The 2015 Sectional Tournament was held the weekend of June 12 – 15. The beautiful summer weather, coupled with the Heroes Day holiday on Monday contributed to slightly fewer tables than last year, however all who played had a great time. The tournament was skillfully directed by Bermuda’s own Jack Rhind, who kept everything running smoothly, and on time. Many thanks, Jack for your hard work!  Click here for the list of winners.

All sessions were very competitive, with a number of remarkable performances by the winners. Diana Diel and Pat Siddle kicked off the tournament in fine fashion in the Friday afternoon single-session competition with a 61.9% game. Jane Smith and Alan Douglas improved on this in the Friday night, first of two sessions contest, posting a 62.0% game.

On Saturday afternoon, in the first session of the David Ezekiel Bridge Column pairs, Charles Hall and Misha Novakovic turned in the best performance of the tournament with a 74.6% game – truly outstanding! Saturday night, two pairs – Robert Todd/Simon Giffen and Katrina Van Pelt/Donna Leitch tied for top honours, both with a 63.8% performances, but Charles and Misha turned in another great session to sail to a comfortable overall victory.

The traditional Gosling Stratified Swiss Team competition on Sunday saw an enviable achievement by David Cordon, Julia Lunn, Robert Todd, and John Burville who were unbeatable, winning all eight matches over the course of the day.

The tournament finished on Monday with Rachael Gosling and Elizabeth McKee bringing their ‘A’ game to score 73.1% in the single session afternoon event. And in the evening contest, being the second session of the Friday-Monday two session Open Pairs, Richard and Wendy Grey recorded a super 67.1%. However, the consistent play of Robert Todd and Peter Donnellan over both Friday and Monday sessions was sufficient to see them take top hours overall.

Special mention must be made of the newcomers who participated in the Friday-Monday Open Pairs contest showing great fortitude playing against more experienced competition. Nick Jones and Jean Wolosiuk were the top performing pair in this category each night – well done Nick and Jean!

We were pleased to welcome our oversea visitors to this tournament – John and Sue Hodge, Robert Todd, and Greg Carey. Our visitors make the tournament special, and we hope they continue to return in future years.

At the conclusion of the tournament we presented the “Adventures in Bridge” trophy to the top masterpoint winner, Robert Todd! And Robert kindly offered a free game to the top junior player, which was a tie between Pat and Barb Cerra. Well done, Pat and Barb!

Finally, and most importantly, our thanks go to tournament sponsors, David Ezekiel, and Gosling’s Limited, as well as the volunteers who helped to keep the tournament running smoothly: Lorna Anderson, John Glynn, Rosie Smith, Judy King, and many others who contributed to getting the refreshments out and cleaning up afterwards. The tournament couldn’t run nearly as well without their behind-the-scenes efforts.

Paul Thompson

Tournament Chairman