Attracting New Members

What is the answer? I have been reading some of the many articles on the subject by Ken Latty. You can see one of these by clicking on the link below.

Ken Latty's article

One of his very strong points is that only a very small percentage of those who have Bridge lessons and learn the basics of the game go on to play duplicate and become members of a club. He feels that clubs often seem unwelcoming and intimidating and even refuse to admit beginners. His answer is to allow only 'simple systems' and to operate a zero tolerance policy for rude or impolite behaviour (see previous post) .

He seems to have received a great deal of criticism for this approach as many feel it is too draconian and limiting. I have to say that I agree with a lot of his ideas but wonder if there are alternative approaches to attracting and keeping players while still allowing scope for more conventions than allowed in 'simple systems'.

What is your opinion -let us know if you have found ways of overcoming the 'fear' factor in attracting new members.

Ken Latty replied:

I was interested to read that there are those who feel my approach to bridge is too draconian, and yes, I am aware of that, but make no apology for it.

I know, you know, everyone knows, this game of duplicate bridge is spoilt for many by the appalling attitude and behaviour of a few. We all know that there are countless numbers who have been put off duplicate bridge by that egotistical and inconsiderate few, so why tolerate them?

It is not quite true to say the East Sussex Bridge Club plays only Simple System. We do allow a fair number of conventions - see our Policy Page at East Sussex Bridge Club. In truth it was pretty arbitrary as to what conventions we would allow but experience and player reaction would suggest we have it about right.

Interestingly, I reckon some thirty per cent of our membership would not be playing duplicate if they were not able to come to the East Sussex Bridge Club. Multiply that by the number of clubs in the country, add on the number who have been so frightened away they will not even come to the East Sussex and you have hugh number of those who should be playing duplicate but do not.

Creating the right atmosphere

What is the best way to create a good atmosphere for Bridge that will provide competition for good players but a good social occasion for those whose first priority is not necessarily to win everything?


There seem to be lots of different approaches. Some clubs allow only very simple systems of bidding either in all competitions or on certain evenings only.

See a Simple Systems Approach

In other clubs a Zero Tolerance approach to rude and unpleasant behaviour is the norm.

See an American Zero Tolerance Policy

See a British Zero Tolerance Policy

One aspect of this that is slightly scary but rather amusing is the bit in the policy that bans opposition with dodgy personal hygiene. I really can't see the Tournament Director being called to complain that the opposition are smelly! I supose it gives a new meaning to the phrase "Creating the Right Atmosphere"

I suspect in most clubs a kind of uneasy compromise exists where the atmosphere is set by the personality of the Tournament Director who tries to please all the people all the time.

In my own case this seems to involve helping to foster a friendly atmosphere generally by being as respectful as possible to everyone and encouraging others to do the same. So outright rude behaviour is unusual but other things which might fall foul of zero tolerance happen quite a lot. Perhaps the most common is unasked for criticism of others bidding and play. We have no restrictions on bidding systems and, personally, I wouldn't want there to be since I think even those players who generally keep things simple do like to learn from others.

Another example is whether to re-deal passed out hands. Strictly this should not happen but does! Only if someone objects because they passed with a 'bad 12 points' does the hand not get re-dealt.

Is this 'play it by ear' approach really best or should we have a much more 'up-front' policy decided after proper debate and discussion?

What works for you? Tell us your experiences.

The Price of Bridge

How much do you pay to play?

This must vary a lot according to the type of club. I think clubs which have their own premises and maintenance costs must need to charge quite a lot to keep the club going. I know that some hire out their rooms to make ends meet.

Most clubs pay rent on their rooms or, like mine, are part of a bigger club. At Daten Bridge Club we charge £1 per session which is not much. I think their would be a riot if we tried to charge more. This covers our expensese but prize money has had to be reduced recently.

Is there a case for increasing the session fee to get better prize money or better equipment. What happens in your club. Is Bridge run on a shoestring budget?

Bridge Scoring Programs

Most clubs seem to score using computer programs these days.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the ones on offer?

The ECATs site lists several programs that can be used to submit scores for simultaneous contests. Clicking on the link will take you to the ECATs description of the program.

They are

• The ECatsBridge Program & Manual
• ScoreBridge (Web site) - Stephen Bligh's Program.
• CASS (the EBU Club scoring program)

Tony Haworth's Program

David Harrison's Program

Fin-S (Web site) - Chris Stapleford's Program

Ruth Edmondson's Program

Stephen Brown's Program

BridScore (Web site) - Bob Anderson's Program

ACBL Score (Web site) - the ACBL scoring program

Jeff Smith's program - Pairs score.

Keith Sheppard's Pairs Scoring Program

Mike Rothwell's Scorer

CASS (the EBU Club scoring program)

At Daten Bridge Club we use the Jeff Smith program. This is free and we are quite happy with it. It is possible to score a 7 table event in around 10 minutes and print out the results. The main time consuming bit is entering player names. This is done by 'clicking and dropping' from a list of members. It may be better if each person had a 'default partner' to speed this up a little. Navigating the site can be a bit slow, but, these are minor criticisms. A major plus is that it is easy to contact Jeff by e-mail if problems arise. Also, we have some movements that seem unique to us which it has been very easy to add to those provided.

Which program do you use? Tell us about its advantages or disadvantages. I'd be really interested to hear from anyone using Bridgemate or similar for instant scoring. E-mail or put your comments at the end of this post.

Peter Burgin posted the information below

At Stamford Bridge Club we use Stephen Bligh's Scorebridge. We find it excellent and very user friendly. After evaluating several programs about five years ago, I recommended Scorebridge to the Club and we have never regretted it. It has been enhanced considerably in that time and Stephen has been most helpful as things have developed.

We purchased Bridgemates in November last year and no longer use travellers. We have results out in minutes after the last board is finished, and on a number of occasions have been the first to post results on the Ecats site in simultaneous events.

Using Scorebridge we can post our results on our own website about five minutes after the last board is completed. The web pages are prepared automatically by Scorebridge. You can see them on our website stamfordbridgeclub.co.uk.