A reminder that entries for the Pre-Qualifier Trials close this Friday, 12 July. These trials are aimed at players with fewer than the 100 National Points required to enter the regular trials, and have been popular since they were introduced two years ago. The trials will take place on 10/11 August in Templeogue, and are run on a pairs basis; the winning four pairs will receive entry into either the Camrose or Lady Milne trials, as well as free coaching provided by one of the CBAI’s expert tutors. To enter, please call the office on (01) 4929666 before 5 p.m. on Friday 12 July and pay the entry fee of €140 per pair by credit card.
Well-known UK teacher Jack Stocken is offering a free online tuition course of nine lessons to beginners. There is no need to register or to download anything. Just click here to access the series of videos and enjoy the lessons at your leisure. These free lessons come with a detailed worksheet and a link to enable the beginners to play MiniBridge online on BBO. This might be a good way for CBAI members to encourage a friend to learn the basics of bridge, and then to sign up for further lessons, either here in Ireland face-to-face, or online if that would be their preference (either with Jack Stocken or with one of our local teachers), and ultimately to join a CBAI club.
If you have missed Seamus Dowling’s Tuesday “Bridge Notes” column in the Irish Times recently, please note that it has moved from its usual spot early in the paper and is now published on the inside back page, beside Steve Becker’s bridge hand. Seamus’s column takes its annual holidays during August, so will disappear shortly, but will be back in action for the new season in September.
We have been asked to bring the upcoming Isle of Man Congress to members’ attention. It will be in Douglas, Isle of Man, from 13-15 September. Bridge player and journalist Justin Corfield, who lived in Ireland for a while and will be well-known to many CBAI members, now resides in the Isle of Man and, partly as a result, a number of Irish players have attended this congress in recent years, and provide good reports of it. You’ll find full details, including the hotel rates and how to enter, here. Note that entries close on 10 September.