Rules and Guides

• Guide for Members
• Rules for Competition
• Substitutions and Penalties
• Etiquette
• Calling the Director
• Slow Play
• Responsibilities
• Criteria for Promotion

Useful Things

• System Cards
• Master Points

Amusements

• Library
• Bridge Articles

Guide for Members

Duplicate Bridge
Weekly evening sessions (graded): Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday
Weekly afternoon session (open): Thursday
Thursday evenings: a mix of open teams (Gladys Palmer Teams),   (Wellesley Mixed Teams),  and Coaching sessions.

Hours of Play
Play commences at 7.30pm on Monday to Thursday nights. Players must be seated by 7.20pm. Thursday afternoon play commences at 1.00 pm and players must be seated by 12.50pm.

Club Manager’s Hours
The Club Manager is normally at the clubrooms between the hours of 9:00am and 12noon, Mondays to Fridays. Telephone messages can be left at any time.

Car Parking
Players are asked to park between the marked lines and to fill the park from the rear first. Parks alongside the building should be left vacant until all spaces on the side away the clubrooms are filled (so that these angle spaces can be backed into). Backing a car up against the building is not permitted as exhaust emissions blacken the building’s paintwork.

Entry for Play
The following events require entries to be lodged in advance:

Monday:Teams events (e.g. Ed Hillary Teams), any Swiss Pairs event
Tuesday:Teams events (e.g. Victoria Teams), any Swiss Pairs event
Wednesday: Teams events (e.g. Khandallah Teams)
Thursday:Gladys Palmer Teams, Wellesley Mixed Teams

Entry lists are provided at the bottom of the stairs; entries may also be telephoned or emailed to the Club Manager.

Name Tags
Members are asked to wear a badge with their name at all sessions.

Smoking
Under the Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act 2003 the Victoria Bridge Club is a smoke-free premises. Those who smoke outside the building are asked to put their cigarette butts and other detritus in the receptacles provided and not grind them into the paving or the gardens.

Table Seating (Matchpoint Pairs)
Certain players may be granted seating rights (either permanent or temporary, depending on circumstances) for matchpoint pairs events. In addition, for some sessions of pairs play some pairs may be allocated specific seats (e.g. if seeded or highly placed in the event in question). At all other tables the two pairs MUST toss for seating rights. The winners of the toss may choose their seats. Players wishing to be granted seating rights should approach the Club Manager in the first instance.

Table Clearance
At the end of play, except on Monday nights, tables are to be cleared and tablecloths straightened; bidding boxes or pads, pencils, rubbers, table markers, etc should be returned to the director’s table or as otherwise requested. The travelling scoresheets (pairs play) or match result slips (teams play) should be checked and handed to the director; players not handing in scoresheets or results slips may incur penalties.

Systems
NZ Bridge System Regulations, as in the NZ Bridge Manual, will apply in all duplicate sessions as follows:
Monday evening: Intermediate tournament regulations
Tuesday evening: Open pairs tournament regulations
Wednesday evening: Junior tournament regulations
Thursday afternoon/evening: Open pairs tournament regulations*
*except for ‘No Fear’ Pairs

The system regulations are available on the NZ Bridge website www.nzbridge.co.nz, a copy is displayed on the club notice board and a copy of the NZ Bridge Manual is held in the Club Manager’s office.

Use of Bidding Boxes
When bidding boxes are used all calls made should be left displayed until the auction is complete. After asking any permitted questions the player on opening lead should make the lead face down so that the other defender and/or declarer can also ask questions while all bids are on display. After the opening lead is faced all bidding cards should be returned to their boxes.

This does not preclude leader’s partner or declarer asking for a complete restatement of the auction (partial restatements are not permitted) before playing a card to the first trick, nor for any player (other than dummy) to ask at any trick, when it is his/her turn to play, what the contract is.

Use of Written Bidding
When written bidding is in use the procedures are similar to those above for bidding boxes except that the bidding pad is left face up until after the opening leader’s partner has played to the first trick, at which point the bidding pad should be turned face down for the duration of the play of the deal.

Results on Website
Results, including hand records, from the club’s duplicate sessions are posted on the club’s website www.victoriabridge.co.nz the following morning.

Beginners’ Lessons
The club runs two series of lessons each year for those wishing to take up the game; these usually commence in February / March and in mid-July. They comprise a set of ten lessons over ten weeks, (this includes the final two weeks of practice sessions.

Bridge Recorder
A bridge recorder is an experienced player who is available for informal advice, whether this be about an issue of play, bidding or etiquette. Any member of the club may contact the recorder to help them decide whether to take an incident to formal appeal, or just to report a concern about another member’s behaviour (at or away from the table). Communications with a recorder remain strictly confidential to that person alone. Victoria’s bridge recorder is currently David Macdonald (04 476 9947).