WBU PRSIDENT Andrea Knox WBU Chief Administrators Liz Commins Rachel Oliver |
PORTHCAWL CONGRESS
13th – 15th November
The Welsh Bridge Union is pleased to announce the appointment of our new Joint Chief Administrators, Liz Commins and Rachel Oliver. Here is a brief introduction to them both.
My name is Liz Commins and I am delighted to have become a Joint Chief Administrator of the WBU.
Alongside Rachel I am looking forward to working with you all.
I live in Oakenholt, a little village in North Wales with my husband and my two cats.
I have been playing Bridge since I was 16 but only in recent years have I begun to play more seriously at international level. I have represented Wales several times in the lady Milne with one win and more recently have played in the Camrose and the Telscher Trophy. My working background has been all administrative roles and I also ran a post office for several years.
Hello everyone! My name is Rachel Oliver, and I am very pleased to be taking on the role of joint Chief Administrator with Liz. I live in South Wales
and spend a lot of time on the beach with my small dog. I have been teaching beginners and improvers bridge for nearly 20 years as well as caddying
and scoring tournaments at various levels and running the occasional bridge holiday. I also have a master’s degree in Philosophy from Bristol University. I hope that between us Liz and I can contribute to the smooth running of the WBU and hopefully make a few improvements!
A Thanks to Ceri on her Retirement
We would also like to extend our great thanks to Ceri Pierce for her excellent work as CEO. We hope she has a peaceful retirement!
04.10.26
The Welsh Bridge Union is delighted to announce the launch of the new Menagerie Bridge Club played weekly on Real Bridge and (for at least the first 6 months)
completely FREE to all WBU members. The first dates for this new online club are Tuesdays 6th,
13th, 20th and 27th October at 7.15pm with 24 boards played in each session. For full details see Menagerie Bridge
27.9.26
WBU Simultaneous Pairs – will be held the week of 21st September Monday to Friday – see events list or click here for details of clubs holding heats. Contact individual clubs for more details.
21.9.26
Lady Milne Trials – entries are now open. Trials will take place at Cardiff Bridge Club 23-24 January. Click here for full details and entry form.
8.9.26
Gold Cup – entries for the 2027 Gold Cup, Britain’s Premier team event, are now being taken. The closing date for entries is 30th October. See Entry Form and Poster.
25.7.26/8.9.26
Premier League / Camrose Trial – The Premier League has been cancelled and is replaced with a Pairs based Camrose trial at Gwent Bridge Academy on 24-25 October. Closing date is 18th September. Please enter here.
25.8.26 4.9.26
CEO Retirement – After many successful years in her role as WBU Chief Executive Officer, Ceri Pierce will be retiring at the end of September 2026. We are all very grateful to her for her sterling work. The WBU is looking for a replacement for her, or indeed a number of replacements, as it is an option for this role to be divided into a number of areas. An overview of the WBU itself and of Ceri’s current role where a replacement will be required, split into 5 specific sections can be found here. We are inviting applications for all or any number of these sections. Please respond where possible by 31st August.
24.8.26
Porthcawl Congress – 13th-15th November 2026 – join us at Heronston Hotel (please note the change of venue from the Seabank) for the 77th Porthcawl Congress – More information here.
4.7.26 24.8.26 4.9.26 8.9.26
Free Junior Event – Bridge Great Britain are holding an online junior pairs event on Saturday 28th November. Please click here for details.
24.8.26
Area Events – the autumn round of Area events is approaching. Get your entries in for West Wales – Swiss Pairs; East Wales – Stan Berger (Open Pairs); Mid Wales – Ladies/Men’s Pairs
25.7.26
StepBridge – it is with sadness that we now have to discontinue our use of StepBridgeUK, primarily due to falling numbers. In its place the WBU intend to use the existing WBU RealBridge platform, and continue with our weekly tournaments (days to be decided). We intend to discontinue StepBridgeUK as from 31stAugust, and have a RealBridge platform in place, having trained Directors. It is recognised that many members have already pre-purchased Participation Points, and the monetary value of these will be refunded where possible. If you wish to reclaim any monies please contact our treasurer – Jean Cuffley – cufleyj@gmail.com – stating how many PPs you need a refund for, and provide her with your bank details. This refund option will only be available until 1st October, after which any residual funds will be transferred to the Welsh Bridge Union.
All developments can be seen by reference to the Welsh Bridge Union website.
14.7.26
U3A Bridge Teachers – help is needed by the U3A on Tuesday afternoons on RealBridge to help teach ACOL to their new players in supervised practice sessions. Please contact ceri@wbu.org.uk if you are interested in helping.
26.5.26
April Newsletter – Paul Lamford’s next WBU Newsletter is hot off the press. Read all about it.
18.5.26
Subscriptions – the WBU would like to remind all members that WBU subscriptions are due from April 1st. The fees remain unchanged from last year – £20 via an affiliated Club (incl Area Subscription); – £25 Direct Membership; – £1 Juniors (under 25). Please use the Online Renewal Form. Alternatively send directly to WBU Membership Secretary mpmsec@wbu.org.uk with payment via cheque or BACS .
New members can join by submitting a WBU Application Form (members who joined after Jan 1st will have their membership automatically renewed at no charge). Clubs can also submit a bulk membership renewal on behalf of their members – Bulk Renewals via Club.
For full details see 2026 Membership Details
18.3.26
The Welsh Bridge Union (WBU) is a membership-funded organisation committed to promoting the game of duplicate bridge. It is also the National Bridge Organisation for Wales recognised by, and affiliated to the World Bridge Federation and the European Bridge League.
For administrative purposes, the WBU is split into four geographical areas.
EWBA
MWBA NWBA WWBA
Welsh Bridge Union Area Association Websites