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Geraldine 8B February 21^st.

            There were two noteworthy surprises at this tournament. On the weekend before I had broached with my partner Neville Newburn, what system we might play, Neville once again said “Listen Max we don’t go to Geraldine to win the tournament, we go down to win the raffle!”

I bought 10 tickets when I arrived. We discussed our system for 5 minutes and played an average tournament. To my surprise I won 4 raffle prizes for the second year in a row!

            At the end of the second session, there was a buzz in the crowded room as players realised that two strangers to the tournament had scooped first place. A young man, Matt Geare from the south, playing with his friend Dennis Norman, had blitzed the field by a clear 7%, scoring 72% in the second session. There is hope for the rest of us as Dennis is over 90 years of age! The defending champions Lesley Andrew and Kay Nicholas filled 2^nd spot. Two pairs Karen Rarere/Ron Griffiths and Pauline Prendergast/Uneta Denly can be very pleased with their efforts to take out the next two highest tournament places.                  %

Tournament Winner                         Matt Geare/Dennis Norman                     127

            Spades                                  Lesley Andrew/Kay Nicholas                   121

                                                            Karen Rarere/Ron Griffiths                     120

                                                            Rewa Kyle/Mary Buckland                      118

            Hearts                                   Pauline Prendergast/Uneta Denly            119

                                                            Sam Gurney/Tony Quinlivan                   108

                                                            Saul Sheehy/Sonia Gill                           107

 

            Diamonds                            Glynis Sullivan/Shona Stoddart                 104

                                                            Shawn Adriel-Ai/Leon Meier                   103

                                                            Keith Nicholas/Peggy Shaw                     97

 

Ashburton Anniversary Pairs 8B                                              March 6^th

            The day belonged to South Canterbury as in the morning Dorothy Bain and Jim Burford topped the percentages with 66.94%, and in the afternoon Sue Rosevear and John Fechney were also well clear with 64.5%

Over the two sessions Michael Johnstone and Paula Gregory topped the scores, just edging out a new pair on the tournament scene Liz Fitzgerald and John Kruiniger

                                                                                                                           %

 

1^st       Michael Johnstone/Paula Gregory                                                          123.99

2^nd       Liz Fitzgerald/John Kruiniger                                                                  123.81

3^rd       Jane Skipper/John Skipper                                                                      118.04

Rangiora 5A       March 21^st

            The three pairs section winners in the morning session were David Taylor/Jane Lennon, Pavla Fenwick/Mehboob Chiba, and Jane Skipper/John Skipper. David and Jane were allowed to set a stellar standard with 68.94%

            In the afternoon it was Mary Buckland/Trish Downward who set the pace with 66%, and the other session winners were Pavla Fenwick/Mehboob Chiba and Paula Gregory/ Michael Johnstone.

            The most consistent pairs shared the podium and in particular Katherine Tennant with Hayden Seal acquitted themselves well in both sessions.

                                                                                                                                                     %

1^st        Jane Lennon/David Taylor                                                           134.4            

2^nd       Pavla Fenwick/Mehboob Chiba                                                   125.4

3^rd       Katherine Tennant/Hayden Seal                                                  125.3

 

Canterbury’s Ascending Star

 

        
          Max Robb congratulates Leon Meier on his success in Auckland

A 17-year-old is creating quite a stir in Canterbury. Leon Meier has only been playing two years. Last October I asked Leon if he would like to play in the 12-night Championship Pairs, and he readily agreed. I thought I could be his mentor, but within a few months the boot was on the other foot. In November he won his first A point, and surprised all those at the South Island Teams where he did his bit in propelling his team to 3^rd in this nationally ranked event.

            However, I write this because of his astonishing success at Easter. Unable to find a partner from the Christchurch club he throws his name in the hat and scores Grant Jarvis as his partner for the Auckland 10A Easter tournament. He flies to Auckland and in a very strong field, they win the Pairs championship!

            I thought this was so astounding, as a convenor, I decided to congratulate him in front of his home club. To do so I had to call him away from his tasks as director of two movements of 26 tables on our Senior night. He has handled this contribution to the running of our club with quiet assurance.

Timaru Congress 15A                                                                   April 10^th/11^th          

The Timaru Club must be congratulated again for providing for three divisions. The open division was closed off at 96 participants, and the Intermediate attracted 36 players. Timaru is the only Canterbury Club that regularly runs a Junior Competition and this year there were four and a half tables of newer players prepared to devote a weekend to bridge.

Open Teams

1^st       Arleen Schwartz/Chris Ackerley/Margaret Perley/Paul Freeland             87

2^nd       Kevin Skoropada/Bruce Batchelor/Donna Ruwhiu/Kristin Collins           80

3^rd       Jeremy Fraser-Hoskins/Ann-Marie Russell/Paul Carson/Jack James     79

4^th       Jane Skipper/John Skipper/Jane Lennon/Alan Grant                              78

5^th       Max Robb/Peter Van Leeuwen/Ernie Sutton/Jean-Olivier Begouin         76

6^th       Michael Ware/Tim Schumacher/David Skipper/Graeme Tufnell              75

winners: Paul Freeland, Margaret Perley, Arleen Schwartz and Chris Ackerley

Intermediate Teams

            The Denly team were the only team to only lose one match [narrowly], and were clear winners of the competition:

 

1^st  Uneta Denly/Pauline Prendergast/Grant Patterson/Wendy Taggart            138

2^nd Judy Russell/Pam Hodgkinson/Murray Barron/David Larson                      114

3^rd   Junelle Redmond/Margie Baird/Theo Jordans/Darrell Sidon                     108

 

  
 Intermediate winners, Wendy Taggart, Uneta Denley, Grant Patterson and Pauline Prendergast

Open Pairs

Two young men from the North Island showed that to win a Tournament consistency matters. While others had a big session win, Jack and Jeremy improved from 56 to 60 and then topped the percentages for the day with a stunning final round of 67.                                                                       %

1^st       Jack James/Jeremy Fraser-Hoskins                                           183.27

2^nd       Margaret Perley/Paul Freeland                                                  175.47

3^rd       Greg Buzzard/Moss Wylie                                                           171.78

    
Jack James is congratulated by        2nd placed Paul Freeland and
  Pauline Prendegast, Tournament      Margaret Perley
Organiser

Intermediate Pairs

            The morning session winner were Wendy Taggart/Grant Patterson and Debbie Seddon-Sewell and David Sewell. In the afternoon Wendy and Grant won North-South again but it was Caroline Caseley and Jo Hampton who nearly took the Intermediate division with the highest percentage for the day, 67%     

                                                                                                                %  

1^st       Wendy Taggart/Grant Patterson                                                  123.08

2^nd       Caroline Caseley/Jo Hampton                                                    116.98

3^rd       Donna Skoropada/Jo Smith                                                        112.34

Junior Pairs

            Three Junior pairs did well to average better than 50 percent in the same rotation as the Intermediate. Actually, Blair and Carl’s results would have placed them 3^rd in the higher division – a very good day for them.

                                                                                                                 %

1^st       Blair Corlet/Carl Pedersen                                                           114.10

2^nd       Hans Limacher/Claire Williams                                                   102.72

3^rd       Angela Spence/Gavin Spence                                                       99.36

 

Mid-Canterbury Pairs  5A     Ashburton     17^th April

            In the morning the nicest surprise was Kathy Hamilton/Ewan Chapman scoring the highest score [62.75%] and scoring an A point for their efforts.

            Five other pairs were within close range and could entertain the prospect of winning the tournament. But in the afternoon the Skippers left nothing to chance and blitzed the Howell with a superlative 72%

                                                                                                                              %

1^st       Jane Skipper/John Skipper                                                                       134

2^nd       Max Morrison/Jane Lennon                                                                     122

3^rd       David Taylor/Sarah Garland                                                                     117

4^th       Chris Bras/ Melody Bras                                                                           115

5^th       Michael Neels/John Kelly                                                                         113

6^th       Ewan Chapman/Kathy Hamilton [ winners of under 400]                         111

7^th       Lesley Chubb/Judy Butler                                                                        110

8^th       Matt Geare/Brian Papps  [ winners of under 175 ]                                   109

 

              
overall winners, Jane and John    morning winners, Kathy Hamilton 2nd placed Jane Lennon and           3rd David Taylor and Sarah Garland 
  Skipper                                       and Ewan Chapman                          Max Morrison

  It was nice to see visitors from the Waikato Bays area playing, and performing well.

  It is also nice to be able to report that David Taylor has become the Region's and country's latest Grand Master. Congratulations, David.

 

 

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