Red & Black group's

What is Duplicate Bridge?

Duplicate Bridge is a form of Contract Bridge played in tournaments in Bridge Clubs in this country and worldwide.. It is so called because each hand is played at least twice, although by different players, under the same conditions, with the same cards in each hand and the same dealer and vulnerability.

Scoring for Duplicate Bridge is the same as Chicago Bridge.

Duplicate Bridge at u3a Worcester

Duplicate Bridge is played each week during the u3a season, and players are encouraged to attend the Group (either Red or Black) that they feel most at home with. Most players choose to play in both groups.

All Duplicate sessions operate as competitions for that afternoon

Membership of Duplicate Bridge at u3a Worcester

We play at the Church Hall of the United Reform Church in Albany Terrace Worcester, The maximum number of tables that can be accommodated in the room is 8, i.e. 32 players. We have a maximum of 36 players on our register.

Play starts at 1.05pm. and all members need to arrive five to ten minutes before this time to set the room up for the tournament.

Most partnerships remain the same week on week, and other partnerships will be confirmed by the group leader in the week leading up to the week in question.

To ensure that all hands are played by all members by the end of the afternoon, there will not be much time for discussion of the boards/hands. A fifteen minute break for refreshments is provided, but this involves all members being involved in making cups of tea and coffee and clearing up before the second session of the afternoon.

All players are provided with score sheets which players should complete as games are played. These are used in the case of discrepancies of scores shown on the travellers which accompany the game boards.

At the end of each game, the player playing North at each table completes the scores achieved for that game. It is the responsibility of the player playing East at the table to check that the score has been correctly written on the travelling score sheet.

Results are e-mailed out to members within a few hours of the end of the afternoon, in the form of results ranked against other players, and also printouts of all the traveller sheets to show the bids and contracts of all other players on all hands played.

If players wish to see particular hands at the end of the tournament, they can do so by asking the group leader before leaving the hall at the end of the afternoon.

Duplicate Bridge throughout the year.

Duplicate Bridge is played from September through to Easter each year.

Term time plan 2026 - 2027

September	7th -	14th - Red	21st  - Black	28th - Red
October	5th - Black	12th – Red	19th - Black	26th – Red
November	2nd - Black	9th – Red	16th - Black	23rd – Red	30th - Black
December	7th - Red	14th - Black	21st -	28th -
January	4th  - Red	11th – Black	18th – Red	25th  – Black
February	1st  - Red	8th - Black	15th - Red	22nd  – Black
March	1st - Red	8th – Black	15th – Red	22nd  – Black	29th - Red

Playing Bridge during the Pandemic

The Pandemic was a challenge for all, and many of our players discovered online bridge at that time. The Duplicate Group were keen to be able to play Bridge, but also spend some time talking and sharing with one another. We devised our own way of playing bridge and enabling our members to also spend a little time socialising with each other.

We used Zoom, putting each table in a separate "Zoom Room". At the end of each round players would move to another "room" to play with another pair. All players were designated North, South, East or West and would receive their hands in advance of the afternoon, and they would have to supply their own cards in their own homes. One of the most difficult issues was for those players who were dummy after the bidding auction took place, as they had to lay their hand out on a surface with their screen facing the cards, for the other players to see. It was amazing how soon members got accustomed to playing like this.

We played every week on Zoom for six months.

Playing Bridge during the Summer months - 2022, 2024 and 2026

Garden Parties have become a regular feature of the Duplicate Bridge calendar. As our "Bridge Year" runs from September to Easter, our members are keen to meet up over the summer holiday and play a tournament for a day. All members bring a contribution to the buffet lunch table, and we generally have around 6 tables of players in gazabos in a back garden.

Playing Bridge in each other's homes to keep in touch

Throughout the Bridge Year, many friendships are formed, and many of our members join with others to play in each others' homes.

Playing Bridge to celebrate u3a's 40th Anniversary - July 2025

On Saturday 12th July 2025 bridge players from the Duplicate Group, the Rubber/Chicago Group, the Gentle Bridge Group and the Chicago Group joined together to play bridge, for the morning, the afternoon or both to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of u3a Worcester. It was great to meet u3a bridge players who we had not played with before, and hope that we might be able to meet again at some stage in the future.