News Archive
We will be holding a heat of the National Pairs on the 23rd of January at the Droitwich Rugby Club. The EBU has reduced their entry fee to try and encourage more entrants so we have decided that we will not run an Open Pairs as well on that night. Thus everyone will be playing in the National Pairs Qualifier and we will be able to send more pairs to the Regional Finals on Sunday the 18th of March. The Committee has agreed that the County will pay the EBU entry fee for Members of the WCBA so they will only pay the normal table money. Visitors from other Counties will be asked to pay £3 table money.
At the Blackpool Year End Congress Sue Lane & Paul Tapster came 3rd in the Mixed Pairs whilst Val Kennewell & Dennis Loynes came 7th. In the Swiss Teams John Sansom, Pam Pearce, Jimmy Ledger & Maureen Hannah came 4th=.
In the County Match against Gloucestershire all 3 teams lost by scores of 0-20, 7-13 & 2-18 respectively.
There was an error in the scores from the Mixed Pairs which has changed the result and there is now a tie for first place. The winners of the trophy are Ken Carpenter & Marian Wilcox on a split tie from Nick & Steph Forward. Full Results (Scores amended 6/12/11 17.00)
The Healey Cup has been won by a team from Wyeside Bridge Club consisting of Steve Booth, Chris Thomas, John Griffiths and George Barrett. Full Results
The latest issue of the Worcestershire Bridge News is now available. (November/December Edition) (The editorial team apologise for minor errors in the emailed version - South did not hold 16 cards in the hand from the Grand Prix Teams!)
In the County Match against Derbyshire the 1st team won 13-7, the 2nd team lost 0-20 & the 3rd team lost 5-15.
The WCBA Mixed Teams was won by Sue Lane, Marian Wilcox, Sue Evans & Dennis Loynes. Full Results
Results of Malvern Congress Swiss Pairs
Results of Malvern Congress Swiss Teams
At the Bridge Overseas Congress in Kos Marian Wilcox & Dennis Loynes won the Pre-Congress Pairs and Pam Pearce & John Sansom won the Mixed Pairs. Richard Jephcott, playing with former Worcestershire player Richard Wharton, came 3rd in the Swiss Pairs, narrowly missing out on winning the event. Finally, John Sansom, Pam Pearce, Richard Jephcott & Dodo Georgevic won the Swiss Teams.
In the County Match against Staffs & Shrops the 1st team drew, the 2nd team won 17-13 & the 3rd team won 19-1.
The Irene Allen Non-Expert Swiss Pairs was won by Paul Slater & Martin Gill with the Richard Lewis Trophy being won by Wendy & Eric Silverstone Full Results
Nick Forward & Dennis Loynes won the Mens Pairs at the Guernsey Congress. Full Congress Results
The Ladies Pairs was won by Pam Pearce & Susan Sharp whilst the Mens Pairs was won by Steve Allerston & Nick Forward. Full Results
The EBU are introducing Blue Points from January 2013. Both Clubs and Counties will be able to award Blue Points at a limited number of licenced, 2-session events that are open to any EBU Member. Also, EBU Simultaneous Pairs events will award Blue Points rather than Green Points. For ranking purposes, they can be considered to be equivalent to one third of a Green Point, up to a maximum of fifty Green Points. Letter from the EBU Further details
It is with great sadness that the death of Mike Brettell on September 4th 2011 is reported. He had been a member of Worcestershire for many years, having played at the Raven in Droitwich and represented us in many County Matches. Our condolences go to his wife Jan and their family. The funeral will be on Thursday 15th Sept at Gornal Cemetery at 2.50 pm, and afterwards at The Dudley Arms in Himley (opposite the Himley House Hotel).
The draw for the 22nd Rubber Bridge Competition has been made. In the first phase pairs have been put into 16 groups of 2 or 3 pairs with the winning pair going through to the knock-out stages. Full draw
In the County match against Lincolnshire the 1st Team won 16-4, the 2nd Team won 18-2 & the 3rd team won 11-9.
Jimmy Ledger & David Thomas came 2nd out of over 2,500 pairs in the BGB Summer Simultaneous Pairs held on the 25th of July.
Pam Pearce and John Sansom won the Mixed Pairs at the Brighton Congress.
In the County match against Lincolnshire the 1st Team won 16-4, the 2nd Team won 18-2 & the 3rd team won 11-9.
Jimmy Ledger & David Thomas came 2nd out of over 2,500 pairs in the BGB Summer Simultaneous Pairs held on the 25th of July.
Pam Pearce and John Sansom won the Mixed Pairs at the Brighton Congress.
John Sansom & Richard Jephcott have won the Seniors Pairs. Full Results
The Entry Form for the 2011/12 Charity Knock-out Rubber Bridge Competition is now available. There is also a Charity Knock-out Rubber Bridge Poster available to put on noticeboards.
At the Cheltenham mid-week Congress John Sansom, Richard Jephcott, Mike Theelke & Dodo Georgevic came 2nd= in the Swiss Teams
We are sad to report that having had a massive stroke the previous week Arthur Williams passed away early on the 17th of May. The funeral will be on Thursday the 2nd of June at 2.15 at Hereford Crematorium followed by refreshments nearby afterwards. The family would like some idea of the number of peope who might attend so could you please let Joyce Skelton know if you intend to come on 01684 563127 or wcbasec@yahoo.co.uk. Family flowers only and donations in lieu to St. Richard's Hospice. Full obituary for Arthur Williams
Following the AGM the new Chairman is David Thomas, the new Treasurer is Dennis Loynes and the new Secretary is Paul Hammond. Pictures from AGM
A team from the Worcester Bridge Club have qualified to play in the National Final of the Garden Cities Competition. The players were Jimmy Ledger, David Thomas, Richard Jephcott, John Sansom, Nick Forward, Steve Allerston, Mel Downing & Ross Garratt.
The Chairmans Cup was won by Steve Simmons & Barry Tyrell. Full Results
Richard Jephcott & John Sansom came 2nd in the Swiss Pairs at the Shropshire Congress.
Jimmy Ledger & Maureen Hannah were joint winners of the Swiss Pairs at the Jersey Congress, tying with 3 other pairs. In the final match they beat the long time leaders 17-3 and the other top match finished 13-7 which meant that all 4 pairs finished on the same score. Unfortunately Jimmy & Maureen did not win the split tie and hence the cup but the total prize money was shared.
Susan Sharp & Pam Pearce won the Ladies Pairs at the Cheltenham Congress.
We are sad to report that Peter Edwards passed away on the 29th of April. The funeral is on 11th May at 1.30pm at Stourbridge Crematorium, South Road, Stourbridge, DY8 3RQ and afterwards at The Old Edwardian Club, Dane Tree Court, Drury Lane, Stourbridge, DY8 1BL. Full obituary for Peter Edwards
The Chairman's Cup will be played on the 12th of May at the British Legion Club in Worcester, which is where the Worcester Bridge Club meet. This is a fun competion for newcomers who have learnt bridge within the last 5 years. Full Details (Map showing location of British Legion Club)
The Grand Prix Teams has been won by Worcester Grant (Sue Evans, Dennis Loynes, Susan Sharp, Jean & Jessie Newton; Subs: Richard Jephcott). In the final heat they improved the total of their best five scores to tie with Three Retirees and a Worker but because they scored better in the final heat they win the split tie. Full Results
The first County Match of the season was due to be played on the 8th of May but this has now been postponed, partly because of the clash with the re-arranged Shewsbury Congress.
Apology from the Chairman of WCBA
I would just like to express my apologies to all the Phillipps Finalists on Monday night. Unfortunately we were not able to hold the final at Droitwich and we had to choose a different venue. We thought that Stoke Prior would work for us but in the event it proved to be far too noisy and other standards were not up to much either. Please rest assured that it will not happen again as the Committee has decided to ensure that future finals will be played at Droitwich. In addition, a few players turned up for an Open Pairs event and did not get a game. Again, my apologies; this has not happened before. For those players concerned we will not charge you the next time you come to Droitwich. Next year the Phillipps Final will be restricted to 5 tables ensuring that there will be enough pairs for an Open Pairs event the same night.
Richard Jephcott
The Phillipps Final was won by Veronica Enticknap & Ronnie Moore. Full Results
The Garden Cities Qualifier has been won by Worcester Sauce. Full Results of Garden Cities Qualifier Winners with Ron Allen trophy
John & James Dow beat Mike Vetch & Alan Reid in the final of the Rubber Bridge Knockout Competition by 120 points, making 4 Spades on the last hand.
Jimmy Ledger & David Thomas have won the Veterans Pairs and actually finished 15% ahead of 2nd place. Full Results
The Pairs Ladder has been won by Steve Allerston & Nick Forward. They were not playing in the final heat but Richad Jephcott and John Sansom did not do well enough to overtake them and had to be content with 2nd place. Final Positions
In the last County Match of the season against Oxfordshire the 1st team lost 0-20, the 2nd team won 17-3 & the 3rd team lost 7-13.
John Williams was taken ill playing chess on the 14th of March at the DWMC, two of the players in our event helped adminster first aid and an ambulance was called for. We subsequently heard the sad new that John had passed away and our thoughts and condolences are with his family. The funeral arrangements are 29th March, 11:30 for 11:45am at Redditch Crematorium.
Richard Jephcott & John Sansom finished at the the top of the Phillipps averages. Please note that the final will be played at the Stoke Prior Sports & Country Club which is where Bromsgrove now play.
The WCBA Championship Teams has been won by Stewart Fishburne, Paul Hammond, Joyce Skelton & Arthur Williams.
Jimmy Ledger and David Thomas have won the WCBA Championship Pairs Full Results
The Club Championship Pairs was won by Richard Jephcott & John Sansom representing the Worcester Bridge Club. Veronica Enticknap & Ronnie Mooor, representing Evesham, lead at half time and finished 2nd. Full Results of Club Championship Pairs
The Masterpoint awards for 2010 can now be found on the EBU Website. They have also worked out which player has won the most Masterpoints in each Club and awarded prizes to some of them by drawing names at random. Ray Foulds was the top of the Worcester Bridge Club list and won £200.
Worcestershire Masterpoint records Club Champions 2010
The draw for the quarter finals of the Charity Knock-out Rubber Bridge Competition has been made with matches to be played by the 15th of March. Rubber Bridge Knock-out Draw
In the County Match against Nottinghamshire the 1st team drew 10-10 having led until the last set, the 2nd team won 15-5 & the 3rd team won 14-6.
In the County Match against Gloucestershire the 1st team lost 4-16, the 2nd team lost 1-19 but the 3rd team did very well winning 19-1.
In the first session of the Midland Counties Congress Worcestershire had a clean sweep with Sue Evans & Stephanie Forward winning the Ladies Pairs, Dennis Loynes & Nick Forward winning the Mens Pairs, Steve & Val Kennewell winning the Mixed Pairs and Dick & Jane Rutter winning the Flitch. Full Results of Midland Counties Congress
At the Year End Congress in Blackpool Sue Evans, Dennis Loynes, Val & Steve Kennewell came 2nd in the Swiss Teams. Full Blackpool Results
The first edition of the new style online Club Focus can be found here.
In the County Match against Derbyshire the 1st team lost 4-16, the 2nd team lost 2-18 but the 3rd team did very well, winning 20-0.
The WCBA Mixed Pairs was won by Pam Pearce & John Sansom for the 4th year in a row. Full results
The WCBA Committee is sad to announce the death of Ramsay Baxter who was almost 100 years old. He had been a stalwart of the County for many years and played in WCBA competitions well into his 80's.
The Healey Cup has been won by Dennis Loynes, Ray Foulds, Sue Evans & Marian Wilcox from Worcester Bridge Club who won every match. In 2nd place were a team from Marcle and in 3rd place a team from Wyeside. Full Results
Here are the notes from the BridgePad training session. BridgePad Tutorial
In the County Match against Staffordshire & Shropshire the 1st & 2nd teams both won 20-0 whilst the 3rd team drew 10-10.
The County Mixed Teams has been won by Robert Chilimonczyk, Mike Vetch, Dick & Jane Rutter. Full Results
The Swiss Teams at the Malvern Congress has been won by Sujan Kumar Kundu, Ben Green, Steve Wood & Mike Leese with the highest placed non-expert team being Maureen Hannah, Mike Vetch, Andy Cullen & Rufus Ulyet. Full Results
The Swiss Pairs at the Malvern Congress was won by Nick Forward & Steve Allerston whilst Mike Heard & Dave Philpott were the highest placed non-expert pair. Full Results
| At the EBU Overseas Congress in Crete Jimmy Ledger, Maureen Hannah, Paul Tapster & Paul Hammond won the Swiss Teams with 157 VPs out of 200, a match clear of the team finishing 2nd. In the Swiss Pairs Sue Evans & Dennis Loynes finished 5th and in the Ladies Pairs Heidi Collier & Georgina Lineker came 3rd. | |
In the County Match against Lincolnshire the 1st Team lost 6-14, the 2nd Team won 17-3 & the 3rd Team won 13-7
The Irene Allen Non-Expert Swiss Pairs been won by Barry Brice & Roy Withers with Angela Cowdry & Peter Adams taking the Richard Lewis Trophy. Full Results
At the Gloucestershire/Herefordshire Green Point Swiss Teams Sue Lane, Marian Wilcox, Arthur Williams & Dodo Georgevic won with Jimmy Ledger, David Thomas, Nick Forward & Steve Allerston coming second. The highest placed Worcestershire pair in the Swiss Pairs were Joyce Skelton & John Sansom who came 5th.
Brian & Carol Varley have won the Seniors Pairs at the Guernsey Congress.
Congratulations to Linda Gervis & Steph Forward who have won the Ladies Pairs and Stewart Fishburne & Mike Willoughby who have won the Men's Pairs.
Joyce Skelton, Sandy Davies, Pam Pearce & Lyndsay Geddes won the Swiss Teams at the National Womens Teams.
The draw for the 1st round of the Charity Knock-out Rubber Bridge Competition has now been made with matches to be played by the 20th of October. Rubber Bridge Knock-out Draw
The closing date for entries to the Charity Knock-out Rubber Bridge Competition is the the 27th of August. (Press coverage) (Entry Form)
David Williams was in Taipei as part of the Cambridge University Team playing in the World University Bridge Championships. The Cambridge Team finished 9th out of 14 teams and there is a lot more information on the competition website.
After the question of hosts for County Nights was discussed at the AGM the Committee has re-introduced a host rota which is being managed by Alan Reid. The rota starts on the 2nd of August and the hosts for the next few months can be seen on the "Rotas" tab.
John Sansom & Pam Pearce came 2nd in the Notts Green Pointed Swiss Pairs and the following day won the Swiss Teams with Joyce Skelton & Sandy Davies.
Here are the slides which were used at the Club Reps Meeting on the 17th of July. Presentation
In the County Match against Warwickshire the 1st team lost 1-19, the 2nd team drew 10-10 & the 3rd team lost 5-15.
The Seniors Pairs was won by Nick Forward & Steve Allerston with a score of over 70%. Mike Willoughby & Stewart Fishburne had started strongly but could only manage 63% in the end. Full Results
The top 3 pairs from our Championship Pairs Final played in the Corwen in June with reasonable success. John Sansom & Richard Jephcott came 5th with Jimmy Ledger & David Thomas close behind in 9th. Full Results
Jimmy Ledger & John Sansom won the Swiss Pairs at the Welsh Seniors Congress.
The final edition of Club Focus in its current format can be found here.
A team representing the Worcester Bridge Club have progressed to the quarter finals of the NICKO, beating a strong Manchester team in the previous round. The player are John Sansom, Richard Jephcott, Nick Forward, Steve Allerston and Ross Garratt
In the first County Match of the new season against Leicestershire the 1st team lost 8-12, whilst the 2nd & 3rd teams both lost 1-19.
At the SBU Overseas Congress in Majorca there were some local successes. The highlights of these were that Sue Evans & Dennis Loynes playing with Val & Steve Kennewell won the Swiss Teams as well as one of the sections in the Open Teams. Brian & Carol Varley were 2nd= in the Swiss Teams and 2nd in one of the sections of the Open Teams, playing with teammates from other Counties. Val & Steve Kennewell also won the Swiss Pairs. In the Pre-Congress Pairs Steve Kennewell & Dennis Loynes won their section followed by Carol & Brian Varley. Full Results
The WCBA Charity Rubber Bridge Knock-Out has again been won by Paul Hooker and Mike Holmes, beating Jessie Newton & John Turner in the final.
Stewart Fishburne & Mike Willoughby have won the Pairs Ladder with a very strong second half of the season. Despite winning the final heat Mike Vetch and Dick Rutter could not keep the lead that they had held all season. Final Positions
David Williams was a member of the Cambridge University team which won the Portland Bowl. Victorious Cambridge Team
The Phillipps Final has been won by Dick & Jane Rutter. Full Results
The Garden Cities Qualifier was won by Worcester A (Jimmy Ledger, David Thomas, John Sansom, Pam Pearce, Nick Forward, Steve Allerston, Ross Garratt & Mel Downing. Full results Winning Team
The Chairman's Cup was won by Diana MacMasters & Pauline Perry. Full results
The WCBA Closed Teams was won by THOMPSON (Ian Thompson, Sue Page, John Turner, Mike Willoughby, Simon Harrison, Pete Edwards) who beat JEPHCOTT (Richard Jephcott, John Sansom, Mike Theelke, Grahame Weir) in the final.
In the final match of the season, against Nottinghamshire, the 1st team won 18-2, the 2nd team won 13-7 and the 3rd team lost 6-14.
The Veteran Pairs was won by Jessie Newton & John Turner. Full Results
The Championship Pairs was won by Richard Jephcott & John Sansom. Full Results
David Williams, having played with Peter Ford in the Junior Camrose, went on to play in the Varsity Bridge Match against Oxford the next week with Cambridge caming out on top. Victorious Cambridge Team
After the last heat of the Grand Prix Teams there was a tie for 1st place between 3 Retirees and a Worker (Joyce Skelton, Arthur Williams, Ross Garratt & Mel Downing and Black Pears (Lyn Jackson, Paul Tapster, Simon Harrison, Ian & Georgina Lineker).
The new edition of Tournament Focus, in a new on-line format, can be found here.
The Club Championships Pairs has been won convincingly by Georgina & Ian Lineker. Full Results
In the County Match aganst Derbyshire the 1st team won 15-5, the 2nd team lost 6-14 and the 3rd team lost 5-15.
At the Midlands Counties Congress Sue Lane & Marian Wilcox were 2nd, and Sue Evans & Steph Forward 3rd in the Ladies Pairs. In the Mixed Pairs Joyce Skelton & John Sansom were 3rd and Suzanne Griffin & Alan Reid 5th.
In the Mixed Teams, Sue Evans, Dennis Loynes, Steph & Nick Forward came 2nd in defence of the trophy they won last year.
In the Championship Pairs, Sue Evans & Dennis Loynes were 6th, with Sue Lane & Arthur Williams 8th=. In the Swiss Pairs Jane & Dick Rutter were 3rd.
John Sansom, Richard Jephcott, Mike Theelke & Grahame Weir won the Championship Teams B Final.
For full results see the MCC website.
After a short illness Sue Page passed away on the 29th of December. Sue was well known within the County and was a previous Secretary of the Association. Funeral service for family only, donations can be sent to St Richards Hospice.
At the Blackpool Year End Congress Dick & Jane Rutter came 3rd in the Mixed Pairs.
In the County Match against Staffordshire all 3 teams won with scores of 17-3, 18-2 & 15-5 respectively.
The WCBA Mixed Pairs was won by Pam Pearce & John Sansom for the 3rd year in a row. Full Results
The Healey Cup was won by Robin Lewis, Paul Smith, Steve Booth & Chris Chowney representing Hereford Bridge Club. Full Results
Worcestershire came 6th in their Tollemache qualifying group.
In the County Match against Lincolnshire the 1st team won 13-7, the 2nd team won 20-0 & the 3rd team lost 6-14.
The WCBA Mixed Teams was won by Sue Page, Simon Harrison, John Turner & Ian Thompson. Full Results
The Malvern Swiss Pairs was won by Grahame Weir & Mike Theelke who came from behind, beating David Thomas & Jimmy Ledger 19-1 in the final match. Full results Hands printout Winning Pair Winning Non Expert Pair
Results of Malvern Swiss Teams (Winning Team) (Winning Non Expert Team)
Congratulations to Peter Ford and David Williams who have been selected to play for England in the Junior Camrose in February, having finished 4th in the trials. David and Peter began playing bridge with Mike Vetch at RGS Worcester in 2005 and then played at the Worcester Bridge Club and in various County events.They are now at Cambridge University and earlier this year played for Cambridge University II in the Portland Bowl, where they were 3rd.
