[flametree]

Hi all,

I currently dwell in New Zealand but my partner is Canadian, and we are thinking of moving to Ottawa in the next 12 months or so. I was just wondering if anyone from there could tell me about the bridge scene in Ottawa / Ontario. How many clubs, what does it cost, are club nights open to all-comers or streamed based on player quality, ease of getting partners etc? How do tournaments work? I'm a fairly decent club-level player, but thanks to family demands I don't get to play a lot of tournaments.

(I speak a bit of French and hope to improve it, so could conceivably play in Gatineau too...)


Just as a point of reference, where I'm from we have a couple of not-for-profit clubs, we pay $100 membership annually (about $75 USD/CAD), and $5 per night table money. At my regular club there's a teams night, and one night per week to play duplicate, sorted into four "divisions" based on quality (in theory). Most sessions have 15-20 tables per room, and play around 25 boards. There's an afternoon game open to all as well, plus maybe one social game per week as well.

At the club, you need to find your own partner, there's a bar open after the play, and all hands are pre-dealt with hand-records available. The club's website has an excellent record of results and other information.

Within three hours drive there's a one-or-two-day tournament maybe every other weekend, and around ten per year within the city I live in. Usually matchpoint pairs, with occasional Swiss or teams. Entry may be restricted by "masterpoint" level. They cost around $25 per day. There's also one major event, the National Congress. This lasts a week with an open 3-day pairs event and an open 3-day teams event, alongside shorter fun, intermediate-level or consolation games.

Acol is the standard here for club players, but most of the top players prefer Precision or 2/1 variants. I play 2/1 whenever I get the chance, so that shouldn't be a problem. Learning the alert regulations may be an issue however.

Any information much appreciated!

[gwnn]

maybe jonottawa?

[glen]

gwnn, on 2012-January-15, 16:37, said:

maybe jonottawa?

Me and ggwhiz on the forums (and rarely we have shubi)
On BBO there are many, including the 2nd overall in online points

Pamela on BBO (often part of JEC matches), was born in New Zealand and lives in Ottawa

The unit site is: unit192.ca

The site is updated by Elwin Brown, who with Jack Brown (no relation), were second (and top ACBL) in the June 4th 2011 World Wide Bridge contest.

The strongest club event is the IMP league:

IMP league

Even during the start of the great ice storm (Ice Storm) players still made their way to the club.

[ggwhiz]

Also, the games in Gatineau are good sized, very friendly and many of us that don't speak a word of french play there on occasion.

[mycroft]

Please note that there is a big bridge scene in Ontario (not Ottawa), but that doesn't always help you (which is why nobody's mentioning it). I'm guessing that even with that neighbour you guys have, it's possible that you haven't got used to the idea of Canadian Distances.

So, yes, there is a great and strong bridge scene in Ottawa. There is also one in Toronto - but that's a 6-hour drive. There's a minor one in Kingston (is there still? My knowledge is about 10 years old), but that's still a few hours away. Montreal is 1-2 hours depending on traffic and the weather, and that's another good centre - but it's not in Ontario.

The history of Ottawa, why it's there and why it's Canada's capital, is interesting. Having said that, it's still this small town in the middle of nowhere on a river :-). Please note - that's not a *bad* thing.

[ggwhiz]

If you proceed with this, drop glen and myself a note. We are both lifers in the local bridge scene and if there is something we don't know, we know who does.

[flametree]

ggwhiz, on 2012-January-20, 09:54, said:

If you proceed with this, drop glen and myself a note. We are both lifers in the local bridge scene and if there is something we don't know, we know who does.

Thanks, will remember this when/if we make the move.

[duck_72]

mycroft, on 2012-January-16, 11:18, said:

Please note that there is a big bridge scene in Ontario (not Ottawa), but that doesn't always help you (which is why nobody's mentioning it). I'm guessing that even with that neighbour you guys have, it's possible that you haven't got used to the idea of Canadian Distances.

So, yes, there is a great and strong bridge scene in Ottawa. There is also one in Toronto - but that's a 6-hour drive. There's a minor one in Kingston (is there still? My knowledge is about 10 years old), but that's still a few hours away. Montreal is 1-2 hours depending on traffic and the weather, and that's another good centre - but it's not in Ontario.

The history of Ottawa, why it's there and why it's Canada's capital, is interesting. Having said that, it's still this small town in the middle of nowhere on a river :-). Please note - that's not a *bad* thing.

A few inaccuracies here, Ottawa's bridge scene is pretty good, Toronto is a 4 hour drive, not 6, Kingston has a couple very good tournaments per year but the bridge scene is not thriving by any stretch of the imagination, and its a 90 minute drive not a couple of hours. Montreal is 1.5-2 hours and the bridge scene is hopping. Ottawa is not a small town at all, as there is well over 1 million people if you count the surrounding municipalities, as of the last census, Ottawa is over 833k all by itself.

Just trying to set the record straight

[mycroft]

Argh, sorry about the 4-6 thing; I was in Waterloo, and it was 6 to there, I guess, and I forgot.
(well, except for the day I spent two hours on the 401 parking lot. Sunday, 1400? Seriously?)

[jmcw]

mycroft, on 2012-February-09, 12:00, said:

Argh, sorry about the 4-6 thing; I was in Waterloo, and it was 6 to there, I guess, and I forgot.
(well, except for the day I spent two hours on the 401 parking lot. Sunday, 1400? Seriously?)

You got off light

[mycroft]

Yeah, well, except for the middle of June/no AC issue. But that was my fault :-)

But I had gone through many times (not rush hour day, of course), but the only time I stopped on the 401 was middle of the day Sunday. I still don't get it.

[ggwhiz]

mycroft, on 2012-February-10, 10:57, said:

Yeah, well, except for the middle of June/no AC issue. But that was my fault :-)

But I had gone through many times (not rush hour day, of course), but the only time I stopped on the 401 was middle of the day Sunday. I still don't get it.

No rhyme nor reason. We once had a team of 4 drive to Toronto for the Sunday Swiss and they drafted their fantasy hockey teams as they went. One of them said "Hey, it's close to game time" as they entered London. Yup, they sailed right through Toronto and missed it.

BTW, our reputation as a small town comes from the general feel (ie. charities do very well here), not the size and it's a really good place to live. We have a better hockey team too.