In July, Palo Alto Bridge held its annual Firecracker tournament, combining an Open Sectional and a Non Life Master Regional.
In the Open Sectional, 89% of the 395 players earned a total of 2,022 silver masterpoints. Palo Alto Bridge’s top masterpoint winners were:
- Debbie Rosenberg, 52mps, coming overall 1st
- Ming Sheng, 48mps, coming overall 2nd
- Susan Zhang, 41mps
- Edward Zuckerberg, 35mps
In the NLM Regional, 72% of the 173 players earned a total of 295 gold/red masterpoints. Palo Alto Bridge’s top masterpoint winners were:
- Jian Fang, 7mps
- Lipika Sur, 6mps
- Judy Huckabay, 6mps
Other Firecracker highlights:
- 20 people played in 10 of the 11 tournament sessions over 5 days.
- Players from 19 of the 21 units in District 21 participated in the tournament.
Although it appeared that players thoroughly enjoyed themselves at the tournament, we were disappointed that the number of attendees and sessions played/attendee were down considerably versus 2023, especially at the NLM Regional. We would love to get feedback especially from those who did not attend. What can we do to attract you and others to play in our tournaments?
A lot of work goes into making our tournaments a welcoming one for all, so a huge thank-you to our Firecracker tournament co-chairs, Marc Cervellino and Gerry MacDonald, and their large team of volunteers (bridge and non-bridge!): Marc’s partner Ivana, Stephanie Youngquist and her husband Michael, Brenda Hatton and her husband Chris, Liz Koh and her husband TW, Josephine Ventura, Steve Cheng, Jackie Lowenberg, Vincent Wu, Dimitry Goder, Omer BarNir, Randy Ryals, Judy Huckabay, Rob Boucher, Lucy Ballard, Jay Wang, David Sweet, Mary Steele, David Merenbach, Carolle Carter, Anne Wilson.
Plenty of congratulations to mid-year 2024’s top winners of the Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKenney masterpoints races (2024 mid-year masterpoint winners). The Ace of Clubs race recognizes the top masterpoint earners in F2F club games only. The Mini-McKenney race tracks masterpoints earned in club games, sectionals, regionals, nationals, etc.
In the week of August 19-23, we have Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC) games, awarding silver masterpoints. Sign up: SignUp
August is the last month for the North American Pairs (NAP) club-qualifying games at the Bridge Center where you can win red and black points. Join us at our daily Monday – Saturday club gamesat the Bridge Center club games schedule, particularly if you have not played in-person bridge in a while. With the success of offering an alternative – shorter – club game at the Bridge Center on Mondays, we now offer Thursday’s club game to also start later at 11:30AM, with snacks and no lunch/break for $12 fee.
Sign up: SignUp
Our next Celebrity Seminar will be given by Gavin Wolpert on “Going for Overtricks” on August 10 via Zoom. Gavin is an excellent teacher with great insights for players of all levels.
Team games is another way of enjoying bridge with more than just your partner! Join us at our monthly Swiss teams game event, next held on Monday, August 12 at 11:30AM, where the boards are already shuffled and there are hand records of the game. If you need a partner, or help to be matched with another pair, let us know. 10 teams played on July 1 – congrats to the winning team: Lori Spaeth – Susan Zhang – Marolyn Imaoka – David Wheeler.
We are proud to announce that Phil Abrahamson won the Teacher of the Year award from ABTA (American Bridge Teachers’ Association). This well-deserved award was announced in July at the convention in Toronto. Phil is our new volunteer as Intermediate & Newcomer Coordinator, and a volunteer mentor for our Mentor Program. The award honors and celebrates the teachers who go the extra mile for their students, who make the game come alive, and who keep students coming back for more. We are delighted that Phil has been recognized with this national award! Come and meet Phil at our Tuesday club games. Read more: Phil in NABC bulletin
Palo Alto Bridge is run by a wonderful team of volunteers. We welcome you to get involved in our bridge community. Volunteer positions are open for the marketing and publicity committee, coordinating our free lecture series, and help organize a bridge tournament. If you are interested, please contact either our Volunteer Chair, Gerry MacDonald (geraldinem@aol.com), or myself.
Highlighting some upcoming events for you:
- San Mateo Summer Sectional at the Bridge Center: players win silver points during the weekend of August 3rd-4th. San Mateo events
- NAP (North American Pairs) qualifying club games at the Bridge Center: win 50% red and 50% black points in a NAP qualifying club game in August. Sign up: SignUp
- Celebrity seminar: Gavin Wolpert – via Zoom – Saturday, August 10 at 9:30AM: “Going for Overtricks” Wolpert seminar
- Monthly Swiss Team club games at the Bridge Center: upcoming Mondays, August 12, September 9, at 11:30AM. Swiss Team games Sign up: SignUp
- Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC) at the Bridge Center: win silver points in any club game during the week of Monday – Friday, August 19 – 23. Sign up: SignUp
- Special club game celebrating the Autumnal Equinox on Thursday, September 26 at 11:30AM at the Bridge Center. Save the date!
- Kathy Harper’s fall classes start in September at the Bridge Center: Bridge classes
- Silicon Valley Youth Bridge (SiVY): Casual Fridays for youth players at the Bridge Center; also check out their other programs: SiVY website
- Palo Alto Open & Non Life Master Sectional at the Bridge Center: players win silver points during four days on Thursday, October 24 – Sunday, October 27. Save the dates!
Newer Players: we have novice/0-50 masterpoint games at the Bridge Center on Tuesdays at 10:45AM and Wednesday evenings at 6:45PM. Gain experience and improve your game in a relaxed club game environment. Sign up: SignUp
A reminder that we have a wealth of bridge learnings for all ability levels on our website with materials such as handouts from our past free lecture series: PAB Free Lectures Reviewing these lessons is an easy and effective way to improve one’s bridge game.
For those who prefer printed books, we have a great Library at the Bridge Center – an index of all the books is available on our website. The check-out system requires the borrower to fill out a slip. For those who had not completed these slips, please return the books you have borrowed. PAB Library
Palo Alto Bridge has a Mentor Program where we match aspiring players with more advanced players to encourage our Unit’s newer and less experienced players to develop their skills and increase their enjoyment of the game. To apply as a mentee or to volunteer as a mentor, please contact our coordinator Sid Chen: Mentor Program
Congrats to the following Palo Alto Unit 503 members who achieved a new ACBL Rank in July:
Junior Master: Ken Gradiska, Karen C Maness, Beth Siegelman.
Club Master: Evan Alexis, Ilya Sherman.
Sectional Master: Suzy Papazian.
NABC Master: Susan Pretel.
Advanced NABC Master: Judy Berkeley.
Bronze Life Master: David Merenbach.
Silver Life Master: Theresa S Iantosca.
Diamond Life Master (5000mps): Harriel A Shea.
A very warm welcome to our new Palo Alto Unit 503 members: Rob Boucher, Robert D Brunkhorst, Linda Nemmer, Jerry T Pugh, Patricia Pugh, Jill Rubin.
Liz Koh
P.S. Feel free to forward this to others who play at Palo Alto Bridge but who are not members of Unit 503.