Monthly Numbers Survey

Aug 2015 to Sep 2017For over two years your correspondent has been tracking the number of NZB-registered players as at the first of each month. By clicking on the orange Numbers block on the right side of our Home page you may see this series of screenshots. They each show breakdowns by region over the last four seasons. Here is a summary of the national totals over two years.

The figures are taken from Compass scoring (double-click to refresh the NZB Members Count figure at top left). The pattern over the last two years is certainly a very pronounced roller coaster with numbers peaking in November/December as the latest crop of newbies completes registration. Although this last month of August has seen a dramatic increase of 361 players from last 1st of September we are still 81 members short of the same period in 2016.

Needless to say, the new NZB Board is very concerned about the apparent trend of falling numbers and is making huge strides to get more people into the game. Great hopes are held for the introduction of Regional Bridge Mates (RBMs) trained to duplicate the sterling efforts of Jane Stearns of Cambridge. Jane has developed practices to resuscitate the fortunes of several failing clubs. The effect is similar to putting fertiliser on tired old lawns - new shoots appear and before you know it they are propping up the hardy survivors of the old patch.

In our bridge world survival comes down to all supporting all for the sake of our game as we know it. As the brand sparkly new RBMs come off the assembly line in October, please please please get in behind them and support their efforts to rejuvenate Bridge in New Zealand.