Cambridge Bridge Club members Clare Coles and Michael Neels say momentum is building for next month’s Cambridge Sixes.
The Cambridge Sixes, one of the biggest bridge events in the country and one likely to attract over 30 teams of six players each, comes to town early next month.
The full day event will be held at Karāpiro’s Sir Don Rowlands Centre on August 5 and is expected to involve players of all grades from around the North Island.
The Sixes has its roots in the Cambridge Bridge Club. It was started in 2013 with a view to growing the game, creating a fun event in which junior, intermediate and open players could mingle with ease. It is now the biggest bridge event in the country other than New Zealand Bridge’s national congress.
The fun element comes through giving players a crack at some generous raffles, spot prizes and a trivia quiz and having them pit themselves against teams gunning for the ‘best-dressed’ award – usually under an event theme that changes each year.
Last year, the theme was ‘Movies’ – this year, it is ‘Sport’.
Cambridge Bridge Club life members and those involved at the start of the Sixes, Clare Coles and Michael Neels, said the ‘dress-up’ element added a light-hearted side for teams that might ordinarily regard anything to do with bridge as deeply serious stuff.
Michael, who has been a lifelong player, is the man who had the initial idea for the Sixes. It has since been adopted by a couple of other New Zealand clubs. He conceded it could be a ‘sobering game’ and said novice and junior players are often nervous about playing in tournaments, particularly where more senior players might be in attendance.
“Questions are often asked about bridge. Is it a game, is it a sport … some say it’s a disease,” he said.
“The Sixes was designed in such a way as to bring a little fun into the game. Those taking part play at their own level but are around players of different levels in a much less intimidating environment – that was the idea behind the Sixes.”
Clare said the lighter side of the event added a relaxed element not always present in serious tournaments.
She said the Cambridge club had a sound reputation for being an innovative and solid club. “We are really lucky here. We have around 180 members and our numbers have remained steady, even through Covid.”
Michael said the pandemic had been a circuit-breaker for many clubs, but by setting up an online option for players, Cambridge had come through it relatively unscathed.
The Sixes is so-called because each team has six players – one pair each of open, intermediate and junior players.
The event started out in the Senior Citizens Hall, then moved to the Cambridge Town Hall and in 2016 shifted to the Sir Don Rowlands Centre to accommodate burgeoning numbers.
This year, the Cambridge Sixes will be under the joint control of Murray Wiggins and his wife Caroline Wiggins – both chief directors at New Zealand Bridge.
