NEWS ARCHIVE – 2024 – Welsh Bridge Union

Camrose – the first weekend of the Camrose will be hosted by the SBU at the Adamton House Hotel, Prestwick, from Jan 3^rd to Jan 5^th. Spectators are welcome to watch at the table in the Open Room. You can also kibitz and see the latest results online at Kibitz Link. For more information see Details.
The Welsh team is: Tony Ratcliff, Julian Pottage, Paul Denning (pc), Adrian Thomas, Steve Auchterlonie, Andy Hughes.
Team Photo
After the first weekend, Ireland lead, with Wales in 5^th position.
19.12.24/5.1.25

WBU NewsLetter – The latest WBU Newsletter is now available. Edited by our expert Paul Lamford, this highly entertaining and informative publication is a ‘must’ read for everyone – Newsletter
2.12.24

Mixed Teams – a new online Home International Mixed Teams event is held on RealBridge by the Scottish Bridge Union on Friday 28th March to Sunday 30th March. All play all, head to head matches, IMPs, converted to VPs. Cost – £120 per team (no funding available). Expressions of interest are invited from pairs OR teams – contact ceri@wbu.org.uk by 31st December 2024. All entries will be forwarded to the Selectors for consideration. A trial may be held if there is enough interest.
29.11.24

Women’s League – the latest results can be viewed from the ‘Online’ menu on this site.
29.11.24

Hirst Kurbalija Swiss Teams – Cardiff Bridge Club, together with Ann and Diane are proud to announce that the third Hirst/Kurbalija Swiss Teams will be held at CBC on Sunday 12^th January. The event is in memory of Mike and Filip who brought such honour and distinction to CBC, Welsh Bridge, and themselves. See Event Details & Entry Form
28.11.24

WBF – the Women’s Online Teams is being held from 3^rd to 5^th January on RealBridge. For further information, see Poster
28.11.24

Strictly Come Teaching – the WBU is holding its first annual ‘Strictly Come Teaching’ competition on RealBridge on Jan 25^th – a pro/am competition for learners/beginners being waltzed around the tables by a more experienced player. Trophies and prizes. See Poster for details.
(The event is being sponsored by our President – Andrea)
26.11.24

WBF – the 2nd European Winter Transnational Championships will be held in Prague from 14^th – 20^th February 2025. See Information Letter and Poster
20.11.24

Pam Edwards – It is with great sadness we report the passing of Pam Edwards, peacefully on the 8^th of November.Pam was married to John and was mother to Krista, Lucy and Simon and grandmother to Laura, Peter, Rebecca and Alex. Great grandmother to Freddie and Matilda.
Pam loved to play bridge and was encouraged to learn by her mother (Joan Smith) who was also a formidable player on the Welsh bridge circuit. Pam went to bridge lessons at Deva bridge club (Eric Dutton) and played at Shotton, Flint, Wrexham and Mold clubs, as well as teaching the game for many years at Cheshire adult education and around North Wales.
See Obituary for further details and funeral arrangements.
18.11.24

Premier League – congratulations to the winners of this year’s Premier League – Paul Denning, Adrian Thomas, Steve Auchterlonie, Andy Hughes. The Premier League is also used as a basis for selection of the Welsh Camrose team. The team will be announced shortly. See the Selectors Bulletin for the overall results.
21.10.24

Vince Bevan Pairs – West Wales Bridge Association will be holding their annual Pairs Championship on Sunday 13^th October in Bancyfelin Hall – open to WWBA members. See WWBA Site for details.
1.10.24

Premier League – after the first weekend of the Premier League/Trials, Paul Denning’s team – Adrian Thomas, Steve Auchterlonie, Andy Hughes have a comfortable lead over the rest of the field. See Team Results and Cross-Imps
30.9.24

Focus Groups – the next WBU focus group meeting will be on 2^nd October at 11.00 am. Members can air their views and share their ideas regarding the WBU. Come and join via Zoom Link
29.9.24

LlanBrighton – the WBU are hosting a summer congress at “LlanBrighton” – a little corner of Wales in Europe – 13^th – 15^th June 2025 at the Royal Hotel in Brighton. There will be Pairs, Teams, and Speedball. Book now – see Details
20.9.24

Patrick Jourdain Teams – the East Wales Bridge Association are holding their annual Teams Championship in Cardiff Bridge Club on Sunday October 6^th – details
20.9.24

TD Courses – the WBU are running two two-day TD courses in the near future – a) 27^th Sept and 18^th Oct – Llanharry – run by Tony Haworth – enabling TDs to run Club/Area events; (x7tonyh@gmail.com); b) 16,17^th Nov – Swansea Bridge Club – run by Sarah Amos – (sarahamostd@gmail.com). – for Club level Directing. There is still room on the courses; if interested please contact the relevant organiser.
5.9.24

Online League – Liz is now organising the next (12^th) Geoff Evans Online League schedule – closing dater for entries is 16^th September – to liz_atkinson@btinternet.com
12.8.24/9.9.24

Junior Mini-Bridge – time to book your place on the rescheduled session (Tuesday 29^th October). All details on the attached poster, please feel free to circulate, any help appreciated. This reminder has been left until the start of term as your youngster may wish to bring a friend along, that would be great. We need to start firming up on numbers – names and ages (the juniors not the adults!) Andrea has prepared some super packs to take away. Also, when replying please include your phone number. Poster
Looking forward to a fun day.
5.9.24

WBU Sims – these will be held during the week Monday 16^th – Friday 20^th September, online or face-to-face, with different hands each day. There will be commentaries available online after the event (at 10pm. each evening). The entry fee is £3.00 per player and the event will support not only Youth Bridge in Wales – the future of the game in Wales – but also the Wales Air Ambulance.
A list of participating Clubs can be found from the calendar entry. Please contact the relevant Club official for Club details.
5.9.24

Focus Groups – the next WBU focus group meeting will be on 30^th August at 11.00 am. Members can air their views and share their ideas regarding the WBU. Come and join via Zoom Link
30.8.24

StepBridge – for those of you who actively play on StepBridge (run in conjunction with the WBU), there is now a web-based version of the app platform. This has a much ‘cleaner’ appeal – please give it a try (https://app.stepbridge.co.uk/). A full User Guide is available via this site (Online->Online Platforms), or via the StepBridgeUK website. If you haven’t yet tried StepBridge, please feel free to register and then you can participate in any of the four weekly evening tournaments (master-points awarded), or any of the club events.
18.8.24

Premier League – Please get your Premier League entries submitted shortly (closing date Aug. 30^th). Remember this event (two weekends) also forms the basis for next year’s Camrose selection. See the calendar entry-form for full details.
9.8.24

Welsh & Cambria Competitions – these competition are falling behind schedule. Also the results may not be up-to-date. It is important that captains submit using the official form, whereby both the NTO and Webmaster receive the result.
Following this ‘chaser’ I have now received a number of backlog results. Please see Welsh-Cup and Cambria Cup for up-to-date results (even for previous losers who have a ‘second-chance’).
6.8.24

Welsh Women’s League – all ladies are invited to participate in the new format League matches (teams). You can play either online (RealBridge) or F-to-F. For full details and entry see Women’s League.
4.8.24

Laws’ Flowcharts – a revised version of the ‘Laws’ Flowcharts’ is now available (incorporating various Laws’ revisions). Please contact Ceri (ceri@wbu.org.uk) or Tony (webmaster@wbu.org.uk) for details and purchasing – £12 + £2 p&p.
1.8.24

Online League – the 11^th Geoff Evans Online League has now completed. Congratulations to the Division winners: Div 1 – Mike Tedd, John Salisbury, Gary Jones, Paul Lamford, Tony Ratcliff, Julian Pottage; Div 2 – Gilly Clench, David Birt, Simon Richards, Mike Pownall, Tony Disley; Div 3 – Barry Wennell, Wyn Williams, Shelia Shea, Tony Green, Haidee Tattersall.
Final Results.
Once again our thanks to Liz for organising such a successful event.
1.8.24

Women’s Bridge – there will be a Welsh Women’s session on RealBridge on 7.00 pm. Thursday 25^th July. Mentors are welcome to the event – Player’s Link
25.7.24

World Bridge Games – will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina 21^st Oct to 3^rd Nov 2024. Each WBF member NBO in good standing is invited to send one National team in each category (The Vanderbilt Open Teams, The Torlontano Women’s Teams, Seniors’ and Mixed Teams) to the Team Championships. Also each WBF member-NBO in good standing is invited to send any number of Pairs, in good standing, to the National Pairs Championships (Open, Women’s, Seniors’ and Mixed). Please contact ceri@wbu.org.uk to register your interest. The closing date for entries is July 31^st. Please note that all of these events will be 100% self-funded.
12.6.24/24.7.24

Swiss Pairs – Oliver Cowan, in conjunction with the WBU, has launched a new series of Online Swiss Pairs events, with the first event on August 24^th. This is open to all (juniors free), with prizes and Green Points being awarded for each event. Please see Oliver’s Bridgewebs site for Details
16.7.24

European Youth Teams (Online) – the EBL will be hosting an online championships for youth, starting in September. Details
15.7.24

Perry, Spickett, President’s Cup – the inter-area events, held in Carmarthen, were won by – Perry – North Photo, Spickett – East Photo, Presidents Cup – West Photo. An excellent event enjoyed by all. See Full Results
14.7.24

Roy Holmes – a member of Monty, has died aged 101. He was last at the club on 24^th June, had a fall at home a few days later, and was taken to hospital where he said “I can’t stay here long, I’ve got Bridge on Monday”. Sadly he didn’t make it.
Roy was an RAF veteran of WW2, flying Lancaster Bombers – a real character.
12.7.24

Learn Bridge for Free – Jack Stocken has created a series of nine Online Bridge Lessons, which are available to the WBU – Lessons. Jack is also planning a ‘Learners Competition’ in a few weeks time.
Also any prospective students wanting to further their interest in the game are encouraged to email Ceri – ceri@wbu.org – for further information.
10.7.24

Focus Groups – the WBU are continuing their Focus Group meetings, whereby members can express their views and recommendations as to what the WBU is doing. See the calendar for the forthcoming dates and associated Zoom links.
10.7.24

Junior Mini-Bridge – the WBU are hosting a one-day tuition session on August 14^th from 10.30-2.30. It is suitable for parents, grandparents, teenagers, and children. Using mini-bridge, all can play or just watch. Sophie Cunningham – an expert teacher – will be running the event. See Poster for full details.
10.7.24

Seminars – the East Wales Bridge Association are running a free ‘Seminar Day’ on Sunday 21^st July at Cardiff BC. There will be seminars (~3/4 hr. each), together with 6 ‘Tips’. The event is suitable for all standards – Club Player to Expert. All are welcome. For full details see Poster or contact Keith Edwards – keith.edwards@mac.com
8.7.24

Glyn Meredith – A celebration of Glyn’s life. We have been informed of the sudden death of Glyn Meredith. He moved to Wales in 2022, and became a popular and successful player on the South Wales circuit – his friendliness at the table was legendary. He was Chairman of Cardiff BC. Sarah Amos has written an Obituary.
All are invited to a ‘celebration of Glyn’s life’ at 11.00 am. Wed. 7^th August, at Thornhill Crematorium, followed by a toast to Glyn across the road. See Funeral Details
4.7.24/19.7.24

Herbie Rowley – it is with sadness that we have to announce the death of Herbie Rowley. In addition to being a founder member of Cardigan Bridge Club, Herbie was a past President of the Welsh Bridge Union in 2013-14, and Chairman of the Mid-Wales Bridge Association. More details to follow.
3.7.24

Europeans – the European Open and Mixed Teams Championships have now started in Herning, Denmark. Wales is represented in the Open Teams by Julian Pottage & Tony Ratcliff, Alan Stevenson & Peter Kaufmann, Paul Lamford & Gary Jones.
In the Mixed Teams are Richard Plackett & Mia Deschepper, Tim Rees & Ceri Pierce, Paul Denning & Diane Kurbalija. Progress can be followed via Progress Report
27.6.24

Champion-Of-Champions – congratulations to Gwyn Davis & Dave Smith on winning this year’s event, closely followed by Helen Houston & Joseph Bentley. An excellent venue – Pendoylan, and well run by Dave Nicklin. Full Results and Photo.
23.6.24

Master Point Rankings – live Masterpoint Rankings are now available – click on the MasterPoints menu option or Live Ranking Lists
20.6.24

Teams-Of-Eight – Congratulations to Penarth Bridge Club (Red) on winning this year’s Club Team-Of-Eight Championship. See Photo and Full Results
17.6.24

Gold Cup – the amended schedule for the 2025 Gold Cup – Britain’s premier teams event – has now been announced – see 2025 Gold Cup – Details
11.6.24

Women’s Online European Transnational Teams – Congratulations to the Welsh Women who played in this event over the weekend. Eight players represented Wales:- Team Wales – Ceri Pierce, Mia Deschepper, Diane Kurbalija, Liz Commins, Gilly Clench and Fu Cheung, who finshed in a creditable 2^nd place in the Group C final. Team Israel – Sue Biggin and Bev Cox. The event was organised by the EBL Women’s coordinators, held on Real Bridge over three days. Full Results
10.6.24

World Rankings – the Schapiro Spring Foursomes brought a major change in the top of the Tour rankings. Through the Orca team’s victory, Richard Plackett partnering Espen Erichsen moved up to fourth place in the World Tour Rankings. For more information see Latest Rankings
10.6.24

WBU Focus Groups – you are ALL invited to come along to the first focus groups of the WBU, which will be held on Zoom. This is an opportunity to air your views and share your ideas on how the WBU can change and improve. It is also a chance for you to volunteer your time/skills to help us achieve that improvement. We welcome ex-members as well as current members – we want to hear from you all.
There are two dates set up initially: Monday 17^th June – 7.00pm.
Thursday 20^th June – 11.00am.
We hope that you can make one (or both) of them.
5.6.24

Women’s Bridge – there will be a Welsh Women’s session on RealBridge on 7.00 pm. Monday 3^rd June. Mentors are welcome to the event – Player’s Link
3.6.24

North Wales GP Event – Oliver Cowan Bridge will be running a One Day Green Point Swiss Pairs on behalf of the North Wales Bridge Association on Saturday 29^th June, on BBO. 7 x 7 board rounds starting at 11am.
The entry fee is £20 per person and 15% of the total entry fees will go into the prize fund with prizes based on final placings, but also for the best placed non-expert pair.
Exact breakdown of prizes will be announced the day before the event once final numbers are known. The event is open to both WBU and EBU members.
Please fill out the entry form on the Olive Cowan bridge page – Entry Form
30.5.24

National Tournament Organiser – the WBU will now need a replacement for Simon Gottschalk as the National Tournament Organiser. Simon will not be standing for re-election at the forthcoming AGM. The incumbent will be expected to help shape the WBU and its National Events. If interested please contact ceri@wbu.org.uk
Simon will assist in the hand-over, and the WBU thank him for all his efforts over the past few years.
29.5.24

Teltscher Trophy – The 2024 Senior Camrose will take place on 17^th – 19^th May in Stirling University – hosted by the SBU. Full details can be viewed at Programme. The event can be followed on Realbridge via Kibitz Link, and there will video commentary at all sessions.
Wales are represented by Alan Stephenson & Peter Kaufmann; Tim Rees & John Salisbury; Paul Denning(PC) & Diane Kurbalija. We wish them all the best.
Wales finished in third place. Full Results
12.5.24

WBU AGM – will be held online on Sunday 2^nd June at 11.00 am. There are a number of important fundamental issues to discuss, so please make every effort to attend. You can attend via Zoom Link
Important documents are Agenda, Financial Report, WBU Accounts, StepBridge Accounts, Motion 1, Motion 2
1.5.24

StepBridge AGM – this will be held on June 1^st at 11.00 am via Zoom. Also see Accounts, Operational Report, and Agenda
1.5.24

Area AGMs – all the WBU Areas (North, Mid, East, West) will be holding their AGMs on Sunday 12^th May, together with their associated Green Point event(s). See Area websites for details.
1.5.24

National Mixed Pairs – Congratulations to Suzy Lawson and Mike Best on winning the WBU National Mixed Pairs. Full Results. Photo
28.4.24

Lady Milne – the Lady Milne is being held from Friday 19^th – Sunday 21^st April, in Gormanstown – Eire. Wales are represented by Ceri Pierce & Mia Deschepper; Jo Copping & Joan Marray; Gilly Clench & Suzi Lawson; with Maggie Pierce as npc. We wish them all the best. For full event details, see Programme
You can follow the event via Kibitz Link
Results – Wales came a close third – well done. Moreover, these events are also cross-imp scored, and Gilly and Suzi led the field (which means that with each other pair as their team-mates on every board, they would have had top score).
17.4.24/22.4.24

WBU NewsLetter – The WBU have now re-launched a fresh edition of the Newsletter, expertly edited by Paul Lamford. This will be published three times per year, with the focus on people and bridge, and with news and photographs of recent winners. Paul will be most grateful for any contributions (wbunewsletter@gmail.com). The first edition can be viewed at Newsletter
23.3.24

Welsh National Teams – Congratulations to the winners of the Welsh National Teams Championship – Tim Barsby, Steve Webb, Glyn Meredith, Jennifer Wardell. View Photo
10.3.24

WBU – What Do We Do? – a number of members ask the question ‘What Does The WBU Do For Me’. Our Chief Executive – Ceri – has detailed a Report, outlining the benefits for both individuals and clubs. With Membership Renewal fast approaching, please take a look.
27.2.24

Camrose (2nd. Weekend) – the 2^nd Weekend of the Camrose will be held in Altrincham (Best Western Cresta Court Hotel) on March 1^st. Good luck to our team – Tim Rees & John Salisbury; Julian Pottage & Tony Ratcliff; Richard Plackett & Mia Deschepper. Please see Event Programme, Ongoing Results, and Kibitz Link.
4.3.24 – Final Results
26.2.24

Subscriptions – the WBU would like to remind all members that WBU subscriptions are due from April 1^st. The fees are: – £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 1^st 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.
6.2.24

Welsh & Cambria Competitions 2024 – the draw for the WBU Welsh and Cambria Cup competitions for 2024 has now been finalised. See Welsh Cup – 2024 (corrected) or Cambria Cup – 2024 for full event details (and contacts). Please use the correct form when submitting your results (right-hand side panel).
23.2.24

Cambria Cup – congratulations to Paul Denning’s team on winning the 2023-24 Cambria Cup – Paul Denning, Diane Kurbalija, Dan McIntosh, Pat Shields. This year’s draw will be announced shortly.
22.2.24

Welsh Cup – congratulations to Paul Denning’s team on winning the 2023-24 Welsh Cup – Paul Denning, Diane Kurbalija, Dan McIntosh, Pat Shields. This year’s draw will be announced shortly.
14.2.24

Junior Camrose – the Junior Camrose/Peggy Bayer will take place from February 16^th – 18^th in Belfast. The Welsh Team is Sophie Akers, Lolo Williams, Joseph Bentley, James Brindle, Emilia Cadden, Milan Malecki, (NPC: Soozy Nesom). Full details can be found at Programme, and you can follow the event at Kibitz Link
We wish them all the best.
Final Results
14.2.24

Jill Knight – It is with sadness that we have to announce that Jill Knight has recently passed away. Jill twice played Lady Milne and for many years was the editor of the WBU newsletter . She was also match manager for Camrose matches from time to time.
26.1.24

Lady Milne Trials – the WBU has held ladies trials to determine the team to represent Wales in the forthcoming Lady Milne. The winners were as follows: 1^st – Ceri Pierce & Mia Deschepper; 2^nd – Jo Copping & Joan Marray; 3^rd – Gilly Clench & Suzi Lawson. These three pairs have now been selected to represent Wales, with Maggie Pierce as npc.
20.1.24/5.2.24

Camrose (2nd. Weekend) – the 2^nd Weekend of the Camrose will be held in Altrincham (Best Western Cresta Court Hotel) on March 1^st. The Selectors have chosen Tim Rees & John Salisbury; Julian Pottage & Tony Ratcliff; Richard Plackett & Mia Deschepper, to represent Wales. We wish them all the best.
20.1.24

West Wales Mixed Pairs – West Wales are running their Area Mixed Pairs on February 4^th at Llanarthne. This event is open to all WBU members. See West Wales for details.
16.1.24

Laws’ Revision – the WBF have recently issued an amendment to the 2017 Laws of Duplicate Bridge. The alterations are to Law 73 (Communication, Behaviour, Tempo, Deception) and Law 89 (Prohibited Behaviour, Reprehensible Conduct). These amendments come into effect from January 1^st. The full revisions can be viewed at Law 73,89, Revisions. Should individual Directors wish to be added to the email list maintained by the WBF and receive information about matters concerning the Laws of Duplicate Bridge please email anna.gudge@worldbridgefed.com to request inclusion for the future.
1.1.24