Cambridge Intermediate Tournament

It was wonderful to see a full room of 18 tables on Sunday for our Intermediate tournament this year sponsored by Ryman Retirement villages. Thanks to Paul P and Sue K for stepping in at short notice so there was no phantom.  They were amply rewarded by finishing 8th overall and winning the prize for the best junior pair.  

Congratulations to Eileen Barker & Anne Berben from Putaruru who took first place  on 119.27 followed in second by Shirley Xu & Kerri McCrae from Papakura and Auckland  on 117.08 with Graham Saunders & John Little (once Cambridge Affiliates) but now Waikato and Hamilton on 115.54

They were not the only Cambridge winners however with Lynda and Ross Osborne enjoying a good start to the day winning a session prize and Margaret Fitzgerald and Ayako Imahashi winning 4th prize overall with 115.03 - pretty close to third. Well done to them.  That brings me to an observation that Margaret and Ayako cleverly arranged to play this last Monday series together as a practice run for the tournament. When you are planning your bridge for 2025, it can be a good idea to organise a series with your tournament bridge partner soon before the big event to iron out some potential misunderstandings ahead of when it counts more.

Thanks to Mike for ably directing and scoring the tournament and to Kevin for organising the prizes. Players were also treated to a delicious morning and afternoon tea, thanks to our amazing members. Well done to everyone involved!

The intermediate competition was the last one of the year in the Waikato Bays league.  Leanne  Curry and Megan Jolly had an unassailable lead going into the tournament and won the 2024 trophy. Congratulations to them! Runners up were John Little and Graham Saunders from the Waikato Club. Both partnerships are strong and been in place for quite a while; goes to show how valuable it is to find a bridge partner you can grow your game with and success often follows!