British Nationals (Cambridge)

The British Nationals will take place over two days. More details will follow as soon as we have them but in the meantime please keep the weekend free and register your interest by RSVPing to this event.

This tournament traditionally acts as the primary British qualification route to the World Othello Championships. However there will be no World Championship staged in 2021.

Thats not going to stop us from getting together to play some Othello and crown a national champion, so come join us for a weekend in Cambridge.

DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION

The deadline for registration is the 14th of September. Please ensure you have signed up to the website before this date. Due to Covid-19 restrictions at Trinity college we have to ensure that we have secured a room of adequate size in advance of the tournament

REGISTRATION FEE's

If this is your first tournament registration fee's are waived

Regular admission is £10 (£5 unwaged)

Family admission is £15 per household

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Saturday 25th

10:30am - Arrive

11:00am - Round 1

12:00pm - Round 2

13:00pm - Lunch

14:00pm - Round 3

15:00pm - Round 4

16:00pm - Round 5

17:00pm - Round 6

Sunday 26th

10:00am - Round 7

11:00am - Round 8

12:00pm - Round 9

13:00pm - Lunch

14:00pm - Final (One round)

COVID-19

The British Othello Federation wants  all particpants to feel safe and comfortable during the tournament and while not manditory the BOF encourages participants to wear face masks and use hand sanitiser before and after each round of play. We will be providing a supply of face masks and hand sanitiser on the day.

USEFUL TRAVEL INFORMATION

Note: This information was obtained before Covid-19 and there may be updated national and local infrastructure restrictions because of this.

HOW TO GET THERE:

By Sat Nav:  The postcode for the venue is CB2 1TQ. For transfer between accommodation and venue there is walkit.com (foot) and Google Maps. Cambridge train station' postcode is CB1 2JW.   Finding the room:  A map of Trinity College can be found here (http://bit.ly/2pcNJin). If directions are not shown then click on Junior Parlour under Whewell's Court or Old Combination Room under Great Court on the left hand panel. To reach the Junior Parlour, turn east into Whewell's Court (pronounced "hew-el's") from Trinity Street. Turn right immediately after the first arch. Climb the open-air stairs until you are just short of the top, and then turn right into T staircase. The Junior Parlour is at the end of the passageway through the door. To reach the Old Combination Room (OCR) facing Great Gate (the main entrance).enter Great Gate. On the opposite side of the court are some steps leading up to a door. Go up those steps, and through the door (mind your head!). Turn left, up the stairs, and on your left is the OCR If all else fails then ask a porter (they wear a bowler hat) where the OCR or Junior Parlour is, Wheelchair users should contact the tournament organiser for further advice.    GETTING TO CAMBRIDGE: Note: Three-letter station codes are those used by the UK railway industry (most websites and mobile apps will accept these codes). Websites of other countries’ railways may use different codes. Cambridge (CBG) station is not to be confused with Cambridge Heath (CBH), which is somewhere else entirely or Cambridge North (CMB) though the latter may be closer to some hotel accommodation. Tickets to/from Cambridge are also valid at Cambridge North (and vice versa). Also those travelling to Cambridge North via Ely are permitted to doubleback via Cambridge.

By Car:  You are strongly advised to use Park and Ride facilities or hotel car parks (see ACCOMMODATION) as city centre parking is limited and likely to be more expensive. The Park & Ride sites offering bus connections closest to venue are:

l Madingley Road (best for M11 - J13 no southbound access - proceed to junction 12 and turn round). Alight Bridge Street just after the bus gate (it is that thing with rising bollards in the road).

l Newmarket Road (A14 West) Alight Bridge Street just after bus gate.

l St Ives (A1(M)) - Busway Route B.

l Longstanton - Busway Route B.

l Milton Keynes (M1 J14) - X5/905 (change vehicles at Bedford). Alight Magdalene Street .

The nearest car park to the venue is Park Street which offers Blue Badge and Streetcar spaces.

By Rail: The nearest station to the venue is Cambridge (CBG) which is served by.

l Govia Thameslink Railway (http://www.thameslinkrailway.com) stopping and Cambridge Express services from London King's Cross via Stevenage (bus connections to/from Luton Airport), Brighton (also calls at Gatwick Airport) and King's Lynn.

l Greater Anglia (http://www.greateranglia.co.uk) services from King's Lynn, London Liverpool Street (via Bishops Stortford), Ipswich, Peterborough and Norwich.

l CrossCountry (http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk) services from Peterborough (connections LNER and East Midlands Railway services), Birmingham New Street (connections Avanti West Coast, other CrossCountry and West Midlands Trains services) and Stansted Airport.

Note: There is engineering works between Peterbroough and Ely on the Sunday. Buses are replacing trains between these two stations. Bus services to other railheads mentioned in two paragraphs below may be a better alternative.

A high frequency bus service runs between the railway station and the city centre - PLUSBUS tickets are available.    Rail travel to Bicester North (BCS), Milton Keynes Central (MKC), Bedford (BDM) or St Neots (SNO) rail stations then using the X5/905 coaches (change at Bedford) or Huntingdon (connections via Busway B) may be a better alternative than rail to Cambridge. An X5/905 timetable can be found here: http://bit.ly/2pTntcI and Busway: https://www.thebusway.info/.

By Coach (National Express):

National Express (NX) (http://www.nationalexpress.com) coach services operate to and from Norwich, London Victoria Coach Station, Luton, Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick Airports and Brighton. Infrequent direct NX services are also available to Birmingham, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Nottingham and Sheffield. All coaches call at Parkside and some also call at Madingley Road (interchange with P&R for shorter walk) or Trumpington Park and Ride sites.

By Coach (Stagecoach Cross County X5/905):

The X5 service is from Oxford to Bedford and calls at Milton Keynes Coachway (interchange with NX services to.from the North of England, Wales and Scotland) and the 905 is from Bedford to Cambridge. A timetable can be found here: hhttp://bit.ly/2pTntc. All coaches terminate at Parkside but calls additionally at Cambridge Regional College, Science Park (hail and ride), Fair Street (closest stop to venue just after roundabout with trees in the middle), Napier Street and Grafton Centre, Intermediate stops may offer better journey options to hotels.

By Coach (Whippet X2/X3):

These services are from Corby to Addenbrooke’s and calls at Huntingdon (interchange with busway services which may provide better journey options)

By local bus:  Details of service buses in the Cambridge area can be found here: http://www.stagecoachbus.com. The main local buses passing closest to the venue are:

l (citi) 1 - Fulbourn/Cherry Hinton - Arbury via Addenbrooke's (hospital) and rail station. Alight Bridge Street near bus gate.

l (citi) 2 - Addenbrooke's - Science Park. Alight Bridge Street near bus gate.

l Madingley Road P&R - Newmarket Road P&R (some timetables give this as route 77). Alight Bridge Street near bus gate.

l Busway B - Huntingdon Rail Station - Huntingdon Bus Station (connections from Peterborough and Corby) - St Ives - Cambridge. Alight Round Church Street (first stop after bus gate).

Other buses tend to use Drummer Street Bus Station, St Andrew's Street, Emmanuel Street and Downing Street.

By taxi:

The two main taxi companies for Cambridge are Panther Taxis (https://www.panthertaxis.co.uk/) and Camtax Taxis (http://www.camtax.co.uk/). Uber is also available in Cambridge, This option may prove to better for transfer to venue from accommodation on the Sunday than public transport which is on early Sunday mornings is very limited.

ACCOMMODATION: 

 If you want to stay overnight in Cambridge, we recommend searching and booking via Visit Cambridge (https://www.visitcambridge.org/accommodation) or your favourite hotel booking site or app. Alternatively - players have previously stayed at:

Travelodge Newmarket Road - http://bit.ly/2PeUTgN

Travelodge Cambridge Central (close to Cambridge train station) - http://bit.ly/367Bzrw

Travelodge Orchard Park - thttp://bit.ly/368HgWf

Cambridge University colleges (http://bit.ly/2NfsG6C) offer overnight B&B accommodation.

A number of B&B options in Tenison Road (first right off Cambridge station approach) including a Hostelling International/YHA youth hostel - http://bit.ly/2qKcOlg

A number of options outside Cambridge are also available in:

Travelodge Bedford Goldington Road - thttp://bit.ly/367U13i 905 bus route stop is 0.1 miles away in the direction of town centre (turn left out of hotel and stop is across the road, adjacent to green space). Do not use the nearer stop across the road as the 905 does not stop there.

Travelodge Bedford Wyboston - http://bit.ly/2p4fLg6 - 905 bus route stop is 3/4 miles north of hotel (heading away from Black Cat Roundabout) at footbridge.