Matamata, Te Aroha, Morrinsville Clubs

The front window had it's turn for the makeover yesterday.

bridge club frontage

gone are the trusty net curtains and hello a bit more light into the clubrooms (whilst retaining privacy with the frosting).

We wait to see how much additional window cleaning it will require!

Sir Peter Snell - lending support to Te ArohaPeter Snell wrote to Club tutor Jane Stearns late last year enthusiastic in his support of his parents’ old club and only too willing to lend his name to our efforts to encourage members both new and old to join us. He may be better known for his prowess on the athletics track but he is also known for the proud lineage of his bridge playing family. His special connection with Te Aroha is well known at our club. Not only that he was pounding its streets in his early running career but his parents were in the meantime busy helping to found the Te Aroha Bridge Club. Both he and his sister Marie Berry learned to play bridge. Marie still plays regularly at Te Awamutu Club and was a buddy to a beginner from Jane’s lessons there last year. Peter claims that his competitive spirit was inherited from his mother and her bridge playing. Apparently she retold her triumphs at the Pukekohe Bridge Club many a time!Margaret Snell playing at Pukekohe in her late 80s

Remember – as we work hard with the club this year, we have the legend of a nation behind us and cheering us on. With that quality of support we must surely be inspired and succeed!

An extract from his letter is reproduced below:

Dear Jane,
Thank you for contacting me. I would be delighted to help in any way you think fit.
Is Lawrence your maiden name? I remember Dr Lawrence and his wife Minna, who was one of Mum's bridge friends.
Mum loved the game and was still competitive in Pukekohe at the age of 90! I was taught the Culbertson system as a teenager (in Te Aroha) but never played outside the home until University and recently on a QE2 cruise ship where I played my first game of duplicate. I am working on convincing my wife to take a series of lessons with me in the hope she will get over her fear of looking silly and not being able to remember the cards that have been played.
I recall that Mum held bridge parties fairly frequently in our old house on the corner of Shakespeare St and Centennial Ave. Dad played, more to do an activity that Mum enjoyed so much, rather than being a big enthusiast of the game. It is clearly apparent that I inherited my competitiveness from my mother who frequently discussed her triumphs at the Pukekohe bridge club.
When I lived in Auckland the secretary of Butland Industries for whom I worked was Bruce Bell one of NZ's top players, who knew my mother through bridge.
I hope this might be of help Jane. Good luck with resuscitating the Te Aroha Bridge Club.
With best regards,

Peter

Another busy week at the Te Aroha Bridge Club has seen a core of volunteers give the grand old lady a well deserved internal makeover.

The interior is now fresh and bright but perhaps the biggest change is the statement wall ... being of a rather brilliant red hue (or Resene dynamite to be precise.)

Thanks to all those who turned up for a day to help ... or even turned up both days (George Sherrell!), whether or not they belonged to the club or not (Ayako and Jane from Cambridge, George from Matamata), whether they had ever held a paint brush before (Ayako) and the other Te Aroha troopers (Henk, Hermanna and Joan)who got the job done.

painting: Cheer up Jane, you still look glamorous!

painting: our new statement wall

painting: Is that a halo around Joan's head?

painting: George hard at work ...

painting: Joan paints over the old wallpaper circa 1978

painting: Ayako tackles the high stuff

Our new dealing machine arrived and has been successfully installed with the first boards dealt and ready for bridge on Tuesday.

This signifies a large investment from the club alongside the grant for the purchase of the machine (thanks to the Rigters for putting together the grant application). The dealing machine joins other cutting edge technology installed in the Te Aroha bridge club - including bridgemates and Compass scoring programme.

our dealing machine: Our new dealing machine

Thanks to all those people who turned up at short notice last Thursday to help prepare the clubrooms for painting.

George, Anne C, Laurie, Joan, HErmanna, Henk and Anna proved many hands make light work and managed to clean up and get the walls ready for painting.

However, with cleaning and sorting, it became obvious that some further remedial work required doing to get a good result.

Enter Laurie B who coopted a couple of local handy men - Merv and Will who have spent several days this week of their own time and providing many of their materials helping to patch up walls, rehang cupboards and tidy up some of the eyesores of the clubrooms (like the Meter Board).

sprucing up clubrooms: Will (left) and Merv enjoy a well earned lunch

The end is now in sight - looking forward to the painting working bee ... next Monday 25th February.

With many thanks to Kristen Rigter for her work on our grant application we are delighted to announce that the Pub Charities have made a very generous donation to our club for the purchase of a dealing machine. Full details at the next committee meeting!

The first main bridge event of the Waikato Region in each calendar year is the Thames Congress. Taking part and flying the flag for Te Aroha was Jane Stearns. A respectable finish with her regular partner, co-Bridge Babe Clare Coles, and two Cambridge friends in the Saturday teams event, was then followed up with a session prize for Jane with Cambridge's Secret Weapon - their Chinese guru - Herman. After a disastrous first session the Master and his Grasshopper rallied to win the afternoon session prize outright, beating top New Zealand pairing Michael Ware and Alan Turner in the process:

Rank Pair Name Matchpts %
1 2205 He Yuan & Jane Stearns 675 59.21
2 2209 Michael Ware & Alan Turner 673 59.04

Not a sight often seen! We look forward to seeing a lot more Te Aroha names on the winners podium this year.

Nine members move up a grade in the 2013 NZCBA list

The new grades list is out for NZCBA and confirms what many of us suspected – Te Aroha is an upwardly mobile bridge club. We see moving up from Junior to the Intermediate Grade for the 2013 season:
David Hansen
Elaine Lovelock
Tim Rigter
Tim - Intermediate for 2013

Moving to the highest echelon, Club President Greg Saxon leads from the front and reaches the top grade, Open.

Melba Kerby makes a well-earned return to the intermediate grade and Joyce Heron and Jos Sonne both retired from our club having reached the intermediate grade.

Bernie and Margaret Pearson, building upon their bridge skills developed at Te Aroha, both become Intermediates for 2013

Congratulations to all our Te Aroha high flyers

AnnaThe prestigious Baden Wilson list produced by New Zealand Bridge quarterly features two of our members. All of their points awarded for 2012 have been added up, to give the final Top 10 players in the country for the year 2012. Two Te Aroha players feature in the top 10 players in the whole of New Zealand for their rank for 2012. Many congratulations to Anna Kalma, who at Certificate of Proficiency level (used to be called Junior Master) is the joint 4th highest female bridge player in New Zealand at that rank. Congratulations also to Henk Hemmes, who at the rank of Provincial Master, just snuck onto the list for his rank with an exceptional 10th place. The year also finished with Hermanna Kalma reaching the rank of Master - our most senior ranked player. Many congratulations Hermanna and to Henk and Anna for inspiring us all at Te Aroha and flying the flag for our small club and packing a punch on the nationwide bridge stage.

Thank you to everyone who entered the "Spirit of Te Aroha" Photo competition for a banner photo to use on our website. The best ones have been chosen and are appearing on our website now. The judging has taken place and after much deliberation .... drum roll ... the winner is ... further drum roll ....

Anna's winning entry

ANNA KALMA for her floral contribution shot in front of the historic and renowned Te Aroha Bath house at the top of the historic and renowned Te Aroha domain. The stunning yellow petunia and white alyssum display captured the Judge's eye, along with its supreme infinity lines which made it an excellent banner choice. Congratulations Anna.