July 2018

Look for a few changes starting with this month's 4Spot. We are thrilled to welcome 25-time National champion, best-selling author, and teacher extraordinaire Larry Cohen as a new contributing columnist. Larry's articles start this month, with a multi-part series that takes readers through the convention card and explains his thinking about the basics of what players should play. When you link to the articles at Larry's terrific website, we encourage you to explore it for the variety of learning tools you will find there. 

With this change in columnists, we heartily thank Jay Apfelbaum for his many years penning the column A Spot 4 the Advancing Player and wish him well with his future writing endeavors.

Readers will also notice that we have moved the contributors' columns and Master Solvers Club above the Unit Reports for easier access.

District 4 Officers  
small margin
  
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Contact your District 4 board members.

PRESIDENT 
Meyer Kotkin  

VICE PRESIDENT 
Dave Kresge   
 
SECRETARY 
Bill Bauer 
TREASURER 
Pat Civale
[email protected]  

DISTRICT DIRECTOR 
Joann Glasson 
President's Message

Meyer was busy running this month's Valley Forge Regional and will be back next month with a new president's report. Keep in mind that he is available to answer questions and comments by email at [email protected]  or (856.986.5109).
From the District Director 
joann glasson
  
THIS AND THAT

When you receive this newsletter the Valley Forge Regional will have just concluded. I hope you were able to attend and had a terrific time.
Every once in a while it's good to take the time to remind our players of some of the great stuff that goes on in District 4. We are very lucky to have a district that has many volunteers who not only give their time and talents to our game, but also share their creativity and thoughts with us.
On the District 4 website, there is a feature called "Our Players' Stories". In it our players share their memories about the game as they move through the ranks. It's a fun read:


We also have a great photo collection if you want to take a walk down memory lane. If you have a photo you would like to add, just email it to me.


On the more serious side, there has been a great deal of thoughtful work being done in District 4. Our President, Meyer Kotkin, has brought a new, creative energy to the district and his committees have produced some great work. Read, get involved, share your ideas with us.




District 4 Schedule
 
August 13-19
 
District 4 STaC
August 20-26
 
October 13
 
October 13-14
 
October 27
 
October 29-November 4
 
STaC
December 10-16 
 
Philadelphia Regional at Valley Forge
June 25-July 1     
 
Philadelphia Regional Logo
As you read this issue, the Philadelphia Regional has just wrapped up. The tournament was a great success, with 1527.5 tables.  On behalf of all of Tournament Chair Meyer Kotkin, the tournament coordinators, and our volunteers, thanks to all of you attended. We look forward to seeing you back next year .



a 92-year-old vet plays at the table with our
youngest attendee (11 years old)

the hub of the action -- Information, Partnerships, and Supplies Table

great hospitality -- free breakfast each day,
free lunch Thursday through Sunday,
and loads of treats

a big turnout for the kickoff lecture and
free 0-20 game
Best Teaching Practices Workshop     
 
During the Syracuse Regional (August 13-19), special workshops for teachers on best teaching practices will be held on August 13 and 14. There will be options for teachers who want special certification and training or wannabe certified bridge teachers who desire initial certification, depending on your goals and interests.

For all the details, click here for the flyer. Questions can be addressed to Mary Miller ([email protected]).
Save the Date for ABA fun!     
 
The Philadelphia Unit of the ABA will hosting the Chester Plummer Tournament on August 25 at the Greenbriar Apartments in Philadelphia. It's a one-day, two-session Swiss Teams that will be nothing but fun and friendliness. Card fees are $20 for the day and a boxed lunch is $12. Pre-registration is required (and pre-order is needed for lunch). For all the details, click here for the flyer. 
Our Monthly Feature

The 4Spot features fantastic contributors, on a regular rotation:

advancing logo
  Larry's Learning Center  by Larry Cohen:
  January, April, July, October

novices only logo
For Novices Only by Marti Ronemus:
February, May, August, November

 
abc logo
The ABC of Bridge by Dave Wachsman:
  March, June, September, December

Click here to read this month's article: Larry's Learning Center. This month, Larry begins a multi-part series on what he calls "LC Standard." It is a simple, but not too simple, system that he encourages everyone to play as a basis of their convention card. After 35 years of playing and 20 years of teaching, Larry believes it includes the best choices. You will notice in this first article that Larry advocates playing 2/1. If you do not play 2/1 or think you can learn from Larry's wisdom on this subject, check out his articles on 2/1 here.
 
Click on any blue month above to read recent articles. 
Master Solvers Club

Moderator: Nick Straguzzi

Don't you love a misfit? Good luck this month with Nick's challenging new puzzle.


First, click here to read the analysis of this month's problem.
 
Then visit the MSC website to read next month's problem and submit your answers online: http://d4msc.straguzzi.org
News from Around the Units 
four corners
Unit 112: Central New York
Pat Stadelmaier
 
Unit 112 Sectional
July 14-15: Rochester
 
Unit 112 Sectional
September 8-9: Cicero
 
Unit 112 Sectional
September 29-30: Utica
 
Unit 112 Sectional
October 20-21: Binghamton
 
Unit 112 Sectional
November 10-11: Waterloo
 
Congratulations to our Ithaca Sectional Winners
 
Open Pairs 10 tables
         Flight A&B - Ellen Ryan - Edythe Krauss, Ithaca   61.11%
         Flight C - Nicholas Nelson - Tara Holter, Rochester 53.08%
 
299er Pairs Sat Morning - 5 tables
         Flight A&B 1st Susan Lang - Suzanne Logue, Ithaca   62.02%
          2nd Jon Davidson, Cazenovia, NY - Dee Derosa, Syracuse, NY 55.78%
 
299er Pairs Sat Afternoon - 3 tables
         Flight A&B 1st Anita Bellucci, Weiss and Janelle Tauer, Ithaca   64.00%
                           2nd Jeffrey Weiss, Ithaca - Mary Kallstrom, Lebanon, NJ 52.00%
 
Sunday Open Swiss Teams - 11 Tables
     Flight A - Dolores Toohey - Lynn Ackerman, Pittsford
                     William Port, Geneva - James Carroll, Lyons
   Flight B - Stephen Mast - Holli Mast, Corning, NY
                     Tom Henson, Towanda, PA - John Lute, Nichols, NY
     Flight C - Debra Statton - Pat Moran - Sharon Durr - Angela Klausner, Ithace
                     Marjorie Callahan, Aurora, NY
 
 
Join us for our Rochester Summer Sectional
July 14 - 15, 2018
Moose Club   5375 West Henrietta RD     Henrietta, NY 14586 
Saturday          10:30 Open Pairs - two sessions
                        Stratified 299ers Pairs (1 or 2 sessions)
Sunday - 10:30 Swiss Teams - play through
 

Canandiagua, NY Bridge Club Participates

In Longest Day Event
Canandiagua Bridge Club, manager/director, Mary Miller, held two bridge games, June 20th for Alzheimer's. Wednesday afternoon a NLM game was held consisting of 8 tables plus one table of social bridge players! Wednesday evening an open duplicate game was held with 6 ½ tables. Table fees were eliminated and the First Congregational Church waived their rent on that day. Between the two games, and Mary's Facebook page, donations have exceeded $3500, with donations continuing. Not included is the five dollar per table fee that will be sent to ACBL. The club applauds ACBL for partnering each year with the Alzheimer's Association.
Coming August 13th!
 
The 
Best Practices Teacher Workshop
 helps participants teach bridge more effectively.  Centerpiece of the new Teacher Accreditation Program, the Workshop implements the best practices validated by over 400 teachers in the recent ACBL teacher survey.  Fast-paced and highly participative, the Workshop features demonstrations of teaching tactics, "how to" exercises and small group simulations of interactive lessons.
 
This workshop will be offered in Syracuse in August in conjunction with the Regional.  There will be no charge for Unit 112 members; the cost is $50 for others, which includes the workshop, materials, dinner on Monday and a continental breakfast on Tuesday. For further information, contact Mary Miller, 585-394-7899 or  [email protected] . 
 
Unit 112 Congratulates their Advancing Players!
Junior Master
 
Doris Ernest, New Hartford
Nancy Pierson, Canandaigua
 
Club Master
 
Cecil Baker, Oneonta
Fran Caponecchi, Fayetteville
John Driscoll, Rochester
Dr Claudette Entenberg, Rochester
Margaret Hardy, Syracuse
Barbara Ullrich, Fayetteville
 
Regional Master
 
Sandra DeRosa, Cooperstown
Toby Cook, Byron
 
NABC Master
 
Claire Downey, Manlius
Swing Harre, Rochester
 
Bronze Life Master
 
Roger Newell, Fairport
 
Ruby Life Master
 
Sarah Furlow, Skaneateles
Gerry Radway, Fayetteville
 
Emerald Life Master
 
Douglas Ross, Pittsford
 

Unit 120: Northeastern Pennsylvania 
Fay Pacchioli
 
Unit 120 Sectional
October 5-7
 
We will have the Architzel Memorial Game which will be held in Beach Lake on September 9th this year and we will also hold the Annual Unit meeting before the game - so plan to come a bit early. Game time is 12 noon so I presume the meeting will start around 11:30. Am still working out details on cost as everything has gone up including the meal. I will have full details for next month but please save the date. Our unit parties are on the verge of extinction so please come out and support this one so The Board of Directors knows that you all like Unit parties.
The NEPA Summer Sectional was held in Wilkes-Barre the first weekend in June.
FRIDAY MORNING Open pairs
1 A Gene Waltz/Judy Stein
2 A Judy Argento/Al Shrive
1 B Bill Burns/JoAnn Mauger
2 B Lynn Gonchar/Elle Preece
1 C Rita Keiper/Lois Fuini
2 C Marianne Higgins/Janet Morganthau
299er PAIRS - STRAT A
1/2 Beth Travis/Candace Osborne
1/2 Barbara Dopera/Michael Dopera
FRIDAY AFTERNOON - OPEN PAIRS
1 A/B Steve Mansour/George Mansour
2 A/B Kate Shumaker/Gwen Ritter
3 A Judy Argento/Al Shrive
5 A Gene Waltz/Judy Stein
4 B Bill Burns/JoAnn Mauger
5 B Bill Orth/Ruth Orth
2 C David Forth/Christopher Hagler
FRIDAY AFTERNOON - 299er PAIRS
1 A Alice Mehlman/Cecily Myers
3 A Mary Ellen Petcavage/Victoria Tarleton
2 B Mary Ellen Mc Cormick/Roseann Tedesco
SATURDAY MORNING - OPEN PAIRS
1 A/B Craig Netzley/Judy Stein
2 A/B George Mansour/Walter Mitchell
4 A/B Bill Haines/Gwen Ritter
5 A/B Sue Kluger/Lynn Gonchar
6/7 A Judy Argento/Al Shrive
6/7 A Gene Waltz/Arlene Andrews
1 C Jim Mazeika/Mary Tragis
3 C Mary Zabresky/Ellen Preece
SATURDAY MORNING 299er PAIRS
3 A Virginia Cosans/Ernest Cosans
2 B Costas Lambropoulos/Gillian Chase
SATURDAY AFTERNOON OPEN PAIRS
1 A/B Fay Pacchioli/Joan Winters
2 A            Judy Null/Beth Rosenthal
3 A     Sara Eisner/Stephen Tillman
4 A/2B Carole McCallum/Judy Stillinger
6 B       Craig Netzley/Judy Stein
2 C       Joe Distini/Doreese Torrey
4 C       Marianne Higgins/Janet Morganthau
SATURDAY AFTERNOON 299er PAIRS
1 A Mary Ellen Petcavage/Victoria Tarleton
2 A Robert Wojack/Lee Allen Fett
SUNDAY SWISS TEAMS
1      A Steve Tillman, Sara Eisner, Dave Meyer, Marlene Meyer
2 A/1B Kate Shumaker, Gwen Ritter, Mimi Lengel, Deborah Butz
4 A/3B Martha O'Connor, Linda Churla, Begona Kowet. Diana Giallorenzi
The top masterpoint winners were:
1      15.02 Judy Stein
2      13.46 George Mansour
3      11.78 Gwen Ritter
4      10.61 Steve Tillman
5 10.16 Judy Argento
6   10.16 Al Shrive
7   9.87 Gene Waltz
8   9.29 Sara Eisner
9   9.14 Kate Shumaker
10/11 7.87 Marlene & Dave Meyer
The big news of the day was two players made Life Master at the Sectional.
Ruth Orth from Sugarloaf and Craig Netzley, Montoursville both earned the missing points they needed to make Life Master that day.  
  The Honesdale-Hawley DBC held their Welcome Back party May 21st   at the Central House resort.   Twelve tables of bridge and two guests had 50 players enjoying a great day.
Awards were given out for the top players of 2017
The top players for the year were Diane and Stan Berkowitz.
Joan Winters was first in B (under 750 points)
Bob Bryden was first in C (under 500 points)
John Gindhart was first (under 300 points)
Betsy Hattersley was first (under 200 points)
Lee Vucic was first (under 100 points)
Antonette Finelli was first (under 50 points)
Micki Zack was first (under 25 points)
Patty and Dave Frischholz were first (under 15 points)
Unit 121: Berks Montgomery 
Brian C Snyder 
484-838-0977

December 21

There is no report this month for Unit 121. Check back next month for a new update.
Unit 133: Lehigh Valley 
Deepak Khanna 

Unit 133 Sectional
October 19-21 
 
Announcements
We regret to announce the passing of Rosemary Reinhard. We extend our condolences to family and friends.
Calendar
 
Unit 133 Extended Teams kickoff 1 PM, July 8. Contact Bob Cole for details-email: [email protected] . (We are planning on two separate brackets provided minimum number of teams requirement, as stipulated by ACBL, is satisfied).
Mentoring Program Facilitator Mike Kohler-610-554-7602, [email protected] . Mentee-mentor pair assignments are anticipated to be communicated towards the end of June; these pairs are encouraged to play at least once a month from July to December. It is recommended that to the extent possible, mentee-mentor pairs should attempt to play on the first Friday at the game at Lehigh Valley Active Life (LVAL). As of now at least twenty-seven mentee-mentor pairs are expected for the current program year. It still might be possible for more prospective mentees to participate, please contact Mike Kohler. We thank Mike, Mimi Lengel, and Mary Ann Sharpless for their valuable work towards the Mentoring Program.
NLM(0-500) Sectional, September 29, 2018. LVAL, Allentown . Pre-registration (required) form and details may be found at: http://tournaments.acbl.org/schedule.php?sanction=1809164 . Please be sure to push on the 'View Tournament Flyer' tab.  
Achievements
 
The following players recently attained higher bridge masterpoint ranking:
Junior Master : Mridhula Choudhri, Laura Rabenold, James Schiff;
Club Master : Nelson Rabenold;
Bronze Life Master : Sue Boericke;
Silver Life master : Guinevere Ritter;
Gold Life Master : Gary Hillenbrand *
 
*Earlier in the year at the Gatlinburg Regional, Gary's pursuit of the 2500 mp goal received a big boost when he and partner Clarence Kofron (both members of Unit 133) won more than 50 masterpoints each-the most of any player from ACBL District 4. We congratulate both Gary and Clarence for their impressive performance.
 
On May 19, 2018 Unit 133 hosted its first NLM sectional. There were 86 participants from 4 different states. We are very pleased by the strong positive feedback we have received from the players (a structured survey was conducted). In addition to enjoying enjoying bridge, the players were also very appreciative of the nice lunch and the friendly playing environment. Encouraged by the positive response to this tournament, we plan to hold another NLM tournament on September 29, 2018 (details have been noted above). We extend our thanks and appreciation to all facilitators and volunteers, especially Lois Fuini, Donalee Griswold, Pat Saeger and Betsy Cutler. The winners were:
 
Morning 0-100 Pairs: Gillian Chase and Woody Wolston
Morning 0-500 Pairs: Margaret Sobolewski and Janice Lauenberger
Afternoon 0-100 Pairs: Nate Kolo and Yu Hun
Afternoon 0-500 Pairs: Rita Keiper and Lois Fuini
 
Twenty-one pairs competed in the Unit Game of June 3. Unfortunately, the NLM bracket had to be merged with the Open game since we did not have seven pairs in the 0-500 bracket. We hope that in the future newer players will be able to participate in bigger numbers. The winners were Chuck Campbell and Jim Kenny with a whopping 70.83 percent game.
 
We were remiss in reporting the results of the Unit game of April 8 (perhaps for the first time ever there were two Unit games in the same month and that is our excuse for the inadvertent tardiness). The winners of the Unit game of April 8, were:
 
O-500 Section: Michael Adelizzi and Mary Ann Sharpless
Open Section: Peter Stoyanov and Charles Eisenhart (with an impressive 69.80 percent game!)
Congratulations to all our achievers.
 
Future Champions: They Had Lots of Fun!
 
On Monday June 25th, 24 members of the Beginner Bridge Program run by Sara Gainey went on a field trip to the King of Prussia Regional Tournament to take advantage of the beginner game and lesson sponsored by District 4 .  They were greeted at the door by President and Tournament Chair Meyer Kotkin. John Dickenson made a presentation on some introductory aspects of bridge. This was followed by a duplicate game run by Joan and Bill Goldstein. The District Director Joann Glasson also greeted and encouraged our future champions. Richard Hyman and Nancy Reigel placed second overall with a 62.95% game earning 1.74 mps-their first ever red points! Two other pairs earned their first red masterpoints: Robert Schundler and Sandy Kowalski; and Carol Turoczi and Ilene Prokup.  A wonderful day of bridge and fun was topped off with dinner at Maggiano's. Once again, we applaud Sara Gainey's sustained efforts towards developing and running an effective beginner bridge program to which she obviously brings a lot of energy and thoughtful creativity. 

Unit 141: Philadelphia 
Joan Warren
 
Unit 141 Sectional (Germantown Cricket Club)
September 21-23
 
Unit 141 congratulates its New Life Masters and all those who reached new designation levels. 

New Life Masters
Teresa Downey
Burton Mass

Diamond Life Master
Elaine Clair
Marc Labovitz

Sapphire Life Master
R. David Walker

Gold Life Master
Gary Hillenbrand

Ruby Life Master
Owen Comer
Joan Hockman

Silver Life Master
J Robert Beck

Bronze Life Master  
Deirdre Laveran
Pamela Wilford
Ingrid Yonker

I hope everyone enjoyed the King of Prussia Regional and congratulations to everyone who got lots of gold points or obtained their next designation.  

Unit 168: Central Pennsylvania 
Jeanne Gehret 
 
August 12

There is no Unit 168 report this month. Check back next for a new update.
Unit 190: Delaware 
Ala Hamilton-Day 
July 26-28
 
Unit 190 Sectional
September 14-16
 
Unit 190 Dave Treadwell Sectional
December 27-31

It's Coming! The Lewes Sectional - July 26th - 28th
 
PLAYER ADVANCEMENTS

JUNIOR MASTER :   Susan D. Royce
SECTIONAL LIFE MASTER :   Rita P. Gilbert
REGIONAL LIFE MASTER : Carol Bason and Catherine S. Conaway
LIFE MASTER :  Debbie Schell
SILVER MASTER :  Judy M. Harrington
GOLD LIFE MASTER :  Alan M. Horowitz
 
 
               I told my doctor, "Doc, help me. I'm addicted to Twitter!"                                         My doctor replied, "Sorry, I don't follow you . . . "
 
DELAWARE SUMMER SECTIONAL
DSBA Masterpoint Leaders
 

1. 24.10 Rick Rowland
2. 13.82 Jeff Ruben
3. 11.76 Richard Popper
4. 10.54 Ala Hamilton-Day
5. 5.84   Randall Berseth
6. 5.67   Catherine Conaway
7.   5.33 Marie Filandro
8.   5.33 Peter Filandro
9.   5.16 Steve Blomstedt
10. 4.38 Sally Humphrey
11. 4.21 Nancy Ferguson
12. 4.21 Karin Schwenk

Unit 217: Susquehanna  
Jim McKeown
 
Unit 217 Sectional
September 21-23
 
Congratulations on the following rank advances!!
 
Judy Barrile to Club Master, Shirley Miller and Janice Lindsay to NABC Master, and Estelle Frankl to Ruby Life Master.
 
We held our June sectional June 1-3 at the Boalsburg Fire Co in Boalsburg, PA. Jackie Humilovich and Jim Van Etten won the Friday morning pair game with Ted Pruss and Roger Christman first in C. Ed Bissell and Mary Ann Churba won the Friday afternoon pair game with Jim Van Etten and Don Hollinger first in B and Marilyn Goldfarb and Sue Fletcher first in C. On Saturday Ed Bissell and Mary Ann Churba won the morning pair game with Jim Van Etten and Jess Goodman first in B and Leida Milazzo and John Regan first in C. David Hoover and Barbara Mateer won the Saturday afternoon pair game with Jim Van Etten and Jess Goodman first in B and Leida Milazzo and John Regan first in C. Ed Bissell, Mary Ann Churba, Carol Reitz, and Jim McKeown won the Sunday Swiss with Leida Milazzo, John Regan, Summer Rifka, and Lidia Kachur first in B. Ed and Mary Ann won the master point race.
 
Please join us for our next sectional September 21-23 at the Willamsport Bridge Club, 1042 High Street, Williamsport, PA 17701. Unit 217 will also hold its annual membership meeting between sessions of the Sunday Swiss.
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4Spot | July 2018 | Editor: Allison Brandt | [email protected]
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