NZ Bridge Switches on its New Website

Under development for some time, the new-look website for NZ Bridge appeared quietly in the second week of January.

A major change on the new site is the ring-fencing of the Masterpoints section in a user-only area. To access your own data and that of others it is now necessary to first register as a user on the My NZB page .. a one-off job. Full detail on this tricky process can be found by clicking here.

WB Thames Festival Hugely Successful

Your regional committee's foray into Tournament Management over the weekend of January 8-10 went very satisfactorily. Thanks to the hard work of several Thames club members ably lead by new president Carol Crowfoot with great backup from a surprising number of non-combatants, the players were able to enjoy an almost seamless delivery of this iconic event.

Live across the Universe ...

NZ Bridge unleashes its series of ten Lessons for Beginners as YouTube videos

Filmstars of CambridgeFilmstars of CambridgeThe links to the YouTube videos are available on the NZB website but more readily accessible here to the right of the page. Each lesson is presented by Jane Stearns. In her own words:

The idea came from my husband. He works at the Uni and as I explained my frustration at trying to arrange catch up lessons for students he told me uni students no longer attended lectures ... they could watch all their lectures online as the tutors filmed them all and uploaded them to the web. Couldn't NZB do the same?

New Deal for Compass Users in 2016

The clubs of the Waikato-Bays Region predominantly using Compass Scoring, this seems a good place to announce that the latest release of Compass contains a brilliant new feature called Dealer Assist. This module will definitely ease the task of those of your members on the dealing roster. You can read about it by clicking this link to go to the X-Clubs Site.

Bridge Ad to Hit a Movie Theatre Near YOU!

New Zealand Bridge, in a bid to stimulate uptake of our much-loved game, has commissioned a commercial advertisement intended for use at cinemas throughout the land. You can get a sneak preview of it by clicking here.

CinemaCinemaClubs are invited to approach the production company Screen Vistas of Palmerston North to negotiate terms for the screening of this 30-second clip at their local theatre. An ideal time would be 4-6 weeks before local lessons are due to start. NZB will be releasing funds to Regional Committees to assist with costs should your club like to send in an application for subsidy before 30th April 2016. More information is provided in the general notice here appended which was circulated to club secretaries in early December.

Results of the Inter-Provincials now in

Karen MartellettiKaren MartellettiThe 2015 IPs were held at the Christchurch club over the weekend of 28/29 November. Each section played a double Round Robin twice meeting teams from the other six regions. Full results are posted on the Christchurch Bridge Club site but, in summary:

  • The Open team which included Yuzhong Chen/Hank Peng and Barry Jones/Jenny Millington came 4th
  • Our Womens of Judy McLeod/Amanda Smith with Christine and Jenna Gibbons came 5th
  • The Seniors of Malcolm Smith/Ian Clayton and Tom Henwood/Tom Winiata finished 2nd
  • Liz Wilcox/Jenny Penhale with Hattie Curtiss/Bruce Ballard managed 5th in the Intermediates.

Auckland won three out of the four sections, graciously leaving the Womens to the hosting region, Canterbury. Our chef de mission was Karen Martelletti. See more pics below ...

Inter-Provincials Heading South ... and Souther yet

The 2015 event is almost upon us and will be held at the Christchurch Bridge Club from 28th November until 1st December.

However, there is news of the 2016 event …

When The Inter-Provincial Championships left their regular pre-Congress Hamilton home, the intention was to move them around our three main centres, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. New Zealand Bridge is delighted to announce that in 2016, this event will take place at the Otago Bridge Club in Dunedin where all the well-known hospitality of the “Deep South” will be evident.

So .. how'd we go in the Babich?

Your Waikato-Bays committee, pictured below, mostly pulled its weight in various ways. Anna, playing with nephew Jacob was the star of the show coming in at 29th of 970 pairs with 64.4%, Brett and fellow GM Gary Foidl managed 56th with 62.3%, Michael playing with Joyce Catchpole at Cambridge (where Jan dealt/scored/directed) was 238th with 55.4%, Rona and husband John 439th with 51.2%, and Ray was quite likely off somewhere pulling lustily on the end of a kite string.

The Waikato Bays committee

The Waikato Bays regional committee met in Cambridge last weekend for their annual face-to-face meeting. All their other meetings are conducted via monthly Skype calls.

Your committee hard at work: Back row L-R; Rona Driscoll, Michael Neels & Ray McCully.  Front Row L-R; Brett Glass, Jan Spaans & Anna KalmaYour committee hard at work: Back row L-R; Rona Driscoll, Michael Neels & Ray McCully. Front Row L-R; Brett Glass, Jan Spaans & Anna Kalma

The committee welcomes any feedback or ideas around the promotion and betterment of Contract Bridge in the region and their contact details can be found on the WRBC tab of this website.

Ron Klinger Phenomenon Hits Waikato-Bays

Ron KlingerRon KlingerRon and Suzie Klinger’s recent visit in the first week of November was organised by the Waikato-Bays Regional Committee. Karen Martelletti of Tauranga collected Ron and Suzie from their billet in Auckland and conducted them through their itinerary of four clubs in our region. Prior to that, Ron had ran five sessions in the Auckland region – averaging 90 attendees per session. On Thursday morning he and Suzie flew to Wellington to do another two.

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