Bridge on Sydney's Northern Beaches

All are invited to play in the fun and non-competitive Teams of Three event at the Manly Leagues Bridge Club which will be played on Sunday 21 March 2010. This is a great start for those who have not played the teams format regularly. Includes a range of fun prizes to complete a great day. Check out the Teams of Three event flier for more information and how to register your team of three!

Improve your bridge game! The Manly Leagues Bridge Club invites you (and your friends) to join our small group lessons in a friendly environment on Thursday evenings (from 6-9pm) to take you to the next level in this great game of bridge.

The next series of improver classes will start on Thursday 4 February 2010 and run through to the end of April. Check the Improve Your Bridge flier for all the information, and feel free to ask any questions to David Farmer by email or phone on 0415 715 743.

We also offer a range of Improver and Intermediate Lesson topics where you can choose specific topics that you want to cover.

The Australian Bridge Federation's January 2010 Newsletter has been published electronically and is now accessible.

Enjoy this superb social mind game! The Manly Leagues Bridge Club invites you (and your friends) to join our small groups learning this great game of bridge in a friendly environment, with lessons on:

• Thursday evenings from 6-9pm, and
• Sundays from 11am-2pm (numbers permitting).

The next classes will start on Thursday 4 February 2010 and Sunday 7 February, subject to getting minimum numbers (about 8).The Group will continue with a regular Supervised Session to allow you to consolidate your playing skills until you choose to play in the regular sessions. We also offer a range of Improver and Intermediate Lesson topics that you can choose when you want to learn more.

Check the Beginner Group Lessons flier for all the information, and feel free to ask any questions to David Farmer by email or phone on 0415 715 743.

Peninsula Bridge Club will hold its annual Melbourne Cup Pairs on the first Tuesday in November (November 2) starting with champagne cocktails and nibbles at 10.30 a.m. and breaking for lunch at about 12.30 p.m.  The lunch includes BBQ chicken and quiche with salads, desserts, cheese, wine and coffee.  Instant scoring will be used and winners from each section receive a bottle of champagne as their prize.  A hat parade will be conducted during the lunch break and sweepstake tickets will be on sale with great prizes.  The day concludes with the televised running of the big race.

Tickets $20 (members) $25 (non-members) but book your place before the day by ringing the club on 9970 6527

Northern beaches bridge clubs did well if not brilliantly in the 2009 State Wide Pairs. Manly Leagues and Narrabeen clubs were amongst the 28 participating clubs this year, and had four pairs in the top 30 in the state.

First of these, coming 19th, were Jan McLennan and Bev Menzies, of the Manly Leagues Bridge Club. Jan and Bev won the 2009 Manly Daily Northern Beaches Pairs event in August. Close behind, coming 21st, were Linda Abbenbroek and Carolyn Dowling, also of the Manly Leagues Bridge Club.

Narrabeen pairs, Lynn Baker and Yong White, and Sue and Rodney Scotford, came 28th and 29th in the state. Lynn and Yong came second state-wide in the first of the three sessions and won a prize for doing so.

Additionally Patricia Matheson and Marcia Sawyer, frequent players on the northern beaches, came 13th state-wide, playing at Trumps.

The Manly Leagues Bridge Club retained its title in the 2009 Manly Daily Northern Beaches Pairs championship played on Sunday 9 August at the Peninula Bridge Club.

MLBC pair, Jan McLennan and Bev Menzies had a clear victory over the two sessions, despite some treacherous misfit hands. "We have learned to recognise situations where the safest course is just to stop bidding," said Bev Menzies, after their victory.

McLennan and Menzies have been a strong partnership for twenty six years, and never a cross word between them according to the pair. "Our partnership works because each of us thinks the other is the better player," according to Jan McLennan. "That and founding our partnership system on many round table discussions with a bottle of wine - or a quick brandy for total recall."

Do you want to learn and master the main tools used in club duplicate bridge? The Manly Leagues Bridge Club is offering small group lessons on a range of specific improver and intermediate level topics and invites you (and your partner/friends) to improve your bridge bidding and play in a friendly environment. The cost is only $6 per lesson.

You can nominate your interest in individual topics and the times you are generally available and we will let you know when they are being scheduled. The classes are offered on Thursday evenings 6-7pm, Sundays 11-12noon or Wednesdays 1.45-2.45pm - with these time slots adjacent to our normal open and supervised duplicate sessions.