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Waikato Bays News from Anna Kalma
a winner "extraordinaire". Read on to find out who and where.
Since my last round up, I count that there have been 18 local tournaments in the region … with many already covered online, I’m limiting my coverage to those where I have photos and main prize winners only!
Ladies Day Tauranga
It was nice to see Kate Terry back at the bridge table and with Judy Pawson she was back in winning form with an excellent morning session in the midweek tournament which saw 11 tables compete while the blokes were in the kitchen! Jenna and Christine Gibbons were 2nd overall (bodes well for our Waikato Bays Women’s Team!).
Kate and Judy
Spa Town Teams in Te Aroha
A last minute postponement of the Wellington Congress meant a few extra teams signing up for the Spa Town Teams in Te Aroha in late June. Unfortunately, it also meant we lost the services of Allan Joseph who was to direct but was trapped within the Wellington COVID lockdown. This also meant the cancellation of his directors’ seminar that was to be held in Matamata on the Sunday as well a scramble for a replacement director … thanks to recently qualified Kevin Hu from Auckland who we wrangled at the last minute and did a great job. Allan remained as a “phone a director” friend which was useful as Kevin was put to the test a few times including organising and attending his first appeal at the close of play.
Spa Town Winners
Open winners, Wayne Burrows, Jack James Top Multi-grade team, Nick Cantlon (Te Awamutu)
Liz & Blair Fisher, who would have been playing Barbara McFarlane & Ted Cliffen (Thames) and
in Wellington but for the Covid lockdown. Sally Whitaker (Te Awamutu).
The Multi-grade winners are the Waikato Bays Inter Provincial Intermediate team which also bodes well for our region.
The National Pairs at Tauranga
It was a small but powerful field at Tauranga this year for this event that was played over two days. It was played as a barometer where everybody plays the same boards each match so requires a heap of boards dealt but gives the players (and spectators) the advantage of tracking performance after each set of 3 boards.
Locals Rachelle Pelkman and Nick Jacob pretty much held the lead from start to finish. However, there was a change of duties for Nick’s mum Steph Jacob who went from chief babysitter on Saturday to super sub on the Sunday filling in for Nick who fell ill. Nick’s wife Ella Jacob completed the double by coming in second with GeOTislevoll from Akarana.
Winners at the National Teams and at Matamata
Steph Jacob, an admirable substitute Grant Jarvis & Ken Yule
for son Nick & Rachelle Pelkman with flank Matamata President, Judith Howard
Tauranga President, Kate Terry.
Matamata Open Tournament
Grant Jarvis was back in his happy place – he reckons he has attended the Matamata Open around 18 (?) times and has probably been in the winners circle many of those times also. This time he teamed up with local Ken Yule with two solid sessions to win the event over Patrick Carter and Russell Wilson from Auckland/New Plymouth respectively. However, the other punters were left happy when they saw the size and quality of the lunch platters (perhaps more descriptively described as "pallets of food" by the director Norm Silcock).
Waikato Bays Rubber champs
Sam & Jo Simpson
Sam and Jo Simpson defeated Brian Gallaher and Brian Sullivan from Waikato club will have home town advantage at the Rubber Bridge champs at Congress this year.
Jo writes: “We are delighted to once again represent Waikato Bays for the National Rubber Bridge competition at the NZ Congress. Apart from one match (opponents conceded when we were several thousand ahead at board 25), it was a bit of a struggle.
Our last match was against “the two Brians” from the Waikato club. As usual, it was a close- run thing. After an initial burst winning the first rubber, it was mostly downhill for us as far as HCP went.
With 3 boards to go, and us slightly behind, all Vul, Sam opened 1
(Precision, limited to 15HCP) and Brian overcalled 2
. Looking at this nice 9 count, I bid a (10+HCP) 2
.
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Sam bid 2NT (minimum, 11-13HCP) with a club hold.
and when the bidding came back to me after 3 had been bid, I tried double. I really intended it as penalties, but if Sam had bid 3
,I would have retreated to 3". No need. 3 doubled was passed out.
Sam had QT72, and the contract failed by 2 tricks, to give us plus 500 and set us up for a narrow win.”
May the card gods be with them at Congress.
Cambridge 6s
In the largest tournament in the region (apart from Congress). 36 teams of 6 entered this years Cambridge 6s held at the picturesque Don Rowlands Centre. The tournament ticked all the boxes:
- Awesome food
- Slick organisation and no scoring snafu’s
- Team Camaraderie
- Wonderful venue
- A competition for each grade
- Heaps of prizes/raffles
Winners of the Bridge and the dress-up
Wally and the Wallettes I s Creams
The overall winners were Wally and the Wallettes from Mt Albert club. Wally was John Craig along with team mates Mary Chamberlain, Emma and Dianne Russell, Rebecca Dane and Diane Bridgeman (that’s a good bridge playing name!).
Best dress up were the I sCreams – Mereana Cullen, Cherie Barton, Roger Gunning, Ranjith Cooray, Stephen Baptist & Stephen Weir from Hamilton but I don’t know which is which!
Winners of the respective grades were:
Open: Clare Coles (Cambridge) and Hugh McGann (Ireland/Hamilton) who won the Open and a great effort from Clare who is also one of the key drivers of the Cambridge 6’s. So, I suspect had other distractions to manage during the day!
Intermediate: Top intermediate pair was Elspeth Goodrick and Wendy Blackman from Rotorua.
Junior: Gail Arnold and Irene Gubb from Morrinsville took out the Junior Swiss Pairs.
Mt Maunganui Intermediate and Junior
The Mount Maunganui Intermediate and Junior tournaments were well supported and held over in the Tauranga Club while the Mount clubrooms are out of action. An excellent field of 19 tables in the Intermediate and 15 tables in the Junior had the Tauranga clubrooms bursting at near capacity.
Top Intermediates and Juniors
Te Puke's Marcus Dudley & Megan Richards Mt Maunganui's Carol Jones & Liz Dey
In other news
Yuzhong & Gary
Well done to Yuzhong Chen and Gary Foidl (Waikato) who both achieved Silver Grand Master status in the past month. For the record Gary got there first by a week!
New premises for the Mount
The Mount Maunganui club farewelled their old building which was demolished back in March. While awaiting their new premises for completion in April 2022, they have moved into a disused bowls club which sat adjacent to their original clubrooms.
the building site Members are happy in their temporary accommodation
While there was trepidations about moving into the temporary facilities –once they sorted out new Air conditioning units, and had transferred the carpet and curtains from the old premises. Julie Sheridan reckons that their members are very happy in temporary accommodation. Much warmer and cosier than the old building. Easier access for less physically able members - they can drive right up to the door. Nice indoor/outdoor flow in warmer weather. After holding two of our tournaments at the Tauranga club, they are planning to hold our Restricted Tournament 18 Sep in the temporary building with limited numbers.
Bridge – not just for the young.
The Tauranga Bridge Club recently held a 5 session singles event for our daytime members. This event is very popular and averaged 24 tables each session. Playing with different partners each week, Mavis Meyer was triumphant, winning the event by a comfortable 5.93%
Nothing unusual about that you might think. However, Mavis is 101 and a very keen bridge player attending daytime sessions twice each week.
Mavis Meyer
Congratulations on a great win, Mavis.
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