England win silver at World Mind Games

The England ladies won a silver medal at the World Mind Games invitational event in Beijing, losing to USA in the final. Well done to Sally Brock, Nicola Smith, Heather Dhondy, Nevena Senior, Susan Stockdale and Fiona Brown.

Nicola Smith also won silver in the Individual event.

Free EBU Sims - December 11

Last month was our trial of the new Sim Pairs software. We were very pleased to have 100 clubs sign up and hope that this will put the system through its paces! Results and commentary booklets are available at the links below. Players are also welcome to share stories of the evening and make comments on our Google+ page or on Facebook.

• Results
• Commentary: A4 - booklet form
• Google+ thread or Facebook (requires account to comment)
• List of participating clubs
• Instructions for club scorers

Gold Cup - 2011

Congratulations to the Peter Lee team, who have won the 2011 BGB Gold Cup. Peter Lee, Frances Hinden, Jeffrey Allerton, Graham Osborne, John Howard and Andy Bowles beat Alexander Allfrey, Andrew Robson, David Gold, Tony Forrester, Peter Crouch and Derek Patterson by 126-100 IMPs.

Photo: Shireen Mohandes

NICKO winners 2011

Congratulations to David Jones, Steve Green, Garry Watson and Martin Jones for winning the 2010/11 National Inter Club Knockout at the weekend. They beat Manchester in the final. This is the fifth time that the team has won the NICKO.

Lords V Commons 2011

"The 37th match between the House of Commons and the House of Lords for the Jack Perry Trophy was held at the Portland Club, London last Friday. The Commons were depleted as the last general election had seen retirements and defeats for several MPs, but they came out fighting and had a useful lead at the halfway stage.

A second half revival saw the Lords run out winners and increase their lead in the series to 20-17.

The match, sponsored each year by Stephen Perry and London Export features a trophy for the best bid, played or defended hand. The Anthony Berry Trophy, judged by EBU Vice-President Tony Priday. who attended the very first match, was won by Baroness Byford for her bidding to an excellent 6D, played with skill."

Lords Team: Lord Skelmersdale, Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes, Lord Harrison, Baroness Billingham, Lord May of Oxford, Baroness Henig (Captain), Earl of Caithness, and Baroness Byford. Well done to them.

Report by Jeremy Dhondy. The match was sponsored by Stephen Perry of London Export Ltd in memory of his father Jack whose name is on the match trophy.

• Photos

AGM 2011 results

The Annual General Meeting of the English Bridge Union took place on 5 October in London.

Election of directors

Two candidates were nominated and have agreed to stand. As such, there was no need for an election for the eight positions available.

Directors elected:

Sally Bugden

Heather Dhondy

Jeremy Dhondy

Val Gibson (newly elected)

Michael Hill

Graham Jepson

Ian Payn (newly elected)

Andrew Petrie

There being no other candidates for the roles, the following remained in their positions:

Officers:

Sally Bugden - Chairman

Andrew Petrie - Vice-Chairman

Michael Hill - Treasurer

Laws & Ethics Committee

Three nominations were received for the two vacancies, so an election was required.

Congratulations to David Burn and Martin Pool who serve for a three year term of office, expiring in 2014.

Tournament Committee

Three nominations were received, for three places, so no election required:

Brian Crack (re-elected)

Paul Hackett (re-elected)

Ian Payn (newly elected)

Mr Hackett and Mr Payn serve for a three year term of office, expiring in 2014, and Mr Crack for two years, expiring in 2013.

Selection Committee

Five nominations were received, for four places, so an election was required.

Congratulations to Tom Townsend, Simon Cochemé and Nick Smith who serve for a three year term of office, expiring in 2014, and Heather Bakhshi who serves for a one year term of office, expiring in 2012.

Nominations for AGM

Nominations for the AGM on the 5th October 2011

Nominations received as at 14th September 2011 (closing date)

Board
Two candidates have been nominated and have agreed to stand. As such, there will be no need for an election for the eight positions available.

Sally Bugden
Heather Dhondy
Jeremy Dhondy
Val Gibson (newly elected)
Michael Hill
Graham Jepson
Ian Payn (newly elected)
Andrew Petrie

Officers
Sally Bugden – Chairman
Andrew Petrie – Vice-Chairman
Michael Hill – Treasurer

Tournament Committee – 3 positions

Three nominations have been received for the three vacancies. Although there is no requirement for an election, a vote is required to ascertain the term of office for each nominee. Two are required for a three year term of office expiring in 2014, and one for a two year term of office expiring in 2013.
Brian Crack (re-elected)
Paul Hackett (re-elected)
Ian Payn (newly elected)

Selection Committee – 4 positions

Five nominations have been received for the four vacancies therefore an election will take place. The top three successful candidates will be elected for a three year term of office expiring in 2014; with the fourth successful candidate being elected for a one year term of office expiring in 2012.

Heather Bakhshi
Richard Bowdery
Simon Cochemé
Nick Smith
Tom Townsend

Laws & Ethics Committee - 2 positions

Three nominations have been received for the two vacancies therefore an election will take place. The top two successful candidates will be elected for a three year term of office expiring in 2014;

David Burn
Martin Pool
David Stevenson

Club Insurance - Renewal

EBU Club Insurance is due for renewal from the 1 April 2011. The Public Liability policy is £58 and the Premium insurance policy is £68.60. Insurance premium tax of 5% and Osbornes administration cost of £5.00 are included in the quoted prices.

Should you require new club insurance, or wish to change your insurance, please contact Karen immediately on 01296317200 of by email karend@ebu.co.uk

We would like to take the opportunity to remind you that Osbornes are independent insurance intermediaries and as such act on your behalf when arranging insurance.

As always, should you have any general insurance queries, please contact Osbornes on 01844 213161 or by email admin@osbornesins.co.uk

• Draft Policy Full (large PDF)


• Draft Policy Summary


• Standard Schedule


• Premium Schedule


• Employers Liability Certificate SPECIMEN


• Business Interruption Cover

National Final of County Teams of 8 winners 2011

The national final of County Teams of 8 winners will be taking place on Sunday 10th July 2011 at the West Midlands Bridge Club, Solihull.

Times:

12.00 - Coffee and tea
12.30 - Bridge starts
15.30 - Meal
19.15 - Finish

There will be 48 Boards.

	A	B	C
1	Manchester	Yorkshire	Cumbria	(North)
2	Herts	Northants	Herts	(East)
3	Surrey	Berks/Bucks	Sussex	(Metropolitan)
4	Warwickshire	Warwickshire	Warwickshire	(Midlands)
5	Somerset	Devon	Dorset	(West)

Changes to the EBU Board

Ian Payn
We are delighted to welcome Ian Payn to the Board of the EBU. Ian has agreed to take up the role of Board Director responsible for education. Ian has extensive skills in medium and long term business planning and implementation of strategy. He also has a wealth of experience in the world of duplicate bridge; he is on the committee of the London Metropolitan Bridge Association and was previously Chairman of the Young Chelsea Bridge Club; He is currently Chief Operations Officer of Charter Chambers in London.

Suzanne Gill
We are sorry to say goodbye to Suzanne who is retiring from the Board to arrange her emigration to Australia to be with her daughter. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Suzanne, who has made a valuable contribution to the work of the EBU by chairing the Education Working Group. This involved organising the county education research project which culminated in a report presented to the Board in January 2011. We wish Suzanne very good luck with her new life in Australia.