Club Has Grown Rapidly

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32073, 22 August 1969, Page 7

Club Has Grown Rapidly

The Christchurch Contract Bridge Club was established in 1952 by a group of enthusiasts, all members of an older established club, who believed a club could best prosper in rooms it could call its own.

This first group of members were prepared to back their belief and lent the new club money to buy the house at 319 Cambridge Terrace which has been the club’s headquarters up to the present time. In taking this step the Christchurch Contract Bridge Club became the first bridge club to New Zealand to own its own rooms, and set a fashion which has been followed by at least half of the clubs affiliated to the New Zealand Contract Bridge Association.

The surge in interest in contract bridge in New Zealand, most particularly in the past decade, as reflected in an ever-increasing number of clubs, all with full and active memberships, is a phenomenon not easily explained even by the game’s most enthusiastic adherents. When the Christchurch Club became the sixth affiliated to the national body in 1952, the total number of affiliated members scarcely exceeded 500. Today there are some 60 affiliated clubs with a total (membership of almost 10,000 players. The Christchurch Club has made its own contribution to fostering interest in the game and has reaped a fair share of the reward for its efforts. For the past ten years or more classes for beginners have been a regular feature of the club’s programme. For many, these have been a stepping stone to membership

Of the club and in no small measure account for an increase in membership from 100 to 120 through the 1950’s to a present record of just on 600. The demand for tuition continues to increase and the club is fortunate that some of its most experienced players are competent and willing to teach as well as Play. With the increase to membership the club rooms, to spite of extensive remodelling programmes, are no

longer adequate and three years ago the members took the bold step to have new premises built The end result of this decision is that the club now has a capacity exceeding that of any to New Zealand, permitting a maximum of 224 members to play at any one time. Soon after its establishment the Christchurch Club arranged, on its own initiative, the Canterbury Pairs Tournament the first provincial event to be held in New Zealand. This year there is a programme of 40 major tournaments in New Zealand. Over the years Christchurch members have gained substantial success in both

national, provincial and other major tournaments. The New Zealand Pairs Championship has been won four times in the last five years by pairs from the Christchurch Club. In the same period four of its members have represented New Zealand at home and overseas, with one woman member representing a New Zealand women’s team. Of the first 20 on the master ranking list for New Zealand, no fewer then eight are members of the Christchurch Club double the representation of the next most successful club.