Bridge club stalwart won many trophies
Ian McLeod was still playing bridge at the Waipukurau Bridge Club five days before he died. His frequent partner Charles Nairn pays tribute to the contribution he and his wife Sandy have made to our bridge club
Ian and Sandy McLeod joined the Waipukurau Bridge Club in the late 1970s. They were taught to play by Joan Orr, then tutored and mentored by Nova Thorburn and Eva Paton.
They learned quickly and soon became very competitive. In 1985 Ian won the Thursday Points trophy for the first time, with Sandy winning it the following year. Sandy won it twice more, before Ian won it 14 times between 2001 and 2016. They also played on Tuesdays, where Sandy won the Points trophy in 1988 and 1989, while Ian won it from 1994 to 2011, missing out only in 2001.
Playing together they won the Tuesday Championship Waipukurau Pairs 12 times between 1996 and 2015. They also played together to win the Thursday Championship Kibblewhite Pairs five times between 1986 and 2013. Ian and Sandy won the Waipukurau Open Pairs at least once, and Ian won the Taupo Open
Pairs with Charles Nairn in 2004.
Ian and Sandy played together at many tournaments in Hawke’s Bay and beyond with much success and earned sufficient A Points to be Graded Open players. Ian was a very good partner to play with, never ruffled or upset, always willing to adopt better methods and he enjoyed analysing hands and bidding sequences and double dummy problems to see how he could improve his game. His ability was demonstrated by the number of prizes he and his several partners collected at the annual prizegivings.
From early in their membership of the club, Ian and Sandy volunteered to man the registration desk at tournaments, greeting attendees and collecting the entrance fees. They continued this without interruption until 2021. In 1985
they had agreed to be the stand-in pair at the Waipukurau Open Tournament, but, as there were an even number of pairs entered, they were not needed — that is until a pair failed to turn up. So, 10 minutes later, they found themselves seated at a table playing bridge. They had a good first session and an even better second session and won the tournament.
They have both done more than their share in the administration of the club, with Sandy serving four years as a committee member, five years a secretary, one year as vice president and two years as president — a total of 12 years. Ian served six years as a committee member, five years as secretary, two years as vice president and two years as president — a total of 15 years.
When Nova Thorburn and Eva Paton stopped taking lessons at the club, Sandy and Ian took over and ran them for a number of years.
We thank Ian and Sandy for the time they have given to the club. We trust that Ian would approve of the new annual competition entitled the McLeod Pairs and that Sandy will be happy to contest it for several years yet.