Christchurch Bridge Club - Newsletter May 2020
From the President and Vice President
Dear Members
We hope that you are all enjoying the greater freedom allowed under Level 2. Unfortunately, we are not permitted to operate at the Club under the current restrictions (see below) but are hoping to be able to do so once the Level 1 conditions are announced. In the meantime, BBO has proved very successful, with 306 members currently registered. It has been so good to play with our own club colleagues in what feels like normal sessions. We are very thankful to our directors for running these sessions so successfully.
The Committee has continued to meet weekly via Zoom. We have decided to award a COVID Challenge Cup for the dates 3 to 30 May, the criteria for which are still under discussion. We thank all who have played with such enthusiasm, and Sue for assisting many of you with the registration process. This week the installation of our Fibre Broadband connection will be completed, allowing faster access to the internet. In addition, we are in discussions with a web-design team as to ways of updating and improving our CBC website.
Advisory 5 - COVID-19 from NZ Bridge
After consulting with the COVID-19 National Crisis Management Centre and on the advice of the Deputy Director of Public Health we strongly recommend that no bridge club opens until Alert Level 1. The Deputy Director is genuinely concerned in terms of transmission of the disease for the following reasons:
- Social distancing due to bridge being played in relatively proximity.
- Transmission due to touching of cards, bidding boxes, bidding pads, score sheets, & electronic scoring devices.
- Transmission due to chairs being handled as players rotate around the room.
- Large number over 70 years with some having underlying health conditions.
- Duration of a bridge session.
- Cleaning and disinfecting during a match are not practical.
- If players cough or sneeze during a hand, they need to immediately go and wash their hands.
We are sorry that we are not the bearer of better news, but the health of players and staff is of paramount importance. We will continue to take direction from the Deputy Director of Public Health and keep you advised. In the meantime, any remaining tournaments scheduled up to and including the weekend of May 30-31 will be recorded as cancelled.
Happy bridging everyone!
John McKenzie(Acting President),
Marilyn Copeland(Acting Vice President)
