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 Unit 141 Newsletter            August 2015
    Philadelphia Contract Bridge Association
 

 

In This Issue

  • August Events
  • Great I/N Tournament
  • NAPs
  • Lupus
  • Table Tips
  • News 
  • Upcoming Events
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    Send your comments and suggestions for future articles to Allison Brandt at allison@dovetailpress.com

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    August Events       

    Boat and Balloon August can be a lazy, quiet month, but there are three bridge events to keep you busy.

    For those of you looking for a bigger commitment, there is the Nationals in Chicago from August 6-16. Closer to home, there will be a STaC August 24-30 which offers many chances to win silver points at clubs. Check to see if your club is running the STaC. Finally, August is the last month to earn an NAP qualification if you haven't already done so. Again, check with your club to see when it is running NAP qualification games. More details about the NAPs can be found in an article below.

    Stay cool and enjoy bridge in August.

     

    I/N Sectional Has a Another Great Turnout and Tournament   

    With original plans to cut off entries at forty teams, the July 27 Intermediate/Newcomer Swiss Teams tournament on Monday, July 27 at Bala Golf Club had another tremendous turnout. There was such enthusiasm that the final table count capped at 46 teams. That great number didn't prevent the day from running smoothly and providing a wonderful opportunity for players to enjoy the teams format.

    Thanks to preregistration, organization by director and tournament committee, and an effort by all of the 184 players, the event actually started early. From there, each of the seven rounds moved efficiently and the day finished on time.

    Here are names of all of the teams that scratched in each bracket. Complete results can be found at the Unit 141 website.

    Bracket I
    1. Goldstein
    2. Robbins
    3. Seidner

    Bracket II
    1. Marcello
    2. Garber
    3. Jawer

    Bracket III
    1. Krantz
    2. Negrotti
    3. Hockman
    4. Birk
    5. Packer

    Bracket IV
    1. Koss
    2. Barton
    3. Andrews

    Bracket V
    1. Hausman
    2. Wells
    3. Orr

    The final Unit 141 I/N Tournament Committee event will take place on October 20-21. This event has been amended from a one-day to a two-day event. The first day (Tuesday) will be a Swiss Teams at Bala. Wednesday will be at South Jersey Bridge Club in Cherry Hill with details to come. An amended flyer with added details will be posted soon to the Unit 141 and District 4 websites. In the meantime, you can contact I/N tournament chair Bruce Lang at bruce.edward.lang@gmail.com with questions.

    Thanks again to all of the players and volunteers -- Scott Brown, Stephen Vineberg, Janet Johnson, Phil Greco, Mike Giesler, John Dickenson, Allison Brandt, Lori Westler -- who helped the tournament run smoothly!




    Phil Greco

     

    Get Qualified for the NAPs

    A highly prestigious "grassroots" event, the North American Pairs (NAPs) starts at the club level. Club-level qualifications may be earned at any club in any unit running a qualifying game from June 1 to August 31, so August is your last chance to earn a qualification. Check with your local club for its schedule.

    District 4 follows with a district qualifier in the fall and the event culminates with the national event at the 2016 Spring Nationals in New Orleans.
    A player may qualify as often as desired and with as many different partners as desired. At the district final, both players must have qualified at the club level and must be members of District 4. The NAPs are played in flights as follows: A (Open), B (0-2500), C (0-500 Non-Life Masters). Players can play in any and all flights for which they are eligible and qualified.

    If you have questions or need additional information, please contact NAP coordinator Bob Glasson (bglasson54@gmail.com).          

     

    Play Bridge and Support
    Lupus Research       

    lupus 1 The 13th Annual Bridge Tournament for Lupus will take place this year on Monday, September 28th at Green Valley Country Club. Don't miss your chance to play the game you love and support a great cause.

    The entry fee is $70 or $225 to play with a pro. Proceeds benefit the Philadelphia Tri-State chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America in their efforts to study and battle this mysterious disease.

    For more information or to register, call 215-517-5070 or visit the Lupus website.

    lupus 2

     

    Table Tips: Keep Up the Pace
     
    bridge timer Keeping up the pace of play at the table does not mean bidding and playing as fast as you can. Ideally, it means minimizing the amount of wasted time so that all players will have as much time available to think about bidding, declaring, and defending. These tips should help save valuable time at the table.
     
    1. When you are on lead, lead right away. Do not write down the score or enter it in an electronic scoring machine first. Once the lead is made and the dummy is tabled, declarer and your partner can begin to study the hand.

     

    2. Move to the next round as soon as you can. Even if the table you want to join isn't available, the players who will join your table can start as soon as they are ready.

    3. Don't post-mortem at the table. It's a bad idea for many reasons, but it also takes up time.

    4. Pass boards actively to the next table, particularly when your table has fallen behind.

    5. Use your time wisely. If you need to think though a hand, do. But don't be slow on every board or round if there isn't much to think about.

    A well-paced game is a pleasure for everyone, so please do your part to keep it moving.

     

    News from Around the Unit 
     
    Card Hand on Right
    The Buxmont Bridge Club in Warminster is owned by Dorothy Ehling and offers games every day of the week. Games start at noon Mondays through Saturdays and at 12:30 p.m. Sundays.
     
    There are also games on Mondays at 7:30 p.m.and Thursdays at 7 p.m. The club has joined the Common Game and provides hand records after each game. Coming up in August are NAP Qualifier games on Aug. 4, 10 (both games), 14, 19, 20 (both games), 22 and 23. The club will give players a chance to win silver points from Aug. 24 through 30 when it participates in the District 4 STaC games.

    The Annual Hamilton Club Invitational Tournament took place on Thursday evening July 23rd with $1000.00 of prize money at stake. The star-studded field included Meyer Kotkin, Rich Rothwarf, and Donna and Dick Morgen. The winners were Gail Bell and Art Goldfarb. Second place was Everett Young and Doug Dye, followed by Eileen Boritz and Rosemarie Loughnane. Joan Brandeis and Dennis O'Brien also finished in the money. A great time was had by all.

     
     

    Local clubs and players are encouraged to send announcements, news, updates, or information for placement in upcoming newsletters.

    Unit 141 Newsletter, August 2015
    Volume 5, Issue 8
    Editor: Allison Brandt ( allison@dovetailpress.com