‘Bridging’ the gap to fun

Members of the Fairland Bridge Club met for their weekly bridge gaming event at the Rand Park Golf Club on 2 March.

Bridge is a trick-taking game, using a standard 52-card deck. It is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table.

Chairlady Angie Adams briefly spoke about the history of the club. “The Fairland Bridge Club has been running since 2007. It was first established and hosted at the Fairland Tennis Club . We started with just two tables and expanded from there. As we gradually grew in size we eventually moved to the Rand Park Golf Club in 2012. We left the Fairland Tennis Club on the best of terms. The facilities offered at the golf club was vastly superior and offered our members more space to hold bigger events,” she said.

Adams pointed out that since moving to their present venue, their attendance has exponentially grown. “We literally went from 12 members to 62 after the move. Since then, we host weekly bridge events at the club on Mondays from 1pm,” she said.

Adams is pleased with all the social opportunities that these events present to her members “We have catered for a wide array people from different areas that attend our bridge events. We got young, old, male, and female. Sixty per cent of our current group stayed with us after we moved,” she explained.

Club member Elaine Engelbrecht was also very proud to be part of a club that promotes social interaction with different people from all over Johannesburg.

“We are very proud of our club. I believe that we provide a unique and worthwhile service to the local community. The Bridge Club provides a safe and secure space for its members to socialise and have fun. We happily welcome new members to the club [and] always encourage our members to bring partners along. We have found that if a bridge player has a partner, they tend to play regularly,” she said.