Discovering Innovations in Spring Nationals

Congratulations to the following winners in the Sydney Spring Nationals 2017:
  • TBIB Spring National Teams: Johnno Newman, Justin Williams, Tom Jacob and Brian Mace
  • Linda Stem Women's Teams: Rena Kaplan, Anita Curtis, Judy Osie and Pauline Evan
  • Bobby Evans Seniors’ Teams: David Hoffman, Richard Brightling. Stephen Mendick, Bernard Waters
  • Two Men & A Truck Restricted Teams: Hans Van Weeren, Peter Clarke, Jeff Conroy, Jill Blenkey
  • Dick Cummings Open Pairs: Ron Klinger, Matthew Mullamphy
  • Ted Chadwick Restricted Pairs: Martin Clear , Phillip Halloran
  • Spring National Novice Pairs: Martin Brown, Gail McKenzie

Winners of 2017 Sydney Spring Nationals: (Left) TBIB Open Teams — Johnno Newman, Justin Williams, Tom Jacob and Brian Mace. (Right) Bobby Evans Seniors' Teams — Richard Brightling, Stephen Mendick, David Hoffman, Bernard Waters, Michael Evans - Bobby's son shown here holding trophy.
Winners of 2017 Sydney Spring Nationals: (Left) Linda Stern Women's Teams — Pauline Evans, Judy Osie, Anita Curtis and Rena Kaplan. (Right) Two Men & A Truck Restricted Teams — Peter Clarke, Hans Van Weeran, Jill Blenkey and Jeff Conroy.
Winners of 2017 Sydney Spring Nationals: (Left) Dick Cummings Open Pairs — Ron Klinger and Matthew Mullamphy. (Middle) Marilyn Chadwick presented the award to The Ted Chadwick Restricted Pairs — Martin Clear and Phillip Halloran. (Right) Paul Lavings congratulated The Novice Pairs — Martin Brown and Gail McKenzie.
The event was full of surprising innovations under the leadership of the new convenor Mike Prescott. The one-day pairs match on the last day of Spring Nationals is always a colourful conclusion to this national event. From this year on, it is sponsored by Penline, whose pens come in colours ranging from vivid orange, royal blue, classic red and warm yellow to midnight black, shocking pink and lime green. So from next year, we are going to have it as a "themed" day and you're encouraged to come dressed in a pen colour. Or at least to wear something in a pen colour, say a scarf or a handerchief. 

Matthew McManus further heated up the atmosphere on the day. He designed an animated programme which uses horse racing to represent each pair's performance during the Penline Matchpoint Pairs. "Go go number 12~" "Go Yellow" "Gee, just by a whisker..." were charmed in a race course for a bridge competition! Missed all these fun? All the results and stories can be found in the eBulletinsin the Spring National Championship Website
. Be part of it next year!
2017 Sydney Spring Nationals was full of fun!
The month of November offers congresses for all levels. The State Novice & Restricted Teams is hosted by Illawarra Bridge Association at Wollongong this weekend on 4th - 5th November. This state event is especially designed for novice (<100 masterpoints) and restricted (<300 masterpoints) players, so gather your bridge buddies to start your bridge journey in a friendly environment now!

The Under Hundred Master Points (UHMP) Pairs
on Sunday 26th November expressed the determination of NSWBA to encourage novice players with less than 100 masterpoints to get involved in congresses. There are 4 clubs in the metropolitan areas and 11 clubs in the non-metropolitan regions of your choice. Same set hands on the same day. Prizes will be awarded to 4 different categories (0–10MPs, 10–25MPs, 25–50MPs and 50–100MPs) on both club level and state level.



The State & Country Open Pairs Championship weekend will provide a more challenging competition on 18th - 19th November. Pairs who have qualified via club heats will represent their clubs to battle for the state and country championship title. If you have missed the club qualifying event, direct entry at $120 per pair will be welcomed. Enter online HERE. Only available on Sunday? Then the NSWBA Spring Swiss Pairs will be the perfect option for you.

The Schaufelberger Teams will be the last Monday-night-event of the this year. It starts on 27th November over 4 Monday nights. It is a swiss teams championship event with a combination of teams and pairs scoring. Check out the details and enter now! If you're interested in playing but looking for teammates, contact the Councillor (Monday nights event) Liz Sylvester on liz.sylvester@nswba.com.au, she will try her best to line you up with a team.

Getting close to the end of the year, there are some major events worth following. The Australian Open Team Playoff is held at Canberra from 12th - 16th November. The primary purpose of the Playoff is to select the Australian Open Team for 2018. Participants may also be invited to represent Australia in other non-target competitions according to their performance in the Playoff. Follow the news at the official website.

The Commonwealth Nations Bridge Championship is being held at Gold Coast next February. We are selecting a team to represent NSW via a weekend competition on 16th - 17th December. The top team will be joined by another competing pairs to form a transnational teams in the Commonwealth Nations Bridge Championship in Broadbeach from 14th - 18th February 2018. Check out the details and enter now.

On the local congress level, we are touched by the story of family support in the Margaret Smith Memorial Teams at The Manly Leagues Bridge Club. Follow the results of all the congresses HERE.

The Margaret Smith Memorial Teams

The 10th Anniversary of the event, a player's daughter travelled from Adelaide to play with her father
Congratulations to the winners of Manly Leagues Bridge Club Margaret Smith Memorial Teams (Left)1st prize going to the LIMAYE TEAM — Ranjit Limaye, Yumin Li, Wayne Zhou and Yixiang Zhang. (Middle)2nd to DOBES TEAM — Warren Dobes, Witold Chylewski (Jun), Paul Dalley and Andrew Peake. (Right)3rd to COLES TEAM — Brad Coles, Erin Tewes, Elliott Kaplan and Peter Gill.
Upcoming Events
Events highlights from 4th November to 10th December 2017. Click HERE to view congresses in the full year.

Congresses In NSW Local Clubs
Nov 4 – 5 (Sat – Sun) Mudgee Bridge Club Congress
Swiss Pairs and Teams

Event Details > 


Nov 4 – 5 (Sat – Sun) Taree Bridge Club 
Teams

Event Details > 


Nov 4 – 5 (Sat – Sun) Tumbarumba Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs and Teams

Event Details >

Nov 5 (Sun) Parramatta Bridge Club Foundation Day
Teams
Event Details >
 
Nov 11 – 12 (Sat – Sun) Armidale Bridge Club
Teams
Event Details >

Nov 11 – 12 (Sat – Sun) Southern Highlands Bridge Club 26th Annual Congress
Swiss Pairs and Teams
Event Details >


Nov 12 (Sun) Trumps Bridge Centre
Spring Teams
Event Details >


Nov 19 (Sun) NSWBA Spring Swiss Pairs Congress
Swiss Pairs
Event Details >


Dec 3 (Sun) Wollstonecraft Bridge Club
IMP Pairs
Event Details >


Dec 10 (Sun) Central Coast Bridge Club 
Summer Teams
Event Details >


Dec 10 (Sun) NSWBA Summer Swiss Pairs 
Swiss Pairs
Event Details >



NSWBA Events

Nov 27 – Dec 18 (over 4 Monday nights) NSWBA Schaufelberger Teams
Event Details > 



State Events
Nov 4 – 5 (Sat – Sun) State Novice & Restricted Teams – IBA
Event Details >

Nov 18 – 19 (Sat – Sun) State Open Pairs Championships
Event Details >

Nov 26 (Sun) Under 100 Masterpoint Pairs – NSBC@Lindfield
Event Details >


Nov 26 (Sun) Under 100 Masterpoint Pairs – non-metropolitan regions
Event Details >

Nov 26 (Sun) Under 100 Masterpoint Pairs – NSWBA
Event Details >

Nov 26 (Sun) Under 100 Masterpoint Pairs – Peninsula Bridge Club
Event Details >

Nov 26 (Sun) Under 100 Masterpoint Pairs – Southside Bridge Club
Event Details >

Dec 8 – 10 (Fri – Sun) John Arkinstall State Open Teams Finals
Event Details >


National (ABF) Events

Nov 11 – 16 (Sat – Thu) Australian Team 2018 Open Playoff
Event Details > 

Nov 17 – 19 (Fri – Sun) Golden West Swiss Pairs
Event Details > 

Nov 24 – 27 (Fri – Mon) Grand National Open Teams Finals
Event Details > 

Dec 3 – 7 (Sun – Thu) 2018 Australian Team Seniors' and Women's Playoffs
Event Details > 



Featured Articles
There is always something (more) to learn in bridge.
Rakesh Kumar shares with you some instructive boards in the Spring Nationals and his "Learning in Springtime".
Read the full article >

The new Laws of Bridge was introduced in August this year. Matthew McManus has summarised some of the more significant changes that players may notice and need to know about in "The New Laws for Players".
Read the full article >


Congress Player of the Year
Your Association is pleased to acknowledge this 2017 Award. There will be four categories.

• Open
• Intermediate < 750 MPs
• Restricted < 300 MPs
• Novice < 100 MPs

Click HERE for our current "interim" list, as at 31st August 2017.

This award is based on masterpoints earned at NSW Congresses held under the auspices of NSWBA during the year.

So how are masterpoints updated? Why haven't they been processed yet? Julian Foster, the Chairman of NSWBA, answers players' common question "Why haven't I got my masterpoints yet?"
Read the full article >

Congress Psyche Register
The NSWBA has decided to establish a central psyche register for all congresses held in NSW.

The laws permit players to deviate from their systemic agreements so long as the partner of the player who does so has no greater reason to be aware of this deviation than the opponents. Once your partnership has a history of deviating from its agreements in a certain situation you are required to inform your opponents of this tendency.

If you feel that your opponents have psyched against you, please email details of the hand to the psyche register – no action will be taken against players who are reported to the psyche register but once a pair has multiple entries in the psyche register, congress directors will be informed so that they are aware of this history when making their rulings.

A form which can be used for submissions is available HERE.

About the eCongress
The eCongress is a monthly newsletter published by the NSW Bridge Association. It updates you with the latest congresses in the month, interesting hands and analysis from events, and tips regarding the bridge laws.
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NSW Bridge Association
+61 2 9264 8111

office@nswba.com.au
www.nswba.com.au
1/F, 162 Goulburn Street,
East Sydney 2010

Send us your stories
Do you have a story to tell or a photo to share after playing in a congress? Let us know, we will be pleased to publish them.
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