The District 17 Bridge Buzz focuses on district and national news and provides you with the links to access the details. Catch the next Buzz January 2025.

Contact Cindy Shoemaker, editor, cndyshoemaker@yahoo.com

with feedback and content suggestions.

by Elizabeth Hamilton

grtscot@gmail.com

415-994-3527

The Journey is the reward.

This is a quote that many people attribute to Steve Jobs. However, it is actually an old Chinese proverb. It seems applicable to our bridge community as we approach the end of 2024.

The ACBL, including District 17 has had an interesting journey since starting to rebuild after COVID. Everyone’s experience has been unique. Many good things have happened and players are thrilled to be back at the bridge table face-to-face in clubs and tournaments. The online bridge environment has grown and many find that they are happy playing there too. Hopefully, most players can strike a balance and support both face-to-face and online play. The journey should be unique for all of us. Enjoy every bridge experience that you have the opportunity to try and learn from it so that each step can be part of the journey to making bridge strong again.

D17 has offered five Regionals, four Intermediate/Newcomer (I/N) Regionals and lots of excellent Sectionals to bring players together. Great volunteers have orchestrated these events and the bridge journey has been made exciting and fun because of their efforts. 

Make your tournament plans for 2025 and keep making the journey rewarding.

The big finish for D17 will be hosting the Fall NABC in Las Vegas. It starts on Thanksgiving Day and ends on December 8. A really great way to kick off the end of year holiday celebrations.

There is something for every level of play and a great group of volunteers will be waiting to make this NABC journey rewarding. Click here to check out the LVNABC pages to find out what is being offered. Each day offers something a little different. There is so much happening at the bridge table and around the city. It will be fun!

Remember, that if you are a member of D17, you get a $10 discount on every entry and if you are staying at a host hotel you will receive the same discount. If you are an I/N player who has won a free play at a D17 Regional, check-in at the I/N desk where your free play will be waiting for you.

There are lots of money saving opportunities in the city of ongoing entertainment. Check out LVMonorail.com. A great way to explore the city cost effectively and if you purchase an E-ticket that can be used on your smart phone, it is less expensive than a paper ticket and another level of discounts will become available. All of this is explained on the monorail website. Worth a look.

Las Vegas awaits! Come explore more of your bridge journey with us. See you there!

Jack Shoemaker

Unit 356 Tournament Chair

shoejack20@gmail.com

The Cactus Flower Non-Life Master (NLM) Regional delivers the GOLD Thursday, November 21 through Saturday, November 23 at the Tanque Verde Lutheran Church, 8625 E. Tanque Verde Road, Tucson. Ample free parking daily. 

Click here to view the tournament flyer.

This regional is exclusively for NLMs with fewer than 750 masterpoints. Gold Rush pairs and/or teams that finish in the overalls (Stratification A) will be awarded 33 percent gold and 67 percent red masterpoints.

There will be two days of two-session Gold Rush pairs. A Gold Rush Swiss teams will be held on Saturday. All NLMs will receive a tournament patch and more.

The Cactus Flower NLM Regional and the Tucson Fall Sectional will be held at the same time and at the same location; however, they are two separate tournaments. 

Earn silver points at the sectional! It offers two days of open pairs and two days of Swiss teams. A sectional Bracketed Swiss teams will be held on Saturday.

Hospitable touches for all attendees include complimentary coffee and hot tea, morning snacks and premium candy daily. Saturday lunch will be offered at a reduced rate. Lunch will be available for purchase on Thursday and Friday.

Take advantage of free lectures by top local experts Thursday and Friday between sessions. 

Stay nearby at the Sheraton Tucson Hotel and Suites. Book before November 8 to receive rates from $109 to $128/night. Click here to book your rooms.

Ben Franz

Tournament Chair

benfranz99@gmail.com

Plan to attend the Land of Enchantment Regional, Monday, January 20 through Sunday, January 26, 2025, at its new location, Crowne Plaza Albuquerque, 1901 University Blvd. Northeast, Albuquerque.

This seven-day regional offers a variety of pair and team games for players of all levels.

Click here to view the tournament flyer and all tournament events. 

RESERVE YOUR ROOMS TODAY

Book before January 6, 2025 to receive room rates from $129/night. To make your reservation, call 844-356-6178. Ask for the Unit 374 ACBL group rate or click here to book online. Parking is free.  

FIND A PARTNER OR A TEAM

Stop by the on-site partnership desk or click here to make your pre-tournament partnership requests. 

Educational lectures will be held between sessions Tuesday through Saturday. On-site snack bar and bargain coffee daily. Great hospitality gifts as well! 

This is a cashless tournament. Credit cards, checks and ACBL scrip only. No smoke, no fragrance and no bad behavior. Zero tolerance will be strictly enforced. 

See you in Albuquerque!

By Jack Shoemaker

Tournament Chair

shoejack20@gmail.com

Great weather, a consistent playing schedule and signature hospitality make the Tucson Winter Regional THE place to play!

The regional will be held Tuesday, February 25 through Saturday, March 1 at the Tanque Verde Lutheran Church, 8625 E. Tanque Verde Road in Tucson. Ample free parking daily. 

RESERVE YOUR ROOMS TODAY

Players will receive discounted rates at two Marriott properties nearby. 

Click here to view the tournament schedule, hotel details and booking deadlines.

GREAT SCHEDULE

With start times of 9:30 am and 2:30 pm, this tournament schedule includes Bracketed Round Robin teams, Gold Rush pairs and open pairs. Side pair games and 299er pair games are offered for play mornings and/or afternoons. 

A/X/Y Swiss and Bracketed Gold teams (0-3000) will begin 9 am on Saturday.

Lunch may be purchased onsite Tuesday through Friday. Saturday lunch will be included in the team entry fee.

Free coffee, hot tea and premium candy will be provided daily.

If you need a partner or a team, contact

Doug Cain, cainds2@comcast.net or post to www.playsouthernazbridge.com and click partnerships.

Free lectures will be held between sessions Tuesday through Friday.

This is a cashless tournament. Credit/debit cards only. No smoke, no fragrance and no bad behavior. Zero tolerance will be strictly enforced.

The Denver Rocky Mountain Regional will return to the Renaissance Hotel by Marriott, 3801 Quebec Street, Denver. Make plans to attend May 20-26, 2025. Click here to view the tournament flyer. 

The Renaissance Hotel is close to restaurants, shopping and convenient transportation. Room reservations are open. Click here by April 28, 2025 to reserve your stay at the per room rate of $135. 

NOVEMBER

01-03 Denver, CO (Open)

01-03 Albuquerque, NM (Open)

07-09 Chandler, AZ (Open)

11-17 D17 STaC

21-23 Tucson, AZ (Open)

Click here to view the D17 tournament calendar.

Julie Clark

GNT Coordinator

jclark9811@comcast.net

Grand National Teams (GNT) qualifying games are being held at local clubs and online through February 28, 2025. 

Qualify now to compete in the D17 GNT Finals!  

Steamboat Bridge is hosting monthly online GNT team qualifiers. Contact Sharon Smith here for details.

Contact your local club or unit to determine when qualifiers are scheduled or to request that they hold these games.  

The D17 Championship Flight Finals will be held Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 6 on Bridge Base Online (BBO). 

The D17 Flights A, B and C Finals will be held F2F at the Denver Rocky Mountain Regional Saturday, May 24 and Sunday, May 25. 

Don’t miss your chance to compete in the D17 GNT Finals. Top winning teams advance to the National Finals held in summer during the Philadelphia NABC Wednesday, July 23 - Sunday, July 27. 

Click here to view the D17 GNT Conditions of Contest and to learn more about this prestigious grass roots event. 

Julie Clark

NAP Coordinator

jclark9811@comcast.net

The D17 North American Pairs (NAP) Finals were held in September during the Taos Regional.

The top three pairs in Flight A and the top four pairs in Flight B and in Flight C are eligible to advance to the NAP Nationals held during the spring NABC in Memphis. 

Thank you to all who participated in the D17 Finals and congratulations to the pairs who will compete for a national title! 

Flight A: 

Gayle Covey and Steven Devico, Tucson, AZ

Cindy Harris and Joe Harris, Albuquerque, NM

Josh Donn, Las Vegas and Douglas Fjare, Estes Park, CO

Flight B:

Christopher Dorton and Shari Dorton, Silverthorne, CO

Ronald Mohney, Sedona, AZ and William Kinney, Flagstaff, AZ

Kevin Stansbury, Littleton, CO and Wilt Cooper, Denver, CO

Eric Heinrich and Stan Weinstein, Santa Fe, NM

Flight C:

Joe Hildebrand, Denver, CO and Tim Hurley, Denver, CO 

John Farbarik and Allen Ettenger, Tucson, AZ

Rosy Agrawal and Pawan Agrawal, Fort Mohave, AZ

ACBL members receive masterpoints for winning and placing in club games and tournaments as they strive to advance through the ranks. There are 16 ranks, from Junior Master (5 masterpoints) to Grand Life Master (10,000 masterpoints plus a victory in an eligible North American Bridge Championship). Learn rank qualifications.

Not pictured: Julie Bosserman, Unit 354, Scottsdale, AZ; Eileen Feltes, Unit 374, Albuquerque, NM; S. Edward Hargest, Unit 354, Cave Creek, AZ, also a Bronze Life Master; Anita Holmes, Unit 361, Denver, CO; Craig Holstad, Unit 351, Sun Lakes, AZ, also a Bronze Life Master; Pamela Levy, Unit 354, Scottsdale, AZ, also a Bronze Life Master; James Libby, Unit 351, Sun Lakes, AZ; Anita Schuster, Unit 361, Englewood, CO and Nancy Stockton, Unit 159, El Paso, TX, also a Bronze Life Master.

CHECK OUT THE DISTRICT 17 WEBSITE

WWW.D17ACBL.ORG