Hi All,
We are really on the final countdown to the National Congress which promises to be a bumper tournament.
We have 60 teams and 148 pairs which is a great entry.
Furthermore, we have no night bridge! And that is an added bonus.
The WPBU are feverishly getting all the I’s dotted and the t’s crossed. Peter Bircher has planned the pairs’ portion of the event down to a fine art and Heidi is very busy organizing her part of the proceedings together with Jan.
I must thank Neil Hayward for offering to do the bulletin at such short notice. It is really appreciated.
Kick-off is at 2.00p.m. on Friday the 11th with registration starting at 12.30p.m.
At the A.G.M there will be a new committee elected and as a result I have created a new e-mail address for the SAB F President so that we can have continuity. The address is: sabf.president@gmail.com and I urge you to all use the address in future.
I have had long discussions with Maccabbi South Africa and they have invited us to send a team next year 2013. The cost however, is quite prohibitive, being R48,000 which includes all flights, accommodation, entry fee and any tours on offer. If you have any interest in representing South Africa please advise us so that we can arrange trials if necessary. Unfortunately this is one event that is closed to players not of Jewish descent.
After congress the next event is the WW Sims in June, that Anna Gudge is handling from the U.K. All clubs have dealt directly with her and I an sure that it will work very smoothly.
The masterpoint cards will be available at congress at long last!
See you soon
Helen
Blog #2, 2012
Hi all,
It sure has been a long time, but I really had nothing to report. Now I have news!
We have just completed the Senior trials. We had two teams enter and it was a 96-board playoff. Interestingly enough there was a move to have the Open and Ladies separate from the Seniors. I believe that was to give players a chance to enter both events. However, the entries for all were very disappointing indeed and I strongly recommend that next year all the trials be held simultaneously.
Congratulations to the winning team: Gordon and Kathy Driver, Val Bloom and Tas Nestoridis and Nelonia Vorster and Jackie Dorfan.
We wish you every success in Lille!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It sure has been a long time, but I really had nothing to report. Now I have news!
We have just completed the Senior trials. We had two teams enter and it was a 96-board playoff. Interestingly enough there was a move to have the Open and Ladies separate from the Seniors. I believe that was to give players a chance to enter both events. However, the entries for all were very disappointing indeed and I strongly recommend that next year all the trials be held simultaneously.
Congratulations to the winning team: Gordon and Kathy Driver, Val Bloom and Tas Nestoridis and Nelonia Vorster and Jackie Dorfan.
We wish you every success in Lille!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We now have our full compliment of teams that will be competing at the World Mind Sports Games in Lille France from the 9th till the 23rd of August, 2012. SASCOC has finalized an agreement with SAA to give all sportsmen, nationally and internationally discounted fares.
At this stage not sure what the deal is but we are actively pursuing this avenue. As you are no doubt aware the cost of competing internationally falls mainly on the shoulders of the actual competitors with a very small subsidy of R5000 per player from the SABF which really doesn’t go very far. What we have always needed and are desperate to find is a sponsor for all these events. But at this stage it is still a pipe dream.
We are fast approaching Congress which promises to be a superb event. The Western Province Bridge Assoc. with Kitty Cruise and Hilary Nick as well as their able team have spent many hours planning and I am sure it will prove to be worth all the manhours involved.
Congress will take place from Friday 11th until the 18th May 2012. We will start at 2.00 p.m. and finish the following week at 12.00 midday to facilitate our members travel home to various distant places. The Kelvin Grove, will I am sure, prove to be an excellent venue.
We can only confirm the actual programme of events once we have received all the entries. We will endeavour to keep sessions at night to a minimum. But this is truly dependent on the number of entries that we receive.
Wishing all ‘Chag Sameach’ and a very Happy Easter
Helen
2012 - Blog #1
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
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
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
I find it hard to believe that we are once again at the end of another year , I have never known one to fly by so quickly.
Bridge has prospered this year and I thank all for all the hard work that has been put into promoting the game. It is very heartening to visit all the clubs and see the renewed interest in the game.
This has also been a year of great interest in masterpoints and the promotions that have taken place. We have had more promotions to Grandmaster during this year than in any other previously, and I congratulate: Di Balkin, Roz Bernstein , Marina Breytenbach and Elywnne Geraghty for this achievement
We also had 24 Premier Life Master promotions and 42 National Life Masters !
Congratulations to all!
The promotion are published on a monthly basis and can be seen on the masterpoint website.
We will be holding trials early in the new year. To date we haven’t heard whether the Mind Sports Games will be taking place, but it seems that if not the MSG the WBF will revert to the Bridge Olympiad held in previous years. We have had 4 ladies teams enter and 2 Open teams .
I want to take this opportunity of wishing all our players a wonderful festive season, safe travel and a very Happy, Healthy and peaceful New Year.
Warm wishes
Helen
#10 - 31 October
I have posted the final draft of our new constitution on the web for your perusal and, if necessary, for any comments you may have.
I want to thank all of those players that took the time to send us their views and in particular I must mention Peter Maybury who obviously spent a lot of time on this project and I’m pleased to say that we were able to include many of his suggestions.
If anyone wishes to discuss any issues before final voting on the adoption of the constitution, please let me have your comments in writing before the 7th November for inclusion in our discussion at the bi-annual A.G.M.
I want to take this opportunity of thanking Sid for the outstanding coverage of the Bermuda Bowl, Venice cup and Seniors. He really brought the whole tournament alive for those of us that were unable to watch all the matches. I have received many letters of congratulations to Sid for his consistent and extremely valuable efforts.
It was indeed unfortunate that our team got off to a rocky start, but that is the nature of the game and hopefully we now can look forward to the World Mind Sports Games to be held next year in Manchester.
The interclub is almost here. We have 26 teams participating and therefore the event will comprise of 25 x 8 board matches. The teams and times of play are on the SABF website for all to see. Please remember the SABF invite you to a dinner at the Sirocco Restaurant on the Friday evening instead of the prizegiving lunch . We will finalise numbers on Thursday afternoon at the tournament. Partners or spouses are more than welcome and the cost of their dinner will be R80.00 per person.
Wishing you all great bridge.
Helen
I want to thank all of those players that took the time to send us their views and in particular I must mention Peter Maybury who obviously spent a lot of time on this project and I’m pleased to say that we were able to include many of his suggestions.
If anyone wishes to discuss any issues before final voting on the adoption of the constitution, please let me have your comments in writing before the 7th November for inclusion in our discussion at the bi-annual A.G.M.
I want to take this opportunity of thanking Sid for the outstanding coverage of the Bermuda Bowl, Venice cup and Seniors. He really brought the whole tournament alive for those of us that were unable to watch all the matches. I have received many letters of congratulations to Sid for his consistent and extremely valuable efforts.
It was indeed unfortunate that our team got off to a rocky start, but that is the nature of the game and hopefully we now can look forward to the World Mind Sports Games to be held next year in Manchester.
The interclub is almost here. We have 26 teams participating and therefore the event will comprise of 25 x 8 board matches. The teams and times of play are on the SABF website for all to see. Please remember the SABF invite you to a dinner at the Sirocco Restaurant on the Friday evening instead of the prizegiving lunch . We will finalise numbers on Thursday afternoon at the tournament. Partners or spouses are more than welcome and the cost of their dinner will be R80.00 per person.
Wishing you all great bridge.
Helen
#9 - 11th October
I want to take this opportunity of wishing our South African Open Team, namely: Alon Apteker, Chris Bosenberg, Bernard Donde, Neville Eber, Craig Gower and Rob Stephens every success in Veldhoven, where they will be competing in the Bermuda Bowl.
I am sure we will all be watching your every move and bid on the BBO coverage and I speak for all when I say that we will be behind you every step of the way.
Go well and return safely!!!
On more mundane matters, a reminder that the entry for the Interclub to be held in Knysna closes Friday, 21st October. It promises to be a great tournament and a wonderful opportunity for all the clubs to compete against each other. Any player wishing to bring a partner along to the Friday evening dinner at Sirroco is more than welcome. The charge for the dinner will be somewhere in the region of R80 per head.
Wishing you all good bridge
Helen
I am sure we will all be watching your every move and bid on the BBO coverage and I speak for all when I say that we will be behind you every step of the way.
Go well and return safely!!!
On more mundane matters, a reminder that the entry for the Interclub to be held in Knysna closes Friday, 21st October. It promises to be a great tournament and a wonderful opportunity for all the clubs to compete against each other. Any player wishing to bring a partner along to the Friday evening dinner at Sirroco is more than welcome. The charge for the dinner will be somewhere in the region of R80 per head.
Wishing you all good bridge
Helen
#8 : 23rd September 2011
Hi All,
I haven’t been able to write my blog for some time now as I had nothing of significance to report.
However, after having our SABF board Meeting this past weekend I have lots to tell now!
Firstly, the Interclub which takes place from Thursday the 10 November till the 13th is being held at Brenton as you all know. Accommodation is posted on the web for all to see but we have made a change regarding the final prizegiving lunch. As most people will be in a hurry to make their way home after the final round of play, we will be having a dinner on the Friday night instead. We have booked out the Sirrocco restaurant on Thierssen Island which I am sure will be great fun as we will all be together with time to enjoy ourselves. The meal is with the compliments of the SABF but regarding drinks, there will be a cash bar. On the Thursday we will get final numbers from all of you to confirm that you will be attending. Heidi has spent an enormous amount of time on this project and came up with this great idea. My thanks to you, Heidi.
Next, we have a draft constitution for all to see on the SABF website and your comments will be most appreciated - to my email - see RHS of this page for address. However, the closing date for these comments will be the 15th October, 2011 and we will then finalise the document and present it at the Bi-annual A.G.M for ratification. Please be aware that after the 15th Oct, no further changes will be entertained.
The Mind Sports Games takes place in Manchester in October 2012. The trials for this event will take place during the week of the 26th January 2012 and entries will close on the 10th December 2011. The entry fee will be R4,400 per team and this fee will be waived for out-of-town teams. Furthermore we will offer accommodation in our homes for any players.
Unfortunately it is impossible to give exact dates until we know how many teams we have to accommodate. The format will be team trials and once again all is dependant on the numbers game. The committee approved the format of a long board round robin. We encourage all those who feel that they have a chance, to enter, however, the SABF retains the right to use the PI Index or masterpoints at their discretion. We will be holding the Seniors trials on the 21st till 25th March 2012 and entries will close on the 10th February 2012. It will be the same format.
Congress 2012 will take place in Cape Town at the Kelvin Country Club from Friday the 11th till Friday the 18th May;
Interprovincials Medwin and Berkowitz will be held on the Weekend the 10th - 12th August 2012 and will be held in Gauteng. As soon as we have confirmed the venue we will let you know.
We are very fortunate to have Mr Eitan Levy, an international tournament director, coming to South Africa and will be holding an accreditation seminar for aspiring directors. The numbers are limited to 6-8 applicants and if you are interested please let me know asap as it will be on a first-come first-serve basis.
Applicants will be required to write a open book pre-exam in January as well as a final exam. The course will take place in Johannesburg on the 25th and 26th February 2012 and will comprise of 5 – 6 sessions, which may include the evenings. The cost of the course will be borne by the SABF.
Carol Grunder is compiling a list of all the red point events for the coming year and we urge all the Unions to please let her have the information so that we can avoid the clashing of events.
In conclusion,
I wish all our Jewish bridge Players a Very Happy New Year and Well over the Fast.
Helen
I haven’t been able to write my blog for some time now as I had nothing of significance to report.
However, after having our SABF board Meeting this past weekend I have lots to tell now!
Firstly, the Interclub which takes place from Thursday the 10 November till the 13th is being held at Brenton as you all know. Accommodation is posted on the web for all to see but we have made a change regarding the final prizegiving lunch. As most people will be in a hurry to make their way home after the final round of play, we will be having a dinner on the Friday night instead. We have booked out the Sirrocco restaurant on Thierssen Island which I am sure will be great fun as we will all be together with time to enjoy ourselves. The meal is with the compliments of the SABF but regarding drinks, there will be a cash bar. On the Thursday we will get final numbers from all of you to confirm that you will be attending. Heidi has spent an enormous amount of time on this project and came up with this great idea. My thanks to you, Heidi.
Next, we have a draft constitution for all to see on the SABF website and your comments will be most appreciated - to my email - see RHS of this page for address. However, the closing date for these comments will be the 15th October, 2011 and we will then finalise the document and present it at the Bi-annual A.G.M for ratification. Please be aware that after the 15th Oct, no further changes will be entertained.
The Mind Sports Games takes place in Manchester in October 2012. The trials for this event will take place during the week of the 26th January 2012 and entries will close on the 10th December 2011. The entry fee will be R4,400 per team and this fee will be waived for out-of-town teams. Furthermore we will offer accommodation in our homes for any players.
Unfortunately it is impossible to give exact dates until we know how many teams we have to accommodate. The format will be team trials and once again all is dependant on the numbers game. The committee approved the format of a long board round robin. We encourage all those who feel that they have a chance, to enter, however, the SABF retains the right to use the PI Index or masterpoints at their discretion. We will be holding the Seniors trials on the 21st till 25th March 2012 and entries will close on the 10th February 2012. It will be the same format.
Congress 2012 will take place in Cape Town at the Kelvin Country Club from Friday the 11th till Friday the 18th May;
Interprovincials Medwin and Berkowitz will be held on the Weekend the 10th - 12th August 2012 and will be held in Gauteng. As soon as we have confirmed the venue we will let you know.
We are very fortunate to have Mr Eitan Levy, an international tournament director, coming to South Africa and will be holding an accreditation seminar for aspiring directors. The numbers are limited to 6-8 applicants and if you are interested please let me know asap as it will be on a first-come first-serve basis.
Applicants will be required to write a open book pre-exam in January as well as a final exam. The course will take place in Johannesburg on the 25th and 26th February 2012 and will comprise of 5 – 6 sessions, which may include the evenings. The cost of the course will be borne by the SABF.
Carol Grunder is compiling a list of all the red point events for the coming year and we urge all the Unions to please let her have the information so that we can avoid the clashing of events.
It is with great sadness, we note the passing of Val Pearce who was an integral part of bridge in South Africa. From the early years when I first played in a congress she was there always with a wonderful smile on her face and an amazing love of life. She will be truly missed.
In conclusion,
I wish all our Jewish bridge Players a Very Happy New Year and Well over the Fast.
Helen
2011 Blog #7 dated 30 July
I wish to take this opportunity of wishing all our Muslim
bridge players and friends Ramadan Mubarak!
bridge players and friends Ramadan Mubarak!
It is hard to believe how the year is whizzing by and we are now in the second half of the year!
Gauteng Bridge Union hosted a highly successful tournament in Sun City. This is its second year and we all hope that it grows from strength to strength. We must congratulate Joe Zindel , who was the driving force behind this venture and successfully negotiated sponsorship of R100,000 from Sun City and also put our bridge name on the map for future large prize money tournaments.
We are waiting with anticipation as to the venue for our congress next year. It will be held in Cape Town under the auspices of the Western Cape Union. The dates presently on the table are: Friday the 27th April 2012 till Friday the 6th May. These dates will incorporate two public holidays which will mean only four days off work for those that need to take leave.
It was agreed at our A.G.M that we would allocate a weekend for the Interprovincial, Medwin and Berkowitz as a stand-alone tournament. This is on the cards for next year and dates have to be allocated.
I’m also pleased to say that we have had our first meeting with a Constitution lawyer and have our first draft which obviously needs a lot of work and it has been sent to all the unions for their very valued comments. These comments must be sent to either Mark Oliff or myself before the 15th August and then its back to the lawyer for a re-work. We have set a deadline to have our new constitution ready for ratification at our bi-annual A.G.M which is to be held in Southern Cape at Brenton Community Hall (Knysna) in November.
The entry form for Interclub is on the sabf-website as well as accommodation details, so please get your entries into Roz as soon as possible. The sooner we know how many teams we are catering to, the sooner we can advise times of play, so please don’t wait until the deadline to enter!
We look forward to seeing all the clubs from Western and Eastern Cape, Border and naturally Southern Cape. Our aim is to try and move all our national tournaments around the country to enable players in all our provinces to be part of our bridge family.
Wishing you all good bridge.
Helen
#6 - 6 July 2011
I have just caught my breath from our trip to Tunisia.
As I am the secretary of the African Bridge Federation, I was sponsored by the ABF to attend the zonals and needless to say help with the running of the tournament and attend the various meetings.
It was a fabulous venue and a great tournament. Our Open team certainly did us proud by taking first place and the gold medal and will be representing Africa Zone 8 together with Egypt.
Our teams always stood out in their uniform of black or white T-shirts with the South African Flag and we were all welcomed with open arms by the other teams. Of course, all the other teams mostly spoke French and this made things a little awkward, but we all managed to make ourselves understood.
At the opening ceremony our president, Bernard Pascal, addressed the players in French and Arabic, but at the same time had a powerpoint presentation running in English which was so very well done and we didn’t feel in the least bit left out.
Both Reunion and Egypt put in a bid for the 2013 zonals and it was decided that Reunion should have a chance to host the event. By the way, I was horrified to see that the budget was for €39,000, which as you know equates to almost R400,000. That certainly put paid to any thoughts of South Africa hosting such an event unless we had a very generous sponsor.
I must thank Sid for the superb coverage of the event. Results were out almost immediately as well as bulletins were available for all to read to keep in touch with our players.
Finally... what is the World Championships all about? Read it here.
#5 - 31 May 2011
The Nationals held in Hazyview will go down in our history books as one of the greatest get-togethers we have ever experienced. Having all the players under one roof for the meals just added to the whole ambience. My thanks go to Tim and Craig who conducted informal ‘chats’ about the hands that were played during each day. We had 40 teams and 96 pairs which for an out of city venue was really good and to all of you who managed to be there I thank for making it such a special event.
Futhermore, who would have believed that we would play bridge in a garden on grass with trees growing around us. Yes, we were sheltered from the elements by a beautiful marquee, that thanks to Colin’s ingenuity, fitted all of us in relative comfort.
We ended off with a great party which continued well into the early hours of the morning. Now we have to start planning for the next one which will hopefully take place in Cape Town. I have no further information on this as Kitty Cruise has offered to find a venue and she will then be able to give us dates.
The Interprovincials was a great disappointment in terms of the amount of teams that entered the Berkowitz. In fact at close of entry we had only 2 teams. Fortunately we managed to get 2 more and I thank Knysna and Johannesburg for entering to make it a worthwhile competition. I would really like the provinces to let me know what problems they experienced in fielding a team. In light of this, we took a decision to hold the Interprovincials as a stand-alone tournament over a weekend and next year it will be held in Port Elizabeth, once again dates to be advised. Perhaps August would be a good month between nationals and interclub.
Our A.G.M. was held with a record attendance, there eventually was standing room only and we have incorporated a representative from each province to stand on the council. All the details of your councilors are on the web.
My president’s report is available for those who wish to read it.
In just over 2 weeks our three teams leave for Tunisia to take part in the zonals and I’m sure that they will all meet with success. Today I spoke to the president of the African Bridge Federation who in turn spoke to the Tunisian Federation who assured him that all was peaceful in Tunisia, all the more so because they have moved their general election from July to October. But we are in constant contact until closer to departure date.
Regards
Helen
Futhermore, who would have believed that we would play bridge in a garden on grass with trees growing around us. Yes, we were sheltered from the elements by a beautiful marquee, that thanks to Colin’s ingenuity, fitted all of us in relative comfort.
We ended off with a great party which continued well into the early hours of the morning. Now we have to start planning for the next one which will hopefully take place in Cape Town. I have no further information on this as Kitty Cruise has offered to find a venue and she will then be able to give us dates.
The Interprovincials was a great disappointment in terms of the amount of teams that entered the Berkowitz. In fact at close of entry we had only 2 teams. Fortunately we managed to get 2 more and I thank Knysna and Johannesburg for entering to make it a worthwhile competition. I would really like the provinces to let me know what problems they experienced in fielding a team. In light of this, we took a decision to hold the Interprovincials as a stand-alone tournament over a weekend and next year it will be held in Port Elizabeth, once again dates to be advised. Perhaps August would be a good month between nationals and interclub.
Our A.G.M. was held with a record attendance, there eventually was standing room only and we have incorporated a representative from each province to stand on the council. All the details of your councilors are on the web.
My president’s report is available for those who wish to read it.
In just over 2 weeks our three teams leave for Tunisia to take part in the zonals and I’m sure that they will all meet with success. Today I spoke to the president of the African Bridge Federation who in turn spoke to the Tunisian Federation who assured him that all was peaceful in Tunisia, all the more so because they have moved their general election from July to October. But we are in constant contact until closer to departure date.
Regards
Helen
#4 - 1st May 2011
We are only 2 weeks away from our National Congress and I can report the following:
- We have 94 pairs competing as well as 40 teams.
- The playing times are on the web as well as the names of all that have entered.
- Sid has done an amazing job on the SABF website for which we thank him!
- The hotel is Gung ho and ready for us and I believe that we will have a great time.
- The only blot on this copybook is that the teams players will be unable to vote, but the pairs that wish to, can obtain a special voting priviledge to vote on the 16th or 17th May.
Competed forms must be handed into the IEC on or before the 3rd May 2011. Please print this form, complete, then fax or scan & email to Timothy Truluck, as he has offered to deliver the applications in person. His fax number is 086 535 1568 and his e mail address is ttruluck@gmail.com .
The Interprovincial Teams event will comprise of 5 teams competing in the Medwin and 4 Berkowitz teams. Play will begin at 2.00p.m. on Thursday the 12th May and a second session on Thursday night.
There will be 3 sessions on Friday starting at 9.30 in the morning.
Look forward to seeing you in Hazyview !
Helen
#3 - 8th April 2011
Hello All,
I can’t believe that we are only 6 weeks away from Congress.
Unfortunately we cannot publish final details regarding times for the interprovincial, teams or pairs until the last entry is received on the 25th April, 2011.
The Hotel Numbi is fully booked, but there is still place at the Hippo Hollow down the road, which will offer a shuttle to and from the venue. This promises to be a congress as we used to know it with all the players having the opportunity to enter into discussions with the ‘greats’ in the cozy pub every evening.
We will be playing on the Saturday Afternoon and prizegiving will take place that evening with a dinner dance. There will be game drives, spas etc on offer for partners that are not actually playing in the event. If there are any pairs that are looking for another pair to enter the teams, please let me know and I will certainly do my best to play matchmaker.
We are privileged to have Jeanne Meiraker from the Netherlands to be our Chief tournament director and I am sure we will all benefit from her vast expertise and experience.
The one dampener of this congress is that when we booked the venue some 10 months ago, we were unaware of the election dates and although I have written to the Independent Electoral Commission we are at this point unable to cast any sort of special votes prior to leaving for Hazyview.
The Zonals are still on track to be held in Tunisia and after much debate all the teams have agreed to go unless there is a deterioration in that country. Unfortunately Jackie Dorfan and Nelonia Vorster are unable to compete due to family matters and therefore the Seniors team will comprise of four members for the zonals and if they qualify, Peter Terblanche and Vernon Rice will join them in Holland.
I think that you will agree that the Bridge Forum is a great success and I must thank Sid for the outstanding job that he has done in keeping all the panelist on track and managing all the questions that we have received from you, the players. "Thank you!" to all the panelists for the amazing depth that you have given to all your answers, we really have all learnt so much. We will endeavour to rotate the panelists so that the job does not become too onerous and we presently welcome Leif Stabell on to the panel as he has replaced Neville Eber.
That’s all for now.
Helen
#2 - 11th March
So sorry I haven’t been online for some time, but the trials and the subsequent correspondence with every man and his dog kept me either answering e-mails or actually avoiding the computer.
The Senior Trials have produced a really stunning result with Gordon and Kathy Driver, Nelonia Vorster and Jack Dorfan and Val Bloom and Tas Nestoridis, representing South Africa at the Zonals. We wish them well and know that they will be successful.
When I took the chair nearly 2 years ago, I thought that the best way to handle trials, was to ask the players to form a sub committee and submit their recommendations to the SABF. The trials format was published on the web in May 2010 for all to see and give comment.
It is indeed a pity that no-one bothered to read the final document and when the trialists were advised of the format the proverbial hit the fan. From December onward I have been inundated with e-mails that have made my SABF life unbearable and made me aware that there is a life other than the trials, because quite frankly, I thought that my job entailed other issues which have now been seriously neglected not to mention my family life.
I realize that it is time to look at a very serious succession plan which must be put into place at the next Annual General Meeting to be held in May at congress. We need you the members, to come forward if you are willing to give something back to bridge and get yourselves onto local committees and then the greatest challenge of all, the SABF. I have requested that all the unions let us have their nominations for all the positions that are available.
‘We need you!’ as Uncle Sam would say.
The zonals will be held In Tunisia as originally planned. Have had meetings with the African Federation President, Bernard Pascal, and the Tunisian Federation assures us that it is perfectly safe and they look forward to hosting this event.
Before we look around, Congress will be upon us. Please make sure that you enter timeously as the sooner we have entries, the sooner we can let you all know the schedule of events. If you wish to use the bus that will be provided, please book on your entry form so that we can make provision for all who wish to use the service.
When filling in the entry form please let us have your SABF number as looking up one is manageable but looking up 40 – 50 can lead to a lot of extra work for Roz who is taking in the entries.
Hopefully I am now back on track,
Warm wishes
Helen
#1 - 2011 - 31 January
The Open and Women’s trials are over but we still have the Seniors’ trials coming up on the weekend of the 11th February.
Congratulations to the winning teams:
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
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:
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
I am so excited! I was looking in the Bridge Forum site and was blown away by what I saw.
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
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
We have just spent a wonderful weekend in Cape Town playing in the interclub.
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:
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
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
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
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