guide Leader concurred – she was delighted with the format of the evening and the friendly support
from all the Club Members.
3rd February 2026
Yorkshire finish sixth in Tollemache final
In November last year, 30 counties took part in the qualifying round of the EBU’s Tollemache Cup, and the Yorkshire county team of eight reached the final for the first time since 2016. The final was played over the weekend of 31st January and 1st February at an excellent hotel venue near Cambridge.
The Yorkshire team of five pairs was: Dave Robinson (captain) & Tony Sowter, Alan Hayward & Steve Raine, Paul Brereton & Frank Dixon, Alan Brosgill & Robin Jepson, and Tom Copeland & Alan Jarvis.
Yorkshire finished sixth out of the eight teams. Slightly disappointing, perhaps, but better than seventh or eighth! The format was all play all, seven 14-board matches, four on Saturday and three on Sunday. Yorkshire began with three losses, to Kent (narrowly) Middlesex and Sussex before putting our first win on the board against Dorset. On Sunday we defeated Norfolk and then, the highlight of the weekend, an excellent 16-4 win over Warwickshire, the leaders at the time and eventual winners. At this point we were on track for a top four finish but in the final match were brought down to earth with a 0-20 loss to Surrey.
Yorkshire’s strongest pair over the weekend was Alan & Steve, who played every board in every match and were the fifth best pair overall in the cross-imps. Paul & Frank were also plus in the cross-imps. Thanks to the selectors – Alan Brosgill, Dave Robinson & Nichola Cockerill-Smith; to Alan who undertook the bulk of the administration, and to Dave who was an excellent captain.
A Yorkshire team will be back again in the autumn for another crack at this competition and hopefully we won’t have to wait another ten years to reach the final again!
Robin Jepson.
29th January 2026
On Sunday 25th January York Bridge Club hosted the Yorkshire Schools Competition on behalf of EBED and YCBA. There were three events entrants could choose from:
The Yorkshire Schools Cup – a 24 board competition for experienced players
The Yorkshire Minibridge Cup – a 12 board competition for improvers
Tuition and mini competition for beginners
Play and tuition began at 12.30 and players had a break at 2.00 for High Tea. Competitions finished at 4.00. The young players had a super time with winners from York Bridge Club’s Youth Academy in the Yorkshire Schools Cup and Yorkshire Schools Minibridge. Results were as follows:
Yorkshire Schools Cup – joint winners Bertie and Sophie and Beth and Harriet
Yorkshire Minibridge Cup – Jacob and Barnaby
Osborn Cup – joint winners Priestholme and Leeds Cooperative Academy
Congratulations to all entrants for making the day a huge success and a big thank you to all parents and carers for bringing their youngsters to the competition.
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