A reminder to all participants that the venue for the Master Pairs on Saturday will be the O’Reilly Hall in UCD, not the Templeogue Bridge Centre as originally advertised. We had to move to a bigger venue to accommodate the numbers as it became clear that the entry would exceed the capacity at Templeogue. The start time is 1.00 p.m.
Aside from being bigger, the new venue is also more expensive. The entry fee for the competition has therefore been increased to €50 per person.
The UCD Campus is large, so they have provided this map to guide participants to the O’Reilly Hall. The best entrance is via the N11 (Montrose) entrance, after which a one-way system forces a left turn. You then need to go all the way around the next roundabout (doubling back on your tracks) and the car park for the O’Reilly Hall will be a little way down on the left. There is free parking all weekend.
There will also be tea/coffee/snacks available all weekend, and a more substantial menu at the break, which will be from (approx) 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. on the Saturday. There are also dining facilities in the nearby suburbs of Stillorgan, Donnybrook, Sandymount, and Clonskeagh.
There will also be a small change to the format of the competition this year. Instead of the previous 4 x 7-board sets per session, we’ll be moving to 5 x 6-board sets. So you’ll play an extra 2 boards per session for your entry fee. Scoring will be in IMPs format as always.
We hope you’ll enjoy the weekend, and that the new venue will be satisfactory. We will welcome player feedback on it after the event. Good luck to all the participants!