Thursdays, 7.25 for prompt 7.30 start
Mountnessing Village Hall, Roman Road, Mountnessing, Essex, CM15 0UG
ABOUT THE CLUB / VENUE
THIS PAGE...
On this page you can read about the club's origins, the current playing arrangements, partner matching, club membership, and the all important club venue and directions.
THE CLUB'S ORIGINS
The club met for the first time on February 5th 1987, under the guidance of Lionel & Faye Wernick and Joe & Adele Smaje. It's 'unique selling point' was that it was set up as a non-smoking club - a rarity in 1987, but universal now. The results summary from the first ever meeting of the club is available through this link, and more comments about 'opening night' can be found on the News & Gossip page in a message that was updated on 20th August 2009.
After Joe Smaje sadly died, Lionel and Faye became the club's proprietors. Alaric Cundy took over ownership of the club from September 2006.
VENUE AND DIRECTIONS
The club meets on Thursday evenings, at 7.25 for a prompt 7.30 start at Mountnessing Village Hall. For a detailed description of the venue and the directions to it, please click here. There is plenty of car parking space behind the hall. The club is open to both members and non-members.THE CURRENT PLAYING ARRANGEMENTS
There are normally 14 - 16 tables, whenever possible played in two sections, subject to the total number of tables. The RED SECTION attracts some of the most competitive players from around the county - with the occasional visitor from outside the county. The BLUE SECTION offers a more relaxed setting. More details about the way the club is run can be found through the Directors' Page (updated 13/04/2012)
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The club runs a year-long Ladder Award, with two winners each year. There is also a 'player of the month' award that runs for each calendar month, and is open to visitors. Each monthly winner qualifies for a bottle of wine, and he / she / they will also be listed in the 'hall of fame' on this website.
The club runs a number of special events each year, where the playing arrangements may differ from the ordinary club nights. Random draws for starting positions are made for the four club championship events: The Mary Rogers Trophy in January, the Ladies' / Men's Pairs in February or March, the Summer Club Championship in July or August, and the Windmill Trophy in November. Apart from the championship events, players can play in either section. The Christmas Party night is treated as semi-social / semi-serious, and the club always plays that evening as one section to give members an added opportunity to mix.
We know that members (and visitors) tend either to 'love' or 'hate' the Simultaneous Pairs events, and we have chosen to compromise by typically holding four such events each year. Higher table money is charged for Simultaneous Pairs events to cover the club's contributions towards the organiser's costs and for board-dealing.
The club regularly enters teams in the NICKO competition, and also in the two Essex invitational events for clubs, the Fletcher Trophy and the Helliar Trophy. The club has represented Essex in the Garden Cities Trophy on a number of occasions.
The club has remained affiliated to the English Bridge Union since the arrival of the EBU's 'Pay to Play' scheme in April 2010.PARTNER MATCHING
Since September 2006, the club has no longer offered a 'host' system, but it does operate a 'find a partner' scheme. Click here for more details. We are sometimes able to arrange partners for visitors either by phone or e-mail (alaric@mountnessingbridgeclub.org.uk).CLUB MEMBERSHIP
There are various 'perks' offered to members that are not available to visitors,and if you are interested in joining the club please see the Club Membership page (updated 20/02/2012).