SCBA: eNewsletter March 2011

March 2011

What's Wrong with Suffolk Clubs?

Perhaps we're a bit upset: the annual Club Teams-of-Four had to be cancelled last week due to lack of entries. At the cut-off, noon on Thursday before the Sunday of the event, there were only six teams. To give good notice to those who had signed up and to the venue, it was reluctantly called off.

Once, and not so long ago, this event used to have a qualifying stage in each club who sent their top teams to the final. As clubs played fewer teams evenings, this stage was dispensed with but there was no return to the numbers of the past.

Why don't players want to represent their club?

Suffolk has 17 clubs and three county club competitions:

Club Teams-of-Eight – six clubs represented in 2010
Summer League – nine clubs in 2010
Club Teams-of-Four – seven clubs in 2010

The last time more than half the clubs were represented at the Teams-of-Eight was in 2007 with ten and in 2004 there were eleven. But some clubs have never sent a team to the competitions above – are their members ashamed to be associated with them?

2011-12 EBU and Suffolk P2P and Club Subscriptions

Suffolk has set a P2P rate of 5p for 2011-12, a penny up from this year's 4p. In the first year of P2P 2010-11, the county rounded down the amount from estimated figures. The difference was marginally more than expected and this increment repairs the shortfall.

The EBU has published a comparative list [PDF] of all counties' subscription and P2P rates. In this Suffolk's club subscription, because it is proportional on club size, is recorded as zero. It is expected the annual club subscription will remain at 50p per member.

Suffolk continues not to levy additional subscriptions for Direct Members, Juniors or for EBU members of other counties to play in our competitions.

Bridge in the Cupboard

Gentle Noor, the ten of diamonds shows her technique.

Forthcoming Events

Pivot Teams

Sunday 27th March 2011, 2:00pm at Ipswich Indoor Bowls Club. This is a two session teams event with refreshments where each player partners the other three members of their team roughly a third of the time. The cost is £8.00 per person – entries to SCBA tournament secretary .

Norfolk Congress

Friday-Sunday 1st-3rd April 2011, Duke's Head Hotel, King's Lynn. Green Point Pairs on Saturday and Green Point Swiss Teams on Sunday, Men's, Women's, Mixed and Open pairs Friday afternoon, Teams-of-Four Friday evening.

Full details on the Norfolk website.

Suffolk Pairs Final

Sunday 10th April 2011, 2:00pm at Ipswich Indoor Bowls Club. For those qualifying from the semi-final (results below), the final is a two session all-play-all.

Norfolk & Suffolk Green Point

Saturday/Sunday 21st/22nd May 2011, Thetford. Swiss Pairs on Saturday, Swiss Teams on Sunday.

Each day is a 1:00pm start at Breckland Leisure Centre, Croxton Road, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 1JD (01842 753110). Both days feature seven 7-board matches. The pairs is £46 per pair, the teams £86 per team.

Entries should be sent to Mike Harnden, 11 Carol Close, Stoke Holy Cross, Norwich, NR14 8NN, (01508 493048) and cheques made payable to Norfolk CBA. The closing date for entries is 19-May.

New Members' Invitational

Sunday 19th June 2011, 2:00pm at Lavenham. This event, specifically for members created after April 2010 will be of 32 boards at a relaxed pace in one of the county's best venues – and aims to give players an enjoyable taste of competitions run by the Suffolk Contract Bridge Association. Entry fees (£5 per player) have been deliberately kept low thanks to financial support from the SCBA which is also supplying generous prizes to winners – and some clubs.

More details in the December newsletter.

Events Calendar

On the website you can check events up to June 2011.

Results

Suffolk Championship Teams

The final of the Suffolk Championship Teams took place on March 12th and resulted in a victory for Hanley (Rick Hanley, Bill Tweddell, Eric Newman, Michael Sherer) over Green (Robert Green, George Moody, Graham Beeton, Jeff Orton).

Hanley got off to a fast start and led by 35 IMPs after the first 10 board stanza. Green reduced the deficit in the second and fourth quarters but Hanley held on for a 28 IMP victory. The winning team qualifies to represent Suffolk in the Pachabo Cup in June.

Suffolk Pairs Semi-Final

The top 24 pairs qualify for the final on Sunday 10th April 2011, 2:00pm at Ipswich Indoor Bowls Club. This is a two session all-play-all. Leading the qualifiers were:

1.	Elaine Green & Barbara Barker	64.93%
2.	Peter Gemmell & Chris Chambers	62.38%
3.	Julie Menzies & David Haig-Thomas	61.00%

38 pairs took part; see the full results.

If you narrowly missed out on qualifying consider yourself on the reserve-list – it's not unknown for a pair to be unavailable for the final.

Sudbury & Colchester Swiss Teams

Jeff Orton's undefeated team were almost a match clear in the five-round Swiss, Fleur Waters's team won the ascender's prize.

1.	Jeff Orton, Graham Beeton, Julian Lang, Claude Stokes	87 VP
2.	Elizabeth Godden, Margaret Scurlock, Elizabeth Johnston, Lewis Johnston	68 VP
3.	Eric Newman, Mike Malin, Rick Hanley, Bill Tweddell	65 VP

16 teams competed; see the complete results.

Suffolk v Cambs & Hunts

Played on 20th February, Suffolk won all three matches:

The 'A' Team won 15-5 VPs (+31 IMPs), both the 'B' and 'C' Teams won 17-3 (+52 and +55 IMPs respectively).

See the full match details.

Suffolk v Cambridge University

Played a week later, the 'B' and 'C' matches were decided on the day, both Suffolk teams losing, respectively 4-16 (-29 IMPs) and 9-11 (-6) when the students rallied from a first half deficit.

The result of the 'A' team match was not decided until a ruling and an appeal were concluded a few days later. When it was settled, an award of IMPs to both sides and the proximity of the scores to zero has resulted in an unusual score-line, 12-10 to Suffolk (+10 IMPs to Suffolk / -2 to Cambridge University).