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District 21 Grand National Team Games are again coming to the Palo Alto Bridge Center
Saturday, March 21, 2026, and Sunday, March 22, 2026. Mark your calendar, call your partners, and form a team!
Flight A – No Player Over 6,000 Masterpoints
Round 1 (Saturday 3/21) and Round 2 (Sunday 3/22) 10:00 AM start
Final Round (if necessary) – To Be Determined
Flight B – No Player Over 3,000 Masterpoints
Round 1 (Saturday 3/21) and Final Round (Sunday 3/22) 10:00 AM start
Open Championship Flight – Final Round (Saturday 3/21) 10:00 AM start
Each year the ACBL holds a Grand National Team (GNT) Championship, in which teams who won their flights in their District GNTs compete with other districts in a team game at the Summer North American Bridge Championship (NABC). In 2026, the Summer NABC will be held in July in Minneapolis.
District 21 GNT games will take place on February 7-8 in Oakland and March 21-22 at Palo Alto Bridge.
Team games are great fun, and we encourage you to form a team and participate in this special event! The winning team (and the top two teams in Flights B and C) in each of the four GNT flights will represent District 21 at the Summer NABC. District 21 will provide $2,000 to the winning team in each flight to partially help defray travel costs.
The GNT flights are:
| Flight | Masterpoint Limits | Location | Dates |
| Open Championship Flight | Unlimited |
|
|
| Flight A | No players over 6,000 | All rounds – Palo Alto Bridge | March 21-22 & TBD |
| Flight B | No players over 3,000 | All rounds – Palo Alto Bridge | March 21-22 |
| Flight C | NLMs under 750 | All rounds – Oakland | February 7-8 |
Flight A
Round 1 (Saturday) – If more than 4 teams there will be a qualification event, to reduce the field to 4 teams. The game format depends on the number of teams – it could be knockout, round robin, or Swiss Team. The top 4 teams will play on Sunday.
Round 2 (Sunday) – the top four teams from Round 1 will compete in a knockout game to reduce the field to 2 teams.
Final Round (Date to be determined) – the remaining two teams will play in a knockout match with the winner representing District 21 at the GNT Championship at the Summer NABC in Memphis.
Flights B and C
Round 1 (Saturday) – Flights with more than 4 entries will have a qualification event, to reduce the field to 4 teams. The game format depends on the number of teams – it could be knockout, round robin, or Swiss Team. The top 4 teams will play on Sunday.
Final round (Sunday) – the top four teams from Round 1 will compete in a knockout game to determine 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places. The 1st place finisher and 2nd place team in Flight B and Flight C will represent District 21 at the GNT Championship at the Summer NABC in Memphis.
All teams in the final round receive generous masterpoint awards (depending on the number of teams/rounds played) – gold in Open, Flight A, Flight B, and gold/red in Flight C.
In Round 1, red masterpoints are awarded for each match win.
To play in the District 21 Flight A and Flight B GNTs, teams MUST register by March 15, 2026, at 2026 D21 GNT Registration
For more information – the District 21 2026 GNT Conditions of Contest is attached. Still have questions? Please contact Grant Vance (grantvance1@gmail.com).
If you need help to form a team, you can contact Marc Cervellino (marc.cervellino@hotmail.com; phone 650-269-2758).
