Events summary

We give a brief summary of the main events here. Members can book EBU events online through their member area on the EBU website or by contacting the EBU Competitions Department on comps@ebu.co.uk or 01296 317203.

Online One-Day Green-Pointed (OODGP) Events.

There will be ten of these events per year.

* Congresses with an asterisk include Jack High/'Really Easy'/'improvers' elements (see below for more information).

New: Online 9-High and Jack High Events

National and Regional Events (alphabetical)

Although many of these have a traditional venue and time of year, dates and locations sometimes change, so please always check the EBU Diary or Website for exact details:

We give a brief overview of the main events here. Fuller details of all EBU events can be found in the EBU Diary and in our competitions section on the EBU Website. Members can book EBU events online through their member area on the EBU website or by contacting the EBU Competitions Department on comps@ebu.co.uk or 01296 317203.

Events with Local/Regional Heats

  • Masters Pairs - 25 February 2024
    This is the event for less-experienced members below the rank of Regional Master, competing for the Anne Staveley trophy. It is a two-session event run by clubs on any platform they choose (Face-to-face, BBO, RealBridge, BCL, Stepbridge) as long as they can provide us with USEBIO files of results. Any club that wishes to run a Masters Pairs event should tell sam@ebu.co.uk so that she can publicise it on our website
  • National Handicap Pairs - Club Heats, September 2024
  • National Pairs - Regional Heats, 24 March 2024; National Finals, 13-14 April 2024   
    The event starts with a number of regional finals which are open to those who qualified by scoring 55%+ at their local club during a defined period in February, with the leading pairs then competing in the national finals.
  • Portland Pairs - 7 April 2024
    A Mixed Pairs event match-pointed over the entire field. This is usually held at various club venues, in 2024 it will instead be held as a single two-session match-pointed event on RealBridge.

These four events are particularly suited for club players and those inexperienced at congresses. The Portland Pairs is a mixed pairs event, and the Masters Pairs is only open to players of rank up to and including Premier Master. Both are one-day events usually held at several venues around the country, making them more easily accessible to a geographically wider range of players.

The National Pairs is now run as a series of heats in clubs all played at the same time, with the top players qualifying to play in the National Final. There are five regional trophies awarded on the basis of the geographical location of the club running the heats.

They are scored nationally as Simultaneous events.

National Knockout Competitions

All KOs for which entries have not yet closed will be played face-to-face, though we ask entrants to indicate if they would be happy to play online so that early draws can be made between teams that are not geographically close.

Later rounds of knockouts events will be face-to-face but teams are invited to indicate willingness to play online, which would be applied to the early stages to reduce travelling. They must be willing to play later stages face-to-face though. Prices for knockouts are based on their previous face to face iteration.

All of this is subject to any future change there may be in regulations for meeting face-to-face.

County representative events

Events open to representatives from each County Association of the EBU

  • Corwen Trophy - June
    • For the leading pairs in the current pairs championship of each County Association. The number of pairs permitted from each County depends on the number of members.
  • Garden Cities Trophy - May, regional; June, Coventry & North Warwickshire Bridge Club
    • Entry is open to the holders of the Inter-Club teams-of-eight championship of each County Association.
  • Pachabo Cup - June
    • Entry is open only to the holders of the teams-of-four Championship of each County Association.
  • Tollemache Cup - Qualifyfing round, November, RealBridge; Final, February, Coventry and North Warwickshire Bridge Club
    • The inter-county championships for county-selected teams of eight.

County Association Events

Each County Association organises its own events. These vary from county to county but usually include championships for Ladies’, Men’s, Mixed, Seniors’ and Open Pairs, Teams, as well as a County Congress or One-day Green Pointed Swiss Teams or Swiss Pairs.

Many counties also organise events particularly suited to newcomers and novices where entry may be restricted by Master Point rank or by number of years playing.

Among the most popular county events are usually the League Competitions where clubs field one or more teams-of-four or teams-of eight who compete against each other over the course of a season for honour and a trophy and perhaps promotion to a higher division. These matches are usually quite sociable affairs. New teams start off in the lowest division and are thus matched against other players of similar ability.

For full details of your local county events, please consult the appropriate County Association website. You may wish to encourage your members to take part in their local events by advertising them at the club and listing them in the calendar on your club website.

National Events for Youth

  • Portland Bowl – October onwards. British Universities teams-of-four knockout.
  • Young Bridge Challenge inc. Schools Cup (Loughborough) – 1 day March.
  • Under-26 Pairs Championship (London) – no current events planned.
  • Under-21 Pairs Championship – no current events planned.
  • Junior Teach In (Loughborough) – 3 days late August.

EBU Overseas Congresses

Each year the EBU runs two week-long Overseas Congresses – one in February and one in October. These are organised in conjunction with a recognised holiday company and are an excellent way to enjoy a holiday abroad with some good bridge and congenial company.

Operating guidelines on hotel venues in England and on Overseas Congresses

Really Easy Events

Really Easy Bridge competitions are organised for our newer players – students who have been learning for six months to five years. They include a Minibridge Simultaneous Pairs at the end of the first five weeks of lessons, Really Easy weekend events in spring and autumn and a midweek Really Easy Summer Congress during the Summer Meeting in August.

EBU Improver Weekends

A series of residential weekends aimed at club players interested in improving their game. The weekends will feature four regular duplicate sessions, plus morning seminars on various aspects of the game. For details of dates and venues, please see the EBU website.

No current events planned

For 'less experienced' players

The EBU runs a number of events for less experienced players. Please see here for more information.

Little or no experience of 'congress bridge'

These events are usually intended for those who are comfortable playing club bridge, but have little or no experience of 'congress bridge'.

  • Jack High Swiss Pairs - held during the Easter Festival and Year End Festivals in London. In order to qualify to play in this event, you must have an NGS of no higher than ‘Jack’ at the time of entering. We envisage that at the lower end, players will be ‘7’ or higher. The event will be stratified too so that there are extra Master Points and an extra prize available for pairs of players both ranked ‘9’ or lower.
  • Jack High Events
    A series of four Blue Pointed Pairs, held on RealBridge throughout the year.
  • Really Easy Weekend - no current events planned
    A weekend ‘house party’ designed for more experienced novice players of up to 5 years experience. The emphasis on this weekend is on play with four bridge sessions and an instructional session on Saturday morning.
    These events are currently not running, but we do plan to run them in the future. Further details will be available in due course.
  • Really Easy Congress - no current events planned
    Comprises lessons and play session for those who have recently learnt to play, or with little experience of ‘congress bridge’.

Three congresses are run by Yorkshire CBA on behalf of the EBU, and at each of these there is an 'improvers' event. Please see the event webpage for details, and make entries directly to the YCBA.

More details of events for the less experienced player.

Licensed EBU Events

A number of clubs, organisations and holiday companies run events licensed by the EBU. The licensing ensures that the competition complies with a national standard and that the laws of duplicate bridge are upheld. These events usually award Master Points. Details of individual events can be found on the EBU calendar and in advertisements in English Bridge.

Charitable Events

Many organisations, not necessarily bridge clubs, run various bridge events. These are often charity bridge drives with the proceeds going to a local cause. Information about such events can often be found in the local press, but the organisers may also contact your club to ask you to publicise their event to your members. Naturally, support of any charitable cause is encouraged.

The official charity supported by the EBU is Children in Need. A week long series of Simultaneous Pairs events is held every year in November to raise funds for this excellent cause. All clubs are encouraged to take part in this and to raise extra funds by running tombolas and so on. There is no Pay-to-Play charge for CiN Sim Pairs. More details can be found on the EBU Competitions Calendar

National Sim Pairs events

The main National EBU Sim Pairs are:

  • Junior Squad Sims – 2 days, February
  • Stratified EBU Sims – 4 days, March
  • Spring EBED Sims – 4 days, May
  • Autumn EBED Sims – 5 days, September

Our British Sims – the replacement for the Bridge Great Britain (BGB) Sims – will run as follows:

  • Summer – 4 days, July/August
  • Autumn – 4 days, October
  • Winter – 4 days, January
  • Spring – 4 days, April

Note:

  • All events can be stratified, thus making them attractive to novice and experienced players alike.
  • There are also European Sim Pairs organised by the European Bridge League and Worldwide Sim Pairs organised by the World Bridge Federation.
  • And finally, there are various other Sim Pairs events licensed by the EBU. These may be National or Local ones - some large and some small, and you should email the EBU Licensing department for details of these.