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April 2017 Newsletter

Click here for the PRINT version.

It's been a month or eight since the last newsletter, and we'll just highlight some of the bigger events in that time.

  • Coming up soon
  • 2016-17 Committee
  • Electronic Scoring
  • Bite-sized Improver sessions
  • Highlights
  • Membership
  • Well done
  • Building update
  • National Congress Hamilton, 19 Sep to 7 Oct 2017

Coming up soon

Auckland Northern Region Interprovincial Trials 13-14 May
Thursday May Pairs sponsored by Hedgerow 8B 11 May
ANRC Club Championships -Teams 27 May
Queens Birthday Congress
Congress Pairs 10A 3 Jun
Intermediate/Junior Pairs 5B 3 Jun
Congress Teams 10A 4 Jun
Congress Teams Final/Plate 5 Jun
Westend Pairs 3A 5 Jun
Thursday Lesley Porter Trophy Pairs 8B 15 Jun
Thursday July Swiss Pairs 8B 6 Jul
Thursday August Pairs 8B 10 Aug

2016-17 Committee

Your Committee, which meets on the third Tuesday of every second month, were elected at the last AGM and are:

Anne Barrowclough President
Anthony Hopkins Past President
Sharon Marryatt Treasurer
Mike Dunn
Peter Hensman
Nicole McGuiness
Allan Morris
Sue Reed
Mark Robertson
Bianca Van Rangelrooy
Deborah Tangney Non-Voting

We wish them every success and thank them for volunteering their valuable time and skills.

The committee focuses on making the Club responsive to the needs of current members, looking to improve facilities and services while also identifying opportunities to encourage new members and manage the club with an eye to the future. The introduction of state of the art of electronic scoring tablets has been one such project.

If you want to become involved with your Club, either through joining the committee at the next AGM (November 2017) or helping in our fund raising endeavours, or offering help and assistance as a volunteer, please contact Anne Barrowclough or Deborah Tangney.

Electronic scoring

Don’t be daunted, it’s simple to use and two-thirds of New Zealand clubs already use electronic scoring. Mark Robertson and Sylvester Riddell have been working over the past six months on trialling and testing our electronic scoring system.

"We have deliberately waited before we invested in electronic scoring, to see how it worked out for other clubs and in which direction the technology was taking. It is an investment for our future and we wanted to make the right decision", says Mark Robertson.

"We have opted for handheld mini-tablets, with touch screens, like a rather large mobile telephone", say Mark. Mark added that the devices are easy to use with a bright clear touch-screen display.

"We're running BridgeTab software from Sweden. They are Android-based, like many mobile telephones. Being such widely used equipment --- about 1.75 billion devices use Android worldwide --- they should be durable and scalable. We've procured 50 tablets for the club. At the same time we switched scoring system to CompScore2, which Patrick Carter and other directors use."

In March and April, we tested the tablets on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. "So far, so good" says Mark. "We are still learning how to set up the various options on the new scoring computer (Patrick Carter’s domain). We will progressively put the tablets into more use over more sessions as we get more confident. Eventually, they will operate for most events we run including most tournaments".

A special thank you also to Sylvester Riddell - whose technical skills and volunteering of his time has been invaluable configuring CompScore2 and the Android devices. He has installed two new powerful white circular routers on the ceiling of the downstairs bridge room which cover the entire premises.

The benefits of the move to electronic scoring, apart from keeping up with the demands of newer players who now expect electronic scoring, are many, but from the viewpoint of players it’s much clearer and fuller information about the hands, optimal contracts and who did what with the cards.

If you have yet to use them - they are coming, and they are easy and fun!  Watch a 60 second video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PHrTyVinbKE for a flavour of what is coming our way.

STOP PRESS:  Worked perfectly for the 60 pair ANZAC day two session event!

Bite-sized improver lessons

A new series of short evening sessions kick off again, led by Douglas Russell, Thursday 4th & 11th May 7.15 pm. The first topics are around responding to 1NT openings.

Stumped by Stayman? Troubled by Transfers? Then Douglas Russell's sessions  for improving players on how best to respond to partner's opening No Trump bids are for you.

Douglas will describe a simple and consistent system of bidding after partner's  NT opening, including Stayman, transfers, Gerber and jump bids. There will be  practice bidding sessions with pre-set hands, and time for questions and  discussion afterwards. Light refreshments will be served.

$30 for the two nights, please enrol, payments may be made to the Club’s account: ANZ 01-0258-0010388-00, please put your name as a reference.

Highlights

In addition to the teaching activities, special sessions from expert talkers and running over 700 happenings at the club each year, highlights included …

Aug-16

· Edmund Hilary 8B 3rd Stanley Abrahams / Neil Stuckey

Sep-16

· Michael Cornell / Ashley Bach won the World Bridge Championships, Wroclaw Poland
· NZ Bridge National Congress Senior Pairs 1st Graham Wakefield, 1st Same Sex Pairs Alan Dormer / Anthony Hopkins

Oct-16

· Library re-vitalised: our bridge book donations --- money or books or both --- are most welcome. We have over 180 items catalogued.
· AGM, new Committee

Nov-16

· Bert Sutcliffe 8B 1s t Pauline Andrews / Amelia Herbert, 2nd Judith Chandler / Russell Watt·

· Auckland Bridge Club 85 years young

Dec-16

· Mon AM Connie Bell Points Trophy Shirley Pedersen
· Tue EVE Ima Sayeagh Points Trophy Rosemary Matskows
· Tue EVE Rothschild Cup Mark Robertson
· Wed AM Morrish Cup Points Trophy Ray Kingston
· Wed EVE Jalfon Points Salver Ian Handricks
· Thu EVE Heighway Cup Points Trophy Rosemary Matskows
· Thu EVE Morgan Cup Points Trophy are: Sylvester Riddell & Mark Robertson
· Fri AM Ivy Williams Points Trophy Peter Bach
· Fri AM Albert Stern Points Trophy Kathryn Chandler
· Fri M Adams Cup Points Trophy Amelia Herbert
· Christmas Individual Club tournament, two winners Silvester Riddell and Margaret Bell
· Club restricted Christmas Tournament 1st Allan Morris / Jessica Morris

Jan-17

· Congratulations to the NZ Youth Team winning the Australian versus NZ Cup. Thank you all for the support you gave them.
· World Bridge Gold Medal presentation at Auckland Bridge Club for Mike Cornell and Ashley Bach
· New Zealand Order of Merit for member Madeline Gunn, retired Principal of Epsom Girls Grammar School and and following many years of teaching in the Auckland region
· New Zealand Order of Merit for member Alan Dormer, barrister, services to law
· Thames Walk-in 1st George and Carol Wilkinson
· Waitemata 5A 1st Rosemary Matskows / Leslie Watt, Mitsuko Wada / Takayo Yanagisawa 2nd Juniors
· Babich New Year 3rd John Khouri / Sylvester Riddell
· Bill Fairs, building caretaker, retired after 20 years with the club

Feb-17

· Waitangi Day 8B 2nd Janet Pezaro / Liz Ware, 1st Intermediate Lanelle Monreal / Lee McGovern
· Franklyn 8B Swiss Pairs – 1st Glenis Palmer / Linda Cartner, 3rd Heather Robertson / Peter Bach
· Rotorua 10A Teams – 1st Patrick Carter / Julie Atkinson
· Eileen Taylor Salver - winners Rosemary Matskow / Heather Salmons
· Bruce Bell Salver 1st Intermediate Sarah Sutherland / Phillip Jephcoate
· Orewa 8B 1st Alan Dormer / Anthony Hopkins

Apr-17

· Alan Dormer elected Chair of NZ Bridge Inc
· House of Travel 8B 1st Johanna Perfect / Hamish Brown
· Easter 10A Pairs 2nd Owen Camp
· Easter Intermediate 1st Carol Joseph / Robyn Chalmers
· 7 St Vincent Corban 8B 1st Alan Dormer / Hamish Brown

Our apologies for any unintended omissions from the list!

Membership

A very special welcome to new and returning members including Elizabeth Thompson, Di Jackson, Natasha Fairley, Denise Jenkin, Kate Bawden, Margot Thompson, Lynette De Malmanche, Marsden Griffiths, Candice Doyle, Karen Smith, Chris Arthur, Angela Cook, Jill Horsford, Jan Bennett, Bob De Soto, Sue Christie, Sue Cohen, Carla Salinger, Barbara Taunton-Clark, Madeline Gunn, John Berridge, Neil Cameron, Tony Morcom, Harry Bos, Suzie Hart, Vivien Cornell, Alistair Burry and Nancy Shiach.

And the following passed away: Stephanie Hoyle November 2016, Claudia Schoenauer – 7 years – January 2017, Kay Perry – 11 years – January 2017 and Marie Lovrich – 19 Years – March 2017.

Well done

2017
PROVINCIAL MASTER Nicky Bowers 1*, Birgitta Muller 6*, John O’Connor, Tony Jiang, Joy Watkinson 1*, Julia Zhu
LOCAL MASTER Nicolette Bartoli, Judy Burrows, Jeremy Fraser
CLUB MASTER Annette Collins, Sharon Deaker, Dennis Watkinson, Anne Lafferty, Annette Webster, Janie Weir
2016
GRAND MASTER Sylvester Riddell
LIFE MASTER Hamish Brown, Tracey Lewis
NATIONAL MASTER Anthony Hopkins, Bruce Inglis
PROVINCIAL MASTER Wayne Gyde 4*, Peter Hensman 2*, John Khouri 2*, Dale Peak 4*
LOCAL MASTER Robyn Chalmers 1*, Sybil Cornell 8*, Donald Fairley, Ruth Filler 14*, Martin Jacques 2*, Anne Keisenberg, Mark Lynn 3*, Maurice MacLaren, Penny McRobie 15*, Denise Mayhew 2*, Lanell Monreal, John O’Connor 1*, Alma Priest 3*, Heather Robertson, Joy Watkinson 4*
CLUB MASTER Jeremy Fraser
CERTIFICATE OF PROFICIENCY Patrick Bell, Bill Birdling, Christa Frankham, Marjan MacKenzie, Glenys Melhuish, Caroline Mumford, Sarah Sutherland

Building Update

Your Committee continues to consider options for both the future of the building and use of the site. As they have advised, this is an area where consultation with club membership will happen, and it is expected update meetings will be scheduled later in the year.

National Congress 2017

Hamilton, 19 Sep to 7 Oct. Events, some short some longer, designed to meet every bridge craving and levels of play. Check the website www.nzbridge.co.nz/congress.html for details.

AJHopkins 26Apr
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