National Congress wrap

I went to my first Congress this year initially with some trepidation but ultimately with a sense of awe at a great event. With around 600 participants the place is heaving with bridge players who hail from around NZ as well as many other countries.
It was reassuring to see many familiar faces from Matamata and Te Aroha competing in the event. There were some standout performances from some of the locals:
• Margaret Hook and Beverly Smith took part in the inaugural Novice event winning N-S with a very impressive 67%
• Henk and Hermanna just missing the cut in the NZ Pairs (with many more fancied internationals and gold masters below them in the initial rankings).
• Lynette Morgan and Ian Bond had a great run in the Open Swiss Teams and were placed 4th after 7 matches but ultimately finish 19th out of 118 pairs. They had a great result of 6 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses.
• Lesley Quilty partnered with Tom Henwood had two good sessions to come 11th in the Mixed Pairs with an average of 54.5%
• Lynette and Ian also competed in the Senior Pairs and came an awesome 6th out of 62 pairs with an average of 55.6% in two sessions
• Jacob and I also won top Junior Team and top Junior Pair in the Intermediate Teams and Swiss Pairs coming 8th and 7th respectively.

Must admit, I have never played so much bridge and perhaps the lack of experience took its toll after a few days making some silly mistakes which potentially cost us some games. Hopefully we will be more bridge hardened next year! Looking forward to returning in 2015.