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Zoe and Milla with one good reason for live bridge! see below.

There has certainly been a “make up for lost time” attitude to bridge in Top of the South since lockdown 1 restrictions were eased.  The appetite for face to face bridge has been insatiable.  Tournaments a sell out, increased numbers at club play, 19 at Richmond’s improvers lessons, and the icing on the cake: 43 enrolled in Nelson’s learners class.

            Hokitika Bridge Club

 
   at play at the end of June

Chris Marshall has been doing the rounds and visited Hokitika Club at the end of June.  Hokitika has recently re-affiliated to NZ Bridge, bringing us up to 10 clubs in Top of the South.  They had 3.5 tables playing, enthusiastic to grow membership and have their eyes on a few younger players returning to the area in the near future.  The evening was rounded off with a supper provided by NZ Bridge.  Welcome Back.  He then made his way to Kaikoura who had 10.5 tables playing.  A great turn out for a relatively small club.
                                 Bridge at Kaikoura

   once more, a late June club night
and congratulations to Chris for being awarded New Zealand Bridge's Volunteer of the Month for August: a great contributor for both Picton and the Region.

After a false start for many clubs, lessons are finally underway.  It doesn’t appear that too many were phased by the hiatus and are keen to pick up the reins.  As mentioned, 43 in Nelson, causing the class to be split over two nights.  Ann Blackie has a class of 9 in Golden Bay, Leigh Gamby another 9 in Richmond.  Lindsey Guy has been running a series of improvers’ lessons on alternate Sunday afternoons in Richmond also with a good turnout.

Motueka Club hosted the Howorth Club on 19 July: Top of the South’s premier event.  Two teams from each club battle it out in a round robin. Marlborough had been holding the lead through most of the day, but a loss to Nelson in the penultimate round and Richmond in the last meant Nelson retains the cup, for the third year in a row.
                              HOWORTH CUP WINNERS

Nelson winners, Steve Gray, Tony Hinkley, Carol Minchin, Susan Hinkley, Lindsey Guy, Rebecca Osborne, Jana Bott and Adrian Abraham

The gap between the lockdowns luckily coincided with our busiest tournament period. So, we managed a fair few.  Richmond’s NBS 5A Open Pairs was the first off the blocks.  Not quite sure whether we were going ahead or not, it was decided to reduce the entry fee and not offer lunch, which turned out to be a popular move.  Plenty of refreshments, snacks and after play nibbles were still provided.  Zoe and Milla did a great job manning the kitchen, but we do hope we see them playing a bit more bridge!  Zoe is one of last year’s learners and Milla has taken a few lessons at Waimea College. 

 
  Zoe and Milla... great in the kitchen and learning the game, too.

                                                     Great at the table
          1st                                              2nd                                             3rd                              Highest Paced Juniors

            Kathryn Brookes & Pam Dravitzki    Tony and Susan Hinkley    Ray Curnow and Phil Rutherford   Bevan and Anne Bruce

 

Motueka 5A

Motueka held their Open 5A the day before the Howorth Cup on 18th July.  All top 5 placings were from the Nelson Club.  Congratulations to:

1^st        Linda Dow and Raewyn Taylor

2^nd       Susan and Tony Hinkley

3^rd       Pam Dravitzki and Kathryn Brookes

4^th       Helen Barker and Chris Turner

5^th       Toby Gordon and Judy Honeybone

Linda Dow and Raewyn Taylor

Juniors up next on 25^th July in Nelson.  Always a fun one and a great way to dip your toe into the Tournament water!  Again, Nelson players had a monopoly on the top 4 places, with Golden Bays’ CJ Webster and Rhoda MacDonald in 5^th.  Special congratulations to Theresa, David and Debra who were all learnt only last year.

1^st        Hec Arbuthnott and Alex Rutherford

2^nd       Jenny Vaile and Theresa Goldsworthy

3^rd       Anne and Bevan Bruce

4^th       David Porter and Debra Lee Pioch

5^th       Rhoda MacDonald and CJ Webster

And finally, the ever-popular Hello World Swiss Pairs in Richmond.  Oversubscribed and extended to 22 tables.  Zoe and Milla were back manning the kitchen, Steve Gray manning almost everything else! 

   
Steve Gray and Lindsey Guy  Kathryn Brookes and  Tony Oberdries and Chris Henry  Joan Heaphy and Kay Cotton
                                               Pam Dravitzki

 

1^st        Steve Gray and Lindsey Guy 

2^nd       Kathryn Brookes and Pam Dravitzki

3^rd       Chris Henry and Tony Oberdries

4^th       Maurice Carter and Jim Jessep

5^th        Kay Cotton and Joan Heaphy (1^st in Clubs)

Thanks to all the committees, directors, helpers, dealers and clubs who make all these tournaments such an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday.  There is an enormous amount of pulling together to ensure their success.

Meanwhile Rubber Bridge has been trotting along, with a record number of entries for Top of the South, 23 pairs in total.  Five very competitive rounds in the knock out, with Chris Marshall and Maurice Carter winning and going on to represent us at Congress.  Good to see Juniors having a go and coming through in the early rounds.

And finally with the absence of trials our IP team has been selected as follows.  We wish them all the best:

Open

Adrian Abraham and Tony Oberdries

Barbara Fechney AND Chris Marshall

 

Senior

Maurice Carter and Jim Jessep

Steve Gray and Lindsey Guy

 

Women

Pam Dravitzki and Katherine Brookes

Jana Bott and Rebecca Osborne

 

Intermediate

Tom Pyatt and Peter Bone

Gill Webby and Kerry Marshall

 

with Ed Roggeveen as our Chef de Mission

 

So, Top of the South is in good heart.  Enjoying being back at the table in these unprecedented times. 

 

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