Matamata, Te Aroha, Morrinsville Clubs

First time playing together and they managed to come top of Xclub on Wednesday across 70 pairs from three different clubs. An honourable mention to Ari Rigter and Anne Cummins who were just behind in 2nd place.

http://www.compassmate.bridge-centre.org/results/weekly

Well done Te Aroha

Well nothing really startling happened at the AGM but we do have some new appointments with new blood on the committee:

President: Greg Saxon (nothing different there)
Secretary: Jacquie Loney
Treasurer: Victor Kooter
(and new committee member: Rochelle Van Heuven)

Some of the topics covered:

Subs & Table money: due to increases from NZ Bridge, Te Aroha will increase fees as per the following affective 2014:

Annual subs: $35
table money: $2.50
Affiliation/associate member: $15

Lessons: will start in March and run for 10 weeks on a Wednesday. Encourage all club members to sign up at least one person each. Word of mouth best promotion for the game.

Xmas dinner on the 10th December. Unsure if we are able to open the event up for partners due to space restrictions. But will firm up numbers and make a decision about this in the coming few weeks.

Working bee/annual spruce up: Monday 9.30am 9th December @ the clubrooms.

2014 Programme: some minor changes which will be firmed up and ratified after circulation at the club on Tuesday.

The third quarter national rankings are out. In the prestigious Baden Wilson List, one Te Aroha player features. In the Unranked players listings, Te Aroha has the second highest placed Female in the country. Take a bow ROCHELLE VAN HEUVEN. It will be the last time Rochelle will feature in the unranked player list as she has now reached her Certificate of Proficiency going through the 500 C point barrier. Many Congratulations Rochelle! Rochelle - 2nd in New Zealand
Below is the ranks report featuring Rochelle.

Here are some photos from our Mini Moos 5 garden party and at the end of the photos you will find the more detailed results.
CONGRATULATIONS to MARIE MONCUR from Cambridge, a last minute stand in, on her success today in winning Mini Moos 5.
Mini Moos 5 winner - Marie Moncur from Cambridge
Runner up from the host club Alison Cradock
Third Place from Hamilton Jol Glyde
Winner - best hat - Jacquie Loney
Moos in the Garden
Moos and Pimms
Victor thinking hard
Fred in pondering mode
Rochelle considers if Pimms is causing loss of form
Anne returns to the Moos
More Moos
Cath Glyde - concentrating hard
Clare considers options
Robert asks why he ended up the sober driver?
Moshe hard at work on the bidding
Some More Moos
Margreet keeps a low profile
Te Aroha Moos

RESULTS: (Pimms influenced in some cases!)
Marie Cambridge 96
Alison Te Aroha 92
Sue/Jane Te Aroha 90
Jol Hamilton 84
Margreet Cambridge 83
Angela Te Aroha 82
Clare Hamilton 79
Cath Hamilton 79
Peter Cambridge 77
Rae Cambridge 77
Gerry Morrinsville 76
Moshe Te Awamutu 75
Sue Hamilton 73
Robert Hamilton 73
Rochelle Te Aroha 72
Jill Cambridge 72
John Cambridge 69
Victor Te Aroha 68
Mary Morrinsville 67
Fred Hamilton 66
Jacquie Te Aroha 64
Nicola Morrinsville 61
Marcienne Te Awamutu 58
Anne Te Awamutu 57

Thank you to Te Aroha Bridge Club for allowing us the use of their clubrooms for the day and to Club President Greg Saxon for taking the trouble to come down and greet us and welcome us to the club.

New Zealand Bridge are setting up an electronic enewsletter and are encouraging subscribers by offering the chance to win an ipad for those that sign up before 23 November.

Instructions as below ...

1. Please open: www.nzbridge.co.nz
2. Find the iPad symbol
3. Enter your email to receive news, views and information from NZ Bridge
4. Do it by November 23, 2013, and you will be in the draw to win a new, donated iPad

Not only will you be more well informed about the world of bridge ... but you may also be the lucky winner of a new electronic toy to distract you!

The final club competition for the 2013 starts next week on the 29th October.

This is the final opportunity for club members to get their name on the 2013 honours board. There are two individual competitions held in parallel:

The Auckland Cup which is an individual scratch competition and Te Aroha Cup for the best individual based on their handicap score.

The competition runs over 6 nights with one score allowed to be discounted or missed.

Remember to confirm your partner before each week and if you aren't sure who you are playing with or need a partner let Hermanna or Anna know.

Happy Bridging Everybody:)

I went into the clubrooms today to download last night results and work out the overall winner of the 4 night pairs and it appeared that not all the results had been captured last night.

Hence the reason for some altered scores (for those that hung around for the results last night).

The winners of both the scratch and handicap sections from last night were: Alison Cradock and Hermanna Hemmes

BUT ... the big winners for the 4 night competition were ... drum roll ...Jillian O'Neill and Greg Saxon.

Because they were the only pair who managed to play every week!

Although to make the ladder appear a bit more interesting - I allowed one score to be dropped and 3 sessions allowable. So on that basis Alison Cradock and Hermanna Hemmes were the unofficial winners (scratch and handicap.

Results from the Te Awamutu Mini Moos afternoon are set out in full in the Moos Noos 4 attached below. Many congratulations to Jol and Cath Glyde our winners today.

To say it was a hot day in Alice Springs is something of an understatement. It was 42 degrees.

Alice Springs Bridge Club

Unseasonably warm they told me (I think the phrase used was “Struth, this is blardy redeculus”). My mother told me ladies do not perspire, they glow. She was wrong. I was dripping with sweat and literally melting during my day in Alice. As Dave and I tried to see the sights, we kept moving into shop doorways to get the benefit of some down draft from aircon. It was therefore with some relief that the delightful Eileen Boocock from the Alice Springs Bridge Club texted me to tell me a member of their club would pick me up from my hotel for my evening of bridge. It was a kilometre away and I was hoping to arrive a bouncy Bridge Babe rather than a limp wet rag. The club is at the over-50s club in Alice. Yes they let me in (no I am NOT 50!!) and made me very welcome.

Alice Springs Bridge Club sign

A small but enthusiastic club (just like Te Aroha in that respect) they had four tables for the night I was there. First shock – AUD$8 to play!!! EIGHT BUCKS!! AUSSIE DOLLARS!! I tried not to show my jaw was dropping. I had only brought AUD$10 with me … Dave can be very restrictive at times! Second shock – wine on sale at AUD$3 a glass. Yes, you canny bridge players have done the arithmetic – your regular inebriate was unable to purchase a glass of wine through insufficient funds! In fact, for once in my life, I was not going to have an alcoholic drink – I was avoiding anything that might dehydrate me and pouring water down to stop becoming woozy. I am certain without doubt the friendly club members would have rescued me and donated a dollar to my cause had I wanted a glass. I was given a very fine pen as a visitor to the club.

Prestigious Pen

In the break they had lovely cheeses with biscuits.
They use bidding boxes, which I had still not really learned to drive by the end of the evening – could not get the etiquette right of when to pick the bidding cards up and where to put them – on the board or back in the box. I was alerting when I should have been stopping – it is a lesson in itself to use them! My partner Diane Hood and I went for a basic Standard American system and barring one complete disaster where I asked for half a hold looking for NTs and my partner left me in that suit for the contract (entirely my fault I should add – that’ll teach me to attempt something totally undiscussed with a partner beforehand) we found ourselves pretty much on the same page for the night and finished above halfway. Eileen, who had facilitated me coming to their club and gone out of her way both before and indeed on the night to be helpful, friendly and a fine ambassador for her club, told me about a new initiative they are running there. They have lessons once a year, sometimes twice, but instead of turning any new enquiries away they now have a separate night of bridge where anyone can come along for help and encouragement in the game. So new members from lessons, combined with others as and when they enquire, are coming on a Tuesday night to the club and this formula is working well for them. Striking while the iron is hot with enquiries has reaped benefits rather than telling people to come back in several months’ time when lessons begin again but interest may have waned. My taxi for the night was Debbie Pepper, from lessons the previous year. She told me how she was enjoying the relaxed Tuesday sessions where she was gaining confidence and learning more about the game.

I had arrived on the amazing Ghan train, overnight from Darwin to Alice Springs. The Ghan
Being in the middle of the outback makes it hard for tournament play. The Northern Territory does have a major event annually and it is shared between Darwin (dripping Darwin – yes more sweat) and Alice Springs. It had been the turn of Alice Springs this year and Eileen told me how they had just held their competition in their town. A 5 day congress at their convention centre. Darwin next year. The top Australian players all attend.
Grandmaster arrives for tournament circa 1880!
I had a great night in Alice Springs Bridge Club. It was a pleasure to meet them all and a privilege to play with them. Back to reality now here in NZ, a blustery, rainy 18 degrees – do you know what? It feels just great.

Reminder that on SUNDAY 13 OCTOBER—MINI MOOS 4 AT TE AWAMUTU BRIDGE CLUB

Jane will be on holiday right up to that weekend so you need to register for the event with NICK. His email is morrbridge@xtra.co.nz $5 entry fee.

If you need help finding the Te Awamutu bridge club ... check out directions on their site: http://www.teawamutu.bridge-club.org