SharonRoeAnderson

District 14 Director's Report

Much good news to mention about the ACBL in general, and District 14 in particular.  Please review the report below.  You will learn about our Summer NABC in Washington D.C., membership, highlights from the Washington D.C. board meeting and much more.

Please also note that your feedback is requested.  We want to make bridge the best it can be for everyone.  Thanks in advance for contributing, so we can achieve what you want!

North American Open Pairs

The ACBL offers a wide variety of events throughout the year to its members.  One favorite, however, is North American Open Pairs.  Not only do participants have the opportunity to compete locally for more masterpoints.  They also have the chance to do well and win a subsidized trip to the Spring NABC!  There, they are able to compete against players from all over North America, potentially winning a national title!

You need not be an expert player to compete; Flights A, B and C are available, according to your experience level.  Only about a week is left, however, to qualify at your local level for our District 14 final in 2009.  Here is the information about NAOP 2009-2010 from ACBL.  Further information about conditions of contest are below. 

You can also view a flyer about our District 14 Finals.  This competition is scheduled for October 3-4 in Des Moines.

North American Pairs (NAP)

Date: June 1-August 31

Masterpoints:

• Club qualifying games 50/50 red and black at sectional rating
• One-session unit qualifying games sectional rated red
• Two-session unit qualifying games include percentage of gold for overalls.
• District finals award gold for section firsts and overalls. Flight C is 25% gold for overalls. Other masterpoints in all flights are red.

Flights: A (Open), B (-2000), C (0-500 Non-Life Masters)
District winners in each flight recognized on web site
Final: Spring 2009 NABC
A highly prestigious "grass roots" event, the North American Pairs starts at the club level in June, July and August. Club-level qualifications may be earned at any club in any unit in any district. A player may qualify as often as desired and with as many different partners as desired. Unit-level qualifiers are optional and held after Sept. 1 and before the district final, which may be held after the unit final until the third week in January. At the district final, both players must have qualified at the club level and must be members of the parent district. A fixed amount prize will be awarded in all flights as follows:

1. In districts with three qualifiers, the 1st place qualifiers will receive $700 per person and the 2nd place qualifiers will receive $300 per person. The 3rd place qualifiers will be invited to participate in the national level finals, but will not receive any prize.
2. In districts with four qualifiers, the 1st and 2nd place qualifiers will receive $700 per person and the 3rd place qualifiers will receive $300 per person. The 4th place qualifiers will be invited to participate in the national level finals, but will not receive any prize.
3. Invited defenders will receive $700 per person.
4. No individual may collect two concurrent prizes.

The monetary award will be available on site. Qualifiers must play in the national level event until eliminated to receive the award.

There will be no entry fee for the national level of the event.

The Perfect Partner

Peg Kaplan wrote a daily column for the Bulletin at the Nebraska Regional.  Knowing how important it is to value our partners, Peg and I wanted to share this column from the tournament with you.

Mount Pleasant Youth Bridge

The ACBL main webpage has lots to read about and photos to view for our second ever Youth Bridge NABC in Washington D.C.  But - this being District 14, we particularly wished to highlight a group of kids who traveled and competed in DC.

The folks who help train our youth.

  

Zip chatting with Bill Gates in DC!

And with astronaut Greg Johnson, too!

What Makes a Tournament Great?

Its great people.

Volunteers - directors - players - caddies - star pros - celebrities - I/N competitors - locals - out of towners.

Everyone matters and District 14 is so glad so many attended!

Thanks for coming.  Hope you enjoy all the shots!

Tales from Council Bluffs

District 14 is blessed to have two of the finest tournament co-chairwomen anywhere:  Cookie Hoberman and Jan Loftin.  Once again, these ladies outdid themselves in 2009.  Despite having the Nebraska Regional scheduled to begin just as people were playing their last cards at the Washington D.C. NABC, Cookie and Jan managed to have their table count surpass last year by five tables!

Peg Kaplan played every session, every day.  Here is Peg's story about Nebraska Regional, 2009.

From free lunches to winning Omaha Steaks to superb expert speakers and, of course, WINNING - Nebraska 2009 was an exceptional winner!  Lots of tales to tell; what better place to start than with New Life Masters!

Richard & Donna Murray, along with Dale and Gayle Schendzielos, have been friends and bridge buddies for years.  Now, at the Nebraska Regional, they are all new Life Masters!  Here is a shot of the foursome as they were years ago at the table:

And, here are their same smiling faces as they now are proud owners of the title "Life Master"!

Despite loads of obligations in her role as co-chairwoman of the Regional, Cookie Hoberman proved that you can both organize bridge and win at the same time!  Cookie's team:  Minna Lou Mercer, Deana Liddy, Bart Bramley and Claude Vogel compare, to find out that they have won the Lincoln KO Bracket I.

Other winners included this amazing foursome from Minnesota.   Linda Brammer, Barb Zipoy, Judy Jansen and Mary Sass managed to win three Knockout Team events!  Yes; that means that the ladies played twelve straight matches - and won every one of 'em!  Way to go!

Near and dear to my heart, younger people were on the scene.  Tim was busy during the week as a caddy.  But, he told me that he is playing bridge and loves it.  Perhaps we'll see him competing at next year's Youth NABC?

As is so often the case, the Nebraska Regional draws folks from all around the country.  This year was no different. Jan from Sacramento was sporting a gorgeous tote for the Fall NABC in San Diego.  "I'm promoting our NABC as much as I possibly can!" Jan told me.  Jan promised me a tote if I put a shot of her and The Tote in the blog:  here it is, (along with Jan) as promised!

Of course, no tournament adjacent to Omaha would be complete without the big celebrities in bridge:  Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.  Bill and Warren came to compete with their all-star squad:  Sharon Osberg, Dave Smith and another Big name in bridge:  Bob Hamman.  As always, they were extremely gracious.  I thank them for their numerous modeling moments with competitors, including our beautiful and hard-working District Director Sharon Anderson with husband Roger.

And I forgive them for not selecting me as a winner of Omaha Steaks!

 

 

 

Of course, although we all love attending the Nebraska Regional for free lunch, yummy treats, friendship and fun - we all come to compete, too!  Here are the four fellows who did - and then some.  Congrats to Don Stack, Pierre Flatowitz, Jim Nash and birthday boy Alan Stout for an exceptional performance. Almost 157 points; very well done!

 

 

 

Many thanks to everyone who worked on the regional - and to the many folks who attended!

Nebraska Regional

The Nebraska Regional is in full swing!  As always, the tournament is huge and glitters with bridge celebrities and Masters of the Universe celebrities:  Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

I look forward to seeing everyone later in the week.  In the meantime, a few shots that Peg Kaplan has taken when she is not trying to figure out how to beat her opponents.  More stories and photographs to come!

 

Warren and Bill generously pose with players; this time, Jeannette Wier!

 

THE best player in the world.

 

Co-chair extraordinaire:  Cookie Hoberman!

What's It Mean?

Compact Knock-outs.  International Match Points.  Black, red, silver, gold, platinum points! 

What does it all mean?  Two excellent ACBL glossaries will explain it all!

District 14 Dreamland

The Washington DC NABC has proved to be a dream come true for our District!  Early in the week, the Open GNT team of Bob and Cindy Balderson, Peggy Kaplan, Bill Kent, Paul Meerschaert and Carole Miner KO'd the two-time defending champions in a 64 board match.  Spector-Becker, Berkowitz-Cohen and Meckwell weren't even close when the Balderson team had a huge last quarter.  Joey Grue's NY team sent Balderson packing the next day.  Still, much excitement to have dispatched such a powerful squad.

The last Friday of the tournament will be one for five Minnesotans to remember.  Captain Eric Hendrickson, Jason and Matthew Bribitzer-Stull and Andy Caranicas seized the Mini-Spingold II 0-1500, their first national championship.  Most impressively, they kept their cool after a disastrous first quarter loss of 65-1 to come back with a vengeance!

As Eric & Co. were fighting away in the Spingold II, Peg Kaplan and Dick Bruno of Chicago swiftly zoomed to victory in the Fast Pairs. 

District 14 rocks!