The Sydney Bridge Centre is the clubroom of the New South Wales Bridge Association. We position ourselves as a community club, by running regular club sessions to suit players of different levels. We also run Beginners Courses, mini-pre-game lessons and Workshops to help our players to advance in their bridge journey.
We usually run 2-3 Beginners Courses in a year. The Next NEW Beginners Course will start in September! You don’t need to know anything about cards to learn bridge, our Beginners Course are designed for absolute new players. For players who are beyond Beginners, please consider our Friday Workshops.
If you need further information, please call Wing on 9264 6884 or email her on office@sydneybridgecentre.com.
NEW Beginners Course 2024
Several times a year, we run Beginners’ Lessons at Sydney Bridge Centre. Each course runs for 6 weeks and costs $159. The teacher, Wing Roberts is a an experienced and patient teacher of new players and will guide you through all of the basics of bridge.
Our next courses will be held in the City AND Canada Bay on:
- 6 Monday Mornings | City 2nd September – 7th October, 10.00am – 12.30pm [Flyer]
- 6 Tuesday Evenings | City 3rd September – 8th October, 6.30pm – 9.00pm [Flyer]
- 6 Thursday Morning | Canada Bay 5th September – 10th October , 10.30am – 12.45pm [Flyer]
After completing the Beginners Course, you will have the option to continue your journey in either City or Canada Bay. There are regular play sessions running in parallel to the Beginners Course. Both of our venues also provide on-going Supervised Sessions – Monday morning, Tuesday night, Wednesday morning (Supervised with advanced topic) in City and Thursday morning in Canada Bay.
Improvers Course 2024
We have invited Tina Zines as our guest teacher to run the next Improvers Course with the focus on Defence. Tina is a very experienced and passionate teacher. Our next courses will be held in the City on:
- 5 Tuesday Mornings | City 28th May – 25th June, 10.00am – 12.30pm [Flyer]
This Improvers Course will be held along side the regular Tuesday morning duplicate. After completing the Improvers Course, you can stretch yourself by playing in the Open duplicate. There are other options for Open duplicate in the City, Canada Bay and Henley.
The best way to improve your game is to play frequently and to sometimes play in a more challenging field. Our experience told us that, playing once a week will maintain your skill, playing twice or more every week has a big impact on improving your game. It is normal to feel a bit nervous when you first play beyond your level, ask our Directors for a Green Dot Sticker (protection system) so you can have a chance to settle in.
There are also guided materials for improvers:
- Monthly Workshop – once a month, usually on a Friday, to be held in our City venue. Will Jenner-O’Shea is a reputable bridge teacher and will introduce more focused topics in his Workshops.
- Weekly Wisdom – a weekly online article by Julian Foster. Julian is a many times NSW Representative, and one of the best bridge mentors. He wrote on an interesting hand from our Monday morning session (both City and Canada Bay play the same hand). A great way to play and learn at your own pace.
What next? Supervised Sessions and more…
There are on-going Supervised Practice Play sessions in both venues:
- City: Monday morning, 10.00am – 12.30pm (Lesson plus Game)
- City: Tuesday night, 6.30pm – 9.30pm (Lesson plus Game)
- City: Wednesday morning (a slightly more advanced Supervised)
- Canada Bay: Thursday morning, 10.00am – 1.15pm (Lesson plus Game)
All these Supervised Sessions start with 20-40 minutes lesson (pre-game talk for Wednesday morning), followed by a supervised game (we will introduce the duplicate format at some point). There will be 4 practice hands to play and notes during the pre-game lesson. $20 for members ($17 for concession members) and $24 for visitors (no concession rate in Canada Bay). Come and play in these regular sessions as you go, you don’t need to commit to them as to Courses.
Our Supervised Sessions follow a monthly theme. We will talk about a different topic under the monthly theme to consolidate the basics you learnt from the Beginners Course. In time, you will expand your knowledge and explore other Intermediate and Social games then Open sessions.
If you have already played some bridge, then you don’t necessarily need Beginners’ Lessons, perhaps try the Improvers Course or simply join the Intermediate / Open Inclusive sessions.
There is a separate Intermediate Play (Open B) on Wednesday morning (9.45am for pre-game talk, 10.00am for play) in the City. Normal table money fee with a complimentary pre-game talk. Marcia Scudder is a many times NSW Women’s Team Captain, and her mini lesson will definitely keep your brain turning!
For sessions that are labelled as “Open Inclusive”, the level of players varies but most of them have a bit more experience. You’re welcome to join these sessions when you feel like stretching your skills! Just let the director know, so they can introduce you to the players in the Open field and put you under “protection system”. You’re also welcome to ask office to refer you to a Session Buddy, so they can introduce you to the field.
You don’t need a partner, visitors and walk-ins are welcome.
Finding your winning edge beyond Intermediate and Open…
For those who have advanced beyond Intermediate and have played in Open duplicates, sometimes you feel like you have touched a “glass ceiling”. Join us to play in congresses! Playing in higher level games and congresses is the best way to stretch your game. We run Club events and Congresses a couple of times in a year, we also travel to play in congresses. We usually arrange a SBC Dinner Out when travel to congresses, it is great fun to discuss a hand that you have played and compare with the others over a drink 😉
These SBC Dinner Out @ Congresses will be announced in the monthly club message. Please also keep an eye on the SBC website and Facebook group.
We can also refer you to Personal Mentor. Please talk to Wing in the office.
