Minnesota Bridge

CBO Special - Tuesday, December 1st

Lots of great opportunities for our CBO Club members.  Not a member yet?  Just sign up!

And please note below the opportunity for college students to participate in being a paid intern, too! 

 

Don't forget about the CBO Club Special Tournament this Tuesday, December 1, which will award masterpoints and special prizes. First through third place finishers will receive an Amazon gift card. Additionally, ACBL will draw the name of one random CBO tournament participant to receive a gift card.   You do need to be an ACBL member (only $5 for ages 25 and younger), have a BBO account (free) and be registered as a CBO member to participate in a CBO Tournament. Please note that it can take up to 24 hours to gain access to the CBO Club on BBO.   If you've never played in a CBO tournament before, simply log into BBO and click Competitive / Tournaments / All Tournaments or Free Tournaments / Collegiate. The CBO tournament should be first on the list.

 

Internship Opportunity! Our friends at BBO are looking for a college student for a paid internship as a Community Engagement Intern. Click here to find out more.

Memorial Service for Platinum Life Master & Friend - Peder Langsetmo

Hi All:

A number of bridge players in the Minnesota area had been asking after my father, who passed away last week at the age of 93.  Peder was a long-time fixture in the Minnesota bridge scene and was a Platinum Life Master.

The family would appreciate it if others who might not know about the upcoming service to "pass the word" in the MN bridge community.  The service will not be an open service, due to the Covid pandemic.   But it will be live-streamed on Saturday, December 5th at 12:00PM.  The service will be held at:              www.unityunitarian.org/memorial-services.html

For those unable to participate at that time, the service will also be available later

on Youtube (details to be given later).

In lieu of flowers, please direct any memorial contributions to the Animal Humane Society

(https://www.animalhumanesociety.org)

or Meals on Wheels

(https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org)

We will also be doing a narration of stories about him during the service, and we invite any of his bridge friends to contribute any anecdotes they have about him, or other thoughts and comments they may have.

We won’t be able to fix everything into the service, but we would appreciate any submissions

you might have that you’d like to share, and we will see if we can work them in.  You can e-mail any such accounts to me (Arne Langsetmo, [email protected]) for compilation  (and our own personal memories), and please indicate if you would like such material to be anonymous.

Best regards to all his bridge friends, partners and opponents, from the Langsetmo family!

— Arne

 

Note from Peg--

Arne would appreciate if people could post on MN Bridge as soon as possible if they have stories or memories they would like to share about Peder.  They are hoping to have many to share during Peder's memorial service so we need them soon!  Thanks to all our friends from around the bridge world who wish to honor Peder.

Collegiate Initiative - Sunday November 15

Great opportunities for our college players and our Juniors!  If you want to compete in events with your peers, and learn more and more about the Greatest Game - then sign up for Sunday's event!

Fun - prizes - great competitors.  What's not to like!  

Details below!

 

Don't forget about the CBO Club Special Tournament this Sunday, November 15, which will award masterpoints and special prizes. First through third place finishers will receive an Amazon gift card. Additionally, ACBL will draw the name of one random CBO tournament participant to receive a gift card.   You do need to be an ACBL member (only $5 for ages 25 and younger), have a BBO account (free) and be registered as a CBO member to participate in a CBO Tournament. Please note that it can take up to 24 hours to gain access to the CBO Club on BBO.   If you've never played in a CBO tournament before, simply log into BBO and click Competitive / Tournaments / All Tournaments or Free Tournaments / Collegiate. The CBO tournament should be first on the list.   If you have any bridge playing college friends, encourage them to join the CBO. Membership is open to any college undergrad or grad student age 35 and under. If you don’t have a student bridge org/club at your school, consider starting one. We can help! www.acbl.org/college Discounts for Juniors playing in online tournaments! 2020 Online Schedule Juniors playing in ACBL Sanctioned regionally rated online tournaments are eligible to have a portion of their entry fees rebated so that your final cost is only $5 per session. Just email [email protected] and let them know when you played. Discounts will be applied for tournaments after 7/1/2020.

An Invitation to Participate!

Apologies in advance if you receive multiple invitations as you may be represented on more than one distribution list.

The Minneapolis Grand Slam Club (MGSC)  is in its ninth decade of continuous play.  The premier event of the annual cycle is an extended team event.   Once a double elimination knockout in recent years the event has become a RRKO like this year’s premier online team events sponsored by the Online Contract Bridge League (OCBL) and the ALT.

The Grand National Teams are the ACBL’s premier live grass roots team events.  They are configured in four flights.  This year’s pandemic has completely thrown the competition a loop.  Club play would have started in September and culminated in District Finals next Spring with a trip to the Summer NABC for the flight winners.

Many players enjoy team events including Swiss Teams and KOs.  To promote team play MGSC is offering a series of Tuesday night, 24-bd matches scored on a 20pt VP scale beginning November 10.   The more teams that sign up the more brackets we can offer and the more ‘even’ the competition will be.  The top four teams after the round robin phase will compete in longer KO matches.

The sessions will be every Tuesday at 6:30pm online at BBO.  A $100 fee will cover the entire Round Robin phase.  If there are only 5 teams in your bracket, thus a 4 session RR, you will receive a refund.

The conditions of contest:  MGSC 2020-2021 RRKO CoC  Any U103 or U178 member or anyone who has played in the  MGSC Virtual Club Friday night game.

You can sign up at: Team Signup, with as many as six players.  Contact Dave Neiman if one of your team members doesn’t show on our rosterlist.  Your registration is not complete unless you send $100 to MGSC c/o Barry Purrington  829 Overlook Place, Eagan, MN 55123 before November 10.  Your team will be disqualified if the club has not received a check before November 17 (grace period).

Any team can choose to play up in higher bracket if doing so does not collapse the initial bracket assignation.  You may choose to make your initial registration conditional if we have only one bracket and you do not wish to play against the strongest teams.

The event coordinator is Steve Gaynor  mailto:[email protected].  We can facilitate team formation if you are a pair looking for compatible teammates.

Those of who are not MGSC members are particularly welcome to form teams.  It's a big plus to play a series of 24 board imp events against players you know or have some familiarity with rather than 12-bd  IMP speedballs on BBO.  You will see how other matches scored on the same boards, and have a chance to play "real" imp matches without time pressure.  And there will be a nice masterpoint award if you are one of the four teams to reach the KO phase.

We are hoping for a big turnout.  If we get enough teams for three brackets you will surely be playing against teams very similar in experience to your own.

Mike Cassel, MGSC Bulletin editor and former D14 GNT Coordinator

Snowbirds, Sunbirds, and Stayers

Connie Nelson is ready to entertain us and keep our bridge thoughts happy and active as we move from sunshine and autumn leaves to .... winter!  Big thanks to Connie for keeping us busy with changing seasons, fun and BRIDGE!

 

 

October’s early snow and cold caused me to start dreaming about warmth and sunshine.  Jim and I usually take a break each year from “the dead of winter” (i.e. January-March), choosing a different place to go each year.  In early 2020, we rented a condo in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.  As we often do, we found that going to the local bridge club helped us make instant connections.   The club at New Smyrna Beach was no exception.  Nice people! 

One encounter did strike me as funny.  When I told someone there that I was a snowbird from Minnesota, they asked me how long we were staying.  I answered one month.  They remarked, “Only those who stay at least three months are snowbirds.  You are a snowflake!”

 

The encounter piqued my curiosity. I did some research.  I discovered that the word snowbird is nearly 100 years old.  It was first used in 1923 to describe seasonal workers who went south for winter work.  But, by 1979, it was being commonly used to refer to older people who flocked south in the winter to vacation.  I also learned that there’s a corresponding term – sunbird – for people who “flock” north during the summer months.

This winter, COVID-19 will keep Jim and me at home.  I thought I’d ask our St Cloud Club about their migration plans, and whether COVID-19 is affecting them.  I also asked if they had a story to tell about differences between other clubs where they play, and ours.    

Snowbirds.  Representing the many of our club who go south each winter, here’s what Tom Buttweiller had to say:

 

Each year, Pat and I go either south to Bonita Springs, Florida, or west to Kona, Hawaii.  We play bridge in each place.  They are dramatically different from each other, and from St. Cloud.  In Florida, we play at a private, for-profit club.  It has a game seven days a week, usually with about 40 tables each time.  The cost to  play is between $10-$12 per person per session.  (St. Cloud is quite a bargain!)  I estimate about half the players are snowbirds.  People are cordial,  but it is all quite businesslike.

Hawaii is a totally different scene. We play at a small club, with a once a week game.  It is very friendly, with not many snowbirds.  The biggest draw is the spectacular place we play. We play in a building with floor to ceiling glass walls on two sides.  It is located on a mountain side, not far from the ocean.  The windows look out over the Pacific, and can be opened to the breeze.  It is not unusual to see whales spouting.  (Tom somehow neglected to contrast that with the windowless lower level of the Labor Home where we usually play!)

Postscript:  Pat and Tom had reservations in Kona for Jan 1 through Mar 19, 2021; they have cancelled them due to COVID-19.  They are hoping to go south, but want to avoid Florida.  They are currently shopping rentals in Nevada.  

Sunbirds.  We also have several Club members who come up to “summer” in Minnesota. 

 

 

Mary and Rick Olson are one such couple.  Mary said that she and Rick originally learned to play bridge while living in Minnesota.  They left MN in 1974, and have lived around the world.  But, they kept their MN lake home, and would return whenever they could.  They now live in Colorado, and each year come back from the middle of May until the middle of September. 

COVID-19 did not change the amount of time they spent here this year.  What did change was the dramatically fewer number of guests they entertained.  I always knew that many Colorado friends came each year to visit Mary and Rick.  What I didn’t know was that one year, from May to September, they had only two nights without company.  Whew! 

Most of their guests are bridge players.  Two of them – Wendy Turk and Chris Campion – are mainstays at our St Cloud Sectional each June.  Many other guests play at our Club while they are here.  Mary says that their universal comment has been: “What a friendly club!” 

 

Stayers.  This year we may have more “stayers” than usual.  Jon and Sandra Hatch usually go to Arizona every year Dec to April, but – due to the virus - are uncertain about this year.  Sue are Roger Knauss also have not decided about a winter hiatus. 

Here are two people who have decided to stay put: 

 

 

 

 

David Hanson:  Due to COVID-19, we will be spending our first winter in Minnesota in 11 years.  When in AZ,  I play bridge at Sun City Grand, at a large community club.  Interestingly, that club has not arranged any online games…so kudos to Kory and everyone else in Minnesota who has helped keep our club games going.  Hopefully bridge will keep me sane this winter.

Last, club director Kory Solarz says he’ll be here, adding: “I don’t ever go south, but occasionally my game does!”

 

Goodbye to Peder Langsetmo

Peder enjoying a hug with Cindy Balderson, dear friend and beautiful bridge star!

 

Today I received an email from Peder Langsetmo's son Arne.  On November 2nd, Peder passed away peacefully.  He was 93 years old.  Arne rightly states that Peder was a fixture in the Minnesota bridge world - in addition to being a fine player for decades, a friend and teammate to many and a great guy.

Arrangements for a memorial service have not been made.  Likely the family will do a virtual service such as Zoom, and Arne will let us know when a date has been selected.

Arne also told me that Peder had an extensive collection of various bridge magazines:  specifically ACBL Bulletins and The Bridge World.  Arne would be pleased to make donations of these magazines to libraries, local clubs or to any players who might be interested in having them in their own collection.

Arne sends his regards to our bridge community.  Thank you, Arne.  Those of us who knew your dad over the decades, partnered him and teamed up with him, send deepest condolences to you and your family.  Our players are our family, too - and Peder will be so missed by our bridge community.

All - please note.  I received this message from Peder's son, Arne:

Thank you, Peg, for your kind words and thoughts. We have set a tentative date for a (virtual) memorial service of Dec. 5th. I will follow with details as I get them.

For those who are Facebook followers, you will note that there were many accolades for our long time friend Peder, some tears, and deep condolences to Arne and his family.  We will appreciate receiving more information as we say goodbye to our dear friend Peder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for Your Patience

Connie Nelson, our superlative journalist for bridge in Minnesota, has written another fine article for November.  And I have received the photo with the results for College Bridge, also.  Yet I have not been able to reach the person at ACBL who is able to help with photos.

I shall get all posted as soon as I can connect with ACBL.  Thanks for your understanding!

Peg

 

District 14 Bridge

With so much going on in the world, it's truly a new era for bridge!  But District 14 members are still playing and enjoying, though in a very different way. Below are our Units by state and their numbers.  Enjoy, everyone!  And thanks to our District Director Sharon Anderson for providing all the data.

 

 

District 14 Membership by Unit as of 11/01/2020
Unit# Unit Name Members

103     Minnesota Gopher     888
104     North Dakota             197
162     South Dakota             141
163     Iowa State                  417
178     Viking Bridge Unit #178     784
184     Nebraska                     207
216     Hawkeye                     394
235     Northwest Iowa          136
241     Cornhusker                 426 

Total Members                       3,590