Staying connected during a heat wave isn't so hard when you have bridge as a steady companion! Turn up the A/C, turn on the computer and settle into a stimulating game of virtual bridge. It's the new (although hopefully temporary) normal. And when you venture out, why not don a bridge-themed mask? A Google search brings up loads of fun options.
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Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Contact your District 4 board members.
PRESIDENT
Meyer Kotkin
guymath@comcast.net
VICE PRESIDENT
jeannegehret@comcast.net
SECRETARY
Bill Bauer
william.baueriii@verizon.net
TREASURER
pat@csa-accounting.com
DISTRICT DIRECTOR
Joann Glasson
joannglasson@msn.com
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I hope you and your families are all safe and healthy.
Thanks to all who responded to my call in the July 4Spot to support not only the ACBL and Virtual Clubs but also the American Bridge Association (
ABA
), both directly and by playing with me in one of their four daily games. The large response was heartwarming and my offer still stands. In fact, my dear friend Marc Labovitz (Unit 141 [
U141
]) has generously volunteered to help so if you haven’t already played in an ABA game with me or Marc, contact me or Marc and we will get you on the schedule. The ABA, just like the ACBL, has also added a couple of “Daylong Games” where you play against three robots for ABA and BBO points. You can start and stop those Daylongs any time in a 24-hour period so they are convenient to play since you don’t need a partner and you can play a couple of hands in the eight board event at different times during the day whenever your schedule permits.
I have noticed that ACBL Virtual Club Game attendance seems to be declining. I am not certain that I am right because I don’t have access to the ACBL or BBO attendance data and history but it just seems to me that as the weeks under this pandemic go by, people are playing less online. If I am right, this puts more brick and mortar clubs in risk of financial ruin. One District 4 (
D4
) e-mail correspondent thought it was that the “novelty” of on-line bridge was wearing off but I am not so sure I agree. I see car traffic outside and foot traffic in supermarkets and strip malls increasing to pre-pandemic levels and I think a lot more people are now getting out and doing other things besides bridge. Additionally, I believe not everyone enjoys playing on-line – simply, it just isn’t the same competitive, yet social event that face-to-face (
f2f
) bridge is. Unfortunately, some correspondents, report that they have stopped playing on-line because they believe cheating on-line is rampant.
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Well, there it is – out in the open – the “C” word and a topic I have to admit I have been purposefully avoiding in my 4Spot articles. The latest issue of the ACBL Bulletin has several articles on on-line cheating and Bridgewinners has many discussions about on-line and f2f cheating so I feel I have to address that monkey in the room.
About a month or two ago, Marc called me and told me he had been kibitzing many on-line team matches of well-known bridge stars. Marc said he was particularly impressed with the play of a bridge professional who is a many time National Champion and World Championship medalist. Two weeks later, this player confessed on Bridgewinners (www.BridgeWinners.com) to “self-kibitzing” in these on-line matches, some of which he might have been paid to play in (I don’t know this for a fact). Self-kibitzers apparently log in to BBO anonymously or by using a different user name and then kibitz the table they are playing at. BBO allows Kibitzers to see all four hands (like when watching on Vugraph) and as bad as I play, even I could do better if I could see all four hands. This shock to the Bridge community was followed a couple of weeks later by another surprising admission of self-kibbitzing from a young, prominent National Champion and bridge professional. The consensus on Bridgewinners is these confessions are just the tip of the iceberg and that there are many more top-level players who are cheating on-line.
However, the D4 players who send me e-mails about on-line cheating are not talking about the Bridge Professionals and World Class stars. They are talking about regular players, many whom they know from f2f club games, who now seem to be playing double dummy and making strange, highly abnormal bids, leads and plays that result in on-line scores way above their performance level in f2f bridge.
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Cheating, in any form, is abhorrent and a stain on our game and our bridge community. The ACBL Recorder, Robb Gordon who is extremely efficient and hard driving, has made it a top priority to catch any and all on-line cheaters. The first step in catching many of those cheaters is for players who see strange things at the on-line tables to report to BBO and ACBL the facts of the hands and the suspicious actions. ACBL and BBO have made this even easier on-line than f2f as you can do this all on-line while you are playing using a reporting button on BBO that will automatically include the BBO hand record and the players’ names and numbers. One hand is never going to be enough to prove cheating but if we all record and report suspicious behavior, Robb and his staff, in conjunction with BBO, will be able to gather a body of evidence that will help to convict and punish those cheaters.
It is easier to cheat on-line in many different ways and for reasons I will go into in another article, it is harder to use statistics to catch on-line cheaters than it is to catch f2f cheaters. But, it can, must and will be done. As we band together as a world community to fight this pandemic, we must also band together as a bridge community to find this cheating disease in our game.
Please stay safe and healthy. I see people getting lax about masks and social distancing and I worry about the Rate of Transmission (
R
t) increasing in the places that worked hard to get R
t under one – the mathematicians number for indicating COVID-19 will decline in the future. My thoughts and prayers go to all people, including many of our fellow bridge players and D4 ex-pats living in the pandemic hotspots throughout the country. Our first responders and essential workers are rising to meet the challenges and helping to protect, feed, comfort and keep us safe and healthy. We owe it to those brave workers and to our communities and bridge players to do the best we can to stop the spread of this virus. We are all in it together and if we each act responsibly, I believe we will defeat COVID-19. As Fleet Admiral William Bull Halsey famously said, “
There aren't any great people. There are just great challenges that ordinary people like you and me are forced by circumstances to meet.”
America strong!
As always, I welcome all comments and suggestions on any D4 matters and issues. My e-mail is
guymath@comcast.net
and my cell is 856.986.5109
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From the District Director
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ACBL "MONTREAL" BOARD MEETINGS
Once again the ACBL summer board meetings were held on Zoom with work completed on July 16th. There were 3 full days of meetings with committee meetings held in the weeks prior to the full board meeting. Below is a summary of the major decisions.
BOARD REORGANIZATION
Last July, a Task Force was formed to develop a plan to reduce the size of the ACBL Board of Directors. David Lodge headed the Task Force and was joined in the effort by A.J. Stephani, Margot Hennings, Jay Whipple and me. Other groups have attempted to do this over the last ten years without success. We worked for months to formulate a plan that combined districts that were geographically contiguous into larger regions that will be represented by 13 regional directors, replacing the existing 25 district directors. Using this method we are able to keep districts intact, not disturbing district treasuries or NAP and GNT events. Our hope was that this plan would be sellable to the ACBL Board of Directors.
This motion was initially presented to the Board last fall in San Francisco and failed by 2 votes, 15-10. A super majority of 17 votes was needed to pass because bylaw changes are required. It is very difficult to convince board members to vote themselves out of a job.
The Board of Governors requested a reconsideration of the vote and the motion was reworked and presented again at the Spring virtual board meeting. Five new board members had started their terms in 2020, all five supported the changes, and the vote in "Columbus" was 20-4-1 in favor.
The plan was presented to the membership in the May bulletin, but because of the changes in the bylaws a second vote was required to pass the motion.
At the board meetings last week, the motion passed 18-7. The Board of Governors approved the motion at their meeting on July 19.
Implementation will begin with the election cycle next year when the first 8 regional directors will be elected. 4 more regional directors will be elected in 2022. District 4 and District 3 will be combined into Region 3 and our regional director will be elected in 2023. The elections are triggered by the ending of the earliest term of a district director in a region. As required by NY not-for-profit law, all current district directors will remain on the ACBL Board to finish out their terms.
TRANSITION TASK FORCE
The Transition Task Force, headed by Kevin Lane, is working on the process of moving non-core committees off the Board of Directors. This is a vital part of the implementation of the Board Reorganization. Four motions were presented by the Task Force and approved unanimously by the Board.
STRENGTH OF FIELD
A motion was presented by Doug Couchman, the chair of the Masterpoint Committee, that will attempt to equalize the masterpoints that are paid in all events. Doug presented a comprehensive 16 page analysis that was approved unanimously by the Board. When it is implemented, if a team game and pair game with the same number of entrants are held on the same day, the masterpoints awarded for each will be the same. The idea is to prevent "event shopping". In Doug's analysis, Gold Rush events will receive slightly more masterpoints while the difference in points in other events will change only by a small percentage.
APPEALS & CHARGES
The board approved a rewrite of the CDR (Code of Disciplinary Regulations) that will simplify the code for the use of District disciplinary bodies.
The ACBL will also begin the process of handling major cheating cases with the use of an arbitration panel administered by the American Arbitration Association and staffed with high level volunteer arbitrators. When completed, this change will provide protection for the ACBL from lawsuits resulting from these decisions.
ACBL TREASURER
The position of ACBL Treasurer was vacated by the resignation of a board member, and I was elected by a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors. I will continue in my role as Finance Chair as well, since it was determined there was no conflict betweent the two positions.
NABC
A new pair event was added to the Spring NABC schedule for players with fewer than 2,500 masterpoints.
A motion to approve a Spring NABC in Memphis in 2025 was defeated. The Board felt that it was not prudent to commit to conference and hotel space so far in advance since the future of face-to-face bridge is unknown because of the pandemic. This will be reconsidered next year.
The complete list of motions and votes will be available on the ACBL website shortly.
If you've lasted this long, here's a fun YouTube video about our game:
Remember to play in your local club virtual games and the ACBL support your club games so that our clubs will stay open for when we return to face-to-face play.
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Because of COVID-19 related uncertainties about when tournaments can safely resume, please check the ACBL calendar listings.
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The 4Spot features fantastic contributors, on a regular rotation:
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Larry's Learning Center by Larry Cohen:
January, April, July, October
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For Novices Only by Marti Ronemus:
February, May, August, November
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The ABC of Bridge by Dave Wachsman:
March, June, September, December
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Marti has a way of helping her students remember their lessons! After reading about the dog in the backseat, even new players will know how to respond to partner's opening takeout double. (Plus, it's just a good read.)
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My husband Gary and I own the two most useless dogs in the world. We have no children or grandchildren, so we treat the dogs pretty much the way you do your grandkids, minus the college funds and need to post bail.
It really hurts me to say this, but while my dog ChuChu may be the cutest dog alive, he is undoubtedly the dumbest. It took us almost two years to teach him to sit. In his third year, we moved onto something big: “Stay!”
One day, ChuChu and I were making our rounds of errands. He was flopped semi-conscious (a not-unusual state for him) in the back seat, and as I pulled up to the drycleaner, I recognized this as what is called in Education, a Teachable Moment.
I parked the car, saying, “Stay!” He continued to sprawl. “Stay!” as I opened the door. Amazingly, ChuChu remained flat. “Stay!” while I scrambled out of the car. Again, “Stay!” as I shut the door. Miraculously, he continued to lie motionlessly on the backseat. I gave one more emphatic “STAY!” as I backed away. I turned to enter the store, and ran right into a man.
He was standing there, shaking his head, looking at me and the car. “Lady,” he admonished. “Why don’t you just use the emergency brake, like everyone else?”
“Now,” you may be asking yourself as you wipe the tears of laughter from your eyes, “what does this have to do with bridge?”
Everything. The man was confused because he couldn’t see the whole picture: There was a dog lying in the backseat of the car. And what is bidding except an attempt to show your partner the dog in the backseat? Your hand!
Your job while bidding is to show your Partner the dog in the backseat as clearly as possible. You need to paint a picture that shows
this
dog…and no other.
As a teacher, I see my players struggling and making so many confusing bids.
One very common error that just drives me crazy (a short journey) is using the same bid to show hands that are vastly different.
Take a look at these hands:
a) ♠xxx
♥
QJxx
◆
Kxx ♣xxx and
b) ♠xxx
♥
QJxx
◆
Kxx ♣AJx
Over pard’s takeout double, less experienced players will treat both of these hands the same. They will bid 1
♥
(over pard’s takeout double of an opener of a minor) with both these hands. Folks, you can’t bid the same with 6HCP that you bid with 11HCP. How will your poor pard ever see the dog in the backseat?
You must bid after a takeout double, even with zero points. That means you
must
show partner clearly if you’ve got a very minimum hand, 0-7 HCP, by bidding as cheaply as possible, OR with a nicer hand, jumping a level with 8-11 HCP. How can partner plan and place the contract? (
With 12+ pts, we can either cuebid the opponent's suit or make some other dramatic move, but that's a story for another day.)
Responding over a takeout double seems to be a real stumbling block for many emerging players. Maybe it will help to picture your hand as a dog: Do you have a Chihuahua? A Rottweiler? A Pit Bull? Your partner will never know unless you show off the dog in the backseat.
Now STAY!
And while we’re struggling with this pandemic, “Stay!” takes on new meaning. Please be safe, wear your mask, wash your hands, stay away from crowds AND PLAY LOTS OF BRIDGE ON-LINE. You can play with all your friends in a daily MP game. If you’re not already doing this, contact Edward Scanlon at
edjsiii@yahoo.com
and he’ll get you started.
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Moderator: Nick Straguzzi
This months problem found Nick nimbly avoiding a mud-wrestling match with a covid-infected alligator. Read all about it and, perhaps,
d
iscover some new bidding tactics to
add to your arsenal, here.
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News from Around the Units
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Unit 112: Central New York
Pat Stadelmaier
pstad145@aol.co
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Looking for
Silver
Points?
Hopefully, you played in last weeks Virtual Games at your club. If not, you may be able to still find a game Aug 1 or 2
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Do you recognize this bridge player?
This month Mary Miller would have been VERY busy handling our
Burt Garrell Regional Tournament in Syracuse
, which of course, had to be canceled this spring due to COVID-19.
Mary has done an outstanding job chairing our Regional Tournament for the past five years. Mary has decided to step down from her role as the Tournament Chair. Therefore, Unit 112 has big shoes to fill in finding someone to take on the responsibilities. She says she has detailed notes for her successor. If you are interested in chairing next year’s tournament, please contact your Unit Board Member or email me at
pstad145@aol.com.
Next year’s Regional is scheduled for August 2-8, 2021 in Rochester.
Mary will still be active in our Unit being the Education Chair. She is active on the District 4 Board being the member at large and chairing the Charity Committee.
Thank you, Mary, for your dedication to our Unit.
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Unit 112 Board will meet virtually August 15 at 9AM
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Unit 120: Northeastern Pennsylvania
Doreese Torrey
doreeset@gmail.com
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Hello Unit 120!! The virtual online games are active and exciting! Let's all give a rousing HOOT HOOT to the following achievements:
New Gold Life Master Carole E McCallum, Newfoundland PA
New NABC Master Harold F Koehler, Dallas PA
Congratulations!
It is with great sorrow to announce our good friend Walter Brenholts passed away July 12, 2020. Walter was a Gold Life Master and regular at all the local bridge clubs and tournaments for many years. Walter will be deeply missed.
Please stay safe and stay home if possible. Online bridge games are available!!
Hope to see you all at the “bridge tables”.
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Unit 121: Berks Montgomery
Brian C Snyder
4spadesdoubled@gmail.com
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Sue Wessner will host a bridge cruise November 9-20, 2020.
CLICK HERE
for more information.
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Unit 133: Lehigh Valley
Lois Fuini
lafuini@yahoo.com
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We hope you are all enjoying playing online in our virtual club games in the cool comfort of your air conditioned homes. It’s a great way to survive these sizzling summer days while staying active and interacting with all your bridge friends.
In Memoriam
We are saddened to report the passing of Lee Seckinger, 72 on April 26, 2020. Lee attended Duke University and Cedar Crest College. She served in the medical field for many years. After retiring from Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, where she lived and raised seven children, Lee began taking beginner duplicate bridge lessons at Lehigh Valley Active Life. During the lessons, she met Lynda Thaler. Lee and Lynda played together and studied together until Lee moved to Lewistown to care for her ailing parents. As Lynda said, “ Lee was a warm, loving, and sweet woman who I have missed and will continue to miss.” As will all of us who knew her.
New Rank Advancements
Congratulations!
New Junior Master
Dr. Margaret Barilla
New Club Masters
Silas Maynard
Patricia Squire
New Sectional Masters
Quentin Patterson
Joanne Yanek
New NABC Master
Jon Clemens
The Longest Day
Unit 133 is pleased to report that together we raised $858.02 for the Alzheimer’s Association. This was the first time Unit 133 participated in the Longest Day ACBL fundraiser. We met early in the year with a representative from the Delaware Valley Alzheimer’s Association who supplied us with strategies and marketing materials designed to increase awareness for the event. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic we were unable to use them. But, fortunately we are already one step ahead of the game for next year. Thank you to everyone who played on Saturday, June 22, to everyone who made extra contributions, and to everyone who volunteered their time to make this fundraising event a success.
Virtual Club Update
Reaching Out
Nearly half of our members are playing online. They tried it, and they like it. When we all started playing online, we thought it might last a month or two, but it looks like online bridge is here to stay. At least until 2021.
If you have reconsidered and would like to try playing online, we have lots of people who are willing and eager to help you or play with you. Please reach out to your favorite partners and friends to see if they would like to try playing online. If you need help, please call Betsy Cutler at 610-737-2545.
Donations
We are pleased to report that all of you playing online in the Unit’s Virtual Club Games have helped us provide a $600 donation for both Lehigh Valley Active Life and Second Harvest Food Bank. Because our expenses are less when playing online, we are donating proceeds to both these charities. The funds will be used to help less fortunate people in our community. Playing online not only helps you and your partner to stay active, have fun, and improve your skills, it also helps provide much needed food in our neighborhoods. So play, play, and play some more, so we can give, give and give some more.
Unit 133 August Virtual Club Game Schedule
Monday - 0-750 and Open Games at 12:30pm
Tuesday - 0-300 and Open Games at 10:30am
Wednesday - 0-300 Game at 10:30am
Thursday - 0- 100 and 0-750 Games at 10:30am. Open Game at 7:15pm
Friday - 0-100 and 0-2000 Games at 12:30pm
Saturday - reserved for scheduled unit games such as the In Memoriam Game and possibly future Swiss Teams Games
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Unit 141: Philadelphia
Howard Kahlenberg
howard.kahlenberg@gmail.com
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Those of you who were at the January Unit 141 Sectional may remember that on Saturday, I had the pleasure of “embarrassing” Michael Haas, who had qualified for the US Under 16 team in the next World Youth Bridge Championships. (I know that that was only 7 months ago, even if it feels like it was 7 years ago.) You might have problems identifying Michael from the scores of other players under 16 at our Sectionals, but he plays with his dad, Robert.
Michel and his junior team entered the current North American Online Bridge Championships (NAOBC), and Michael was one of only three people from the Unit to make it to the round of 64! (The other were David Hoffner and Bharat Rao. Apologies to anyone I missed.) I feel badly that I can only embarrass Michael by pointing out his achievement in writing, not in person. Let’s hope that I can remedy that soon.
Congratulations to the newest Unit 141 Life Masters
:
Mark Freedman of Jenkintown, Frederick Holdsworth of Philadelphia, Debbie Jones of Bryn Mawr, and Alan Wasserstein of Voorhees
Other Unit 141 Members achieving new ranks:
New Gold Life Master
(2,500 points) - Larry Umphlet
New Silver Life Masters
(1,000 points) – Carole Bishop, Mark Bolotin, Myrna Shervin, and past Unit President and all-around good egg Joan Warren
New Bronze Life Masters
(750 points) – Barbara Fox, Mark Freedman, Ed Kennedy, and Roger Milton
New Advanced NABC Masters
(300 points) - Mark Beifermanhaines, Lauren Dougherty, and Frank Feng
New NABC Masters
(200 points) - John Early, and Sherry Scena
New Regional Masters
(100 points) – Barbara Bickel, David Brill, Terry Bullen-Smith, Sastry Dasika, Jeri Davis, Patricia Davis, John Faber, Madhu Goyal, Sharon Harrington, Maureen McLaughlin, Beth Murphy, Brendan O'Malley, Wanda Romano, Sol Rosenberg, Ginger Sabia, Len Saffren, Kathy Schlesinger, Marie Shafron, Walter Stromquist, Harriet Walcott, Kathryn Warhol, and Joanne Wills
New Sectional Masters
(50 points) – Andrea Benack, Steven Binnick, Gwendolen Bryant, Jaime Caro, Jan Dahlquist, Harold Gever, Mary Giannattasio, Sandra Gillette, Deborah Glass, Traci Highbloom, Lynn Holt, Alan Lasdon, Henry Lieberman, Kathleen Lieberman, Patricia McCann, Mike Natan, Anne Pearl, Judith Rubino, Teresa Russo, Alice Stengel, Mary Thorell, Harry Tischler, Jackie Topaz, Diana Turek-Gever, Deborah Ware, and Virginia West
New Club Masters
(20 points) – Alan Abrams, Stephanie Fischer, Billie Horwitz, Tamara Kraig, Terry Maginnis, Betty Morrison, Mimi Nolan, Bin Qiang, Janice Rea, Francine Rebhun, Susan Royer, Marvin Sasson, Sherry Wert, and Gary Whitson
New Junior Masters
(5 points) – Maryann Degnan, Margaret Dooley, Joanne Guiniven, Harold Katz, David Laskin, Eileen Maginnis, Jeanne Mellor, Jacek Milbrandt, Rena Milligan, John O'Rourke, Raynel Otero, Susan Packer, Denise Schauer, Bonnie Solish, Susan Trager, Susan Werner, and Cheryl Zenfell
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Unit 168: Central Pennsylvania
Jeanne Gehret
jeannegehret@comcast.net
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Dave Bort has been playing online and ran into some interesting hands, inspiring this
Wacky Hands and Gadgets article. Read on and perhaps you and your partner will decide to add
Good-Bad No Trump and
Kokish Three-Way Game Tries to your convention card. Enjoy!
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Unit 190: Delaware
Ala Hamilton-Day
alabridge@gmail.com
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Unit 190 team games are being waged. There’s those swashbuckling
Four Gay Blades
, where Mark Henderson provides detailed analysis of the bidding and the plays for those team matches. The
Strange team
last trampled the
Tramps,
but turnabout is certainly fair play.
It’s a New Century
is still going strong and don’t forget
Home with the Holms
.
If you want to take on those trash talking
Tramps
, they are up for talking smack and a 12-board morning match.
PLAYER ADVANCEMENTS
JUNIOR MASTER:
Rohan Mandayam
CLUB MASTER:
Pamela F. Dent, Beth Kinney, and Charles F. Maginot
SECTIONAL MASTER:
Pamela Folz and Susan D. Royce
REGIONAL MASTER:
Deborah A. Flayhart
NABC MASTER:
Joyce Cosby and Mark A. Nehra
ADVANCED NABC MASTER:
Jonathan P. Baumel
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2020 Slate of Candidates for the DSBA Board of Directors
2020 has been a challenging year for the ACBL, Unit 190, and the bridge world. The highly anticipated Diamond State regional was cancelled, face to face bridge has disappeared, and on-line bridge has yet to prove a worthy replacement.
Much of the business of the DSBA board is the administration of sectionals, state games, and other face to face bridge events that support bridge in Delaware. Business still needs to be conducted, however, and we want to be fully prepared to support duplicate bridge in the State when activity resumes. We will be holding the annual election of board members as usual at the Annual meeting in September. Candidates nominated for a two-year term 2020-2022 are:
Harold Jordan
Soley Kristjansdottir
Mark Henderson
Ala Hamilton-Day
William Herdle
Debbie Schenkel
A seventh candidate is to be nominated “from the floor” at the
meeting.
DSBA Vice President Mark Henderson
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For news and results of the virtual BBO events in Unit 190, check out the Unit 190 website and click on the links below:
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Unit 217: Susquehanna
Jim McKeown
jcm@psu.edu
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One piece of good news!
Congratulations to Charnell Havens on becoming a new NABC Master!!
Optimistically I will invite you to the sectional we hope to hold on June 4-6, 2021 in Boalsburg.
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