Minnesota Bridge

Unit 178 - Board Meeting March 2014

Neither blizzards nor fifteen below will prevent Unit 178 board members from working diligently to enhance bridge in the Minneapolis area!

For those curious about the March 8th agenda - please check out the link below.

Name That Game!

Steve Gaynor has shared a quick write up about a great Gopher opportunity!

The Gopher Regional is a few months away.  The special events, hospitality, schedule, etc., promise to make this one of the most exciting Regionals we have held in a long time.

It is the perfect opportunity for you to remember someone by naming one of the events after a good friend, relative, alive or deceased.  The cost is very reasonable, but the memory and honor is priceless.  You could sponsor something individually or get a group together and kick in a few bucks to honor or remember someone special.

Available two session events and four session KO’s right now are identified by colors.  Remove the colors and add an even more colorful name to the events. 

Contact tournament co-chairs Patti Stuhlman ([email protected]) or Sue Jackson ([email protected]) for more information. 

Prices for "Name that Game" are as follows:

$100 for a single session event

$125 for a two session event

$150 for a 3+ session event

Gopher Regional - May 19-25

Weary of the news that Blizzard #29 may soon strike?  Well - help is on the way!

May is but 3 months away ... and with it comes not only flowers, but the Gopher Regional.

Co-Chairs Patti Stuhlman and Sue Jackson have a superb schedule for this year's Gopher.

Plus, Cindy Balderson has organized an exciting seminar featuring reigning Women's Pair Champion Lynn Deas and Venice Cup World Champion Disa Eythorsdottir. A great opportunity to play hands from the World Championship Match with your partner and teammates, then enjoy an hour-long question and answer session with Lynn and Disa.

Of course, there is much more! Please check out the flyer! While you're snowbound - once again - you can plan for daisies and bridge at May's Gopher!

Minnesota Top 100 - 2013

Bridge players love to compete - and they love to do well. When we do well, we are rewarded with ACBL coin of the realm:  masterpoints. Whether a beginner or a long time expert, we all delight in seeing our totals grow, and moving from one category of ACBL member to the next higher spot.

The final tally for Minnesota's top 100 masterpoint holders in 2013 is in.  The list is below.

At the top with 14,054 masterpoints is your blogmaster - Peg Kaplan.  As I state every year, no one at all earns their masterpoints on their own.  I am most grateful for the special partners and teammates that I've had over the years.  "I couldn't do it without them" is absolutely accurate.

The second masterpoint holder is Peder Langsetmo.  Peder's 9941+ masterpoints show him threatening to soon go over 10,000 points and become Minnesota's only Platinum Life Master.  Not far behind Peder is a Minnesota legend:  Larry Oakey.  Larry's total of 9824 is also close to the 10K mark.  But, Larry has been more involved behind the scenes of bridge recently rather than At the Table. Should Larry decide to go after those points, though, no doubt he would earn them most rapidly!

Steve Gaynor rounds out Minnesota's top 10 with 7790.  And to make it into the top 100 in 2013, you needed to have earned 2329, as Dave Hoffman did.

Congratulations to our top 100 for their success in 2013.  Best of luck to us all - combined with a load of fun at the table - in 2014!

Winter Carnival 2014

Chairman Gus Doty

Yummy pizza

Competition!

Some Winter Carnival events were cancelled due to one of the coldest winters we've experienced in a long time.  Yet, the Winter Carnival Sectional in Maplewood flourished!

Tournament chair Gus Doty delivered treats like coffee and pizza - not to mention plenty of bridge to enjoy all weekend long. Mike Flader and Brian Weikle ably directed.

Results from the Winter Carnival are here.  With no overall tabulations from the sectional, however, we can only report "well done" to those who won, place and competed!  

As always, our thanks to organizers, volunteers and everyone who made the weekend so fun.

Winter Carnival Sectional

Is this Larry Oakey? Not sure....

Most of us are categorizing the 2013-2014 winter as the Season from Hell. If it's not bone chilling cold, it's blizzards. If it's not that - it's ice on every exterior surface.

If you have escaped to warmer climes - mazel tov! But - if this weekend finds you in the Twin Cities, then take advantage of the best offer available:  the Winter Carnival Sectional Tournament.

Here's the schedule with all the details. Don't give in to winter; get even! Have a super time and win masterpoints, too!

Hometown Boy Makes Good

Although it's been well over half a century since Edwin Kantar grew up on the north side of Minneapolis, the Twin Cities still remains where Eddie's bridge career began. And - what a career it has been! Not only did Eddie become one of America's best known players - he also is a prolific writer. Few can match the output that Eddie has delivered over the years.

Today, we can enjoy another hand - written up as only Eddie Kantar can!