#11 - 13 December

Hi All,

I find it hard to believe that we are once again at the end of another year , I have never known one to fly by so quickly.


Bridge has prospered this year and I thank all for all the hard work that has been put into promoting the game. It is very heartening to visit all the clubs and see the renewed interest in the game.


This has also been a year of great interest in masterpoints and the promotions that have taken place. We have had more promotions to Grandmaster during this year than in any other previously, and I congratulate: Di Balkin, Roz Bernstein , Marina Breytenbach and Elywnne Geraghty for this achievement

We also had 24 Premier Life Master promotions and 42 National Life Masters !

Congratulations to all!

The promotion are published on a monthly basis and can be seen on the masterpoint website.


We will be holding trials early in the new year. To date we haven’t heard whether the Mind Sports Games will be taking place, but it seems that if not the MSG the WBF will revert to the Bridge Olympiad held in previous years. We have had 4 ladies teams enter and 2 Open teams .


I want to take this opportunity of wishing all our players a wonderful festive season, safe travel and a very Happy, Healthy and peaceful New Year.

Warm wishes

Helen

#10 - 31 October

I have posted the final draft of our new constitution on the web for your perusal and, if necessary, for any comments you may have.
I want to thank all of those players that took the time to send us their views and in particular I must mention Peter Maybury who obviously spent a lot of time on this project and I’m pleased to say that we were able to include many of his suggestions.
If anyone wishes to discuss any issues before final voting on the adoption of the constitution, please let me have your comments in writing before the 7th November for inclusion in our discussion at the bi-annual A.G.M.

I want to take this opportunity of thanking Sid for the outstanding coverage of the Bermuda Bowl, Venice cup and Seniors. He really brought the whole tournament alive for those of us that were unable to watch all the matches. I have received many letters of congratulations to Sid for his consistent and extremely valuable efforts.

It was indeed unfortunate that our team got off to a rocky start, but that is the nature of the game and hopefully we now can look forward to the World Mind Sports Games to be held next year in Manchester.

The interclub is almost here. We have 26 teams participating and therefore the event will comprise of 25 x 8 board matches. The teams and times of play are on the SABF website for all to see. Please remember the SABF invite you to a dinner at the Sirocco Restaurant on the Friday evening instead of the prizegiving lunch . We will finalise numbers on Thursday afternoon at the tournament. Partners or spouses are more than welcome and the cost of their dinner will be R80.00 per person.

Wishing you all great bridge.

Helen

#9 - 11th October

I want to take this opportunity of wishing our South African Open Team, namely: Alon Apteker, Chris Bosenberg, Bernard Donde, Neville Eber, Craig Gower and Rob Stephens every success in Veldhoven, where they will be competing in the Bermuda Bowl.
I am sure we will all be watching your every move and bid on the BBO coverage and I speak for all when I say that we will be behind you every step of the way.
Go well and return safely!!!


On more mundane matters, a reminder that the entry for the Interclub to be held in Knysna closes Friday, 21st October. It promises to be a great tournament and a wonderful opportunity for all the clubs to compete against each other. Any player wishing to bring a partner along to the Friday evening dinner at Sirroco is more than welcome. The charge for the dinner will be somewhere in the region of R80 per head.


Wishing you all good bridge

Helen

#8 : 23rd September 2011

Hi All,

I haven’t been able to write my blog for some time now as I had nothing of significance to report.
However, after having our SABF board Meeting this past weekend I have lots to tell now!

Firstly, the Interclub which takes place from Thursday the 10 November till the 13th is being held at Brenton as you all know. Accommodation is posted on the web for all to see but we have made a change regarding the final prizegiving lunch. As most people will be in a hurry to make their way home after the final round of play, we will be having a dinner on the Friday night instead. We have booked out the Sirrocco restaurant on Thierssen Island which I am sure will be great fun as we will all be together with time to enjoy ourselves. The meal is with the compliments of the SABF but regarding drinks, there will be a cash bar. On the Thursday we will get final numbers from all of you to confirm that you will be attending. Heidi has spent an enormous amount of time on this project and came up with this great idea. My thanks to you, Heidi.

Next, we have a draft constitution for all to see on the SABF website and your comments will be most appreciated - to my email - see RHS of this page for address. However, the closing date for these comments will be the 15th October, 2011 and we will then finalise the document and present it at the Bi-annual A.G.M for ratification. Please be aware that after the 15th Oct, no further changes will be entertained.

The Mind Sports Games takes place in Manchester in October 2012. The trials for this event will take place during the week of the 26th January 2012 and entries will close on the 10th December 2011. The entry fee will be R4,400 per team and this fee will be waived for out-of-town teams. Furthermore we will offer accommodation in our homes for any players.
Unfortunately it is impossible to give exact dates until we know how many teams we have to accommodate. The format will be team trials and once again all is dependant on the numbers game. The committee approved the format of a long board round robin. We encourage all those who feel that they have a chance, to enter, however, the SABF retains the right to use the PI Index or masterpoints at their discretion. We will be holding the Seniors trials on the 21st till 25th March 2012 and entries will close on the 10th February 2012. It will be the same format.

Congress 2012 will take place in Cape Town at the Kelvin Country Club from Friday the 11th till Friday the 18th May;
Interprovincials Medwin and Berkowitz will be held on the Weekend the 10th - 12th August 2012 and will be held in Gauteng. As soon as we have confirmed the venue we will let you know.

We are very fortunate to have Mr Eitan Levy, an international tournament director, coming to South Africa and will be holding an accreditation seminar for aspiring directors. The numbers are limited to 6-8 applicants and if you are interested please let me know asap as it will be on a first-come first-serve basis.
Applicants will be required to write a open book pre-exam in January as well as a final exam. The course will take place in Johannesburg on the 25th and 26th February 2012 and will comprise of 5 – 6 sessions, which may include the evenings. The cost of the course will be borne by the SABF.

Carol Grunder is compiling a list of all the red point events for the coming year and we urge all the Unions to please let her have the information so that we can avoid the clashing of events.

It is with great sadness, we note the passing of Val Pearce who was an integral part of bridge in South Africa. From the early years when I first played in a congress she was there always with a wonderful smile on her face and an amazing love of life. She will be truly missed.

In conclusion,

I wish all our Jewish bridge Players a Very Happy New Year and Well over the Fast.

Helen

2011 Blog #7 dated 30 July

I wish to take this opportunity of wishing all our Muslim
bridge players and friends Ramadan Mubarak!

It is hard to believe how the year is whizzing by and we are now in the second half of the year!

Gauteng Bridge Union hosted a highly successful tournament in Sun City. This is its second year and we all hope that it grows from strength to strength. We must congratulate Joe Zindel , who was the driving force behind this venture and successfully negotiated sponsorship of R100,000 from Sun City and also put our bridge name on the map for future large prize money tournaments.

We are waiting with anticipation as to the venue for our congress next year. It will be held in Cape Town under the auspices of the Western Cape Union. The dates presently on the table are: Friday the 27th April 2012 till Friday the 6th May. These dates will incorporate two public holidays which will mean only four days off work for those that need to take leave.

It was agreed at our A.G.M that we would allocate a weekend for the Interprovincial, Medwin and Berkowitz as a stand-alone tournament. This is on the cards for next year and dates have to be allocated.

I’m also pleased to say that we have had our first meeting with a Constitution lawyer and have our first draft which obviously needs a lot of work and it has been sent to all the unions for their very valued comments. These comments must be sent to either Mark Oliff or myself before the 15th August and then its back to the lawyer for a re-work. We have set a deadline to have our new constitution ready for ratification at our bi-annual A.G.M which is to be held in Southern Cape at Brenton Community Hall (Knysna) in November.

The entry form for Interclub is on the sabf-website as well as accommodation details, so please get your entries into Roz as soon as possible. The sooner we know how many teams we are catering to, the sooner we can advise times of play, so please don’t wait until the deadline to enter!

We look forward to seeing all the clubs from Western and Eastern Cape, Border and naturally Southern Cape. Our aim is to try and move all our national tournaments around the country to enable players in all our provinces to be part of our bridge family.

Wishing you all good bridge.

Helen

#6 - 6 July 2011

I have just caught my breath from our trip to Tunisia.

As I am the secretary of the African Bridge Federation, I was sponsored by the ABF to attend the zonals and needless to say help with the running of the tournament and attend the various meetings.

It was a fabulous venue and a great tournament. Our Open team certainly did us proud by taking first place and the gold medal and will be representing Africa Zone 8 together with Egypt.

Our teams always stood out in their uniform of black or white T-shirts with the South African Flag and we were all welcomed with open arms by the other teams. Of course, all the other teams mostly spoke French and this made things a little awkward, but we all managed to make ourselves understood.

At the opening ceremony our president, Bernard Pascal, addressed the players in French and Arabic, but at the same time had a powerpoint presentation running in English which was so very well done and we didn’t feel in the least bit left out.

Both Reunion and Egypt put in a bid for the 2013 zonals and it was decided that Reunion should have a chance to host the event. By the way, I was horrified to see that the budget was for €39,000, which as you know equates to almost R400,000. That certainly put paid to any thoughts of South Africa hosting such an event unless we had a very generous sponsor.

I must thank Sid for the superb coverage of the event. Results were out almost immediately as well as bulletins were available for all to read to keep in touch with our players.

Finally... what is the World Championships all about? Read it here.

#5 - 31 May 2011

The Nationals held in Hazyview will go down in our history books as one of the greatest get-togethers we have ever experienced. Having all the players under one roof for the meals just added to the whole ambience. My thanks go to Tim and Craig who conducted informal ‘chats’ about the hands that were played during each day. We had 40 teams and 96 pairs which for an out of city venue was really good and to all of you who managed to be there I thank for making it such a special event.

Futhermore, who would have believed that we would play bridge in a garden on grass with trees growing around us. Yes, we were sheltered from the elements by a beautiful marquee, that thanks to Colin’s ingenuity, fitted all of us in relative comfort.

We ended off with a great party which continued well into the early hours of the morning. Now we have to start planning for the next one which will hopefully take place in Cape Town. I have no further information on this as Kitty Cruise has offered to find a venue and she will then be able to give us dates.


The Interprovincials was a great disappointment in terms of the amount of teams that entered the Berkowitz. In fact at close of entry we had only 2 teams. Fortunately we managed to get 2 more and I thank Knysna and Johannesburg for entering to make it a worthwhile competition. I would really like the provinces to let me know what problems they experienced in fielding a team. In light of this, we took a decision to hold the Interprovincials as a stand-alone tournament over a weekend and next year it will be held in Port Elizabeth, once again dates to be advised. Perhaps August would be a good month between nationals and interclub.


Our A.G.M. was held with a record attendance, there eventually was standing room only and we have incorporated a representative from each province to stand on the council. All the details of your councilors are on the web.


My president’s report is available for those who wish to read it.


In just over 2 weeks our three teams leave for Tunisia to take part in the zonals and I’m sure that they will all meet with success. Today I spoke to the president of the African Bridge Federation who in turn spoke to the Tunisian Federation who assured him that all was peaceful in Tunisia, all the more so because they have moved their general election from July to October. But we are in constant contact until closer to departure date.

Regards

Helen

#4 - 1st May 2011

We are only 2 weeks away from our National Congress and I can report the following:

• We have 94 pairs competing as well as 40 teams.



• The playing times are on the web as well as the names of all that have entered.



• Sid has done an amazing job on the SABF website for which we thank him!



• The hotel is Gung ho and ready for us and I believe that we will have a great time.



• The only blot on this copybook is that the teams players will be unable to vote, but the pairs that wish to, can obtain a special voting priviledge to vote on the 16th or 17th May.
  Competed forms must be handed into the IEC on or before the 3rd May 2011. Please print this form, complete, then fax or scan & email to Timothy Truluck, as he has offered to deliver the applications in person. His fax number is 086 535 1568 and his e mail address is ttruluck@gmail.com .
  
  
  
  The Interprovincial Teams event will comprise of 5 teams competing in the Medwin and 4 Berkowitz teams. Play will begin at 2.00p.m. on Thursday the 12th May and a second session on Thursday night.
  There will be 3 sessions on Friday starting at 9.30 in the morning.
  

Look forward to seeing you in Hazyview !

Helen

#3 - 8th April 2011

Hello All,

I can’t believe that we are only 6 weeks away from Congress.

Unfortunately we cannot publish final details regarding times for the interprovincial, teams or pairs until the last entry is received on the 25th April, 2011.

The Hotel Numbi is fully booked, but there is still place at the Hippo Hollow down the road, which will offer a shuttle to and from the venue. This promises to be a congress as we used to know it with all the players having the opportunity to enter into discussions with the ‘greats’ in the cozy pub every evening.

We will be playing on the Saturday Afternoon and prizegiving will take place that evening with a dinner dance. There will be game drives, spas etc on offer for partners that are not actually playing in the event. If there are any pairs that are looking for another pair to enter the teams, please let me know and I will certainly do my best to play matchmaker.

We are privileged to have Jeanne Meiraker from the Netherlands to be our Chief tournament director and I am sure we will all benefit from her vast expertise and experience.

The one dampener of this congress is that when we booked the venue some 10 months ago, we were unaware of the election dates and although I have written to the Independent Electoral Commission we are at this point unable to cast any sort of special votes prior to leaving for Hazyview.

The Zonals are still on track to be held in Tunisia and after much debate all the teams have agreed to go unless there is a deterioration in that country. Unfortunately Jackie Dorfan and Nelonia Vorster are unable to compete due to family matters and therefore the Seniors team will comprise of four members for the zonals and if they qualify, Peter Terblanche and Vernon Rice will join them in Holland.

I think that you will agree that the Bridge Forum is a great success and I must thank Sid for the outstanding job that he has done in keeping all the panelist on track and managing all the questions that we have received from you, the players. "Thank you!" to all the panelists for the amazing depth that you have given to all your answers, we really have all learnt so much. We will endeavour to rotate the panelists so that the job does not become too onerous and we presently welcome Leif Stabell on to the panel as he has replaced Neville Eber.

That’s all for now.

Helen

#2 - 11th March

So sorry I haven’t been online for some time, but the trials and the subsequent correspondence with every man and his dog kept me either answering e-mails or actually avoiding the computer.

The Senior Trials have produced a really stunning result with Gordon and Kathy Driver, Nelonia Vorster and Jack Dorfan and Val Bloom and Tas Nestoridis, representing South Africa at the Zonals. We wish them well and know that they will be successful.

When I took the chair nearly 2 years ago, I thought that the best way to handle trials, was to ask the players to form a sub committee and submit their recommendations to the SABF. The trials format was published on the web in May 2010 for all to see and give comment.

It is indeed a pity that no-one bothered to read the final document and when the trialists were advised of the format the proverbial hit the fan. From December onward I have been inundated with e-mails that have made my SABF life unbearable and made me aware that there is a life other than the trials, because quite frankly, I thought that my job entailed other issues which have now been seriously neglected not to mention my family life.

I realize that it is time to look at a very serious succession plan which must be put into place at the next Annual General Meeting to be held in May at congress. We need you the members, to come forward if you are willing to give something back to bridge and get yourselves onto local committees and then the greatest challenge of all, the SABF. I have requested that all the unions let us have their nominations for all the positions that are available.

‘We need you!’ as Uncle Sam would say.

The zonals will be held In Tunisia as originally planned. Have had meetings with the African Federation President, Bernard Pascal, and the Tunisian Federation assures us that it is perfectly safe and they look forward to hosting this event.

Before we look around, Congress will be upon us. Please make sure that you enter timeously as the sooner we have entries, the sooner we can let you all know the schedule of events. If you wish to use the bus that will be provided, please book on your entry form so that we can make provision for all who wish to use the service.

When filling in the entry form please let us have your SABF number as looking up one is manageable but looking up 40 – 50 can lead to a lot of extra work for Roz who is taking in the entries.

Hopefully I am now back on track,

Warm wishes

Helen

#1 - 2011 - 31 January

The Open and Women’s trials are over but we still have the Seniors’ trials coming up on the weekend of the 11th February.


Congratulations to the winning teams:

• The Open team was won by Neville Eber, Chris Bosenberg, Craig Gower and Alon Apteker. They have chosen Bernard Donde and Rob Stephens to be their third pair.


• The Womens’ trials was a very closely contested event with barely a point or two between each pair. The Final results were:
  Top qualifier: Diana Balkin and Sharon Lang,
  Followed by Charmaine Lipschitz and Renee Kenny and
  The third Pair is Carol Grunder and Nicole Phillips.

We wish all every success at the zonals. Well done all!!

Regarding the Seniors event, the format will be exactly the same as the womens’ trials and entries have to be in by the 4th February, so that we can plan the trials for the following weekend. Those interested parties should read the trials format on the web.

That’s all for now,

Helen