THE Hawks Nest Bridge Club is urging interested community members to try their hand at the famous trick-taking card game, citing a host of social and mental benefits.

Millions of people play bridge worldwide, making it one of the world’s most popular card games, particularly among seniors.

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Club President Leslie Falla said the benefits for seniors were two-fold.

“Bridge is unusual in that it has two aspects,” he said.

“It has a social aspect, because it is a partnership game, and is the most popular partnership game in the world.

“It also has a cerebral content which gives the brain gentle exercise.

“Apparently there are only two normal things that do that; one is bridge and the other is ballroom dancing,” Leslie said.

While the world’s best bridge players can make millions per year; at the local level, the game is all about having fun.

“At club level, the social content is massive,” Leslie said.

“If you are playing for $1 million a year, that is bloody serious… but at club level, it is a fun game, played in the right atmosphere.”

Leslie said the game of bridge has an “image problem”.

“The misconception is that bridge is for very serious people.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.

To dispel the belief that bridge is overly serious, the local club will be hosting a meet-the-club social in early July – bookings are essential.

“Community members can come along and meet the club members and see the club house.

“The whole idea is to meet last year’s students, they can see for themselves that we don’t have two heads, it’s friendly and it’s fun,” Leslie said.

For those wanting to learn the game of bridge, very affordable lessons start in mid-July.

The Hawks Nest club was formed in 1995 as a sub-branch of the Hawks Nest Golf Club.

“Since then it has grown and grown to around 100 members as people in the community have come to appreciate the benefits bridge brings to people of a mature age,” said Leslie.

From formation, the club made use of a variety of shared spaces in local venues, eventually deciding to pursue the construction of its own club house.

“It was a fantastic community effort, raising over $350,000,” Leslie said.

“The club house was officially opened in March 2018 by Member for Port Stephens Kate Washington.

“The club house can accommodate up to 20 tables, which is pretty big for a bridge club.”

For Leslie, who describes himself as being “addicted to bridge”, the love of the game can be traced back to his university days.

“By today’s standards it was a very amateur standard, but we enjoyed ourselves.

“I picked it up again years later with an old college friend.

“When we came up here in 2000 the local bridge club was going, and we started getting involved.

“We found a lot of new friends that way.

“Now I am a hopeless addict to the game.”

About to embark on a trip overseas, Leslie has been searching online for a club to play with abroad.

“We are about to go on holiday, and one of the things we enjoy doing, as part of the international bridge community, is to play bridge wherever we are,” Leslie said.

“We are going to Portugal, so my job is to look for a club in Portugal that will entertain us.

“Wherever we go, we chat to people.

“Luckily you don’t need to speak fluent Portuguese to play the game in Portugal.”

Having played across the globe, Leslie said Lebanon was the most unique place he had sat down for a game of bridge.

“It is a beautiful country,” he said.

“I remember it vividly, I was playing a difficult contract, and I was playing it in French.

“Everyone at the other table stopped and came around behind me and started watching me.

“I was 23, not a very good bridge player at all, in a foreign country… just hoping I had made the right bids and playing the right contract.

“That’s the beauty of the game, it is international.”

For more information on the Hawks Nest Bridge Club, contact Leslie Falla on 0413 487 282.