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Sharing news about the loss of a member of the Minnesota bridge community always remains difficult. Today, I am deeply saddened to report that Brenda Travis of Rochester died on Saturday, October 22nd. After a tragic auto accident, Brenda succumbed to injuries from the incident.
Sue Greenberg, the Rochester DBC manager, shared that Brenda had been active in their club, plus had been an avid tournament goer for years. Brenda chaired local tournaments in the Rochester area several times.
Brenda loved to travel. This past spring, she enjoyed a steamboat bridge cruise down the Mississippi.
Brenda's obituary can be read here.
"Her laugh could be heard all over the room," Sue says.
What a loss that Brenda's laugh is now stilled. Our condolences to all her family and friends.
Lots of aspiring Life Masters turned out for Rochester's Non Life Master tournament! The morning session had 12.5 tables vying for silver.
Ann Van Ryn, the Rochester DBC President, and GS Jade Barrett offer smiles for the camera. Ann and her club did an outstanding job of organizing and running the NLM sectional for local intermediates and novices.
Well done, Rochester!
The Minneapolis Grand Slam Club has aimed at having top competition in a local duplicate game. Since 1937, the MGSC has done just that.
In addition, however, to having great competition, the MGSC wishes to promote our great game! To that end, on Friday, October 28th, the Twin City Bridge Center and the MGSC will collaborate at 6045 Nicollet Avenue to have an Eight is Enough event.
Grand Slam Club members will team up with non- and recent Life Masters to form teams with balanced experience and skill levels. After the game, the hands will be discussed in a relaxed and enjoyable format with hand records available. You can sign up as a pair - or a single.
We hope that many can attend. And - as we plan on enjoying yummy food along with fun bridge, we invite you to bring a treat to share for the game and discussion.
A flyer is below. Look forward to seeing you Friday night!
Jim Snyder became a Life Master today. People become Life Masters at various times, often at a tournament.
But becoming Life Master in your home club is fun!
Jim is a busy man. He has an active family life, served as a long-term Credit Union Board President, even served on our club board. He’s a strong intermediate player. But Jim just couldn’t get himself to the Gopher regularly to get that much-coveted gold.
Several years ago along comes the Jane Johnson Club Appreciation month, where players get 5% gold in team games. Jim got some more gold and was pretty close.
Last year Jim and his wife vacationed in Hawaii during almost all of October. When he returned we said, “You missed all but one of the team games!” He said, “I will play in that last game. I still need .13 gold.”
As the day progressed, we watch his team do pretty well. During the last round it looked like second place would do the job. Amazingly, his team prevailed, got 1st in B and 2nd in A, totaling 2.24 black and - are you ready for this - .12 gold!!!
Today, with almost the same teammates as last year, they won the first round of Club Appreciation Swiss.
Thus, Jim Snyder became a Bronze Life Master. Congratulations, Jim!
From near and far, players enjoyed the beautiful colors of autumn to play at the Maplewood Community Center at our Autumn Harvest Sectional last weekend. Above, we see the smiling faces of Keith Thompson, tournament chair, and other competitors during the Sunday Swiss.
Leading the pack for masterpoints earned was Paolo Ranaldi. Paolo earned an even 27 masterpoints. Tied for second were Kathy and Terry Beckman; just under 24 each. Others who captured 20 or more were Paul Meerschaert and Carole Miner. The total masterpoint list is here; results from the weekend are here.
Additional thanks to head director Brian Weikle.
Brian was ably assisted by director Kim Hayward, and a new caddy. Our caddy is not yet a bridge player; we need to get him signed up!
Lots of smiles and fun throughout the weekend. Thanks to all who attended - more faces below!
When a player is in the early stages of their bridge career, playing against the Big Guys can at times be daunting. So - our non-Life Master players are fortunate to have a great sectional tournament opportunity coming up!
We have a non-LM sectional in Rochester, MN on October 22nd. Silver points, expert speaker and great hospitality! The flyer is posted below!
Continue reading "Calling All Non-LM's - Sectional in Rochester" »
What a glorious weekend to enjoy all the beauties of autumn! And - next weekend, we can enjoy the last days of fall plus a marvelous St. Paul sectional, too!
Unit 103 is hosting the Autumn Harvest sectional Friday October 14th through Sunday, October 16th at the Maplewood Community Center. The flyer, schedule and other details can be found here.
For those who are unsure as to what "pair-team games" are, we are providing an explanation below. My thanks to Keith Thompson for providing it - and for all those who are contributing in so many ways to our fine upcoming sectional.
Come one - come all - and have a great time at the sectional!
The Pair/Team game is an exciting event for players at all levels of experience. Players have 2 ways to win! The pair portion of the event runs as a regular match point game. In the team portion, the players starting at your table will be your teammates. Who is on any team is determined by the computer. The game starts after your teammates move to the next table so you never play against them. Each pair will receive a score for the pair portion of the game and a separate score for the team portion. Players receive the higher number of points they earn, either as a pair or as a team. For example, if in the pair portion a pair earn 1.12 MPs but in the team game they achieve 4.5 MPs, they get the 4.5 --all for the price of one event!
At the Autumn Harvest Sectional, both Open sections and I/N sections will be pair/team games. So, irrespective of the sections in which you compete, you will have an equal opportunity for extra points!
Carol Rynders, our partnership chair, will have pairs on call for both I/N and Open sections to best insure we have full tables.