October Beginner Bridge Courses:
Two new courses for beginners are planned to start in October - Monday 1-3pm and Tuesday 7-9pm. Each course runs for 6 weeks, and costs $120 which covers the lessons, text book, course notes and light refreshments. Email the TBA - tba@tasbridge.com.au to register your interest.
28-Sep-20 Elsie Strickland Memorial Pairs (2 days)
2-Oct-20 Roger's Teams 10
12-Oct-20 Southern Swiss Pairs (3 days)
Sections: News | Online bridge | Events | Venue Hire | Role of the TBA
Newly added items (September): President's Message | GNOT Qualifiers
Other links: Bookings | Results | Forum | Members | Learning | Pianola | Documents | Admin
TBA News
President's Message | Bridge is Back! | Members update | Forum announcement | Dallas Cooper OAM | COVID19 closure
What's Happening at the TBA - September 2020
The TBA Committee met at the TBA on Tuesday September 1 from 2.30pm.
Participating: J Rhodes (Chair), M Gibbs, M Sherlock, S Edler, E Gee, K Marsden, I Bailey, G Poulton, J Bills, S Falkingham
Apologies: L Cooke, J Grosvenor, A Paton
The following matters were discussed:
A letter of acknowledgement of our grant application has been received from the Tasmanian Community Foundation. The letter advised that we would receive notification of the success or otherwise of our Stage 1 application by October 6, and that if our application progresses to Stage 2, we will have until November 11 to submit a Stage 2 application with a full business plan.
Simon Edler reported that the Tasmanian Swiss Pairs would be run by Tamar Bridge Club in Launceston over the weekend of October 24-25.
Locally, the Club Open pairs will be run on Mondays September 14 and 21 followed by the Elsie Strickland (restricted) Pairs over the following two Monday nights.
Tasmanian Autumn Bridge Festival – April 9–11 2021:
The committee is exploring the possibility of hosting a 3 day COVID-19 Safe Festival at Elwick Race Course in April 2021. Negotiations are under way with the ABF about a potential format for the event and more information will be provided as it become available.
The TBA is going to try to establish a dedicated Youth Program in 2021 at the club. We have written to 21 local secondary schools and colleges to seek their input as to the preferred format of such a program and are awaiting feedback from them. If you know any young people who would like to learn bridge, either as part of a school elective program or privately, please let me know and I’ll make sure they are informed of our future program.
The (postponed!) 2020 AGM was held at the TBA on Saturday September 5 from 12.30pm.
We all enjoyed our pre-plated “COVID-19 Safe” lunch – many thanks to all those who brought food to share – we had so much we couldn’t eat it all, but what we could eat was delicious!
The following nominations were received for the Committee positions by 2.00pm on Friday September 4:
President: Julie Rhodes
Vice President: Lynne Cooke
Secretary: Katherine Marsden
Treasurer: Graeme Poulton
Committee: Malcolm Sherlock, Sue Falkingham, Edward Gee, Philip Timmins, Ian Bailey
Margaret Gibbs is a member by virtue of her position as Masterpoints Secretary, although this situation will cease to exist at the next AGM due to a modification in section 15 of the Constitution which was passed at the AGM. Simon Edler and John Grosvenor are ex officio members of the committee by virtue of their positions.
Since the number of nominations corresponded with the number of vacancies, no election was required.
In addition, several other members nominated themselves for various volunteer positions within the Club. I thank them for this and will be contacting them in person to put them to work! Due to the positive response to the “nomination box”, I intend to put a permanent suggestion box in place at the club so members can provide feedback and suggestions to the committee at any time.
Other reforms to the constitution were approved by the meeting to clarify when annual membership fees are due and payable, and more precise information as to when nominations for the next committee should be lodged.
As a result of a motion moved by David Robinson, the TBA will purchase 10 new chairs for people with special needs. If you are a person with such needs, or have knowledge of chairs which might be suitable, please contact a committee member about it.
Our thoughts are with John Grosvenor at this time who is battling a serious illness in hospital.
Julie Rhodes
President, TBA
The President's Annual Report 2020
Breaking News - Bridge is Back!
The following message went out to all TBA members on 20 June 2020
Bridge is back on June 26th – although not quite as we know it.
Due to Tasmania’s early move to Level 3 COVID-19 restrictions, the TBA can resume running bridge sessions from Friday June 26th at 10.00am
The conduct of these sessions will still be subject to the TBA COVID-19 Safety Plan (see attached and on the TBA web site) so be prepared to sign an undertaking (also attached and on the web site) that you will only come if you are well, have your temperature taken, sanitise your hands on entry and bring your own mug and/or water bottle to bridge. Also, if you will be paying your table money by cash, please bring exact change with you.
But wait – there’s more ...
Due to our 24 pair participation limit, we recommend that you register to participate in each session. This will save you from travelling to bridge, only to find that there isn’t a seat for you. The TBA has developed a Player Registration system, to ensure you can reserve a place at your favourite sessions.
From Tuesday 23 June to can get access to the system by going to shdc.tech and clicking "New account activation", then enter your ABF number and click "Activate". This will send you an email containing a link to let you specify a password and logon to the system (check your Junk mail folder if the email does not appear to arrive). Once logged on you can book seats by clicking the "Book seats" link next to the session you want to play in. Initially all sessions will require bookings to be made for pairs rather than individuals. More instructions on how to use the new system will be available on the TBA website (here).
If neither you nor your partner have supplied the TBA with email addresses you can book seats by contacting a director or emailing the TBA.
Once you have completed the COVID-19 obstacle course, we look forward to seeing you back at our club soon.
We will commence with the following sessions at the Club :
We will move quickly to re-establish other sessions once we assess that there is sufficient demand for them.
Roger’s teams will recommence on Friday July 17th
In addition to these sessions running at the TBA, we will continue to conduct some online sessions for the convenience of members.
These will be held as follows :
This message is going out by "snail mail" to members who have not provided email addresses. Nevertheless if you are in contact with a member who may not have received this by email, please let them know the good news (a copy of this message will also be on the TBA website).
Looking forward to seeing you all very soon!
Julie Rhodes
TBA President
With the slow down in Australian bridge activity due to COVID-19 April and May saw no Masterpoint rank promotions for TBA members. The ABF has also suspended the national McCutcheon Awards for 2020. State and Club McCutcheon reports are still available from the ABF Masterpoint Centre website.
The TBA Committee has approved two new membership applications. Please welcome Anne FitzGerald and Helen Squier, and we look forward to be able to see them in person soon.
The ABF Masterpoint Centre website provides a range of club, state and national reports updated each month. These include promotions, McCutcheons, most improved players, and top 50 Masterpoint earners.
We have added an online forum to the website. This is intended to be a private area for TBA members to connect online to talk bridge or whatever, particularly in this period of social distancing (or rather this period of "physical distancing" when "social connection" is so important).
The forum is really easy to use. For those not familiar with forums here is a quick introduction (or just jump in and give it a try):
It's a place for people to interact online. An online forum is a webpage that allows people to read and create content that can be seen and responded to by other people on the forum. Forum content is usually text based but can include images and links to other online resources.
The forum is here. There is also a link at the top of this page (under "Other links")
Access to the TBA Forum is restricted to TBA members only. All TBA members who have supplied an email will have received an email inviting them to join the forum. If you have provided an email address to the TBA but have not seen your invitation please check your junk mail folder in case it has been intercepted by your spam filter.
Click on the link in the email and complete the short form to set-up your forum account and get access. Individual accounts are needed as they control access to the forum and identify your posts on the forum.
Use of the forum is free to all members, and purely optional. You can also delete your forum account at any time.
Yes, you cannot set-up an account without supplying an email for the invitation. If you have not provided the TBA with an email address already you will not receive an invitation (as we have no address to send it to). You can email us to add an email address to your membership record. Please include your name, ABF number and the contact phone number you have previously provided the club so that we can clearly identify you as a member.
In a number of cases member couples share the same email address in their membership details. In these cases the email address will receive a single invitation to join the forum. If both members would like a forum membership, please email us with a second email to be used for a second invitation.
The TBA Forum is organised into high level categories such as "Online bridge". The categories are created by the forum administrator, so if you think we should create a new category, email us with your suggestion.
Members can create new topics within a category. For example you could create a topic "Why my finesses always fail" within the "Card Play" category. You create a new topic by clicking the "New Topic" button at the top right of the categories page (or within a category). You then give your topic a title, enter your content and save it.
Members can reply to an existing topic. Just click the "Reply" button at the top right of a topic, compose your reply and save it. You can also reply to a topic you started, for example to add to your origional idea or to respond to another member's reply.
Topics are also sometimes called threads as they evolve into a list of posts as other members reply. A post is any content on the forum (ie the top level entry in a topic or a reply)
Some categories and topics may be locked. Members cannot create a new topic in a locked category or reply to a locked topic.
The main thing people do on a forum is connect and share content by reading others' posts, creating new topics and replying to existing topics. These can be questions, comments, photos, links to useful websites, or anything that you think might be of interest to other TBA members.
The forum software we are using is very powerful and has lots of features that many members will not use. For example you can:
When you create a new forum account you will be identified on posts by an icon (or avatar) which initially is a coloured square containing your initials. You can easily replace this with an image of your choosing. Click on your account icon at the top right of the window and select "Edit Profile" from the menu that appears. Click on the square representing a photo and follow the instructions to select an image from your computer or device. If you have already uploaded an image you can view it, change it or delete it using the buttons next to "Avatar" on the Edit Profile page.
Think of the forum as an online extension of the TBA clubrooms. Behavior that would be inappropriate in the clubrooms would be inappropriate in the forum. Anything you post on the forum will be visible to every other member on the forum.
If you are not sure how something works on the forum feel free to experiment - you can't break anything. If that doesn't work try posting a question under the "Forum Questions" category. If all else fails email us.
Congratulations to TBA Life member Dallas Cooper who received the Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the General Division for service to badminton, and to the community, in the 2020 Australia Day Honours list.
Details are available at the Governor-General's website. The entry reads:
Mrs Dallas Antoinette COOPER, Bellerive TAS 7018
For service to badminton, and to the community.
Badminton
Bridge
TBA Online Bridge
The TBA is running 'virtual' club sessions on Bridge Base Online (BBO). This allows club members to play together online with people they know, and earn ABF Masterpoints. These sessions are available for members of any TBA affiliated club. Please contact your club if you are interested in playing.
Archived Section:TBA Online Bridge
Events
GNOT |SAAB | Devonport and Tamar | Vera Houdek Pairs | Youth Week | Summer Festival | Older events
The TBA ran two separate GNOT Qualifier rounds over three weeks of Monday Night and Friday Morning sessions.
Congratulations to all the participants and especially to the top placed pairs in each:
Teams will be arranged from all the pairs who played to represent the TBA in the GNOT Southern Final on September 20.
The Southern and Ancient Beaches Challenge 2020
(Click on the images to enlarge)
Did you miss our recent trip to Wonderland? Well it’s been voted the best yet! We just might have another next year.
You won’t win red master points (whatever they are) but you get to play competitive bridge and maybe get your names on a trophy. We can guarantee you some amazing costumes, a fair chance to win a prize and lots of laughs along the way.
Here’s a taster to encourage you to come along …
Sixteen teams jumped into motor cars or scurried down rabbit holes to emerge in South Arm sporting mad hats of every description. Decked in pink or hidden under mushrooms or flouncing about as queens and knaves it was hard to think of these characters as serious bridge players.
Flamingos perched on one leg bravely teetering and flapping. Their efforts won them the Best Dressed Team Prize. A couple of knaves brought their tarts along. A team of somewhat dysfunctional Disorderlies gyrated and quivered their way to a meltdown and the coveted Strutters Prize. The Lynch Mob dangled their hangman’s nooses menacingly and the Best Dressed Dormouse was undoubtedly … um … a dormouse.
And then there was lunch -- BBQ and salad followed by tiramisu, meringues and fruit all consumed in the sunshine and in excellent company.
The bridge was seriously contested with winners and losers emerging from beneath piles of scoresheets. Bobbie (obviously the only player concentrating at the time) won our first ever Beer Card. The Four Aces took out the prestigious Tortoise Trophy.
The Dodos (Lene, Merryl, Graham and Catharine) scored the SAAB Trophy. They were closely followed by The Knaves and their Tarts (Dave, Anj, Judi and Geoff).
Thank you everyone who participated in so many different ways.
We are able to donate $255 to Youth Bridge.
And our long suffering Director …. We couldn’t do this without you Dallas. Thank you!
And the last word goes to the White Rabbit. Don’t be late next year.
The SAAB Team
It was a big weekend of bridge in the north of the state with the Devonport Bridge Club's February Swiss Pairs on Saturday 8 February and the Tamar Bridge Club Congress on Sunday 9 February. Both events were well attended, including a sizeable contingent of players from southern clubs. Both were 6 x 9 board IMP scored Swiss Pairs events.
Devonport had 29 pairs playing. First place went to John Bailey and Josef Kuriacose, second to Brian O'Rourke and Mike Longmire, and third to Haj Skilton and Roger Watts. Full results are on the Devonport Bridge Club website. If anybody has photos of the Devonport event to contribute, please email them to the TBA.
Tamar had 34 pairs playing. In the open category first place went to Andrew and Sandra Richman, second to Vicky Cowan and Catherine Elliott, and third to Jane Routley and Judy Mann. In the restricted category first place went to Sue Martin and Sue Falkingham (fifth overall) and second to Phillipa Pitt and Ros Pyrke (sixth overall). Full results are on the Tamar Bridge Club website.
Thank you to both clubs for organising and hosting these events, and in particular for making their southern visitors feel so welcome. Thank you also to Peter and Simon for directing.
The Vera Houdek Pairs for 2020 was played on Sunday 2 February at the TBA club rooms. This is a matchpoint Swiss Pairs event played over 6 x 9 board matches. 28 pairs played - 14 open pairs, 7 restricted pairs (under 300 masterpoints) and 7 novice pairs (under 100 masterpoints).
The overall winners (and top placed restricted pair!) were Annie Bartlett and Julie Rhodes. Second overall were Robert and Jane Tyson. Third overall were Susanne and David Sarten. The top placed novice pair were Mardi and John Grosvenor. Full results are here.
A big thank you to Sue Falkingham for organising and directing the event, and for keeping her cool when the technology gremlins struck. Thanks also to Chris Carolan for his telephone support in gremlin eradication. Thanks to all players who brought food for morning and afternoon tea.
2020 Australian Youth Bridge Championships
Archived Section: Australian Youth Bridge Championships 2020
2020 Summer Festival of Bridge
Archived Section: Summer Festival of Bridge 2020
Venue Hire
The TBA premises are available* for hire by community groups for suitable activities by arrangement with the TBA Committee.
Please complete a booking request form (available here) and email it to the TBA at tba@tasbridge.com.au.
* Venue hire is not currently available due to the COVID-19 situation.
The Role of the TBA
The TBA is is the largest bridge club in the state with about 400 members and is the administrative body for the game of bridge in Tasmania. The TBA is responsible for running national and state events including the Australian Swiss Pairs championships and the Roger Penny Senior Swiss Pairs competition. These are conducted annually with the venue alternating between Hobart and Launceston. The TBA also administers the Masterpoints system for the ABF and endeavours to promote the growth and teaching of bridge throughout Tasmania via its affiliated clubs. The TBA's purpose-designed Centre at 5 Marine Esplanade, New Town Bay serves as both our local Clubrooms and the headquarters for bridge in the state.
| North-West | North | South |
|---|---|---|
| Burnie Bridge Club | Launceston Bridge Club | Hobart City Bridge Club |
| Devonport Bridge Club | Tamar Bridge Club | Eastern Shore Bridge Club |
| Kingborough Bridge Club |
Contact us:
Phone: 0400 492 327
Email: tba@tasbridge.com.au
Post: PO Box 171, North Hobart 7002
Bank Account Details for direct debit: BSB: 067-102 A/C #: 2801 2004 A/C Name: Tasmanian Bridge Association
ABN: 66 028 130 967
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Tasmanian Bridge Association Bridge Club 2020
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