It's been a rough two years and things are really looking up, people. This editor has been to two regionals and one national since getting the booster. With Irish luck, we'll all be back this year! |
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Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Contact your District 4 board members.
PRESIDENT
Jeanne Gehret
jeannegehret@comcast.net
VICE PRESIDENT
Betsy Cutler
betsy2955@gmail.com
SECRETARY
Bill Bauer
william.baueriii@verizon.net
TREASURER
Pat Civale
pat@csa-accounting.com
DISTRICT DIRECTOR
Joann Glasson
joannglasson@msn.com
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Are We There Yet?
The old refrain of children everywhere on a long trip – “are we there yet?” It’s how I’m now feeling about our journey through the COVID pandemic. Is it over… are we getting back to normal. Are you feeling a glimmer of hope?
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To give a sense for the condition of F2F tournaments, I’m providing a chart showing table count statistics for tournaments since August 2021. Included in the count are all F2F Regionals, Sectionals and I/N events held – compared to their pre-pandemic table count. You can see how attendance slowly grew in 2021, until the Omicron variant (and maybe holidays) took its toll and dropped attendance to the 35% range. February has seen a nice rebound with tournament attendance back to roughly half of pre-pandemic levels. |
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Bringing this statistic home to District 4, the table count at the Wilmington Regional (Feb 18-20) was 58% of pre-pandemic totals. And so, I repeat…. Are we there yet? It sure is looking hopeful!
The Spring NABC in Reno, NV, is just around the corner – March 10-20. If you’re attending, have a great time winning all those Gold and Platinum points! And also, best of luck to our fabulous District 4 North American Pairs Championship competitors. Lastly, for those of you (like me) who couldn’t attend Reno, you have the option of attending the Harrisburg Sectional – March 18-19.
Until next month, lead ‘em and reap!
I welcome your comments or suggestions (jeannegehret@comcast.net)
Jeanne
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From the District Director |
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Reno NABC
The Spring National Bridge Tournament in Reno will be held March 10 to 20, 2022. This will be the second NABC held since the pandemic. With the waning of the Omicron variant, we are hopeful that attendance will be strong, although not likely up to pre-pandemic numbers. Early room reservations are very encouraging. Many of the social and educational events that were not held in Austin at the fall NABC because of the virus will be held for the first time in Reno.
The most frequently asked question about the NABC has to do with the wearing of masks while playing. The current policy is that any tournament staffed by the ACBL must require masking of players, staff and volunteers unless community transmission rate is below “substantial” (as determined by the CDC or a similar metric from a health agency) a week before the start date of the tournament.
Reno is still not at a level to think that masks won’t be required, but that could change by the time that you read this message.
Regional Tournaments in District 4
District 4 will return to a full regional tournament schedule in 2022, kicking off with the first regional tournament of the year to be held in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, from May 2 to May 6 of 2022. You might notice that there is something different about those dates – the new regional is five days long, replacing the old seven-day regional. In the near future, this is the direction that our regionals will be taking. Monday to Friday have traditionally been the most popular days for tournament attendance and holding the tournament for only those days will allow the tournaments to be more financially feasible as we transition back to F2F bridge.
In June we can look forward to the King of Prussia regional tournament, in August the Rochester regional tournament and in October the Lancaster Regional tournament. Save the dates on your calendar. It will be wonderful to be together again, F2F, playing competitive bridge.
Joann
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NABC
March 10-20
Sectionals
March 18-19
April 1-3
April 29-May 1
Regionals
May 2-6
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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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Gadget Maestro Dave Wachsman shows us here how the experts decide if it's a slam or a grand. |
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Moderator: Nick Straguzzi
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Bridge at the Beach!!
Join us at the new Rehoboth Beach Regional May 2-6. The Breakers Hotel (walking distance to the sand) has kindly extended the deadline to reserve at the bridge rate through April 1st, so grab your partners and teams and get with it! Flyer here. |
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News from Around the Units
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Unit 112: Central New York
Betty Youmans
readsausten@yahoo.com
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Covid continues to have a profound effect on F2F bridge. Only ten of twenty-five clubs are open for F2F play. Collectively, they are drawing fewer about 25% of 2019 pre-pandemic attendance. The western part of the Unit (around Rochester) is particularly hard hit with the games drawing 12% of pre-pandemic attendance. Virtual Club Games, on the other hand, continue to do well nearly making up the F2F loss.
The Rochester Area Bridge Association cancelled the upcoming March 26-27 Sectional. The main factors were the very low local participation in F2F bridge and the scheduling of an online Regional the same weekend.
Congratulations to Unit 112 Advancing Players. It has been a banner month!
Gold Life Master
· Bill McCoy, Rochester NY
Silver Life Master
· Tom Aridgides, Manlius NY
Bronze Life Master
· Tom Rusling, Pittsford NY
· Philip Yorke, Brooktondale NY
Life Master
· Jim Baxter, Pittsford NY
Advanced NABC Master
· Manuel Ares, Jmesville NY
· Rola Cotran, Sarasota FL
· Ken Knight, Pittsford NY
NABC Master
· Carol Lynch, Fairport NY
· William Ormsby, Hornell NY
Regional Master
· Pauline Black, Webster NY
· Steve Gersz, Pittsford NY
· Tom Hubbard, Rochester NY
· Alberta Jackson, Newfield NY
· Beverly Le Beau, Jamesville NY
· Marjorie O’Mara, Oneonta NY
· Marsha Raines, Pittsford NY
· Barry Sutherland, Rochester NY
· Lois Weiner, Syracuse NY
Sectional Master
· Maryann McCabe, Pittsford NY
· David Miller, Rochester NY
· Aaron Satloff, Pittsford NY
· Diane Terry, Oneonta NY
Junior Master
· Faith Gray, Elmira NY
· Michal Luria, Ithaca NY
· Peter Radley, Clayton NY
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Unit 120: Northeastern Pennsylvania
Doreese Torrey
doreeset@gmail.com
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Stay well and tune in here for Unit 120 news next month. |
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Unit 121: Berks Montgomery
Car Ziegler
crzig@hometownu.com
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Check back next month for unit news. In the meantime, stay well! |
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Unit 133: Lehigh Valley
Lois Fuini
lafuini@yahoo.com
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Hope you all have the luck of the Irish when playing bridge at one of our clubs this month!
New Rank Advancements
Congratulations!
New Club Master
Ellen Myers
New Sapphire Life Master
Stan Yellin
“Souper” Bowl Sunday a Success!
Even though the Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl in Los Angeles, the real winner was Second Harvest Food Bank in the Lehigh Valley. Due to snowy weather conditions,we had to move the game online. However, our players still came together on Super Bowl Sunday, for an online game of duplicate bridge to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. In addition to the $500 donated by the unit and all proceeds from the game, our players made individual contributions, in lieu of cans of soup. Thanks to everyone who played, donated or volunteered to make this event a success!
Winners:
1st - Arup and Bagisa Mukherjee
2nd - Freda Witmer and Bryan Snapp
What’s Next?
March 31- Over/Under Dupli Swiss Team Game at 12:30pm at LVAL. This game is part of our Mentor/Mentee program. However, any team is eligible to play, providing at least one player on each half of the team has fewer than 300 points. It is an excellent opportunity for players to try Swiss Teams at our home club. For those wanting to learn basic team strategies and scoring, please come a half hour early for some valuable tips. For more information, please contact Betsy Cutler at betsy2955@gmail.com
Unit 133 Spring Sectional - April 29 - May 1
Please join us for our Spring Sectional in Allentown at Lehigh Valley Active Life for an opportunity to earn Silver Masterpoints. Enjoy a pleasant atmosphere, friendly people, delicious free boxed lunches, bagged snacks, and great bridge.
Schedule:
Friday, April 29th and Saturday, April 30th
10am and 2:15pm - Stratified Open Pairs and 0-500 NLM Stratified Pairs Games may be combined due to attendance.
Sunday, May 1st
10am- Stratified Open Dupli Swiss Teams two session playthrough with lunch break, or
10am - Single Session, 0-500 NLM Stratified Dupli Swiss Teams
Location:
Lehigh Valley Active Life
1633 West Elm Street
Allentown PA 18102
and click on the link for flyer/registration. At this time, vaccinations are required and masks are recommended.
Questions:
Please contact Tournament Chairperson, Lois Fuini at
Unit 133 Spring NLM Tournament - May 12
Please join us for our fourth annual Spring 0-100 and 0-500 NLM tournament on May 12th at Lehigh Valley Active Life in Allentown. Games are scheduled
for 10:00am and 2:00pm with an hour break for a FREE lunch. Registration will be available with your partner. Stay tuned for more details. For more information or help finding a partner, please contact Lois Fuini at the lafuini@yahoo.com.
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Unit 141: Philadelphia
Jay Apfelbaum
japfel1@comcast.net
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Our Unit was inactive for the last two years because of the pandemic. We are seeking volunteers of all stripes. We need people who are interested in making bridge better for all of us. Tell us what you want to do. We want to give everyone who is interested in doing something the chance to do it! Please join us.
March is here. Spring is right around the corner. Warmer weather! The Pandemic appears to be waning. This is a perfect time to celebrate with some face-to-face bridge.
Preparations for the April 1-3 Sectional Tournament at the King of Prussia Bridge Club are well underway. As of February 25, advance reservations were well over 50% of the Club’s capacity. I urge all who are interested in playing to submit your reservations while there is still time. Here is the website where you can print your reservation form. Spaces are filling up, so hurry!
Want to see the Tournament Flyer? Here is the website:
Are you interested in knowing more about the King of Prussia Bridge Club? Here is the internet address web page for the club. It runs a face-to-face game every day of week. Why not pay it a https://www.bridgewebs.com/kop/home.html
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Unit 168: Central Pennsylvania
Russell Poppleton
rpoppleton@comcast.net
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For you animal lovers:
Dogs can't operate a MRI, but catscan.
In case you are still reading, one more for the animal lovers:
Dairy cows have hooves because they lactose.
Congratulations to the following as they move up the ACBL ladder:
*** NEW JUNIOR MASTERS ***
Kimberley Frank
Bonnie Wachs
*** NEW CLUB MASTER ***
Virginia L Franklin
*** NEW REGIONAL MASTERS ***
Mrs Patricia A Miller
Martin K Monroe
*** NEW BRONZE LIFE MASTER ***
Mrs Connie K Schlak
*** NEW SILVER LIFE MASTER ***
Mr Rick Sadler
Special accolades to Bob Miller of Harrisburg for his 2021 accomplishments. Including online points, Bob not only ranked number one in Unit 168, but also number one in the District, number one in the state of PA and in the top 35 in the country.
All players are encouraged to join in for some F2F bridge offered at the Clubs throughout Unit 168. Schedules are available at the Club websites. Club websites can be found on the District 4 webpage. For Unit 168 Club websites look under "virtual clubs" and the Club websites can be found with both a virtual schedule and a F2F schedule.
South Central PA continues to host virtual games, see the website bridgeboardroom.com for a complete virtual schedule.
GNT Open Flight and Flight B (under 2500 points) will be conducted APR 9-10 online on Bridge Base Online (BBO). Deadline for registration is MAR 25. Full details on conditions of contest are available on the District 4 website.
The Harrisburg Bridge Club (HBC) will be hosting a Sectional on March 18-19. The Unit 168 annual meeting will be held between sessions Saturday. Unit 168 is in need of volunteers for committee chairs and board members. Please consider volunteering some of your valuable time to keep Unit 168 moving forward. To further encourage your attendance at the meeting, Unit 168 members play all day for free on Saturday and a free lunch. Mark your calendars and plan to attend. COVID protocols are constantly changing. Check the HBC website www.bridgewebs.com/harrisburg, for the latest COVID updates, prior to attending.
Something to ponder. Playing 2/1 on the auction 1 Major -2 Minor - 2 Something (by opener), which bid by responder is stronger, 2NT or 3NT? Make sure you and your partner are in agreement as to which one applies.
Good quote from Caroline Rhea that I can relate to:
"My favorite machine at the gym is the vending machine."
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Unit 190: Delaware
Tammy Holm and Paula Varrassi
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS: REHOBOTH BEACH REGIONAL MAY 2-6, 2022
WINNERS! WE HAVE WINNERS!
DELAWARE STATE ONLINE CHAMPIONSHIP
- Flight A-------Soley Kristjandottir
- Flight B-------Kim Holm
- Flight C-------Kristen Haroldsdottir
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THE DIAMOND STATE SECTIONAL
February 18 – 20 Results
Friday A.M. Open Pairs
Flight A 1. Rick Rowland & Jess Stuart
2. Arthur Korth & Andy Kaufman
Flight B 1. Kimmie Fulweiler & Mary Jane Elliott
2. Thomas Tully & Karen Pollak
Flight C 1. J. P. Snyder & Mickey Jones
2/3. Nancy Robbins & Teresa Young
2/3. Dennis Swatz & Carole Swatz
Friday P.M. A/X Pairs
1. Alexander Allen & Bharat Rao
2. Kenneth Chatzinoff & Hank Youngerman
B/C/D Pairs
1. Kathleen Miller & Deborah Purbrick
2. Karen Pollak & Thomas Tully
Saturday A.M. Open Pairs
Flight A 1. Harold Jordan & Sigridur Kristjansdottir
2. Andy Kaurman & Arthur Korth
Flight B 1. Bharat Rao & Nick Straguzzi
2. Gilbert Deleeuw & Lee Stanley
Flight C 1. Gilbert Deleeuw & Lee Stanley
2. Scott Metzler & Mariusz Kielbowicz
299er Pairs
1. Steven Angstreich & Leslie Heselton III
2. Vinnie Emilanowicz & Mark Teseny
Saturday P.M.
A/X Pairs
1. Harold Jordan & Sigridur Kristjansdottir
2. Linda Davis & Karen Hoffner
B/C/D Pairs
1. Susan Derrickson & Trina Williams
2. Nancy Ferguson & Karin Schwenk
Sunday Swiss Teams
A/X
1. L. Plotkin, M. Cohen, C Berenbaum, B. Kepple
2. R. Popper, Z. Madden, H. Jordan, R. Rowland, S. Kristjansdottir
B/C/D
1. D. Shaub, D. Wise, J. Gehret, S. Elinsky
2. N. Ferguson, K. Schwenk, T. Tully, K. Pollak
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Unit 217: Susquehanna
Jim McKeown
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Congratulations to Kokkimidis Patatoukos on advancing to Junior Master and to Martie Strebel on advancing to Bronze Life Master
Congratulations also to our 2021 Unit 217 Mini McKenney and Ace of Clubs winners. It was a strange year, but these people persevered:
Mini-McKinney/Ace of Clubs
0 to 5 Kokkimidis Patatoukos/Kokkimidis Patatoukos
5 to 20 Reggie Bartram/Reggie Bartram
20 to 50 Vasundara Varadan/Vasundara Varadan
50 to 100 Judy Barrile/Judy Barrile
100 to 200 Gerald Arcuri/Gerald Arcuri
200 to 300 Sue Fletcher/Sue Fletcher
300 to 500 Shirley Miller/Jan Lindsay
500 to 1000 Joanne Johnston/Joanne Johnston
1000 to 1500 Jackie Humilovich/Jackie Humilovich
1500 to 2500 Mike Anesko/Mike Anesko
2500 to 3500 Judy Stein
3500 to 5000 Carol Reitz/Carol Reitz
5000 to 7500 Jim McKeown/Jim McKeown
Over 10,000 Ed Bissell/Ed Bissell
Please join us for our next Sectional, June 3-5, 2022 at the at the Boalsburg Fire Co 113 Pine Street in Boalsburg, PA when we will recognize these award winners.
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