Raise above the Storm

A few congresses were held under severe weather – A heavy rain storm caused flash flooding in Sydney over the weekend of NSWBA's Teams of Three event, and the North Shore Super Congress was held on the coldest day in June since 1988! Does it make any difference to bridge players? Oh yes, better reason to stay indoors, keep dry and warm and have a game!

Let's travel around and have a look at the feature reports of our local congresses:

The NSWBA Teams of Three
– Thank you to all the captains who volunteered in this fun event!

IBA Chris Diment Memorial Congress
– Participants highly praised the smooth running of the event.

Wollstonecraft Bridge Club Teams
– It kept raining outside, the auction kept going on the inside...

North Shore Super Congress
– North Shore Bridge Club introduced a new concept this year – One Congress at Two Venues.

All the congress results can be found HERE.

Congratulations to the winners of Teams of Three – (Left) Equal First in the Open Division: Rob Ward, Catherine Chown, Chris Bayliss, Berri Folkard (Captain), Michael Young, Andrew Peake (Captain), Sarah Carradine and Ruth Cowan (Right) First in Restricted Division: Johnno Newman (Captain), Lakshimi Sunderasan, Alex Phillips and Samuel Dobson (absent).
Well done were the winners in the Nambucca Valley Teams – (Left) Colin Denney, the President of Nambucca Valley Bridge Club, congratulated the winning pairs Jenelle Francis and Sandra Filler. (Right) Eric Hurley, Janet Brown, Ian Pick and Graham Carson came 1st in Teams.
Applause to the winners of the Illawarra Bridge Association Chris Diment Memorial Congress (Left) Jill MacRae, the Congress Co-convener congratulated the winning pair Chris Sundstrom and Ross Stuart. (Right) The winning team Alan Watkins, Stephen Hurley, Liz Hurley and Grant Cowen pictured with the Congress Co-convener Jill MacRae.
Great fun in the North Shore Super Congress: (Left) Wendy Ashton, Sophie Ashton, Tony Ong and Tony Nunn won the Mr. Solace Swiss Teams. (Right) And Sophie Ashton won again in the Two Men & A Truck Teams with Andre Korenhof, Carola Hoogervorst, Sartaj Hans. The sponsor, Catherine Kuipers, CEO of the Two Men & A Truck, was pleased to present them the prize.
It is a tradition of the North Shore Super Congress to celebrate winners of separate directions in Pairs: (Left) N/S winners Mike Prescott and Marlene Watts with Nada Vescio (GM of Watermark Castle Cove) in the centre. (Right) E/W winners Tony Leibowitz and Kim Morrison with sponsor, Nada Vescio, GM of Watermark Castle Cove.
The North Shore Novice & Restricted Teams Tournament was held at  (Left) The Club Manager Mike Prescott congratulated the winners Sebastian Strugnell, Liz Sylvester, Georgina McMahon and Hans Van Weeren. (Right) The Rogers Team (John Rogers, John Russell, Judith Parsons and Wing Roberts) came second.
Upcoming Events
Events highlights from 10th July to 7th August. Click HERE to view congresses in the full year.

Congresses In NSW Local Clubs
Jul 10 (Sun) Kings and Queens Sydney
Winter Swiss Pairs
Event Details > 

Jul 16 – 17 (Sat – Sun) Sydney Bridge Centre
Winter Congress (Pairs and Teams)
Event Details >

Jul 23 – 24 (Sat – Sun) Brisbane Water Bridge Club (Woy Woy)
Super Congress
Event Details > 

Jul 30 – 31 (Sat – Sun) Grafton Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs
Event Details > 

Jul 30 – 31 (Sat – Sun) Taree Bridge Club
Teams
Event Details > 

Jul 31 (Sun) Peninsula Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs
Event Details > 

Aug 6 – 7 (Sat – Sun) Moree Bridge Club
Open Pairs
Event Details > 

Aug 6 – 7 (Sat – Sun) Orange Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs and Teams
Event Details >

Aug 7 (Sun) Ingleburn RSL Bridge Club
Teams
Event Details > 


NSWBA Events
Jul 16 – 17 (Sat – Sun) NSWBA Country Teams Zonal Finals
Event Details > 

Jul 29 – 31 (Fri – Sun) Bowral Bridge Club Inc State Veterans Pairs
Event Details > 

Aug 1 – 29 (5 Mondays) NSWBA State Open Teams Qualifying
Event Details >


National (ABF) Events
Aug 9 – 14 (Tue – Sun) Coffs Harbour Bridge Supercongress Association Coffs Coast Gold Congress
Event Details > 


Bridge Holidays
Jul 17 – 22 (Sun – Fri) Trumps Bridge Centre Dormie House Holiday
Event Details >

Jul 24 – 31 (Sun – Sun) Holiday Bridge Tangalooma Island Resort
Event Details >

Aug 7 – 14 (Sun – Sun) Finesse (Lugarno)Bula Vinaka Pairs and Teams
Event Details >


Featured Articles
It is interesting to see how bridge reflects life some times... How your opponent's decision to overcall makes a big difference to your final contract, how the contract is played from different seats leads to a different result... More interesting examples by Rakesh Kumar about his experience in "Wollstonecraft Teams 2016".
Read the full article >
Congress Player of the Year
Your Association is pleased to acknowledge this 2016 Award. There will be four categories.

• Open
• Intermediate < 750 MPs
• Restricted < 300 MPs
• Novice < 100 MPs

Click HERE for our current "interim" list, as at 30th June 2016.

This award is based on masterpoints earned at NSW Congresses held under the auspices of NSWBA during the year.

So how are masterpoints updated? Why haven't they been processed yet? Julian Foster, the Chairman of NSWBA, answers players' common question "Why haven't I got my masterpoints yet?"
Read the full article >
Congress Psyche Register
The NSWBA has decided to establish a central psyche register for all congresses held in NSW.

The laws permit players to deviate from their systemic agreements so long as the partner of the player who does so has no greater reason to be aware of this deviation than the opponents. Once your partnership has a history of deviating from its agreements in a certain situation you are required to inform your opponents of this tendency.

If you feel that your opponents have psyched against you, please email details of the hand to the psyche register – no action will be taken against players who are reported to the psyche register but once a pair has multiple entries in the psyche register, congress directors will be informed so that they are aware of this history when making their rulings.

A form which can be used for submissions is available HERE.
About the eCongress
The eCongress is a monthly newsletter published by the NSW Bridge Association. It updates you with the latest congresses in the month, interesting hands and analysis from events, and tips regarding the bridge laws.
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NSW Bridge Association
+61 2 9264 8111
office@nswba.com.au
www.nswba.com.au
1/F, 162 Goulburn Street,
East Sydney 2010
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