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The June 2016 4Spot debuts an all digital format. Welcome!
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The District Committees and appointments have had several changes this year. Craig Robinson (District Director) and Elaine Landow (Board of Governors) have relocated out of District 4. Joann Glasson (District Director) and Allison Brandt (BOG) have replaced them respectively. Rick Rowland, who has served as District Treasurer for 14 years, will be retiring from that position. A great deal of thanks to Rick for his many years of service. We wish him well in continuing District 4 bridge competitions - perhaps with the exception of when he plays my team. Walter Mitchell, former President of District 4, will represent District 4 as an appointment as Second Alternate District Director.
You will also notice changes to the 4Spot, which is now a fully online publication. This important change means that all of the links in blue are "live." With a single click, you can connect to any additional reading material, websites, or other information of interest to you.
Our first District Regional is in the books. Many thanks to Bruce and Judy Gwaltney and their team for running a successful and pleasant tournament. Player feedback was positive and offered many suggestions to improve the bridge experience for Wilmington & all future District 4 Regionals.
There will be a General Board Meeting at The Philadelphia Regional at Valley Forge. An important topic of discussion will be District 4 creating a 'fragrance policy" for all tournaments. This is an important issue because many players have a sensitivity to various fragrances and it is only fair that
the District recognize the importance of this issue for its players.
With the Reno Nationals completed, congratulations to District 4's Eric Greco, who came home a "double winner." Eric and his partner Geoff Hampson captured the Platinum Pairs and went on to win the Mott-Smith trophy, awarded to the player(s) who win the most points at the Spring Nationals. Well done!
I again request that players nominate a "Champion." This person can be a partner, teammate, or opponent who helped make your bridge experience enjoyable!
I hope to see many of you at the coming Regionals in Valley Forge, Syracuse, and Lancaster to close out 2016. Until then, enjoy this great game and let's continue to make bridge a competitive game played with fairness and respect for all who play.
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June 27-July 3
August 1-7
August 22-28
October 15
October 15-16
October 22
October 31-November 6
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From the District Director
I am proud and delighted to be your new District 4 representative on the ACBL Board of Directors. I promise that I will work as hard as I can on your behalf and I will keep you informed on everything that is happening at the national level.
As your District Director, I plan to take a strong stand on Zero Tolerance issues. Bridge is great fun and we want to make playing this game a good experience for all players. Bad behavior will not be tolerated in District 4. The District board is also working to make District 4 "fragrance free." Many players have allergic reactions to fragrances and the board will be working to make our tournaments comfortable for all by requiring that all participants refrain from using perfumes and colognes.
Special congratulations to Meyer Kotkin, the Valley Forge tournament chair, for becoming a Grand Life Master. To reach this rank, a player must win a national championship and accumulate 10,000 masterpoints. Meyer won the 2011 Werner Open Pairs with Howie Cohen and reached the 10,000 masterpoint mark at the Delaware Regional Tournament.
There's a lot to be excited about in District 4 this year. Our upcoming tournament in Valley Forge has been moved from its traditional week to the week of June 27th. One of many hospitality highlights will be a free 4th of July picnic menu on Sunday, July 3rd at the Swiss team break. Join us for hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, and watermelon (with veggie options, too)!
In August, Mary Miller and Margie Spence have a fun tournament planned in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. The tournament has been moved to the popular 10 and 2:30 start times so players have their evenings free to visit the lovely surrounding areas.
John and Debi Klinger have moved the Lancaster Regional to a brand new facility, aptly named Spooky Nook, since the tournament begins on Halloween. The new tournament will have all the special Lancaster hospitality that we have come to know and love, in a beautiful modern setting.
At the Lancaster Regional, District 4 is running a TAP (Teacher's Accreditation Program) on Sunday, October 30 and Monday, October 31. This 10-hour teaching program usually costs $125, but District 4 will be subsidizing the cost for any of our District 4 members who want to become teachers. You can become a certified bridge teacher in Lancaster for only $50.
I also want to remind you of the 2016 NAP event. The NAP is a grassroots event that starts in your local club in qualifying games during the months of June, July and August. Players who have qualified at their club move on to compete at the District Level, and, if successful, will receive a subsidized trip to the National NAP event in Kansas City, MO in the spring of 2017. Plan on participating. It is the only game where you can win real $$. Check your local club for the dates of the qualifying sessions.
Our volunteers are the life blood of our organization. We are very lucky in District 4 to have so many caring, giving people who volunteer their time to run tournaments and work hard to make bridge fun for all. The next time you see a volunteer, don't forget to express your appreciation.
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Questions? Comments? Concerns? Contact your District 4 Board members.
PRESIDENT
Dan Boye
SECRETARY
Bill Bauer
TREASURER
Rick Rowland
DISTRICT DIRECTOR
Joann Glasson
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The District 4 GNT qualifiers ran on May 21 and 22. The qualifying teams in the four flights are:
Open: Richard Popper, Jay Apfelbaum, Andy Markowitz, Lou Glasthal
Flight A: Walter Bell, Dave Kresge, Marlene Meyer, Dave Meyer
Flight B: George Mansour, Stephen Mansour, Stephen Tillman, Alan Fierverker
Flight C: Susan Morse, Lisa Mita, Alison Shoemaker, Claire Rolin
Want to see the winners? Click here for a link to photos. Congratulations and good luck to each team at the national competition in DC this summer!
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News from Around the Units
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Unit 112: Central New York
Congratulations to the Unit Trophy Race winners. Walts Overall Douglas Ross-1
st, Sam Maitra-2
nd, Matson Pairs Douglas Ross-1
st, Sam Maitra-2
nd, McKaig Team John D'Errico-1
st, Roger Woodin-2
nd, Pierce Non-Life Master David Conroy-1
st, Stephen Pope-2
nd, Joseph Non-Master Debbie Carpenter-1
st, Xiang Long-2
nd and Clark-Cullinan STaCs, Bill Hettick-1
st, Douglas Ross-2
nd
New Life Masters: Ms. Edythe C. Krauss, Dr. John Green, Ms. Susan McCartney, Jane B. Romal, Sharon Durr, Graham Holroyd, Marianne Van Buen, and Mrs. Jane Fuller.
New Bronze Life Masters: Ms. Cindy Reid, Sharon Durr, Ms. Edythe C. Krauss, Willliam S. Port, and Dick Tuttle.
New Silver Life Masters: Lawrence E. Kidder, Robert J. Nowacki, Mr. Paul Ohbaum, Mr. John Spitzer, Mrs. Barbara C. Drake, Dr. Jonathan E. Forde, Steve Epstein, and Mrs. Julie A. Miles.
New Gold Life Masters: Mrs. Rosalind D. Kosoff, Elsie Jones, Dr. Jerome Weiss, Eugene Wurdinger, Miss Ruth M. Condon, Robert R. Simard, and Sam M. Maitra.
New Diamond Life Master: David Hunt.
New Emerald Life Masters: Ms. Susan A Boye and Mr. Sam C. Maitra Honorary 15000+: Dan Boye.
There were also 72 persons who became defacto Ruby Life Masters and four Sapphire Life Masters.
Click here for a list of the new Ruby and Sapphire life masters.
Note the upcoming Sectionals in Utica June 4-5 and Rochester July 16-17, and our Regional in Liverpool (Syracuse) August 1-7.
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S
yracuse Regional
A
ugust 1-7
Did your mother ever tell you there's no such thing as a free lunch? Well, the Upstate New York Regional begs to differ! This tournament has become well known for its OUTSTANDING hospitality. With popular morning and afternoon playing times, we now have hospitality after the afternoon session, and players make dinner out of it. There are snacks and desserts to go with the main feature of the day, such as ziti and meatballs, pizza and wings, or Sloppy Joes and macaroni salad (just to name a few).
Additionally, this tournament offers FREE coffee, FREE parking, and FREE lessons each morning by Expert Speakers. There is also a special lesson on Monday morning before the tournament begins that raises money to support a school in Cambodia.
Oh, and we have knockouts starting each day. Make your reservations now; you won't be disappointed!
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Unit 120: Northeastern Pennsylvania
For the first time in recent memory, two teams with members from Unit 120 won their respective flights in the district finals of the Grand National Teams. Flight "B" honors were captured by the father/son pair of George & Steve Mansour, who teamed with Alan Fierverker and Steve Tillman. Unit members & spouses Marlene and Dave Meyer teamed with Walter Bell & Dave Kresge to take the Flight "A" title.
ALERT: The Unit 120 Sectional at the Kingston Fire Hall (June 10-12) has been CANCELLED due to unforeseen circumstances. The next tournament will be September 30-Oct 2 at the Quality Inn on Kidder St.
The annual Unit 120 membership meeting will be held between sessions of the Patriotic Party in Stroudsburg June 26th.
One of the oldest living members in Unit 120 was honored in May in a celebration of his 93rd birthday. Welton Ferrar, PhD plays twice a week, and is considered by all to be the consummate gentleman at the table.
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Unit 121: Berks Montgomery
Unit 121 will be hosting a bridge cruise in February 2017 for any interested people in the unit.
This is a great 12-night cruise which is being offered at a terrific price. If interested, contact Judy Sager at 610-320-0233 or [email protected].
She will have all the details.
The St. Patrick's Day Unit Game was held Thursday, March 17th. Tony La Paro and Alice Hyman were the winners. Our Annual Pro-Am Unit game was held on April 3rd. Sara Gainey and Doug Chaney won the event.
We congratulate the following people for achieving new ranks with ACBL:
Club Master: Shirley Lutz and Glenn Trayer
Junior Master: Romaine Schwartz
Sectional Master: Barbara Willar
Regional Master: Elaine VanBriggle, Dr. Hal Cohn, and Tom Kimmel
NABC Master: Bill Troutman
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The unit held a very successful spring sectional. The top point winners were Richard Clausen, Don Swan and Deepak Khanna. The fall sectional will be held 21 October thru 23 October at the Lehigh Active Life Center. The start times for Saturday and Sunday have been changed to 10 AM, which will allow for an earlier ending for the 2nd session. Once again there will be free pizza between sessions on Saturday and Sunday. Click
here for a link to the flyer.
The Senior center has started up the Saturday game again. It is at 10 AM and there is an upper masterpoint limit of 5000 per pair. Please come out and support this game. If there are any questions, please contact Sara Gainey, or Diane Nolan at the center.
The Longest Day charity pairs game will be held on Saturday 18 June at 2:00 PM at the senior center. On the third Thursday of each month at 11:00 AM, Chuck Campbell is giving lessons prior to the Thursday pairs game at the senior center. The lesson are free, no pre-registration is required. On all other Thursdays, there are lessons for beginners and intermediates given by Belinda Anderson; those do require pre-registration. For information, contact Belinda or Diane Nolan.
Congratulations to Karen Yellin on becoming Ruby Life Master. The unit was saddened by the passing of Barbara Benner.
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Meyer Kotkin has achieved the highest rank in bridge - Grand Life Master.
In the recent Grand National Teams District Finals in Wilkes Barre, Unit 141 players distinguished themselves in the Open and Flight C competitions. Jay Apfelbaum, Andrew Markowitz, and Louis Glasthal (along with Richard Popper from U190) will represent D4 in the Open flight. Lisa Mita, Susan Morse, Claire Rolin, and Alison Shoemaker won Flight C. We wish both teams well at the Summer NABC in Washington DC.
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Philadelphia Regional at Valley Forge
June 27-July 3
Philadelphia's "first citizen," Benjamin Franklin, purportedly said, "Wine, Beer, Bridge, free food, and Dupli-Swiss are proof that God loves us."
The Philadelphia Regional at Valley Forge, June 27-July 3, will demonstrate Franklin's wisdom. There is an exciting schedule, with new KOs and Gold Rush events (for players under 750 masterpoints), starting every day, Dupli-Swiss (same hands for everyone and hand records) with free lunch on Thursday and Sunday, Mid-Flight for players under 3000 masterpoints, and nightly fast pairs games. There is a full I/N schedule, featuring a 299er Dupli-Swiss with free lunch and lecture on Friday. Don't miss the daily line-up of interesting speakers, highlighted by Wednesday's Bridge Tech lectures.
Daily complimentary continental breakfasts start your day off right and the Sweet Hospitality Suite with desserts, beer, wine, and snacks provide a comfortable place to socialize and finish the day.
So come to the Philadelphia Regional at Valley Forge, where a "masterpoint earned is a masterpoint saved."
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Unit 168: Central Pennsylvania
There is no Unit 168 report in this issue.
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Sigridur Kristjansdottir is the new Unit 190 webmaster and the website pops with pictures, information, copies of
The Dummy, the quarterly newsletter, and event results. Check it out at
www.unit190.org.
In our careers and in hobbies, many times our success and happiness can be credited to having a great mentor.
A game as intricate as bridge is no different. Benefits to a mentoring program can include i
mproved retention rates, increased club table counts, and an opportunity for experienced players to give back to this game we all love.
Karen Pollak, in the Northern part of the state, [email protected]
, and Barbara Saulsbury in the Southern part, [email protected]
, are chairing a mentoring program scheduled to run from May 15 to
September 30, 2016. Information and forms can be found on pages 8-10 of the May issue of
The May issue also recognizes players who have advanced in masterpoint rank (page 5) and lists several masterpoint winner leaderboards:
* Delaware's "First State" Regional (page 2)
* DSBA Pro-Am Winners, North and South (pages 3-4)
* Reno Spring NABC (page 6)
* Blue Hen Sectional Winners (page 7)
ACBL Tournament Director Sandy Cerato's "Director Please" column can be found on page 11. She touches on slow play, bidding box alerts and announcements, and Bridgemate proprieties.
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Congratulations!! The ACBL has announced new ranks for: Junior Master: Susan Fletcher and Vasundara Varadan; NABC Master: Craig Netzley; Ruby Life Master: Arlene Andrews, Michael Anesko, Carole Apfelbaum, James Baker, Connie Bamer, William G Hamm, Marilynn Henry, Richard Henry, Eudora Lyon, Virginia Marshall, Ellen Marvin, Doris Plotts, Gene Waltz, and Doris Winner; Gold Life Master: Fred Gilbert; and Sapphire Life Master: Mary Ann Churba and Sandy Gilbert.
Please join us for our next sectional June 2 - June 4 in State College at the Unitarian Universality Fellowship, 780 Waulpelani Drive, State College, PA 16801. Note that it is Thursday through Saturday.
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Master Solvers Club
September Problems
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Today we're going to talk about the Care and Feeding of Partners. Get a cuppa and pay attention.
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The ABC of Bridge
The primary focus of
Always
Be
Counting is to visualize all four hands as if you were seeing the hand in the bridge column of the newspaper. Achieving this reconstruction requires some basic arithmetic, together with processing information from bids made, bids not made, and opening leads. Successful implementation of all of the ABC pillars (
Counting,
Communicating, and
Curiosity) rests with the fundamental recognition that bridge is a PARTNERSHIP game!
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A Spot 4 the Advancing Player
With this article, I thought it would be a good idea to go in a different direction. So many players encounter auctions that are new to them (including me). Coming up with the right answer makes the difference between a good score and a disaster. I will not go into too many specific auctions; it would take too long. I will describe general types of auctions.
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