2006 - 2015
For current news, results, etc please visit
http://www.bridgewebs.com/mountnessingbc/
ABOUT THE CLUB / VENUE
Note: this page has been updated to reflect only circumstances that remain valid after April 1st 2015
THIS PAGE...
On this page you can read about the club's origins, the current playing arrangements, partner matching, club membership, and the all important club venue and directions.THE CLUB'S ORIGINS
The club met for the first time on February 5th 1987, under the guidance of Lionel and Faye Wernick and Joe and Adele Smaje. It's 'unique selling point' was that it was set up as a non-smoking club - a rarity in 1987, but universal now. The results summary from the first ever meeting of the club is available through this link, and more comments about 'opening night' can be found on the News and Gossip page in a message that was updated on 20th August 2009.After Joe Smaje sadly died, Lionel and Faye became the club's proprietors. Alaric & Dorothy Cundy took over ownership of the club from September 2006.
VENUE AND DIRECTIONS
The club meets on Thursday evenings, at 7.15 for a prompt 7.30 start at Mountnessing Village Hall. For a detailed description of the venue and the directions to it, please click here. There is plenty of car parking space behind the hall. The club is open to both members and non-members.THE CURRENT PLAYING ARRANGEMENTS
There are normally 10 - 14 tables, whenever possible we play twelve 2- board rounds, with a planned finish time of around 10.30, which, for those who wish to, allows just enough time to pop across the road to one of the two pub-restaurants opposite to study the hand analysis sheet over a drink! We now use computer-dealt boards and wireless scoring.
Table money in 2015/16 for most sessions is £2.50 for members and £4.00 for non-members, which includes self-service unlimited tea / coffee and biscuits; we charge more for Simultaneoaus Pairs events; the annual Christmas Party night - normally held on the last Thursday before Christmas - is
free for members, but £5.00 for non-members. Membership runs from April to March and the membership fee is £15 for a full year year, though it is free to residents of Mountnessing.
The club runs a year-long Ladder Award for members only, with two winners each year. There is also a 'player
of the month' award that runs for each calendar month, and is open to visitors; each monthly winner is also listed in the 'hall of fame' on this website.
The club runs a number of special events each year, where the playing arrangements may differ from the ordinary club nights. Random draws for starting positions are made for the club championship events: The Mary Rogers Trophy (Winter Pairs Championship), and the Windmill Trophy (Autumn Pairs Championship). Apart from the championship events, players can choose their own seats. The Christmas Party night is treated as semi-social / semi-serious.
We know that members (and visitors) tend either to 'love' or 'hate' the Simultaneous Pairs events, and we have chosen to compromise by typically now holding two such events each year. Higher table money is charged for Simultaneous Pairs events to cover the club's contributions towards the organiser's costs.
The club regularly enters teams in the NICKO competition, and also in the two Essex invitational events for clubs, the Fletcher Trophy and the Ray Cornell Trophy (formerly known as the Helliar Trophy). The club has represented Essex in the Garden Cities Trophy on a number of occasions.The club has remained affiliated to the English Bridge Union since the arrival of the EBU's 'Pay to Play' scheme in April 2010.
PARTNER MATCHING
Since September 2006, the club has no longer offered a 'host' system, but it does operate a 'find a partner' scheme. Please see the new website - link in the banner above - for current arrangements.CLUB MEMBERSHIP