BRIDGEMATES Lancaster now uses Bridgemates instead of travellers. Each table has a machine about the size of a calculator. As each board is played North enters the contract, declarer, lead and result (e.g. =, +2, -3 etc.). The results are then transmitted by wireless connection to the scoring program on the club computer. The scoring program that Lancaster uses is Mike Rothwell’s Bridge Scorer which has been modified to interface with Bridgemates. The program has the option of displaying results as the session progresses. This has turned out to be a popular feature (apart from when you suffer the embarrassment of languishing at the bottom of the table!). It can be quite exciting towards the end of the session to see the positions changing as individual results come in. The Bridgemates make the life of the TD a lot easier as he or she no longer has to key in the results from travellers. Players enter their club membership numbers at the start of a session so there is no need for name slips to be circulated. At the start of each round the Bridgemates display the pair numbers and board numbers for that round so everyone should be in the right place at the right time! Bridge Scorer can also now produce extra printouts for competitors. A popular option is the Personal Score Card printout which shows board by board results in the order that the boards were played, so you can see how the session progressed.
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