Helen's Blog

2012 - Blog #1

2012-01-29T09:19:00.000-08:00

A Happy New Year to you all!

During the last week in January each year ECatsBridge organises a Worldwide Sims to raise funds for charity for UNICEF and this event was played over the past 6 days. It seems that this event was not very well supported in South Africa but I want to congratulate six (!) Natal clubs as well as Benoni Bridge Club for taking part. Perhaps next year more clubs across the country will participate. I do hope so.

We have just concluded the 2012 Trials and I have great pleasure in announcing the successful teams -
Open Team: Alon Apteker, Craig Gower, Neville Eber, Chris Bosenberg, Larry Chemaly and Rob Stephens.
Ladies Team: Charmaine Lipshitz, Renee Kenny, Roz Factor and Marina Breytenbach won the trials and invited Maureen Narunsky and Joy Swiel from Cape Town to join them as the 3rd Pair.

Congratulations to you all and every success at the World Mind Sports Games to be held in August of this year.

The Senior’ Trials will take place a the end of March and entries close on the 10 February. This will follow the same format of teams as was just held. The entry is R1,100 per person and players from provinces that will entail air travel, do not have to pay an entry fee for this event.

The entry form for Congress to be held in Cape Town from the 11th till 18th May, is now up on the SABF website. Please get your entries in as soon as possible. The entry form is very user friendly and you should have no problem at all.

The A.G.M will take place as usual during congress and I urge you to look to your committees for nominations for all the executive positions and we will be sending out nomination forms as per our new constitution that states that all nominations must be received prior to the meeting as no nominations will be taken from the floor.

I believe that it is time to have a new president, as I have been in the chair for the past three years and it is time for new blood (not to be spilled of course). Our new constitution provides for a 2-year term of office with an option of a further term. I will, however, continue as the secretary of the African Bridge Federation.

I am please to announce that the Kenyan issue is now at an end and the rightful NBO is the Kenyan Bridge Association. This feud has been in existence for the past 10 years and I wish Mrs Kala Shah every success.

Warm Wishes

Helen

#11 - 13 December

2011-12-11T14:53:00.000-08:00

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

2011-10-31T02:02:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-11T01:29:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-30T03:09:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-08T03:13:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-31T03:07:00.000-08:00

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

#17 / 20th December 2010

2010-12-21T03:01:00.000-08:00

This is my final blog for the year and...

I want to take this opportunity of wishing all our bridge-playing community and families

Compliments of the Season

And a Happy, Healthy and bridge-filled New Year.

For a bit of news: The closing date for the trials entries has come and gone and we have 3 teams for the Open and 10 pairs for the Womens’ event that have put their caps in the ring.
The trials will be held at the Links from Wednesday morning the 26th January till Sunday the 31st. All participants will be notified by the 7th January 2011.

I wish to pass on the message received from our President of the World Bridge Federation:

‘Approaching the end of the year it is my pleasure both as President of the World Bridge Federation and also personally to send you my best greetings for the forthcoming New Year.

It is an honour for me to take the chair as WBF President and I want once again to thank my colleagues of the Executive Council who have accorded me this privilege.

It is not an easy task for me as the new WBF President to take this chair after the “Giants” who preceded me, to carry forward the vital work that they have done. I had the opportunity to work with them and to learn so much by them. I hope to be able to be equal to this task.

Looking to the future, it seems essential to focus on the different problems which in general influence bridge activity and these we must analyze in detail in order to have the most realistic possible vision.

Above all we can not avoid considering the major economic crisis, the instability and insecurity which troubles the world and the changes that are affecting our society and lifestyles, directly influencing and interfering with our organization and the whole bridge playing world. Not to speak of the explosion in technology. Life style changes are in front of our eyes and we can touch them daily with our own hands.

How can we cope with this? Only by constantly offering our members a better quality of goods and services and overall being strongly convinced of the formative, educational and social values of the product that we are elected to develop … sport in general and bridge in particular. We can do so only if we are all convinced that the development of bridge is not merely an ‘instrument’ to satisfy our goals or our egoism, but it is an aim, an objective which can and must be reached, thanks to our certainty of the importance of its added value for a better quality of life.

When the motto ‘Bridge for Peace’ was forged it was done not simply to label us,
allowing a charming influence on mass imagination and bringing some increase in numbers and income. On the contrary it was created to demonstrate the inner values of our discipline.

We are living in a difficult period, but we have to go on working with passion, dedication and enthusiasm and being optimistic towards the future, towards our aims.
I will be proud, as will my colleagues on the Executive Council, to put all my efforts into developing and consolidating the image and organization of our marvelous discipline everywhere in the world. I will be proud to publicize how important bridge can be for the education of the youth, for the enjoyment of the elderly, for the integration of the disabled, for the avoidance of discrimination.

I am confident to have your support and your help and I want to thank all of you, being sure that all together we will be able to achieve our goals.
I wish you again a very Happy and Prosperous 2011, and hope that you and your family will have a peaceful and enjoyable year.

Ad majora.
(signed)

Gianarrigo Rona
President, World Bridge Federation
December 2010 '

#16 - 1st December

2010-12-01T09:41:00.000-08:00

I am so excited! I was looking in the Bridge Forum site and was blown away by what I saw.

Sid has done an amazing job of planning and creating this website and handling all the queries, sending them on to the panel and collating the answers and posting them. It is just fabulous.

As for the depth of information that has been received by Bernard and Tim, it is truly unbelievable. Thank you all for this wonderful effort.

I sincerely hope that all the bridge players make use of the expertise that is being offered. I must stress that we are not looking for expert questions, but we want this to be an interactive site that can offer solutions to all and sundry. We can all learn from the answers.

My day improved when I phoned Hotel Numbi to book my accommodation for next years’ congress and was told that nearly the whole hotel had already been booked! There are 4 rooms left in the main hotel but, there still are a lot of the garden suites available. The hotel’s details are on the web, and remember that you only have to pay your deposit in March next year, so I suggest that you book early to avoid disappointment.

The Interprovincial will take place there from the Thursday the 12th, May 2011.

That’s all for now,

Helen

#15 - 15 November

2010-11-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

We have just spent a wonderful weekend in Cape Town playing in the interclub.

26 teams took part in this event of which 12 were from Cape Town itself.

The results will be published on the web, but I am pleased to announce that Gauteng did us proud. The winners were the team from JBC, second the Hillbrow team, third was Alliance from Cape Town and fourth was the Waft team from Johannesburg.

The actual tournament ran very, very smoothly thanks to Hilary Nick who took over all the duties associated with running a tournament. Both Tim Cope and Alan Simmonds assisted with the tournament directing as Jan Van Dyjken was unable to t.d. the whole time due to family commitments. My heartfelt thanks to all of them.

The weather was very mild and as a result the venue, being the Italian Club in Milnerton , was very pleasant except for the lighting which wasn’t really adequate for night bridge. The staff were superb and nothing was too much trouble for them.

Next year the interclub will be held in Knysna, date and venue to be advised.

The AGM was well supported by the players and all the provinces will receive copies of the meeting to be available to all the players. One of the issues that was raised was the awarding of Provincial Colours which was unanimously received by all will be awarded from 2011. There are however, issues that have to be resolved and Peter Terblanche, who was the driving force, will serve on a committee to do just that.

I am also thrilled to announce the advent of our bridge forum which will be available on our website. Tim Cope, Bernard Donde, Neville Eber and Craig Gower who have offered to serve on a panel , which I foresee will play an important part in assisting players of all levels.

Of course the panel will change as we have many players that are willing to give of their time but we felt that four was the maximum that could serve on the panel at one time.

It will work as follows: if any player has a problem hand that they have encountered, they can send it to webmaster [at] sabf.co.za and Sid Ismail (who was the originator of the idea) will send it on to the whole panel and their responses will be returned to the applicant. Please note, that this will not be a forum to mediate on any argument between a pair, nor, to discuss any TD ruling that you may not like and we will be very vigilant in making sure this does not happen. So guys and girls this is a great opportunity to pick the brains of our exclusive group. This feature is one more way we are trying to give back to our players.

I can forward my President's Report if you wish to peruse what has and will occur in the near future.

The team that represented us at the Commonwealth Games has returned and I am including a letter received from Desiree Pieters:

On behalf of the 6 of us that went to India, I want to thank you and SABF for giving us the opportunity to go . The bridge was really phenomenal and it was a great experience to be able to play against some of the world’s best. Nelonia and myself thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The whole event was extremely well organized and our trip to the Taj Mahal was a high light, although it took us 12 hours in the bus there and back! We were also treated to various dinners with entertainment and lunch was offered every day. Coffee, tea and bottled water also available all through the day.
We met Peter Gill from Oz and Paul Hackett from England and they both send their regards to our bridge players that they have met already. Nel and myself did a little tour after the bridge through parts of Rajasthan. India is a debatable country; you either like it or you don’t, me falling into the latter category, Nel into the first. But we still had a good time and the temples and palaces of the older times are stunning and well worth seeing. Lots of marble and inlaid semi precious stones.

Thanks all for now, bridge is calling,

Helen

Blog 14 - 29 October 2010

2010-10-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been back from Philadelphia for the past week but only now do I have the energy to write all about the trip.

Philadelphia is such a fascinating city with wonderful history and great art and in fact, they have between 2,500 and 3,000 murals on buildings all over downtown Philly. There are statues on all street corners and although I don’t believe that Philly would be on your list of cities to visit, once you are there, it’s well worth it.

A very popular venue for all of us, was the Reading Market, which is an enormous market with lots of stalls right next to our hotel, we all had breakfast there before bridge commenced at 10.30.

The actual convention centre defies description in terms of its size. It used to be the old Philadelphia railway station and goes on for miles, you certainly could get lost in it. We took a trip in the open air bus to orientate ourselves on our free day and the guide on board was so fascinating that Ann and I took a further 3 trips which lasts at least 2 hours each , as each guide had a different perspective and we were enthralled with it all.

Back to the bridge, disappointingly, there were only 2 South African teams and 2 teams that were a combination of USA and South Africa that entered, but we were very proud that Tim and Glen finished 16th overall in the pairs event. There were 141 Open teams and 35 Women’s teams, equally the woman’s pairs was a very small event indeed, which makes you wonder what is happen to ‘women only’ bridge, it seems to be dying out throughout the world. There is a Womens’ Committee that is committed to reaching out to all women and trying to keep this aspect of bridge alive.

I attended the WBF Annual General Meeting and it was great meeting with so many different people all with the same problems and joys of trying to steer bridge in the right direction. The new president is Gianarrigo Rona who has taken over from Jose Damiani, who was in the driving seat for 16 years. We wish him every success.

Personally, I must say that I was really aware of the male dominance of the game. The WBF, for the first time in its history, have allowed 2 women on the executive committee, and they seemed inordinately proud to have made this allowance.

We in South African, cannot imagine, the magnitude of organising and running such a tournament. There were 4,000 players and everything ran like clockwork. I hate to think of the expense of putting on such a show, it must cost millions and millions of dollars and millions and millions of manhours.

Back to home, in just over 2 weeks time we will be holding our interclub event in Milnerton, at the present time we have 26 teams but you still have time to enter your team as entries close on Friday the 29th.

As most of you know, Pat Truter has not been well and we wish her a full recovery and although it may take quite a long time, we are sure we will once again see her at the bridge table and organizing events in Cape Town. To Andre, we acknowledge that his priority is Pat and we wish him success in looking after his wife and once she is well again, we look forward to him back in the thick of things.

Ann Sturrock has now taken over the job of masterpoints and I thank her for stepping so promptly, averting a national crisis. She has advised all clubs of the new address to which you send your tournament results and as a reminder it is: sabf.masterpoints@gmail.com.

Our team in Delhi finished 12 out of 24 in the round robin and spent today visiting the Taj Mahal. Tomorrow the semi finals begin which can be viewed on BBO.

Look forward to seeing you all in Cape Town for the Interclub.

Happy Diwali

Helen

Blog 13 - 15th September

2010-09-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

One of the duties of the SABF is to decide on the annual venue for our national congress. In order to reach as wide an audience as possible, we try to hold it by rotating between the various provinces in consultation with the unions concerned.

As this is S.A’s premier bridge event we attempt to attract the best and the widest audience possible by staging the tournament at a location that not only fulfills the bridge requirements but also allows for players to mix and socialize between and after sessions .

We believe it is important to re-establish the tradition that was created all those years ago when this event was regularly held in Swaziland, Lesotho and Drakensberg to name a few. It is a tradition that has sadly slipped away over time and that is the reason that we have chosen to hold next year’s Annual National Congress at the Hotel Numbi in Hazyview.

Some the attractions of this venue are:

Congress 2011 will take place at the Hotel Numbi & Garden Suites in Hazyview from Saturday 14th May to Saturday 21st May 2011;
Two hotels in Hazyview will host Congress 2011 – Hotel Numbi & Garden Suites as well as the Hippo Hollow 3km from the Numbi. The rates are R495.00 per person sharing per night, inclusive of dinner, bed & breakfast or R645.00 per person per night in single accommodation inclusive of dinner, bed and breakfast. R200.00 per camping site per night –max 4 persons;
General information:
• A cocktail function with complimentary drinks and finger supper will be held at The Numbi on Friday 13th May at 20h00.
• A prize giving dinner dance will be held at The Numbi on Saturday 21st May.
• A cost of R150.00 will be charged for the prize-giving dinner for players not staying at The Numbi or Hippo Hollow Hotel.
• During the tournament: theme dinners will be served in a marquee at The Numbi for residents of The Numbi and Hippo Hollow Hotel; piano background music, traditional dancers and choir music will be provided on certain evenings.
• Dinner for players not staying at Numbi or Hippo Hollow Hotel will be charged at R120.00 per person.
• A shuttle will be available for residents of Hippo Hollow hotel which is approx 3km from The Numbi.
• Depending on demand, a bus will be available to transport players from the Links to Hazyview. The bus will leave on Friday 13th May at 10h00 and return to the Links on Sunday morning the 22nd May
• The cost of the bus (return journey) is R380.00 per person if we have 55 passengers. GBU will arrange lifts from the airport to the Links Bridge Club.
• Game drives into Kruger Park can be booked directly with the Numbi Hotel.
• Flights are available on SA Airlink from Cape Town and Durban and Jhb to Nelspruit or check closer to the time what is on offer from either Airlink or British Airways.
• There will be a minibus shuttle available at approx 13h00 from Nelspruit to The Numbi on a Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact Bushveld Link (Johan & Kinnie) on 083 284-5382.
• There is a lot to see and do in this beautiful part of our country. Contact Jan van Dijken at vdijken [at] worldonline.co.za who will put a tour package together for you.

Let me know if you need more information.

Helen

Blog 12 - 27th August

2010-08-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

Hi All

The bridge world has certainly been very quiet and as a result you haven’t heard much from me.
But the very good news is that we can be very proud of our international players, namely: Craig Gower, Alon Apteker playing with Tim Cope and Glen Holman in the Springold teams tournament held in New Orleans last month. They made the last 16 teams losing to the eventual winners and were truly playing the ‘Who’s Who’ in the bridge world.
Craig and Alon then played with an American pair in the Swiss Teams and came second to the team who will be representing the U.S.A in next year’s Bermuda Bowl. Furthermore, in the Life Masters Pairs they finished 14th out of 350 pairs.
This is a fantastic effort and well done to you all!!!!!!!!!
As a matter of interest, this American event had 10,559 tables in play during the 10 days;
1,000 tables in play on any given day, which equates to 4,000 players per day. It really puts into perspective how well our players did against such competition.

In October, we will be sending our team to the Commonwealth Games to be held in New Dehli: They are Ashok Samjee, and Krishna Malani; Larry Chemaly and Joe Israeli-Zindel; Desire Pieters and Nelonia Vorster. We wish them every success and we will be watching them closely on BBO.

Also in October, the World Pairs is to be held in Philadelphia and if there are any pairs or teams that wish to enter they can contact me for details and for confirmation of eligibility as required by the WBF.

In November we are holding the Interclub at the Italian Club in Milnerton, Cape Town which starts on the 11th November till 14th. The entry form is up on the web and we look forward to lots of entries to make it a bumper tournament in the Western Cape. It is always a lot of bridge for the four days which makes the travel to C.T. well worthwhile.

Over the past few months and certainly this month and next there are many provincial tournaments taking place. As a result at least two tournaments have had to cancel due to lack of entries. I believe that we should try and space them a little more evenly and I urge all the unions to let us have their dates of the 2011 proposed tournaments within the next month so that we can advise all clubs before the events are finalized to avoid an overlap.

To all our Jewish members: a Very Happy New Year and well over the Fast.

And to our Muslim members: Hope all is well with the Ramadaan fast and we wish you all Eid Mubarrak!

Have a good bridge week.

Regards

Helen

Blog 11 - 15th July

2010-07-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Now that the soccer month is over , it is time to get back to basics again (what a pity).

After congress in May I asked for feedback so that we could make positive changes to our format and venue, et al.

The one complaint that we had was obviously the venue, but more than that, it was felt by many that we never ever got to mix with all the players, people played their game and rushed off in search of refreshments or meals.

Having taken cognizance of this, we believe that we have solved the problem with the able assistance of the Gauteng Bridge Union, who researched all venues available and are thrilled to announce that....

Congress will take place from Saturday the 14th May 2011 until Saturday 21st May 2011. The venue will be the Numbi Gate Hotel situated in Hazyview, not 10 Km from the Kruger National Park gate.

The hotel has 60 rooms and a further 40 rooms at the Hippo Valley hotel a km away and a shuttle will be available. We have been offered an incredible deal of R495 inc vat for….wait for it… Dinner, bed and breakfast per person sharing.

There is a cosy pub, where we hope our esteemed players will offer chats about the days’ hands in the evenings and that generally we will be able to meet and mix with all the players from all over S.A. in a fabulous atmosphere. There are also restaurants in the vicinity and our host Willem Fick will be offering theme evening dinners. We will end the nationals with a party on the Saturday night.

Furthermore, there will be busses leaving from The Links on the Friday and if necessary again before the pairs begin. There will be a nominal fee.

There are also many B & B’s in the area and timeshare resorts are very near this venue. To access more information about the hotel the website address is www.hotelnumbi.co.za

Warm regards
Helen

Blog 10 - 4th June 2010

2010-06-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

Breaking news!!!!!!!!!!

The 2011 Zonals will be held in Tunisia during the 2nd half of June at the Royal Hotel which once hosted the Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup.

The host country for the Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup has been moved to Holland. Dates still to be advised.

We will be holding the Open and Women’s trials on the 27th – 30th January 2011. The Seniors trials will take place thereafter on the 10th – 13th February 2011.

Spent an incredible weekend in East London where they held a very successful pairs and teams event under the auspices of Barbara Brown and Peter Connell. There were players from all over the Eastern Cape and what a pleasure to play in such a well organized and pleasant tournament. Needless to say the committee and ladies of E.L. certainly fed us with great enthusiasm as did we players indulge with equal fervour.

I have been asked many questions regarding our A.G.M. and therefore I am attaching the minutes together with my report for those who are interested.

Hope you all enjoy the WorldWide Simultaneous Pairs Contest which take place this weekend and look forward to seeing our names in lights world-wide.

Wishing you good bridge

Helen

Blog 9 - 18th May 2010

2010-05-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

Well, Congress has come and gone and after the dust has settled, I am pleased to report that criticisms were few and far between, and in fact only related to the air-conditioning and the venue, which the general consensus was, that it was well past it’s sell-by-date.

We played a lot of bridge and there were 3 session held at night. In order to accommodate as many pairs and teams as we did in the future, we would perhaps have to consider starting the event a day earlier, that is Thursday and finish on the following Friday. Unfortunately, due to the expense of a venue over a weekend we would be forced to use only one weekend, preventing us playing from Friday to the following Saturday. I would love feedback on this matter.

Heidi and her committee ran the events with military precision and we always started on time and stuck to our programme without any hitches.
Having Dr Magdy as our Chief T.D certainly contributed to a very calm and efficient congress.
Sid took wonderful photos that are on the SABF website and I thank him for the timeous results that were available for all to see.

The one disappointment for me was the very poor attendance at the A.G.M., where I must say all the decisions are made and ratified and after the event everybody has something to say. Obviously all are very happy with the way things are run! But on a more serious note, we need to think about when we should actually hold an A.G.M. as bridge players certainly don’t have the time or inclination to attend a meeting when all they are thinking about is the previous sessions' play and results.

It was decided that membership fees would be increased from R60 per annum to R100 per annum which is still under R10 per month! Obviously clubs should take into account players that are unable to meet this extra expense and should probably try to subsidise the shortfall.

A very successful T.D. course was run in Johannesburg after congess by Dr Magdy and we had members from all over the country taking advantage of this event. We would hope to continue with it perhaps next year so that our T.D.’s could get accreditation as there was not enough time this weekend.

A reminder that the World-Wide Simultaneous Pairs Contest takes place during the first week-end in June and hope that you have all entered this red point event.

Wishing you all great bridge,

Helen

Blog 8 - 3rd May 2010

2010-05-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

Well Congress is almost upon us and we have had an incredible entry of 54 teams and 148 pairs!

Just a few pointers:

Due to a race meeting on Friday 7th May, parking will only be available in the centre of the racecourse, the entrance is via The Royal Durban Golf Course. Thereafter there will be no problem and the entrance to use is Gate 8 from Avondale Road.
Greyville will provide meals between sessions, lunch and dinner, but you will have to book your meal on lists that will be provided to avoid unnecessary catering.
Remember the seminar on laws and conventions to be held on the Monday night by Dr Mesdary at Greyville.
The interprovincial and the head-to-head teams final will be shown on BBO and there will be vugraph facilities at the venue.

See you there!
Helen

Blog 7 - 29 April 2010

2010-04-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

Trials for OPEN, WOMEN and SENIORS

The rules have been formulated.

Blog 6 - 2010

2010-04-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Life has been pretty hectic with the countdown to Congress.

We have 52 teams and 140 pairs and we are pretty chuffed with the entry.

We will be playing the inter-provincial on BBO and hope to have it screened on the premises for kitbitzers to watch live. We will be doing the same for the teams final which will take place on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

The undermentioned programme of events has gone to the printers so hopefully we will have no changes and here it is:

Interprovincial Teams
Wed 5th 1st session 14.30 2nd session 20.00
Thurs 6th 3rd session 10.00 4th session 15.00
Fri 7th 5th session 09.00

National Teams Qual's
Fri 07 May 14:30 Qual Ssn 1
Fri 07 May 19:45 Qual Ssn 2
Sat 08 May 10:00 Qual Ssn 3
Sat 08 May 15:00 Qual Ssn 4

National Teams Finals
Sun 09 May 10:00 Final Ssn 1
Sun 09 May 15:00 Final Ssn 2
Sun 09 May 20:00 Final Ssn 3
Mon 10 May 10:00 Final Ssn 4
Mon 10 May 15:00 Final Ssn 5

Teams final
Mon 10 May 20:00 Head to Head

SEMINAR Mon 10 May 20:00 Dr Mesdary

Teams final
Tues 11 May 10:00 Head to Head

National Pairs Qual's
Tues 11 May 15:00 Qual Ssn 1
Wed 12 May 10:00 Qual Ssn 2
Wed 12 May 15:15 Qual Ssn 3

National Pairs Finals
Thurs 13 May 09:30 Final Ssn 1
Thurs 13 May 14:30 Final Ssn 2
Thurs 13 May 19:15 Final Ssn 3
Fri 14 May 09:00 Final Ssn 4

Hope this helps you with your arrangements during congress

Look forward to seeing you there

Regards
Helen

(posted 21st April)

Blog 5 - 2010

2010-03-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

Greetings Everyone,

I am now back from our holiday, refreshed and ready to face all that the SABF has to offer.

Firstly and most importantly, I want to wish both Peter and Glenda Jackson every success in their new venture in Mexico.

What you both contributed to bridge in South Africa cannot be measured and we can only thank you for your dedication and expertise and willingness to always be of assistance whenever possible.

It is with regret that we have to say goodbye, our bridge community will be the poorer with you leaving, but please come back and visit, there will always be a place for you here.

Congress is now looming on the horizon and unfortunately until we have all the entries in, we are unable to give you exact times for the events. Please let us have your entries as soon as possible even if you wish to pay on the 16th April.

We hope to be running the Tournament Director's course in Johannesburg at The Links on Saturday the 15th May ( day after congress ends). We will have a morning session from 09h00 till 12h30 and on the Sunday the 16th from 09h00 till approx 16h00. We will endeavour to accommodate out-of-town participants in our homes to avoid unnecessary expense and there will not be a charge for the actual course. We urgently need to have your commitment if you will be attending so that sufficient course material can be prepared. (We are just waiting for final confirmation from Dr Mesdary)

A reminder that the Inter-Provincials will start on the Wednesday afternoon proceeding Congress and we will be needing those entries from the provinces as soon as possible so that we can advise times of sessions.

I want to take this opportunity to wish a Chag Sameach as well as a very Happy Easter to all our players.

Helen

2010 - Blog 4

2010-02-19T03:54:00.000-08:00

I am on my way to Port Elizabeth to play in the SAWBA Congress but wanted to share the news that Dr Magdy Mesdary the Chief Tournament Director for Africa will definitely be joining us at Congress. Besides directing he will run a seminar on the Monday night for all interested parties who wish to know a little more about the laws and convention control that pertains to us in South Africa. So make sure that you can be there.

Furthermore, he will be running a T.D. course in Johannesburg on the Saturday and Sunday following congress before he returns home. He will also advise us on the accreditation of our T.D.’s. So anyone wishing to do this course must please let me know ASAP so that we can make arrangements to accommodate any players from out of town to avoid any unnecessary expense.

I will be away until the 22nd March and will only be able to keep you in the loop with any further announcements when I get back.

The dates for Congress are on the web, but please note that there is a travel indaba in Durban the same week, so book your accommodation as soon as possible.
We will start the teams on Friday the 7th at 14.00 and the pairs will start on Tuesday the 11th at 14.00. We can only publish the times of play once we have all the entries as everything is depends on the numbers of pairs and teams that enter.

Warm wishes

Helen

2010 - Blog 3

2010-02-08T04:56:00.000-08:00

I have had many queries regarding the times for Congress this year.

We are having a ‘congress’ meeting on the 14th Feb and I will be able to give you more details thereafter, although everything depends on how many teams and pairs actually enter.
The entry form will be on the web soon after the 14th.
What is certainly disconcerting is that accommodation is at a premium in Durban due to the fact that there is a ‘travel indaba’ the same week, so I strongly urge you to do your bookings early.
I estimate that the teams will start at 14h00 on the 7th and the pairs are planned to begin on Tuesday the 11th at 14h00 and finish at 12h00 midday on the 14th followed by a prize-giving lunch.
But the very, very good news is that The Chief Tournament Director of Africa, Dr Magdy Mesdary will be our chief T.D. for congress. I am trying to arrange a T.D. course or seminar whilst he is here. For me to do this, I urgently need to know who would be interested in such a course so that we can plan his itinerary and whether to hold it in Durban or Johannesburg depending on the number of serious participants that would like to direct in the future. We have a serious lack of T.D.’s in this country and this is a wonderful opportunity for all.

A very big ‘thank you’ to Tim Cope for running a bridge clinic in East London over the last weekend in January. Barbara Brown has written to me lauding Tim and stating what a successful weekend it was and that there were 68 members attending including 5 from Port Alfred. Her most telling statement was that it made the players of the area ‘feel not so isolated’.

Wishing you all a very good week and I will keep you posted.

Helen

2010 - Blog 2

2010-02-01T08:53:00.000-08:00

There has been much discussion regarding opening 1nt with a singleton and players are getting very agitated, as all clubs seem to have a different take on the subject.

I felt we needed greater clarification and wrote to our Chief Tournament Director of Africa Dr Magdy Mesdary and I am printing his reply verbatim:

If 1NT is opened occasionally with a singleton, then it is not a convention, as
long as partner is not aware of.
Ref. Law 40C - C1: A player may deviate from his side's announced understanding always provided that his partner has no more reason to be aware of the deviation than have the opponents. REPEATED DEVIATIONS LEAD TO IMPLICIT UNDERSTANDINGS, WHICH THEN FORM PART OF THE PARTNERSHIP'S METHODS AND MUST BE DISCLOSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REGULATIONS GOVERNING DISCLOSURE OF SYSTEM. C2: Other than the above no player has any obligation to disclose to opponents that he has deviated from his announced methods".

So if it is a convention and partner is aware of and they have means to discover it , then it is a convention and has to be disclosed to the opponents; you may also disallow such convention if you decide to. However, if it is made occasionally without prior agreement then it can fire both ways, however, repeated deviation lead to implicit understandings which then form part of their methods.

I believe this certainly clarifies the use of 1nt with a singleton and as it is acceptable all over the world, I wish to confirm that we will continue to open such hands accordingly, without prejudice. However, I must reiterate that if it is used as part of your system it must be disclosed on your convention card and alerted at the table.

Commonwealth Games
We will not longer be holding trials for the commonwealth Games as we have had a pair withdraw. Therefore the team that will represent South Africa is:

Larry Chemaly and Joe Israeli-Zindel
Krishna Malani and Ashok Samjee
Desiree Pieters and Nelonia Vorster

We wish them a great tournament and a safe journey to and from New Delhi,

Best wishes

Helen

2010 - Blog 1

2010-01-25T03:52:00.000-08:00

Greeting everyone,

Due to no phone lines and no ADSL, I have been unable to communicate, but all is well now and hopefully we are into an exciting year beginning with our BBO InterClub Teams tournament for which I must thank Carol Grunder for her amazing ability to get this off the ground and her unbelievable patience and commitment to this project.

For all the clubs over the country, to be able to play bridge with each other regularly, is I’m sure, the start of many great things. This is a report that I received from Carol today:

BBO Interclub teams got off to a great start on Thursday 21st January. Thirteen teams from around the country and one team from Kenya are taking part in this round robin event which will run until the end of April. The team captains have put in a lot of effort in finding players, setting up matches and entering results. Kibitzers are welcome so come and support your club on Thursdays at 19:30. At one stage on Thursday evening there were 96 South African players online. The match results are available on the Google Website To download Bridge Base Online (free), click on http://www.bridgebase.com’

Another very exciting development is that Tim Cope has offered his services to give seminars to clubs around the country that do not have access to bridge and bridge players other than their own small community.

He will be visiting East London on the weekend of the 30th January and I cannot thank him enough for understanding our needs across the country of bringing bridge to all the smaller communities and ensuring that they are all part of the broad family of the SABF.

The trials for the Commonwealth games will take place on the 6th and 7th February
We will be sending a team of 3 pairs to New Delhi. Our entry is very small, in fact we only have 4 pairs that have entered and I wish them all well and I must say I regret that we can’t send two teams of 2 pairs so that all could go!

Congress will take place in Durban at the Greyville Racecourse from the 7th till the 14th May, 2010. We will begin the event with teams and then the pairs. The Interprovincial will preceed this event beginning on the Wednesday, 5th May.

We will advise the actual times as soon as the programme has been finalized.

Interclub dates have been changed to 11th till 14th November due to a clash with the festival of Divali, and is to be held at the Italian club in Milnerton Cape Town.

Wishing you all a wonderful year of bridge.

Helen

Posted 25 January 2010

Posted 21st December

2009-12-21T03:42:00.000-08:00

This is my final blog for 2009 and want to take this opportunity of thanking all who have encouraged me in the writing of this blog (by reading it!)

I played in the Cape Festival over the last weekend and needless to say it was an exceptionally well-run and well-organized tournament directed by Andre Truter and Jan Van Dijken and my congratulations to the committee headed by Kitty Cruise and Pat Truter. The format of having a Pro-am, Master pairs, Swiss teams and Pairs certainly catered to the entire bridge community of Cape Town.

Changes to the Masterpoint Scheme Structure-

After much consultation and running many simulations, with Ann Sturrock, our masterpoints registrar, (who is the architect of our computerized masterpoint programme), the structure has been changed to bring the awards for multiple team events in line with those for pairs events.

See the masterpoint scheme on the SABF website for further details. The changes are in red.

Performance Index (P.I.) : In order to place more weight on current form, we have introduced a performance index made up as follows:
The TOTAL red points plus 25% blue points earned over a 5 year cycle = the Performance Index. The P.I. will now place some value in blue points earned and will be an indication of a player’s current form.
This will in no way affect a players current masterpoint status and will feature alongside the masterpoints earned on the masterpoint schedule.

In closing I wish to thank everyone for the encouragment and support I have received over the past months and would like to wish you and your family

Season Greetings and a healthy, happy and safe 2010

Blog 14 / 3-December

2009-12-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

The great news from San Diego, California (USA Nationals) is that Craig Gower and Alon Apteker playing in the Board-A-Match teams event finished 2nd out of a field of 60 teams. They are currrently lying 57th in the big-field pairs event. We can be so very proud of our South African players.

A reminder that the close of entries for the commonwealth games trials is the 15th December. Only when we have all the entries can we decide on the format.

The biggest money tournament ever held in South Africa is to take place at Sun City on the weekend of the 15th-17th January 2010. The prize money sponsored by Sun City totals R100,000 which will be spread over the field. Entries close on 15th December.

I had the pleasure of playing in the Intercape Tournament over the last weekend.
It was so great to play in a teams event so ably organized by Jenny Myburgh. My congratulations to all.

I was made aware that this tournament was the brainchild of Morris Joffe and in the early days this event was known as the Intercity Tournament.

It is with deep regret that we note the passing of Morris who dedicated so much of his time to bridge. He was regarded as ‘the father’ of modern bridge in Cape Town and captained the South African Team 8 times. He also represent S.A. in Maccabi and a winner of many national/district titles. Our condolences to Jeanette and his whole family.

Warm regards,
Helen

Trials / Conventions Control

2009-11-22T12:13:00.000-08:00

Blog 13 posted on 22nd November

After my last entry I was thrilled to hear from so many interested parties regarding our trials format. Remember you have until the 30th November to share your views and after that all comments will be collated and a further meeting with the original team to draft the final document and then this will be discussed in committee and we will have our new trials format!!!!! Sounds easy doesn’t it. Huh!

In the meantime we will be holding trials for the Commonwealth Games on the first weekend in February. Probably from Thursday the 4th until Sunday the 7th. The Commonwealth Games will be held in New Delhi from the 3rd to the 14th October 2010 and at the same time the World Pairs will be held in Philadelphia USA from the 1st – 16th October 2010.

We have been invited to send one team to New Delhi and the SABF have offered to pay the entry fee, but the rest of the cost will have to be borne by the team. Needless to say the format will only be decided once we have received all the entries. It will be held in Johannesburg unless a particular province has the majority of entries. Entries will close on the 15th December 2009 to facilitate us making the necessary arrangements timeously.

Regarding our convention controls, I have been in touch with the newly appointed chief tournament director of the African Bridge Federation and I’m attaching his reply, so please be patient whilst we await changes in our Convention controls.

"Thank you for your e-mail and for your congratulations as CD for the "African Zone BF". I shall come back to you with my opinion in relation to the South African regulations and Conventions and will do my best to help you. As for ABF, we shall be working together in our NBO's on having a well defined regulations and conventions in agreement with the WBF regulations and the international laws of bridge 2007,and to be consistent with the rest of the world.
With best regards.
Magdy”

Dr. Magdy Shohdy Mesdary
Cairo,Egypt.

Have a good week and a happy Eid to our Muslim friends for the 27th November,

Regards Helen

TRIALS. 10th November

2009-11-09T15:42:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

After a fairly unsuccessful year at the zonals held in Egypt, it was felt that we needed to look at our trials format. As a result a 'trials committee' was formed under the chairmanship of Carol Grunder. They were tasked with finding a format that would produce the best possible teams to represent S.A at the Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup as well as the Mind Sport Games(Previously known as the Olymics) and the Commonwealth Games. In fact a four year plan is what we had in mind.

The proposal in this PDF file is for eveyone's consideration. I look forward to all your thoughts and comments but the closing date for such interaction is the 30th November 2009 as trials for the Commonwealth games would have to be run at the beginning of February so time is of the essence.

Please take this opportunity of voicing your concerns or suggestions.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Helen
helenk@telkomsa.net

3rd November

2009-11-03T02:55:00.000-08:00

Blog 12

The interclub has come and gone, but what a wonderful tournament.
Seeing everyone from all over the country was great. Hopefully we’ll see more teams entering next year.
Bloemfontein was one of the best venues we’ve had in a long time and very central for all who drove down.
I hope you all enjoyed watching the Inter-Provincial on BBO and my grateful thanks to Carol Grunder for undertaking this project.

AT the Bi annual A.G.M I began my report with the following:
‘I have thought long and hard about what the SABF means to all our members and I’m not sure I have any of the answers.’
Well, after being with everyone and listening to all everyone had to say, I believe I do have the answer!!!

We are here to serve our members! It is not only about masterpoints and international competition, but the running of our clubs successfully.
In order to encourage clubs to affiliate, we can offer so much, such as: teaching programmes, arbitration in times of need, and general administration. We have a wealth of experience amongst our bridge players who have offered to assist.
We want our players to all be part of one big family!
After the meeting, I felt that for once in many a long year we are all working together towards a common goal.

After such a successful interclub, we propose starting a BBO interclub league from Thursday the 14th January 2010. It will be a weekly competition, comprising 24 board matches starting at 19.30 in the evening.

The format will be that any affiliated club will enter a team, (If the club has more than 30 tables - 2 teams may enter) the composition will not matter as long as the club undertakes to field the team on a weekly basis. We will be inviting Zimbabwe and Botswana to join us and in fact I have a Skype conference scheduled for Monday and will ask the other African states if they would like to join. We’ll be truly international!

Please indicate your willingness to be part of this tourney and get encourage your clubs to enter with Carol Grunder at grunder.carol@gmail.com.

Warm wishes
Helen

19 October

2009-10-19T04:23:00.000-07:00

The latest news regarding Interclub is that we have 26 teams playing in this event. Our numbers are down from last year when we had 30 teams, but it enables us to play a round-robin of 25 rounds of 8 board matches.

The schedule is as follows:

Thursday 14.00 – 17.30 3 matches; 19.30 - 23.00 3 matches
Friday 09.00 – 12.30 3 matches; 14.00 – 17.30 3 matches; 19.30 - 23.00 3 matches
Saturday 09.00 – 12.30 3 matches; 14.00 – 18.40 4 matches
Sunday 09.00 – 12.30 3 matches; 12.45 Lunch and prizegiving

The Bi-annual SABF A.G.M. will take place immediately after the end of the session on Saturday evening.

This programme means that we will have a long and hard tournament, but I am sure a lot of good bridge and hopefully also a lot of fun for all.

See you there,

Helen

#10 - 13 October

2009-10-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

Greeting all,

I have had a most exciting week trying to get an answer to a question that has puzzled many players: "Can one open a 1nt with a semi-balanced hand? (including a singleton)" Lots of replies were received from a broad spectrum of local players, mainly from those with International experience.

I have also written to David Stevenson (Senior TD in the U.K.) and asked him to peruse our Rules and Regulations that are posted on our web site. He has agreed to do so, but has asked for a little time. He did however state that countries can play any rules they wish and the WBF rules and regulations are for international competitions in particular, but many countries have adopted the WBF standard.

We realize that to change the rules will take time as we have to get a body of players together, that have experienced international and local tournaments, to recommend the changes, but in the meanwhile, with the Inter-provincial and Interclub taking place at the end of this month the SABF have decided to allow the opening of 1NT with semi-balanced hands which may include a singleton. If it becomes part of your system it has to be alerted and a full explanation given. Furthermore, your convention card must state that your 1NT opening/overcall can be semi-balanced and can hold a singleton.

As the Interprovincials will be played using screens, Peter Jackson (TD of the event) has requested that you have a written statement stating ‘can have a singleton’ to be flashed by players on both sides of the screen.

I visited Bloemfontein during the past week and I can tell you that the venue is great - airy, lots of light and there is a great pub - and lunches can be ordered on the premises.

The inter-provincials will be broadcast LIVE on BBO VUgraph, so you can have ringside seats to watch your province battle it out.

InterProvincials Schedule (with hospitality half-time breaks):

1st match: Tuesday 14.00 ending 18.15
2nd match: 19.30 ending 23.45
3rd match: Wednesday 10.00 ending 14.15
4th match: 15.30 ending 19.45
5th match: Thursday 08.30 ending 12.45

These times will be strictly adhered to.

We still have place for teams to enter the Interclub and the closing date is the 16th October.
We presently have 26 teams which will enable us to have a 9- or 10-board round robin.

Look forward to seeing you there,

Helen

#9 - 1st October 2009

2009-10-01T04:12:00.000-07:00

Greeting everyone,

We are now into October and the Inter-Provincial and Interclub events loom ahead.

For the Medwin and Berkowitz starting on Tuesday afternoon the 27th October, we have 6 teams in each which is most gratifying as there in no head scratching to fit the matches in without a bye.

We will play 32 board matches and the provisional times are as follows:

session 1 Tuesday afternoon 14h00 - 17h45
session 2 Tuesday evening 19h45 - 23h30
session 3 Wednesday morning 10h00 - 13h45
session 4 Wednesday afternoon 15h30 - 19h15
session 5 Thursday morning 09h00 - 12h45

The closing date for the interclub is the 16th October. Please can we have your entries in as soon as possible as we cannot plan the schedule unless we know how many clubs are involved and only then do we know how many matches and boards to prepare.

The Bi-annual A.G.M. will take play directly after play on the Saturday night.

Once again a reminder that there are many B & B’s in the area close to the Orangia Bowling Club and the Protea Hotel and the new casino hotel are also in the vicinity. There is a list of B & B’s on this website under Free State Open pairs which is being held on the preceeding weekend and is a Red Point tournament.

Look forward to seeing you all there.

Helen

#8 17-September-2009

2009-09-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

I would like to wish all our Jewish players Shana Tova a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year and Well over the fast.

To our Muslim players after a month of fasting in Ramadaan we wish you Eid Mubarrak .

I thought this snippet I received from Sid Ismail would be of interest.

From a post in Newsgroups on 15-Sept:

In last month's Spingold quarter-finals, Matt Granovetter and Ron Rubin were hauled before a disciplinary committee and given a 30-day probation for excessively slow play. Their opponents were not disciplined.
(Ref: NABC Daily Bridge Bulletin, Aug 2, 2009
http://www.acbl.org/nabc/2009/02/bulletins/db10.pdf ).

Teams in other national events were twice penalized 3 IMPs for having a cell phone in their possession during play.

Sounds like the ACBL has decided to be some muscle behind the regulations.

0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0

#7 - 4 September

2009-09-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

News from Brazil (Senior Team)

- might be outdated as it comes from Peter Terblanche (NPC), but great to get the insights from him.

1st Letter
Despite the fact that the team results are not what we would have wished for at this stage, the team is working really well together and we are all enjoying the cut and thrust of World Championship bridge. We had our best result earlier today against hosts Brazil with Chris Bosenberg, Neville Eber, Brian Marcus and Nick Buratovich scoring a 24/6 win. We are lying near the bottom of the table but are looking forward to the climb up the ladder. We play one of the favourites Australia tomorrow (their team includes the famous bridge author Ron Klinger) and are hoping to emulate the performance of the Boks in
Perth last Saturday. Then on Wednesday we play both the USA1 and USA2 teams so we have a couple of interesting days ahead. The Round Robin stage ends on Saturday and we will need a lot of good wins to qualify for the Quarter Finals.

Besides my role with the SA team I have also taken the opportunity to watch some of the best players in the world at close quarters. This afternoon I sat watched a Bermuda Bowl match between the USA and Morocco. I sat behind the great Eric Rodwell and can only hope that some of his genius rubbed off onto me.

The three sessions of 16 boards each are over and scored by 8pm so we have had time to sample the fare at the local restaurants and discuss the interesting hands of the day. We have found the beef quite outstanding and of course the coffee is some of the best in the world.

Hope that all is well back home, and we will all be keenly awaiting the rugby result on Saturday - as we expected the local TV stations give no coverage to any form of football where the ball is not round.

2nd Letter
The fortunes of the South African Seniors team have turned around since I last emailed you. You have no doubt seen the results on the internet. Yesterday promised to be one of the toughest of the tournament with us playing both of the USA teams. In the first match Neville, Chris, Brian and Nick had a very good draw against USA2 - we actually beat them by 2 IMPS for a 15/15 result. I watched the next match sitting behind Neville and the 8 times world champion Bobby Wolff. The highlight for me was when Wolff was playing in a 3NT contract and Chris falsecarded causing declarer to abandon the obvious winning line of a H finesse through Neville. He tried to execute an endplay that caused him to go down in a contract that was easily made in the other room by Maureen and Val. We won the match 19/11 and I played the same combination in the final match against Argentina which worked well - we won 20/10. We have moved up the leaderboard but are still a long way off 8th spot and a place in the quarter finals.

The match against Japan is on at the moment and after 11 boards Neville, Chris, Brian and Nick are 16/14 up. Hold thumbs for us for the rest of the qualifying matches. Team spirit is high and we are all enjoying the tournament and Sao Paulo. Will go back to the Vugraph Theatre now to watch the end of our match.

0-0-0-0-0

#6 - 1st September

2009-08-31T15:22:00.000-07:00

I discovered Port Elizabeth’s best kept secret!

The P.E. Mini congress hosted 30 teams and 62 pairs and what a successful event! It was their 37th Congress and my congratulations to the organizers of a fabulous weekend.

The most exciting part of this for me was that there are so many bridge players and tournaments in places that I have never ever heard of: Mcgregor, Bedford and Cradock to name a few. I am certainly going to try to make it my business to discover all the bridge that we have in our country and get to know our players that put so much time and effort into offering bridge to all.

Interclub 2009

We are beginning to receive entries for the Interclub and it promises to be a great bridge weekend. All affiliated clubs can send a team and if the club hosts more than 30 tables 2 teams can enter.

For clubs that don’t have as much exposure to bridge as in the bigger centers, it is a wonderful opportunity to play against varied opposition. So get your entries in as soon as possible as we will probably have to limit the event to 30 teams. Remember that there is a list of B & B’s in the area on the SABF website under ‘Free State tournament’.

School Bridge

Carol Grunder in Gauteng has started teaching Mini-Bridge to Grade 6 and Grade 7's, (ages between 11 and 12 years old) at Gordon and Ikage Schools in Alexandra once a week.
Within a couple of lessons the children have learnt to do the following :-
Shuffle, sort and identify the ranking of the suits.
Count the points between the two hands. The pair with the most points declares the hand and dummy is put down before the lead.
Decide on a trump suit and estimate the number of tricks the partnership expect to make.
We reinforce the following:
- lead low from an length/honour or top of a sequence
- 2nd hand plays low, 3rd hand plays high
- lead back partner's suit
So, in effect the children are able to play bridge, without the bidding. Teaching these children is a very rewarding experience and the classroom often resembles a market with laughter, shouting and 'high-fives' !

The response to her plea for teachers has been very encouraging but needless to say there is always a need for more help. If anyone wishes to assist her in this worthwhile project she can be contacted at grunder.carol@gmail.com

Warm wishes,
Helen

#5 - 19th August

2009-08-19T03:44:00.000-07:00

Greeting all,

A summary of what’s been happening in the bridge world:

Firstly Rob Stephens, one of our junior players, is competing in the World Junior Championships in Turkey with a Bulgarian partner. He played in a 13 round 10-board Swiss and acquitted himself admirably. His team was called T42 and they came 12th out of 40 teams!! He is receiving great support from the players at the Links and we feel sure he will go from strength to strength.

Our Seniors team, namely: Chris Bosenberg, Val Bloom, Nick Buratovich, Neville Eber, Maureen Holroyd and Brian Marcus and non-playing captain Peter Terblanche are leaving for Sao Paulo next week to compete in the Seniors Bowl. We wish them every success and a safe return.

A ‘trials’ meeting was held 2 weeks ago and after much discussion the following proposals were tabled:

All trials would be held at least 8 months before the event to allow for coaching and practice as a team.
Requirements for entry into trials:
South African Passport
Attendance at national events
Regular partnerships or committed pairs
Entrants to be regular club players
Four year results in major events.
Open Trials format:
Bermunda Bowl – Teams Trials
World Mindsport games – Pairs trials with 10 or less pairs then pairs trials with teams format.
Womens and SeniorTrials and Commonwealth Games:
With 10 or more pairs – Butler format of 16 board matches with a teams playoff for the 1st 5 pairs. If less then pairs trials with teams format.
A trials sub committee is to be formed to take this project further.

All these proposals are in their infancy, but at least we have a starting point to work from.

Next year the Commonwealth Games and the World pairs is to be held in Philadelphia; both take place in October 2010.

Wishing you all good bridge

Helen

Post 4 - 12th July 2009

2009-07-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

Details for the Inter-provincial and Interclub are emerging and the dates and provisional times are as follows:
Interprov: starts Tuesday 27th at 14.00 and ends Thurs 29th at approx 12.30
Interclub: starts Thursday at 14.00 and ends Sunday 1st Nov at approx 13.00

The venue is the Orangia Bowling Club - it has all the facilities we need; and our hosts will be the Bloemfontein Bridge Club ladies headed by Ria Louw. There are 3 hotels in the vicinity including the new casino hotel. As previously mentioned there is a list of B & B’s on the SABF website and those prices range from R180 per night upwards.

The hotel rates are as follows:

Windmill Casino R890 per double room and R600 in you have a MVG card. Tel no. 051 410 2000
City Lodge R840 per double room. Tel no. 051 444 2974
Protea Hotel R1246 per double room. Tel. 051 412 5400 (busy negotiating, so hopefully will improve)

I believe that Roger Wilson’s negotiations are almost concluded and that we can look forward to Congress being held at Greyville in 2010. The dates still to be confirmed are the week of 7th till 14th May 2010.

For the past 2 years we have held the Interprovincials together with the Interclub and I would like your thoughts on whether we should once again hold the interprovincial with Congress. The format was changed to shorten congress, but now we need a week for the interprov and interclub so I’m not sure we have gained anything timewise. I must admit that I think that the interprovincial has lost some of it’s prestige with this move and I personally would like to see it back where it belongs.

Comments welcome.

Warm regards

Helen

Post 3 - 30th June

2009-07-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

We held our first executive meeting last weekend and the following might be of interest to you:

The Interprovincial and Interclub will be held in Bloemfontein from the 27th October till 1st November. The Free State was chosen so that it could be accessible to all the provinces. There is presently a list of B & B’s posted on the website under the Free State Tournament. The interprov will begin on Tuesday afternoon and run until the Thursday morning. That afternoon the interclub will begin with the final matches being played on the Sunday morning. The schedule of play will depend on the number of teams entered but I will keep you posted.

The Entry Fees are as follows:

Interprovincial: R750 per team
Interclub: R1200 per team.

One of my plans of action for this year is to meet with as many players as possible so that we can exchange ideas and generally work together. I was thrilled to be invited by Knysna to play in the Oyster Festival and the Lagoon tournament. So please let me know when I can visit and meet your members.

Pat Truter is our masterpoint secretary and my thanks go to her for an excellent job of work. She has to masterpoint in the region of 5,000 different events annually and that’s no mean feat. In order to assist her, it was decided to relieve her of all the queries and that Ann Sturrock will be the Communication Liaison Officer regarding masterpoints, so in future please address such to her at annian@iafrica.com. Masterpoints have always been around but I think we need to exploit it further. It was decided that now that we have monthly promotions (thanks to Pat), we would be able to issue certificates to our members achieving the next rung of the ladder.

The different grades are as follows: SABF MASTERPOINT RANKINGS

Masterpoint ranking boundaries as defined and approved at the AGM during the 2002 SABF National Congress.

Member: Below 200 local points (2 Blue points)
Club Master: 200–1000 local points (2-10 blue points)
Local Master: 1000-2500 local points (10-25 blue points)
Master: 2500-5000 local points Provincial Master: 5000-15000 local points (50-150 blue)
National Master: Above 150 total points (Red + Blue) (75 of which HAVE to be RED) and below 300 total points
Life Master: Above 300 total points (150 of which HAVE to be RED) and below 600 total points
National Life Master: 600-1200 total points (300 of which HAVE to be RED)
Premier Life Master: 1200-2000 total points (600 of which HAVE to be RED)
Grand Master: 2000 total points (1200 of which HAVE to be RED)

Keep warm and enjoy your bridge,

Helen

Post 2 - 13th June

2009-07-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

Trials in Egypt

Our teams are all safely back from the African Zonals held in Egypt.

Our Seniors team did us proud finishing second in the zonals and will be representing South Africa in Sao Paulo, Brazil at the end of August.

If you wish to see our players in action, photos have been posted on the SABF website.

Post 1 - 21st May 2009

2009-07-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

Greetings to you all,

2009 CONGRESS

The A.G.M of the SABF was held at the Protea Hotel, The Wilderness, during congress last week.

I accepted the position of President with much trepidation but also a great deal of excitement, at the opportunity of trying give something back to bridge, the game that really changed my life!

We had 315 pairs playing in various tournaments, which was a terrific entry so thanks to all who were there. There is nothing to beat the sense of excitement and comeraderie amongst all and the renewing of old friendships. Perhaps next year we will be able to attract an even bigger entry.

Craig Gower and Alon Apteker ran away with the awards, being the overall winners in the Pairs Championship and winning the Teams event together with Tim Cope and Glen Holman.

We are now looking for a venue for the 2010 Congress so if you have any ideas please let me know!

AFRICA TRIALS

Our 3 teams: Open, Women’s and the Seniors' teams leave for Egypt to compete in the African Zonals starting on 31st May. 2 Teams in each category (from Africa) will qualify to play in the Bermuda Bowl (Open), Venice Cup (Women) and Seniors Champonships in Brazil later on in the year and we wish our teams every success!

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2010

The SABF have been invited to send a team to the Commonwealth Nations Bridge Championships to be held in New Delhi, India from 25th to 31st October 2010.

PLEASE TALK TO ME I look forward to hearing from you, our fellow bridge players, either as comments to posts here on this blog, or via email and my committee and I will endeavour to answer any questions/suggestions from you.

Regards,

Helen