News
14-August-2026
2026-27 Season
Details for the new season now live; invitation emails to captains to be sent today. A few items in addition to the usual tick-box registration:
- AGM: Wednesday, 2nd September 2026, 6pm on Zoom
- League Layout: promotion and relegation preserved over F2F/online preference
- BBO Changes: imminent introduction of BBO Membership restricts those able to start team matches
- SURDOC: Wednesday 7th October, reduced entry fee of £10 per team
23-June-2026
Survey for New Season
A reminder that survey requests have been sent. Please return by Monday 29th June.
Discount for Timely Completion
The incentive to complete matches before the end of April was initiated last year and well received. As a consequence it was retained for the season just finished and eight teams will benefit from a 50% discount on next season's League dues (worth £12.50). Well done,
- Canary Wharf
- Livesey
- London Underground
- Lords & Ladies
- Polex
- Reform Declarers
- Roehampton Diamonds
- Roehampton Hearts
7-June-2026
Andrew Hayler Memorial Event, 27th July
Andrew Hayler, a regular member of the Canary Wharf team, sadly died in April. The club is hosting an event in his memory, open to all, with all entry fees going to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
For more details, click the poster, right, for a properly readable version.
To play, contact Canary Wharf captain, Laura Birnhak (email: – or via team listing).
19-May-2026
AGM: Wednesday, 2nd September 2026
The Annual General Meeting to start the 2026-27 season will be held online via Zoom, at 6pm on Wednesday 2nd September 2026.
Please submit any nominations for Office or Committee membership or items for consideration to the Secretary, observing the requirements as laid down in the Constitution (sections 8 & 9).
Please note the LBHCBA Chair, Mark Hutton, is standing down and we welcome nominations.
As in previous years we will be surveying teams' opinions on procedures for the forthcoming season. Captains will be emailed shortly.
23-November-2025
We're Back!
Normal updates have resumed.
Moreover, the Cup and Plate draws have been posted (with a fortnight's extension) and all league results received have been applied. If you think differently, please get in touch.
For posterity, below is the caveat I attempted to post before I realised I was locked out. It took a little more time than expected to achieve normal service; settings on the server had changed (probably reflecting default watertight security) requiring configuration there and to the local process of mirroring.
19-November-2025
Server Changes
The host of this site, ECats, is planning a significant server upgrade. This is likely to result is some downtime and possible reduced functionality in the short term.
If the site is up and you send in results and receive email confirmation, they will not be lost and will be processed eventually; do not resend simply because they take time to appear.
This is unrelated to the email oddity below: that appears down to an upgrade of Outlook on my 'cutting edge' update of Office 365.
3-November-2025
Email Quirk
I've just received a week's worth of results (and other email) into the LBH Gmail account. I've no idea what caused this and I had no suspicious indications my end.
All results now up to date.
Reminder to new captains: the results form (actually all forms on the site) only creates a formatted email that can be easily processed. It's not an automatic process – it has no authentication – and it needs active button pushing once the email arrives. One day AI will take over and I'll be out of a job.
24-September-2025
SURDOC Trophy
The SURDOC Trophy for teams was held on 24th September 2025. Congratulations to Civil Service (Jonathan Jacobs & Roy Westwater, Peter Brook & Chris Goodchild) winners of the 2025 SURDOC.
| Team | CIV | ROE | STO | CAN | IMPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Service | -9 | +4 | +12 | +7 | |
| Roehampton Diamonds | +9 | +11 | -14 | +6 | |
| Stock Exchange | -4 | -11 | +10 | -5 | |
| Canary Wharf | -12 | +14 | -10 | -8 |
IMP scores link to match details (BBO Vugraph display); hover over team name for players' names.
Results are also available on RealBridge.
16-September-2025
AGM
Minutes of 2025 AGM [PDF] are now available.
Matches Started Late
At the AGM there was a question about on-the-night delays to matches and whether the long-standing principles still applied. The committee examined these at its first post-AGM meeting and has endorsed them. This, with slight rephrasing for online play, is a restatement.
It has long been a principle that there are no forfeited matches in League matches and it remains so. This applies to matches played online, just as it does to those played face-to-face. In knock-out matches this does not apply and forfeits, though regrettable, may arise by failure to supply a team or by not keeping to an agreed time and date.
The tenets of play in the League are still well summarised as follows,
- The League is a competitive but friendly forum for bridge.
- All matches should start by 19:00. A captain cannot be compelled to start a match half an hour later than the agreed start time or 19:00 (whichever is the earlier).
- The matter of adjustment of League matches is the sole responsibility of the committee. Note, the removal of boards and imposition of an IMP penalty, is not sanctioned. Matches may however be shortened by mutual consent (to a minimum of 16 boards).
We urge understanding of players' difficulties and tolerance in modifying arrangements. There might be more latitude to manage online delays, but it should not be depended upon and the timing constraint above applies.
Where a fixture has to be abandoned, it should be rearranged with accommodations to the non-offending side. Though there have been very few occasions over the years, all have provoked committee discussion and informed the above. A case-study can be found here, which despite its age, remains relevant.