In our newsletter this week...

• Committee's Statement to the Membership
• Wednesday Night Pizzas
• Supporting Our Newer Players
• Skills Development Workshops with William Jenner-O'Shea
• Advanced Bridge Series
• Mentor Pairs
• Results from SFOB
• Ian Morison

Committee's Statement to the Membership

I am writing to members in response to a number of queries we have received following the President’s announcement in last Friday’s newsletter about not continuing as President.  The Committee has been dealing with a number of issues of concern related to this over the last few months. 

The Committee felt that the seriousness of the matters under consideration and other deviations from good governance of the Club could not be overlooked and there was an associated loss of faith in the President's continued leadership.

Contrary to the President’s statement in last week’s newsletter it should be noted that the committee does not have the power to vote him out. This can only be done by members at a general meeting called for that purpose.

Committee members have tried hard to resolve the situation as harmoniously as possible by discussing with the President the possibility of him remaining on the Committee but not as President. This was a whole Committee decision. 

As I mentioned, the Committee has been concerned about a number of important Club decisions and actions on matters that have been taken by the President independent of the Committee, that were not endorsed by the Committee nor reflected in formal Committee motions for the Minutes and record.

The committee has the responsibility of safeguarding the funds contributed in good faith by the members, and ensuring that CBC funds are only spent on formally approved CBC expenses and investments. In particular the committee must guard against conflict of interest when it comes to managing the CBC.

The committee’s concern related to the President’s proceeding to seek three contracts for draft plans for the building renovation proposal without Committee formal endorsement, without having the benefit of members’ input, and with a conflict of interest he had in engaging his son as one of the three possible contractors for the building renovation proposal.

If any members want further information, please contact me. 

Mary Tough - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Vice President

(on behalf of the CBC Committee)

Wednesday Night Pizzas

The next Wednesday night pizza will be on 31st January 2024. For those unfamiliar with the activity, the Wednesday night pizzas provide the opportunity for social interaction while enjoying a pizza sampling. It provides a great opportunity to talk to and socialise with your fellow players, which is not always the case when engaged in playing bridge. The pizzas will be available from 6:30, which provides ample time to enjoy your pizzas before supervised and walk-in play begins.

The cost of the pizzas is a nominal $5 payable on the day. This entitles you to half a pizza. A variety of toppings will be available and participants can pick and choose. Vegan pizzas can be made available for those who want them. No drinks are provided, so if you want liquid refreshment you will need to bring your own. 

Attendance is voluntary and those wishing to partake should place their name on a list on the noticeboard or contact Jon Pike directly. His email is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or mobile 0414 272 778. 

Supporting our newer players

Supervised program

The supervised program for the year restarts on Wednesday 31 January.   The lesson schedule is as follows:

• 31/1 & 2/2:  Negative and other doubles
• 7/2 & 9/2: Reverses
• 14/2 & 16/2: Declarer play - consider the order.
• 21/2 &23/2: Declarer play – preserve your entries.
• 28/2 & 1/3: Same bid – different message
• 6/3 &8/3:  Transition to duplicates
• 13/3 &15/3: Etiquette, duplicate play, Bridge mates and scoring. (Feb Beginner graduates commence this week)
• 20/3 & 22/3:  Doubles and Overcalls
• 27/3:  Opening leads simplified.  (no lesson on Good Friday)

The Bridge Buddy Program

If you have been playing for less than 2 years and would find it helpful to seek bridge advice from a more experienced player, we can assist. You may have a bridge issue that is puzzling you; you might want help analysing your results; maybe you are learning a new convention and would like to discuss what it involves.   If you are interested, please contact Morag Lokan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Morag will discuss your needs and find an experience player to assist. 

Skills Development Workshops with William Jenner-O'Shea

In addition to the Advanced Bridge Series (advertised below and in last week's newsletter) which are aimed at the more advanced players looking to improve their game beyond the club level duplicate,

the club will be running 3 workshops hosted by Will Jenner-O'Shea designed to help intermediate players take their game to the next level.  

These workshops will include a delicious morning tea, a light lunch, and a booklet of notes. 

• Saturday February 3rd 10am to 3pm : Improve Your Judgement and Tweak Your System
• Saturday March 23rd 10am to 3pm: Defence Techniques Card Placing and Counting Tricks
• Saturday April 20th 10am to 3pm: Solid Suits, Strong Suits, Decisive Bidding

Click here to enter

Advanced Bridge Series 

This is a new initiative this year. aimed specifically at players keen to develop their game beyond the club duplicate level.  At this level it is increasingly about bidding (and playing) hands to their maximum; or more colloquially “going as close to the edge as possible without falling over it”.  This applies to part scores, games and slams. Judging when and how to apply the pressure and conversely having the tools to deal with pressure opponents put you under is crucial.  Finding this balance – being active enough to find your contracts and give the opponents issues while not being punished - is the challenge.

How does this series work?

Each topic in the series will involve two workshops: the first workshop is a more traditional lesson; while the second workshop is a mentored play session. The lessons will be run by our own, well renowned teacher Will Jenner O'Shea. The play sessions let players practice the skills and discuss the issues with a number of the club's best players. You may attend just the lesson or the mentored play.

Who should go?

Any player interested in knowing more about competitive play and what it involves.

When is it?

SET1

• Sunday January 28th, 1:30pm (lesson)
• Sunday, February 4th, 1:30 (play)    Interfering with their 1NT opening and handling interference over our 1NT Opening. Landy, doubles and Lebonsohl.

SET2

• Sunday March 3rd, 1:30pm (lesson)
• Sunday, March 10th, 1:30 (play)    Slam bidding using keycard: Splinters to improve your slam bidding and judgement. Advanced declarer play techniques to help you make your slams.

SET3

• Sunday April 14th, 1:30pm (lesson)
• Sunday, April 21st, 1:30 (play)    Competitive biddingpushing it to the edge. Improve your knowledge of scoring and sacrificing, when to penalty double, when to bid on.

Click here to enter 

Mentor Pairs for Advancing players  

On Tuesday evening 13 February, the club will conduct a Mentoring session for members who are interested in advancing their bridge towards competition level. Regular Tuesday night competition players will pair up with advancing members wishing to move to a more competitive environment. We are encouraging our regular competition players to invite other members who they know to play with them on the night.

We will also arrange partnerships for any other members who are interested. Please sign up and specify to be either mentors or mentees via the link below.

Click here to enter

Results from SFOB

Bridge Shop One Day Novice Teams:

1st - DAVID KENNY - KATHLEEN KENNY - BELINDA MOSS - JENNY BELL

2nd  - BRICET KLOREN - HILARY MERRITT - JAMES WALCOTT - JOHN LEE 

Novice Swiss Pairs:

1st - JOHN REIS - MURRAY CAMPBELL

Congratulations to all our members listed above and best of luck to everyone still playing today and on the weekend.

SFOB will conclude this Sunday and we are hoping to have more winners to be included in the next week's newsletter.

Ian Morison

 If you would like to read Ian's article please press the link below. 

•  The Misfit in 3NT

Lighter Moments

• Q: What is a king's favorite kind of precipitation? A: Hail!
• Q: When does it rain money? A: When there is "change" in the weather.
• Q: What's the difference between a horse and the weather? A: One is reined up and the other rains down.
• Q: What do you call it when it rains chickens and ducks? A: Foul (fowl) weather.
• Q: What did one raindrop say to the other? A: Two's company, three's a cloud
  
  

Have a great weekend everyone!

Elizabeth (For Elizabeth and Amik)

Plan to move from CBCPay to myABF

The present method of payment for club duplicate sessions (CBCPay) was introduced in 2021 following the reopening of the clubrooms post pandemic. It replaced a very user-unfriendly voucher system and has served the club well. It does however have several administrative disadvantages and is no longer actively being serviced or developed by its creator. For the last three years, The Australian Bridge Association has been developing a club administration system and in July expanded the system to allow for affiliated clubs to collect table money for walk-in duplicate session fees using the myABF method. Last night, the CBC committee endorsed a proposal to move from CBCPay to myABF for all duplicate session payments.

The myABF payment system is similar in set up to CBCPay, except that members will prepay directly (by credit or debit card) into their myABF account, can use auto top up to keep the account in credit (should they wish) and will be able to instantly see their account balance and financial history by logging into their account. There is also an ability to transfer money to other myABF members.

The changeover from CBCPay to myABF will not be fully implemented until at least March 2024 and the vast majority of members do not need to take any action at this stage.

Implementation schedule for myABF

Payment for CBC Tuesday night competitions will be made through MyABF from January and we are planning to adopt myABF for club duplicates in March/April.

Adding money to your myABF account

There are two options to buy Bridge Credits (1$ = 1 Bridge Credit) :

• Bridge Credits can be automatically topped up when your balance falls below $20 (similar to BBO). The minimum top-up is $50. Recommended – a set and forget option, or
• Bridge Credits can be purchased by manually buying any amount with either a credit or debit card. You will receive an alert email if your account falls below $20 and you will have to manually top-up your account. Please note that unlike CBCPay, myABF accounts do not allow negative balances.

Security of the myABF platform

MyABF uses the Stripe platform as a secure online payment provider.  Stripe is similar to PayPal and is a worldwide company. All card details are securely handled through Stripe.

The ABF does not hold or store anybody’s Credit/Debit Card details.

Payment options

When you enter an Event using your MyABF account, you can either pay for yourself or one player can pay for their partner or team. Members can then transfer funds from their account to their partner’s account at any time.

If you would like to know more about how to register for my ABF click on the link below:

•  link to download instructions on how to register for MyABF

If you are happy to proceed to registering click on the link below:

•  link to register for MyABF

Tuesday 13 February Mentoring Evening

On Tuesday evening 13 February, the club will conduct a Mentoring session for members who are interested in advancing their bridge towards competition level. Regular Tuesday night competition players will pair up with advancing members wishing to move to a more competitive environment. We are encouraging our regular competition players to invite other members who they know to play with them on the night. We will also arrange partnerships for any other members who are interested

When: One session Butler (teams style scoring) session on Tuesday 13 February 7.15pm. 

Cost: $8 per player

Regular Tuesday night competition players will pair up with advancing members wishing to move to a more competitive environment.

Register via this link specifying if you are intending to be a mentor or mentee,

Use the Online Entry Form or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Mentees List:

1.  Matthew Mason-Cox
2. David McMillen
3. Julie Ryan
4. Anne Fleming
5. Liam Minogue

 Mentor List:

1. Pam Crichton
2. Julia Hoffman
3. David Wawn - Josh Schwartz

To view and download the 2024 CBC Calendar click on the link below:

2024 Calendar