Between April 2020 and around the end of January 2022, with a respite of sorts between July and December 2021, the UK had restrictions on public gathering which impacted bridge clubs. The consequences for bridge were not all bad: there was a boom in online bridge platforms and much bridge was played while people were trapped at home.
The lifting of lockdown restrictions, however, has not in general meant that our bridge clubs are now as they were in March 2020. The lockdown was long enough to change habits, improved online bridge has given players new choices, some smaller clubs have not been able to reopen while some others have struggled to build up numbers.
The EBU has held several online seminars for clubs including success stories, guidance on hybrid sessions which combine online and face to face play, training opportunities for rusty directors, and new initiatives for promoting clubs and teaching bridge to new players.
Below are the seminars so far. Note that the first seminar in July 2021 was repeated a few weeks later. Links for both are included below; the main content is the same but the discussion of course varies.
Agendas are included so you can easily skip to the subjects that are most useful to you.
We are open to running additional seminars and would welcome ideas on the most pressing topics or potential speakers - contact me tim@ebu.co.uk.
Directing Club Sessions November 2023
Agenda:
- Welcome
- Recent regulation changes from a club perspective
- Interview with Chief TD
- Electronic scoring and Bridgemates – what to do when something goes wrong
- Directing in a friendly manner while still following bridge law
- Open Q&A including discussion of how to handle one or two slow players
Gentle Duplicate September 2023
Agenda:
- Welcome
- Introduction: why Gentle Duplicate is of key importance for retaining novices and helping a club to thrive
- Gentle duplicate in Leicestershire: Social bridge with lunch at the Rothley Centre and how that ties in with bridge teaching and migration to other club sessions
- The EBU and Gentle Duplicate: Do these sessions have to be submitted to the EBU? What about master points? What about NGS? Should club members who play only in gentle duplicate be EBU members? All your questions answered!
- Growing through more social bridge: Nottingham Bridge Club has made its Gentle ACOL one of its most popular sessions. Learn how it was done and tips for success
- Bridging the gap at Tunbridge Wells: supervised play to enable novices to progress to club sessions
- Open Q&A
Club Charitable Status June 2023
Agenda:
- Introduction: Jonathan Lillycrop
- Presentation from Anthea Burn from Leicestershire CBA: Charitable Status - CIO
- Discussion
Making the Most of a Bridge Club Website April 2023
Agenda:
- Getting the message across: identifying the key things to communicate on a club web site and how to present them
- Secrets of Bridgewebs: how to make your club stand out and take advantage of advanced options
- Pianola: we hear from Pianola about a different approach to club web sites that can be used alongside or in place of Bridgewebs
- Social media: Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? The role of these platforms in bringing more people to your club
- Club web sites and teaching: those enquiring about learning bridge in your area may land on your site. What to tell them?
Running a Teaching Programme February 2023
Agenda:
- Welcome from Gordon Rainsford (EBU CEO)
- Tim Anderson (EBU Club Development Officer) - Introduction and teaching survey results
- David Lewis and John Fairhurst (Basingstoke bridge club): Basingstoke experience, including working with other clubs, online and face to face
- Nicola Renshaw (Cheltenham bridge club): Teaching tips, Cheltenham experience
- Tony Russ (EBU Board): New EBU resources for bridge teaching pages
- Steve Knight (Ripon City bridge club): Teaching at a small club, Ripon experience
- EBED: Resources for teachers, what’s available, what’s new
- All: Open discussion
Sharing experiences of club teaching November 2022
Agenda:
- Introduction and welcome (Gordon Rainsford, EBU Chief Executive)
- Teaching in a club: the big picture, resources (Tim Anderson, Membership Development)
- Better together? David Adams (Keyworth BC) on clubs teaching together
- The student perspective (interview with 3 recent bridge students now new players)
- EBED: Teacher training including online options (Mark Humphris, EBED)
- Chris Green (Ipswich and Kesgrave) Working with the community
- Teaching online (Jane Somervell, Bewdley
- Charlie Bucknell (Bucknell Bridge) Keeping it fun: how to make teaching engaging
- Future EBU plans (Tony Russ, EBU Board)
- Open discussion
Building your club membership July 2022
Agenda:
- Introduction and Welcome (Gordon Rainsford, EBU Chief Executive)
- News and demo of our forthcoming improved online club directory and other initiatives to help enquirers discover your club (Tim Anderson, EBU Membership Development Officer)
- Love your members: Bakewell bridge club and the journey to online and back to face to face (Barbara Rogers, Secretary Bakewell Bridge Club)
- Success stories from both large and small clubs and lessons learned about how to increase engagement with club members (Ian Sidgwick, Chair Gloucestershire CBA)
- EBED update on training teachers and directors for your club (Mark Humphris, EBED)
- Teaching new bridge players in Yorkshire but where do they go once taught? Survey results (David Guild, Membership Secretary Yorkshire CBA)
- Open Q&A
Face to Face and Online Bridge following lockdown April 2022
Agenda
- Welcome from Gordon Rainsford, EBU chief executive and chief TD and introduction by Tim Anderson (EBU Membership Development)
- David Dunford: With a swift restart online following lockdown, Nottingham Bridge Club built up online sessions to the point where more bridge was played than before. Now mainly face to face again, what are the challenges of winning people back to the physical club?
- Mark Humphris (EBED): With high demand for TD and teacher training, Mark will explain what is on offer and planned, and what clubs and counties can do to take advantage of it
- Oliver Cowan: The Oliver Cowan Bridge Club was born as online-only but Oliver is also an enthusiast for face-to-face bridge. How can clubs adapt for changing patterns of play?
- Tony Russ (EBU Board, Somerset chair): New marketing initiatives from the EBU to build up your club
- Nicky Bainbridge: Rugby Village Bridge Club: prior to lockdown in March 2020, this beginner-friendly club was running 6 thriving sessions every week. Now there are two face-to-face and two online, but the club has managed better than many to adapt and restart. What has worked and how does the future look?
7. Open discussion and Q&A
Restarting face to face bridge after lockdown Repeat seminar August 2021
Agenda - see next video below
Restarting face to face bridge after lockdown July 2021
Agenda
- Welcome (Ian Payn) and Introduction (Gordon Rainsford)
- Best practice, social distancing, risk assessment (Nicky Bainbridge)
- Hybrid play – general introduction with options (Jonathan Lillycrop)
- Pianola/Bridgemate solution (James Ward)
- TD refresher courses (Jacks Morcombe)
- Marketing and recruiting new members (Tim Anderson)
- Club restart recruitment (Douglas Wright)
- Online payments (Jonathan Lillycrop)
- Open Q&A