Firecracker Results Delight Unit
Players celebrated the holiday with bridge at the Firecracker
Sectional held
at the Elks Lodge Saturday, June 30 through Wednesday, July 4.
There were
706 tables of bridge for a financially successful event.
The top attendance was for Saturday afternoon with 108 tables.
The table
count was 182 for Saturday, 155.5 for Sunday, 118 for Monday,
133.5 for
Tuesday and 119 for Wednesday with 124 tables of intermediate/newcomers
for
the tournament. The total is fewer than the 725 for last year,
but higher
than the 687 in 1999. An encouraging statistic is the 124 tables
of I/N,
which is more than double the 53 and 55 tables in 2000 and 1999,
respectively.
Of course, the Unit owes much of the success to Marianne Moutoux,
the
chairman, who has sent a message.
As Chairman of the Firecracker Sectional Tournament I want
to thank the many
people who helped to make this event the success that it was.
It ran
extremely smoothly, from the time of set up until take down. Many
people
from the Unit lent their time and energies to make that happen.
The set up
and take down crew were Cres Cole, Sue Fikes, Ginger Herrick,
Tom Moutoux,
Kevin O'Leary, Adrienne Oliff, Albert Pagin, Tom Snouse, John
Stidd, Elinor
Tanck, Alan Templeton, Ethel Worcester and many unnamed Wednesday
Swiss
"teamers." Kevin O'Leary, Merle Orelove, photographer
and the other IN
committee members made the Sectional a good experience for the
newer
players. The hospitality committee, headed by Mary Ann Larkin,
did their
usual excellent job of making the players feel welcome with their
personal
warmth and the gorgeous decorations. The Partnership desk, headed
by Ethel
Worcester, managed to make the necessary and sometimes difficult
arrangements to help players pair up as partners. Thanks to her
committee.
Lorna Corbetta and her caddy crew made a significant contribution
to the
orderly management of the tournament. The T-shirts were a success
and many
purchased one for themselves. Good design by Richard Johnson and
ironing by
Richard, Ethel Worcester and Merle Orelove. David Shanahan, the
son of
Dorothy and Jack Shanahan, helped the Unit achieve a financial
saving by his
donating the printing of the sectional flyers.
During the event my thanks to the people who helped to keep
the room looking
neat by keeping the tables clear of trash. The Elks Club did a
great job of
making us feel welcome and providing the necessary amenities.
Before the
players walk in the door to the Sectional, the Unit has a $18,000
bill to
pay. Even with this heavy debt, the tournament was a financial
success,
making somewhere around $4,000, but the final figures won't be
available
until August. I would like to end with a special thanks to my
co-chairman,
Albert Pagin, who helped in many ways to make my job easier. Thanks
to all
of you for coming!
--
PROUD PLAYERS
Richard Jacobs of San Jose, Linda Mattis and Shirley and Marvin
Falk, all of
Sunnyvale are all the wearers of a Duplicate Bridge T-shirt, awarded
for the
top point totals in sections D, E, F, respectively in the I/N
section at the
Firecracker. The Unit members listed below were all smiles at
the
Firecracker Sectional because they were first overall. Special
congratulations go to C players Sarla and Moti Thadani, with the
most
overalls including one in A. The numbers indicate multiple firsts.
Carolyn
Kwiatek, Kurt Siedenburg, Chris Larsen, Doreen Hornback, Roger
Passal, Gary
Macgregor (2), Sarla Thadani (3), Moti Thadani (3), Richard Johnson,
Catherine Johnson, Sherry Greenberg, Gary Yang, Anne Merolla,
Alice Garber,
Ashraf El Sadi, Jill El Sadi, Barbara Barlow, Vandana Vidwans,
Ivan
Stoimirov and Nevana Stoimirov.
--
NAOP Qualification Proceeds in August
The Alpine BC has scheduled a NAOP game for Tuesday, August
14. Players can
earn extra master points and qualify for the next level. This
is the last
opportunity for players to qualify at a site in Palo Alto.
Players who place in the overalls earn sectionally-rated half
red and half
black master
points. Any player who scores average or higher or finishes in
the upper
half will be eligible to play in a two-session Unit final.
--
Fond Farewell
To all my friends in Unit 503, wonderful partners and formidable
opponents:
I want to say goodbye and thank you for thirty-four years of happy
times. I
wish you all good health and happiness now and in the future.
Sincerely,
Barbara Vetterlein
The Unit also extends a goodbye and good luck to Club owner
Kathy Koolmar on
her move to Arizona. The players enjoyed many years of friendship
with Kathy
who is a past winner of the Sportsmanship Trophy. We thank her
for her
numerous years of service to the Unit and its players.
--
Get Well
Get well wishes to Unit member Gene Drew who is now home from
the hospital.
Hope he's back to bridge ASAP.
--
NEXT BOARD MEETING
Tuesday, August 7, 4 p.m.
YWCA 4161 Alma Street, Palo Alto
--
Easy Way to Bridge
The Palo Alto Unit will sponsor Easy Bridge, an ACBL promotion,
starting the
second week in September at the YWCA on a weekday evening at a
date to be
determined. Faye Parsons will hold lessons and play weekly. The
first four
weeks and lesson books are FREE. During August, the Unit will
mail postcards
to every Unit member, so that you can encourage all your friends,
even if
they have never before seen a deck of cards, to join Easy Bridge.
--
Beginning Bridge Starts September 10
The Palo Alto Unit knows that the only way for this great game
of ours to
survive is to attract new players. And, with a little effort in
the
beginning, newcomers will learn, as we have, that playing bridge
is one of
life's pleasures. In addition, bridge opens up a whole new world
of people
whom you would otherwise never meet.
The very popular Frank Smoot teaches the four-part Audrey Grant
series,
appropriately titled Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades. This
is Frank's
seventh year teaching this class! The cost per series is $60 (less
for YWCA
members) plus the cost of the book.
Class times and place: Mondays from 7:00-10:00 p.m. at the
YWCA, 4161 Alma
Street in Palo Alto. The first series starts on Monday, September
10. Get
there a little early - no later than 6:45 so you can sign up at
the front
desk. We typically have 6-10 tables of four people. Although it
would be
helpful to know if you are coming, signing up prior to class time
is not
necessary. You need not attend every class and as long as you're
willing to
do a little catch up, you'll be fine.
The Club series is an eight-week course for beginners who have
never played
bridge before or for people who haven't played for years and want
a
refresher course. The Diamond series is more of the same, and
focuses on
declarer play. The Heart series continues and focuses on defense.
The Spade
series puts it all together.
You may also download the free software offered by the ACBL
- "Learn to Play
Bridge" found in the middle of the home page on http://www.acbl.org
as extra
help in "getting it!"
Please call Lori Spaeth at 650/383-5033 or Joan Von Gehr at
650/366-2554 for
more information.
--
Upcoming Events:
Sectional, Friday, August 3 at Hayward, Centennial Hall
Club championship, Monday, August 6, at 11 a.m, Bridge Mix
Club championship, Tuesday, August 7, at 7 p.m., Tuesday Night
BC
Club championship, Thursday, August 9 at 12:30 p.m., Thurs. Aft
BC
Club championship, Saturday, August 11 at noon, One Club
NAOP, Tuesday, August 14 at 12:15 p.m., Alpine BC
Sectional, Saturday, August 18 at San Francisco, Rec Ctr for Handicap
Regional, Tuesday, August 28 at Santa Clara, Westin Hotel
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