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
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:
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Breaking news!!!!!!!!!!
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
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
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
Well Congress is almost upon us and we have had an incredible entry of 54 teams and 148 pairs!
Just a few pointers:
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
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