#6 - 6 July 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#5 - 31 May 2011

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

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

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


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


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


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


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

Regards

Helen

#4 - 1st May 2011

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

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



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



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



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



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

Look forward to seeing you in Hazyview !

Helen

#3 - 8th April 2011

Hello All,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That’s all for now.

Helen

#2 - 11th March

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hopefully I am now back on track,

Warm wishes

Helen

#1 - 2011 - 31 January

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


Congratulations to the winning teams:

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


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

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

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

That’s all for now,

Helen

#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:

‘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 '