All News
Waikato Bays News from Anna Kalma
Lockdown lifted and so onto the much anticipated first tournament since March in the region … the Spa Town 5A teams … usually the biggest event on the Te Aroha calendar but this year it was decided to run the event using the facilities of the Hamilton Bridge Club. Due to Covid-19, the Te Aroha club were unable to gain funding for catering and the venue hire and was uncertain about how many bums on seats would eventuate with the country recently lifting restrictions but wanted to go ahead with something … anything to get people playing bridge again.
We needn’t have worried as 30 teams which is a couple more than we have achieved in the past few years rocked up. While they usually hold a multigrade/restricted 8B alongside the 5A, due to uncertainty about uptake, a decision was made to run the competition in one field. However, prizes aplenty for anybody punching above their weight in the final rankings.
BEST OF THE TEAMS 2ND PLACE
Blair and Liz Fisher, Rosie Don and John Wang, Gary Chen, Jeter Liu and June Lei
Michael Courtney snuck ahead of the pack from Akarana
in the final round.
Top under 400 average Rating Points
Heini Lux, Alan Dick, Rona and John Driscoll from Rotorua/Taupo clubs
The Spa Town Teams (at Hamilton) wasn’t smooth sailing … a few gremlins must’ve crept into the systems over lockdown … the results of the first round disappeared into the ether which were eventually discovered after a 30 minute search of the scoring systems and another random 2nd round draw being produced..
The same gremlins might have been responsible for the internet crashing causing issues with draws/results showing … and then a plumber had to be called to fix flooding of the toilets … apparently there was an electrician and doctor in the playing field but they (luckily) weren’t required.
Luckily for Hamilton club they were able to use the Spa Town to iron out all these issues before hosting their next teams tournament which was held two weeks later at the Hamilton Bridge Club …
Hamilton 5A Teams
Another big turnout for the Hamilton 5A Teams which was run concurrently with the 3A Open Restricted Teams. Another 30 teams ventured out – 16 teams in the 5A Open and 14 teams in the Restricted Open (for those of National Master or below) proving the popularity of the format.
72 boards in the Open (6 rounds of 12 boards) must have proved too much for one team who took off home following the 5th round leaving the organisers having to call in some subs to finish the final session … luckily the Open Restricted had finished their 5 x 12 board matches by then and there was a few hanging around who were up for another match!
tops in 5A Open and Open Restricted
Jonathan Westoby, Malcolm Mayer, Graham Young, Melanie Rex, Shirley Bain and Joy Bates (Tauranga)
Ian Berrington and Grant Jarvis clinched the inaugural title. (with Ella Gray from the Hamilton Club)
The 5A Open winners had built such a convincing lead that THEY could have gone home early and still won overall.
Waikato Area Pairs
The region also made the decision to continue with the Waikato Area Pairs … usually a competition across 6 events which has been curtailed to just three. The initial heat was played at Matamata back in February and it was good to have a roomful in Thames for the penultimate round. The spoils going to Yuzhong Chen who pulled in a ring-in from outside the region – James Yang – who then preceded to win both sessions and took his two A points back to Auckland. 
Yuzhong Chen and James Yang
New directors..where are you?
Finally thanks to Allan Joseph of Wellington who travelled to Hamilton to direct the Spa Town Teams as well as run a directing seminar the following day at Matamata. The Waikato Bays are bereft of directors and we need to encourage as many people as possible to sign up to both club and tournament directing in the near future! Seminars such as the one Allan has been providing in the Waikato Bays are crucial to upskill those in our region and are well regarded by those who attended.
Your chance to play for your region
Also a reminder to those who are aspiring to IP selection – get your nomination into the Waikato Bays before the end of the month (wbbcsecretary@gmail.com). This year the team will be selected by selection as opposed to by trial.You can enter as a team or pair.This year’s IPs are held in Wellington in November.
This is a welcome return to our regular News from different parts of the country. We will continue to feature a different region each week.
Richard Solomon
Go Back View All News Items
