Clubs have been notified about this event via a poster from Richard Solomon (richardharoldsolomon@gmail.com). As it is a two day event, please contact Richard if billeting is required.

The Waikato Bays Regional Committee would like to see as many of our teachers attend this conference as possible. Therefore, club teachers attending this conference can apply to the regional committee for a $50.00 contribution towards costs, and we hope that clubs can also make a contribution.

Should you wish to apply for this, please email the WB secretary and provide your bank account details. Payment will be made in the week after the conference.

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.

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

Filmstars 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 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.

CinemaClubs 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.

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.